I’m not going to bother to rehash the details of Deshaun Watson and the many women he harassed/assaulted during his time in Houston. On the long list of egregious aspects to this story, the Houston Texans organization looms large having supplied Watson with nondisclosure agreements to take with him to the various massage sessions they helped him to arrange as well as arranging a membership to an exclusive hotel for Watson where several of the incidents happened. (What sort of hotel has “memberships”? Weird.) The Texans obviously knew the extent of the allegations and immediately made plans to put Watson on the shelf until some dumb team was willing to cough up a king’s ransom for him. And the Browns did just that, six draft picks, including three first rounders. And to top that off, the Browns guaranteed Watson 230 million dollars, the biggest contract ever awarded in pro football.
The Browns did not enter into this situation blindly. They knew they would lose a significant number of fans, and they knew the national spotlight would fall on them in a hypercritical way. They also knew at the time that Watson would miss at least half the season, so they were willing to write off the 2022 season as another lost year. I wonder how season ticket holders feel about supporting a team that the ownership is expecting to lose most of their games, and doesn’t seem to put off by that. Ownership clearly believes that this is the move that will result in a superbowl win in the next few seasons, they have actually said exactly that. They are banking on the fact that a title will right all wrongs, and that championship euphoria will obfuscate the slimy nature of the face of the franchise.
First off, they will not win a superbowl in the next five years. You can bank on that. The way you make your roster better is either through the draft, identifying and developing young talent, or by signing proven free agents, usually to large contracts. To date, this front office has not drafted well. I’m not talking about first round picks, those are almost can’t miss. (except for the Browns who have drafted guys like Tim Couch, Courtney Brown, Johnny Manziel, Barkevious Mingo, William Green, and Brandon Weeden.) But since Andrew Berry has been calling the shots on draft day, the Browns have not had success finding guys in rounds 2 & 3 that end up being starters and contributors. The roster is not in great shape right now in terms of depth, and is going to be difficult to improve without first round picks and also have so much money wrapped up in Watson, Garrett, and Cooper. Those three guys will earn 107 million dollars in 2023, and the salary cap for the entire team is 225 million. So they are going to have a tough time attracting free agents, and it is precarious at best to suggest they can strengthen the roster through the draft.
That’s not the only reason they won’t win a superbowl. In case you weren’t aware, it is really, really difficult to get to a superbowl, let alone win it. And when I look around the AFC, I sure think teams like Buffalo and Kansas City are going to be dominant for the next few years. They’ve got more offensive talent than Cleveland, better coaching (Stefanski has had a nightmare year calling plays) and more big game experience. My point is that ownership is all-in on winning a title in the next few years to distract from the dumpster fire that the team actually is. I do not doubt that they’ll make the playoffs here and there, but it won’t be enough for the Cleveland fan base when they fizzle out in the playoffs. Browns fans really ought to be offended that the Haslam’s think they can manipulate the fans into supporting a team led by an actual serial sex offender, on top of throwing away the 2022 season without hesitation. So the absolute desperation shown by the Haslam’s will be for nought, at least in terms of a title. And if by some miracle they actually make it to a superbowl, myself and many other former Cleveland Browns fans won’t be rejoicing, because the price paid will just be too high.
All that being said, the Browns will certainly win this game today. And the Browns apologists will wax poetic about the renewed energy in the locker room, the intensity of the defense as they chased beleaguered Texans QB Kyle Allen around, and commanding presence of Deshaun Watson in the huddle. However, let’s make sure we recognize that the Houston Texans are 1-11 on the season, dead last in yards per game, and averaging a meager 16 points per game. The Browns will be keyed up for this game, and they absolutely should hold Houston to less than 20 points. In addition to the things I have said about Watson, it is also true that he is remarkably talented and is ten times the athlete that Jacoby Brissett is. I wonder if he will be too amped up and overthrow receivers early in the game, probably the game plan is to run Chubb and Hunt 75% of the time to let Watson get in the flow. He hasn’t been tackled in 700 days, so I’m sure he’s a little rusty. But he is a legitimate dual threat, and I think he aims to exact revenge on his former team. Anyway, the Browns will win this game something like 30-16, and cursory superbowl expectations will fill the Cleveland airwaves tomorrow morning. But I wonder if those fans will be as excited in January, when the team is 7-9 and once again watching other teams in the playoffs.
