Sanders Give Us A Reason To Watch Exhibition Football

Tomorrow night the annual rite of fall begins as NFL exhibition play begins. We know the league like to call these games “pre-season” contests, but more and more, these games are filled with players who will never play a regular season NFL game.

So, it’s an exhibition. Teams basically conducting tryouts to players. Yes, some starters might play a quarter in the first game, but if you are buying a ticket to this, be prepared not to see your favorite players.

And with more and more teams conducting “organized practices/scrimmages” with their opponent for that week, that’s where the real action is. The starters do play in these controlled environments.

It’s okay. Franchises have to find out which players do have some talent and it’s difficult to tell when both the offense and defense know what is coming, which is what happens on the practice field.

As for the Cleveland Browns fans, it couldn’t have worked out any better from an entertainment standpoint, because rookie Shedeur Sanders will start against Carolina, and our guess is he will play the first half.

Yes, we know Joe Flacco wasn’t going to play any way and probably won’t see any action until the regular season opener on September 7th, nor should he play. Flacco has been around a long time and the coaching staff knows what he can do, and he also has the confidence of the veterans in the locker room.

Sanders was going to get some snaps in the first pre-season game, but now he will play with a handful of starters and the balance being second team guys, and more importantly, will be on the field against some starters from the Panthers, instead of a bunch of players who will likely be cut before the first regular season game.

With everyone healthy, we would guess Kenny Pickett would have started, and probably played the first quarter, followed by Dillon Gabriel and then Sanders, dividing up the last three quarters. But Pickett and Gabriel have hamstring issues, so Sanders gets a great opportunity.

There are many people who believe Sanders was gifted this opportunity, but really, who cares? Players never know when they are going to get their chance and if he performs well Friday night, perhaps he gets a longer look as the exhibition schedule progresses.

It’s really no different than how players like Mohamoud Diabate or Ronnie Hickman made the team as undrafted free agents. They took advantage of the chance they received in these late summer contests and earned more opportunities.

Also, this is the time for Sanders and Gabriel for that matter to play. There should be no rush for either of these quarterbacks to get in regular season games until at least the halfway point of the season, and we haven’t changed our opinion from the days they were both drafted.

The Browns have a history of putting quarterbacks on the field before they are ready, and they should have learned from it by now. That’s why Flacco should be the starter in week one and why Pickett is here as well. They should play until it is obvious to everyone the season is going nowhere.

We know the skeptics will say we know that now, but again, the front office and coaching staff owe it to the veterans to play the QB who gives them the best chance to win each week.

Does Guardians’ Front Office Have A “Hate To Lose” Mindset?

In our coaching days, we used to say there was a difference between wanting to win and hating to lose. Our favorite players were the latter.

Some people might think that is the same thing, but they are not. Everyone likes to win. It’s more fun, your peers love it, everybody is happy. But if you hate to lose, that means you will do everything you can to avoid having that feeling.

That means putting in extra work, studying the game, recognizing something your opponent does that you can take advantage of. It’s taking the extra step, so you don’t have the feeling you have after a loss.

We bring this up because recently there have been conversations on the sports talk shows around town about the ownership of the city’s three professional sports teams.

Some fans of the Cleveland Guardians have been upset because it has been suggested that the owners of the franchise don’t have the same attitudes as the Haslam family and the Gilbert family.

The first thing to point out is this has nothing to do with the success of the franchise. We know of the three teams, the Guardians have been the most consistent winners, making the playoffs seven times in the last 12 completed seasons.

The Cavaliers have won the only title northeast Ohio has seen in the last 61 years, hanging a banner after the 2015-16 season. They have been wildly successful since drafting LeBron James in 2003, and even without James, they have made the post-season the past three years and had the best record in the Eastern Conference this past year.

We all know about the woeful history of the Browns since they returned to the league in 1999. They have had three playoff seasons, but also 18 double digit loss years, including the infamous 0-16 in 2017.

The argument isn’t who has had the most success though, it’s what group would do the most to get a championship for the franchise and city?

We know Dan Gilbert did everything he could to win a title when James was here both times, and he spent all he could after the superstar returned, trading draft picks to put together a roster to achieve the title in ’16, and he has said he has no problem paying a tax to win again.

You have to know he would love to get a second title and one without James.

The Browns have made many ill-fated moves in order to get to the franchise’s first Super Bowl since the Haslam family bought the team. But you can’t say they aren’t passionate about getting to the championship game.

And we have every confidence that if the Browns were in that “one piece away” situation, the ownership would step up and do what it takes to get there.

We are sorry but we do not feel the same way about the Dolan ownership of the Guardians. There is a feeling they are in the class of being happy when they win, but if they don’t, well they don’t like it, but they don’t hate it.

With all the success the Indians/Guardians have had since 2013, the only time the franchise really “went for it” was in ’16 when they traded for Andrew Miller and don’t forget they had another deal in place for catcher Jonathan Lucroy that he vetoed.

Also remember, that team went to the World Series.

If they do have a burning desire to win a championship, they don’t communicate it to their fans very well. The attitude that surrounds the franchise is that of we hope we can get in the playoffs, and we’ll see what happens then.

We understand baseball has the flukiest post-season of the major sports, but the most recent example of last off-season echos. The Guardians were three wins away from getting back to the Fall Classic and decided to allocate less money to the front office than they did the year before.

We have said it before, and we will say it again. 1948 should ring throughout the bowels on the offices on Ontario and Carnegie.

Training Camp Is Here, Let the QB Debate Continue

It’s that time of year. The time of year when Cleveland sports talk can go wild.

Yes, the Cleveland Browns will open training camp soon. In fact, the rookies have already reported to Berea to officially begin their NFL careers. And because it is northeast Ohio, Mason Graham, the fifth overall pick in last spring’s NFL Draft may be under less scrutiny than anyone picked that high will ever be focused on.

Because in this town, we are obsessed with who will play quarterback this season. Will it be one of two rookies, both drafted later in the selection process, one in Round three and the other in Round five?

Or will it be the 40-year-old former Super Bowl winner who rescued the 2023 season for Cleveland winning games down the stretch and taking the Browns to the playoffs?

Perhaps the Browns can turn to a former first round pick by the Steelers in 2022, who has a career record as a starter of 15-10, but last year was a backup for the Super Bowl champions?

Most likely, coach Kevin Stefanski’s choice will be one of the latter choices. It is hard to see him going with a rookie after last season’s 3-14 debacle.

Although Stefanski has guided the Browns to two playoff appearances in his five years at the helm, he and GM Andrew Berry should be on the hot seat after last year’s performance.

The scuttlebutt says they are safe, but it is difficult to see the pair surviving another year like 2024. And really, if Cleveland finishes 4-13 in ’25 and has a pair (they have Jacksonville’s first round pick from the draft day trade) of top ten picks, would you really want Berry making those selections?

We understand the speculation of “seeing what Kenny Pickett has” from the media, but if your job was on the line, and assuming Joe Flacco isn’t throwing the football to the defense on a regular basis in practice, wouldn’t you rather have the proven veteran under center to start the season?

We look forward to hearing about the daily progress of the rookies, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, how many completions out of how many throws in drills, and of course, the inevitable discussion of whether or not one of them should start after a solid performance in a pre-season game.

Because no doubt, they will play a lot in the exhibition contests. We are sure Pickett will also see some time, and perhaps Flacco will even make an appearance too, although we would expect him not to see the field all that often.

Everyone knows what Flacco can do by this point in his career.

Maybe Stefanski and Berry have been assured by ownership they are safe no matter what happens this season, and the 2025 campaign is all about getting clarification on the quarterback position before next year’s draft.

If so, that’s a bold choice from a franchise whose motto seems to be “free beer tomorrow”.

It would also be a slap in the face to veterans like Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward, Joel Bitonio, Wyatt Teller, David Njoku, and others. Those guys want to win.

Our guess is Stefanski will want this edition of the Browns to run the ball, run the ball, and do more running of the ball and have Jim Schwartz work his magic with the defense to win football games, especially during the tough stretch to open the year.

Yep, it’s football time in Cleveland.

Browns Should Have Accountability For Coach and GM

When the Haslam family bought the Cleveland Browns in 2012, initially there was a lot of change. Rob Chudzinski was hired as a coach for the 2013 season, promptly went 4-12 and was fired.

Mike Pettine held the job for two years. Hue Jackson for 2-1/2 seasons, including 1-15 and 0-16, so we can see the ownership was trying to be more patient. But Gregg Williams finished the 2018 season, was let go, and Freddie Kitchens had the gig for a year.

The same was true in the front office. Michael Lombardi was the GM in ’13, followed by Ray Farmer for two years, Sashi Brown for a couple, and John Dorsey for three seasons.

And rightly so, the Haslams were criticized for the turnover, not establishing any continuity within the organization.

The question we have is have they flipped the script now and perhaps are giving the people who run the football team a little too much rope?

The GM/head coach combination of Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski has been in place for five seasons, and some of the people who cover the Browns think they will be safe for this season as well.

We like Stefanski, who guided the Browns to two playoff appearances in the five seasons, and has gone through a slew of quarterbacks, compiling a 40-44 record to date. He’s been named coach of the year twice, once because he guided the Browns to their first post-season appearance since 2002 in 2020.

The second came when Cleveland went to the playoffs despite using four different starting quarterbacks, including Dorian Thompson-Robinson and P.J. Walker in 2023.

As for Berry, you can make the argument he has completely mangled the most important position in sports, the quarterback. Dissatisfied with former first overall pick Baker Mayfield, he engineered (maybe he did, maybe he didn’t, but he’s the exec on record) perhaps the worst trade in NFL history, dealing three first round picks and guaranteeing the contract of Deshaun Watson.

We absolutely agree Stefanski and Berry should get a pass for the incredibly bad 2024 season, because it seems to us that year was about justifying the horrible deal for Watson, and not really about winning.

When you change several coaches, including the offensive coordinator, and change the offensive line blocking scheme, after a playoff season you have to think that was something decided by the entire organization (i.e. ownership) and that’s why the pair weren’t fired after the 3-14 debacle.

However, if the Browns don’t play better this year, meaning be competitive on the field, a spotlight should be shone upon the coach and GM.

The coaching staff fiasco seems to be repaired, and although they don’t seem to have a “franchise” QB, the veteran that got them to the post-season in ’23 is back in Joe Flacco, and they seem to have reinstituted an emphasis on the running game.

As for the GM, in his tenure, he has selected one Pro Bowl player. Part of that is not having three first round picks, but he seems to have chosen a lot of solid players, but no impact guys.

And in this past draft, despite needs on the offensive line, safety, and wide receiver, he took two running backs (we like both of them, by the way) and two quarterbacks.

We don’t want the ownership to return to their ways of firing people every two years, but we have no issue with having some accountability for Stefanski and Berry after this season.

Creating a mess and using it as a reason to keep your job shouldn’t be how it works.

Stop Thinking Losing Is Okay For The Browns

We should all get the pass the Cleveland Browns do from the people who cover them and from some fans as well. After last year’s 3-14 debacle, and it was a debacle from the moment they decided to fire coaches after a playoff season, there are a lot of people who are using the “T” word.

Yes, we are talking about tanking. Wouldn’t you love the expectation of anything you do be to just suck at it? Why do the Browns get that break?

First, it’s because the football fans in northeast Ohio have been brainwashed to think the only way an NFL team can win is to have a “franchise” quarterback.

While it is true that Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have kind of a monopoly on the league in recent years, teams can win other ways. Now, you do need to have a solid player behind center, but you also do not have to have the first pick in the draft to get an excellent QB.

We just mentioned Mahomes, who was not the first overall pick. He was selected 10th overall.

Let’s examine our personal top five QB list, which would consist of Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, and since he quarterbacked last year’s Super Bowl winners, Jalen Hurts.

Only Burrow was taken with the first overall pick.

Oh, and didn’t the Browns just take a QB with the first overall pick in 2018? Perhaps it would have worked out for Cleveland if they didn’t mangle the situation so badly, including giving Baker Mayfield a ton of clout too early in his career.

But we digress.

We said a few times in the last couple of months that the only way Cleveland better have the first overall pick in the ’26 draft is if the Jaguars are really bad.

It’s time for the Browns to get rid of their “free beer tomorrow” mentality and be all about winning football games. We know Kevin Stefanski, the coaching staff, and the players are not going into contests being okay with losing, and for the front office, just because they made a monumental mistake with the Deshaun Watson trade, shouldn’t mean they get a pass either.

We should start demanding this football team starts winning games. That’s why we dismiss talk of starting Kenny Pickett in week one vs. Cincinnati and/or getting Shedeur Sanders or Dillon Gabriel in there quickly.

Unless Joe Flacco aged so much in the last couple of years and is now not capable of winning games in the NFL, he should be the starting QB in the first game of the season. He gives you the best chance to win.

And for the front office, they should be thinking of the same, not looking at the veteran as a possible end of camp trade piece.

There could be a time for that. Let’s say Flacco is putting up numbers and the Browns are sitting at 2-6 at the trade deadline. Then, if you can get something for him, why not make the move and see what you have in the other three passers.

You don’t build a winning culture by thinking losing is acceptable for any reason. If the Browns want to have that, it starts with not accepting defeat. Play the best players. No other agendas as long as you have a chance.

Browns Need Professional QB Play To Evaluate Others

Obviously, living in northeast Ohio the talk about the Cleveland Browns is pretty much non-stop. And having four quarterbacks on the roster without a clear-cut starter leads to even more speculation.

The biggest discussion is when to go to one, if not both, rookie signal callers, because after all, you have to know what you have in both (assuming both make the final roster). And in the deluded minds of the radio sports talk hosts and fans alike, this information is needed because the Browns are going to have one of the top picks in the 2026 NFL Draft.

The latter idea is because many in the media have given the Browns’ front office permission to stink this upcoming season, a bold thought given the 3-14 record this past season.

Apparently, people have used the Men In Black mind erasing wand and thus the 11-6 season just the year prior has vanished from everyone’s memories. Of course, part of that is the organization basically sabotaging the season with coaching changes to aid Deshaun Watson.

This is not to say we believe the Cleveland Browns are Super Bowl contenders this season, but we are certainly sure that Kevin Stefanski and even the front office are going into the year thinking they are gunning for the first overall pick in the draft.

We said it after the trade out of the #2 slot this year, if the Browns have the first overall pick next year, it better be because Jacksonville has had a terrible season.

It is true the Browns do have to find out about Dillon Gabriel and/or Shadeur Sanders and even Kenny Pickett this season. But they also have to find out about running backs Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson. They need to know what they have in rookie TE Harold Fannin, and they need to see how the offensive line plays.

And to do that they need to see how these guys play with a real professional quarterback, and that’s why all things being equal, Joe Flacco should be behind center at the beginning of the season.

Solid quarterback play makes a big difference in evaluating the other players and positions. Just last year, what were people thinking about Jerry Jeudy after seven weeks, when he had 21 catches and the most yards he had receiving was the 73 in week two?

That was with Watson at the helm. With Jameis Winston taking the snaps, the Pro Bowl receiver had at least five catches in every game save one, and three 100-yard games.

He finished the year with career highs in receptions and yardage.

We have heard friends of ours refer to the offensive line as hot garbage, and it was early last season. The Cleveland front gave up 35 sacks in the first seven games. After a change in quarterbacks, they allowed 31 sacks in the final 10 contests.

Neither figure is really good, but the first seven games would have to be considered as horrendous, but it also wouldn’t be representative of how the group played thoughout the season.

All we are saying here is not only does Flacco give the Browns their best chance of victory, but he also allows them to do honest evaluations of the players surrounding him.

That’s important too.

Look, if Cleveland starts off 1-6 like many think they will, then see what you have in the younger quarterbacks. Remember, Flacco is 40 and he may not be the same guy he was down the stretch in 2023. He still has to earn the right to be on the field in week one.

Yes, the Browns need to see these young guys, but they also owe the other players on offense to be evaluated based on decent play at quarterback.

That’s something people are overlooking.

A Week Later, Taking Two QBs Is Still Puzzling

We still are puzzled by the Cleveland Browns’ draft and it is now over a week old.

We have been critical of the “collaborative process” that GM Andrew Berry always talks about because to us, there has to be a single person that sets the vision and philosophy of what Cleveland Browns football looks like.

And once again, the weirdness did not begin until late in day two.

Trading down to get Mason Graham? No problem there. We watched, like most people in Ohio, as Graham was a dominant figure in Michigan’s shocking win over the eventual National Champion Ohio State Buckeyes. Putting him next to Myles Garrett on the defensive line should pose a very strong front four for defensive coordinator Jim Schwarz.

UCLA LB Carson Schwesinger received some first round grades and could be a sign that Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah will not be ready to play this year.

We do not think Jerome Ford is an every down running back and actually have no problem drafting two. The running game is a staple of Kevin Stefanski’s offense, so taking Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson remakes the running back room.

FYI, we would still bring back Nick Chubb. The worst-case scenario (besides another 3-14 record) for the Browns is Chubb going elsewhere and still have something left in the tank. It may not be the best football move, but it would be great for the fan base, which has seen its share of mediocre football recently.

Also, TE Harold Fannin Jr. is another solid choice, another staple of the Stefanski offense is having two quality tight ends.

Of course, we are really getting at taking two quarterbacks. And we bet if there was a singular person in charge when whoever came up with the idea to take Shadeur Sanders just 50 selections after taking Dylan Gabriel, the football czar would have said no.

We envision those Progressive Insurance commercials with “Dr. Rick” with the doctor sighing and shaking his head when the idea is brought to him.

First off, the Browns need a quarterback, but they also could use offensive line help, another wide receiver, another edge pass rusher, and in today’s NFL, you can always use a cornerback.

But how is the team going to keep four quarterbacks on the roster? If winning games is the goal, and it should be, despite many media members in town wanting to write off the 2025 season, then Joe Flacco should be the starter for Game 1.

They traded for Kenny Pickett prior to the draft, and he is a former starter in the NFL. And we said coming into the draft, even if the Browns took a passer with the second overall pick, we wouldn’t let him touch the field until late in the ’25 campaign. At the earliest.

The point is the Browns had a solid draft until they decided to take two QBs, one of whom might be the most famous player in the draft. And that’s not a rap on Sanders, who we would have taken earlier.

It’s having two rookies on the roster at a position where only one can play.

And worse, the Browns have created this circus themselves. Perhaps that what they want, just like the Dallas Cowboys always want to seem to be in the news. But does that help you win?

More than likely, Browns’ fans will find out it doesn’t. But at least, it will be a collaborative process from the front office.

A Logical Browns’ Draft Goes Weird

We always say the easiest thing for an executive of a professional sports franchise can do is either start a rebuild by trading off valuable commodities for future pieces (draft picks or prospects).

The second easiest is to play for a year or two down the road. We always criticize the Cleveland Browns for their seemingly forever “free beer tomorrow” attitude, but it’s hard to criticize most of what they’ve done in this year’s NFL Draft.

When Jacksonville threw in a first round draft pick in 2026 to move up three spots and take the second overall selection, it became a no brainer for GM Andrew Berry.

Our guess is even though Berry talked about Travis Hunter in glowing terms at a press conference, he and the organization wasn’t in love with the player or with Abdul Carter, so they traded down to get another early second round selection and the additional first.

No doubt all Browns’ fans will be rooting against the Jaguars from day one of the ’25 season.

We thought Mason Graham at worst would be a quality defensive tackle in the NFL so we had no problem with that choice. With Graham and second year DT Mike Hall along with Myles Garrett, but defensive line should be solid for years to come.

Eyebrows were raised by taking LB Chase Schwesinger out of UCLA because the Browns usually ignore the position. But there was buzz about him going late in the first round and reports say he’s a tackling machine. It’s not as though the Browns don’t have a need there.

We aren’t enamored by Jerome Ford as the lead back for the Browns, so selecting Quinshon Judkins out of Ohio State at #36 makes sense. Our bet is he will be the primary runner for Cleveland this season. And they added Dylan Sampson from Tennessee in the fourth round.

Remember, Kevin Stefanski likes to run the football, so the more quality runners the better.

The Browns play a lot of two tight end sets, so have a pair who need to be respected in the passing game also seems good. Harold Fannin from Bowling Green is a solid pass catcher who can team with David Njoku in “12” personnel.

We wanted the Browns to draft a QB, so first they took Dillon Gabriel who is maybe 5’11” and didn’t seem to be the best passer on the board. And guys like Shadeur Sanders, Quinn Ewers, and Will Howard were still available.

And then they took Sanders in the fifth round. Sanders is without question the better prospect behind center, so now what do the Browns do with two rookies at QB? Besides, it’s not as though Cleveland doesn’t have other needs. They could’ve used an edge rusher, an offensive lineman, a safety, to bolster positions in which they need help.

What looked like a sound reasonable draft turned into a “what the heck are they doing” draft. There was certainly no reason to take two QBs, if they wanted Sanders, they could have taken him when they took Gabriel.

It’s not a rap on Gabriel, it simply makes no sense to take both.

We heard a radio talker discussing the first overall pick for the Browns in 2026. If they have it, it better be because Jacksonville went 2-15. No matter what happened in this draft, the Browns can’t go 3-14 again.

Someway, somehow, they need to win football games. It might be like 2023, when they leaned on the defense to do it.

A Big Night For Browns And The Thought Partners

The biggest question following tonight’s NFL Draft should be what will sports talk radio and all of the podcasts which discuss the Cleveland Browns talk about after this weekend?

Yes, we are sure if the Browns don’t move up tonight using the 33rd overall selection, there will be ad nauseum discussion tomorrow and who they should take or who should they trade for with that pick, but we are really talking about Monday. What do they fill airtime with?

This could be and probably should be a pivotal moment for both the franchise and the front office. This regime started with a bang, going 11-5 in Kevin Stefanski’s first year and with what looked like a solution to their quarterback issues in second year pro Baker Mayfield.

That was followed by an 8-9 season in which Mayfield play hurt and the organization either soured on him or got distracted by a shiny object in Deshaun Watson.

Owner Jimmy Haslam called what happened in the off-season following that year “a big swing and miss”. They traded the future of the franchise, one that was showing signs of finally having “good bones” for Watson. The price was three first-round draft picks, among other things.

That limited how the front office could continue to add talent and patch up holes to a pretty talented roster for three years.

Somehow, the Browns made the playoffs in Watson’s second season, although it was without help from the player who they ruined their future for. That team made the post-season with an incredible defense and a late season offensive surge led by free agent signee Joe Flacco.

The Browns let him go after he played very well for them. Can you say, “self-sabotage”?

It wasn’t the only weird move by the front office after a pretty good season. They fired several offensive coaches, including coordinator Scott Van Pelt. It seemed the goal of the front office was no longer winning; it was making the Watson decision look like a good one.

That should never be the goal.

So, this front office needs a good weekend. We don’t want to go back to change general managers and/or head coaches every year days. We felt at times during those days that maybe things could have clicked if change wasn’t a constant.

Perhaps Mike Pettine could have done better without front office interference or Eric Mangini could have been a better coach if he were not also a terrible GM.

But now, it doesn’t seem like anyone is accountable. And they should be. The Browns’ front office mangled a five-year period if which they had solid talent. They came out of it with two playoff appearances and one post-season win.

This group has a chance to restock the cupboards and put the team back on a winning track. And that needs to start next season. Haslam, Paul DePodesta, Andrew Berry, and Kevin Stefanski made this bed.

They need to have success in 2025, and by that we mean, be in contention for a playoff spot after they’ve played ten games. It’s not a huge ask, right?

That path starts tonight. Don’t overthink it, don’t look at three to four years from now.

As Al Davis used to say, “Just win, baby”!

Even If No QB At #2, Browns Need To Win In ’25

Well, does Joe Flacco being signed by the Cleveland Browns mean the team won’t be drafting a quarterback with the second overall pick? We believe none of the pundits out there know what Andrew Berry is going to do, but it would not be a shock if they deferred on a QB until later in the selection process.

Whether they find the answer or not, there is one thing we don’t want to hear from the organization heading into the season. And that is we are looking towards next season.

For many years, prior to drafting Baker Mayfield and hiring the current regime, the mantra from the Browns has been like the sign in the bar–“Free beer tomorrow”. Meaning we’ll be good next year.

Enough.

Don’t have a quarterback, fans shouldn’t care. And improvement to let’s say 5-12 or 6-11 shouldn’t be tolerated either. We think many people, both fans and media alike forget the Browns made the playoffs in 2023 with an 11-6 record. That’s just one season before last.

Whether or not it is Flacco or Kenny Pickett or someone they draft this year, Browns’ fans should demand nothing less than a playoff contender.

As for the organization, we have already laid out that most NFL teams have quarterbacks drafted in the first round. Could Cleveland be lucky and find Brock Purdy or Jalen Hurts or perhaps a Russell Wilson later in the draft and have that passer emerge to lead the franchise out of the doldrums?

Sure. And today we could buy a winning lottery ticket.

To us, thinking you are going to find your next long-term starter in rounds #2 or #3 smacks of something the team has been accused of for many years. Thinking they are smarter than everyone else. Sometimes everyone is doing something for a reason, and that reason is generally success.

And if they decide to start the season with Flacco and Pickett backing him up, then devise a system that can win with them behind center. Coach Kevin Stefanski demonstrated he can win and win a lot with Flacco running the offense. They will need a solid running game, so they can operate the play action passing attack the coach prefers.

It’s up to Jim Schwartz to get the defense back to the level it played at in 2023, and it will be helped by not having a QB that turns the football over on a regular basis. By the way, that’s not a rap on Jameis Winston, whom we wanted the team to bring back.

Winston only started less than half the team’s games and Cleveland still led the league in turnovers in 2024.

Since the Browns don’t want to let everyone know who pushed for the Deshaun Watson move, we feel no more excuses should be accepted. Yes, we get this is an expansion team, but it should not take this long for extended success.

Berry, Stefanski, Paul De Podesta, and the Haslam family should know their fan base is tired of watching mostly terrible football over the last 35 years.

The message should be clear. Be better.