For Browns, Time To Win Is Now, Even Without Watson

This Sunday, the Cleveland Browns kickoff the 2022 NFL season with a game against their old quarterback, Baker Mayfield, who is now leading the Carolina Panthers.

With suspended QB Deshaun Watson sidelined for the first 11 games of the regular season, expectations by many media people, both local and national, aren’t very high and most of the experts have Cleveland missing the playoffs.

We are not one of those people.

The Browns have talent at many positions. They have probably the best tandem or running backs in the league in Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. They have two of the best guards in the NFL, and a top wide receiver in Amari Cooper.

That’s just the offense.

The defense features perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate Myles Garrett, former first overall pick Jadeveon Clowney, and Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward.

The entire defensive backfield should be very good and along with the pass rusher should deter an aerial assault from opponents.

We would like to see the defense improve against the run. Cleveland ranked 12th against the run last season, and the old adage is even in today’s pass-happy NFL, you can’t win if you don’t stop the run.

Kevin Stefanski was Coach of the Year in 2020, but his team fell to 8-9 a year ago, and frankly, we think he needs to answer some questions this season. By the way, they doesn’t mean we want him fired, but we would like to see him grow as a head coach.

We believe Stefanski lost confidence in the offensive line after injuries hampered Jedrick Wills and took Jack Conklin out for the year, and that’s why he became reactive in his play calling. What we mean is a philosophy of “the defense is taking away the run, so we have to pass”.

And we think we ask this every year, but why can’t there be a package where Chubb and Hunt are on the field together? If you ranked the offensive skill players by ability, wouldn’t those two rank in the top three?

However, we feel the time to win for the Cleveland Browns is now, and frankly we don’t care if Watson is missing the first 11 games this year. The organization put themselves in this position, so if Cleveland winds up 7-10 this season, the blame should be put at their feet.

As for the coaching staff, come up with a scheme that moves the ball, puts points up on the scoreboard and keeps the other team off of it. That’s why they are coaching in the NFL.

The challenge for the coaches is to minimize Jacoby Brissett’s weaknesses, so the Browns can remain in contention when Watson returns to the lineup. Put players like Garrett, Ward, Chubb, Hunt, Cooper and TE David Njoku in situations where they can make an impact.

We don’t want to hear that missing the playoffs is okay because of the Watson suspension, the organization can’t be alright with writing off another season.

Winning is necessary. The Browns have the better team in our opinion this Sunday and should win the game. We won’t excuse them if they do.

The Browns aren’t an average team hoping their quarterback can lift them to playoff contention, they are a very good team that needs the QB to go along for the ride.

Would Love The Watson Situation To Be Over, But…

By now, if you are a Browns’ fan, you have to be pretty sick and tired of talking about Deshaun Watson. It’s the story that keeps gaining legs and quite frankly, we just want a decision once and for all, and it doesn’t look like that’s coming any time soon.

It a mess and there is plenty of blame to go around, starting with the player himself, who is a serial massage aficionado. It’s disturbing behavior to say the least and we certainly identify with supporters of the brown and orange who feel dirty having him on the roster.

The Browns’ front office and ownership could have searched elsewhere for a quarterback better than Baker Mayfield, and apparently did try to trade for Russell Wilson first, but the former Seattle signal caller didn’t want to play in Cleveland.

We are sure the front office felt it would be a long time before a very good QB in the prime of his career would come available again, so they made the deal to get Watson, who we feel is one of the game’s best at his position.

The NFL are no saints either. The allegations against Watson are over a year old. Why is it taking so long to dole out his penalty? Heck, he even sat out all of last year because of this situation.

We understand they wanted to get all the facts and that’s a good thing, but it should have been decided by now. And why does the league supposedly have such a problem with Watson playing in Houston this season?

It will be awkward for sure, but the Texans did get a boatload of draft picks, including three first rounders for him. It wasn’t like he used a loophole to leave the franchise for nothing.

The NFLPA has culpability as well. They agreed to let an independent person (in this case Judge Sue L. Robinson) handle the punishment, but they didn’t see the league had the ability to challenge that decision?

You don’t have to belong to Mensa to understand Roger Goodell was just going to overrule any punishment he thought was unfair and do whatever he wanted. Obviously, the NFLPA didn’t think that one through.

And if the league adds significant games to the six prescribed by the judge, no doubt the Players’ Association will take the league to court. Again.

Can anyone find a professional sports league involved with more litigation than the NFL? The NBA plays on a court, and they think the NFL is in court too often.

In the meantime, Kevin Stefanski has a job to do, and his bosses didn’t make it any easier. Nothing against Jacoby Brissett, who is a fine back up, but it is doubtful the Browns are making the playoffs if Watson is out more than the six games Robinson sentenced.

We wrote this a few weeks ago, GM Andrew Berry has to go out and get Jimmy Garoppolo as soon as possible. He’s taken the 49ers to a Super Bowl and an NFC title game, so he’s proved he can win with talent around him.

And most definitely the Browns are talented.

They can’t waste another season of Nick Chubb, Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward among others having them play with a journeyman quarterback. They need to get someone better than Brissett and let him be the backup.

With the AFC so stacked, it’s the only logical move for the front office and at this point, you have to assume Watson will miss most of the year (at least).

The old saying “you made your bed, now lie in it” has never been more applicable.

The Decision Is In…Maybe

So Judge Sue L. Robinson emerged from the mountain top and handed down a six-game suspension for Browns’ quarterback Deshaun Watson. Now, Cleveland football fans have to wait to see if NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will add on to the punishment.

First, it would seem to be a bad look for Goodell to add games since this is the first time the league has used Judge Robinson for this purpose, and for Goodell to overrule her would seem to be just what league was trying to avoid by hiring her.

On the other hand, this is the NFL and Goodell seems to do whatever he damn well pleases. So, we can see him adding to the punishment, perhaps adding another two games, keeping Watson on the sidelines for basically half the season.

Remember, that in a way, these kinds of proceedings can be like a game. If people are upset because Watson didn’t get a longer suspension, it may just be that the league didn’t provide the judge with enough evidence.

She can only rule on what she sees or hears.

And regardless of how fans in Cleveland feel about Watson and what he did in his massage sessions, the whole situation is a bad look for the NFL.

They’ve known about these allegations for pretty much a year and a half, so our question is why did it take so long for them to act? Yes, we understand they were collecting information from the women involved, but still, it should have been taken care of long before this.

And by the way, we aren’t condoning Watson’s actions. We have said right from the day he was acquired that we wish the Browns had not gone down this road. It’s a bad look for the organization and we understand fans that say they feel strange supporting the new quarterback.

As for the football aspect of all this, we think the Browns can be fairly certain Watson will be on the field at some point in 2022. Can the team tread water with Jacoby Brissett as the signal caller?

We would wager the offense will be much more of a ground and short passing game while Brissett is playing, with opponents getting a healthy dose of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt.

Remember, the Browns open at Carolina before coming home to take on the Jets and Steelers (on Thursday night) and then travel to Atlanta. Cleveland could be favored in all four games, even without Watson playing.

Then, the schedule gets considerably tougher with home games against the Chargers and Patriots, followed by road contests against division foes Baltimore and Cincinnati.

If the six game suspension holds, Watson would make his debut against the Ravens.

Because the commissioner has the right to review Judge Robinson’s “verdict”, Browns’ fans may have to wait three more days to find out the exact length of the quarterback’s suspension.

No doubt that will be discussed ad nauseum until Goodell makes the final decision.

Then Kevin Stefanski and his coaching staff can figure out how to proceed with reps. Since Watson hasn’t played since 2020, he needs some work, but that has to be balanced with getting Brissett ready for the regular season.

As usual, nothing is easy when it comes to the quarterback position for the Cleveland Browns.

Browns’ Schedule Game? Not Interested.

Tonight, the NFL will announce their 2022 season schedule, and it is a reflection of the giant place the league has in the sports’ consciousness that there is a prime time show based around telling fans who will play who and when on a weekly basis.

Another reason the NFL is the king.

Of course, the “unveiling” if you will, affects sports talk radio programming for Friday, because virtually every show will have a version the “schedule game”, in which everyone looks at the slate of games to determine what their favorite team’s record is.

Quite frankly, we would rather listen to recordings of William Shatner singing.

A bonus in Cleveland is it one less day spent discussing what the Browns will do with Baker Mayfield and/or how many games Deshaun Watson will be suspended. Although, if the Browns get several nationally televised games late in the year, people will take that as an indication that Watson’s suspension (if there is one in 2022) will be finished by then.

First of all, no one playing the game has any clue about injuries, when they will happen, and which players will be affected on any given week. Wouldn’t any Cleveland fan call the game against say, Buffalo as a loss, but if Josh Allen were to be out that week, it would certainly change the prediction for that contest.

Another thing not factored in is how the either team is playing. Let’s say you have a game early in the year against a team that struggled the prior year, but started out winning its first two or three games. That team is now playing with confidence and it becomes a more difficult task.

And add in if say the Browns lost the week prior. Teams that loses sometimes take a while to get going the following game. Remember how the Browns struggled in their week two game against the Texans a year ago after they lost the opener to the Chiefs? It took Kevin Stefanski’s crew about a half to start playing as expected.

We know that every year a team comes out of nowhere to make the NFL’s post-season. Last year it occurred in Cleveland’s own division, where Cincinnati went from 4-11-1 in 2020 to 10-7, a division title, and a Super Bowl berth in ’21.

Conversely, Seattle went from 12-4 to 7-10 from 2020 to 2021. Heck, the Browns themselves went from 11-5 to 8-9. Wonder what the schedule game people though about games against this trio of teams heading into last season?

We get that the schedule is fun to talk about and it fills a day of programming for the hosts who play a yearly game of the event, but let’s face it, there won’t be any surprises tonight. The Browns will play the same opponents it was announced they would face at the conclusion of the ’21 season.

The NFL schedule is formulaic, we can already tell you Cleveland will play the teams from the NFC West in 2023.

So, count us out on trying to analyze a group of games that won’t be played for at least four months. We can tell you this though. Roger Goodell thanks you for playing the “Schedule Game”.

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.

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.

The Landry Situation Is Normal In A Salary Cap Sport

You would think making the playoffs in 2020 would have cured the insanity that affects some fans of the Cleveland Browns, but we guess until they win a Super Bowl, the crazy thinking by many will continue.

On Tuesday, WR Jarvis Landry put out a series of tweets explaining that he was never fully healthy after his knee injury in week two, he cut back his media availability because of it, and said his contract situation was now in the Browns’ court.

Immediately, the critics were out. The locker room has a huge problem, the front office doesn’t know it has a problem, and the ability of GM Andrew Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski was called into question.

Look, we understand that Landry is very popular among the fans and the media, he’s always been a stand up guy. His speech on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” about the attitude his teammates needed to play with was epic and helped change the loser mentality that permeated the franchise.

We are sure the organization would love to have Landry back with the team in 2022.

However, there is a glitch with doing this.

Landry’s contract would be a cap hit of $16.4 million next season. He’s also 29 years old and coming off an injury plagued season, in which he put up the worst numbers of his career.

The front office would probably love to rework the wide receiver’s deal to either pay him less next year, or perhaps to extend his current deal and spread the money out (or maybe even add more) over more seasons.

Landry knows there is likely no other NFL team that is going to pay him that kind of money at his age and coming off the 2021, so while he says the ball is in the Browns’ court, it really is in the wide receiver’s.

He’s the one that has to make the decision to stay and take a pay cut or go somewhere else for less cash.

And we get that he may not want to stay in Cleveland for less money. Why would you stay in the same place and get paid less? It could be an awkward situation. If the Browns were a Super Bowl favorite, we understand it might make getting less money palatable.

Although we think Kevin Stefanski’s squad can make the post-season in 2022, calling them a Super Bowl threat would be a stretch.

It’s a not a matter of the organization being unhappy with Landry or not being grateful about his role is changing the losing attitude within the team. It’s simply the reality of running a team in a salary cap sport.

If Berry wants to improve the current roster, he simply cannot have the highest paid players on the team not performing at a high level. And before you quote Baker Mayfield’s salary for 2022, it’s different for quarterbacks. Not saying it’s fair, but it’s different.

And there will be other tough decisions to be made as well. Case Keenum probably will not be back, and there is a very good possibility J.C. Tretter won’t return to give the Browns more salary room to work with.

It does not mean the front office doesn’t know what they are doing. In fact, it’s just the opposite. They are doing the right thing.

However, the ball isn’t in the Browns’ court, it’s Jarvis Landry who has to make the big decision.

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…