Midweek thoughts

The way the Browns have played the game of football since 1999, I was beginning to think I would have to wait a whole lot longer to write the following lead paragraph so early in the season. Until now.

As ludicrous as this sounds, Kevin Stefanski is an a position where he might have to quell a rising mound of confidence bordering on overconfidence as the 4-1 Browns prepare to invade Pittsburgh Sunday to face the unbeaten Steelers.

Imagine that. A Cleveland Browns team that has energized a fan base that has waited so frustratingly for nearly a generation to get genuinely excited about to the point where confidence is finally alive and well in Berea.

I can't remember the last time these two teams -- can't call them rivals in a series so lopsided -- met with records like these so early in the season and so much meaning riding on the outcome.  

Winning four games in a row is anathema to Cleveland Browns football this early in the season. Perhaps it's the spectacular way they have ripped off four straight victories that has them brimming with the kind of confidence Browns fans are used to seeing elsewhere around the National Football League.

Putting on an offensive display this franchise hasn't seen since 1968 tends to swell the notion that no team can stop them. At least on offense. (The defense is another matter.) The top-rated Indianapolis Colts defense tried and failed last Sunday. Now, it's the Steelers' turn.

Stefanski's main job, besides crafting a game plan, will be to get into his players' heads. Ground them. A little between-the-ears coaching, Let them know this is the NFL where just about anything can happen, especially on trips to Pittsburgh, where the welcomes are generally rude and the results disappointing.

There was enough of a roster turnover in the offseason by General Manager Andrew Berry to the point where quite a few members of this team will experience their first taste of what it's like to play in what still is considered by many one of the NFL's hottest rivalries (yeah, I said the word).

While it's nice to be confident -- it sure beats the alternative -- and more than merely content with what has unfolded this season, overconfidence can often result in improper preparation. Stefanski most likely will often remind them the Steelers haven't lost a game this season.

And if he hasn't, it might be a good idea for the head coach to remind those unfamiliar with the contentious attitudes that usually arise in Browns-Steelers games often result in negative outcomes and to play within themselves.

Myles Garrett will probably drive that point home this week, considering what happened in the first Cleveland-Pittsburgh game last season. Grabbing Pittsburgh quarterback Mason Rudolph's helmet and whacking him on top of the head with it drew a season-ending suspension and the scorn of the Steelers.

The Browns were 2-4 without Garrett last season after beginning the season 4-6. They had just come off two straight victories. This will be the first game he has played against the Steelers since that incident. Some of the Browns are talking about winning this game for him. Sort of a rallying cry.

The big difference in this one? The Steelers are used to quick starts. This is nothing new to them. They have developed a reputation in the last 50 years of winning big games. The Browns? They're just happy to be 4-1 at this point and seeing how good they really are against a quality opponent.

Tight end Austin Hooper, one of the many newcomers, called it a "quiet confidence." He said it was "indicative of how we're doing this year." 

It will be very interesting to see how Stefanski preps his men physically and emotionally for the most important test since the season opener in Baltimore. It will answer the question: Can they play with the big boys?