News & Views

News: Browns wide receiver Kenny Britt says rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer is on his way to becoming “one of the great ones.”

Views: Yep, that’s what he said to the media Sunday. That is not a typographical error.

Talk about hyperbole. This more than qualifies as top 10 material in that category. Check out the following.

“He’s growing each day,” Britt, who has been on the receiving end of passes from 10 different National Football League quarterbacks on two different teams in eight seasons, said of Kizer. “From OTAs, I could tell he was a different person.

“I asked him (Saturday) if the offense has slowed down for him. He said, ‘Yes.’ I could tell he’s looking at certain things. He is seeing the defense before the snap count and once he lines up, he knows there are certain things he has to do.

“He’s going to be one of the great ones.”

Britt further buttressed his remarks. “If he keeps going,” he said, “focuses on the track he’s on, to tell you the truth, he could be one of the great ones. He’s learning fast and has a strong arm.”

Many fans – not the savvy ones who know better – will gobble that up, digest it and envision nothing but good times ahead for the Browns with Kizer at quarterback. Here we go, the sycophants will think. This is the beginning of the big turnaround after all the years of frustration.

The kid has not thrown a meaningful pass in the NFL and Britt is already anointing him as a future superstar: “One of the great ones.”

Since when did Britt, whose career until last season could correctly be labeled as pedestrian, become a soothsayer when it comes to gauging the future of a quarterback who hasn’t yet reached neophyte stage in the NFL?

Since when did the wide receiver, who has caught footballs from the likes of the very forgettable Vince Young, Shaun Hill and Jake Locker, envision the future with such clarity?

Don’t take this guy seriously. Hopefully for his sake, Kizer does not.

One has to wonder why all the Britt hyperbole? Is he trying to impress someone in the front office? His coach maybe?

What is his ulterior motive? He should be concentrating on catching passes from the four quarterbacks in training camp, not forecasting the future.

There was a reason the veteran was available in the free-agent market. The Los Angeles Rams chose to go in a different direction and cut him loose. And it was only good timing that he landed in Cleveland.

If the Browns had not screwed up the Terrelle Pryor contract situation, Britt most likely would have signed elsewhere. He accepted the deal the Browns offered Pryor, who opted to sign for lesser money with the Washington Redskins.

News: Quarterbacks stats from Sunday’s practice: Kizer, 5-for-10, one touchdown pass, a sack and a batted-down pass; Cody Kessler, 3-for-7, one scoring pass and three sacks; Brock Osweiler, 6-for-12 three touchdowns and two sacks.

Views: And that tells you . . . what? The correct answer is nothing. At this stage it means bupkis.

It does not mean Osweiler is the best quarterback because he threw three scoring passes. It does not mean Kessler is the same old Cody Kessler from last season because he was sacked three times. And it does not mean Kizer still has a lot to learn because he was sacked once and had a pass knocked down at the line of scrimmage.

What it does mean is that tracking the daily exploits of these three quarterbacks – their expected ups and downs – is nothing more than an exercise in futility for those trying to figure out who the starter should be against Pittsburgh in the season opener.

Hue Jackson will make that determination later on based on a whole different set of criteria than we have. That’s why he gets paid the big bucks.