A few thoughts about a few things:
*The Browns are pushing — hard —under head coach Todd Monken to get back into the AFC playoffs. But that is just half the battle, and he would tell you that. Once you get into the postseason, you have to learn how to win at that level. The mistakes you make are more hurtful than ever, so you have to understand how to play clean football. In addition, every single play matters so much more than it does during the regular season, and the speed of the game increases dramatically.
*I think that Monken really wants — badly so — to give the starting quarterback job to Shadeur Sanders. He just needs Sanders to prove he can do it. That the coach wants to speak to Deion Sanders about his son is telling.
*I hope that the Browns someday get good enough and close enough to winning a Super Bowl that they do like the Los Angeles Rams did when they went out and traded for Myles Garrett. Remember when Browns head coach Sam Rutigliano went out and got defensive end Lyle Alzado in 1979 and then guard Joe DeLamielleure in 1980?
*We mentioned Browns head coach Blanton Collier yesterday in the story about the tragic 1963 offseason. It’s clear to me that if he had not been forced into retirement after the 1970 season because of a hearing problem, then he would be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame right now. He was that good of a coach.
*New edge rusher Jared Verse is a good-looking young man with a great smile. He and linebacker Carson Schwesinger, along with tackle Mason Graham and safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren could be the young faces of the defense for these foreseeable future. That would be a good look — a tremendously good look — on and off the field for the Browns. On the offensive side, that group could consist of running back Quinshon Judkins, tight end Harold Fannin, left tackle Spencer Fano, wide receivers KC Concepcion (if he can hang on to the ball) and Denzel Boston
and, perhaps, Sanders.
*You have to wonder if the Rams’ trade for Garrett will spawn other moves like that by teams needing a player or two to fill a hole so as to make a run at a championship. Within the AFC North, could someone such as Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker TJ Watt be a player who will be on the move? Think about how different the division would look without both Garrett and Watt. The Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens would like to find out.
*And, finally, now that we’ve had a good period of time since the Garrett trade, do you, as a Browns fan, feel better about it, or worse? I already felt pretty be good about it, in part because I expected him to be dealt somewhere, but I feel even better about it now. However, this is all predicated on the Browns being able to sign Verse to a long-term contract while also being able to hit on those three NFL Draft picks, especially the first-rounder next year.
Steve King
