Time For Browns To Clean Up This Mess

When Paul DePodesta was with the Browns, it could be said that no one knew what the chain of command within the organization was. The team itself talked about the famous “collaborative effort”, which we guess was put in place so no one would have to take the blame directly.

With DePodesta now running a baseball team, a job he is certainly more suited for, this is as good as time as any to make changes in Berea. Get rid of the collaborative process, get rid of GM Andrew Berry, and get rid of the head coach and push a gigantic reset button for the franchise.

Yes, under this regime the Browns made the playoffs twice, but overall, since Stefanski has been the head coach and Berry the GM, the Browns have gone 43-53, which isn’t great, but the past two years have seen a 6-23 mark.

We joke about analytics being best used as a way to justify a bad decision, and the Haslam family can point to the two playoff seasons as the reason to keep Stefanski, and Berry’s 2025 draft as the reason to keep him as GM.

Except, outside of Hue Jackson, who gets to keep an NFL head coaching position winning six games over two seasons, or better yet losing 10 or more contests in half of the seasons they coach?

And as for Berry, yes,this draft has yielded some building blocks for the future, but what about the five previous drafts, which brought the Browns just one Pro Bowl player in Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.

We know the team didn’t have first round picks in three of those seasons, but what was the reason for that? Since it was a team decision, the GM was part of it no?

As for the coach, he’s came here as an offensive mind and his team struggles to score 20 points on weekly basis, something NFL teams, even bad ones, do all the time.

We don’t want the ownership involved in football operations; that’s for sure. One of our favorite sayings is “the wise man knows what he doesn’t know”. So, the Haslams need to hire a football professional and let him run football operations.

Let that guy hire a coach and a GM that can work together and develop a clear vision for what the franchise is going to be. Since the Browns play in the AFC North, we would like to see a physical team that can run the football.

Right now, the franchise has that on one side of the ball. The defense built over the years (you can’t really credit Berry since the two best players, Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward, were here when he arrived) and run by Jim Schwartz is championship quality.

We get the whole “passing league” stuff but look at teams that run the ball well this season. The top five in rushing yards are the Lions, Cowboys, Colts, Patriots, and Seahawks. All of those teams, except maybe Dallas, will be in the post-season.

When the Browns had Nick Chubb and an offensive line coach by Bill Callahan, they were one of those teams. But the Watson trade was made and the front office ignored helping the line and we presume they thought Chubb was never going to get old.

In other words, they lost their identity on offense.

The Browns need to clean house this off-season and come up with a new direction and make one person responsible for keeping the franchise on course.

Standing pat after six seasons with only one playoff win shouldn’t even be a thought

Sanders Wins His Debut, Garrett Was The Star Again

We never criticize any team for beating a bad team. Our usual response when someone pooh-poohs a win like the Browns had over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday is asking that person if they would rather have their team lose?

Of course not. The Raiders are a mess right now and the Browns’ defense put on an incredible show and the offense, led by rookie Shedeur Sanders contributed enough big plays to end a road losing streak for Cleveland with a 24-10 victory.

Yes, the Raiders did have 268 yards of total offense, just two less than the Browns, but make no mistake, the Cleveland defense dominated this game, recording 10 sacks, three by the incredible Myles Garrett and 2.5 from Maliek Collins.

Garrett appears to be on his way to the NFL record for most sacks in a season, which is 22.5. He now has 18 with six games remaining. Incredibly, he has 13 in his last four games. There is no question he is the best defensive player in the history of the franchise and should also win his second Defensive Player of the Year Award.

Offensively, the Browns did enough. They had the splash plays that were missing all season long. Sanders’ three longest completions, the 66-yard touchdown on a screen pass to Dylan Sampson, the rollout toss of 52 yards to Isaiah Bond, and the 39 yarder to Jerry Jeudy, which he fumbled, were the three longest pass plays of the season for Cleveland.

There is something to be said for that.

All in all, Sanders was fine, completing 11 of 20 for 209 yards with an interception. In his appearance against Baltimore and in the preseason, he had issues retreating in the pocket when he was pressured, but as we recall, he did that only once in his first start. That has to be considered progress.

Moreso, he looked like an NFL quarterback. He has more size and a better arm than Dillon Gabriel, and although we feel the most important thing for a QB is the ability to read defenses, those things matter too.

We know Kevin Stefanski didn’t name a starter yet for next week against the 49ers, but logically, it should be Sanders getting another shot, and this time it will be against a good team.

The Browns have a playoff defense, and we think it doesn’t reflect well on the front office that all of the best players are on the defensive side of the ball. Look at Cincinnati, who seemingly put all their resources on the offense. Guess what? Their record is the same as the Browns at 3-8.

Why Andrew Berry decided to do this should also be brought into question. You can’t be successful just being good at one thing in any sport. Going back to Garrett, think about the narrative if Cleveland was 7-4 right now? He would be a league MVP candidate for sure.

And let’s not forget Denzel Ward and Grant Delpit. Ward is a perennial Pro Bowl player and has been in just three playoff games and he will be 29 next season. Will he still be a productive player when the Browns are playoff contenders again?

We know in the NFL things can change quickly, but we have also said with all of the holes on offense, can the Browns be a team that gets back to winning as early as next season.

And that’s the biggest question surrounding this franchise.

Browns Start Today And Need To Improve From ’24

The Cleveland Browns are in an odd situation as they open their 2025 season today at home against the Cincinnati Bengals. Their roster is a mixed bag.

The fans that worship draft picks above everything else would like them to “strategically lose”, which we guess is the new term for tanking, in order to have two high draft picks to solve the franchise’s age-old quarterback problem.

However, this is not a team devoid of proven talent. The Browns have perhaps the NFL’s best defensive player in Myles Garrett and a Pro Bowl corner in Denzel Ward. The defense was the best in the NFL just two years ago, and even last season allowed 20 points or less five times.

Remember, the Browns were tied with Tennessee for the most turnovers in the league a year ago with 34, so the defense was put in a lot of bad spots making their numbers look worse than they actually were.

On offense, the Browns have a veteran offensive line that weirdly (we know why) changed their blocking scheme after years of success and decided this season that, you know, maybe we shouldn’t have changed what was working.

They also have a Pro Bowl wide receiver in Jerry Jeudy and a good tight end in David Njoku.

With all of the talent on the roster, and at this point, let us remind everyone that just two seasons ago, yes just two, this team was 11-6 and made the playoffs.

Because of the veterans and the talent they possess, the Browns really cannot tank. And that’s why the starting quarterback was always going to be Joe Flacco, despite folks in the media predicting Kenny Pickett.

An aside, media people root for stories, and we always think about asking them this when they opine–if your job was on the line, is that what you would do?

Flacco gives them a professional at the position. He will make sure his teammates are lined up properly and make good football decisions. He might turn it over from time to time, but it won’t be because he’s experiencing something he’s never seen before.

It’s also Flacco because despite all of the good feelings in the front office, GM Andrew Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski have to know going 3-14 again this year doesn’t bode well for job security. Jimmy Haslam can say whatever he wants, but we would bet on a new regime in place for 2026 with another disastrous season.

So, the Browns need to win or at least be competitive during the early part of the schedule which appears to be daunting. We would expect Stefanski will depend on what he knows best, a solid running game with a play action passing attack with the still strong armed Flacco in charge.

And he will also depend on the defense getting back its mojo with Garrett and two what look to be solid rookies in first round pick Mason Graham and second rounder Carson Schwesinger.

That unit looks like it could be among the best in the NFL again.

Here’s our best-case scenario for the 2025 Cleveland Browns. Between 6-8 victories and a 3-14 season by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Football fans would get a competitive team, and the draft lovers would get their high pick next spring.

It Was Always Going To Be Flacco, And Other Stuff…

The least shocking news of the week came on Monday when Browns’ coach Kevin Stefanski named Joe Flacco the starting quarterback for the season opener against Cincinnati. This was inevitable since the team signed the 40-year-old veteran in the spring.

And again, for all of those you want to see Kenny Pickett as the starter, or for the Browns to repeat their awful recent history by starting a third round or fifth round rookie behind center, remember the Browns have a lot of accomplished veterans on the roster.

Make no mistake, not starting Flacco, who we would bet has the confidence of most of the team, would erode the trust players like Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward, Joel Bitonio, Wyatt Teller, and David Njoku among others, had in the head coach and for that matter the entire coaching staff.

Dillon Gabriel got his chance last weekend against the Eagles and did okay, completing 13 of 18 passes for 143 yards, really a similar type of performance to what Shedeur Sanders did in week one. The big difference was the two turnovers, whether or not whose fault it was, the Browns turned the ball over way too much last season, and they can’t have it this year.

The bottom line is Gabriel was out there for two series where the offense turned it over. Fair or not, that has to be taken into consideration.

While everyone wants to talk QB, if this team is going to exceed the not-so-great expectations the experts have put on them, it’s going to be because of the defense. It was encouraging to hear about the pass rush in the organized practices against a pretty solid Eagles’ offensive line.

Remember, they will start two rookies in DT Mason Graham and LB Carson Schwesinger. If the secondary can hold up their part of the bargain, the defense will keep the Browns in most games.

One guy we continue to watch is running back Ahmani Marshall, who gained 25 yards in six carries against Philadelphia. If you want to have a power running game, which Stefanski likes, we would rather have bigger backs, and Marshall, an undrafted free agent out of Appalachian State, is 6’1″ and 225 pounds.

The unsigned second round draft pick, Quinshon Judkins, weighs 221 lbs. The other rookie runner Cleveland drafted, Dylan Sampson is a smaller, “change of pace” back, listed at 5’8″, 200 pounds.

The incumbent, Jerome Ford, is kind of in between Judkins, Marshall, and Sampson at 5’10” and 210 pounds. Remember, Nick Chubb was listed at 227.

We get the whole pre-season thing, and we’ve never been a fan of Ford because although he’s a home run threat, he does get the four or five runs in between the tackles, but maybe you can get a draft pick for Ford, who is on the last year of his contract anyway.

Only one more of these games left, although this week we will likely see all four quarterbacks get some playing time because Flacco wants to play a series or two. After that, fans will likely see a lot of players fighting to make an NFL team.

Then the Bengals come in to start the season.

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.

No Rush To Make A Move With Myles

There’s an old adage sports reporters use when they are asked who they want to win in a specific game or series. Most times they say “I’m rooting for the story”.

We think that where several sports media people in Cleveland are on the Myles Garrett situation.

Many of these folks say the Browns have to make a decision on Garrett as soon as possible, hopefully when the new league year starts in March.

We say what’s the hurry, other than it provides conversation for sports talk stations.

First, we are not salary cap experts, but we have read several articles from people who understand it and the Browns would take an enormous cap hit by trading Garrett. Factor in the consequences of Deshaun Watson contract and any move involving a trade is very difficult for the franchise.

Second, no doubt the Browns don’t want the situation to get contentious with their All-Pro defensive end, but Garrett really doesn’t have much leverage. He’s under contract for two more years, so if the Browns don’t trade him and he still wants to play football in 2025, he’s playing in Cleveland.

Again, neither side wants it to go that way.

However, there is no reason to rush to make a move with Myles Garrett.

Many people suggest the draft is a good time for a move but think about it from the team trading for the pass rusher’s point of view. Do you think they would rather deal a pick in this year’s selection process or next year’s draft?

Because if you wait until after the draft, you can’t deal a 2025 selection, you’ve pushed it out to ’26. Tell us what team wouldn’t prefer that.

After the draft is kind of a dead period for the NFL. There are the optional and mandatory mini camps, but no football is being played at that time. No wins and no losses.

So, from our viewpoint there is no rush to do anything with Garrett until training camps open in late July. That gives the Browns five months to discuss their plans for the next two or three years with Garrett and get him back on board with the franchise.

And that’s what we would do. We heard David Njoku and Denzel Ward talk last week about how much they wanted Garrett in brown and orange, and the Browns should encourage more of those conversations.

In that time period, you could have a great draft adding a lot of pieces Garrett might find interesting. The Browns could upgrade the quarterback position and Kevin Stefanski could show him how the team can return to the record they had just a little over a year ago when they made the playoffs.

The point is there is no rush to make a move. We’ve all heard the expression that time heals all wounds, and time is the one thing Jimmy Haslam, Andrew Berry, and Stefanski have.

Whatever happens with Garrett will alter the future of the Cleveland Browns. Being patient for that reason alone is the smartest decision.

Garrett Requests A Trade. Browns Need To Fix It

Only the Cleveland Browns could have a 3-14 season and have the off-season be worse than the actual season. But that’s where it seems we are after the franchise’s best player; Myles Garrett requested a trade.

We guess it is semantics, but Garrett asked to be moved, he didn’t demand it. People who know this stuff better than us feel it would be another huge hit on the salary cap to trade the All-Pro defensive end, which may preclude making the move.

Garrett has two years left on his current contract, so if push comes to shove, the Browns could play hard ball and refuse to trade him, making Garrett decide whether or not he is going to sit out a season.

It would also be stupid for it to come to that.

Our advice to the Browns’ front office? Put together your collaborative process (sarcasm intended) and fix this. And the sooner, the better.

We would even go as far as to say this. In his public statement requesting a deal, the former first overall pick gave a little tweak to GM Andrew Berry using the latter’s “Cleveland to Canton” comment. If Garrett’s issue is with Berry, it’s an easy solution for us, hire a new general manager.

Berry is easily more replaceable than the best defensive player the franchise has had over the last 65 years.

We understand that Garrett’s request got all of the football fans in northeast Ohio who crave and worship draft picks all excited. That’s what they love. But the reality is anyone you draft with one of the picks you get will not be as good as Myles Garrett.

And that’s not a slap at the front office either. Garrett has already won the Defensive Player of the Year last season and is up for the award this season. He’s arguably the best defensive player in the NFL.

The Browns could get 20 first round picks in return and not get anyone as good as Myles Garrett.

As for Garrett’s desire to play important games, let’s be honest about this, how many games would the Browns have won in 2024 with competent quarterback play? They certainly wouldn’t have been 3-14. Cleveland started 10 contests with Deshaun Watson, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and Bailey Zappe behind center.

They were 2-5 with Jameis Winston, so is it out of the realm of possibility to think they could have gone 6-11 with Winston starting the whole season? If you agree, then that makes to trip back to the playoffs in 2025 shorter.

We understand Browns’ fans and media alike love to play the “woe is us” card. But there is talent on this roster. Denzel Ward and Jerry Jeudy made the Pro Bowl (such that it is), and the offensive line needs some tweaks, but there are solid players there.

David Njoku is a good player too, and Mike Hall and Isaiah McGuire look like they have talent. And don’t forget, the Browns have a first-round pick for the first time in four years and four picks in the top 100 of this year’s draft.

And going back to the offense Kevin Stefanski likes to run should cause an improvement as well.

There is a long time between now and the beginning of training camp, so the front office is on the clock. Fix this issue with Myles Garrett. End of discussion.

Mercifully Football Is Over, Now The Changes Begin For Browns

The NFL seemed to be merciful in ending the Cleveland Browns’ season before any other team’s this season.

A year after a playoff year, finishing 11-6, the Browns went 3-14 following a 35-10 defeat at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens.

The ownership has said time and again GM Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski will be back next season, but we would guess we would see news about any changes to the coaching staff or in the front office this week.

We are going to go against the norm and say this should not be the start of a long rebuilding process. There is talent on the roster, particularly probably the best defensive player in the game in DE Myles Garrett and a Pro Bowl shutdown corner in Denzel Ward.

And sorry everyone, Garrett should not be traded for a bunch of draft choices who will never be as good as he is. He is only 29 years old and has plenty of great seasons to come. Give him a new contract and 3-4 years from now, if things still look bleak and the future Hall of Famer wants to go to a winner, the Browns can do right by him and trade or release him.

There is an entire cottage industry of chronicling the misfortunes of the Browns over the last decade. (Did you know Bailey Zappe was the 40th starting QB since 1999?).

Some of it is deserved. If we were in the front office, we would put a muzzle on certain members of the coaching staff and some executives. Why would people leak word of Deshaun Watson competing for the starting QB job next summer or have Ken Dorsey say Dorian Thompson-Robinson has potential?

Dorsey was let go by the organization pretty much immediately after the season ending loss, along with offensive line coach Andy Dickerson.

What’s the comment about being silent and having people think you are stupid?

Cleveland must get better quarterback play. That is first and foremost. And any talk of bringing Watson back is dumb. He has played 19 games with the Browns and has played probably less than 10 decent quarters. At this point, thinking a change in offensive strategy or coordinator will make him regain the skills he had prior to the trade is lunacy.

If they like one of the passers coming into the league via the draft, they should draft one, but they should not feel the need to force-feed that player onto the field.

They also need to get better at running back. We would love to see Nick Chubb back, but they need to find a younger version of the back who wears #24.

And they need an offensive coordinator who understands the importance of running the ball and is willing to make a commitment to doing it.

The defense isn’t bad. True, they played much better a year ago, but they allowed the least first downs in the league. Even yesterday, until the fourth quarter, they kept Cleveland in the game. Remember, the first Baltimore TD was an interception return, a too common sight in 2024.

On that side of the ball, some younger players stood out. DT Mike Hall, injured in the finale, looks like he can play. Second year DE Isaiah McGuire looks like a player, so does LB Mohamoud Diabate, CB Cam Mitchell, and don’t forget DE Alex Wright, who was injured after week four.

Offensively, we would be remiss in not mentioning WR Jerry Jeudy, who also made the Pro Bowl catching 90 passes this season, amazing since he played with one professional passer.

The worrisome part of this is the first thing that needs to be done is recognizing who can play and who can’t. The talent evaluators thought DTR was better than Tyler Huntley. They started DTR in two games when based on yesterday, Bailey Zappe is better.

And we have our weekly mention of trading a second-round pick for WR Elijah Moore.

They have to correctly evaluate what changes need to be made. If they are honest with themselves, we think they can win. Next season.

Football Angst Starts This Week For Browns’ Fans

The calendar turned to September on Sunday and despite the post-season race going on at Progressive Field downtown, football is in the air and a week from now, folks in the office or at home will be talking about what happened Sunday afternoon on the lakefront as the Browns take on the Dallas Cowboys.

Cleveland won plenty last season. They won 11 games. Myles Garrett was voted the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year. Kevin Stefanski won the NFL’s Coach of the Year for a second time. Jim Schwartz was awarded the Assistant Coach of the Year, and heck, Joe Flacco took home Comeback Player of the Year honors.

Here’s what they didn’t win: A playoff game.

It was remarkable that Stefanski guided the Browns to an 11-6 mark despite having to start four different quarterbacks, actually five if you count going with Jeff Driskel in the season finale, which meant nothing in the standings.

Heck, the coach won games starting P.J. Walker, who beat the NFC Champion 49ers, and rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who defeated Pittsburgh.

The expectations for this year though, if everyone can stay relatively healthy, is to advance deep into the playoffs. GM Andrew Berry has certainly built a roster to do just that.

Cleveland is oozing with talent. Defensively besides Garrett, they have a tremendous secondary led by cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Martin Emerson Jr., and safeties Grant Delpit and Juan Thornhill, as well as Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who was excellent in the second half of last season.

They have weapons on offense, headed by WR Amari Cooper and TE David Njoku, who came into his own down the stretch last year, and the interior of the offensive line is very good, with perhaps the best set of guards in the league in Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller and center Ethan Pocic.

However, there are questions. The defense was dominant at home last season, but on the road gave up 29 points or more five times and the least points given up away from the lakefront was 22. They also gave up 45 points (really 31, there were two interceptions returned for TDs) in a road playoff game at Houston.

This has to improve, and no doubt Schwartz has been pounding this into the players’ heads during training camp.

Offensively, there is a new system with new coordinator Ken Dorsey, supposedly suited to dual threat quarterbacks like Deshaun Watson. So, if Watson doesn’t flourish this season, or misses time with an injury, we don’t know what Berry and Stefanski will do.

Under Stefanski, the Browns have always ran the ball, but of course, up until his knee injury last year, Stefanski always had Nick Chubb, the second best running back in the history of the franchise.

Chubb will miss at least the first four games of the season, and can Jerome Ford provide enough of a threat in the ground game.

Even in today’s NFL, we still believe you have to run the ball and stop the run to be a successful team.

Frankly, because we didn’t see Watson in exhibition play and because of the injuries at tackle during camp, we have no idea what the offense will look like come Sunday.

This much we know, it is time for Watson to show why the Browns paid him a lot of money and traded three first round picks to get him. For the Browns to get where they need to go, as we said, that’s a deep playoff run, Watson needs to get close to the player he was with Houston earlier in his career.

The opener is probably the toughest game for Cleveland in the first five weeks, so a fast start should be expected.

The Cleveland roster has a lot of guys over 30 years old and more approaching that milestone. No doubt the time to win is this season.

Browns’ Biggest Question? Still Watson

The Cleveland Browns start training camp this week, meaning an end to the local sports talk stations searching for content.

Because even though the Cavaliers made it to the second round of the playoffs this year, and the Guardians have one of the best records in baseball, football is the preferred subject for the radio sports talk folks.

The Browns went 11-6 a year ago, making the playoffs before they “picked a bad day to have a bad day” to quote coach Kevin Stefanski, losing to Houston in the wild card round.

However, Cleveland earned a lot of respect within the NFL last season. Myles Garrett was voted the league’s defensive player of the year. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz was voted the NFL’s best assistant coach, and Stefanski himself was named Coach of the Year for the second time.

Many of the team’s star players are in their prime: Garrett, CB Denzel Ward, LB Jeremiah Osuwu-Koramoah, and TE David Njoku. The secondary is among the league’s best led by cornerbacks Ward and Martin Emerson along with S Grant Delpit.

And with Schwartz in his second year, the defense which allowed the least yards in the league last year should be able to provide some new wrinkles, particularly on the road where they had some struggles last season.

Nick Chubb, who suffered a severe knee injury last season, has attacked rehab like he attacks would be tacklers and amazingly looks like he could be ready for the season opener.

To be honest, we felt we wouldn’t see Chubb until mid-season.

But the key to the Browns’ Super Bowl hopes is still QB Deshaun Watson. Many in the local media continue to think with new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, Watson can get close to being the quarterback he was in Houston in 2020, when he led the NFL in passing yards, yards/attempt and yards per completion.

Notice we said that happened in 2020. This is 2024.

Watson is coming off shoulder surgery which cost him the last eight games of the regular season in ’23, but that’s the only injury which cost him playing time since his last productive season.

The national media have their doubts to whether or not we will ever see that Watson again. And if they are correct, can the Browns get to where they have never been? That being a Super Bowl.

The first thing for Watson is availability. He’s been with the Browns for two seasons and due to suspensions or injury, he has played 12. In both seasons, the offense looked better with another passer, the first year it was Jacoby Brissett, and last season Joe Flacco.

That’s what the national guys are seeing.

If you look at the teams who are getting to the conference championship game, most often than not, those teams are getting very good quarterback play. Watson doesn’t have to be the 2020 version, but he has to be close for Cleveland to get where they haven’t been since 1989.

And here’s another big question. What if the Browns get off to a slow start, say 1-3 or 2-5, and a big reason is Watson still hasn’t regained his Texans’ form?

Does the organization have the stomach to make a change? They brought in Jameis Winston for a reason, he’s a capable NFL signal caller. There are 230 million reasons they won’t make a change but remember what we said earlier.

This team is built to win NOW. What about the great players currently wearing the Browns’ uniform?

The organization and the fans need to see a Pro Bowl version of Deshaun Watson. The biggest question for the franchise is does that guy still exist?