Singing the losing blues

The Cleveland Browns -- or a reasonable facsimile thereof -- take to the national television stage Thursday night with an offense that resembles a M*A*S*H unit and a defense that gives defense a bad name.

Word Wednesday that Baker Mayfield's starting streak as the Browns' quarterback will end at 51 games as soon as Case Keenum takes his first snap changes the entire complexion of game seven of the National Football League's 2021 season against the invading Denver Broncos.

The Cleveland offense is a battered and bruised mess. Gone for the time being are the starting quarterback, starting running backs, best wide receiver and, likely, starting tackles. Besides, the three tight ends are having trouble catching the football as is the second-best receiver.

No one knows what to expect from an offense with backups at every key position except the center, who hasn't practice at all this season, and two guards. The vaunted running game is no longer vaunted. It will be handled by D'Ernest Johnson, Demetric Felton and John Kelly behind a suddenly-suspect line. Oy!

Head coach/playcaller Kevin Stefanski will be supremely challenged to navigate extremely choppy waters against a decent Denver defense (compared to the Browns'; more on that later). And because it's Keenum in this one, look for Stefanski to go ultra, ultra conservative.

There will be nothing fancy. Primarily basic stuff for a quarterback who hasn't started a game in nearly two years, one not noted for throwing a football at anything resembling or approaching dazzling velocity. He is the polar opposite of Mayfield.

But he knows Stefanski's offense. At least that's what those in the know say. That's why he's in Cleveland. Here's a sliver of evidence to back up that conclusion.

Back in 2017, Keenum came off the bench with the Minnesota Vikings and had the only career year in his well-traveled 10-year career, fashioning an 11-3 record as a starter. The Vikes finished 13-3 and won the NFC North. Stefanski was his quarterbacks coach. Thus the connection.

Since then, the 33-year-old Texan has failed twice-- with Denver and Washington -- in the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately department. We are on the verge of finding out now that he is reunited with Stefanski whether he can summon the old magic.

Is he still the same quarterback who led the Vikings to the NFC Championship game four seasons ago? Or is he just a proverbial journeyman who was fortunate his old quarterbacks coach in Minnesota is now a head coach and believes he still has the talent to replicate, at least on a brief level, that season's wizardry?

If nothing else, Keenum is quite confident, perhaps overly so. "I feel very ready," he says. "I've been ready. You don't have to get ready if you stay ready and I've been ready since I got here (in 2020).  I'm excited. . . . I'm built for this. This is what I've done my whole career."

As for Keenum making his Cleveland starting debut, Stefanski said via the club's public relations machinery, on Wednesday. "We have full confidence in him to lead us and do the things necessary to put us in a position to win."

The other backups also have their coach's weighty confidence. "I honestly have a ton of confidence in all of our backups," Stefanski told the media in a very Stefanskian way Tuesday. "I really do. I think these guys stay ready so they don't have to get ready. (Sound familiar? Check above.) I think they do a great job in the meeting room and on the practice field."

When a coach uses words like "honestly" and "ton of confidence" and "I really do" to bolster thoughts,  my skepticism gene kicks in. It's nice the players do well in meeting rooms and in practice. That's not the problem, It's how it all translates to game day that has been the largest concern lately.

Over the years, I have seen players terrible in practice, but show up big time on game day. Conversely, I have seen terrific practice players fail to show up for games. I prefer the former type of player. Often times, there's too much emphasis on practicing. 

The Cleveland defense, with the exception of rookie linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah's trip to injured reserve, seems to have improved in the health department. It is vitally incumbent that side of the football rescues their brethren on the other side in a time of need. That offense, such as it is, is not nearly strong enough anymore to merely outscore teams when the defense is absent.

The only way the Browns win this one is if the defense does what it is supposed to do, which they failed to do the last two games with spectacular ineptitude. It made last season's ugly defense, which lingered pretty much all season, look downright pretty by comparison.

With no Mayfield, Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt and ostensibly Jedrick Wills Jr. and Jack Conklin and a Denver defense that had been stingy until last Sunday, it's difficult to be optimistic about what lies dead ahead. The lone saving grace? The Broncos arrive on the heels of a three-game losing streak.

A season that looked so bright for the Browns as recently as two weeks ago is now teetering with two straight crushing losses. The likelihood of a momentum change, especially with such little time to prep for the Broncos, has been railroaded by an onslaught of injuries (19 names on the injury list). Thursday night will be an important litmus test.

There are too many negatives surrounding the Browns entering this one. The offense obviously is a shadow of the dangerous crew that opened the season. The defense, while getting better from a health standpoint, is not from a performance standpoint.

Denver's running game with Melvin Gordon and rookie Javonte Williams and a passing game featuring wide receiver Courtland Sutton and tight end Noah Fant is strong enough to continue baffling the Cleveland secondary, complementing Teddy Bridgewater's 70% passing accuracy. The heart wants to say the Browns end Stefasnki's two-game losing streak. The head says the streak reaches three games. 

Make it: Broncos 20, Browns 13