(Sunday morning update: The Browns have lifted the suspension of Kellen Winslow after text messages surfaced from a Browns PR employee that pressured Winslow to keep quiet about his staph infection. Winslow will still not play against the Jaguars.)
It has been suggested in the comments sections here at Midwest Sports Fans that those of us who cover the Cleveland Browns consistently exhibit too much optimism about this year’s team. The irony, of course, is that “optimism” and “Cleveland Browns fans” are very seldom found in the same sentence. I am not a lifelong Browns fan, but have grown into a zealous one over the past five years; once thing I have learned about the Browns and their fans that even in the best of times, there is a resounding and perpetual fear of the proverbial “other shoe dropping.”
I am prefacing my preview of the upcoming Browns-Jaguars game in this way because for the first time this season, my gut instinct is telling me that the Browns will lose to the Jaguars. In every game so far this season, had I been forced to bet my savings based on my gut feeling, I would have placed it on the Browns. This week, my gut is telling me the Jaguars.
My hope, however, is that after analyzing the game I can come up with a rational and reasoned prediction that gives my gut feeling the middle finger and still allows me to pick the Browns anyway.
Let’s move on now, to the keys for the Browns-Jaguars game in Jacksonville this Sunday at 4:30 on CBS:
