More to the game than Beckham

There is nothing like unnecessary outside noise and drama to spoil the run-up to a National Football League game.

When the Browns and New York Jets hook up in the Meadowlands in New Jersey Monday night on national television, it should celebrate the two teams that kicked off what turned into a national icon.

Instead, the bitching and moaning of a certain Cleveland wide receiver late last week will without doubt steal at least some, if not a good chunk, of the spotlight and take away from the game itself.

Odell Beckham Jr., who never met a microphone or camera he didn’t like, felt compelled late last week to suggest Gregg Williams, now the defensive coordinator for the Jets, teaches his men to take “cheap shots” and “dirty hits.”

Williams, the Browns’ defensive coordinator for a season and a half before taking over as interim head coach after the club fired Hue Jackson midway through last season, has a reputation of coaching extremely aggressive football (a.k.a. dirty). And, of course, denying it.

Beckham was the recipient of some of that aggression in a 2018 exhibition game against the Browns, suffering a knee injury on a hard tackle that ultimately short-circuited his season. Instead of keeping it in house, he took it public.

The story spread like wildfire across the NFL landscape, especially in the New York-New Jersey area, where it was one of the main stories of that day and the day after that and the day after that and the  . . .  .The New York media loved the former New York Giants star because he was always a good quote.

But he was also a distraction to what the Giants were trying to accomplish and it appears to be surfacing again in Cleveland. It seems to be all about Odell and not the game itself.

And because it is Odell Beckham Jr. doing the talking, chances are pretty good the storyline will sustain itself and be an ongoing part of the telecast with the cameras probably paying close attention to everything Beckham.

If that wasn't enough, add the verbal battle on a much lesser scale that erupted between Jets coach Adam Gase and Browns wideout Jarvis Landry, who used to play for Gase at Miami.

And then there was Browns free safety Damarious Randall, who won’t play against the Jets (concussion), divulging he would have asked to be traded if the Browns had selected Williams as head coach instead of Freddie Kitchens.

Nothing but distractions with Beckham launching it. Berea was distraction central with the Monday night game looming. That has to stop and there is only one man who can stop it, or at least keep it in house.

Kitchens, who has enough to worry about with the poor start to this season, said however that he will not address the situation with Beckham. “I feel pretty sure Odell’s focus is on the New York Jets,” he said. “ I think sometimes he says things for reasons.”

What kind of reasons? “I don’t know,” the coach said. “I’m not talking about this. It doesn’t matter to me one way or the other. I haven’t seen the guy do anything like that. We’re getting ready for the Jets.”

And that’s what Beckham should be doing instead of stirring up trouble by airing personal beliefs (grudges?) about the defensive coordinator of the opposition.

He is becoming – no, make that has become – a distraction in a hurry. It’s a reputation Browns fans were warned about when the club traded for him in the spring.

If it isn’t wearing a wristwatch – only he would flaunt a $180,000 time piece – during a game, it’s harping on something that is more personal than anything else. With Beckham, it’s always something. 

The real storyline for this game should be this , , ,

It was on Sept. 21, 1970 when ABC television daringly added football to its Monday night prime time lineup, a move that went against the grain of the more traditional Sunday afternoon lineup of games. Now in its 50^th season, the TV staple is housed on ESPN, an ABC subsidiary.

The alphabet network gambled – correctly as it turned out – that the sports would sell well as the game that completed the NFL’s weekly schedule, presenting a growing and starving football populace that worked.

And this . . .

Here we are with the same teams resuming their rivalry – they have met 26 times with the Browns holding a 14-12 edge, including a 31-21 victory in that inaugural game – in front of a national audience again.

This matchup produces a few interesting storylines. The hyped Browns coming off a shocking season-opening loss at home to Tennessee, while the Jets wasted a 16-0 lead halfway through the third quarter before falling to Buffalo, 17-16.

This, too . . .

It was the Browns-Jets game last season in Cleveland that introduced Baker Mayfield to the National Football League, coming off the bench for an injured Tyrod Taylor and leading his club, down 14-0 at the time, to a 21-17 victory. It bolted Taylor to the bench for the rest of the season and greased his slide out of town.

As for the current game, simply put, there is no way the Browns should lose. They have a more talented roster. They are healthier. And they are highly motivated to erase the nightmare that was the season opener against Tennessee.

The Jets were underdogs to begin with before quarterback Sam Darnold (mononucleosis), linebacker C. J. Mosley (groin) and rookie defensive tackle Quinnen Williams (ankle) were ruled out.

The Jets have a terrible offensive line, maybe worse than the Browns’. They’ll try to protect new quarterback Trevor Siemian, who is strictly a pocket passer. The Cleveland pass rush will have no trouble locating him and building on the season sack total of five in the opener.

Siemian’s favorite target most likely will be wide receiver Jamison Crowder, who caught 14 passes – Darnold targeted him a ridiculous 17 times – last week for just 99 yards.

Le'Veon Bell provides the only punch for the Jets’ offense. The running back isn’t nearly the player he was in Pittsburgh for all those seasons when he was one of the Steelers’ chief tormentors against the Browns.

Just about everything adds up to a Cleveland victory in this one. Mayfield aiming to make up for his uneven performance in the opener; the coaching staff hoping to combat the notion it does not know how to prepare a team for a game; the offensive line proving it isn’t as bad as a growing number of fans believe; and just being the better team.

But if Kitchens and offensive coordinator Todd Monken marginalize the ground game again and continue to overfeed Beckham (11 targets in the Titans loss), then all bets are off.

If the Browns don’t win this one, all hell will break loose, especially with the Los Angeles Rams (at home) next Sunday night and the Ravens in Baltimore on deck. It won’t be pretty, but at least it should be a victory. Make it:

Browns 21, Jets 13