One last thought before kickoff

Legendary Ohio State head football coach Woody Hayes used to say, “The hay’s in the barn.”

It meant that everything that could be done to get ready for the game, had been done, and now it’s just time to wait until kickoff.

The Browns, and all the other teams that play Sunday, including their opponents at Cleveland Browns Stadium, the Tennessee Titans, are all in the same boat right now.

So, with that, then, one last, quick thought going into the game — and something that has not been brought up anywhere else — involves two members of the Browns in defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and newly-signed running back Kareem Hunt.

Think about this: both have been here before, Schwartz being a low-level scout with the Browns under head coach Bill Belichick in the early 1990s, and Hunt playing the last several seasons with the Browns before they decided not to sign him in free agency when he first left. They eventually signed him earlier in the week when Nick Chubb was lost for the season with a knee injury in last Monday night‘s 26–22 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

With Chubb, they were best offenses player, gone, the Browns are going to lean very heavily on Schwartz‘s defense, which is the best unit the Browns have had in years. Some say it’s the best ever in team history, but I’m not ready to say that yet. Regardless, that defense is key.

In addition, Hunt will be counted on heavily to back up starter Jerome Ford and give the Browns an experienced player to come out of the backfield and make plays. They will lean heavily on Hunt as well.

Wouldn’t it be something if that defense and Hunt bothplayed pivotal roles in carrying the Browns to the first playoff berth since 2020? It’s certainly not out of the realm of comprehension that it could happen.