The Cleveland Browns have a truly talent-rich roster in 2018, so its time for Hugh Jackson to earn his keep. The coach keeps getting opportunities to win in Cleveland, but there are no more excuses left.
No matter how poor or successful a team’s season was, there are always major offseason questions on the front burner. The NFL turns over too much for even the best teams to advance a calendar year unscathed. Let’s wrap up the team-by-team overviews with the Cleveland Browns.
The Browns have had a very busy offseason, as one would expect for a team that needed to turn a lot around. The front office overhauled the entire offense. It spent its high draft picks on both sides of the ball. Suddenly, there are the makings of something resembling something here in Cleveland. Yet the main carryover from the ‘bad years’ is head coach Hugh Jackson. Its time for him to earn his keep.
Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, debate the Cleveland Browns in today’s NFL Sports Debate.
Todd Salem:
The Cleveland Browns’ offense is really the point of emphasis in 2018. They traded for Tyrod Taylor to lead this group. This was reportedly after trying and failing to trade for Nick Foles. Since they had the number one pick in the draft the whole time, this indicates to me that no one plans on playing Baker Mayfield in 2018. Whether that plans lasts is another story. But there are pieces to support Taylor having some semblance of success.
Josh Gordon and Corey Coleman are joined by Jarvis Landry on the outside. Carlos Hyde was brought in to replace Isaiah Crowell, and he will be backed up by rookie Nick Chubb and the versatile Duke Johnson. David Njoku will have a chance to break out at tight end. And the offensive line still has the horses that were added last offseason. With the safe yet unspectacular Taylor behind center, if there was ever a time for Cleveland to succeed on this side of the ball, it would be now.
On defense, there are stars in the making at all levels. I don’t think anyone doubts the upper-level talent that is finally around on this roster. And it is no surprise after drafting so high for years in a row. But things must finally come together for Cleveland to lose its laughing-stock status. That starts with head coach Hue Jackson.
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Is Jackson actually a good coach? Will he be patient with Mayfield and let him actually sit for a season? If not, what happens to the ceiling of Mayfield and the roster at-large? And if Jackson is actually a bad coach — as his 1-31 career record seems to indicate — what does any of it matter?
The Browns have sat at the foot of make-or-break seasons for a while now. Nothing has been made, which led to the demise of the analytically savvy front office before this iteration. Jackson has survived multiple groups of management, but this could finally be his make-or-break season. There is enough talent for this team to be the best its been since going 7-9 in 2014. That doesn’t seem like too much to ask.
Dan Salem:
The Cleveland Browns continue to be an enigma. They certainly have a ton of talent on their roster entering the 2018 season, yet Jackson remains on the sidelines. Cleveland feels like a team that should have a new coach to present a new message to this new team of predominantly young players. Yet something inside me says don’t write off Hue Jackson. He’s never had a great roster to work with, so perhaps he can accomplish something with these new-look Browns.
Cleveland must agree with me, because they kept Jackson as head coach despite all of the evidence supporting his firing. This season has to be make-or-break for both the Browns and Jackson. Taylor is a winning quarterback and consistently did more with less in Buffalo.
He is an excellent bridge to Mayfield, who should see the field as the starter by early November. Cleveland is not yet a playoff team, so they need to cultivate their new quarterback in real games. This should not be at the expense of the growth of the entire football team, hence waiting until later in the season. I fully expect five to seven wins from these Browns.
There is an odd circumstance developing in Cleveland. Mayfield should see the field this season, yet the Browns might be good enough to warrant keeping him on the sidelines. Do you play for this year, or the future? Cleveland has been playing for the future over and over again, so it makes sense that Jackson would want to push for the playoffs with Taylor, assuming they are in such a position come mid to late October. The schedule appears to have taken care of this decision for him, as the first two months look rather challenging.
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I don’t see a single game on Cleveland’s schedule that makes me think victory immediately. Week one versus Pittsburgh will be telling. No one expects the Browns to win, but they will be at home making it their best shot at beating the Steelers. A win sets them up nicely to defeat New Orleans on the road in week two. A loss may invoke too many bad memories of other lost seasons. Jackson will get to play out the full season, but I’m not sure anything short of seven wins will save his job. That being said, there are not more than four or five games that appear as wins at this juncture of the offseason. Cleveland must overachieve, but its about time.