GUEST CAST: Optimism by the Shores of Erie.

Posting Ben Lawrence’s guest blog while I am out of town.  Cleveland based.  I am off to go shoot guns at targets in Virginia.

And why isn’t the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame open past 530pm??????

Optimism by the Shores of Erie

 

Welcome back to another guest rant.  I told Mark I’d help him out this week while he’s traveling to VA.  Being I’m not as ‘worldly’ as Mark when it comes to ranting about all sports, I’m going to stick to what I know, the OH.  Well, that magical time of the year is finally upon us.  It’s that season when the leaves begin to turn, the air starts to cool, and it’s time to start digging out that comfy sweatshirt. That’s right, its football time.  For today’s rant, we’re going to keep the focus on the pros.  For most NFL fans, this becomes the dawn of a new season.  A new chance to wipe the slate clean and start fresh.  A feeling of hope and opportunity fill most city streets with anticipation of the new opportunities ahead.  However, in my case, I’m a Cleveland Browns fan…

Being a Cleveland Browns fan usually involves extreme excitement until about week 4 of the season – when the reality of how bad we are (again) starts to set in.  Most seasons are a compilation of bad plays, missed opportunities and more starting QBs added to a LONG running list of names since our re-entry to the league in 1999.  We have been the laughing stock of the league since we came back.  As a fan, we are forced to find the little bit of good between the loads and loads of bad each year…  If you actually know a fan, you’ve undoubtedly heard the ‘there’s always next year’ mantra.   We live by this as Browns fans.  As a franchise, we’ve endured more bad plays, terrible drafting, bad front office management, and just down right bad luck in the last 17 years than some franchises have ever dealt with.  And we’re still here.

The Cleveland Browns fan base were just announced as the largest nationwide following of any team.  Don’t believe me, look it up; http://ohiowins.com/largest-fan-base-in-the-nfl/.  This is based on registered Browns backers across the country/world.  Given, some of this has to do with people getting the hell out of Cleveland…   But it still shows their loyalty to their home town team.  After a couple decades of constant mistakes (by the lake), we’re finally starting to move in the right direction.  I can’t stress enough how good of a hire I think Hue Jackson is going to be for this organization.  There aren’t many coaches that seem to get as much from their players as he does.  I’m excited to see both how he develops the talent he already has on the roster as well as mold this team into one that he can win with.

 

Now that we’re halfway through the Preseason, we are starting to see things develop.  Below is a list of some ‘Random Thoughts’ on my Brownies this far;

• Robert Griffin III is looking good under Hue so far. If he continues to keep his ears open and his ego in check, things could be different this time around.  If he stays healthy, the long ball is finally back in Cleveland.
• It’s hard to overlook Terrell Pryor. I am/was a HUGE Buckeyes fan.  The tattoo scandal that derailed the program for a few years and sent Tressel packing was hard for me to get over.  With that said, this kid was an amazing athlete at QB and looks to be just as dynamic now that he’s learned the WR position.  You have to give him credit for being SO talented that he could make the switch at the highest level.  He is FAST…
• The combination of Pryor, Corey Coleman (first round pick – that won the Biletnikoff award last year) and Josh Gordon (when he gets back in week 5) is going to be dangerous.
• The defense needs to get their shit together… I know, it’s the preseason and some of their starters aren’t even playing.  However, that doesn’t explain the in-ability for the guys out there to forget how to tackle.  There is a reason we have been at the very bottom of the league the last few years in team defense.  If we don’t have a better regular season plan – than what I’ve seen so far, we’re not going to be able to stop anyone.
• Carl Nassib is quickly becoming my favorite player. If you’re not familiar, he is a rookie DE from Penn State.  He was a former walk-on turned Big-Ten Defensive Player of the Year that has racked up sacks in each of the first 2 pre-season games.  The guy is an animal and has that JJ Watt-type of motor.  He is going to be good this year and will get serious reps with Desmond Bryant being out for the year.
• Danny Shelton is pissing me off… Not only did I decide to actually invest a little hard earned cash in a rookie’s jersey last year, I made the mistake of buying his #71.  Not only did he change his number to #55 this year, but he’s also averaging about 1 tackle per game as a pro.  There were comparisons to Haloti Ngata before the draft…  At this point, he’s looking more like an old Albert Haynesworth…

I’ll leave you with another classic video from a comedic friend who has put up with this hot mess that is the Cleveland Browns much longer than me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRBDMMVctu8

• Factory of Sadness –