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That’s what every Browns fan should repeat in their heads all weekend long. They also should be looking forward to this defense on September 8th. Sure Baker Mayfield looked a little out of sync, but when you aren’t playing two starting WR’s, your starting RB and starting TE what do you expect. It was obvious to me the offensive sets were very simple and the coaching staff was trying to decide on WR #5 and #6. The offensive line was…well offensive. Bitonio is a stud and Tretter is an iron man, but the rest, wow. I know the offensive play calling will make the tackles look better, but RG still is the biggest question mark. Between now and cut down day rumors are going to be all over the place.

Two things settled on offense, at least in my mind, are the kicking game and D’Ernest Johnson gives everything on every play. Did you notice that Britton Colquitt was the holder on all the FG attempts? So that tells me Colquitt is the punter and Seibert is the kicker. Look don’t get me wrong, the “Scottish Hammer” is a great story, but great stories are made for the preseason, not the regular season. D’Ernest Johnson is a player and a player I want the Browns to keep. I think he’ll force the Browns to make a tough decision when Kareem Hunt returns. Lastly on offense, Rashard Higgins is going to get paid. Lets hope it’s the Browns paying him.

This defensive line is scary, real scary. On Olivier Vernon’s first sack, did he get credit for the sack or the offensive lineman he pushed all the way to the QB? He literally pushed the RT all the way to the QB. Myles Garrett is a beast, as is Richardson and Ogunjobi. Joe Schobert and Christian Kirksey were their usual selves. I hope Dorsey doesn’t trade one or the other prior to the season, I think both are very important to this defense. Good to see Denzel Ward back on the field. Also good not to hear his name mentioned, except for a sack, because that means he’s doing his job and the opposing QB is not looking his way.

So now lets play the roster game. I’m going to list the position and how many players for that position I think the Browns keep and then the players I think make the roster. Easy right? If it was, I’d be a GM and be very wealthy, but I’m not, so here goes:

QB(3): Mayfield, Stanton and Gilbert. Easy position to pick, I hope they can hide Blough on the practice squad.

RB(3): Chubb, Hilliard, Johnson. Hunt will be activated after week 8, so this might get interesting.

WR(6):Beckham, Landry, Higgins, Strong, Willies and Ratley. This is tough because Hyman has played well, but Ratley has size and speed.

TE/FB(4): Njoku, Harris, DeValve and Brown. Did you notice last night DeValve lining up at FB? I did and he didn’t do to bad.

OL(9):Hubbard, Kush, Tretter, Bitonio, Robinson, Lamm, Corbett, Kalis and Forbes. Baring a trade this should be the group. Hopefully they can stash Seaton on the practice squad, he has great potential.

DL(9): Garrett, Ogunjobi, Richardson, Vernon, Lawrence,Thomas, Smith, Coley and Davis. Solid group, the strength of the defense.

LB(6):Kirksey, Schobert, Avery, Wilson, Takitaki and Armstrong. Armstrong makes the list because of his special teams play.

DB(10): Ward, Mitchell, Randall, Burnett,Williams, Carrie, Whitehead, Redwine, Thomas and Murray. This is a hard group to chose from. I like Gaines, Hassell and Burris a lot. Maybe if they only keep five LB’s one will make the team.

ST(3) Seibert, Colquitt and Hughlett.

There’s my 53, let me know what you think and give me your 53. Because we all know Browns fans have no opinions and really have difficulty expressing themselves. So now it’s on to the most meaningless game in all of football not involving a college directional school, preseason game number 4. Put the starters in bubble wrap and let the best backups win. Go Browns.

A very sloppy and penalty filled game broke out, aka a typical preseason game. At least the Browns won. Lets start with the bad news, the offensive line. Right Guard is a hot mess. Eric Kush was decent, but you can tell run blocking is not his strength so the revolving door at RG continues. RT Chris Hubbard had a false start and I only mention this because it appeared to me during the Washington game on the opening drive he could of been called for the same penalty a couple of times but the referees missed it. Well at least the the refs are ready for the season to start. Austin Corbett again logged a ton of minutes at the center position and was good on blocking assignments, but some of his snaps were way to high. One was so high it threw off the QB’s timing and resulted in the ball being thrown out of bounds on a key down. It looked like a volleyball game was starting. Drew Forbes played well again, but against the guys who’ll be selling insurance in about two weeks.

The kicking game is still a problem. After two scrimmages where both kickers hit every kick they attempted, both missed 50+ yarders in a domed climate controlled stadium. Both kicks had the distance, but one missed wide right and the other wide left. Did either of these guys uncles kick for Florida State? I wish we could get one more year out of Phil Dawson. The best kick of the night came from “the Scottish Hammer.” A 74 yard punt. I still prefer Britton Colquitt over Gillan, two of his three punts were inside the 20 and he still averaged 42.3 yards a kick.

Now the good news, this offense works no matter which quarterback is playing. As a Browns fan, I can’t believe I’m saying that. When I heard most of the offensive starters weren’t playing I was very disappointed, but then very pleased with our third string QB Garrett Gilbert and fourth stringer David Blough. After a slow start by both, you could see the timing start to come together. WR Jaelen Strong is peaking at the right time, as is WR D.J. Montgomery. I had heard of Montgomery in college because he played at Austin Peay University up the road from Nashville in Clarksville, TN. Another good performance from RB D’Ernest Johnson who ran well and caught the ball well. I’m very comfortable going into the season with Chubb, Hilliard and Johnson at RB.

On defense, the Browns need to learn to cover the opposing tight end. Don’t get me wrong, the Colts have a nice group at this position, but you can’t let them all run wild. This isn’t the National Geographic channel. The defensive line, without Myles Garrett was very impressive. LB’s Wilson and Avery were very active as was DB’s Morgan Burnett, Justin Burris, Phillip Gaines, Eric Murray and Sheldrick Redwine. Hopefully in game three, the starters will play more, because I can’t wait to see the secondary mesh.

Johnson also did well at returning kicks. He had three kickoff returns for 62 yards, his longest was 28 yards and one punt return for 10 yards. Sheehy had two punt returns for 8 yards but hurt his ribs. We’ll see what Hilliard can do in game three if he plays. All in all, the Colts game and scrimmages showed me that the Browns will be ready to go when the season starts against the titans. Next week I’ll attempt to give my predictions on the 53 man roster, but now it’s time to watch “Building the Browns” on YouTube. Next stop Tampa, Go Browns.

Just a few quick notes on the Wednesday and Thursday scrimmages before the second preseason game on Saturday.

Wednesday: Offensive stars on Wednesday were Kareem Hunt, Jaelen Strong, Demetrius Harris and Rashard Higgins. Defensive stars were Joe Schobert, Genard Avery and of course Myles Garrett. The Colts offense pushed around the Browns defense a little, but then the Colts have a really good offensive line, so this is a good test for the defense. No Landry or Beckham on Wednesday, but the chemistry between Mayfield and Higgins is so strong right now. Both kickers made all their kicks. Mayfield and the offense had a 13 play drive, but couldn’t score a touchdown.

Thursday: Whole different attitude on Thursday. More physical and the Browns defense dominated. Defensive stars were Greedy Williams, Terrance Mitchell and the Browns defensive line. Offensive stars were, Nick Chubb, Pharaoh Brown, Jaelen Strong and again Rashard Higgins. Landry played and the two minute drill was unstoppable. Mayfield carved up the Colts like a surgeon. Both kickers made all their kicks. By the way, fights everywhere. I don’t know what Freddie told the team, but man did he amp it up.

Injuries: Devaroe Lawrence with a leg injury, but it’s not serious and is day to day (like we all are). Dontrell Hilliard also with a leg injury and again not serious. Beckham has a hip injury, but Freddie says if it was a real game he would have played.

Overview: The RG situation is a mystery to me. Kush ran with the first team, but it’s still a competition. Drew Forbes, late in both scrimmages played with the first team and Freddie said he flashed in the Washington game. It’s apparent Kush is a weakness in the run game and the Browns want more push and Kyle Kalis is still in concussion protocol and isn’t available. Is a trade in the works? It’s possible, because I don’t think there are many quality offensive linemen sitting by their phones right now. It appears Austin Corbett is now the back up center. As for the kickers, it seems like they are tied and the win would go to the guy who was drafted, Austin Seibert. Finally, Sheehy needs to learn how to catch the ball if he’s making the team.

Saturday: With the Hilliard injury, we’ll get to see more of Kareem Hunt on Saturday, which is fine by me. I know he’s suspended for the first eight games and I don’t think he’ll be ready till week ten, but that’s a prefect time during the season for fresh legs. I think the starters will play a quarter and Landry will play. Save Beckham for either the third preseason game for the season opener. I know everyone is freaking out about the chemistry between Baker and Beckham, but if you’ve seen the videos online of the practices, they look like they’re fine. Freddie has been working the team in pads almost the entire training camp and by my count after this game they are only allowed one more practice in pads. Pretty strange with two preseason games left. My next blog will be post game Saturday. Enjoy the game Browns fans.

That’s what my brain keeps telling me, just calm down. However having seen a ton of first preseason games in my life, that game had a different feel. In the first drive the Browns went hurry up, two minute offense in a preseason game. I don’t recall ever seeing that happen before. Freddie had a set of scripted plays, they worked and the starters were off the field. Oh by the way, no Landry or Beckham on the field during that series. They picked up where they left off last year. Five for Six, 77 yards and a touchdown. Every time the Browns win the coin toss, they better take the ball first, because I don’t see anyone stopping this offense.

On defense without Richardson and Vernon, Myles Garrett was a force. I don’t know if the NFL keeps this record, but Garrett may set a record for holding calls against a player. Coming out of college the supposed knock on Garrett was he was slow off the line. Really. The rest of the defense played well against the redskins in their first series.

Back ups: QB. Stanton looked rusty on his first series, but handled the offense very well on the second series. I think with the starters he would be fine if called upon. Gilbert really surprised me. His arm strength is really good for a guy who bounced around the league. He handled the offense well. Glad to see Freddie get really upset at the offense for giving up the sack right before half time. Blough is a camp arm and threw a touchdown pass late in the game.

RB. No more Duke Johnson. By the way, to get a 4th rounder that can turn into a 3rd rounded if Johnson is active for 10 games was pure genius by John Dorsey. Dontrell Hilliard ran well and caught the ball well. He did have the fumble on the goal line, but the coaches love the guy. D’Ernest Johnson impressed me as well.

WR. I think the sixth receiver, behind Beckham, Landry, Higgins, Callaway and Willies will come down to Strong or Hyman. Strong was more impressive only because Hyman fumbled close to the goal line. He was holding the ball too far from his body and was stripped by the DB, who was his college team mate at James Madison. Now the question is the dilemma that is Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi. Do you keep an established wide out or a returner who could play wide receiver? Two names come to mind, Josh Cribbs and Travis Benjamin. Sheehy-Guiseppi brings a spark on special teams that this team needs. Wait a minute, as I write this, I just saw where Callaway will be suspended the first four games of the season for violation of the NFL sustenance abuse policy. Oh boy.

TE. Njoku played the first series, believe me I saw him, but got no looks. Pharoah Brown was disappointing. Missed a key block and just looked uninspired. No one else really stood out. DeValve and Harris are injured.

OL. I think the starters right now, as said in a previous blog are Hubbard, Kush, Tretter, Bitonio and Robinson. Corbett played center with second and third teams, so maybe this is his new position. Lamm is the swing tackle and I was impressed with Witzmann. Forbes is practice squad and Seaton maybe as well. The Browns signed T Travis Vornkahl and waived John Yarbrough today.

Defense: DL. First, Chad Thomas was there last night and played really well. In the touchdown series by Washington, Thomas abused the right tackle several times and made the QB hurry twice. Devaroe Lawrence had a sack, but lets face facts, Washington’s OL stinks. Tracy Sprinkle was cut today and they signed DT Brandin Bryant.

LB. Mack Wilson had two more interceptions and is a very good cover linebacker but still needs work against the run. Takitaki was his usual physical self. He over ran some plays but that is going to be expected from a rookie. Both will contribute this year.

DB. Greedy Williams missed coverage on some plays, but he’s still on track to start. Terrance Mitchell looks to be playing like he did last year before getting hurt. Now I see why the coaches love Jermaine Whitehead and Redwine was around the ball in the second half.

Kickers. Both looked good, but I wish Joseph wouldn’t get so close to the uprights on extra points. Got to hit the extra points and not the uprights because this team is going to score a lot of touchdowns. All in all it was a pretty clean game. No major injuries, not a lot of penalties. The special teams started the game with a double team block on the kick-off. Apparently, there’s a new rule on kick-offs, you can double team a member of the kicking team. Leave it to the Browns to explore the NFL rule book.

I had to watch the game on my laptop though a website the NFL would love to shut down but can’t, so I got the Washington broadcast team of Kenny Albert and Joe Theismann. This always happens in preseason games and sometimes in the regular season. Lets just say, It forced me to learn the Browns players numbers, because if it wasn’t a redskin player, they had no clue. Mack “Williams” intercepted two passes and Greedy “Wilson” intercepted one. And the Higgins touchdown pass was nearly intercepted. What? I call it nice touch by Baker Mayfield on the pass.

Finally, I usually publish this blog on Tuesday, but I’m changing to the day after games while the game is still fresh in my head. Hey I’m old, soon you’ll know what I mean. A reminder, YouTube’s “Building the Browns” new season starts Sunday August 11. A must see if you don’t live in Cleveland. On to Indy and GO BROWNS.

At Friday’s post-practice press conference, Odell Beckham, Jr. made the above statement about when he and Baker Mayfield finally get their timing down. From what I’ve seen on the internet it’s already pretty frightening. If the offensive line gets the time to gel, this offense is unstoppable. Glad to see the Browns are rotating Austin Corbett, Kyle Kalis and Eric Kush, in that order, at the right guard spot. I hope they settle on the starters by the second preseason game to allow the group to work together the rest of the preseason and training camp.

So far Baker Mayfield isn’t satisfied with where the offense is and that’s fine by me. I want my quarterback to want to improve team chemistry with every practice and game. Mayfield gets it and he gets the fans and city of Cleveland. Just watch the video of him shotgunning a beer that he opened with his teeth at Saturday’s Indians game. https://twitter.com/Indians/status/1157818848147628032. By the way, if I owned a dental clinic in Cleveland, I would be handing out business cards this Thursday at the Muni Lot tailgates. There’s gold in them there beer cans.

The national media is ripping Mayfield for yelling at his wide receivers. Oh the humanity. At the same Friday press conference Beckham said, “It’s time to work. When we get on the field, it’s time to work. That’s the General and we’re all the chiefs. If he’s yelling at us to get back to the ball, get back to the ball. There’s no problem with it. He’s trying to get you open so he can make a throw to get you yards. … Like I’ve said when you’ve got a guy like Baker [Mayfield] and the guy that he is, you just want to work for him.” Like Beckham said, it’s going to be scary.

At the Saturday scrimmage, Myles Garrett was again dominating. If you’re an opposing offense, how are you going to stop or even slow this guy down? He’a going to line up on either end and in the middle. I keep thinking of the movie ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’ and the football game scenes where the character Charles Jefferson, played by Forest Whitaker, thinks the opposing team wrecked his car and he destroys them. This could be Myles Garrett during every game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYV5f0Aqo4w.

Glad to see Coach Freddie Kitchens is having a hard hitting, physical training camp. When the season opens, this team will have toughness. How many season openers have we seen this team not be ready to play? How about 1-18-1 many times. That’s the Browns record in season openers since 1999. No wonder the national media is predicting the titans to win week one. And here in Nashville, sports talk radio is already talking about the week two home opener against Andrew Luck and the Colts. Also happy to see the “Tour De Berea” is gone. No more riding stationary bikes off in the distance. If your injured, you still dress out. You might work with a trainer, but you’re still participating in team activities.

Some training camp tidbits: Sione Takitaki comes to play everyday. The rookie draft pick is physical and hard hitting. The other rookie LB draft pick Mack Wilson looks like he’s starting to understand playing in the NFL and showing promise. I think Takitaki starts on special teams and Wilson will back up Kirksey. Defensive lineman Daniel Ekuale is starting to flash in camp as well. I bet DC Steve Wilks likes having two veteran corners, Terrance Mitchell and T.J. Carrie he can bring in nickle and dime packages, both are playing well. The Browns signed some depth, or another training camp body, in former TheOSU DL Tracy Sprinkle.

On offense, Kareem Hunt has been cleared to play and WR Derrick Willies is having a great camp. For once I’m not worried about the wide receiver position group. RB Dontrell Hilliard is making the most of his opportunities with Duke Johnson out. TE Pharaoh Brown is intriguing to me. Very athletic and good route runner. The cuts on this team are going to be really interesting if this team stays healthy through the preseason. And by healthy I mean Seth Devalve. No matter how much you like a player, availability is the best ability.

I saved the worst till last, the kicking game. At punter, it’s got to be Britton Colquitt, not the “Scottish Hammer.” I want my punter to have played football almost all his life. As for the kicker, I never thought Greg Joseph would survive the competition from the fifth round pick Austin Seibert, but he has and is kicking better, a lot better. I don’t mind Dorsey using a fifth rounder on a kicker, I just wish it was Matt Gay from Utah that Tampa Bay selected. That kid will win them some games this year.

Some non football news. The Indians got who for Trevor Bauer? The Indians got OF Yasiel Puig, P Scott Moss; (From Padres) OF Franmil Reyes, P Logan Allen and IF/OF Victor Nova. They only gave up Bauer. No front line prospects, only Bauer. The two who are in the line up now are Puig and Reyes. Puig is a one year rental and the Indians retain Reyes for a couple of years. By the way, Reyes is the same size as Myles Garrett. If Corey Kluber can return to form, the rotation of Kluber, Bieber, Plesac and Clevinger is pretty strong. Not sure about Plutko, but I like what I saw from Civale’s one start and he goes against Texas Monday night. Houston was the best team in the American league before the trade deadline and only got better.

Finally, I guess it’s game week. I know it’s preseason game one, a glorified practice. But on Thursday, I’ll still wake up and wear Browns gear to work and count the hours till kick off. I’ll still dial up the game on the internet and watch it illegally. As all Browns fans who don’t live near Cleveland know, this is our weekly ritual. Gear up on Friday and watch on the laptop or devise on Sunday through various websites or streaming services. I do know, even though game one versus the titans will be on local television, my wife and I will be in a packed bar here in Nashville watching the game with the rest of the Middle Tennessee Browns Backers. GO BROWNS.

Finally, training camp is here. About damn time. As I watch video on Twitter of practice, I’ve noticed a few things. Myles Garrett is a beast, Greedy Williams is working hard be the starting corner opposite Denzel Ward and everyone is trying out to be the starting RG for the Cleveland Browns. So as the journey begins, lets look at two of the position groups I’m most concerned about, Offensive line and the secondary.

Looking at the depth chart for the offensive line, the locks are, LT Greg Robinson, LG Joel Bitonio. C JC Tretter and RT Chris Hubbard. The competition is at Right Guard. Austin Corbett took the reps with the first team on day one, Kyle Kalis took first team reps on day two and Eric Kush took first team reps on day three. Of the three, I like Eric Kush. He was rated last year as the best pass protection guard by Pro Football Focus. Kalis and Corbett can play center and Corbett can play tackle.

As for the Tackle position, after Hubbard and Robinson, there’s Kendall Lamm and that should scare all Browns fans. Frankly I don’t think he’s that good. After that, there’s Ka’John Armstrong and rookie Drew Forbes who can play both guard and tackle and I really don’t know much about Brad Seaton other than he’s a 1 year pro out of Villanova. Also there’s Bryan Witzmann at back up guard. As mentioned earlier, Kalis is listed as the back up center as is rookie Willie Wright and newly signed John Yarbrough. So, would an injury to a starter be cause for concern? You bet your ass it would. But then again, last year with the plays Kitchens called, it helped Robinson and Hubbard look better than they are. It also helps when your quarterback goes though his progressions quickly, feels pressure and is always looking to pass down field.

Right now my starting five are Robinson, Bitonio, Tretter, Kush and Hubbard. Lamm is probably the swing tackle and Drew Forbes is probably heading to the practice squad. As for the rest, I’ll wait till the preseason games start. I’m really curious as who starts the first preseason game and who plays in the fourth quarter or as I call it, “the paper or plastic” quarter.

The other position group that concerns me is the secondary. Okay, if Greedy Williams is as good as they say he is, starting corner back is not a problem. From what I’ve seen on video and read on line he is earning the starting job. He’s covering OBJ and winning some of the battles. Denzel Ward needs no comment, other than his tackling technique. Please, no more concussions. We know Steve Wilks will play a lot of sets with extra corners, so we know guys like T J Carrie and Terrance Mitchell can play. I’m curious in seeing guys like Phillip Gaines, Lenzy Pipkins and Juston Burris. At worst, they can help the special teams.

As for the safety position, Damarious Randall is the leader of the secondary and needs to get paid. Give the man an extension. Morgan Burnett can play the run, but not the pass. Jermaine Whitehead and Eric Murray are having good camps, but Murray maybe better suited for special teams. Rookie Sheldrick Redwine is also having a good camp. Man, it would be great to get contributions to the secondary from two 2019 draft picks. There are still rumors the Browns might sign Eric Berry. If they do they might wait till after week one, then his money wouldn’t be guaranteed. He’s only played 3 games in two years. Also, the Cowboys may have an interest.

I didn’t mention depth at the defensive line position as a concern because I have a feeling John Dorsey will sign someone prior to the season. They just need to find a guy who will embrace the position as a rotational player.

Other news, Duke Johnson’s agent Drew Rosenhaus was in Berea again Monday. Still think the Browns would be crazy to trade Duke Johnson. Dontrell Hilliard is a nice back but not a Duke Johnson. Also the uncertainty of Kareem Hunt scares me. Please stay home at night Kareem, for gods sake stay home.

News that affects the Browns. Taylor Lewan, starting left tackle for the Browns first opponent, the titans, suspended for the first four games. He’s their best lineman and now swing tackle Dennis Kelly will have to play LT. Marcus Mariota better practice a quicker release. By the way, one of the back up tackles is Austin Pazstor. So yes, depth is an issue.

Finally, Dee Haslam says the Browns helmet will not change when the new uniforms a unveiled. That’s great news to me. I like the classic helmet. The Browns are having trouble with the league and their color rush uniforms. The are allowed to wear them twice, but the Browns want to wear them a few more times. It’s almost like the NFL doesn’t want the fans money for uniform sales. Go figure.

I hope you enjoyed my take on the Browns early in training camp. Their roster is more talented on paper than it’s been in awhile that’s for sure. But remember the movie “Ishtar” looked good on paper as well and we know how that turned out. Just kidding, this team is going to be fun to watch and to follow. When’s the last time Browns fans could say that.

P.S. I think there should be a new rule in Major League Baseball. At every pitching change, the pitcher should throw the ball over the outfield fence. Who’s with me?

Browns veterans and rookies report to Berea on July 24th. I’ll let that sink in. I love this time of the year, watching the videos on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram of players walking into the facility. It’s like Christmas morning. Usually we reserve that feeling for draft day, this year it’s different. Last week I gave my opinion of the Browns and their first six opponents. Now lets move on to the rest of the schedule after the bye.

Week eight, New England. Every year it seems like the Patriots start slow and all the so called experts say “this is the end of an era.” Right, sure. They still have Brady, Edelman and Sony Michel on offense and Patrick Chung, Devin & Jason McCourty on defense. They added our friend Jamie Collins, who’ll probably be an all pro this year. The Pats did lose DE Trey Flowers and OT Trent Brown. The biggest loss is Gronk. Lets see if Ben Watson (suspended for the first four games) and Ryan Izzo can come close to the production of Gronk. I really like three of their draft picks, CB Joejuan Williams, DE Chase Winovich and RB Damion Harris. All three look like typical Patriot players. The good news, the Browns have the bye week to prepare.

Week nine, Denver. So called GM genius (anointed by ESPN) John Elway plugs in another QB, Joe Flaco. Denver is on it’s third coaching change in four years, ( that sounds familiar). New head coach Vic Fangio ( former Bears DC) and new OC Rich Scangarello ( Kyle Shanehan’s former QB coach) will try and resurrect the donkeys. Don’t get me wrong they still have a good defense with LB’s Von Miller and Bradley Chubb. I really like their draft picks TE Noah Fant and DT Dre ‘Mont Jones. They better hope Flaco stays healthy behind their questionable offensive line. If Draft pick QB Drew Lock is playing at this time in the season, down goes Denver.

Week ten, Bills. This game comes at the right time for the Browns. All you need to know about Buffalo is they signed 14 Offensive free agents and drafted four offensive players. Josh Allen will have a lot of new toys to play with. The two draft picks I like on defense are DT Ed Oliver and OLB Vosean Joseph. It’s all up to Josh Allen, who’s been shaky at best.

Week eleven, pittspuke. The Browns get the steelers on a short week in November on a Thursday night at home. That’s the good news. We all know who they lost, but what concerns me is who they still have. Roethlisberger, James Conner, Juju Smith-Schuster, Cam Heyward, T.J. Watt, Bud Dupree and Joe Haden. Then they add draft picks LB Devin Bush, WR Dionte Johnson and the energizer bunny of the SEC RB Benny Snell. Key free agents added are WR Donte Moncriet and CB Steven Nelson. Big Ben will have to carry this group. Would you just freaking retire already.

Week twelve, Miami. If one NFL team could be like an NBA team tanking the season it would be the 2019 Miami Dolphins. New head coach Brian Flores gets to pick between Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh Rosen as his QB. Fitzpatrick is every fans favorite quarterback until his third game when he turns into, well, Ryan Fitzpatrick. They still have some nice pieces on defense, LB Kiko Alonso, CB Xavier Howard and S Minkah Fitzpatrick (no relation to Ryan) They also added draft pick DT Christian Wilkins.

Week thirteen, pittspuke again…

Week fourteen, Cincinnati. The Browns face another new head coach in Zac Taylor. The bungles still have Andy Dalton, RB Joe Mixon, RB Giovani Bernard, WR A.J. Green and TE Tyler Eifert on offense. On defense they still have DE Carlos Dunlap, DT Gino Adkins and CB Dre Kirkpatrick. They resigned Darqueze Dennard and Bobby Hart. But Hart is out for the season, as is number one draft pick Jonah Williams. So no starting right tackle or starting left tackle. Hard to see how Andy Dalton stays upright.

Week fifteen, Arizona Cardinals. And one more new head coach for the Browns to face in Kliff Kingsbury. This time it’s a college coach. Kingsbury will bring his air raid offense to the NFL. Hard to know if it will work. He’s got the QB he wanted in Kyler Murray, so we’ll find out soon enough. On offense the Cards still have RB David Johnson and the never aging WR Larry Fitzgerald. On defense there’s LB Terrell Suggs, CB Patrick Peterson (suspended for the first four games) and S Budda Baker. Draft picks I like, CB Byron Murphy, WR Andy Isabella and supplemental draft pick S Jalen Thompson. The story of this game will be Baker Mayfield vs. Kliff Kingsbury.

Week sixteen rats at home and week seventeen bungles on the road.

Well there you have it, my opinion of the 2019 Browns opponents. If you have a different opinion, let me know, believe me it won’t hurt my feelings. I’m a Browns fan, I’ve been to hell and back. A few ending notes. Just saw the 2018 Browns NFL films video. I watch these every year just to see the positive spin they put on it. I think the 0-16 2017 video was just, “hey nobody died.” Every time I see these the only thing I can think of for some reason is “the Gleem.” Here’s the link if you haven’t seen it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRBRxwldgNU. Also, I mentioned last week how I like to watch YouTube’s “Building The Browns.” The new season starts August 11. A must see for Browns fans not living in The Land. On to training camp, GO BROWNS and DAWGCHECK.

As we slowly crawl towards training camp, I’m like a kid on vacation, “are we there yet, are we there yet?” As we all know, the Browns upgraded the roster on both offense and defense. If this comes together like we hope, John Dorsey will be elevated to God status. Opposing defenses have to respect the passing game and because of that, can’t load the box against the run. With Beckham, Landry, Callaway, Higgins and Njoku running loose, Nick Chubb and Duke Johnson should run wild. Can’t wait to see the impact of offensive coordinator Todd Monken on this group. The key as always is the offensive line and Austin Corbett’s advancement. Eric Kush was a valuable pickup and the depth on the OLine is good, however the tackle position is a concern.

On Defense, if Myles Garrett isn’t in the top three in sacks I’ll be disappointed. The additions of Vernon and Richardson will help. I still think Dorsey will look to add depth to the defensive line prior to the season starting. Really looking forward to seeing Genard Avery in this defense as well as Christian Kirksey. Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks will probably use a lot of sets in pass defense with two LB’s ( Kirksey and Schobert) and an extra DB. I like the mix of the secondary, young players and veterans. Please extend Damarious Randell. It’s nice to have the possibility of having two shut down corners. Overall, the tackling has to improve. The special teams can only go up and it looks like Dorsey has paid attentions to this area. The only knock I’ve heard on the Browns is they have a rookie head coach. My concern with the coaching staff is how long it will take for them to gel with the players. After watching YouTube’s “Building The Browns,”(which I highly recommend) I’m not worried about Freddie or the staff.

So lets go team by team through the schedule and look at each of the Brown’s opponents. I’m not going to predict wins and loses until I see a little more of training camp. Week one Tennessee Titans. This is easy for me, I live in Nashville and it’s Titans all day and all night. When I first saw the schedule, this game scared me, but now that I’ve had time to think about it, I’m changing my mind. The Titans have a great defense that doesn’t allow a lot of points. Jurrell Casey, Harold Landry, Kevin Byard, Logan Ryan, Malcolm Butler and the addition of Cameron Wake are key components. So this is going to be a true test for the Browns. On offense, they get TE Delanie Walker back and have the workhorse RB Derrick Henry in the backfield. They also have RB Dion Lewis and use him like I wish the Browns would use Duke Johnson. The key is the interior of the offensive line and quarterback. They signed Roget Saffold to play guard, so that will help. There maybe a concern at tackle, the Titans didn’t pick up RT Jack Conklin’s option and he’s been dealing with injuries. I think Marcus Mariota has had more offensive coordinators than the Browns over the last four years, so catching the Titans week one might be a blessing. Is he a franchise QB? They picked up his option for this year and yet they traded for Ryan Tannehill. If this was the Browns of the past, you’re looking at a built in quarterback controversy.

Week two New York Jets. They hired Adam Gase to be the offensive coordinator and their key FA signing was RB Le Von Bell. Both should help QB Sam Darnold grow more in his second season. On defense they drafted two DL players that I love, DT Quinnen Williams and DE Jacha Polite. I’m not sold on their secondary. Trumaine Johnson is good, but we all know Greg Williams leaves his corners in man to man while the defense blitzes. I wonder which safety will line up in Delaware? Don’t discount the four game suspension to TE Chris Herndon for DWI. Again playing this team early might be an advantage for the Browns.

Week three Rams. Big home game for the Browns. DT Greg Gaines and S Taylor Rapp and RB Darrell Henderson were added through the draft and LB Clay Mathews and S Eric Weddle through free agency. The big question mark is Todd Gurley. He missed the last two games of the regular season and disappeared at times during the NFC Championship game and the Super Bowl. Training camp will tell the story on Gurley.

Week four Baltimore. So long Joe Flacco. Hello Lamar Jackson and new OC Greg Roman. Jackson is not the most accurate passer and the Chargers showed how to defend him in the playoffs. Load up on DB’s. Roman is a very creative coordinator, so Jackson will see a new playbook. The rats added veteran RB Mark Ingram in free agency, which will help Jackson, however he’ll get a lot of help from draft picks. Speed, Speed, speed. Marquise Brown, Miles Boykin and Justice Hill. On defense, where’s the pass rush? they lost Terrell Suggs and Za’Darius Smith to free agency and swung and missed on key free agents.

Week five San Fran. Staying healthy will be their biggest task. The pass rush will be better with draft picks Nick Bosa and Dee Ford and the offense will improve with Deebo Samuel and Jalen Hurd. Again, health is the key. As they say, the best ability is availability. On defense, the secondary is a work in progress and in the modern pass happy NFL, this is a problem. I guess they’re counting on an improved pass rush. The 49ers do have a good kicker in Robbie Gould.

Week six Seattle. The Seahawks extended QB Russell Wilson and still have LB Bobby Wagner and DT Jarren Reed. But lost Doug Baldwin, Frank Clark and Earl Thomas. Free agent Ziggy Ansah is coming off shoulder surgery, so it’s a wait and see with him. They did draft DE L. J. Collier, S Marquise and WR DK Metcalf. Hard to judge how much of an impact any will have on this team. I am impressed they turned Four draft picks into eleven.

Week seven Bye. Great place for a bye week. Especially with back to back road games in New England and Denver after the bye. This is also a good place to stop this weeks blog. If I missed anything or you have a different take on the Browns opponents, please let me know and comment. I know Browns fans can be opinionated, but that’s because we love our team. We are living the best off season in along time, however as my wife Karen says, “let me know when the season starts.” Next week I’ll look at the second part of the schedule and then it’s on to training camp. ARE WE THERE YET. Go Browns and Dawgcheck.

When you don’t live in Cleveland or the surrounding area, it’s tough going to Browns games or even watching them play on television. If you’re lucky like me you live in a city with another NFL team. When the Browns came back in 1999, they were in the old Central division and would play the Oilers/Titans here in Nashville once a year and the games in Cleveland would be on local TV. Back then I was still president of the Middle Tennessee Browns Backers, so I saw every game, good and bad. More often bad, real bad. But after surviving the three years without Browns football (the undefeated years) I gladly watched. Nothing like watching the Browns in a bar with like minded individuals. However, in my opinion, the next best thing are road trips.

Prior to the move, my wife and I along with a few fellow Browns Backers went to a couple games at the old stadium. The 1991 Denver Bronco game and the 1992 Houston game. Of course we sat in the dawg pound, or should I say stood in the dawg pound. At the Houston game, myself and a friend were witnesses for a couple who got married in the pound during the game. Unfortunately the Browns lost, hopefully their marriage had a better out come.

As I previously said, when the Browns came back in 1999, there was some really bad football. but there were some special games and I got to witness some of them in person. Back then the Cleveland Browns offered special weekends for Browns Backers for two games, one at home and one away. That years away game was New Orleans and it was Halloween weekend. My wife Karen and I went down with another couple, Brad and Lisa. We booked our rooms on the same day hoping to get on the same floor. When we checked in, they could find Brad’s reservation, but not mine. After forty five minutes of frantic searching and me growling, they finally found it and after apologizing for five minutes put us in adjoining rooms on a floor that had its own elevator. Scan your room key and boom straight to our floor. Also provided, free breakfast in the morning and free drinks in the evening in a lounge down the hall. Bourbon street was great, we saw 6 guys dressed as Wonder Woman marching down the street. Got lucky and got into Paul Prudhomme’s restaurant. Lisa and Karen asked if they could go in and use the rest room and asked if it would be okay for Brad and I to wait at the bar. As we waited the Maître d came over and asked if we needed a table. “Why of course we do” we said. Of course the game was great. With 4 seconds left, as we are getting heckled by the stadium staff, hail mary to win it, Mike Ditka laying face down on the turf, first victory of the new Browns. Massive partying on Bourbon street.

In 2002 the Browns offered New Orleans as the away game for a Browns Backer weekend again and off we went. When we got to the airport, we found out Nashville was the layover for flights from Cleveland to New Orleans. There’s nothing like a plane full of Browns fans after draining an airport bar. The Friday night party was Harrah’s with former players, Herman Fontenot, Reggie Langhorne, Brian Brennan and Steve Everitt. The main conversion of the night was where we were all going to meet to watch the Ohio State/Michigan game the next day. National championship game on the line for the buckeyes. Someone alerted the convention manager and he offered the same room. The next day, TV’s everywhere, cash bars everywhere, packed room, buckeye’s win. I also got to meet my all time favorite Brown, Dick Ambrose and later that night Charles Nagy. As for the game, I got the pleasure to meet the president of the London Browns Backers. Every time the Browns made a great play, which was often, he would say “good show.” Even taught him how to high five. He kept putting his hand in front of his face.

Went to Cincinnati twice, the second one Butch Davis had his panic attack. Atlanta was a great trip. A bus load of Middle Tennessee Browns Backers, great food prepared for us by a great chef and a ton of beer. The Georgia Dome was a dump and the fans were the worst. The guy in front of us yelled at another members 9 year old daughter. When my wife informed him he was lucky her father had gone to the rest room, he started mouthing off again. Her father is a big man and could easily snap this guy in two. When he got back, the Atlanta fan took one look at him and never said another word.

The games here in Nashville were fun. The Middle Tennessee Browns Backers always threw one hell of a tail gate and still do. The 1999 game was special just because it was good seeing those orange helmets on the field again. The 2001 game was a couple games after “bottle-gate” so security was heavy. Tied game at the half, 24 – 24. At the start of the forth quarter it was 38 – 24 Titans. With less than a minute to go Phil Dawson hits the game winner and the final was 41- 38 Browns. Great come from behind victory. The 2002 game was another come from behind game. Titans leading 21 – 7 at the half, but with less than two minutes in the third quarter Dennis Northcutt returns a 74 yard punt return and the lead is cut to seven. With a little more than five minutes in the game the Titans score and the lead is back to fourteen. About this time my wife asks if I want to go back to the tailgate. I said no, lets see what happens. By this time the Titans fans had learned how to heckle opposing fans. During the game I got up to get a beer, and as reached the isle, a lady said to me welcome to Nashville. At that point her team was winning and she could afford to be nice. I said thank you, but I live here. To which she replied, F__k you. I immediately inquired if she kissed her kids with that mouth? With less than three minutes left the Browns scored, then preceded to execute the prefect onside kick. Dawson to Northcutt along the sideline. God I miss good special team play. After the review, Browns ball and with 18 seconds left tied game, Couch to Northcutt. A Phil Dawson FG ends it in overtime, 31-28.

But the best game here in Nashville was the 2014 game. Largest come back by a road team in NFL history. The Browns were losing 28-10 a the half, I remember they kept running the ball. Ben Tate ended up with 124 yards rushing and it seemed to wear down the Titans. The fourth quarter included a blocked punt for a touchdown and the Brian Hoyer/Travis Benjamin show. With a little less than two minutes left the Browns had the lead, 29-28. What happened next, I have never experienced. With the Titans moving the ball, on a 4th and one, the home team had to call a time out because the opposing fans where to loud. That stadium was rocking. Of course the Browns stop the play, after a review, Browns ball and then the victory formation.

Thanks for indulging me on my blog about road games, but when you live away from The Land, road trips are special. There’s nothing like seeing the Browns play in person along side fellow Browns fans and the Browns win. As we slowly inch to the start of training camp, in my next blog, I’ll be looking at the up coming opponents and the schedule. Go Browns and Dawgcheck.

When I first read about the OBJ trade on twitter, my first reaction was the above statement. Followed by a lot of fist pumping and trying to explain to my wife how big of deal this was. And her reaction was the same as it always is during the off season, “right, let me know when the season starts.” Other fans had various degrees of reactions. Like this guy https://www.facebook.com/ESPN/videos/fan-reacts…obj…browns/1488518564616793/ or is guy https://www.facebook.com/SportsCenter/videos/300342070655000/

Now being the normal Browns fan, the first thing I did was try and verify if it was true on twitter. I waited for the national guys like Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) or Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) to report the trade. The next thing I thought of was “what are we giving up?” We always think of the cost, draft picks are worth more than gold to a Browns fan. Finally, I tried to think of the last time I was this pumped about an off season move. Sure there were drafts that put visions of the playoffs in my head (the Joe Thomas/Brady Quinn draft) , as well as free agent signings (too many to list). But the first thing that popped in my head was how Browns GM Ernie Accorsi And QB Bernie Kosar manipulated the 1985 supplemental draft.

Back then you got your sports news from ESPN on cable television. No internet, no twitter, no Facebook. And if you were like me, at the time living in Tampa, FL. any Browns news that was aired I stopped what I was doing and watched. On March 14 1985 Kosar announced at a news conference he was forgoing his last two years of college eligibility to enter the NFL draft and he was going to keep his options open. Options open? What does that mean? Prior to that I had no idea Kosar was from Boardman Ohio and was a huge Browns fan. All I knew of Kosar was the January 2, 1984 Orange Bowl victory over number one Nebraska, the Hail Mary game against Doug Flute on November 23, 1984 and the Tampa Tribune sports page.

Kosar, at the time of his news conference was on tract to graduate after three years with a double major in finance and economics. He also said he wanted to play for his hometown team the Cleveland Browns. Again fist pumping for several minutes, then reality set in, how can the Browns draft Kosar? Buffalo owned the first pick and were going to use it on DE Bruce Smith. Houston owed the second pick and the Browns had the seventh pick. Then on April 9 1985 Minnesota traded two picks to Houston for the second pick. Cleveland also tried to trade with Houston, but no way were the Oilers going to let Kosar go to Central Division rival Cleveland. So what does Accorsi do? Well that same day he trades Cleveland’s 1985 1st(#7), 1985 3rd(#63) and their 6th round pick in 1986 to Buffalo for their 1986 first round pick. Mass confusion and arguments ensue.

Buffalo had the worst record in 1984 and had the first pick in both the regular draft and the supplemental draft in 1985. If a team picks a player in the supplemental draft they lose that corresponding pick in the next years draft. Thus, use the 1st pick in the 1985 supplemental lose the 1st pick in the 1986 regular draft. And just like that Accorsi outmaneuvered the Vikings to get Kosar. Until the Vikings raised a stink. They said Kosar announced his intention to play professional football and declared for the 1985 regular draft. They also claimed that because Kosar hired an agent he was no longer eligible for college football and his agent helped plot this maneuver to avoid the regular draft. Then Houston threatened to sue and Kosar’s agent threatened to sue. Sounds like one hell of a soap opera doesn’t it?

On April 23 NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle announced it was up to Kosar to decide. Bernie didn’t file his paperwork by the April 15 deadline to enter the regular draft and on May 10 declared for the supplemental draft. On June 25 Kosar passed his exams and graduated and on July 3 was selected by the Browns in the supplemental draft and signed to a 5 year contract. And even more fist pumping. The Browns got their franchise quarterback.

In other happenings :Since my last blog, my alma mater Vanderbilt came back to beat the team up north in games 2 & 3 of the college world series and are National Champs again. It’s a double winner, winner chicken dinner for me.

This week I’m going to list my go to websites and twitter follows for fellow out of town Browns fans. Like I said last week, my favorite website is the Brown and Orange report which is part of 247sports. Their twitter handle is @TheOBR. I also follow their insiders: Jared Mueller @JaredKMueller, Fred Greetham @FredGreetham, Barry McBride @BarryMcBride, Brent Sobleski @brentsobleski and Lane Adkins @TheRealLA_. Pro Football Focus is a must @PFF and so is the Cleveland addition @PFF_Browns.

Local Cleveland sports writers: Scott Petrak @ScottPetrak, Jeff Schudel @jsproinsider, Nate Ulrich @ByNateUlrich and Pat McManamon @PatMcManamon.

Other Blogs & podcasts: Dawgs By Nature @DawgsByNature, Everything is Earned @CLESportsPod, The Browns Wire @TheBrownsWire, Browns Zone @TheBrownsZone and Dawg Pound Nation @DawgPoundNation.

Finally the Kareem Hunt situation……Nothing to see here…..move along.