The Browns were soundly whipped on Sunday by the Texans, but not everyone in Cleveland was impressed with the debut of Houston quarterback Ryan Mallett.
Asked if the first-time starter played well, Browns defensive lineman Desmond Bryant said Mallett "didn't do much in my opinion."
Bryant was quicker to credit a "good game plan" by Houston that kept Cleveland on its heels all afternoon with a blistering ground attack.
"The Texans came out focused and really hungry to win this game," said Bryant, per The Plain Dealer. "I don't think we were really prepared the way we should've been."
Asked to explain, Bryant said the Browns "may have been sitting back a little bit, kind of catching more than we were delivering."
Cleveland was unusually sleepy on offense and fully overwhelmed by defensive terror J.J. Watt, but Mallett also deserves more credit than Bryant would give him.
Tom Brady's former backup looked more at home in Bill O'Brien's scheme than Ryan Fitzpatrick, capably pestering the Browns with plenty of no-huddle looks and using his big arm to move the chains.
"I thought you saw those stick throws, the velocity, the accuracy, that was excellent," NFL Media's Daniel Jeremiah told NFL NOW after the game.
Mallett needs polishing, but as Jeremiah noted, "This was a move that needed to take place. This offense was very stagnant under Ryan Fitzpatrick. Now you have a dynamic vertical game."
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