A 5-11 finish would mean progress

Browns fans have come to accept losing as a natural part of Sunday autumn afternoons, as natural as leaves changing color and falling to the ground at this time of year.

I know this to be a fact because when someone asks how I think the Browns will do this season and I say, “5-11,” the response is usually comes with a smile, a nod and something like: “5-11, I’ll take that. That’s progress.”

Game 1 in Year Two of the rebuild being constructed by Sashi Brown begins at 1 p.m. Aug. 10 in FirstEnergy Stadium when the Browns host the Pittsburgh Steelers. So far Brown, as executive vice president of football operations, has delivered hope, a bushel of future draft choices (five in the first two rounds next year) — and not much else.

Predicting a four-game improvement from last year’s excruciating 1-15 season is based on the defense being better and the theory it will be nearly impossible for rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer to be worse than Robert Griffin III, Josh McCown and Cody Kessler were in 2016.

“Boring is best” is a motto for the Browns to live by this season because the lower the score, the better their chances of winning. Kizer’s development as a quarterback will be stunted because none of the Browns receivers

scares defensive coordinators. Second-year player Corey Coleman is the best they have, but all you need to know to realize how weak the position is is three of their six wide receivers — Sammie Coates, Kasen Williams and Reggie Davis — were on other rosters until Sept. 2.

But Kizer does have a strong arm and he does have the intangibles that a leader needs, so he does provide hope for stability at the most unstable position in Cleveland sports history. He also will be happy giving the ball to Isaiah Crowell 25 times

a game if that proves the best formula for success.

“I understand handing the ball off — whatever it takes,” Kizer said. “At this level, there’s a lot that goes into every play. Take the big plays when they’re given to you, but when they’re not given to you, understand that five or six yards is a great play, especially with the running backs that we have that can catch the ball and make plays.”

Not having rookie defensive end Myles Garrett for at least two weeks because of a sprained right ankle is a huge blow to

the defense. For once a top draft choice was playing like one. Gregg Williams, the defensive coordinator, has been through this before on other teams. He is not panicking.

“As a coaching staff, when we manage personnel, it’s about the next man up,” he said. “The next man up may do something better than the guy he just replaced but other things not as good as the guy he just replaced.”

The addition of Trevon Coley, Caleb Brantley, Larry Ogunjobi and another year of seasoning for Danny Shelton should make the Browns better against the run even with Garrett temporarily sidelined. Williams’ aggressive play-calling should make the pass rush better, which in turn should reduce the number of touchdown passes allowed. The Browns gave up 36 touchdown passes last year.

The Browns, never very good in the first half of the season, are normally worse in the second half. Injuries mount, as they do for most teams, but the Browns in the past coped with them worse than

other teams because their bench players have been a rag-tag collection of free agent castoffs.

Two dozen players are new to the 2017 team — nine draft picks, seven free agent signees, seven players picked up off the waiver wire and two via trade. Theoretically the bench should be stronger, but only time will reveal that. Carl Nassib and Nate Orchard as stand-ins for Garrett will provide one answer.

Browns fans have endured nine straight losing seasons, and in that drought the only time the Browns won more than five games was in 2014 when they were 7-9.

The bar of expectations has been set low again. Browns owner Jimmy Haslam already, in effect, said, “wait ‘til next year” when he said he expects to see results in 2018 and 2019. Before the Browns get there, they’ll have to go through the growing pains of 2017.