What are fans expecting to see out of the 2015 Browns?
With training camp now in full swing for the Cleveland Browns, even the most casual fan is starting to take notice that football is right around the corner. I thought this would be a good time to gauge the expectations of fans for the upcoming seasons for the Browns and their players. I spoke with numerous fans from different backgrounds and age groups, and I asked a few simple questions.
Question 1: What do you think the Browns record will be in 2015? Why?
Question 2: Which new additions to the team are you most excited to see play?
Question 3: Who will be the breakout player in 2015? Who will be the biggest disappointment?
Simple enough questions, one of which yielded nearly identical results, while the other two brought much more diversity amongst the fans. One of the resources I used that yielded the majority of the results was the Browns Backers Worldwide Facebook group, which is the official fan club of the Cleveland Browns.
So what is the Browns fan base expecting to see in the 2015 season from their beloved and eternally frustrating Browns?
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So just how many games do the fans think the Browns will win in 2015? After averaging all answers together the fans think the Browns are going to win 7.4 games this season, which would keep the Browns right around their 7-9 campaign last season.
In full disclosure and all fairness, looking back at all of the responses from the questionnaire, the average response from the respondents was right around 8-8 to 9-7. Though the (for good reason) totally disillusioned fans who responded gave answers closer to 2-14 which brought the overall average down.
Most fans seem to have fairly high hopes for the Browns improving on their record last year, some even mentioned the ever-elusive ‘p’ word, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.
I am excited to see Duke Johnson. Anytime a player gets on the field who can break a tackle and go all the way. It makes for an exciting season. – Scott S.
Question 2 asked which new addition the fans were most excited to see this year. An almost unanimous response points to Danny Shelton as being the man the fans are buzzing over this year. Nearly everyone thinks that his size and ability to eat up two blockers will not only improve on their porous run defense from last year, but also will translate to opening up more holes for the linebackers to penetrate into the backfield and disrupting the oppositions offense all season.
Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Now the third question is where we really see the fan base start to diverge in its thoughts and expectations for the upcoming season.
Who do the fans think will breakout in 2015? 25% of respondents think Justin Gilbert will be that man this year, 19% give the breakout nod to Rob Housler, Isaiah Crowell, Dwayne Bowe, Taylor Gabriel, and rookie Duke Johnson all got votes as well for breakout player of the year.
The majority of fans think that between his raw physical gifts, the fact that he seems to have straitened himself out this off-season, and working with Joe Haden makes Justin Gilbert the man to watch this year. It will be interested to see if Gilbert is able to beat out new addition Tramon Williams in training camp for the starting spot opposite of Haden, or if he’ll start out in the nickle spot, or even as a dime back depending on K’Waun Williams performance in training camp.
The player I found most interesting named by several respondents as a breakout candidate was rookie Duke Johnson. There are a lot of fans out there that are incredibly excited to see this young, electric back get his chance to announce his presence to the rest of the league as a rookie, and set himself up to be the teams featured back for years to come.
Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
As far as who the fans think will be the biggest disappointment next year? No one player stood out amongst respondents as someone who may disappoint, some names that made the list are: Terrence West, Josh Gordon (for action already taken), Dwayne Bowe, Phil Taylor, and Johnny Manziel.
The most fascinating thing to take away from this question was the amount of respondents who (instead of) naming an individual player, simple made mention of the quarterback position group as a whole. Even among those fans who think the Browns are on the verge of doing big things this season, many firmly believe those big things will be on the shoulders of the running backs, offensive line, and defense on a whole. There is a large (and valid) concern that the only thing keeping the Cleveland Browns from taking the next step is going to be the play of the quarterbacks.
The season is fast approaching and only time will tell if the Browns and its players live up (or down) to the exceptions of the fans in the 2015 season.
What do you think? Will the Browns improve on their record last season? What individual players will separate themselves in 2015?