It’s hard to get excited about the Cleveland Browns this season
All the recent success that Cleveland teams have been seeing makes it that much harder to get excited for the Cleveland Browns in 2016.
The Cleveland Indians are 14 games above .500, the Cleveland Cavaliers won their first title in franchise history, and the city’s first in 52 years, and the Cleveland Browns are still the Browns. The team that has gone 87-185 since their return 17 seasons ago. That comes out to be an average record of 5-11 each year.
Some have said that the “Cleveland curse” finally being broken could give the Browns a sense of calmness, and perhaps allow them to play without much pressure for a fantastic season. While that could end up being true, I see the success of the other two teams in Cleveland, and quite frankly, it just puts me off from watching the Browns this season.
Call me spoiled, call me what you will, but with the type of rhetoric that has been thrown around about the team this season, there is nothing that pops out and makes me have any sort of optimism about this season.
That is the typical, vicious cycle that many Browns fans can get themselves into, myself being guilty of this at times as well. After a losing season, there is the constant clamor of “always next year.” So when “next year” turns into “this year,” naturally fans are excited, and expectations and hopes are high. In the first year of what could be a very long rebuilding process, there is little to get those fans’ expectations up.
Former Baylor receiver Corey Coleman, the headliner of this draft class, is a part of the receiving corps that was ranked dead-last in terms of team triplets according to ESPN. Robert Griffin III is the quarterback coming in at No. 32, and tight end Gary Barnidge, the best offensive weapon Cleveland has last season, rounds out the trio in last place.
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While this is just one writer’s opinion, it can still be very deflating for the fan(s) that do want to believe what this new Browns organization is doing will lead to immediate success. Not to mention the vicious schedule the Browns will have in front of them this season.
Another season in the tough AFC North will be no walk in the park, throw in matching up with the AFC and NFC East out of conference, and one game each against the Chargers and Titans, it is not out of the question to see this team with another three or four-win season. I don’t mean to sound negative or pessimistic by saying this, simply realistic.
So no, there will be no three-team sweep of championships in Cleveland this year. And yes, the Browns will likely end up with a top-5 or top-10 pick next year. However, this is just a natural part of any rebuilding process. Yes, we as fans will have to go through some tough times at the start, but if Hue Jackson, Sashi Brown and Paul DePodesta can do what we all think they can do, this team will provide plenty to be excited about in due time.