Cleveland Browns Offense: Mid-Season Grades

Nine weeks are in the books on the Cleveland Browns 2013 campaign. Rookie head coach Rob Chudzinski has quieted the storm and won four games with gutsy coaching. During the season, key positions have been turned over multiple times as well. Here are the grades on the Browns’ 26th ranked offense.

Quarterback:
Out of the three signal callers on the roster, two of them have shown they are capable of leading this team. While Brian Hoyer and Jason Campbell have been refreshing, season starter, Brandon Weeden has been horrendous. Fans have to wonder what the record could be had Weeden not started three games. Replacing Weeden as a starter, Campbell has renewed his confidence and tossed for 561 yards and five touchdowns. More importantly – zero interceptions.
Grade : C+

Running Backs/Full Backs
What a disaster this situation has become. When Trent Richardson was traded to the Indianapolis Colts, free agent Willis McGahee got the call from the Browns while sitting on his couch at home. While the Richardson move is turning out to be the right one, the Browns running game has still been non-existent. With McGahee getting the bulk of the carries, the Browns have used eleven players to run the ball. They have scored only one touchdown and averaged just 81 yards per game. For the record, Chris Ogbonnaya is not a fullback.
Grade: D

Tight Ends:
What a breakout year for fourth year tight end, Jordan Cameron. Among the leaders at his position in the NFL, Cameron is having a Pro Bowl-type season. To see Cameron with 50 receptions, 600 yards, and six touchdowns, is absolutely awesome. The Browns tight ends unit have done a great job this season in blocking too. He is the MVP of the season so far.
Grade: A

Wide Receivers:
Very quickly getting noticed around the league as one of the up and coming elite receivers, Josh Gordon has also had a tremendous year. With a remarkable 17.9 yards per catch, Gordon is among the league leaders in a few receiving categories. Remember, Gordon has only played seven games and has 626 yards with questionable QB play. Receivers, Greg Little and Davone Bess redeemed their season in one big division game, but need to be consistent each week. Browns receivers as a unit have only caught six touchdown passes.
Grade: C

Offensive Line:
At first, the offense looked suspect at best. The right side with back up tackle, Oneil Cousins filling it at guard was less than stellar. However, with renewed quarterback play and the return of Shaun Lavauo has stabilized the offensive line the past two games. The offensive line has allowed 31 sacks this season, but 21 of them came when Weeden was the quarterback. With virtually no running game, the line has held their own for the most part. Even, franchise left tackle Joe Thomas has struggled a bit this season.

Grade: C

Ryan Ruiz is the Cleveland Browns Beat Writer for The Inscriber: Digital Magazine. You can follow him on Facebook: Ryan (BrownsWriter) Ruiz and Twitter @ryanpruiz24. Ryan is also a Browns correspondent for The Sportsfix. Tune in every Friday at noon on www.thesportsfix.net. Have a question or comment for the “ASK Ryan” column on Fridays? Email Ryan at [email protected]