Analytics are the rage in the NFL now, it seems, especially with the Browns.

That’s all well and good, but there’s something that, when analyzed, has worked every time it’s been tried in building a winning team in the NFL.

Get an owner who hires good people and then gets out of the way.

Have that owner find a good general manager/talent evaluator.

Have the GM type hire a good head coach, and someone with whom he can get along since they will constantly be working together.

Have that GM type then find a good quarterback, making sure it is someone with whom his can get along since those two will constantly be working together.

Have that GM then acquire good players at the skill positions so as to give that quarterback weapons.

Have that GM make sure the wide receivers he gets are big and tall so they can out-reach and out-muscle smaller cornerbacks for the ball.

Yes, analytics plays a part in all this – certainly a bigger part than most of us ever realized – but in addition to that, the GM must be able to sit across the table from prospects, bother players and coaches, and somehow see into their souls to see if they have the heart and determination to get better on and off the field. Along with that, the coach must be able to communicate with the players, to do the things necessary to bring out their talent so that they play to their full potential.

So while the old gives way to the new in this new-look NFL, the new must acknowledge that the ol’ human brain, in being able to properly decipher all this information, is still the thing that ties this all together. As baseball’s Reggie Jackson used to describe himself, it is “the straw that stirs the drink.”

The Browns need to keep all this in mind as they try to become a factor in the AFC again. They don’t play this game with robots and flow charts, but rather with players, coaches and play charts. How well they do in those areas will ultimately decide the Browns’ fate.