Not with the Browns, as for now, but in my life. To do podcasts and write this blog, I have to watch the Browns. Besides I’m a Browns fans and always will be. I won’t give up on this team. No, my new life decision is to turn off Cleveland sports talk. They have no knowledge of what’s going on in the building in Berea. They’re not journalists. They have no sources telling them inside information. They present to the loyalist fanbase in the league, garbage. On Monday they were convinced Kevin Stefanski was going to be fired that day. So they yelled and screamed. When he wasn’t, they yelled and screamed. Today, they’re yelling and screaming about fictional conspiracy theories as to why Shedeur Sanders isn’t playing. Too much yelling and screaming. If I wanted someone to yell and scream at me, I’d call my ex-wife. But I’m not stupid, so I won’t. The same goes for Cleveland sports talk, gone out of my life. I turned it off last week when some idiot suggested the Browns should hire Lane Kiffin. Sure, let’s hire someone who quit on an NFL team when he was a coach. Makes perfect sense.
I still have contact with the people who’ve been giving me information since 2002. They are people who actually know what they are talking about and actually have sources in the building. They still have sources because they are very careful and don’t whore out their information for clicks and fame. Since Andrew Berry was hired as the GM, no information is leaked out of the Browns front office. None. If you hear someone say or write, “sources tell me”, they’re giving you an opinion or just out right lying to you. I’ve nurtured this relationship because if he tells me something and tells me not to repeat it, I don’t. And he knows this.
So let’s talk about Kevin Stefanski. The owner was not happy after the game Sunday, but then again neither was I. If, and I still think this is a big if, any move away from Stefanski happens it will happen after the season. I still don’t see it happening only because of the owner’s involvement in the Watson trade. Berry, Stefanski and Haslam all agreed the trade should happen, but it was Haslam agreement of the draft capital and his decision to guarantee the contract. Both Berry & Stefanski will be given one more year to fix the problems. The only way the head coach gets fired any earlier is if he loses the locker room and he hasn’t.
I don’t understand the media’s obsession with playing Deshaun Watson. He’s not going to play this year. He won’t be activated and will stay on the PUP list in 2025. As for 2026, he’ll either be the third string QB and not be activated each week or be on the roster and not activated. Either way, he’s not going to play for the Browns again and he’s agreed to this plan.
Finally, the Stefanski haters for sharing a video of the owner saying three wins weren’t going to cut it in 2025. First of all, he said this early in training camp. At that time, Kenny Pickett was going to be the starter. I argue if he started, the Browns would have won the Bengals game and the Vikings game. He probably would have given the team a better shot at the Jets game despite the two returns for touchdowns by New York. You have to look at things in the situation they were given and the context they were applied. At the beginning of training camp, six to seven wins was a realistic goal with Pickett starting. Maybe better because no one knew how good the defense was going to be. The blame for the Jets game falls squarely on the special teams. The only coaching change I see right now after the season is over is a new special team’s coach. Stay safe and Go Browns.