The Watson Situation Just Looks Worse and Worse

Every news item coming out about new Browns’ quarterback Deshaun Watson really isn’t helping the image of the organization, is it?

Two more civil suits and a story by Jenny Vrentas in the New York Times just in the past few days put Watson in an even more troublesome (if that’s possible) light.

As for the folks in Berea? They are the people who put their necks out for the former Houston QB, and now they look clueless, the last thing the Haslam ownership and organization needed.

We would hope the Browns are not surprised by any of this, that they did their due diligence and knew this stuff was out there, even if it had yet to be reported. But a wise man once said perception is reality, and the front office looks as bad as they did when Cleveland went 1-31 over a two year period.

We think anyone with half of a brain knew Watson was going to be suspended at some point by the league, and lack of an indictment doesn’t mean anything to the NFL. They have suspended other players who weren’t legally charged with a crime.

But the popular opinion was it would be around six games. Now, that would seem to be awfully light. At best, Watson is guilty of some pretty poor judgment, which we would think no one would want out of their starting quarterback.

GM Andrew Berry brought in Jacoby Brissett to start during a probable Watson suspension, but what if he is sidelined for the entire season? Are the Browns ready to go an entire season with Brissett at the helm? Anything is possible, but in the very difficult AFC, it would seem Cleveland isn’t a playoff contender in that scenario.

Many people have suggested the franchise should mend fences with Baker Mayfield if that’s the case, but the relationship between and team and Mayfield has been napalmed, so it’s probably not even a remote scenario.

However, would other teams be interested in trading for Mayfield if the Browns would take back a quarterback also under a big contract?

We are just speculating, but if San Francisco really wants to go with Trey Lance at QB, but want to have a solid back up in case he struggles or gets injured. Would they be interested in a deal involving Mayfield and Jimmy Garoppolo? Or could Sam Darnold be a better option for the Browns than Brissett over an entire season?

Those might be better alternatives for a team (and a coach) that needs to get to the playoffs in 2022. And Brissett is still around as a fallback in case of an injury.

It puts the Browns in a better position for this season while not having to deal with bringing Mayfield back, an option the team has already dismissed.

By the way, anyone who paints Mayfield as childish for not showing up to the mandatory mini-camp is out of touch. The Browns don’t want him there. It has nothing to do with the former first overall pick.

You would have to think the front office has to be studying scenarios as to what would happen if Watson is ruled out for the entire season. Again, that’s due diligence.

However, it’s what they signed up for. They have no one to blame but themselves.

Browns’ Draft? Not Excited, But Not Bad

We think everyone can agree that a draft without a first round pick cannot be considered sexy. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be impactful.

The Cleveland Browns traded its first round pick (and those for 2023 and 2024) for QB Deshaun Watson, and then traded down from the 44th pick, and the people who love the NFL Draft around town went crazy.

We still believe there is a portion of the fan base around the city who assume everything the Browns do is stupid and everything the Ravens and Steelers do is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Cleveland has a pretty solid roster and the likelihood that someone picked over the weekend would be projected to have a starting spot on the 2022 team was slim to begin with.

So, how did GM Andrew Berry and the local gridiron team do in the draft?

Their first pick was CB Martin Emerson of Mississippi State at pick #68. While cornerback was not a position of need for the Browns, in our view, you can never have enough good corners, and we know it will remain to be seen if Emerson is just that.

The scouting report on Emerson is that he is better in man-to-man coverage than zone, and it feels like the Browns don’t play enough of that style of defense. Maybe they will start, although that probably goes hand in hand with stopping the running game better.

The draftniks seems to like the next choice, 6’7″, 270 pound Alex Wright out of UAB. He will probably be a pass rusher in Cleveland. The problem for him according to scouts is inconsistency. Like cornerbacks, we feel you can never have enough guys to go after the opposing team’s passer.

We really like the pick of David Bell in the third round. We’ve seen a few Purdue games and he stood out. Does this translate to success in the NFL? That remains to be seen, but he played against big time competition and succeeded. And he’s a big target at 6’2″, 210 pounds. He seems like a slot receiver, which the Browns need.

Everyone loves the choice of Perrion Winfrey because the draft “experts” had him ranked as a second round pick, and the Browns got him in the fourth round. The scouting reports say he has great athleticism for a man his size (6’4″, 292 pounds). Earlier, we said the Browns needed help stopping the run. Hopefully, Winfrey can help there and put pressure up the middle on opposing QBs.

We can’t end this without looking at the most controversial choice, drafting K Cade York from LSU at #124. We saw one expert say this was not an area of need for the Browns, to which we would ask if he watches the games.

We have no problem with this pick. Chase McLaughlin was one of the worst field goal kickers in the NFL last season, and Cleveland lost six games by six points or less.

Does picking York this high make him a surefire success in the pros? Of course not, but he winds up being as good as Phil Dawson, it’s a great pick.

Think about this, if all of the current players were put into a draft today, where would the Ravens’ kicker, Justin Tucker go? He might go in the first round, he’s that much of a weapon.

Time will tell if any of the players drafted by the Browns this past weekend can contribute. Many will be special teamers at least for the first year.

It was a depth draft for Cleveland. Hard to get too excited.

The NFL Draft Not Really Big For Browns’ Fans This Year.

The annual NFL Draft takes place this week in Las Vegas and as a Browns’ fan, we can’t imagine it having any less buzz.

GM Andrew Berry traded his first round pick this year and the two years following to get QB Deshaun Watson from Houston. And as we have said before, despite anyone’s personal feelings about Watson’s situation, he is (in our opinion) a top five quarterback in the NFL.

So, no debates on what the Browns need to do about that position for several years.

When you take a broad picture of this football team, it’s a pretty solid roster right now.

Berry has seven picks at his disposal, the earliest being #44, and the Browns have two more selections in the top 100, the 78th pick and the 99th pick, both of those in the third round.

Cleveland could still use another wide receiver, even after dealing for Amari Cooper earlier this off-season, and probably get another tight end, to replace Austin Hooper, who was a salary cap casualty.

On the other side of the football, the defensive line needs bolstering, although the possibility still remains that Jadeveon Clowney could return to the team as a free agent.

Defensive tackle is a position of need, although it depends on whether the coaching staff thinks Jordan Elliott and Tommy Togiai can be starters next season. We would feel better if a high draft pick were to be used on this position.

But we would say there is no expectation any player drafted next weekend will be starters when Cleveland kicks off their season in September. Even if a wide out is picked at #44, no one will be concerned if the rookie starts the year as a third receiver.

That shows how talented this current roster is. And Berry has set up contracts so the Browns still have plenty of cap space despite the moves for Watson and Cooper, the presence of Myles Garrett, and even Denzel Ward’s new deal.

There are national writers who believe the Browns may have the most complete roster in the NFL, even though they finished 8-9 last season.

Think about it, they have arguably the best pass rusher in the game in Garrett. They may have the best running back in Nick Chubb. And they have a top cornerback in Ward.

They have perhaps the best guard tandem in the NFL in Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller.

And now, they have a top passer in Watson.

One area they still need to address is kicker. Chase McLaughlin was one of the worst field goal kickers in the league last year. When you lose six games by six points or less, that weakness is even more noticeable.

Also, they are in a division where the best in the league resides in Justin Tucker of the Ravens, and the Steelers and Bengals also have more than solid guys.

It’s something Berry needs to fix. The Browns have to know when they get inside the opponents’ 40-yard line, they are going to come away with points. It’s been awhile since that’s been the case. You have to go back to Phil Dawson.

We wouldn’t be shocked if a later round pick is used to bring one in.

It’s been a long time since Browns’ fans haven’t been obsessed about the NFL Draft. Not having a first round pick does that.

Cleveland will likely be observers on Thursday night, but the fun begins on Friday, when all fans become amateur GMs.

Watson Is Very Good, But It Doesn’t Make It Easier To Take

It was a bold move, a controversial move made by the Cleveland Browns a few days ago. The front office, including the Haslam family ownership, felt the team was a quarterback away from championship contention.

So, they went out and traded a boatload of draft capital for a QB who didn’t even play last season in Houston’s Deshaun Watson. The price was three first round picks and a third and four round selections over the next three years.

Watson’s on-field talent is undeniable. Last year, when trying to determine exactly where Baker Mayfield ranked among the league’s signal callers, we said the former Texan quarterback was one of the top five at the position in the NFL, along with Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, and Aaron Rodgers.

The last year he played, 2020, we know the Texans went 4-12, but it wasn’t the quarterback’s fault. The former Clemson standout completed 70.2% of his passes for a league leading 4823 yards, 33 touchdowns and just 7 interceptions. And he led the NFL in average yards per pass attempt.

They gave up 29 points per contest. That’s why they went 4-12.

He also ran for 444 yards. He’s a true dual threat at QB.

However, there is another side to the story. Although Watson was not charged by a Grand Jury, he does face civil suits from 22 women alleging sexual misconduct. It’s like the Browns sold their soul to the devil in order to cure their QB issues.

There are fans in Cleveland who somehow feel the Cavaliers title in 2016, the ONLY championship by a professional sports team in northeast Ohio since 1964, is somehow tainted because LeBron James returned home via free agency and the Cavs put together a “super team”.

First, it is the job of any professional sports franchise to put the best team they can on the field and if they can do so within the rules, it’s legitimate. And no one on that team had any issues legally.

We were not in favor of trading for Watson, feeling it would be a tough sell for any team, not just the Cleveland Browns. Especially for women fans of the Browns. Still, it should appall everyone. It wasn’t one or two females making these claims, it was 22. We doubt it was a smear campaign against the Texans’ QB.

But when it happened, we did feel excitement that GM Andrew Berry pulled off acquiring one of football’s premier passers.

Who knows, Watson may never have another instance in this regard, and while it won’t be forgotten, winning has a way of making people overlook things.

What feels a little grimy is Watson’s contract was structured to prevent a large hit monetarily from a probable suspension, which would figure to be between six and eight games.

And the Browns also had to give him the largest guaranteed money in the history of the league to get him to waive a no trade clause to come to Cleveland.

We said any team dealing for Watson would need a solid backup because he will likely miss games in 2022, and Berry did that by signing Jacoby Brissett, who has 37 starts in his career, including five this year with Miami.

His best year was with the Colts in ’19, going 7-8 as a starter, throwing 18 TDs against six picks, completing 61% of his passes.

When Watson takes the field as a Cleveland Brown, there will be a mixed feeling. While we will root for the Browns, it will be tough to support the quarterback. That’s a shame.

Other teams, notably the Raiders (no matter where they play) have had an outlaw image, and it has been supported by their fans. Cleveland is different. We aren’t used to playing that role, the closest was with Albert Belle in the mid-1990’s.

But Belle was drafted here, the Indians didn’t trade for him.

It’s a conundrum to be sure. Watson’s actions were reprehensible. They weren’t made less appalling because he wears a Cleveland uniform.

Browns Moving On At QB Wasn’t A Rash Decision

We have said from the very end of the Browns’ season in 2021 that Andrew Berry, Paul DePodesta, and Kevin Stefanski would evaluate every position on the football field in an effort to improve the team for 2022.

There were no leaks and crazy speculation from inside Berea, but in appears the trio do hold Baker Mayfield responsible for the offensive issues and are preparing to move on from the former first overall pick.

We do not doubt for a second that there was some turmoil between the quarterback and the head coach last season. Mayfield criticized the offensive game plan, and when you do that publicly, you are butting heads with the guy calling the plays.

Let’s clear a couple of things up first. We have heard that Mayfield only played well here for a small stretch of games, those being the second half of the 2020 season, when the Browns made the playoffs. That’s not true.

Mayfield was very good his rookie season. Remember Cleveland went 0-16 the year before he arrived, and they did go 6-7 in his 13 starts. And he had career highs in completion percentage and touchdown passes.

And the Browns were 2-2 the next season after a resounding 40-25 win at Baltimore. Mayfield was 20 of 30 for 342 yards in that contest.

What followed was a four game losing streak, started with a pair of multi-interception games vs. San Francisco and Seattle. The Browns finished 6-10 and Freddie Kitchens lost his job.

Secondly, remember that the coach and front office inherited Mayfield. They didn’t draft him and therefore didn’t have any attachment. They tried to make things work out, but apparently felt he was more of a problem than a solution going forward.

There can be no doubt Mayfield was not 100% after the Houston game in week two, but we felt (and still do) that the organization kept him in the lineup more because they had no confidence i Case Keenum handling the position, and our guess is Keenum won’t be with the team much longer either.

Another thing to consider is Mayfield’s psyche. It seemed toward the end of the season that he developed the “yips”, meaning it appeared he was afraid to pull the trigger at times. If that happened, the Browns may have no choice. They don’t have the time to rebuild his confidence.

There is no question Deshaun Watson is a top five quarterback in the sport and getting him would improve the position for the Browns. However, you have to figure the price tag to get him (a lot of draft capital) and the current situation in his personal life.

There are many fans who will have a problem getting Watson, and although they will continue to root for the Browns, it will feel a little slimy to support the QB.

And remember, Watson can approve where he goes (ironic right?), so what if he decides he doesn’t want to play in Cleveland? Where do the Browns go for their new signal caller?

First, we don’t think for a minute that the organization put all their eggs in the Watson basket. They have been studying options since the minutes the gun sounded in their week 18 win over the Bengals.

We would guess they are looking at making a deal for Jimmy Garoppolo or Matt Ryan, and perhaps also looking at Jameis Winston.

We also think if they don’t get Watson, thus keeping the 13th overall pick, they will not be taking a quarterback there. If they think the quarterback position is holding them back, they aren’t going to play a rookie there in 2022. Drafting a developmental guy there instead of a player who can help right away doesn’t make sense either.

We should know soon how everything will play out. But it’s pretty clear the Cleveland Browns will have a new starting quarterback next season. Berry and Stefanski probably knew that a while ago.

Landry Decision Was Made With Logic

Following a professional sports team is a very emotional experience for fans, particularly an NFL team.

The day to day nature of baseball means you can’t get overly distraught about a single game, although some losses stick with fans longer than others, and in the NBA or NHL, there are several games each week.

However, for NFL fans there is just one game per week, so a difficult defeat or a thrilling victory stays with fans for a while.

In Cleveland, with so much of the media bandwidth spent on the Browns, it is very more noticeable.

You know who cannot think with emotion about the teams? The people who work in the front office. They have to stay detached and make moves that benefit the team both now and down the road.

This brings us to the past few days for the Browns, in which they traded for Amari Cooper and released Jarvis Landry.

There should be no debate that wide receiver became a position of need for Cleveland during this past season. Landry led the team in receptions once again, but he battled through injuries basically all season, and finished with just 52 catches, a career low.

Whatever your feelings are about Baker Mayfield, we think everyone can agree the receiving corps didn’t help him out this past season.

The veteran was scheduled to make $16 million this season, and GM Andrew Berry felt the production did not and would not equal the salary, so he looked to move in another direction. Again, this decision was made with his head, not his heart.

Look, we understand Landry was a positive influence in the locker room. He helped change what had become a losing attitude (and rightly so) within the team. His first year in Cleveland, the Browns went from 0-16 to 7-8-1.

By the way, that was also Mayfield’s first year with the team.

Landry will turn 30 during the 2022 season, and that was definitely a factor in the move. Cooper is younger and frankly, better than Landry right now.

The former All American from Alabama had an off year by his standards too, with just 68 catches for 865 yards, but Berry figures at 28-years-old, he is much more likely to bounce back and return to being a 1000 yard receiver.

And with Cooper making $20 million per season, there was no way the Browns could keep Landry at what he was currently making. It would have been way too much money tied up at the wide out position.

The Browns gave Landry the option of finding his own deal after trading for Cooper, but he found out no one wanted to pay that salary for this season.

We also expect Berry to use the same method, head not heart, in judging every position on the team, including quarterback. Making decisions out of emotions rarely work out.

Browns fans should be sorry to see Jarvis Landry leave. He gave them four solid seasons, making the Pro Bowl twice and the playoffs once. But that’s the way the NFL operates. It’s a cold, at times cutthroat business.

Browns Don’t Take Part In QB Carousel. Oh, The Humanity!

It was a very difficult day for the irrational Browns’ fan on Tuesday when Aaron Rodgers agreed to stay in Green Bay, and Russell Wilson was traded by Seattle to Denver for a king’s ransom.

Didn’t those guys feel obligated to play in Cleveland?

After seeing the reaction of these zealots, one would think the Browns’ front office should contact Roger Goodell’s office and asked to be removed from the 2022 NFL schedule because they have no chance.

The reality of the situation is Paul DePodesta, Andrew Berry, and Kevin Stefanski don’t think that way. It’s why they have jobs in an NFL organization and the rest of us are fans.

We commented on social media about the price the Broncos paid for Wilson, who will be 33 next season. The Browns first and second round draft picks in 2020 and 2021 were starting tackle Jedrick Wills, safety Grant Delpit, starting corner Greg Newsome and starting linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.

Would you trade all four for Wilson? And remember, Denver threw in more than that.

We understand quarterback play is important in the NFL, and the performance of Baker Mayfield last season simply doesn’t get it done. However, if your front office is good at drafting players, and Berry seems to be, is giving up four prime draft picks a good idea?

If your team is bad at picking players, then go ahead and trade the picks. That’s understandable. The draft is a good way to pick up good players cheaply. And if you continue to draft well, your forays in the free agent market, where you overpay for players, can and will be minimal.

And from what we can see, Berry and DePodesta value the draft.

We also know that the two best QBs in the league right now, Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes have combined for two Super Bowl victories. Wilson has a ring as well, that coming in 2013, eight years ago.

Reality tells us more teams have questions at the position than do not, and the people who run those organizations can’t just throw in the towel, they try to win with what they have.

Come on, how many truly great quarterbacks are there in the NFL right now? Rodgers, Mahomes, Wilson, Josh Allen, Matthew Stafford? It was reported that the Browns didn’t think Jimmy Garoppolo was much of an upgrade over Mayfield, and they are probably right.

The same can be said of Derek Carr, Ryan Tannehill, and a few others.

We often wonder what the thinking around town would be if Mayfield would have been ruled out for the season after injuring his shoulder in week two. Browns’ fans and media would be skipping around town with thoughts of a healthy Mayfield behind center in 2022.

However, he played, he didn’t play well, and the organization has to wear that.

Don’t forget, the free agency period hasn’t started yet, and the draft will not take place until the end of April. Our guess is Berry isn’t going to let the team get worse. They will upgrade the areas of weakness, with particular attention to the defensive line and wide receiver.

And they will probably bring in another quarterback, perhaps in a trade to replace Baker Mayfield before the season.

The majority of teams in the NFL are in the same boat as the Cleveland Browns. As we’ve said before, getting an elite QB isn’t easy.

Football 2021 Is Over, Browns Look Towards ’22

The Super Bowl is over and thankfully, a team from the AFC North did not win. Although the new league year doesn’t arrive until March 16th, the off-season has arrived and everyone should be turning their attention to the 2022 season.

First, the Cleveland Browns are not a terrible football team, in the same class as Jacksonville, Houston, etc. They didn’t go 4-13 or 5-12 during the 2021 season, they went 8-9, and with a little luck, they would have made the playoffs.

Still, having good luck isn’t a strategy any more than hope is. And there is no doubt you are what you record says you are, and the Browns were a below .500 football team.

The first challenge Andrew Berry, Paul DePodesta, and Kevin Stefanski have to do is get the roster united and cohesive. There was a little bit too much happiness for Odell Beckham Jr. being a Super Bowl champion among the current players.

On the other hand, there is a difference between being a good friend and a good guy and being someone the coaching staff can trust. Being cool among players is one thing, but for coaches and front office types, a player can be a different story.

Perhaps Beckham challenged Stefanski’s authority or complained every week about the style of football the coaches wanted to play. Maybe that’s why the wide receiver wasn’t “a good fit” here.

We aren’t going to rehash the quarterback situation again, but we will say this–the passing game as a whole has to be better. The wide receiver and tight end positions need to be addressed and improved. They need more separation, or in old school terminology, the Browns need receivers who can get open.

We would also like to see Stefanski use Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt together. They are two of the best players the team has, and using just one at a time seems foolish. Make opposing defenses account for both, and that brings us to another question.

Why not get Chubb more involved in the passing game? We understand it is a good way to keep the Pro Bowl back fresh, taking him off the field in passing situations, but the defense knows this as well.

And having Chubb catch a short pass in the secondary where he doesn’t have to contend with defensive linemen should be a benefit, no? It doesn’t seem like he has bad hands, so why not incorporate this into the offense?

These playoffs should also show the front office the importance of having a reliable field goal kicker.

In the AFC North alone resides the most accurate kicker in the Ravens’ Justin Tucker (94.6%) and the 10th ranked, Pittsburgh’s Chris Boswell (90%). Cincinnati’s rookie Evan McPherson didn’t miss a field goal in the playoffs, making two game winners.

Chase McLaughlin? He ranked 32nd in the league at 71.4%. Having a reliable field goal kicker changes how you coach and manage the game.

It doesn’t matter if it is through the draft or a free agent, the Browns have to get a more reliable field goal kicker, someone they feel comfortable with from 50 yards and in. They’ve been without one since Phil Dawson left.

When you are 8-9 and the division winner finished at 10-7, you better believe the little things, including having a solid kicker, make a big difference.

The “Not Baker” Option Isn’t A Legit Option

The craziness of this Browns’ off-season has now reached the college draft phase with the Senior Bowl being played yesterday.

So, the quarterback envy has extended to men who have yet to play a down in the NFL.

Let us be clear, so we will repeat our stance on Baker Mayfield. We are not a “Baker Bro”, but we do recognize that he was the quarterback when the Browns made their first playoff appearance since 2002 last season, and his play was one of the reasons why.

If you can find someone who is better than him, and by that we mean better by a consensus, go ahead and make a move and get that guy. The cost may be excessive, but if the Cleveland front office believe it is worth the payment, we trust them.

However, we take umbrage with argument that anyone not named Baker Mayfield is a better solution. And that’s an argument many people, both fans and media, try to make.

One example of this line of thinking is someone who advocates the team signing Mitch Trubisky as a free agent (the love of local guys returns) and then drafting a passer with the 13th overall pick in this spring’s draft.

Trubisky was the QB for a 12-4 Bears’ team in his second year in the league (2018), but the following two seasons, the Chicago offense was one of the worst in the league. He doesn’t throw as many interceptions as Mayfield, but his yards per attempt is also much less, an indication that he’s a dinker and dunker.

And we cannot say more emphatically the Browns have more pressing needs than quarterback to address with their first round pick.

We have pointed out since the latter parts of the season that Cleveland needs to do better at stopping the run, so we would feel better about getting an interior defensive lineman or perhaps another edge rusher, because Jadeveon Clowney could very well be playing for another team when free agency hits.

We also haven’t mentioned the wide receiver position, which we think everyone would agree is a glaring need.

It is doubtful the Browns would start a rookie QB next year, so drafting one would just be to develop him for the 2023 season, and for a team that just missed the playoffs this past season, how do you pass on adding a player who can help you immediately.

Besides, in reviewing several draft sites, ranking players by talent, not where they believe they will be drafted, only one signal caller appears in the top 15, if one appears at all. So, more than likely, the Browns wouldn’t be taking one of the 13 best players in the draft with their selection.

Yes, we know guys like Dan Marino and Aaron Rodgers dropped significantly the years they were selected, but we haven’t read anyone mentioning Matt Corral, Kenny Pickett, or Malik Willis in the same breath as those two all-time greats.

We will listen to alternatives to Baker Mayfield but find someone decidedly better than the current Browns’ QB. And we wouldn’t just look at numbers either. Use the eye test.

For example, Teddy Bridgewater had a better passer rating than Mayfield. Does anyone think he’s a better quarterback?

We doubt Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski will settle for the “not Baker” option. Their job is to improve the team, not just at QB, but every position.

By the time the draft rolls around, we will know where they stand on Mayfield.

Browns’ Dysfunction? We Don’t See It.

A lot of things have been said about the Cleveland Browns after they missed the playoffs this season with an 8-9 record, but to us, the weirdest thing is saying the dysfunction that was a trademark of much of the last 20 years, has returned to Berea.

Quite frankly, we don’t see any evidence of it.

Most of the noise surrounding the Browns have come from the media, the front office has been largely silent.

It’s the media and fans who are saying the team is deficient at the quarterback position and coming up with crazy scenarios to get some of the best QBs in the game in a Cleveland uniform.

And apparently at least one media member believes Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski should have anticipated a wide receiver coming off a season ending knee injury would ask out of town and when he didn’t get his wish, would put less than a sterling effort on the field.

We are sure the organization thought the player would be excited to come back to a playoff team, and try to help it toward the next level or two of the post-season.

What the Browns should be doing right now is a self audit, looking at what went wrong AND also what went right in an effort to be better next season. And with Berry, Paul DePodesta, and Stefanski handling this, we are sure it is being done without emotion.

By the way, that’s the correct approach, despite what the fans and media want.

To us, the dysfunction would be if we heard rumors that ownership was unhappy with the hierarchy in the organization or Stefanski’s job was in jeopardy because he didn’t follow up a post-season appearance with another one.

Instead, things are relatively quiet.

In fact, the Minnesota Vikings hired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, the vice president for football operations with the Browns, as their new general manager. And Adofo-Mensah went out of his way at his introductory press conference to call Berry a “rock star” and thank him for what he learned in Cleveland.

Sounds like it’s a crazy atmosphere in Berea, no?

We have said this before, we are sure the front office is doing everything it can to improve this football team so the absence from the post-season ends at one season. And they are looking at every position for improvement, including quarterback.

The dysfunctional thing to do would be to act with emotion, make a knee-jerk reaction to a season that fell short of expectations, and start making wholesale changes as soon as the season ended.

We didn’t see any of that. The only move made was a special teams assistant coach was let go. Defensive line coach Chris Kiffin left to join his brother’s staff at Ole Miss, but we would believe that has more to do with working with his brother than a bad atmosphere in the organization.

As for Odell Beckham Jr., the organization did right by him. They could have told him to go home and stay there when his unhappiness reached a crescendo, but they worked out a settlement so he could play somewhere else.

So people are finding fault with that as well.

What we don’t see is conflicts between the head coach and the front office, or between the owner and the front office.

We guess after this season, dysfunction is defined as not going crazy and firing or cutting coaches and players.

The narrative for some keeps changing…