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Face It: The Cleveland Browns are infected with a culture of losing, failure

By Zac Wassink

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Some may be tempted to say that one is launching personal attacks in suggesting that the Cleveland Browns are losers. That would be unfair. Saying that the Browns are losers is not a shot at any specific person within the organization.

It is a factual statement.

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The only thing that the Browns have done with any consistency since returning to the National Football League in 1999 is lose. Browns 2.0 have made the postseason just once, and that trip ended with a heartbreaking collapse to long-time rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers. In fact, the state of Cleveland pro football has become so pathetic that the Steelers now consider the Baltimore Ravens — the original Browns — as their main rivals.

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The last time that the Browns had a winning record was 2007. We now know, eight years after the fact, that season was a one-off for the Browns, similar to you managing to win $12 on a Powerball ticket. It was nice that it happened, but there was no real reason to believe that history would repeat itself the following football season or the next time you trek to the store ahead of the next lottery drawing.

Losing begins at the top, and the Browns are being led by a man who has put together quite the losing roster. General manager Ray Farmer decided that a team with the always-suspended Josh Gordon on the roster did not need to bolster the wide receiver position during multiple NFL Draft classes. Farmer and company elected to pass on the likes of Mike Evans, Odell Beckham and even Allen Robinson. The Browns instead used high draft picks for players who can’t get on the field or who do little of note during games.

You do not have to look far to find hot takes on second-year quarterback Johnny Manziel. Unless you accidentally stumbled upon this piece, you probably know all about Manziel’s personal and professional struggles. You are likely aware of his stint in rehab. You have witnessed that the Browns don’t trust Manziel to start ahead of a journeyman veteran (more on him later). You know all the stories and rumors about Manziel that have been floated out there since his days at Texas A&M.

Maybe the problem isn’t Manziel. Maybe the problem is the Browns.

Manziel would not, if the Browns were to cease operations immediately, be the biggest draft bust of the Farmer era. Justin Gilbert was the highest-rated cornerback on the board in the eyes of some analysts when the Browns used the No. 8 pick of the 2014 Draft to select him. Gilbert has been relegated to kickoff duties because he has been such a letdown as a defensive player. Don’t forget about third-round pick Terrance West, who was shipped to the Tennessee Titans in September because the Browns were done with him.

Farmer had an opportunity to make things right in the 2015 NFL Draft when he once again had two first-round picks. Defensive tackle Danny Shelton, another highly-rated player before the draft, has been one big nothing since the start of the regular season. Cameron Erving may prove himself to be the center of the future for the Browns. That does not do a lot of good for the team between now and the end of the upcoming holiday season.

When a NFL team has this many first-round flops, one has to wonder about the type of coaching those players are receiving. Don’t look now, but Cleveland head coach Mike Pettine has been a massive loser as of late. Pettine’s Browns dropped five straight games at the end of the 2014 season. His team has lost five of seven contests at the start of the current campaign. That’s good for a record of 2-10 over Pettine’s last 12 games as head coach of the Browns.

Losing isn’t all that Pettine has done during his stint in Cleveland. Pettine also failed to reel Manziel in during the QB’s rookie season. Pettine, a defensive coach, has not been able to get a lot of positive play out of Gilbert or Shelton. Pettine has not been able to convince veteran wide receiver Dwayne Bowe to want to play football this fall. Pettine has not fixed the worst run defense in the NFL.

Loser.

An offense lives and dies on its passing attack in the current NFL. The Browns are starting a career loser at quarterback. 36-year-old Josh McCown may be a great mentor for Manziel and other young players on the roster of the Browns. McCown will give your fantasy football team some solid numbers every now and again. He also loses; a lot. McCown has made 17 starts over the past season and a half.

He notched wins in two of those games. Two.

Oct 18, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam before the game between the Cleveland Browns and the Denver Broncos at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

One reason some had so much hope for Manziel was that he was so anti-Browns. Manziel was a winner in high school. He won in college, once when the Aggies were on the road against #1 Alabama.

Manziel was “Johnny Football,” a young phenom with confidence and talent who would refuse to be consumed by the losing that has infected the Browns. It’s still early into his career, but Manziel unquestionably has a long journey to complete if he is to be more than just another failed QB to play for the Browns.

Worst of all for Cleveland fans, in all of this, is that there is little hope in sight. The Browns have to stick with Farmer and Pettine, if for no other reason than a NFL franchise cannot hit the figurative “reset” button once every three years.

No bright executive would risk his NFL future taking the Cleveland gig with the knowledge that owner Jimmy Haslam could fire him 12-24 months after the ink had dried on his contract.

No coach with a winning resume is coming to replace Pettine. Bill Cowher is not going to Cleveland. Jon Gruden is loving life working for ESPN. The Browns now have to bank on Farmer and Pettine evolving from losers to winners at some point before the end of the 2016 season. That has never before happened for this version of the Browns.

Losing is contagious, and everybody within the Browns is infected.

Next: Is It Manzel Time?

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