We’re about two weeks away from the start of training camp in West Virginia. While there really isn’t any breaking Browns news, I’ve noticed quite a few podcasts are starting back up from taking a break and there’s even a few new ones. As an out-of-town Browns fan, I’m very selective about where I get my team news. I don’t want to hear form the rah-rah guys and I really don’t want to hear from those who already have a negative agenda about the Browns. Being a long time Browns fan, I think I trust my own judgement when it comes to the only NFL team I support. As I’ve said many times, I’m neither an optimist or a pessimist, I’m a realist, I know good and bad when I see it. I hope you’ll chose to follow http://@ElfNetwork for your Browns information. We’re Browns fans just like you.
This morning NFL Network was replaying the Browns “Hard Knocks” from 2018. Just a reminder it was quarterback Baker Mayfield and running back Nick Chubbs rookie years. Hue Jackson was the head coach and John Dorsey was the GM. The team was coming off an 0-16 season, yet there was still some excitement among the fans. The season started with a 21-21 tie against the Steelers, breaking a 17-game losing streak. On September 20 the Browns beat the Jets 21-17 breaking a 19-game losing streak. The real fun started after Hue Jackson and Todd Haley were fired and Greg Williams (coach come get some) took over as the interim coach. The team went 5-3 under Williams and finished 7-8-1. Mayfield threw 27 touchdowns breaking the record for the most touchdown passes thrown by a rookie. QB They finished third in the AFC North.
Why am I writing about this? I look at the situation back in 2018 and wonder how in hell did I survive that season. Hue Jackson was one of the worst head coaches the Browns have had with Freddie Kitchens right behind him. Jackson is ahead of Kitchens because he felt Tyrod Taylor and Carlos Hyde were better options then Baker Mayfield and Nick Chubb. John Dorsey did do some good things. He hired Alonzo Highsmith and Eliot Wolf to the front office and used some of the capital in the draft bank to bring in players like Jarvis Landry and Damarious Randall and sign Terrance Mitchell (money mitch). He also made Williams the interim. However, I’ll never forgive him for hiring Kitchens as the head coach the next year.
I think about that team in relation to the 2024 Browns and marvel at how the talent level has increased in the front office, coaching staff and the roster. After an eleven-win season in 2023, the 2024 Browns have the rare opportunity to improve. They’re finally showing a culture that is conducive to winning. They chose consistency while the other teams in AFC North are trying to fill holes. In Pittsburg, they don’t know who will start at quarterback. In Baltimore, they’ve had wholesale changes on their defensive coaching staff. In Cincinnati, no one knows if Joe Burrow will be ready for training camp because he suffered an injury to his wrist that no other QB has ever sustained. Besides the Bengals and the Ravens, NFL experts put the Chiefs (well desired), the Texans (not buying it), the Bills (on their way down), the Jets (give me a break, really?) and the Dolphins (no freaking way) ahead of the Browns in the AFC. Baring injuries or something really strange happening, the Browns are posed to have a really good year in 2024. Keep your fingers crossed. Stay safe and Go Browns.