Undeniably so, the Cleveland Browns are one of the worst franchises in NFL history. Right up there with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals, and Buffalo Bills. Yeah, they’re that bad. However, the three other teams I mentioned haven’t been that bad in recent memory… In fact, Arizona just went to the Super Bowl last year (they lost, but hey, at least they made it). I wonder why? Maybe it’s because they learned from previous mistakes and just found a way to win? Maybe they got lucky? One thing is for sure; there has been no team as bad as the Browns in recent football memory. Fans will try their hardest to defend them, but it’s just not possible. It’s like water skiing in the middle of a desert –-- good luck to whoever attempts it.
It’s not that I don’t like the Browns. I’ve lived in Ohio for all my life so I certainly don’t dislike them but my favorite team is the Buccaneers (don’t remind me how bad they are at the minute, either). It’s just they’ve been bad for as long as I can remember. I’ve never heard, “How ‘bout them Browns?” unless it was a joke. I remember the closest they ever came to even becoming a mediocre team in my mind is when they beat the Giants last year. That was the only time ever. They wouldn’t be that bad if they just stopped making so many stupid mistakes, but that could be applied to almost all bad teams. The real problem is the offense but the defense is no bunch of talented players either.
Their offensive line is one of the worst I’ve ever seen. This wouldn’t be a big deal if they had a talented qurterback or a couple of good backs, but they don’t. They are mixed up at quarterback and their running backs aren’t that bad, but with the offensive line they are clearly having trouble making anything happen. They’re not that good to begin with, though. Although I like Brady Quinn, it’s obvious he’s not going to succeed on a poor offensive line with practically talentless receivers, especially now that Braylon Edwards is gone as well as Kellen Winslow. No disrespect to Winslow but all Edwards is good for is dropping a pass so it’s not like he could really help Quinn out that much anyhow. The rookie Massaquoi could turn out to be a good wide receiver (especially since he’s the leading receiver on the Browns this season), but we certainly aren’t going to see an offensive boom this season.
As far as defense goes, their defensive line is okay. They could compensate for the mediocre d-line if their secondary wasn’t absolute crap. What’s wrong with it? It’s so bad. Their linebackers are slow and can’t tackle and I can’t say much about their safeties either as they do not impress me at all. According to NFL.com, they are 31st in the league in points allowed per game, 32nd in overall yards allowed per game, 22nd in pass yards allowed per game and 31st in rush yards allowed per game. Wow. I don’t know if they’re going to make a miracle happen, but if they want to win a game this season, they might want to invest in learning how.