Is DeShone Kizer Due to Be Another Cleveland Bust?

JR: Hey Meech, were you planning on adding anything about how Kizer got benched for a game? Other than that this is a super interesting article and there is just some minor grammatical stuff.

Every time the Cleveland Browns start a new quarterback, it seems to cause waves of overwhelming euphoria, followed quickly by crippling disappointment. Since being reintroduced to the National Football League (NFL) in 1999, the Browns have not found an answer at the position. From Tim Couch and Brady Quinn to college standout Johnny Manziel and Washington castoff Robert Griffin III, when it comes to quarterbacks, nothing has worked for the Browns.

Through four games so far, this season looks to have been much of the same. With bottom-of-the-barrel totals in completion percentage (52 percent), passer rating (47.8), and touchdown-to-interception (TD:INT) ratio (3:11), rookie DeShone Kizer looks the part of another Cleveland bust.

To make matters worse, fellow rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson, whom the Browns had an opportunity to draft, has gone on a tear over his last four starts for the Houston Texans, leading all quarterbacks in rushing yards per game while going 3-2 as a starter (as opposed to 0-6 in Kizer’s case).

Furthermore, while Watson’s position as the Texans’ starter has gone unquestioned since he took over, Kizer’s grip on the Browns’ starting job seems to be coated in Vaseline. Over the course of the Browns’ 0-7 start, Kizer has been benched numerous times and for two different backup quarterbacks.

Against the New York Jets, Kizer was pulled at the start of the second half for Kevin Hogan in a desperate, vain attempt to escape with a close win. Then, after the Browns lost that game, 17-14, Hogan was given the start the following week in a loss to the Texans. After Hogan’s three-interception debacle, Kizer was given the start against the Tennessee Titans, but was again pulled just after halftime after throwing two revolting interceptions, this time for Cody Kessler. With Kessler now expected to start next week against the Vikings, 2017 looks like another lost season of ghastly quarterback plays for the Browns.

However, considering that the supporting cast that Kizer has to work with is subpar and that the Browns’ head coach, Hue Jackson, has been quite austere with young quarterbacks in the past, the outlook for Kizer and the Browns may not be as grim as it seems.

Kizer has fallen victim to two key factors: inadequate support from his wide receivers and an overzealous head coach. The first of these has not only been the most obvious but also the most egregious.

The Browns have been plagued with underperforming wide receivers all year, with no worse offender than this offseason’s marquee free agent pickup, Kenny Britt. Last season, Britt experienced a breakout for the Los Angeles Rams despite putrid quarterback play from Case Keenum and Jared Goff.

Britt eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards for the first time in his career and showcased a consistent ability to get open for first downs, stay balanced, and make plays after the catch. This led to a four-year, $32.5 million contract from the Browns and an expectation that Britt would be not only a reliable target, but also a veteran mentor for youngsters Corey Coleman, Ricardo Louis, and Kasen Williams. So far, however, Britt has been all but that.

Britt’s hands and route-running have been inconsistent all season, but they were especially poor Week 4 against the Cincinnati Bengals. To put it bluntly, Britt cost the Browns two separate drives. Early in the first quarter, with the Browns on the Bengals’ 30-yard line and the potential to capitalize on a fumble by quarterback Andy Dalton, Britt had a prime opportunity to convert a long third down on a comeback route.

Though Kizer’s pass was slightly short, it was still certainly catchable, but Britt let it through his paws, forcing the Browns to settle for (and miss) a long field goal attempt. Later, in the second quarter, with the Browns within 20 yards of Cincinnati’s end zone, Kizer hit Britt squarely in the chest, but Britt allowed it to ricochet off and up for an easy interception, putting another demoralizing end to a potential touchdown drive.

Of course, not all of the blame can be put on Britt. Other members of the receiving corps—running back Isaiah Crowell, for example—dropped their own fair share of passes, and, more importantly, Kizer’s own flaws cannot be ignored. There is much to like about Kizer: he has a hefty throwing arm, his so-called “football intelligence” is extremely high, and he is adept at avoiding pressure from pass rushers and fluidly reestablishing his throwing mechanics on the move. However, he has one notable deficiency: his accuracy. Simply put, Kizer’s ball placement is poor to all levels of the field. While he can somewhat make up for it with his arm strength, it becomes an issue when so many of his passes are slightly off the mark.

This is especially problematic for the Browns. Wide receivers, after all, are not machines. They will catch most passes thrown to them, but will also naturally drop a fair share. With an inaccurate quarterback like Kizer, the drop rate will only go up since the receivers do not know where to expect the ball and then are forced to contort their bodies like the artistes of Cirque du Soleil to even attempt a catch. With a receiving corps as young as Cleveland’s, this is exacerbated by poor technique and a lack of football instincts. Hence, Kizer and his receivers only make each other look worse than they truly are.

To make matters worse, the Browns’ head coach and offensive coordinator Jackson has insisted on emphasizing an offensive scheme that plays away from the strengths of his receiving corps, which has only further exposed Kizer’s struggles. Seeing Kizer’s arm strength, patience against pressure, and ability to use fakes to manipulate defenders downfield, Jackson established a deep passing-heavy offensive scheme.

The problem with this approach is that the Browns’ wide receivers, running backs, and tight ends are not conducive to such an offense, especially with Corey Coleman, the Browns’ most explosive option, out with an injury. Britt is simply not fast enough to be a threat downfield, and Ricardo Louis and Kasen Williams, while supremely athletic, are too raw to actually gain consistent separation and are still unrefined in terms of seeing and tracking the ball and securing catches.

Furthermore, Jackson has almost completely abandoned the running game, despite having two capable running backs in Duke Johnson Jr. and Isaiah Crowell to work with. Crowell, supposedly the Browns’ lead running back, has averaged just 13 carries a game this season, a far cry from the typical workload of a feature back (Jordan Howard of the Chicago Bears, for instance), which normally hovers around 20 touches a game. Johnson, meanwhile, has gone full games without running the ball.

This is unfortunate to see since the Browns’ offense is young and has the potential to be one to feel excited about. However, for the Browns’ offense and Kizer to be successful, there must be two drastic measures taken. First, the Browns need to become more devoted to the run. Crowell is a gritty, powerful runner that enjoyed his first 1,000-yard season a year ago and is more than capable of carrying the Browns’ torch. Johnson, meanwhile, is a quicker option with receiving abilities to boot and can serve as a perfect complement. If the Browns had established the run against teams with weak linebackers, such as the Indianapolis Colts in Week 3, they could have had at least one win.

The next move would be to focus more on intermediate passing and play-action fakes. Play-action is when the quarterback fakes handing the ball to a running back, thereby drawing the defense out of position, and then proceeds to pass against a shifted, discombobulated defense. However, this can only happen with a strong run game; otherwise, defenders would not fall for the fake. With play-action implemented, the Browns could then integrate players like Britt, who thrives on intermediate curls and crossing routes, and big tight ends, like David Njoku and Seth DeValve, into a timing-based, quick-hitting offense that allows Kizer to use his strong arm to hit tight windows.

If that happens, then the horrid statistics that Kizer has put up week to week should begin to level off. As bad as Kizer has been, he has not been as bad as his 3:11 TD:INT ratio may indicate. In the modern NFL, such a figure is almost unheard of: the only quarterback last season to play in all 16 games and finish with more interceptions than touchdowns was Brock Osweiler, who was actually cut by the Browns this preseason.

If the problems in Kizer’s surrounding personnel can be mitigated, he should finally start to look like an acceptable NFL quarterback. From there, his future would depend on his growth. Kizer’s skill set is similar to that of Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who has built a Hall of Fame career out of extending plays and throwing deep. If Kizer improves his ball placement, allowing his receivers a better chance at the ball, we could see much of the same. However, if he stays inconsistent, he will remain in the doldrums of mediocrity.