The Cleveland Browns dropped an ugly, noncompetitive 37-3 game to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. It was Cleveland's seventh consecutive loss and the sixth time this season the Browns have lost by at least two touchdowns.This is a football team that is embarrassingly bad, and the Browns seem to have run out of both answers and excuses for the ineptitude. In fact, it seems like the team is done talking about its struggles altogether."I want to keep a job," receiver Brian Hartline said while declining further comment after the latest loss, per Tom Reed of Cleveland.com.Browns owner Jimmy Haslam also declined comment after the blowout loss. He simply told John Telich of Fox 8 Cleveland "no thanks" when asked if he had a moment.The fact that both players and ownership are avoiding the media at this point seems to suggest that both are fed up with what is going on in Clevelandand are potentially fed up with the decision-makers in charge.If so, it's hard to blame anyone. Mike Pettine and his coaching staff have been consistently outmaneuvered on the football field this season. General manager Ray Farmer has been even worse with his roster moves.If Pettine and Co. really have lost the locker room, then there's absolutely no reason for the Browns not to look ahead at the next in a long line of regime changes.Now, any longtime Browns fan will tell you that repeated changes at the top have helped contribute to Cleveland's expansion-era struggles. However, moving on from Pettine and Farmer seems like a move that would be completely justified. The duo seems to be actively setting the franchise back at this point.Just consider the following. Farmer has been armed with four first-round draft picks over the past two years and has yet to find a player that makes a significant impact on the football field. The only one of his four first-round picks to earn and sustain a starting job is defensive tackle. He's supposed to be a run-stuffer, but the Browns are still ranked dead last in run defense (136.3 yards per game allowed).Farmer also traded up to selectTowson running back Terrance West in the third round of the 2014 draft. West was traded earlier this season to the Tennessee Titans and has since found his way to the rival Baltimore Ravens.Top-flight receivers' Farmer doesn't believe in them. He's drafted just one wideout in the past two drafts and did so in the fourth round this year. That pick was Washington State product Vince Mayle, who was released before the start of the season.Of course, Farmer hasn't been afraid to overspend for a receiver. He gave veteran Dwayne Bowe a two-year, $12.5 million deal in the offseason with $9 million guaranteed. Bowe has played a whopping 36 snaps this season, according to Pro Football Focus.So the Browns are failing to add and groom young talent under Farmer. That hurts the future. Hurting the present is Pettine and his inability to make the most of the talent Cleveland does have.According to a preseason report published bySports Illustrated, Cleveland came into the year spending more on defense ($82.1 million this season) than any other team. That defense is currently ranked 30th in yards allowed (398.8 per game) and 31st in points allowed (28.9 per game).For a defensive-minded coach like Pettine, this is simply unacceptable.Pettine's style of coaching has been baffling at times and is often wildly inconsistent. Last week against the Baltimore Ravens, he appeared to make the aggressive call of a two-point conversion and a potential win late in the game. Pettine rethought the decision, kicked the extra point and went on to lose.This week against the Bengals, Pettine allowed the Browns offense to stay on the field on 4th-and-11 early in the game.On top of everything else, Pettine seems to be taking his disciplinarian act a little bit too far. He has repeatedly kept Bowe and cornerback Justin Gilbert on the sidelines for poor practice performances. He has also glued second-year quarterback Johnny Manziel to the bench ever since he lied about partying during the bye week.This is punishing everybody, ESPN announcer Jon Gruden said last Monday night after Pettine replaced an injured Josh McCown with Austin Davis and not Manziel.Manziel needs to grow up and take responsibility for his actions; there's no arguing that. However, it's equally hard to argue that keeping Manziel off the field is really helping anyone.The absolute worst thing the Browns can do at this point is go into next season without a better idea of what Manziel can do on the field. Even if Cleveland decides Manziel isn't part of the future, the team has to be able togauge his trade value. Pettine'shandling of the situation is making proper evaluation impossible.This brings us back to Hartline's comments after the Bengals game. They sound an awful lot like the words of a man who is afraid to wind up in his bosses' doghouse. It feels like Pettine is keeping his team together through fear rather than respect. This is another reason why it is probably time to cut bait.Respect and pride are really the only things the Browns have left to play for, and the Browns certainly weren't playing hard on Sundayno matter what Pettine has to say about it."Was I satisfied [with the team's effort]'" Pettine said after the game, per Dustin Fox of 92.3 the Fan. "Absolutely. Pull up the film and find me a guy that didn't play hard and then go in the locker room and ask him if he played hard."The win-loss record over the final month of the season will be pretty much meaningless, except, of course, where it impacts potentially "earning" the top overall pick in next year's draft. What Cleveland needs to do over the final month is begin the process of ensuring the next round of front-office hires is the correct one.Otherwise, the Browns are likely to be in this exact same position again in a couple of years.
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