Browns vs Bengals: Cleveland's Season Ends Before It Even Started

Football is a great sport. I was so excited for opening week that I couldn't sleep the night before the first football Sunday of the 2011-12 NFL season. I was ready to watch two of my favorite teams: the Texans and the Browns. While the Texans easily took care of business against the Peyton Manning-less Colts, the Browns were a whole different story.

In the first quarter and a half or so, Cincinnati put 13 points up on the board, while Cleveland managed zero. It wasn't that Cincinnati's offense had played that well, but Cleveland's offense had been pitiful up to that point, giving the Bengals great starting field position with each drive.

Then, the whole game changed. After the Bengals made it 13-0, Joshua Cribbs took the ensuing kickoff to the 50 yard line, and seemingly ignited the whole team. Then, the tide turned and Cleveland netted two touchdown catches via TE's and took a 14-13 lead in to the break. 

After halftime, the Browns took the ball down the field but had to settle for a field goal early on the second half. 17-14. For awhile, the game was a bit dull, with no real scoring.

Then, in the fourth quarter, it was crunch time. With not more than five minutes left in the final quarter of play, the Cleveland defense was faced with a task to stop the Cincinnati offense. Because of some blown coverage, they went down 21-17. Then, the offense had to score, and they couldn't. Cincinnati added salt to Cleveland's wounds with another touchdown, making the final score 28-17.

As a Browns fan, this is all too familiar. There are very few other sports franchises that can compete with the football team's history of torturing their fans, bar the Chicago Cubs and a few other clubs from various sports around the world.  

I have heard many times about the "rebuilding" process having to take place before the team can really compete. This has been the excuse for so many coaches, but it's got to end now. If the buck doesn't stop with Mike Holmgren, will it ever? I know it takes time to build a winning franchise, and it's definitely unfair to criticize Pat Shurmur when he, before this morning, still didn't have a game as a head coach under his belt.

The Browns had a good draft, but it seems like as players come in and out of the organization, the quality never really improves.  Bar 2007, when was the last time they were good? 2002.

I have hope in Mike Holmgren, which is really all that a Browns fan can ever have. This morning, I had a hope if we could get off to a winning start at home maybe we could have a decent season after all. After losing to the Bengals, easily one of the worst teams in the league, the season is done. It's a bold statement, but it's true. We've seen them blow leads and choke in the fourth quarter way too many times to count. If Mike Holmgren can't turn this ship around, I don't know who can.

At this point, I would be thrilled with a 6-10 record and a victory over either the Steelers or Ravens. A fan's expectations should never be that low following Week 1. I just hope that the other team thinks it's Christmas every time they play the squad from Lake Erie, because the Browns will need some gifts to survive this campaign.