Staring at the same walls day after day. Isolation. Helplessly seeing loved ones lose their last battle. Longing for normalcy to return to our lives. Many of us have faced unbelievably painful consequences in our lives over the past 10 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Other sports either shortened or canceled their seasons. Even if it was money-driven, we as fans needed a full football season.
While the NFL season wasn’t without its hurdles for players, teams and fans, the finished product was far superior to what most of us expected.
Most of us have many excruciating seasons as Browns fans under our belt. We’ve seen coaches and quarterbacks come and go faster than the weather changes. We would get our hopes up for a new regime only to see another restart in a year or two.
When Kevin Stefanski and company came to town, I was hopeful. We were hopeful. We always are at first. We had no idea what we we’re about to watch. The Browns didn’t just rebound from 20 years of putrid stench. This team went much further than that.
There is so much irony in the Browns becoming a playoff team this year. Society goes along living their lives for 20 years and we think being Browns fans is panful. Suddenly an unthinkable pandemic, which has killed over 1,000 people in Cuyahoga county alone, happens and the Browns win their first playoff game in 25 years. It feels like a reminder that sports isn’t really important. Yet, at the same time the Browns gave us a season that we really needed.
We have been talking about stunning the world in Cleveland for a long time. It finally happened. The Browns stunned an already-stunned world. They carried us through what we hope was the worst part of this era.
The meaning of this season to the fans can’t be overstated. We also need to look at what this means to the Browns franchise. This season changes everything for the team.
The Browns finally have some respect around the league and within the division. This should help in attracting free agents and with officiating. Good teams get more calls.
The Browns have a huge head start on next season. They’re usually looking for a new GM or Head Coach or both right about now. Just think about the players being able to go into a season without having to learn a new playbook and terminology. They can work on other nuances of the game.
This was Stefanski’s first season as a head coach. He did a great job, but he will get better. This entire season was a learning experience for him. You can say the same about Andrew Berry and the GM position. He seems to have done a terrific job in his first year, too. The management team and coaches have all been learning to work together this season. When you think about this, it explains why teams with some form of continuity generally do pretty well.
The Browns obviously have some roster needs that must be addressed. I won’t go into positions and players, that’s for another article. It’s pretty obvious that the team needs more overall speed on defense and that most additions will take place on that side of the ball this off-season.
Andrew Berry and his team will earn their money in making decision on key players. The goal should be to keep the nucleus together while adding talent. The Browns are officially in “win-now” mode. Here’s hoping the “win-now” mode button gets stuck like the reset button was for so many years. Go Browns
