Daily Dawg Tags: 3 Browns myths busted

Spanning the virtual globe to bring you the latest news about the Cleveland Browns and the NFL – these are your Daily Dawg Tags for Thursday, Jan. 5.

It is certainly easy to poke fun at the Cleveland Browns.

Only two winning seasons since 1994, nine full-time head coaches in that same timeframe, and more failed draft picks than anyone should have to remember.

And, of course, there was the just completed 1-15 season, which is some people and media members are to be believed, stamped the Browns as the worst of the worst when it comes to NFL franchises.

But just as the narrative that “none of the Browns rookies showed any progress this year” is absurd, so is the notion that the team’s record this year is reflective of where the Browns stand going forward.

That, along with several other key topics, make up today’s edition of the Daily Dawg Tags.

Cleveland Browns news:

3 myths busted about the 2016 team

The Cleveland Browns struggled through a rough 2016 season. But is the team really in bad shape? Let’s bust three myths surrounding the current team.

Browns hoping to resign Terrelle Pryor, Jamie Collins

The Cleveland Browns enter the off-season oddly without a flux of uncertainty and more importantly – a vision. However, the team has critical decisions to make regarding Terrelle Pryor and Jaime Collins.

Cameron Erving looked like a first-round pick at tackle

The Cleveland Browns moved Cameron Erving to right tackle for the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers and it turned into a smart moved that paid off.

Grading the Browns bizarre loss in Pittsburgh

The Cleveland Browns gift-wrapped a meaningless win for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. How did each position group perform in the overtime loss?

Browns continue to search for their Troy Aikman (ESPN)

Set aside the overwhelming optimism, and one key component of the Cleveland Browns’ postseason self-analysis was that the coaches and front office need to evaluate their quarterbacks before deciding how to proceed with the most important position on the team.

Seth DeValve, thankful to be healthy, reflects on emerging role (clevelandbrowns.com)

Rookie tight end Seth DeValve described himself as a sponge earlier this season, taking in as much as he could through a trying year that saw a youthful Browns team grow up on the fly. And DeValve, the fourth-round draft pick from Princeton, found himself as one of several youngsters with a significant role in 2016.

NFL news:

 Redirect your NFL referee anger (Sports on Earth)

At some point over the next five weeks as the NFL postseason unfolds, there is going to be a call made by an official that is going to have you screaming and complaining about how bad the officiating has gotten in the NFL. Your anger when that happens is understandable. Warranted, even. But you are yelling at the wrong people. It’s not the officials that should be the subject of your scorn; it’s the NFL’s Competition Committee.

How Colin Kaepernick’s protest will make its mark on NFL off-season (NYDN)

Colin Kaepernick’s national anthem protest of black oppression and police brutality made plenty of noise during the regular season. And now it’s poised to make noise during this offseason, too. While the San Francisco 49ers quarterback won’t kneel on national TV for a few months, his story and his protest will continue to make a mark on the NFL offseason, forcing both the league and its players to evaluate — and perhaps reevaluate — the cost of taking a social stand.

Bears GM: ‘Everything is on the table’ at quarterback (NFL.com)

The Chicago Bears opted to retain head coach John Fox and general manager Ryan Pace (and offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio) despite a three-win season, which left only two very important questions left on the docket.

In the NFL, bad owners make for bad franchises (Bleacher Report)

In San Francisco, 49ers owner Jed York, after firing his third coach in three years, was asked at a news conference whether he was competent enough to make the decisions on the next general manager and coaching hires. It was a brutal question, but a needed and fair one.