The adversity the Browns face stems from inconsistencies and a lack of complementary football. Cleveland ranks 17th in the league with 354 yards per game, while its defense has largely improved as the season has progressed and ranks third with 315.6 yards allowed per game. The Browns haven't allowed opponents to score 17 or more points in five of the last six games, but they also haven't scored more than 17 points in five of the last seven games.
That's largely why the results haven't been where the Browns hoped at the beginning of the season, and Berry believes the reasons for the underperformance stretch to multiple areas of the team — not to any individual player or group.
"At times during the season, the different phases of our team have kind of been on or off throughout the first 12 weeks," he said. "I know that's something that we're hard at work analyzing with our coaching staff so that we can ultimately play our best ball in December. I think different stretches in the season have had different challenges or different issues."
Berry commended Stefanski for staying true as a leader and being accountable for the Browns' highs and lows. He trusts Stefanski to spend time during the bye week to correct mistakes, particularly those that pertain to the offense and lack of explosive plays.
Those plays were a staple of Stefanski's offense last season, when he was named NFL Coach of the Year. A chunk of them came after a Week 8 bye, which gave the Browns all the time they needed to digest what worked best and outline how they could expand on it in the final eight games. The Browns went 6-2 in that stretch, one of the best periods the team has ever had in the expansion era of the franchise.
This year, they have five games to turn things around. The offense averaged only 297 yards per game in November and knows it must improve in all areas for the Browns to finish well. QB Baker Mayfield, who's 21st in the league with 2,413 passing yards, has thrown five touchdowns and three interceptions in the last five weeks and must elevate his game for the rest of the unit to grow. So, too, do all the pieces that surround him in Cleveland's passing attack.
The Browns have evidence of finding those solutions after a bye from last season, and Berry believes Stefanski can once again generate the spark they need.
"He has all of the virtues and characteristics that are important for the leader of our organization," Berry said. "I think it starts with his self-awareness and accountability. It goes to his level of introspection in terms of the team and the job that our group is doing, and it also goes to his open-mindedness and his ability to adjust."
Adjustments are a necessity for the Browns to finish the year where they want: in the playoffs. Several of them will be made this week as coaches and players take a step back to recharge for their most pivotal period of the season.
The climb to still attain the goals they had at the beginning of the year will be steep, but it's a challenge the Browns are welcoming.
"I'm excited to learn about how our team deals with adversity and the resolve," Berry said, "and that's something that we're looking forward to seeing how our group responds out of the bye."
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December 02, 2021 at 03:14AM
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Andrew Berry sees 'really valuable opportunity' for growth in final 5 regular season games - clevelandbrowns.com
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