The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Browns Fever envelops bettors
Browns Fever is spreading like an epidemic, and people are standing in line to catch it.
The over-under for wins for the 2018 Browns at Bovada.com is 5.5 — tied with Arizona for the fewest. The “over” on the Browns is -155 and the under is +125. It means a $155 bet on the Browns winning six or more games would pay out $100 on a winning wager. A $100 bet on the Browns winning five or fewer games would pay out $125 on a winning bet.
“There are more bets on the Browns to win the AFC North than the other three teams combined,” a sportsbook manager for Caesars Palace told ESPN, according to a story by ESPN’s David Purdum.
“Only the Raiders and Steelers have more bets to win the AFC (than the Browns). The public likes the Browns, and I’m not sure why.”
The Browns were 1-15 in 2016 and 0-16 last season. They have won just four of their last 53 games.
But between the end of last season and the start of training camp, the Browns traded for quarterback Tyrod Taylor and wide receiver Jarvis Landry, among others. They selected quarterback Baker Mayfield with the first overall pick in the 2018 draft and wide receiver Josh Gordon returned to the team less than a week ago, though he has not been cleared to practice.
The biggest change of all was made Dec. 7 last
year when General Manager John Dorsey replaced Sashi Brown as the head of football operations.
The bettors aren’t the only ones excited about the season ahead.
Coach Hue Jackson has Browns Fever, too.
Jackson is not betting money on how many games the Browns will win — not literally — but his job security has to be on the line, even though owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam say there is no set number of Jackson has to win.
“Very excited,” Jackson said after practice Aug. 21. “Probably more excited than I’ve been the first two years because I truly believe that winning is in this group, in this coaching staff, in the plan that we’ve laid out. I think that there’s a chance. Now, we have to go do it.
“We have to coach well. We have to improve our players, and the players
have to buy into what we’re all selling. At the same time, I’ve never been more confident about a group having the opportunity to have success.”
The Browns host the Eagles at 8 p.m. Aug. 23 in the dress rehearsal preseason game. The preseason concludes with a game against the Lions in Detroit on Aug. 30, then it’s full bore onto the regular-season opener against the Steelers on Sept. 9 at FirstEnergy Stadium.
Taylor, the Browns starting quarterback against the Eagles and for the regular season, has Browns Fever, too, but perhaps a milder case of it.
Taylor helped the Bills end a 17-year playoff drought by leading them to the playoffs last season. The Bills were never as low as the Browns were the last three seasons, but he sees similarities in what the Browns are doing now to
how the Bills turned things around. The Bills were 8-8 in 2015, 7-9 in 2016 and 9-7 last season with Taylor as their quarterback. They were 9-7 in 2014 before Taylor arrived, but missed the playoffs.
“I’ve seen those steps (being taken by the Browns), but it’s also still early,” Taylor said. “The true test is once Week 1 starts.
“Of course right now we’re molding and shaping a team to be able to go out this year and do those things that you speak about. But I think this team is headed in the right direction, for sure. The attitude is right. The energy is right in the locker room. We just have to remain focused throughout the full season and be able to withstand the ups and downs of the season.”
The spread of Browns Fever might be impossible to control if the Browns beat the Steelers in the opener.