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CLEVELAND – "Believeland" is cautiously up to his name. For a week more, at least.
The hype surrounding the Browns at the opening of the first week – on the cover of Sports Illustrated, a very fashionable choice at the Super Bowl and the toast of the city in the off season – was a success after the defeat. -13 of the Titans last Sunday. has not yet disappeared. This is a city that has experienced lost football seasons in each of the last 11 falls and 18 of the last 20, but a defeat in opening season has not yet triggered any alarms and whistles.
"Honestly, I did not feel the" Oh no, "said Dwane, a Browns fan since 1980, in front of the team's pro shop at FirstEnergy Stadium. "We did not get the impression" maybe next year ". It's been our saying for years. I did not think maybe it was next year. I think everyone still thinks they can do something.
Coach Freddie Kitchens said earlier this week that "we must refrain from doing now, it's over-reacting," and most Browns fans seem to be complying with it . They finally have the talent for this year to be different, say the fans, even if the fear of another lost season is never completely lost.
There are always Browns flags and signs in front of downtown restaurants and bars, and fans earlier in the week still bought jerseys at the pro shop, but did not return them. A radio sample of local sports debates gave the impression that the sky has not yet fallen and that it is only a bad match: 18 penalties against Brown, who may have fought as much as the Titans.
"[Sunday] was probably a punch in the belly, "said Ryan, another fan of Brown." Brings us back to reality .I think we got up on a pedestal that we had not even reached yet. that we have been humiliated, for sure. [But] the excitement is always there. "
The prospect of a win over the Jets in "Monday Night Football" offers hope and a chance to get the train back in fashion on track. After all, it was the Jets that gave the Browns their first win in almost two years last September.
Of course, if the Browns were to lose on Monday, especially against a team absent from Sam Darnold, these hopes could well fly away, especially with the Rams on the deck in the third week – without the confident group of locker rooms thinking of this way.
"Look at the Patriots last year. They lost some games [early] and they still won the Super Bowl, "said wide receiver Rashard Higgins, not the only Brown to call the defending champions this week. "We can not let that degrade us from the goal."
Higgins sees Monday – in prime time and in front of a national audience – an opportunity to quickly return the script.
"Lights on, cameras on," said Higgins. "We are made for that."
The Browns insisted that they did not listen to the outside noise during the pre-season, while everything was favorable to them. Now, after starting 0-1, they take the same approach.
"I feel a lot of confidence with this team," said cornerback Denzel Ward. "We want to get out all the enemies and opponents from here. I hope everyone is gone now and that we are focusing on ourselves. We will win together, we must stay together, stay in a team and everything else will take care of itself. "
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