THE LAST SHALL BE LAST AGAIN, BUT BETTER

By STEVE KING

7-21-18:

It’s a common refrain from the so-called experts making their predictions, prognostications and projections: The Browns are going to be better this season – they should make a big jump – but they’ve still got a long, long way to go.

Count the USA Today’s Nate Davis among those media people. He has the Browns taking a significant step, winning five more games than a year ago – and four more than the last two seasons combined – with a 5-11 mark. However, that won’t be enough to get them out of their usual spot of last place in the AFC North.

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Here’s what Davis says about the Browns: “They could (should) win more games in September than they did the last two years combined … yes, a pretty low bar to surmount. Still, this appears to be one club in the club actually ascending … yes, another low bar.”

Did you catch that last sentence? That’s another thing that the so-called experts are saying, that the Browns’ timing couldn’t be any better in that they are improving while Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Cincinnati are getting worse.

Davis has the Steelers winning the division again, but with a much less impressive record of 10-6 (three fewer victories than 2017). He sums up the team this way: “Le’Veon Bell’s future promises to be a constant source of irritation, and it remains to be how long he’ll need to round into football shape once he reports. Ryan Shazier’s absence wasn’t adequately addressed for a defense that quickly degraded without him at the end of 2017. The Steelers remain a threat, but hard to believe they’re better equipped to get over the hump in 2018.”

Still, Pittsburgh will capture the North in a breeze. According to Davis, the two teams tied for second place, Baltimore and Cincinnati, will be three games back at 7-9. He says of the Ravens: “They’ve been stuck on average for a while. Fires have been lit under Joe Flacco and John Harbaugh, but can this team generate enough heat to successfully navigate a lineup fraught with tough opponents from the AFC West and NFC South?”

Here’s the deal on the Bengals: “Their situation mirrors Baltimore’s with a quarterback and coach fighting to prove themselves amid a minefield schedule. At least the offensive line was upgraded.”

SHUT UP, MYLES GARRETT, AND JUST PLAY FOOTBALL

7-22-18:

I like Browns defensive end Myles Garrett.

I like him a lot.

I think he could turn into an outstanding player, which is what the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft is supposed to do, especially after missing way too many games last year because of injuries.

But what I don’t like is his mouth, particularly with the dumb stuff he has said – and inexplicably continues to say – about Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

Before, he was boasting how he was take down Roethlisberger in the 2017 opener, which didn’t happen because Garrett was hurt and didn’t play. Now he’s trolling Roethlisberger on some stupid parody video the team put out.

Yes, the team – the Browns – released it.

That means, in essence, that they condone what Garrett is doing. That’s even worse, if it’s possible.

Yikes! My goodness!

Is there anyone in Berea with a brain in their head?

Could you see Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots, or Mike Tomlin and Pittsburgh or Mike McCarthy and the Green Bay Packers, allowing that – or anything even remotely close to that — to happen? No, you couldn’t, because it would never, ever in a million years take place.

Belichick, Tomlin and McCarthy and their teams focus on winning. That’s all that matters. They don’t have time for silliness and nonsense.

And it shows in the results. Year in and year out – for a long, long time – those have been the three teams to beat.

If the Browns want to join that group someday, then they’ve got to get the circus out of town and attend to their business. You would think that they would already know that full well after the way they’ve played in the expansion era, specifically the last two years when they’ve been a combined 1-31, but apparently not.

And Garrett is the guy who, more than other Brown, needs to focus on football and not foolishness.

Young man, it’s time – well past time, in fact – to grow up.

THE BETTER QUESTION REGARDING HUE, HALEY

7-23-18:

I saw a story the other day where the focus was, “Will Browns head coach Hue Jackson keep his hands off new offensive coordinator’s Todd Haley’s offense?”

That’s understandable, because Jackson, in his first two years here, also served as his own offensive coordinator and called the plays. In comes Haley in the offseason from the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he served as the coordinator of a very potent offense, and now he’s in complete charge of Cleveland offense.

It was a move that was made to allow Jackson to concentrate fully on being the head coach. I applauded the move then, and I applaud it now. It was a change that was long overdue.

But at the same time, Jackson came to Cleveland after serving as the offensive coordinator at a number of stops through the years, including with the Cincinnati Bengals immediately preceding his arrival. The offense was his baby. That’s what he was brought here to do, specifically, to get the offense going and develop a young, franchise quarterback.

Here, though, is the better question: “Will Haley keep his hands off Jackson’s head coaching job?”

Let’s keep in mind who has the upper hand here. In every other case, it would be the head coach. That’s what the name implies, that he’s the boss of all the coaches, including the offensive, defensive and special teams coordinators.

But in this instance, it isn’t really the case. Jackson was 1-31 the last two seasons, including 0-16 last year. That’s a death sentence – a trip to the unemployment line – especially in the NFL, where winning is all that matters and there are no long, multi-year plans to turn teams around anymore. You have to do it in a veritable blink of an eye.

However, owner Jimmy Haslam mandated that Jackson be given another chance with a competent general manager who knew what he was doing and was willing to work with the coach. That’s John Dorsey.

That’s all well and good and was the right move after the Sashi Brown fiasco, but let’s remember that Dorsey had a relationship with Haley before coming here. Let’s also remember that Haley was previously a head coach.

So, if the Browns don’t get off to a fast start this season, the pressure will mount on Jackson. Everybody will be looking to see if Dorsey – with Haslam’s approval – will make a change and bring in his guy, Haley. That’s hardly a secret to anyone.

As such, it will be Jackson looking over his shoulder, not Haley looking over his shoulder.