The new-look Browns weren't much to see in a Friday night drubbing at the hands of Tampa Bay.
Coach Hue Jackson agreed, acknowledging after the 30-13 loss, per ESPN.com: "We sprung a leak in a lot of different places."
Outside of Josh Gordon's hurly-burly whirlwind of a game -- the massive wideout hauled in two long passes for 87 yards and a score -- the Browns were exposed on both sides of the ball.
The offensive line did its best impersonation of an open barn door as on-the-run passer Robert Griffin III was sacked five times in the first half alone. The defense -- where do we begin? -- was slow at every level and never a threat to Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston, who shredded Cleveland's secondary for 259 yards and a pair of touchdowns over two raucous quarters.
Jackson has seen Griffin spin moments of magic with receivers Terrelle Pryor and Gordon this preseason, but the talented play-caller knows his anemic ground game will impact how teams plan for this offense.
"We can't just live by the long ball," Jackson said. "It's good. We're scoring. We'll take that, but at the same time we have to have other elements of our offense show up."
Nobody expected miracles from this year's Browns. A super-high draft pick is much more likely, but Jackson has talked all offseason about his team playing with purpose and more physicality -- traits on the lam for much of the preseason.
"I'm not going to accept this," Jackson said, just two weeks away from the opener. "We're going to go back to work and fix this."
