Not even the most optimistic fan of the Cleveland Browns is predicting a successful season.
Before the first game last Sunday, we think the highest win total we heard for the brown and orange was eight, and those folks must wake up every morning thinking today’s the day the pot of gold will appear at their doorstep.
If Hue Jackson’s crew went 3-13 or 4-12 in 2016, it wouldn’t be shocking.
That’s why we were surprised at the vitriol which followed the 29-10 loss on the road to the Philadelphia Eagles in the season opener.
What exactly were fans and the media expecting?
On Monday, we actually heard people putting Jackson’s job in jeopardy and calling the Robert Griffin III experiment a failure. AFTER ONE GAME!
Perhaps it is the frustration of all the losing this franchise has endured since 1999, or maybe it was optimism that the Browns could win game one because they were facing a rookie quarterback, but it is difficult to see why fans and media alike were extremely hot and bothered by Cleveland losing its opener once again.
We wrote this before the season started and we certainly aren’t changing our mind after one regular season game.
We understand the Browns aren’t going to be very good this year, in fact, we would guess they aren’t going to win more than three games this season.
The difference is they will be doing it with a whole bunch of young players who figure to get better every week with the experience they gain during every contest.
If that’s not happening, then everybody needs to worry about Hue Jackson and his coaching staff.
The goal should be for this group of players to be better on January 1st against the Steelers than they were last Sunday.
It’s not that difficult to understand.
The Browns have a few players from the previous regime that they need to decide on, guys like Danny Shelton, Cam Erving, Nate Orchard, Xavier Cooper, and Ibraheim Campbell come to mind.
If they can get six solid starters, one or two being Pro Bowl players, out of this year’s draft class, then the 2016 can be considered a success. The best bets among those draftees are Corey Coleman, Carl Nassib, Emmanuel Ogbah, Derrick Kindred, and Joe Schobert.
Then since you have 14 picks in the 2017 draft, you get more six more solid starters at least. That would give you 12 starters, young starters, that you can build a foundation on.
And we are being conservative. You might wind up with 15 or 16 players with a solid future ahead of them.
Maybe it doesn’t work, but the Browns haven’t gone down this road before, and you cannot hold the sins of past regimes on Sashi Brown, Paul DePodesta, and Hue Jackson.
The great dynasties of the NFL were built through the draft. This isn’t to say every team who tries to build through the draft develops into a consistent Super Bowl threat, but the Steelers of the 70’s, the Cowboys of the 90’s came about by smart drafting.
Time will tell if Brown and Jackson have drafted the right people. However, we can tell you that one week isn’t enough time to make the decision that they didn’t.
In the meantime, the new management should be judged on how the young players progress throughout the season. Forget the wins and losses. We understand that is different from how we have all been trained, but if you don’t adopt this philosophy, you will have a very unhappy football season.
Also, stop putting Carson Wentz in Canton based on one game against a totally rebuilding team.
That is all.
JD
Cleveland Sports Perspective 