Browns coach Hue Jackson acknowledged last week he needs to know exactly what he has in rookie quarterback Cody Kessler before the franchise enters April’s draft with two first-round picks.
So it’s not the least bit surprising that Kessler will continue to start Thursday night on the road against the Baltimore Ravens.
What is a bit unexpected, though, is Jackson’s choice to publicly lament Kessler’s inability to lead the Browns (0-9) to victory in his first six starts.
During a conference call Monday, Jackson said “there were no positives” in Sunday’s 35-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The coach didn’t back down much from that statement when asked whether Kessler completing 19-of-27 passes for 203 yards and a touchdown without an interception and a rating of 104.4 qualified as a plus.
“There were some positives but not enough,” Jackson said. “The biggest disappointment for me as the leader of our offense is that we haven’t been able to win. We haven’t found a way to score more points than the other team to win a game, and so there are some things that individually players have done really well, but as an offensive team, the quarterback’s job is to get the team to win.
“So I haven’t done a good enough job of getting that done for our guys, regardless of what the stat lines are. Until we can get a win for this football team, this franchise, this organization, it’s not going to matter.”
Jackson was asked if he would start veteran Josh McCown against the Ravens instead of Kessler.
“No, I wasn’t saying that, because I’m not going to play musical chairs with our quarterback,” Jackson said. “I made the decision to go with Cody, and that’s what I’m going to do. But Josh, Cody, Robert [Griffin III], we haven’t had a win and I don’t think any of us are excited about that. That’s the quarterback’s job, more so than anything, is to win the game.”
By most of the numbers, Kessler has been stellar. He has completed 67.5 percent of his passes for 1,150 yards and five touchdowns with one interception. His passer rating is 96.1.
Yet the third-round pick with questionable arm strength hasn’t been able to consistently stretch defenses with a reliable deep ball. Per ProFootballFocus.com, he ranks 31st out of 33 quarterbacks with an adjusted completion percentage of 25 (4-of-16 passing for 138 yards) on passes beyond 20 yards. He’s one of the best in the NFL from 10-19 yards, according to PFF.
Jackson said the lack of deep passing “is not giving us a chance to score more points, because sometimes I think those plays have been there to be made. Whether it’s the quarterback or whether it’s the receiver, whether it’s the protection, we all have a hand in that, and we can all do better.
“So I’m not just going to lay it at Cody’s feet. Obviously, he’s got to improve in some areas, but I think our receivers have got to improve, I think our protection has got to improve, and we’ve just got to improve overall as an offensive football team.”
Debut in review
Pro Bowler Jamie Collins played every defensive snap Sunday in his debut with the Browns, starting at outside linebacker and moving inside in the nickel package. The only other defender who played all 73 snaps was inside linebacker Chris Kirksey.
Collins finished with eight tackles, including one for loss. He added a quarterback hit.
He also left tight end Jason Witten open on a 26-yard touchdown pass and missed a few tackles.
“He played quite a few snaps,” Jackson said. “He was able to make a tackle for a loss. He looked really good blitzing at times, got some pressure every now and then. Obviously, he got an opportunity to play with his new teammates and did some good things.
“There are some things that he is going to learn more about our system as he moves forward. I think it was too much pressure to think that one guy was just going to totally change the defense. He has to play within the structure of our defense, but we think he is a good player.”
Return in review
Rookie wide receiver Corey Coleman said his right hand didn’t bother him Sunday in his first game back since he broke it Sept. 21 in practice.
“I felt healthy out there,” Coleman, who had three catches for 41 yards on seven targets against the Cowboys, said during a conference call.
Before Coleman missed six games with the injury, he had a breakout performance Sept. 18 in a 25-20 loss to the Ravens. He compiled five catches for 104 yards and two touchdowns on eight targets.
Is he poised for another dominant performance against the Ravens?
“You can’t look at it like that,” he said. “I have to come to work. I have been out for a couple weeks. I have to get on the field and make sure I know exactly what I need to do on plays. They know what I did last time that we played, too, so they are going to be preparing. I am going to be prepared, too. We are going to see on Thursday night.”
Extra points
• Jackson said he isn’t ready to give up on Cameron Erving as the starting center. Erving was ejected for fighting Sunday after the fifth play of the game. “I just think we have to keep moving forward with him,” Jackson said. “It is disappointing that he did not get to finish the game and play the game so we could evaluate further.”
• Jackson said rookie defensive end Carl Nassib “will be fine” after leaving Sunday’s game in the third quarter with an eye injury. “We are working through that and kind of on the positive side of that,” Jackson said.
• Cornerback Jamar Taylor might be questionable to play Thursday because of a groin injury, Jackson said.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.