Cleveland Browns: State of the Dawg Pound, June 2018

The ‘Cleanse’ is complete for the Cleveland Browns. The Iceman cometh, regrettable statements and continued optimism it’s time for The State of the Dawg Pound, June 2018.

Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson has taken the plunge, finally! Jackson backed up his infamous bet with a swim in Lake Erie and in the process, raised over $30,000 in support of survivors of human trafficking.

The “Cleanse” closes an ugly chapter in Browns history and the focus now turns to rebuilding the faith and trust of fans and winning games.

I must admit I had hoped the cleanse would have come along with the painful shivers of a mid-winter plunge. As it turns out, Hue’s doctors played a role in a warmer-weather dunk as he has a stent. I find no argument to maintaining one’s ticker performance, so I have come to terms. I would, however, have like to have seen every single player at his side, rookies included, but he lived up to his promise nonetheless.

The “Iceman” Chuck Liddell coaches it up!

For those of you unfamiliar with MMA, Chuck Liddell will go down in history as one of the best to ever step foot into a cage, ring or octogon. His championship career certainly validates his expertise is close-quarters combat. If his teaching skills are remotely close in caliber to his legendary fighting skills, the benefit could be tremendous.

Liddell comes to Cleveland as part of the Unbreakable Performance Center. Along with Liddell, MMA-great Randy Couture and other fighters have taken part in exercises with all of the Browns position groups, focusing on wrestling and grappling techniques, maintaining balance and the winning mindset of a fighter.

Regrettable Statements:

Tyrod Taylor has voiced his disappointment in the owner’s decision to force players to stand for the flag or remain in the locker room, stating the players should have been involved in the decision (via Browns Zone)

"To make a decision that strong, you would hope that the players had input on it, but obviously not,” Taylor said after the organized team activities practice. “It is what we have to deal with as players. Not a good or a bad thing, but at the end of the day, they call the shots and make the rules. That is what we have to abide by."

Perhaps a dunk in the lake would have been a wiser offer by Damarious Randall, whose tweet that he would buy jerseys for fans that retweeted in the event that the Cavs beat Golden State in the NBA Finals went viral.

Welcome to Cleveland, Randall, home of the greatest fans in the world! Last I checked, you are only in for slightly over 1.15 million jerseys if your Warriors find defeat! How much does a jersey cost nowadays?

Joe Thomas has thrown his own hat into the ring, offering jerseys if the Cavs win. The future Hall-of-Famer’s tally is currently at a somewhat more-bearable, 275,000.

Although I understand Randall’s mishap, as some statements can backfire, I am not sure I follow Joe Thomas’ response. Perhaps suitable cost-to-value ratios for good publicity is not my strongsuit, but something seems a little off to me.

Optimism in Believeland:

As OTAs continue, one bright spot has emerged, being Denzel Ward. Ward has made his presence known with his play, most notably, holding his own against Josh Gordon.

Antonio Callaway has also drawn praise for his play in OTAs. It will be quite a breath of fresh air if he keeps out of trouble and fills a much needed third or fourth passing option. Speaking of fresh air, I hope he and Gordon are inhaling plenty of the smoke-free variety.

Congratulations to Jarvis Landry for his selection in the NFL’s Top 100 Players of 2018. His placement at No. 52 is well earned — although he would argue that it is 51 spots below where he should be ranked. Even at 10 spots behind his 2017 ranking, No.  52 is a welcomed sight for a Cleveland receiver.

High player-turnaround is commonly a struggle of its own for NFL teams. It takes time for a group of players to adhere and mishaps are inevitable, but overall, optimism has taken hold in the Dawg Pound. The future, no doubt, holds far less horrors than the recent past.

Next: NFL 2018: Ranking the 50 best pass rushers

In all jokes and seriousness aside:

A quarterback controversy? Perhaps I have been off the grid, living in the Backwoods a wee-bit too long, but it seems to me that a football team without a capable quarterback would find themselves with more controversy than a team with two.

Is it just me, or would the video footage of the “Cleanse” been much better suited if Joe Thomas had been floating by in a boat, perched upon a lawn chair, with a cold beverage in one hand and a fishing pole in the other?