Browns v. Bears

The Browns aren't a good team right now, but I'm starting to think they're on the right track. They need players, and they know it, but what's more important is that they know that we know it too. During the Modell era, the tradition of winning NFL championships was replaced by a tradition of blowing smoke up the fans' rectums. That continued through the Davis reign of terror, but lately it seems the Browns have taken a different approach. Instead of Davis' teary-eyed "I'm tellin' ya, those guys played their guts out," we get Crennel's refusal to spin stupidity or poor performance on the part of his team.

Let me give you an example. After the Colts game, Crennel was asked about the brain-dead taunting penalties that Braylon Edwards and Antonio Bryant received. Undoubtedly, Butch would have spewed some bilge about how he doesn't like the penalties but appreciates the intensity, blah, blah, blah. Romeo Crennel said something like "don't stick the ball in a guy's face, hand it back to the official." He went on to say that discipline was one of the things that he felt the Browns needed to focus on.

Here's another one: lately, the media's been on a "when is Braylon going to get more playing time?" kick. You gotta love Crennel's response to that: when he makes more plays.

The attitude's refreshing, but can Crennel and company right the ship? You got me. But I kind of like what I've seen so far. I think Maurice Carthon knows what he's doing as an offensive coordinator. In particular, I thought the play-calling against Green Bay was superb. The jury's still out on the defense, but they've shown signs of life too. They give up a lot of yards (they rank near the bottom in both passing and running yardage), but not as many points as you might think (they rank 17th here, according to Grossi's column this morning). Plus, they've played two future Hall of Fame QBs and the hottest QB in the league (Carson Palmer) so far this season, so maybe we ought to cut them some slack.

The bottom line is that this team isn't going to win a lot of games this year, but this week is one where I like their odds. Orton's coming off a five interception performance against the Bengals and a stint as the Internet's bye-week bad boy, so I don't expect the Bears to be an offensive juggernaut. On the other hand, their defense has certainly been tough so far. The line is Browns by 3. I'm going to go with the Browns, 16-7, but I've got no plans to quit my day job.