Cleveland Browns: Hidden Reason to Embrace Hard Knocks
By Erik Lambert
The Cleveland Browns have plenty to worry about going into 2018. Most notably how in the world they can pick up the rubble of their humiliating 0-16 season last year.
The last thing many fans, coaches, and players wanted to hear was that their team was chosen to appear on the annual HBO series “Hard Knocks.” The opinions regarding this vary but many tend to agree that it’s an unnecessary distraction for the organization to deal with as they try to put together a winning season. This is especially true for the Browns who haven’t had a winning season since 2007 and haven’t made the playoffs since 2002.
What good could this serve the organization? Their #1 pick Baker Mayfield has enough on his plate just trying to prepare for the herculean task ahead of him. Not to mention head coach Hue Jackson is squarely on the hot seat with just one win in two years. Taking time out of their busy schedules to deal with the cameras isn’t something they probably had on their bucket list for this season. At the same time, there may be a small silver lining most people don’t know.
Hard Knocks has been kind to AFC North teams in the past
People love to dump on Hard Knocks mostly for the reason that no team yet who’s been on it has won a Super Bowl. This means it must be bad luck. That’s a bit of a stretch. However, there is an interesting nugget for the superstitious Browns fans out there that might be exciting. Since the show’s inception in 2001, a total of three teams from the AFC North have appeared on it. The Baltimore Ravens did the inaugural show in 2001 and the Cincinnati Bengals did it twice in 2009 and 2013.
The interesting part? All three years the team ended up in the playoffs.
- 2001 Baltimore Ravens (10-6)
- 2009 Cincinnati Bengals (10-6)
- 2013 Cincinnati Bengals (11-5)
Baltimore was defending champions in 2001. Cincinnati actually accomplished a more impressive feat, reaching the postseason with what was essentially two different rosters just four years between appearances. The division is a perfect 3-0 for the postseason. That has to be encouraging for Cleveland. Sure it’s a lot to expect given their recent history.
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Still, this has the look of a team that is building a strong foundation of talent on both sides of the ball. If Mayfield can get off to a fast start, maybe the improbable could happen.