The Browns are not clowns, maybe title contenders



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CLEVELAND – Browns fans, barking and barking, suffer longer than any NFL band, without exception.

They have never watched their team play in the Super Bowl, have not played in the playoffs since 2002, nor have they been reunited and have watched a playoff home game in 25 winters. There is a faction of orange and brown sponsors who remain bitter against late owner Art Modell who transferred the franchise to Baltimore. The era of expansion has been beyond torture: two decades of shame, hopelessness and dysfunction.

Like this proud city, which has had its share of difficulties over the years, the dear Cleveland team is a national strike line.

Well, the joke could be on someone else this time.

A group of powerful offensive weapons surrounding the fierce second-year quarterback, Baker Mayfield, is joined by an impressive defensive front led by the super freak Myles Garrett. The Browns, who moved to 0-16 years ago just two years ago and have symbolized professional incompetence – 29 starting players, 11 coaches in 20 years – should not only be fighting this season, but maybe compete for their first championship title in 55 years.

It's time.

"I am excited about the direction we are heading," said star receiver Odell Beckham Jr., whose arrival in March via a superb exchange with the Giants of New York has helped to overshadow the collective psyche of this frenetic region of football. "I can see it, I can feel it from the fans, I can feel it from this team."

Once ignored, the Browns have become the league's hottest team, this season's favorite flavor.

And it all starts with Mayfield, the No. 1 pick in 2018 that started last season as a substitute for Tyrod Taylor and ended the game by beating Peyton Manning's league record for touchdown passes.

Both impetuous and boyish, Mayfield officially took the reins of Week 4 and scored 6-7 as a starter while completing 64% of his passes, thus clearing the fanfare that motivates him since his youth.

The 24-year-old gave hope to the Brown's most cynical fans, who waited patiently for the team to find their long-term answer to the game's most critical position.

"I think I was born to play here," he said.

Beckham feels reborn with the Browns, who have landed the triple Pro Bowler, famous for its spectacular one-handed shots and silly drama off the field. Reunited with his friend and former LSU teammate Jarvis Landry, Beckham, who has been slowed by injuries over the past two seasons, says he's put the New York skyline in his rear-view mirror.

"I'm just happy to be here," he said.

In Cleveland. Where football is finally back.

COOK ROACHIE

A year ago, Freddie Kitchens was in the background, teaching the Browns demo before an eight-game stint as an offensive coordinator changes his life.

He was hired in January as Cleveland's new coach, the club's sixth in 10 years. Kitchens have played an important role in Mayfield's first year of success, and he is already under pressure to win. But the affable 44-year-old Alabamian, who has bounced back in the coaching circle, does not worry about his team's enormous expectations.

"I'm going to train them as I trained them at Glenville State College," he said. "I really believe it's just hype. That's all it is.

The kitchen must hope that the owners, Dee and Jimmy Haslam, remain patient and that his team remains healthy.

BROWNS BROMANCE

Beckham and Landry often spoke in college to play together in the pros. Well, the dream has come true and the duo gives the Browns perhaps the most deadly blow to receive in the league.

"Scary," Landry said.

Beckham was slowed during the show season by an unspecified hip injury, but the Browns are confident he will be ready for the opening match against Tennessee.

"Odell is Odell," said Damarious safety Randall. "It's a type of talent that happens only once in a generation. He will be ready to leave on September 8th. "

GARRETT'S STADY RISE

Warning to quarterbacks and offensive linemen: Myles Garrett can be dangerous for your health. The 6-foot-5, 280-pound is leaner – and maybe a little more naughty – entering its third season.

He had 13 and a half sacks in 2018, but that was before General Manager John Dorsey added former Pro Bowlers Olivier Vernon and Sheldon Richardson to the front.

"It's a beast," said cornerback Denzel Ward about the number one pick in the 2017 draw. "I saw it like that last year. that he was the biggest and fastest guy, and saying he's the biggest and fastest guy this year is even crazier. "

HUNTING ON THE BRIDGE

Kareem Hunt will spend two months watching and watching. The 2017 league leader takes a fresh start with the Browns, who signed him as a free agent after his release by Kansas City, following a nasty incident during which he jostled a woman.

The league has suspended eight times and, as long as he will not fear anything, he will be available in November and, if he is not rusty, he will be able to offer Nick a new option. Chubb, who won 996 yards as a rookie.

FALSE START

The Browns are 1-17-1 in opening since 1999, with only one win in 2004. The first games are of particular importance to Kitchens, whose every decision in the game will be thoroughly examined.

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