Tag Archives: Kevin Stefanski

The NFL’s Shameful Impatience w/ Black Quarterbacks: Shedeur Sanders Named Starter v 49ers – Browns Should Fire Stefanski

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With the Browns naming Shedeur Sanders their starting QB for the week 13 battle with the 49ers, the time has come to let go of bumbling head coach Kevin Stefanski. Anyone who watched the Browns take on the Raiders in Las Vegas saw when Sanders came to the sideline he was being coached up by RB Coach Duce Staley and going over the  over X’s and O’s on tablet with injured QB DeShaun Watson who no doubt was discussing situations with OC Tommy Rees.

Sander has endured a baptism by fire which has included a Head Coach undermining his confidence. Never spoke his name at the podium while singing the praises of punters and clearly expressing the desire to fully develop 3rd round pick Dillon Gabriel. The 3rd round pick who by far had the lowest yardage passing per attempt in the NFL this season and had a 1-6 record. Look at this…

Keep in mind McCarthy & Cam Ward have their fans & media questioning if they’ll mature into what their franchises need. They’re #2 & #3. Kyler Murray is #4 and has been quietly fired (season ending IR) by the Arizona Cardinals going with backup Jacoby Brissett the rest of the year. #5 Joe Flacco started ahead of Sanders & Gabriel, been released and has a full yard better average than Gabriel. Do you realize how far back that is and Stefanski was trying to champion this anemic performer? Only a concussion and the medical staff holding Dillon out kept us from more of this nonsense Stefanski subjected Browns fans to.

In fact #4-7 have all been benched… Murray, Flacco, Justin Fields in New York, and Spencer Rattler for a rookie with the Saints. Now throw in #8 Bryce Young fresh off a poor performance in last night’s 20-9 loss and his situation has been tenuous and was benched last year. So in this sea of terrible quarterbacking Stefanski wanted to float Gabriel out there and sink the rest of the Browns franchise while harboring disdain for Sanders and continue these microaggressions.

After showing flashes in his 1st start, 11 of 20, 209 yards 1TD and 1 int. he made big plays and ignited his team and earned the respect of his opponent. He wowed his team with a 52 yard bomb to Isiah Bond early on and the team raised their level of play and handled the Raiders.  Stefanski was forced to announce on Monday he would be the starter going forward. Yet we didn’t see nor hear this in the locker room when he addressed the team after the game with the cameras rolling. A very lukewarm afterthought mention “first win by Shedeur Sanders” that had all former black players in an uproar. Most famously Michael Irvin.

Over the last several weeks the situation morphed into a cultural war where his coach had undermined his quarterback and I’m convinced it was his brash young black attitude. Funny thing is this exact swag is celebrated with Jaxson Dart in New York but used to villify Sanders. A racial trope that survives and has played out with fans and the coach has fed into it not breathing confidence in Sanders, not saying his name when media asked questions about his availability and chance to start. Stefanski fed into it over and over fueling these adversarial racial arguments with fans on social media. It was impossible to rule out the racial element as a part of his decision making handling Sanders.

Keep in mind fans buy the tickets and 2 weeks ago they had a league low offering of $6 tickets to go to see the Browns with Gabriel still starting… and Stefanski was still trying to sell him as a starting quarterback. Seriously? Lets be honest it seems Ownership forced his hand in naming Sanders the starter after his performance when…

  • Sanders became the 1st Browns rookie QB to win his debut since Eric Zeier in ’95.

1995? That is so long ago Bill Belichick was the Cleveland Browns coach at the time. We’re talking years before becoming head coach of the Jets and then Patriots. This was half a decade before that!! The graphic above only goes back to 1999 when the Browns franchise returned to the field after a 4 year hiatus.

What exactly does Stefanski do when the offense has been struggling mightily to come up with a cohesive attack all year. He doesn’t get involved with DC Jim Schwartz and the deployment of his top rated defense, so what does he really do?

For one he is a poor CEO of a football team and his blatant mismanagement of the quarterback situation should remove him immediately with not only Sanders’ success but that of original 2025 starter Joe Flacco. All of these mind games and his obvious dislike of Sanders over the last 12 weeks culminated Sunday Night in the bowels of Allegiant Stadium. He needs to go and allow Sanders and that team to fully develop allowing Sanders the chance to flourish with interim coach Duce Staley.

Time to allow Sanders the chance to finish this season and have the opportunity to become the quarterback he believes he can be. Jimmy Haslam you owe your fans this and you need to let Coach Kevin Stefanski the cancer go now! This is the 4th installment of The NFL’s Shameful Impatience with Black Quarterbacks (links to previous below)

Thanks for reading and Shedeur go do your thing! You’ve earned the respect of your team and opponents and Taylor Blitz salutes you being free to go fly!

The NFL’s Shameful Impatience w Black Quarterbacks Vol 1 -Lamar Jackson 2018 NFL Draft

2020 NFL Draft: Wither Jalen Hurts – Shameful Impatience w Black QBs Take Two!

The NFL’s Shameful Impatience w Black Quarterbacks: The Odyssey of Shedeur Sanders

The Browns Should Fire Kevin Stefanski Immediately

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Somewhere midway through the 3rd quarter of the Bengals’ thrilling 33-31 victory over Pittsburgh, it became evident Joe Flacco’s performance wasn’t going to subside. What happened to the gun shy quarterback who was benched over in Cleveland leaving a rudderless ship with 2 rookies vying to be the starting quarterback? Moreover what does that say about the coaching prowess of Browns Head Coach Kevin Stefanski?

Flacco had been unceremoniously benched following a 1-3 start where he completed 93 of 160 (58.1%) for 815 yards 2TDs and a league leading 6 interceptions. He was traded to the Bengals on  October 7th and in just 9 days with his new team led the Bengals to season highs in points (33) and total yards with 470.

Bengals Coach Zac Taylor could coax this type of performance in just 4 practices with a QB new to his system? Again I ask what does this say about Kevin Stefanski as a Head Coach?? Flacco looked nothing like the player we saw on Thursday night. He looked inspired, energetic and in command of an NFL offense. The Bengals played with a belief we did not see in Cleveland through the first 4 weeks. All stemming from the quarterback position…

Isn’t this why Stefanski was hired in the first place?? He was the Minnesota Vikings QB Coach and Offensive Coordinator and he can’t develop any of his quarterbacks. Did he get the job on merit or just a product of the good ole boy network?? Look at the QBs he has run off from Cleveland in the last 5 years and ask yourself what is the common denominator:

Baker Mayfield – The people’s champ who has resurrected his career and is the front runner to be 2025 NFL MVP. In 6 games leads the NFL with 108.5 QBR, 1,539 yds 12 TDs with only 1 interception. Four come from behind victories in under 2 minutes. The year before threw for a career high 41TDs so this isn’t a fluke. Stefanski ran him off…

Jacoby Brissett & Case Keenum –  Both players have been part time starters and mainly 2nd string QBs but couldn’t be molded into a Daniel Jones type leaning on his running game and stout defense to win games?? You may chuckle but you forget Keenum went 11-3 and took the 2017 Minnesota Vikings to the NFC Championship Game. Remember The Minneapolis Miracle to Stephon Diggs to beat the Saints in the NFC Divisonal Playoff??

Of course you have the strange odyssey of DeShaun Watson where his play has completely regressed since the Browns signed him to a $242 million dollar guaranteed contract. He hasn’t come close to the 3 time Pro Bowl performer he had been. He is “this close” to playing his way out of the league. After throwing for 26, 26, & 33 TDs in 2018-2020 he hasn’t thrown for more than 10 in any of the last 3 seasons.

All this before we talk about the awful treatment of Shedeur Sanders. I’d like to say Watson is playing for his career but we watched Joe Flacco with a new coach breathe life into his. Daniel Jones is on his way to 2025 Comeback Player of the Year now he is out of New York and underachieving Brian Daboll. Coaching matters and poor coaching undermines and derails careers and Stefanski is the worst coach at developing quarterbacks.

What’s worse is Joe Flacco saved Stefanski when he came in off the street to lead his underachieving 2023 team to the playoffs. He even seemed dispirited and disinterested until Thursday Night’s performance with the Bengals. He can’t develop his specialty of QB or platoon a  coordinated offense in Cleveland. He should be fired this Monday if they lose to the 1-5 Miami Dolphins. I see him being fired within the next three weeks and better sooner than later.

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Epilogue: I owe a tremendous apology to Baker Mayfield as I brought up the question of his coachability in the NFL. I was wrong and he is easily the NFL’s MVP if the season were to end today.

This picture was used by The Chancellor of Football to show where he had appeared to devolve to the point of Johnny Manziel. He has resurrected his career and is playing light’s out football and he has proven me wrong and pulling for him.

 

 

 

 

 

Monday Morning Musings 2025 Season Week 4: Young Guns

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Well the first domino to fall in the replacement of a starting quarterback happened in New York this weekend. Jaxson Dart was the exlixir the Giants needed for their 21-18 upset of the undefeated Chargers. He kept a few plays alive with his legs but lets face it the young players were excited and juiced to play with him. His energy along with fellow rookie Cam Scattebo & Malik Nabers had the whole team playing with a swagger missing since the preseason.

Dart was 13 of 20 for 111 yards 1TD while rushing 10 times for 54 yards and New York’s first touchdown. You saw his teammates around him celebrating and sharing in his enthusiasm and it propelled them this Sunday. They played with a confidence and spirit the rest of the game and played like they knew they were going to win.

There will be growing pains as Offensive Coordinator Mike Kafka scaled back playcalling for #6. Its one of the reasons he did take 5 sacks in the game. However you could see clearly he was instructed to go short to his checkdowns once Nabers left injured. Yet this is who “checkdowns” are for… A young quarterback unsure of where to go with the football not a 14 year signal caller gun-shy to take hits who should have the moxie to audible to a better play.

Hopefully this new temperament won’t be quelled with the injury to Malik Nabers but is a clear reminder that players can be inspired to do great things based off emotion and camaraderie. Its a game that goes beyond “x’s & o’s”. Will players rally around their quarterback?? Does the team play together and want their teammates to ball out?  These questions were clearly on display in Gotham & this season now has some optimism for Coach Daboll.

By the way… how many Sundays are we going to keep watching the car wreck that is Cleveland’s offense under Joe Flacco?? Come on… 16, 17, 13, & 10 are the point totals through the 1st 4 games of the season. Averaging 14.75 points per game wouldn’t win you football games if we were back in the 1960’s unless you’re the NFL Champion 1963 Chicago Bears. Yet that team became legendary because of their #1 ranked defense.

Get this Cleveland’s defense is #1 against the run, 4th against the pass and #1 overall having allowed just 890 yards, well they’re 1-3 because Flacco has thrown for just 815 yards. Thats 18th in the league! Joe is 93 of 160 for 815 yards 2TDs and a whopping 6 interceptions. His 58.3% completion percentage ranks him at 31 while the Browns lead the league with 47 punts and have only scored 6TDs. Look Flacco was MVP of the 47th Super Bowl and we’re going to play the 60th edition in February.

He is a shot fighter and Father Time caught up to him 3 years ago and time to turn the reigns to Sheduer Sanders and see what he can do. Dillon Gabriel?? I watched him in the preseason and he is less athletic than “Tiny”Kyler Murray of the Cardinals & Bryce Young with the Carolina Panthers. Both of these guys won Heismans and have played poor enough their jobs are in jeopardy with the biggest reason…*drum roll* …they can’t see over the line with their short statures. Now at 5’11” and they’re being generous with that measurement, doesn’t engender confidence but they will go to him first.

Coach Kevin Stefanski you have an obligation to the other 52 players on the roster sacrificing for the team and you have a small window before you begin to lose that locker room. Especially with a defense that is playing up to a historic level. The team needs to see changes from you which show you’re trying to win now to keep them engaged. Not in your wildest dreams did you figure to have the same record as the loaded Baltimore Ravens but here you’re both 1-3 and your great defense is portable.

Knuckle up and called a scaled back offense like they’re doing in New York and give the ball to super rookie back Quinshon Judkins and play to your defense. You have a better defense and the Giants are the blueprint for what will work in Cleveland.  Time is ticking boss…

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