Unreasonably tough schedule?
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The BROWNS were close in games going into the second half or last quarter or near the end but didn't or couldn't close the deal.
Not enough talent, no killer instinct or even bad play calling, every professional team should win a few games even by pure accident.
2018 should be better, bet on it!
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It would be difficult for it to be worse...
A couple of forfeited games?
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Yep, it looks tough this year because of the divisions we play. That is rotated, is what is. Plus we spot six wins on the three teams we play twice every year.
I like tough schedules ... gets ya ready for the playoffs.
Zombo
Zombo said:
Yep, it looks tough this year because of the divisions we play. That is rotated, is what is. Plus we spot six wins on the three teams we play twice every year.
I like tough schedules ... gets ya ready for the playoffs.
Zombo
No doubt that you want a team to be challenged barring any freaky injuries (J. Thomas for one) they will be better.
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Historically, looking at the schedule before the season is a futile exercise. More than just about any other sport, NFL football teams vary greatly from one year to another unless they're one of the select few that are seemingly always good. For one thing, injuries are the great equalizer, and they obviously occur with tremendous regularity in the league. If you were to just look at the teams we played this coming year in no particular order, you'd probably be thinking we have a pretty tough schedule. But the teams we play aren't the biggest issue here. It's WHEN we play them.
News flash, our Cleveland Browns are the worst team in the history of the league over a 2 year span. Just in case you forgot. Additionally, we've essentially lost every opening game in the past 20 years. We may have won ONE, but I honestly don't remember it. So how do you you reward a team with THESE glowing accolades? You bring in the Pittsburgh Steelers to start the season, duh. A team that's whipped our butts for the better part of 2 decades. When you combine our record on opening day with our record against the Steelers, you come away with certain disaster. So glad to see you 2018! We're 0-1....again.
But wait! Surely the scheduling gods will throw us a bone in week 2, right? RIGHT?! Wrong. So incredibly wrong. After the surefire Steelers debacle, we fly south 1000 miles to play yet another playoff team. A team that should've been division champs btw. And while our fans will be having pleasant flashbacks of Colt McCoy moving the ball and 50 yard fake punts from the last time we won in New Orleans, it's safer to say we're going to get severely trounced. 0-2, awesome.
OK, week 3 is here. We're back in Cleveland, thank goodness. We'll rest up a bit and tackle the Jets next Sunday, right? Wrong. After traveling back from New Orleans, we'll get zero rest days as we quickly prepare for the Jets on THURSDAY night, our sole prime time slotting this year. We'll get home late Sunday night, get right to it Monday, and hope to GOD we're healthy in a hurry for a Jets team that's been majorly overhauled. We go 0-3 and we've got problems. Like, big ones. It's not a stretch to say Hue Jackson could be fired, Baker thrown in too early, and the proverbial wheels blown right off the baby carriage.
It's difficult to imagine a worse beginning to our season. Like seriously, if you were to hand select the toughest games to play from our schedule, you couldn't make it harder than Pittsburgh, at Saints, then Thursday night against Jets (you could select a tougher TEAM to play, but the fact it's a Thursday game makes this infinitely more difficult). I just get this vision of some committee sitting around a table and laughing their butts off while determining the order of our schedule. "Hahahaha, no, no...I got it Mr. Goodell. How about we make them travel to New Orleans, THEN give them their Thursday night game next! Hahaha, it's brilliant!"
But seriously, I obviously don't KNOW we're going to lose our first 2 games, but it sure doesn't look good does it? And I'm the most optimistic jerk on this board (usually. I get very pissy after losses but quickly recover). Anyway, one of the most important things for our young team is to start out early with a couple wins. If we start losing the first few games, ALL HECK is going to break loose with our team, and we might find ourselves with yet ANOTHER miserable season. We HAVE to experience winning, and it MUST be early.
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Just win baby!
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We've been sooo bad that ANY schedule seems overly difficult. The last couple of years, after about a quarter through the season, you look at the rest of the schedule and your hard pressed to find a team that we might beat. It's like...you could hand pick a schedule of the weakest teams in the league and we'd STILL be scratching our heads looking for a winnable game.
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We've been sooo bad that ANY schedule seems overly difficult. The last couple of years, after about a quarter through the season, you look at the rest of the schedule and your hard pressed to find a team that we might beat. It's like...you could hand pick a schedule of the weakest teams in the league and we'd STILL be scratching our heads looking for a winnable game.
We've been sooo bad that ANY schedule seems overly difficult. The last couple of years, after about a quarter through the season, you look at the rest of the schedule and your hard pressed to find a team that we might beat. It's like...you could hand pick a schedule of the weakest teams in the league and we'd STILL be scratching our heads looking for a winnable game.
The Browns are one blocked field goal by Jamie Meder from a 36 game losing streak.
That's staggering to think about.
But it can't rain forever, can it?
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For me, there are a few things to be optimistic about:
1. AFC North. The Steelers didn't add a top LB in the Draft and last year their defense disappeared once Shazier got injured. Big Ben is getting older. Ravens are scary, but Flacco is not. Bengals have Marvin Lewis and he has spent all his credit. I'm not saying that he's bad, he has made the Bengals a good team for a long time, but it feels like he should have left this offseason and I have the same sense with him staying than when you now something is lingering too long and not for the good.
2. I'd be more scared had they told us we were playing AFC West LAST YEAR. I don't think that Raiders had a good offseason and they had their share of problems last season. I have my doubts Keenum will excel in Denver and they lost Talib. The only certain thing is that the Miller-Chubb combo is scary, but I don't feel like that defense is getting better other than that. The Chiefs have another big question mark for me with Mahomes, and their defense is completely new, and traded Peters, who despite being an idiot was for me the best of the bunch. With so many doubts, I'd bet there are better chances of being a transition year than a Superbowl year for them. And the Chargers are the best and most scary team there for me. They are a balanced team that didn't go to the playoffs simply because they invented every possible way to lose in the first season games (let's hope they keep that ability when facing us) and Rivers still doesn't have his ring. Overall I think this division is less scary than last year.
3. NFC South. The Falcons and the Saints are beasts, so the only thing to be optimistic about is Brees being one year older and not having a top TE that you want for an aging QB. It's easy to predict that Tampa Bay will do better this year, but Winston at times looks like a threat and at another times he just backfires. He can lose games on his own and that makes his offense unpredictable... In the bad way.
Carolina finally went for a top WR for Newton, but I'm going to base my optimism solely in the tendency that the Panthers have to go up and down every other year. I don't know what will do it for them this season. Maybe the ownership change?
I know I'm leaving Houston and the Jets behind, but each ended last in their divisions, so there's that.
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Won't stop certain Browns fans from their victim conspiracies, though. Facts are optional in today's Mericuh.
Just saying if there is such a thing as a last-place schedule it would be nice to have it. NFL is pretty fluid so I guess it's possible that the weak shall inherit the earth.
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WSS
Just saying if there is such a thing as a last-place schedule it would be nice to have it. NFL is pretty fluid so I guess it's possible that the weak shall inherit the earth.
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WSS
The Jets, Bucs and Broncos arent anything. Playing in Denver is tough. The Chiefs have a rookie QB and he will make mistakes like all of them. KC has lost their best defensive player in Derrick Johnson. Marcus Peters is gone. I would not expect a lot from that defense.
Basically the Browns are playing 4 post season teams - Saints, Falcons, Steelers and Chiefs.
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I predict a win opening day. The Browns are going to be fired up. The following weekend a let down in New Orleans.
No shame there. Rather lose a NFL game vs AFC.
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Just saying if there is such a thing as a last-place schedule it would be nice to have it. NFL is pretty fluid so I guess it's possible that the weak shall inherit the earth.
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WSS
The Jets, Bucs and Broncos arent anything. Playing in Denver is tough. The Chiefs have a rookie QB and he will make mistakes like all of them. KC has lost their best defensive player in Derrick Johnson. Marcus Peters is gone. I would not expect a lot from that defense.
Basically the Browns are playing 4 post season teams - Saints, Falcons, Steelers and Chiefs.
The Jets, Bucs and Broncos arent anything. Playing in Denver is tough. The Chiefs have a rookie QB and he will make mistakes like all of them. KC has lost their best defensive player in Derrick Johnson. Marcus Peters is gone. I would not expect a lot from that defense.
Basically the Browns are playing 4 post season teams - Saints, Falcons, Steelers and Chiefs.
Add in wildcard Panthers, AFCN will play all 5. KC's schedule maybe the toughest in the NFL also? Not sure who's running the place in KC? Cinn. gets At Colts/Mia...Balt. gets Bills/at Tenn...Pitt. gets at Jags/Pats..Brns.Jets/at Houston..Cinn. & Ravens have drafted ok the past 2 drafts, but with injuries, they can't stay on the field. Add in what the Browns have done and Ben in new Offense. AFCN will be about who plays defense & which QB does the most with healthy weapons..the Browns need that home opener Win that got away last season.Ant.Brn. won't be catching Ben's hanging lolly-pops tosses surrounded by 3 defenders with Denzel Ward and others around
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The browns are the Dregs of the league.. we always get a $hit schedule...
Two things: 1. As likely noted....except for one single game....any team's schedule, including the Browns, is determined years in advance.
2. One partial reason the Browns seem to have a tough schedule...based on their opponents previous year's records, is because the likes of the Bengals, Ravens; Steelers have had 2 automatic wins each over the Browns. If the Browns would get off their asses and start winning some of those games, their opponents previous year's win loss record would not look so good.
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The BROWNS were close in games going into the second half or last quarter or near the end but didn't or couldn't close the deal.
Not enough talent, no killer instinct or even bad play calling, every professional team should win a few games even by pure accident.
2018 should be better, bet on it!
The BROWNS were close in games going into the second half or last quarter or near the end but didn't or couldn't close the deal.
Not enough talent, no killer instinct or even bad play calling, every professional team should win a few games even by pure accident.
2018 should be better, bet on it!
Hue Jackson was/is our HC.
That nearly explains everything.
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We've been sooo bad that ANY schedule seems overly difficult. The last couple of years, after about a quarter through the season, you look at the rest of the schedule and your hard pressed to find a team that we might beat. It's like...you could hand pick a schedule of the weakest teams in the league and we'd STILL be scratching our heads looking for a winnable game.
The Browns are one blocked field goal by Jamie Meder from a 36 game losing streak.
That's staggering to think about.
But it can't rain forever, can it?
The Browns are one blocked field goal by Jamie Meder from a 36 game losing streak.
That's staggering to think about.
But it can't rain forever, can it?
On the other hand....there were also a few games in which they lost in similar fashion....so you can't just look at that one game.
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The BROWNS were close in games going into the second half or last quarter or near the end but didn't or couldn't close the deal.
Not enough talent, no killer instinct or even bad play calling, every professional team should win a few games even by pure accident.
2018 should be better, bet on it!
Hue Jackson was/is our HC.
That nearly explains everything.
Hue Jackson was/is our HC.
That nearly explains everything.
There seems to be a new attitude in the way the BROWNS are going about their business so far in 2018, hopefully Hue is just concentrating on being the HC.....at least for now.
Ever see the Cleveland Browns FRONT OFFICE personnel? This is one big operation with a lot of hands and minds on running things.
GO BUCKEYES, BROWNS, INDIANS, CAVS, YSU, NAVY and yes I like ND! -
For me, there are a few things to be optimistic about:
1. AFC North. The Steelers didn't add a top LB in the Draft and last year their defense disappeared once Shazier got injured. Big Ben is getting older. Ravens are scary, but Flacco is not. Bengals have Marvin Lewis and he has spent all his credit. I'm not saying that he's bad, he has made the Bengals a good team for a long time, but it feels like he should have left this offseason and I have the same sense with him staying than when you now something is lingering too long and not for the good.
2. I'd be more scared had they told us we were playing AFC West LAST YEAR. I don't think that Raiders had a good offseason and they had their share of problems last season. I have my doubts Keenum will excel in Denver and they lost Talib. The only certain thing is that the Miller-Chubb combo is scary, but I don't feel like that defense is getting better other than that. The Chiefs have another big question mark for me with Mahomes, and their defense is completely new, and traded Peters, who despite being an idiot was for me the best of the bunch. With so many doubts, I'd bet there are better chances of being a transition year than a Superbowl year for them. And the Chargers are the best and most scary team there for me. They are a balanced team that didn't go to the playoffs simply because they invented every possible way to lose in the first season games (let's hope they keep that ability when facing us) and Rivers still doesn't have his ring. Overall I think this division is less scary than last year.
3. NFC South. The Falcons and the Saints are beasts, so the only thing to be optimistic about is Brees being one year older and not having a top TE that you want for an aging QB. It's easy to predict that Tampa Bay will do better this year, but Winston at times looks like a threat and at another times he just backfires. He can lose games on his own and that makes his offense unpredictable... In the bad way.
Carolina finally went for a top WR for Newton, but I'm going to base my optimism solely in the tendency that the Panthers have to go up and down every other year. I don't know what will do it for them this season. Maybe the ownership change?
I know I'm leaving Houston and the Jets behind, but each ended last in their divisions, so there's that.
For me, there are a few things to be optimistic about:
1. AFC North. The Steelers didn't add a top LB in the Draft and last year their defense disappeared once Shazier got injured. Big Ben is getting older. Ravens are scary, but Flacco is not. Bengals have Marvin Lewis and he has spent all his credit. I'm not saying that he's bad, he has made the Bengals a good team for a long time, but it feels like he should have left this offseason and I have the same sense with him staying than when you now something is lingering too long and not for the good.
2. I'd be more scared had they told us we were playing AFC West LAST YEAR. I don't think that Raiders had a good offseason and they had their share of problems last season. I have my doubts Keenum will excel in Denver and they lost Talib. The only certain thing is that the Miller-Chubb combo is scary, but I don't feel like that defense is getting better other than that. The Chiefs have another big question mark for me with Mahomes, and their defense is completely new, and traded Peters, who despite being an idiot was for me the best of the bunch. With so many doubts, I'd bet there are better chances of being a transition year than a Superbowl year for them. And the Chargers are the best and most scary team there for me. They are a balanced team that didn't go to the playoffs simply because they invented every possible way to lose in the first season games (let's hope they keep that ability when facing us) and Rivers still doesn't have his ring. Overall I think this division is less scary than last year.
3. NFC South. The Falcons and the Saints are beasts, so the only thing to be optimistic about is Brees being one year older and not having a top TE that you want for an aging QB. It's easy to predict that Tampa Bay will do better this year, but Winston at times looks like a threat and at another times he just backfires. He can lose games on his own and that makes his offense unpredictable... In the bad way.
Carolina finally went for a top WR for Newton, but I'm going to base my optimism solely in the tendency that the Panthers have to go up and down every other year. I don't know what will do it for them this season. Maybe the ownership change?
Something else: In every season in like the last 25 years...except maybe one....there has been a turnover of at least 5 playoff teams. So, who did or did not make the playoffs last year may only be a predictor in like 58% of the time. New teams always make the playoffs (of course, except the Browns)
In 2017...in the AFC, only the Pats, Steelers, Chiefs returned to the playoffs from the previous year. The Dolphins, Texans, and Raiders did not. They were replaced by the Jags, Titans, and Bills
In 2017...in the NFC ONLY the Falcons returned to the playoffs from the prior year. The Cowboys, Giants, Packers, Lions and Seahawks were replaced by the Eagles, Vikings, Saints, Panthers and Rams.
So, 8 of the 12 playoff teams from 2016 did not return....meaning of course that there were 8 new playoff teams last year.
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Hue Jackson was/is our HC.
That nearly explains everything.
There seems to be a new attitude in the way the BROWNS are going about their business so far in 2018, hopefully Hue is just concentrating on being the HC.....at least for now.
Ever see the Cleveland Browns FRONT OFFICE personnel? This is one big operation with a lot of hands and minds on running things.
There seems to be a new attitude in the way the BROWNS are going about their business so far in 2018, hopefully Hue is just concentrating on being the HC.....at least for now.
Ever see the Cleveland Browns FRONT OFFICE personnel? This is one big operation with a lot of hands and minds on running things.
I know I'm the eternal optimist, but I agree in that a new attitude seems to have developed. People aren't just going to "make the team" anymore, as we've have gotten much deeper and added another layer of talent. In years past, if you were drafted, you were basically on the team. That's not going to happen now, and that means we have better talent across the board. I'm extremely interested to see how Hue Jackson operates as a head coach, ya know? I heard multiple times last year that running the offense and trying to be the coach was just too big of a burden, especially with our QB situation. Now, we have a veteran QB. An established OC and DC. Legit weapons on offense AND defense. And you can start to see how this team might win some games.
Do I think we're going to "take the league by storm" and immediately start winning games? No, unfortunately not. I think we're going to lose our first two games against the Steelers and then at the Saints, and there's really nothing wrong with that. I mean, are we SUPPOSED to beat playoff teams? Probably not, but it sure would be nice to start the season 1-1 with the Thursday night game against the Jets looming. We HAVE to steal a game early so we avoid the dreaded "0-2" beginning that could very likely knock our fragile confidence in the dirt. But again, you can start to see how this team COULD win some games. Protecting the football on offense, getting the ball to our playmakers, getting to the QB on defense WITHOUT constant blitzing, and holding teams to FG's instead of giving up TD's 75% of the time.
You know one thing that makes me nervous right now? Don't laugh, but I'm nervous we're going to trade Corey Coleman for a song. I get that he's been injury prone, I get the two or three TERRIBLE drops, and I get that he's largely been a bust. But here's the thing...this guy is a first round draft pick and we need to give him EVERY opportunity to shine. Was he really supposed to be all-world with Kizer throwing him the ball? How many diving catches did Corey make across the middle when Kizer threw an awful duck? If everyone stays healthy and away from the dreaded suspensions, our WR group looks downright AMAZING. Yes, Josh Gordon has broken our hearts a million times before, but let's pretend Josh is on our team. You HAVE to put your best DB on Gordon, right? Well, who are you putting on Landry? Your nickel corner? Not every team HAS a decent one. My point is, Corey isn't going against teams' best CB anymore AND he's got a guy who can throw him the dam ball. You CAN'T trade this guy, not now.
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The browns are the Dregs of the league.. we always get a $hit schedule...
Two things: 1. As likely noted....except for one single game....any team's schedule, including the Browns, is determined years in advance.
2. One partial reason the Browns seem to have a tough schedule...based on their opponents previous year's records, is because the likes of the Bengals, Ravens; Steelers have had 2 automatic wins each over the Browns. If the Browns would get off their asses and start winning some of those games, their opponents previous year's win loss record would not look so good.
Yep. Comparing schedules, Pgh has the close to the same schedule except they get the Cheatriots and Jags while Cle gets the Jets and Texans. And of course Cle gets Pgh twice, while Pgh plays Cle twice. The Browns have to improve on a one win season, it’s damn near impossible to suck that bad two years in a row, with all those draft picks.....
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There seems to be a new attitude in the way the BROWNS are going about their business so far in 2018, hopefully Hue is just concentrating on being the HC.....at least for now.
Ever see the Cleveland Browns FRONT OFFICE personnel? This is one big operation with a lot of hands and minds on running things.
I know I'm the eternal optimist, but I agree in that a new attitude seems to have developed. People aren't just going to "make the team" anymore, as we've have gotten much deeper and added another layer of talent. In years past, if you were drafted, you were basically on the team. That's not going to happen now, and that means we have better talent across the board. I'm extremely interested to see how Hue Jackson operates as a head coach, ya know? I heard multiple times last year that running the offense and trying to be the coach was just too big of a burden, especially with our QB situation. Now, we have a veteran QB. An established OC and DC. Legit weapons on offense AND defense. And you can start to see how this team might win some games.
Do I think we're going to "take the league by storm" and immediately start winning games? No, unfortunately not. I think we're going to lose our first two games against the Steelers and then at the Saints, and there's really nothing wrong with that. I mean, are we SUPPOSED to beat playoff teams? Probably not, but it sure would be nice to start the season 1-1 with the Thursday night game against the Jets looming. We HAVE to steal a game early so we avoid the dreaded "0-2" beginning that could very likely knock our fragile confidence in the dirt. But again, you can start to see how this team COULD win some games. Protecting the football on offense, getting the ball to our playmakers, getting to the QB on defense WITHOUT constant blitzing, and holding teams to FG's instead of giving up TD's 75% of the time.
You know one thing that makes me nervous right now? Don't laugh, but I'm nervous we're going to trade Corey Coleman for a song. I get that he's been injury prone, I get the two or three TERRIBLE drops, and I get that he's largely been a bust. But here's the thing...this guy is a first round draft pick and we need to give him EVERY opportunity to shine. Was he really supposed to be all-world with Kizer throwing him the ball? How many diving catches did Corey make across the middle when Kizer threw an awful duck? If everyone stays healthy and away from the dreaded suspensions, our WR group looks downright AMAZING. Yes, Josh Gordon has broken our hearts a million times before, but let's pretend Josh is on our team. You HAVE to put your best DB on Gordon, right? Well, who are you putting on Landry? Your nickel corner? Not every team HAS a decent one. My point is, Corey isn't going against teams' best CB anymore AND he's got a guy who can throw him the dam ball. You CAN'T trade this guy, not now.
I know I'm the eternal optimist....
Do I think we're going to "take the league by storm" and immediately start winning games? No, unfortunately not. I think we're going to lose our first two games against the Steelers and then at the Saints, and there's really nothing wrong with that. I mean, are we SUPPOSED to beat playoff teams? Probably not, but it sure would be nice to start the season 1-1 with the Thursday night game against the Jets looming. We HAVE to steal a game early so we avoid the dreaded "0-2" beginning that could very likely knock our fragile confidence in the dirt. But again, you can start to see how this team COULD win some games. Protecting the football on offense, getting the ball to our playmakers, getting to the QB on defense WITHOUT constant blitzing, and holding teams to FG's instead of giving up TD's 75% of the time.
While the odds are they open 0-2, my optimism is they could steal BOTH games. Let's face it, the games vs Pitt were close last year. Big Ben and Antonio Brown have killed us, maybe the Browns figure out a way at home.
Vs the Saints, well we have beat 'em the last 2 times and Brees was the QB in both games. You just never know, I say it's possible to head back to Cle at 2-0 with a stupid Thurs night game vs the NYJ.
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