THE QUARTERBACK, THE QUARTERBACK, THE QUARTERBACK

By STEVE KING

You guys really, truly know football. You know it better than any fanbase in the NFL.

As such, then, you don’t need to read this – again.

You don’t need to see this – again.

And you don’t need to hear this – again.

You really don’t need to. You know that. I know that. Everybody knows that.

But I want to point this out to you anyway.

Point what out?

That quarterback is the most important position in team sports. If a team has a good one, then it has a chance. And if it doesn’t, then it doesn’t.

It really is that simple.

The Browns on Wednesday will begin the first of two straight days of joint practices with the Indianapolis Colts ahead of the teams’ preseason game on Saturday afternoon at Lucas Oil Stadium. Such events – the joint practices, that is – are great for the teams involved. They give coaches chances to evaluate their players against some new faces. It eliminates the staid, tired atmosphere of training camp as it drags on.

These joint practices are particularly helpful when both teams are projected to be contenders. That’s certainly the case with the Browns and Colts – as long as their quarterbacks stay healthy, that is. And the quarterback for the Colts, Andrew Luck, isn’t healthy – at all – as he battles a bone problem in his foot. He will not practice against the Browns, nor will he play in the game. When will he be back? Who knows? There is no timetable for that.

With Luck, one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL, the Colts, as mentioned, can legitimately vie for the Super Bowl berth out of the AFC. Without him, they will struggle to win four games, which was the case previously when he battled a shoulder injury.

The Browns can sympathize with that, as their rags-to-riches turnaround began with the arrival of some guy named Baker Mayfield. Perhaps you’ve heard of him.

Just sayin’.