Hey you guys remember those great teams that the Cleveland Browns had back in the 1950s? Remember how they went to 11 Championship Games in 12 to start their history? Remember how they invented the term “dynasty” in the NFL Dictionary? You are probably tired of hearing about this question as Browns fans from the 20th century will refuse to shut their mouths about it. It’s the only thing they can rely on when it comes to Cleveland teams winning championships. (Besides the Cavs in 2016) The Browns themselves are trying to expand their brand in ways that teams like the Cavs and Guardians can only dream about. The team is literally Baker Mayfield and OBJ creating massive amounts of hype surrounding this team and they think they have the best team on paper. Let’s see how they got this far?
Before 2018 the Browns were the biggest gongshow in sports, this team still has the NFL’s longest drought without a division title dating back to 1989. The Browns themselves were known for terrible draft day decisions, a shuffle among quarterbacks, and head coaches who failed to bring this team to life. They were the so-called tackling dummy for teams like the Ravens and Steelers to use in preparation for real teams. Not to mention they made the playoffs only once since 1995 and blew a 24-7 lead in the 2nd Half against Pittsburgh as well. At one point Cleveland was 5-34 from 2015-17. Plus they dealt with the infamous Hue Jackson era, (“We tried warning you Cleveland” -Ravens fans) and the clown known as Jimmy Haslem at the top. Then in 2018 the Browns became a respectable team, they got themselves a generational talent in Baker Mayfield. Guys like Nick Chubb, Jarvis Landry, Denzel Ward, and former #1 pick Myles Garrett helped to carry this team to a 7-7-1 record entering Week 17. They can win the division with a win and Steelers loss, and then Pittsburgh did just enough to beat the Bungles thus eliminating the Dawg Pound from the playoffs, and then top it by preventing the Football Gods from laughing at the Ravens by losing to them in the final minute of the game. It’s not a big deal you say the Browns will be contenders next year. Look at all of the moves they have made this offseason! (Odell Beckham, Kareem Hunt, Oliver Vernon, Sheldon Richardson, Greedy Williams) They are going to win the title, (Browns, Chiefs open as Super Bowl favorites) they will take their place as the next great dynasty in the NFL! THIS IS WHY YOU NEVER PICK A TEAM WITH A 1ST YEAR COACH WITH NO EXPERIENCE TO WIN A SUPER BOWL! The Cleveland Browns how do I put this underachieved immensely. This team was more known for making headlines off of the field that year. OBJ’s 6 figure watch, Baker looking like Gardiner Minshew, Myles Garrett getting ejected for throwing a helmet at Mason Rudolph, Freddie Kitchens wearing a shirt that said “Pittsburgh Started It” following that fight, and having to watch their arch rivals from Baltimore go 14-2 and eliminating them from playoff contention again in Week 16. That year you could say they had rotten luck but Haslem doubled down on this disaster, his solution was simple: BOOM! BLOW UP THE UNIVERSE AGAIN! Kitchens and John Dorsey, GONE! We need to go back to analytics because the Ravens are using it to their advantage, bring in an analytical nerd in Andrew Barry, sure the guy was run out of town in 2016 this time will be different. Not only that, let’s hire a 1 year coordinator in Kevin Stefanski, sure he was aided by Gary Kubiak in Minnesota, his play-action heavy scheme is perfect for this offense.
To be fair Haslem was right for one of the few times in his tenure. The Browns did manage to beef up the O-Line in the offseason and the draft as well as their Tight End scheme. Now the hype machine was back in business. BOOM! And then they got destroyed by their big brothers yet again in Week 1. PAUSE. Then they rattled off 4 straight wins with a big test coming up against the Steelers. Now is their time! (YoYo Sound) 38-7 it’s like you never learned. PAUSE This time is their chance! They have now won 4 out of 5 and have a chance at the lead in the AFC North, in their fans minds Baltimore is done, it’s time for the Browns to emerge as the class of the North! Lamar Jackson: “I was cramping, I ain’t pull no Paul Pierce, I ain’t pull no Paul Pierce, next question.” The Ravens beat them AGAIN! In fact Cleveland had them down to 4th and 5 and they still lost. Who cares they will win their last 3. PAUSE. YOU LOST TO THE JETS! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Don’t worry you’re playing the Steelers and Big Ben is out, if you lose this I swear! PAUSE. Thank god you didn’t lay an egg, you’ve made it back to the playoffs for once and now have to face Pittsburgh except in Heinz Field. COUGH! Stefanski HAS COVID! How are they supposed to beat the Steelers now? PAUSE. Wait a minute you beat Pittsburgh without your head coach, I mean the Steelers were overlooking you guys but you did it! How will you fare against the Chiefs though, that is the question. PAUSE. And then they stomp you all over the field before Mahomes gets intentionally knocked out. Even if Cleveland tried to come back they just lost in the end. What’s gonna happen next year? They get just as much hype as 2019. BOOM! (Browns are leading favorites for AFC North and Super Bowl) I KNEW IT!!! PAUSE.
As a fan of a division rival this kind of arrogance coming out of the Dawg Pound is absolutely annoying. Just like the 2018 Jaguars they developed a massive hype machine complex after their first trip to the playoffs in over a decade. Here is the difference, the Jags made it to the AFC Championship game and beat their arch rival along the way. Like Jacksonville the Browns did beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh during the playoffs that season. The only difference is that the Steelers aren’t the Browns main rival. That honor belongs to a team that the city of Cleveland has despised since the mid 1990s. A team that was once their own franchise but moved because they couldn’t get a new stadium to replace Cleveland Municipal. There is nothing that Browns fans want more than to humiliate the team that almost ruined football in Ohio. Yes I might be biased for saying this as a Ravens fan and Marylander but it’s true. The Browns before the move, had Bill Belichick, Nick Saban, Ozzie Newsome, Mike Lombardi, etc in their organization. In 1995 they started 4-4 after a tough schedule in October. But then before their Week 10 game against the Oilers, the most painful words in Cleveland History came into action. Parris Glendening: “Ladies and Gentlemen, WE HAVE A SIGNED CONTRACT AT HAND! THE BROWNS ARE INDEED COMING TO BALTIMORE!” All optimism in Cleveland, DEAD! The Browns lost 7 of 8 to end the season. The only win in that stretch was their final home game at Municipal Stadium. In the 4th quarter once the Bengals got to the 50 yard line with 11 minutes to play they switched sides so no team was driving towards the Dawg Pound. The fans were throwing bench seats on the field, dog bones, beer bottles, you name it. An incident that wouldn’t be seen again until Bottlegate in 2001. When the Browns finally moved things got worse. Guess who the Ravens used their 1st Round picks on in 1996. Jonathan Ogden and Ray Lewis, arguably the 2 greatest players in NFL History at their positions. And not only that, the architect of those moves was the Browns all time leading receiver Ozzie Newsome. Even worse, the Ravens won a Super Bowl in 2000 and got a new stadium at Camden Yards 2 years prior to their title. (That stadium only turned into the 3rd loudest stadium in the NFL behind the Seahawks and Chiefs)
I now understand why the Browns hype themselves every year. It’s not because they think they are a good team. I would be fine if that was true, the real reason they do this every year is for one simple thing. They not only want to beat the Ravens, they want to destroy them! Most of their moves over the past few years have cloning Baltimore written all over it. You wonder why the Browns acquired most of their players from LSU over the last couple years? It’s because Ozzie Newsome went to Alabama and that is LSU’s main rival. The reason they overhauled the secondary this offseason to fix a massive hole on defense, it’s because Baltimore has 7 starting caliber players in their secondary. The reason they signed Jadeveon Clowney was to prevent him from going to the Ravens. The reason they hired Stefanski was because he was with Kubiak, a former assistant of John Harbaugh. (They tried hiring Greg Roman as well that year) Get a 3 Tight End set because that was a key formation for how the Ravens went 14-2 in 2019. Get a 2 headed Running Back monster since B-More had Mark Ingram and Gus Edwards at the time. Overhaul the O-Line in 2020 after they saw the Ravens run roughshod over the league the year before. Not to mention they nabbed Erin Hawksworth and Jesse Knack, 2 former media directors for the Ravens in 2017-19 to their social media team. And their fanbase, to say the Dawg Pound isn’t toxic is an understatement. The Browns have been perhaps the most hyped team in NFL History over the past 3 years because their fans have as expected acted like they haven’t been in the spotlight in a long time. The amount of smack they talk at Ravens and Steelers fans is annoying. (They even did it to Chiefs fans last year in the playoffs) Well Pittsburgh they can get away with it now since they beat them in the playoffs. Here is the thing, YOU CANNOT TRASHTALK BALTIMORE AND KANSAS CITY! What have the Browns done against those 2 teams since Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson were drafted? Get their butts kicked in nearly every game against those 2 teams. This is the same lesson that the Toronto Maple Leafs had to learn against the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens over the past few years. And yes I’m going to bring up the Brooklyn Nets underestimating the eventual NBA Champion Milwaukee Bucks. (Bring up the injury excuses I DARE YOU!) Cleveland, like Brooklyn and Toronto before them, clearly act like the offseason champions that they are every year and forget to back it up once everything gets serious. Go ahead Browns fans, call me a Salty Marylander all you want! It doesn’t prevent the fact that Cleveland is 0-11 against Baltimore in primetime games in their existence, and they still have problems against the Chiefs as well. This is a team that only made the playoffs last year because they won 8 games against teams below 500 and a Steelers team with a backup QB. If they had to play this year’s schedule last year they would have missed the playoffs. All I can say is I better not eat my words about this team in November and December. And one more thing, this is your last chance before Cap Hell comes next summer. Have fun paying the rest of your O-Line and receivers!
Bragging Rights Sports 