Cleveland Browns, Redux: What Part of 2009 Will They Resemble in 2010?

There were times when I was downright nasty.

As the Cleveland Browns stumbled to a miserable 1-11 start under Eric Mangini in 2009, I could barely contain my disgust.

I mocked. I criticized. I questioned. I rebuked.

Mangini kept talking about a “process,” when he talked at all. The more we heard, the more we wanted to scream.

I did scream, in print, at him.

There was seemingly no passion. Quarterbacks couldn’t throw, running backs couldn’t run, receivers couldn’t catch, defenders couldn’t defend.

The “process” was difficult to process. Had it not been for Josh Cribbs, there would have been no reason to pay attention.

Then, like a phoenix rising out of, say, Phoenix, the Browns won their last four games.

Pittsburgh Steelers? Take that!

Kansas City Chiefs? Biff!

Oakland Raiders? Bam!

Jacksonville Jaguars? Pow!

We were giddy. And I was a tad perplexed.

I had spent an entire season working up a good, old-fashioned grudge, and suddenly I had no one to hold it against.

Just like that, the Browns—the ridiculous, laughable, Keystone Kop Browns—had actually improved on the previous season’s win total. How did that happen?

I still don’t know, but I had no choice but to issue a mea culpa of sorts, so I wrote a column giving Mangini and the Browns credit where credit was due.

That said, here’s what I think about 2010:

The Browns could finish with a worse record than in 2009 and still be a better team.

Think about it: They were on an unlikely and rather inexplicable roll those last four games of ’09, and they rode the crest of that wave for as long as it would carry them.

The Pittsburgh win was the crucial one. It saved Mangini’s job, in retrospect. The defense was superb, and Cribbs did the rest—which, come to think of it, was the most anyone could hope for last season.

Beyond that, the Browns caught the rest of their foes on the downside of disappointing seasons. Yes, they took care of business, but it wasn’t like they were disposing of the Patriots, the Colts, and the Saints.

If they had won even two of their final four games, it would have been miraculous compared to the first 12 games of the season. It would have put them at 3-13—and it might have done them a favor by tempering expectations for this season.

However, they finished at 5-11, and that puts them on the spot going into 2010. Combined with new leadership in the front office and decent offseason personnel moves, that means that six, seven, or even eight wins are in store this year—right?

Not necessarily, and that’s where we need to give this team room to grow and improve the right way—gradually, by adding pieces and parts here and there that will equip them to compete day in and day out, for years to come.

Thankfully, that’s what Mike Holmgren is doing. No one knows precisely what the results will be, but there is an ease and a quiet confidence among the Cleveland faithful that hasn’t been present since the Browns returned to the NFL fold in 1999.

Holmgren has us believing that Mangini can really coach, Jake Delhomme can still lead, Brian Robiskie can catch, and guys like Scott Fujita, Chris Gocong, and Sheldon Brown can shore up a leaky defense.

He’s impressed us with a decent draft and reassured us by hiring a respected GM in Tom Heckert.

Perhaps most important, he’s gotten Randy Lerner off the front page. The buck stops with Holmgren, and the bull’s eye is squarely between his shoulders.

The games, however, have to be played on the field—and that’s where it’s anybody’s guess as to what the results will be.

Too many things have to go exactly right for the Browns to climb back into contention this season. A dramatic turnaround can happen, as it did in Miami two seasons ago, but it’s more likely that there will be some bumps and bruises along the way.

The end of 2009 represented a perfect storm that no one saw coming. The Browns, eager to exorcise their demons and end on a high note, caught slumping teams that were off their game and were just waiting for the season to end.

To their credit, the Browns went out and did what nobody thought they could do.

It won’t be so easy over the 16-game schedule that awaits them this fall. Other teams around the league know that the Browns are no longer a team to be taken lightly.

I’m hearing predictions of eight wins, maybe even nine, but I’m not buying it.

Six or more wins would be nice, but a step backward in the win-loss column won’t be the end of the world. The key will be how the Browns play, and early indications are that they’ll be more efficient, better organized, and more competitive.

Certainly, they’ll be playing with purpose.

On the long road back to the greatness that was once the hallmark of Cleveland Browns football, that alone will be a step in the right direction.