"So you're sayin' there's a chance"

I really expected that writing a preview of Browns-Patriots would be easy. Surely I could come up with lots of snarky insults for all things New England including (but not limited to) fall foliage, lobster rolls, the terrible Boston accents in The Departed, and everything Red Sox related. (I will probably never recover from the Indians blowing a 3-1 series lead in the 2007 ALCS. Truly the stuff of baseball nightmares.) I could even make fun of Plymouth Rock, which looks like when those Brady Bunch kids tried to glue that vase back together (Mom always said don't play ball in the house.) But really, it's hard to truly despise the New England Patriots. I don't think they are a lightning rod like the Yankees, Manchester United, or Michigan football. The Patriots just really aren't that hateable, partly because they're a pretty generic team, mostly devoid of personality, especially now that Gronk has retired. It's actually crazy to me that Tom Brady is without question the G.O.A.T. when it comes to quarterbacks, but the dude has zero panache. He has his strange diet that I think has to do with drinking a liter of parsnip oil every day, and I think he briefly was into Ugg boots. I also think their fan base is pretty bland as well, at least Philly has their criminally insane fan base, and the Raiders have whatever this is. But Patriots fans are just..."meh" (as the kids say) Maybe my indifference to the Patriots is because I understand there are no football arguments to be won with a Pats fan. I refuse to google any stats about the Patriots, but I'm pretty sure that Tom Brady has only missed the playoffs 2-3 times since becoming a starter almost 20 years ago, and I know he's 6-3 in the Superbowl (still crazy he was outdueled bye aw-shucks Eli Manning twice). It's bananas that Brady and Belichick have been the only constants and a million other players have come and gone, and all they do is keep winning. I know lots of Browns fans that have a lot of animosity towards Bill Belichick for cutting Bernie Kosar a hundred years ago, but the hard truth it that we would live in a different sports world if Belichick had logged 25 years as a head coach in Cleveland.

Anyway, on to matters at hand for the Cleveland Browns. Everybody is hoping that the bye week allowed every person in the organization to sort of gather themselves, and recharge a bit.  Freddie makes it sound like they've had great practices this week, and they better have because a rather daunting trip to New England looms in our near future.  Everything seems to be aligning against Cleveland this weekend. The Patriots are 7-0, allowing 6.9 points per game (not a typo), and scoring 31.9 points per game.  I'm not sure I can recall a time when the same team led in both of those categories. However (said aloud in Stephen A. Smith fashion) only one opponent is over .500 (Buffalo, 5-1)  The other 6 teams they beat are collectively 7-31, including the likes of the Jets, Dolphins, and that team in Washington.  I'm not calling the Patriots a schedule fraud, but I can see why it's legitimate to point out that they have played one good team, and struggled to beat the Bills 16-10 in Buffalo.  My point is that yes, the New England Patriots are a very good team, but possibly overrated to an extent because of far inferior competition.  Also, could the Pats be looking ahead to a game in Baltimore next week? Plus they're on a short week, so I think there's a (slim) chance the Browns (with extra rest)  are catching them at an opportune moment. 

All that being said, it's still tough to pick the Browns to come out a winner on Sunday.  The only thing really going in their favor is the absolute necessity of winning this game.  I truly hope the mindset of this Browns team has shifted to a one week at a time mentality. Every coach and every player spouts that phrase almost automatically but I would wager that the Browns came into this season thinking about 9-7 or 10-6, clearly they weren't thinking about the Tennessee Titans in week one.  If this group of guys can stay in the moment Sunday, maybe take Freddie's words to heart (Do your job) then they can be competitive.  We'll know a lot after the first 5 minutes.  I'm assuming if Cleveland wins the toss, they'll take the ball and try to get points on the board immediately.  Otherwise, it could be a demoralizing 10 minute touchdown drive like the Pats did Monday on the first possession of the game.  Not matter the problems and failures that have happened this season, they still have bona fide talent, and are still a tricky offense to defend against.  I hope we see a lot of Chubb right away, and I hope OBJ gets a lot of looks as well. Both of those guys are a threat to score every single time they touch the ball.  The Browns defense is going to have to find a way to harass Brady, against the Jets he had time to tie his shoes and make a ham sandwich before completing passes. I think those things could happen, and I hope that a sense of urgency will permeate that locker room and the Browns get into a one play at a time mentality.

So I'm going way, way out on a limb.  I think the Browns will be able to keep it close most of the way, and get a lucky play towards the end to win this game.  It might be special teams, a big turnover, or something along those lines. I think the heavens will align, Freddie Kitchens will channel his inner Vince Lombardi, and the Browns are going to bring the ruckus to Foxborough tomorrow. I like the Browns to win this game 24-20, get to 3-4 on the season and along the way relaunch 2019 Cleveland Browns Football.

Honorable mention this week is the obituary for David Keith Miller. He sounds like a remarkable guy, and sincerely I offer sympathies to his family. Read the first few sentences and I think you'll see why this caught my eye. (Thanks @Reflog_18 for the tweet)

Go Browns.