The Browns are starting to get all banged up on both sides of the ball as they prepare for Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens at Huntington Bank Field.

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I can remember when I first started covering the Browns, hearing then head coach Bill Belichick talk about injuries. He didn’t want to talk about them at all, really, for all he had to say was, “Next man up.” As he explained it, that’s why you have backup players, so if somebody gets hurt, then the backup guy can go in. He is expected to do all the things that the starter was doing. No excuses.

I thought that was a callous, crazy way to deal with injuries. But all these years later, I see that Belichick was right. He was right about a lot of stuff now that I think about it, and this was one of them.

In getting ready for a game, you can’t worry about who’s hurt and who won’t be able to play. You have to put a plan into place that will allow whoever is in there to have a chance at success. Injuries take time to heal. Sometimes you get a lot at one time, like the Browns are going through now. And other times, the injuries are few and far between. Who knows why it happens in bunches, and then other time hardly at all.

I saw the Browns in 1992 go to Houston and defeat the Oilers, who had a tremendous passing attack and great wide receivers along with quarterback Warren Moon. The Browns had a lot of injuries in the defensive secondary. All week long, they were signing guys off the street, some of whom would actually have to start on Sunday. The final score was 24–14. The defensive coordinator was a guy by the name of Nick Saban. That’s just how good of a coach he was.

The Browns made it work then, and if you can make it work one time, then you can make it continue to work every time. That’s the only way you can do it. Prepare the guys who are going to be playing and try to put them into position where they can make plays. Anything else is wasting your time, especially when it comes to worrying about those injuries. The other team isn’t going to feel sorry for you, and nobody is going to ask whether you had injuries or not. They’re just going to ask whether you won or lost.  

Steve King

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