The Opening Drive 12/15: The Change Must Happen, and Isaiah Bond Proving Value
The excuses have worn us down and the results speak for themselves.
Well, we have reached the point of no return — a point I think I tried to warn was looming when we checked the schedule months ago. The Browns were not going to win many games this year; we all knew that. But the team needed to show elements of a group that was inspired to do so and could even pull off a few miracles.
They did that in Week 3 against the Packers. Then, the rest of the way, they have yet to do it again. Sure, they beat a Dolphins team at a low point of its season in nasty Cleveland weather, and sure, they beat a Raiders team that missed chunk throws throughout the game. Congratulations on those. However, they lost to the Jets while giving up two special-teams touchdowns. They lost to the Titans while giving up a blocked punt and turning the ball over two more times.
This season always had the potential to be rough, but this group of players and coaches has left us uninspired too many times to count. No-show performances, silly mistakes, dumb penalties — the list goes on. Outside of a few select rookies, this coaching staff seems to have drawn the worst out of the roster.
I have supported Kevin Stefanski for years. It always felt like he had a firm grasp on the level-headed leadership necessary for the Cleveland job. He developed an offense that felt like it had an identity, and then, upon hiring Jim Schwartz, he developed a defense with one as well. Then it all folded. The 2023 miracle season hid us from the grim reality of what this really is.
This is a poorly constructed roster that was unable to match its tools to the coach driving the bus, and it miscalculated the worst trade in NFL history. It’s that simple. They didn’t develop a cohesive roster for the coach they had in place. Blame can be passed in several directions, but the theme is that this group is out of excuses.
No longer can they lean on the Deshaun Watson excuse. They can no longer lean on the coordinator-change excuse. That is all this group has tried to do at times — pass the blame to the next person or the next player. The time for those excuses is over. They are who they are, which is a front office and coaching staff that is now 6–26 over its last 32 games.
They had their chances this year to show ownership and the fanbase that they could overachieve. Inspire the group. Get more out of them than they should. All those clichés. And for two straight seasons, they have landed on their faces.
Perhaps Kevin Stefanski is a coach who can step into a talented roster situation and guide a team to success. That might be the case. But he is not the coach who seems capable of pulling more out of his players than they believe they can accomplish. That inspirational type is not here. This team has folded throughout the season — really, the last two seasons. It’s tough to survive a stretch like that, especially one where the offense has been the primary failure.
There is a chance Stefanski will get another opportunity leading a franchise. He probably deserves it down the line. But the situation in Cleveland is too far gone for him and his messaging to rectify. That much in 2025 has proven to be true. You cannot run it back in 2026 without willingly performing the definition of insanity.
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The Browns are going to have to look at every angle of this wide receiver room this offseason to try and piece together a unit that has roles filled and not just warm bodies running routes. They have too much of that right now. Receivers of various skill-sets just trying things without having players who can fill the specific needs of an offense. As they reshape the group it is clear Isaiah Bond can fill the role necessary for pushing deep coverage vertical for shot throws or necessary tools in the short and intermediate areas.
Throughout the season Bond has found his way open deep downfield but for various reasons the Browns offense could not find him. Lately, and particularly Sunday, Bond showed how dangerous he can be in the deep portions of the field. He got loose three times, and Sanders found him for two of them, which resulted in 89 yards. One seam throw against a hybrid Cover-2 look and another on a deep post where won inside against one of the league’s better cornerbacks.
Bond currently ranks 7th in the NFL on throw with 35+ air yards. He has hauled-in three of those targets for 141 yards on the year. There are two receivers who have five such catches on the year (DeVonta Smith and Alec Pierce), and Jaxon Smith-Njigba has six of those receptions to lead the NFL with 308 yards and three touchdowns.
The deep ball with long distance in the air has not been a common theme across the NFL the way it once was due to more dense two-high coverages, but Bond is proving he can get open on those shot throws. Even if that is the role he handles best throughout his time in Cleveland, that has immense value for an offense needing to push coverage away from the line-of-scrimmage.
Bond will need to develop in the short and intermediate game, as well as round out his attention to detail in the blocking phase. He has a long way to go, but there is one specific skill he has shown he can do at a high level right away. That skill can be immensely helpful if used correctly.
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