Browns: Gordon Suspension Won’t Stop Manziel Momentum Shift

Credit: William Perlman/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports

Normally the Josh Gordon suspension story would be the talk of Browns town, another feather in the cap of “the curse”. How typical would it be that as steel mill and auto plant productions were trending down and Northeast Ohioans were being laid off, the “Factory of Sadness” would be churning out one of its greatest works yet – a well-timed kick to the you know what just to make sure that Browns’ fans were reminded that they need not get used to that strange feeling that came over them on May 8th, when the chips fell our way and we “pulled the trigger” (nice call Jimmy) and drafted Manziel – the feeling of hope.  Yes, it all seemed too good to be true. We landed Manziel and unlike the other quarterbacks who had been sucked in by the Factory as elite football players and spit out as broadcaster hopefuls and legendary highschool football coaches, this time it was different, Manziel had weapons. The biggest of those weapons being of course, the super talented Josh Gordon. Yes! Finally. Finally. Finally. We are back!

Then I went to sleep and woke up the next day to find out two things, one was that you shouldn’t drink more than three shots of tequila in any one sitting, Superbowl win celebration exempt, and two, is that our main weapon, was good at two things, number one, catching the football, and two, “allegedly, no names please”, hitting the peace pipe. Damn it, if proved to be true, gone for a year. Ironic that Gordon’s alleged buzz was to become the buzz kill of a nation of Browns’ fans – his toke, our joke. The same guys who were patting us on the back the night before prepping to jump on the band wagon (yeah, I know who you are), were back to their old selves bringing down our beloved Browns. The same old Browns, right?

Wrong. It is not the same old Browns and better yet, it is not the same old Browns fans. Gentlemen, we are done stepping in the pile. We have Johnny, who according to reports petitioned to be here, and worked with a QB coach in the off-season from Ohio who sold him on Cleveland. Manziel wants to tear up the league. That is called attitude, and Mike Pettine has been beating that drum since he walked in the door. Play like a Brown, have some pride. Tough. Competitive. Hard working. Team oriented. Sound like anyone you know? Sounds like us doesn’t it. The Dog Pound was built on attitude. The greatest memories we have as Browns fans are tied to that, as we call it now, swag. Ask Hanford Dixon and Frank Minnifield if they know what “swag” means. Those guys had confidence and they parlayed that into the pound. Johnny Manziel brings that to the table, but only as the figurehead. This team is powder keg ready to ignite and the suspension of Josh Gordon is a bump on the road to victory.

The message sent by the front office was clear, no one man is greater than the whole. These guys are dialed in and the new rule is next man up. If Josh Gordon doesn’t want to be paid millions of dollars to catch a football the Browns will find someone who does. That’s it. Josh Gordon, I hope you reel it in, but in the meantime, step aside we need to go win some football games. And as for those of you talking curse out there, your belief in it is what allows it to exist. I’ve got news for you children, Santa Claus isn’t real. But Johnny Manziel and these Cleveland Browns are real.