The City of Cleveland Should Put the Browns In The Rear-View Mirror Until They Prove They Can Be Taken Seriously
The definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Those who actually expected the Cleveland Browns to have a contending chance in 2022 are swallowing a big helping of humble pie right now, as the Browns were embarrassed again on Sunday, losing 39-17 to the Miami Dolphins.
Fans were lured back in by the ol’ reliable Bengals beatdown on Halloween night, but as expected, the Browns came out flat, uninspired and confused again in Week 1o. And they’re supposed “leaders?” Either invisible, exiled, or on the sidelines. Anybody who expected the Browns to win under these circumstances should be on the front bumper of a car headed straight for the crazy house.
Once again, firing coordinators or assistants to the assistant coaches solves nothing. It doesn’t get to the root of the problem. No coach at this level of football will teach or motivate Myles “Overpaid” Garrett or Denzel “Hospital” Ward to tackle. They either want to do it or they don’t. 5th round pick Perrion Winfrey talked a big game at his introductory press conference ritual and has yet to make a single play on the field and was again disciplined by the team for spending critical time at the South Beach clubs.
Tough, smart and accountable? Not even close.
The Dolphins racked up 195 yards on the ground Sunday with hand-me-down running backs. Neither of their two explosive receivers topped 70 yards receiving. When you get steamrolled by a team that notoriously throws the ball all over the yard, there is a motivation problem. There is a spirit problem.
Which brings me to my central point: Why do Browns fans keep lining up for this clown show? Why do they keep forking over thousands of dollars every season for the perpetual losing? And not just losing, but uninspired losing? Your highest-paid defensive back can’t stay on the field because he hasn’t learned how to tackle. Your defensive end picks and chooses when he plays hard and your quarterback isn’t allowed to play and has nearly 30 sexual assault allegations hanging over his head and the team’s.
Does any of this sound like winning to you? Without even looking, I can point to two other teams in this town who have set up a long-term path to winning. The Cavs have assembled an extremely talented young core and are poised to compete for years to come, despite the flaws they still have. The Guardians well overachieved their worth and shocked us all, despite a flat conclusion to the season. Yet they also possess a young nucleus of players set to improve together for several seasons.
What have the Browns done to earn your hard-earned money? Where is the growth? Where is the progress? It’s more akin to a never-ending circus that takes your money and doesn’t give you anything in return. It’s a shame that Cleveland’s baseball team was among the worst in MLB attendance this year, while Browns games remain sold out each and every week.
It’s past time to boycott the Browns. Nothing will change by continuing to hand over thousands of dollars every season for tickets, merchandise and over-priced beer. Just stop the merry-go-round of insanity. It’s much easier when you realize that you have two other promising teams that manage not to slap their own fans across the face year in and year out.
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