Browns vs Raiders and more
BROWNS CLIMB TO 24TH IN SI POWER POLL AFTER WIN
By STEVE KING
The Browns are getting some respect nationally – a lot of respect, really – after notching their first victory since the next-to-last game of the 2016 season, a come-from-behind 21-17 decision over the New York Jets last Thursday night.
Indeed, that’s what winning will do for you.
Advertisement: Cleveland Football Shirts!
With that triumph, the Browns, now 1-1-1, climbed six spots – a quantum leap, to be sure — in this week’s sportsullustrated.com NFL power poll, going to 24th, their highest ranking in who knows how long, from 30th.
Behind them, in order, are the Jets and Dallas Cowboys, who are tied for 25th, the Buffalo Bills (27th), who also got their first win last weekend, the Indianapolis Colts and San Francisco 49ers, who are tied for 28th, the Houston Texans (30th), the 0-3 Oakland Raiders (31st), who host the Browns on Sunday, and the Arizona Cardinals (32nd).
So, then, if the Browns want to keep moving up the rankings, or at least stay put and not start falling backward, then they will have to beat the Raiders. Moreover, they will be expected to beat the Raiders. Yes, that’s right, the Browns are expected to win that game. How does that sound? And again, how long has it been since that has been uttered? Who knows? Really, who cares? It’s the audacity of hope.
How high could the Browns go by beating the Raiders? That’s a good question. This poll changes a lot from week to week, especially early in the season like this as everybody tries to determine who these teams are and what their identities are.
The top of the poll looks strange, with the fast-charging Kansas City Chiefs – the unbeaten (3-0) Chiefs, of all people – in first place after having moved up from third.
They are followed, in order, by the Los Angeles Rams (2), Philadelphia Eagles (3), New Orleans Saints (4), who only narrowly beat the Browns, and Jacksonville Jaguars (5).
The New Patriots? At 1-2 and looking bad, they have fallen to No. 11.
In the rest of the AFC North, the Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1-1) are 12th, and the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens, both 2-1, are right behind them at 14th and 15th, respectively.
9-27-18:
BELIEVING WHAT IS HARD TO BELIEVE
Is the AFC North championship really up for grabs?
Is that possible?
Is that really, truly possible?
Perhaps.
Or perhaps not.
I’m not sure.
I read a piece a week and a half ago, following the Browns’ 21-18 loss to the New Orleans Saints, that the AFC North was an extremely balanced division whose title was completely up for grabs. I almost laughed. I took it with a grain of salt. I didn’t believe it, at all.
That was at first, though. I thought that the Pittsburgh Steelers were, by far, the class of the division. I still think they’re the best team in the North, but they’re certainly not the class of the division in any way, shape or form.
There’s something wrong – very wrong – with the Steelers. They’re off, and it starts not with their offense, which, even without Le’Veon Bell and the presence of enough drama to for an afternoon full of soap operas, is still pretty good. It’s the defense, under coordinator Keith Butler, the former Browns linebackers coach, that’s a hot mess.
And with that, then, the fact of the matter is that while the Steelers seem to be the best team in the division, they’re still tied for third, or last, place with the Browns at 1-1-1. While the Browns travel to play the 0-3 Oakland Raiders on Sunday, the Steelers on Sunday Night Football host the Baltimore Ravens who, at 2-1, are tied with Cincinnati for first place. That’s a huge early game. Meanwhile, the Bengals play at Atlanta.
I’m not sold on either the Bengals or Ravens. I’m just not. But, again, let’s deal with the fact of the matter and say that the entire AFC, with none other than the New England Patriots leading the way in crummy play, is underwhelming, so then, yes, Cincinnati and Baltimore may be better than they appear to be, just like the Browns may actually be able to legitimately compete for the North championship.
Thus, sometimes, perhaps, you may have to eventually believe some of what you read, even if you don’t believe it at first.
9-28-18:
SPECIAL TEAMS STILL NOT SPECIAL
The euphoria of the Browns finally getting their first in 635 days, since Christmas Eve 2016, is still there.
The 21-17 come-from-behind triumph over the New York Jets last Thursday night – and all the good stuff that came with it — is still fresh in everyone’s minds.
That’s great. That’s really great. The players deserve it. The coaches deserve it. The organization deserves it. And, yes, of course, the fans deserve it. The fans really deserve it. They’re the constant amongst all those people since 1999 and the start of this nightmarish expansion era, which, of course, as a whoile hasn’t been much better than those 635 winless days.
The ugly truth of the matter, though, is that the Browns special teams are still far from special. You name it, they can claim it as a problem. Nearly every part of their game is still struggling.
Browns head coach Hue Jackson was asked about the special teams at his press conference on Thursday, and he didn’t mince any words with his answer.
“Need to get better. Need to get better, no doubt about it,” he said.
“It has been something that I have talked to our staff about and something that I talked to our team about. I think that it is all hands on deck. We all have to do all that we can. Some guys are going to have to do more because it is so important to our football team. We have to continue to get better. We have to make our kicks. We have to protect better. We have to cover better. We have to do it all better.
“I think everybody understands that. Hopefully, everybody will chip in and hopefully this will be the start of a great week for us on special teams.”
The Browns want to continue their new-found winning ways on Sunday when they play a road game against the Oakland Raiders. Wouldn’t it be a shame if those special teams issues reared their ugly heads again and kept the Browns getting the job done?
9-29-18:
SO WHAT DO SOME OTHERS THINK ABOUT BROWNS-RAIDERs
Most Browns fans know more about their team than anyone outside the area, including a lot of the national media members.
These media people – or so-called “experts,” as they like to be called — have so many teams to cover that it’s impossible to be well-informed on any of them. Instead, they just skim over the top and get the Cliff’s Notes opinions. Their voices, and printed words, are not worth being heard with any seriousness. That is, take what they say with a grain of salt and don’t get all bent out of shape about it. Just consider the source.
But there are also some national media members who really know their stuff, and those of you who read brownsdailydose.com regularly know about whom I’m talking about. It’s the people at Sports Illustrated and, more succinctly, sportsillustrated.com.
As such, then, here’s the analysis the si.com people have on the Browns’ road game against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday:
“Let’s see where the Baker Mayfield mania lands Sunday night after he’s played his first game as a starter, on the road, against a defense that prepared for him. This is about as perfect of a defense as a new QB can face. The Raiders right now are rotating heavily at linebacker, slot corner, safety and almost everywhere along their defensive line. That speaks volumes about the unit’s overall lack of talent.”
Regardless if you agree with this assessment or not – or any assessment from outside the region, for that matter – it’s good, or at least interesting, to hear it. Those people don’t have a dog in the fight, so to speak – they don’t, for example, hate the Browns and love the Raiders, or hate the Raiders and love the Browns – so they will give an honest opinion based on their own knowledge, limited though it may be. It keeps you informed. And it may open your eyes to some new things, or thoughts.
So keep reading, and listening to, as much different stuff as you can. But take to heart the opinions of only the well-informed, such as the people at sportsillutrated.com.
