The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
No Browns guarantees for 2019
The success the Browns are enjoying heading into the final game of the season doesn’t guarantee anything for 2019.
The Browns have had successful seasons followed by flops before. Baker Mayfield gives hop there will be no such dropoff, Jeff Schudel writes. Plus, thoughts on Indians trade rumors and the Cavs.
Sorry to curdle the eggnog at this festive time of year, but the success the Browns are enjoying heading into the final game of the season doesn’t guarantee anything for 2019.
If you are old enough to remember the Kardiac Kids going 11-5 in 1980, you’re old enough to remember the disaster of 1981. The Browns began training camp in 1981 with Super Bowl dreams and then promptly crashed and burned when the Browns lost the season opener, 4414, to the San Diego Chargers) in front of 78,904 fans in old Cleveland Stadium. The Browns went 5-11 that season.
The Browns jumped from 4-12 in 2006 to 10-6 in 2007. Former general manager Phil Savage made a flurry of trades to go all in for a playoff run in 2008. The Browns finished 4-12. Savage was fired and so was head coach Romeo Crennel.
Going backward doesn’t happen to the Browns exclusively. The Jacksonville Jaguars were 3-13 in 2016. The zoomed to the AFC South championship in 2017 at 10-6 and advanced to the AFC championship game, where they lost, 24-20, to the New England Patriots. The Jags were projected to make another playoff run this year. Instead they are 5-10 and last in the division.
Carolina was 6-10 in 2016, a playoff team at 11-5 last year, and 6-9 heading into its final game with seven straight losses.
There is always a danger of regressing after a big one-year jump. The Browns, 0-16 in 2017, at 7-7-1 have already made their biggest turnaround in franchise history. They can add to that by beating the Ravens.
The Browns do have something going for them, however – rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield.
The Browns were 5-11 in 1984. They selected quarterback Bernie Kosar in the 1985 supplemental draft and were 8-8 in 1985. That was the springboard to 12-4 in 1986, 10-5 in ‘87 (a strike canceled one weekend of NFL games), 10-6 in 1988 and 9-6-1 in 1989. The Browns made the playoffs each year from 1985-89 and played for the AFC championship three times, losing to the Denver Broncos each time.
“Absolutely (momentum can carry into next year), especially since this has been such a new team and so many new faces,” Mayfield said after practice Dec. 26. “We’ll see what happens. We would obviously love to have this one and end the season on a very, very high note.
“Obviously, disappointing somebody else’s playoff hopes, that’s motivation, too. We’re not satisfied, but there is progress, and that’s something not to take very lightly.”
The Browns were 5-2-1 at FirstEnergy Stadium in 2018. It was the first time they finished with a winning record at home since 2007 when they were 7-1.
The Browns know all but one of their 2019 opponents. The dates will be announced in April.
The Browns will host the Ravens, Bengals and Steelers from the AFC North, the Rams and Seahawks from the NFC West, the Bills and Dolphins from the AFC East plus whichever team finishes third in the AFC South. That would be the loser of the Colts-Titans game on the night of Dec. 30 – the last regular season game in 2018.
The Browns will visit the Ravens, Bengals and Steelers, the 49ers and Cardinals in the NFC West, the Patriots and Jets in the AFC East and the Broncos as the third place team in the AFC West.
Tribe trade rumors
We said soon after rumors of the Indians trading Corey Kluber or Trevor Bauer began that it would be no surprise if both pitchers were in the Indians’ starting rotation when the 2019 season began. Now Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com is reporting trade talks for both players have quieted.
“Obviously this club cleared a lot of money in trading Yan Gomes and Yonder Alonso and that Edwin Encarnacion deal where some money moved around,” Castrovince said on MLB Network. “As far as the 2019 payroll is concerned, (the Indians saved) somewhere in the realm of $18 million to $21 million.”
Kluber is getting a $7 million raise to $17 million. Bauer will get more than a $5 million raise in arbitration and shortstop Francisco Lindor is expected to get more than a $10 million raise in arbitration.
Getting equal value for Kluber or Bauer was always going to be a sticky problem.
Kluber has been linked to the Reds, Brewers, Dodgers, Padres and Yankees in trade talks. The Indians are looking for a starting outfielder and top prospects. For example, the Indians reportedly asked the Cincinnati Reds for prospects Nick Senzel and Taylor Trammell. But the Reds are unwilling to make that deal. Likewise, the Dodgers are reluctant to trade outfield prospect Alex Verdugo.
Kluber was 20-7 with a 2.89 ERA in 33 starts for the Indians last season. He struck out 222 and walked 34 in a league-high 215 innings. He gave up 25 home runs.
Cavs’ identity
The Cavaliers will reach the midpoint of their 201819 season at the end of a four-game homestand that begins Jan. 2 with a game against the Miami Heat. They host the Utah Jazz Jan. 4, the New Orleans Pelicans a night later and the Indiana Pacers on Jan. 6 before beginning a sixgame road trek while Disney on Ice invades The Q.
Nearly halfway through the season, the Cavaliers entered their game in Atlanta Dec. 29 with the worst record in the NBA at 8-28, yet it is fair to say no one knows exactly what the Cavs will look like in the second half of the season because their best player, Kevin Love, hasn’t been on the floor since the fourth game of the season. He is still recovering from a foot injury and isn’t expected back until the middle of January.
Not having Love is slowing down the offense.
“Every game we play, we have to pick up the tempo so we get some easy baskets,” Coach Larry Drew told reporters. “We can’t be a predominantly halfcourt team and try to rely on our half-court offense to get us baskets.”
The Cavaliers entered the season wanting to play fast, but that hasn’t happened. Injuries are part of the problem. They played the Heat in Miami on Dec. 28 without center Tristan Thompson (foot) and guard Rodney Hood (Achilles) as well as Love. They were hammered, 11894, despite leading, 30-29, after one quarter.
I didn’t know that
… Until I read my Snapple bottle cap.
A queen bee can lay up to 2,000 eggs a day. … The doll Barbie’s full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. … The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows. … There are approximately 9,000 taste buds on a person’s tongue. … Walruses can go 84 hours without sleeping. … About one in every 2,000 babies is born with teeth.