Cleveland Browns: Bush league or locked in?

With just six must-wins to go in the Cleveland Browns’ 2019 season, each player on the team must decide whether they are “locked-in” or “bush league.” Seems the verdict is still out…

With about 10 seconds to go in the Week 11 Thursday Night Football matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns, something critical (and awful) went down.

Steelers’ fill-in quarterback Mason Rudolph got tackled as he threw a pass, and he didn’t like the fact that Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett grappled him to the ground.

So much so that the Steelers’ backup QB kicked Myles in the junk and tried to wrestle the big man’s helmet off. Seriously.

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Not cool, granted, but it happened and that’s when Garrett completely lost it. And totally f’d up.

With little effort, the muscular, soft-spoken, poetry-writing, dinosaur-loving, doggie-owning, 272-pound NFL giant yanked Rudolph’s helmet right off his head. Easily ripped it away with the chin strap still attached. There was a decapitation feel to the whole thing that made most home viewers (and both TV announcers) gasp out loud.

And then, as if that weren’t horrible enough, Garrett raised that black and gold helmet above his head and then slammed it down on Rudolph’s forehead. Bonked the grown man with his own helmet. A shameful sledgehammer pound to the dome that certainly sent his over-reactive “how dare you” message straight home. And this is a skull that was recently in danger of concussion, mind you.

Unacceptable. Shockingly brutal. Amateurish, really. As Rudolph later said, it was “bush league.” Basically a cheap shot. A bully move. And he’s right. Even Myles Garrett agreed in his interview after the game, calling his inexcusable actions “foolish” and “out of character.” True that.

And here’s the real kick in the teeth – now the Browns have to play without their leading quarterback sacker, their defensive powerhouse for the rest of the season. Or longer. Ouch.

And that’s not the first “bush league” moment the Browns have sponsored lately.

How about after the touchdown pass that receiver Jarvis Landry caught in the endzone last Sunday against the Buffalo Bills?

Instead of spiking the ball afterward or choreographing an ironic dance party, Landry decides to jaw in the face of the Buffalo Bill who had dared cover him, and as a result, the Browns had to kick the extra point from 15 yards deeper. Spoiler alert: they missed. Sure, it’s only a point, but it could have cost the Browns that closely-won game.

Another unnecessary “bush league” moment brought to you by the Cleveland Browns.

But here’s the thing, to paraphrase Freddie Kitchens’ comments after that game, there are 52 other guys on this Cleveland team that deserve to celebrate the two games that the Browns have just won.

It’s true, this team, their connection with each other, is special. That was apparent in the post-game interview that Browns’ receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry just gave.

When Beckham was asked how close the two are, his answer summed it up perfectly:

"“I can look [Landry] in the eyes and lock in. Lock in.”"

OBJ also claims that Landry has a “calming soul,” saying:

"“This is my real brother. Blood couldn’t make us any closer.”"

Tight. Beckham’s off-field vulnerability has completely endeared him to the Cleveland hometown crowd. As have his big-picture goals for the former mistake on the lake:

"“I pray that God allows me to be the best version of me for this city. We want to bring greatness, we want to bring excellence to Cleveland…that’s what we came here to do.”"

And Jarvis Landry understands that the Browns still need to “lock in.” To play to their level in the big games but especially against weaker teams. He told the live crowd:

"“We’ve got to find a way to put it together. When we got teams like [the Steelers], we need to just put ‘em away and stop playing scared…we’ve just got to find ways to put teams away.”"

Part of the solution involves getting better at catching balls from Baker Mayfield. Says Landry:

"“Me and O talk about it all the time…we need to find ways to make the plays…the tough, contested catches, no matter what…if the ball’s our way, it’s a good pass.”"

So it comes down to a choice, a decision, a question that all 53 players on the Cleveland Browns roster have to answer:

Do we lock in as a team or continue to shoot ourselves in the foot with bush-league choices?

It’s an important thing for this team to figure out, and even the fans can see that these Browns can play smarter, better, and with the postseason in mind. As Beckham says about the Steelers win:

"“There’s gonna be a lot to watch on film…shoulda scored 40 points. We’re happy with the win, but we’re not happy. We’re not satisfied.”"

Bush-league or locked in?

Next. Garrett indefinite suspension harsh, justified. dark

The Cleveland Browns have six more games to decide.

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