Hue Jackson continued to indicate Monday he will likely reinsert DeShone Kizer into the starting lineup this week in hopes the rookie quarterback will help the Browns escape a dreaded feeling of deja vu their coach can't deny he's experiencing.
The Kevin Hogan experiment failed miserably in Sunday's 33-17 loss on the road to the Houston Texans, so all signs point to Kizer's one-game sabbatical ending. Jackson said by Wednesday he will decide whether Kizer or Hogan will start Sunday at home against the Tennessee Titans.
The Browns need to find out as much as they can about Kizer to determine whether he can become their quarterback of the future. They also need to win because they're 0-6, and the nauseating refrains of "here we go again" and "same old Browns" are apropos. Yes, this season feels like a repeat of last year's 1-15 debacle.
"It does a little bit. I am not going to kid you _ 0-6 is 0-6," Jackson said during a conference call. "How you fight it is you keep working and we keep bringing in the right message to our football team and having them understand what it takes to win football games. That is not going to change. We are different than last year in the sense that I think there is more hope.
"We understand the situation we are in and what we are trying to accomplish. I think our guys know, and I truly know that, at some point in time, this thing is going to flip, and you don't know what might make it flip. I know one thing that can help it flip is we have to quit turning the ball over on offense, we have to keep getting more turnovers on defense and we have to continue to eliminate the penalties."
Jackson benched Kizer after he threw an NFL-high nine interceptions and committed five red-zone turnovers in the first five games. The coach wanted the second-round draft pick to regroup mentally but planned to start him again this season.
A fifth-round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs last year, Hogan produced 31 points in roughly three quarters of backup duty, so Jackson figured he could create a spark if given an opportunity to make his first NFL start. It didn't happen. Hogan became the first Browns quarterback to throw three interceptions in the first half since Brandon Weeden in 2013, the Texans seized a 24-3 at halftime and the Browns never came close to catching up.
So Kizer may give them as good a chance to win, if not better, than Hogan, and they need to see more from the Notre Dame product this year.
"He will be a huge part of the future here," Jackson said of Kizer, "and that will definitely go into my thought process here in the next several hours about what is best for all involved, what is best for the offensive football team, first and foremost, who can get the job done, and then what is best for us as an organization as we continue to move forward."
Jackson noted he frequently communicated with Kizer on the sideline at NRG Stadium to make the 21-year-old's first NFL game as a backup a valuable learning experience. Jackson believes Kizer gained knowledge by watching Hogan's turnovers and protection calls.
"Very eye-opening to him," Jackson said, "and I think it was a good experience for him."
When Kizer is given the keys to the offense again, Jackson said he believes he'll be more careful to avoid turnovers and demand more from his teammates.
"Making sure guys are in the right spots for you, play after play after play _ that is a lot of responsibility," Jackson said. "I think he sees now how critical every opportunity is that you get. I think he will be on top of those things."
Jackson had better be right because with a record of 1-21 since he took control of the team last year with head of football operations Sashi Brown and chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta, jobs are on the line.
ProFootballTalk.com reported Sunday night the Browns have already begun reaching out to potential front-office candidates. "The wheels are in motion for the Browns to yet again reboot that franchise," PFT's Mike Florio said on NBC's Football Night in America. A Browns spokesman called the report "false and erroneous." PFT doubled down Monday, describing its report as "true and accurate."
Jackson was asked about the public's displeasure with the coaches and front office.
"Anytime things aren't going right, obviously, anything is going to get said and a lot of things are going to come up," Jackson said. "I think the only way to quiet any of that is we have to get to winning as fast as we can. Nothing is going to change the narrative that is out there from so many different places until we start winning."
At least for now, Jackson's players have his back and are trying to convince themselves this year is different than 2016, the worst season in franchise history.
"I know we have more talent this year, and I know we are doing everything possible to get that win," left guard Joel Bitonio said. "Coach Jackson does an unbelievable job of really keeping us with our end goal in mind. It is tough. We want to win these games, and we haven't played well enough to win yet. It really is hard."
It's also hard for long-suffering fans to find reasons to believe the Browns can actually win a game. The team has led just once in 24 quarters this season, and it didn't happen until the fifth game, last week's 17-14 loss to the New York Jets. It has faced halftime deficits of at least two touchdowns in four of its six games.
"We know there isn't hopelessness," rookie safety Jabrill Peppers said. "But we kind of have to get this thing rolling because we are better than what we have put forth.
"There is no sense of fear or flight. You just have to work harder. We know what we have to do to get this win. It is just about going out there and doing it."
