Browns Need to Play Cards Right
Image courtesy of espn.com
Going into this weekend, I’m sure many of us are still bitter about the loss to the Chargers, but if I’m honest I have a good feeling that this weekend these emotions are going to be eradicated. This week we have the last remaining undefeated team in the NFL on our plate, the Arizona Cardinals. I truthfully feel like this is a game that we have a great chance at winning, and I’ll explain why.
First and foremost, the undefeated record in my mind isn’t indicative of their actual skill level as a team. Yes, they’ve been surprisingly good up to this point, notching impressive wins against the Titans in week 1, and against the Rams on the road in week 4. However they have looked shaky in their other 3 wins. Against the Vikings, they got the win after Vikings former Browns kicker Greg Joseph whiffed a gimme field goal at the horn, they were losing at halftime to the that atrocity in Jacksonville, and they squeaked out a win against a 49ers team that had a beat up rookie quarterback making his first start. While, yes, a win is a win, they’ve looked vulnerable in 60 percent of their games, and they need to come into the Dawg Pound and play to the best of their ability if they want to leave Cleveland with a W.
With this being said, our chances of winning this game rely heavily on who is actually on the field. According to clevelandbrowns.com, there are 10 players currently listed as questionable: Jadeveon Clowney, Jack Conklin, Miles Garrett, AJ Green (the corner), Kareem Hunt, Takk McKinley, Greg Newsome, JC Tretter, Denzel Ward, and Jedrick Wills, along with Nick Chubb being ruled out. I’m sure everyone noticed, but everyone here listed is extremely vital to the teams success, and if even half of these players are ruled out our chances diminish exponentially. Something that also needs to be considered, it that the Browns have to play the Broncos on Thursday night football, so they’re on a short week. It will be interesting to see how the training staff handles this, but I would certainly expect us to be short handed for one if not both of these games. That being said, I feel we have a next man up philosophy, and we have a great coaching staff and system that gives us a chance to win week in and week out regardless of who’s out there. But something else I want to touch on is who’s coming back, and a narrative that can be rewritten this weekend.
Someone who is listed as returning is the heart of the offense himself, Jarvis Landry. I think that he carries so much value to how things go for us, that him returning alone makes me confident that we can win. But not only do I feel like we can win, I feel like we can rewrite a narrative that has pestered us all year, and that is: Baker is that guy. This weekend, Nick Chubb is out and Kareem Hunt is questionable. If Kareem does play, he will almost certainly see limited snaps to keep him safe and to save some energy for Thursday. So it is going to be up to Baker and his complete WR core to get the ball moving and to put some points up on the board against that stout Cardinals defense. If Baker can carry us to a win, in a spot where the defense knows he needs to throw, I feel like that will alleviate some stress for him and it can hopefully quiet the national media. Also, there’s the possibility to give OBJ plenty of touches along the way, and they can prove that there’s chemistry there. I am really excited for this weekend, and, more than anything, I’m excited that we have a chance to knock off the last undefeated team while silencing the doubters in the process.
link to image:
https://www.espn.com/nfl/game/_/gameId/401326418