The Wrong Time to Leave Your Browns

The Browns sit at 4-8 and are securely planted in the cellar this season in the AFC North.  An echoing sentiment from what I can gather from the radio, social networking, and talking to people in person, is that people are “fed up.”

I can’t help but ask, “Why now?”

Why is this the season that you are done with your Browns? Wasn’t it just a few years ago that we sat at 1-11 and there was no semblance of any playmakers on offense or defense? Mangini offenses make this one look like the Packers.  We couldn’t accidentally run into a touchdown let alone pick up a garbage score in the fourth quarter of games.  

What I really don’t understand is why we aren’t willing to give this front office and coaching staff more than a year to show us what they can really do.  Tom Heckert has given the Browns the two best consecutive drafts since the team returned in 1999.  They drafted Haden, Ward, McCoy, Hardesty, Luavo and ended up finding a great trade for Peyton Hillis in their first season.  Add to those players Taylor, Sheard, Little, Pinkston and Marecic, these are young players getting loads of experience in a season where WE WEREN’T SUPPOSED TO COMPETE. For anything.  This season was about experience, about finding what we DON’T have and then once we finally have an actual offseason, make the changes accordingly.  

And there in lies the real problem.  There were no OTAs this season.  The team wasn’t allowed to give out playbooks or even talk to players during the lockout, making it almost impossible for this team to fully grasp what Pat Shurmur wants to do on offense.  Is that an excuse that should be used in week 12? Probably not, but it definitely doesn’t get this team off to a fast start, a real theme to this season.

On offense our best pass catchers have proved to a rookie 2^nd round pick who didn’t play football last year and undrafted rookie wide receiver from Penn St.  You can say whatever you want about Colt McCoy and much of his criticism is garnered, but when you combine a kick returner, two rookies, and a very average receiver in Massaquoi as your receiving corps you don’t exactly have a recipe for success.  Combine that with the Peyton Hillis drama and how the Browns lead the league with 33 drops, I am not sure how any offense is supposed to survive that.  

McCoy has looked lost at times, has looked like he is staring down his receiver and only throwing short routes, but he can only throw to the plays that are called.  And in Shurmur’s defense, how is he supposed to call a complicated passing game with the pieces that he has? Cribbs still doesn’t know how to run routes and the other receivers have seen this offensive scheme for less than a year.  How can anyone succeed in that environment, quarterback, receiver, and lineman alike?

So why should we stick around and tune in every Sunday to watch the Browns? Seven draft picks in the first four rounds of the upcoming draft certainly is one of them.  This front office has done as well as any in recent Browns history in getting talent and there is no reason why that should stop.  There are proven veterans as well on this team in Joe Thomas, D’Qwell Jackson, Alex Mack, and the much forgotten Eric Steinback.  All I am saying, is that this is not the season to jump ship.  You can say that you have put up with this same thing for 12 years now, but guess what, this front office has been here for only one year and this is Shurmur’s first season as a head coach.  There has been improvement whether people want to see it or not, and if you “fans” really want to be angry enough to leave the Browns, call me in two years, because there is no quick fix in the NFL.  The Browns cannot be built in one day, so if you want the gratification of sticking around, rooting for your team that you grew up with and seeing them succeed, you need to wait.  If not, go root for the Steelers.