Cleveland Browns: The Necessary Preseason Debacle

by Jerod Morris

As I begin writing this blog there is :09 left in the 1st quarter of the Browns second preseason game. Currently, the score is 23-3 and it looks more like a cage match between Bobby Jenks and Grady Sizemore than an NFL football game. (UPDATE: Browns just fumbled from the Giants 3-yard line, returned for a touchdown by the New York Elimannings.)

Wow. 30-3. And Derek Anderson is limping off the field. Brady Biceps is now trotting onto the field. Maybe he can provide a spark. We need something tonight.

As Tony Kornheiser said a few minutes ago the theme for the buildup to this season for the Browns has been “Great Expectations.” Coming off of last season’s surprising 10-6 season, and some key offseason acquisitions that bolstered the defensive line, Cleveland has been a popular pick to vault to the top of the AFC North. Even our very own Ryan Russell predicted right here on Midwest Sports Fans that the Browns are going to the Super Bowl. My contention has been that I think the Browns will be a better team this year, but could end up at 9-7 because of the difficult schedule. I think 9-7 wins the AFC North this year though.

But I tell you what, it is hard to maintain that level of optimism with how egregiously lackluster the Browns are playing in the first half tonight. It is hard…but not impossible. And for all of the long-suffering and naturally pessimistic Browns fans out there (as well as my own mother, who is currently pacing around our house despondently, already looking towards 2009) allow me to be a needed voice of reason and a reliable source of optimism.

There are two very legitimate reasons why overreacting negatively to this putrid first half performance is absolutely unwarranted and unnecessary:

Reason #1: Just take a look back at last year. Lost in the euphoria of the Browns’ .667 winning percentage over the final 15 games of last season was the memory of game #1. Remember that first game against Pittsburgh? If I remember correctly the score was 206-0.

Actually, it was 34-7; but it certainly felt worse than that. After that shellacking…

(Sorry, I have to interject really quickly. My mom just said, “Maybe we should have gone after Favre.” If my mom is any sort of accurate representation of the majority of Browns fans out there, conditioned to believe that the sky is always falling, then I fear that I have joined a completely irrational and defeatist fan base. Ryan…is that what we we?)

…Charlie Frye was shipped out to Seattle and the team was turned over to Derek Anderson. The Browns then processed to give up 45 points in their second game, a win versus Cincinnati, and then lost to the mighty Oakland Raiders. So there the Browns sat after three games last season at 1-2. Then what happened? The team won 9 out of 13 games and would have made the playoffs if the Colts hadn’t forfeited their week 17 game against the Titans.

So inauspicious seeds were planted early even during the season in which the Browns triumphantly announced their true return to the NFL from the oblivion the franchise had wallowed in since rejoining the league in 1999. What ultimately happened is that the talent of the roster, solid coaching, and the blossoming confidence of a core of skilled young players won out. Regardless of what happens in this game…and let’s remember that it is a preseason game, and means nothing…those three components are all still intact.

Save for the defensive secondary, every unit on the team is better either because of offseason acquisition or through the natural maturation of good, young players. Romeo Crennel and his coaching staff are still the same solid coaches who helped the young Browns navigate through last year’s tough start and overcome a losing culture that had developed this decade. Most importantly, the team’s confident-and-sometimes-cocky core of Braylon Edwards, Kellen Winslow, Derek Anderson, Joe Thomas, Kamerion Wimbley, D’Qwell Jackson, and Eric Wright is still supplemented by steady veterans like Willie McGinest, Eric Steinbach, and Jamal Lewis.

Why should one poor quarter of football make us forget these facts? In my estimation, the Browns are lucky that their mulligan quarter/game is coming now, when records are not affected. Last year it came in game 1 and that loss kept the Browns from making the playoffs. (Update: TD pass from Pecs Quinn to the guy with the coolest name in the NFL other than Jerod Mayo: Syndric Steptoe.)

This game will give the coaching staff plenty to harp on over the next two weeks. Romeo and his staff will have a much greater ability to ensure that a still young team with great expectations for the regular season does not look too far ahead and focuses on improving every single day in practice.

This leads me into point #2 why this awful game is a blessing in disguise from the Browns: this team, and their fan base, needed to be humbled a bit…and I do not mean this in a negative way.

The truth of the matter is that the Browns have made one playoff appearance since their return to the NFL. (Update: It’s now 30-17 by the way. Looks like the positive energy from my optimism is inspiring the team! Or not. David Carr is coming in, so we’re definitely coming back to win now.) Even though everyone is excited coming off of last season, the Browns did not make the playoffs and play in a conference that boasts New England, Indianapolis, San Diego, and Jacksonville. All are excellent teams with much more winning experience than Cleveland.

Does this mean the Browns have no chance? Absolutely not. What it means is that the Browns and their players have to guard against reading all of the off-season press clippings and feeling like they have accomplished something. They haven’t…yet. Part of what made the Browns so successful and so fun to watch last year was the hunger you could feel when watching their games. This was a talented team that wanted so badly to taste victory. And they got a taste of it last year.

For the Browns to take another step forward this season and get into the playoffs (at which point anything is possible, as the New York Elimannings proved last year) they have to maintain that hunger. I’m not trying to imply that the players did not work hard in the offseason, or are not in the right mindset to be successful this year. But when you watch a quarter like the first quarter of this game (albeit with Browns playing without Braylon Edwards) it makes you wonder if the team forgot, just a little bit, the intangibles that made them successful.

This game was a blessing in disguise because it ensures, beyond any doubt, that this talented and confident team will not be overconfident heading into the regular season. And I am not worried about the performance shattering anyone’s confidence. Do I worry a little bit about Derek Anderson? Maybe a tad. But at the end of the day he still has Braylon on the outside, Kellen down the middle, Joe Thomas protecting his blindside, and Jamal Lewis behind him. His confidence will be fine.

So Browns fans, join me in thanking the football gods for tonight’s pathetic showing on Monday Night Preseason Football. The Browns got their mulligan out of the way in a game that didn’t count and Romeo and the coaching staff will have all the ammunition they need to make sure this team heads into week 1 hungry and humble. Teams that are talented, hungry, naturally confident but still humble, and built around a core of young stars are teams that win championships.

The Cleveland Browns absolutely have what it takes to win an AFC North championship this year. In fact, I expect them to do it. Whether or not they can legitimately challenge for an AFC championship or a Super Bowl remains to be seen; but one thing is for sure: to accomplish their goals, the Browns must remember that they haven’t accomplished anything yet.

Tonight is the kind of reminder that will keep this team right on track.

(And for the record, since I started writing this blog the Browns have outscored the Elimannings 21-7. Just sayin’…)

Tags: brady quinn, braylon edwards, Cleveland Browns, derek anderson, kellen winslow, NFL, Romeo Crennel

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