The Cleveland Browns have done a lot of things since returning to the NFL in 1999.
To wit:
- They have employed a lot of full-time head coaches.
- They have employed numerous general managers.
- They have wasted countless draft picks.
- They have lost games in ways that are hard to describe – even if you witnessed them live.
- They have used more starting quarterbacks than seems possible.
But one thing they have rarely done is look like they belong on the field.
Browns fans know the feeling. The team has all summer to prepare for the opening game of the season, only to come out and perform as if it is the first time they have ever seen a football.
Or fans will watch the Browns in the 1 p.m. game on a given Sunday, then sit, stunned, during the late games as two teams play something that only resembles
what the Browns did earlier in the day because it involves a football and is played on a 100-yard field.
But on Thursday, for at least one day, the Browns showed they might finally be starting to figure this whole thing out.
At least that is the impression that head coach Todd Monken took away from today’s joint practice against the Buffalo Bills when asked about the performance of the offense:
“The one thing I would say, maybe it was just me, it didn’t look like we were out of place. It looked like we belonged. That’s all we wanted to see: do we belong? Does our first eleven give us a chance to move the ball and score? I felt that way today.”
Monken also tossed some praise toward the offensive line, which is slowly rounding into form while also dealing wth injuries:
“There were some mistakes there, but we made some plays. Over the course of whatever amount of snaps, you wanted to see us be able to run it. We hit a few balls down the field. We hit some short third downs, So, you wanted to see it all. I may feel different in two or three hours, but as of right now, I left the field going, ‘We’ve got some guys to work with.’”
So what does this all mean in the grand scheme of the season? Maybe nothing, but maybe it is the start of the team beginning to believe in itself and embrace what could be possible if they can play as a cohesive unit, rather than being their own worst enemy – especially on offense.
It could still all fall apart on September 13 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but for one afternoon the Browns actually looked like a professional football team.
For now, that is good enough. Or, as Monken put it after practice, “Was that a lot of fun? Holy shit.”
