PART II OF DOERSCHUK ON THE BROWNS IN STREET & SMITH’S
By STEVE KING
Steve Doerschuk, who has done a great job of covering the Browns for the Canton Repository since the beginning of the expansion era in 1999, did the analysis of the club for Street & Smith’s 2018 Pro Football Guide.
In my last post, I included the lead paragraphs to his story in the magazine. Now I will include what is titled “Bottom Line,” which is his summation of the Browns and their chances for this season:
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“The honeymoon lasted until draft day for the new general manager, John Dorsey. A large block wanted his picks at No. 1 and No. 4 to include Sam Darnold, Saquon Barkley or Bradley Chubb. He came away with Baker Mayfield and Denzel Ward.
“The 2018 team is so full of new parts that it will be hard for coaches to make them work together. Yet, after going 1-31 in his first two years, head coach Hue Jackson must make it work and impress ownership, Dorsey and the fanbase.
“Is Tyrod Taylor enough quarterback to actually keep a No. 1 pick on the bench this year? Can defensive end Myles Garrett play like a No. 1 pick? Those are two questions on a team with 2,000 such queries. It’s hard to tell if 8-8 is as farfetched as a repeat of 0-16.”
In addition, the magazine includes on the last of its 220 pages another Doerschuk article on the Browns. It is what Street & Smith’s calls “The Last Word” and is entitled, “When, oh when, will the Browns deliver?”
It is well-written – all of Doerschuk’s pieces are – and biting in that it pulls no punches.
Included near the end of the piece are these words:
“It’s hard to compare the Browns to any franchise that has dug out of chronic losing. Who has been this bad for this long?
“Cleveland is in a 10-year drought of 38-122. When the Kansas City Chiefs went 2-14 (the year before Dorsey arrived and took over as their GM), it merely dragged their 10-year record to 68-92.”
Like I said, Doerschuk didn’t take it easy on the Browns.
So, then, as Doerschuk points out, Dorsey has a huge, huge challenge on his hands. Can he do it? Can he turn the Browns around?
We’ll begin seeing the answer to those questions soon enough. In the meantime, you might want to pick up the magazine. It’s the best such NFL preview publication out there and as such is worth every penny of its $8.99 cover price.
