IF YOU WATCH ON SUNDAY, FOCUS ON THE LITTLE THINGS

By STEVE KING

Are you going to watch the conference championship games on Sunday?
If you’re a Browns fan — and you must be if you’re on this website — that’s a good question.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers visit the Green Bay Packers in the NFC, and the Kansas City Chiefs, who edged the Browns last Sunday in the divisional playoffs, will host the Buffalo Bills.
There will be no problems for Browns fans taking in the battle between the two future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterbacks, Tom Brady of the Bucs and Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, because they have no emotional involvement in either player, or team, other than possibly the fact that Tampa Bay head coach Bruce Arians served as offensive coordinator of the Browns two decades ago.
But, of course, there is plenty of emotional involvement for Browns fans in the Chiefs-Bills game, and as such, it will take a lot more to turn on the TV for that one.
I get it. I truly get it. When the Browns lost to Denver in the AFC Championship Game three times in four years from 1986-89, I watched Broncos play in the Super Bowl. It wasn’t easy, but I did it. In fact, I never really seriously considered doing otherwise. It’s football, and I wanted to see how the story of that NFL season played out in its biggest game.
If you do watch either of the games, particularly Chiefs-Bills, focus on the attention to detail that the teams have. Every little thing matters at this level. Any weakness — player-wise or team-wise — is known and exploited. There are no secrets. There are no surprises. That’s why the better teams — and the better-focused teams — usually win the games at this level.
So, then, that’s what the Browns will have to improve upon if they want to get to this level — and beyond — next season.