Won't be long

Thoughts as the opening of the Browns' 2023 pre-season training camp looms . . . 

When it comes to the newest edition of this team, there are enough absolutes to strongly suggest General Manager Andrew Berry has assembled a championship-level roster. With precious few exceptions, this team is ready to do more than just compete. It is ready to win. A lot.

Yes, I know that notion has been proffered every season since Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski arrived in 2020, but it has produced just one post-season appearance. Highly questionable overall coaching resulted in two huge disappointments.

Something is different this time. And that's where the absolutes enter the picture.

The most important addition to the club, by far, is defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. Key roster additions were mere window dressing. Schwartz will bring them alive with the kind of defense fans have longed for since the return in 1999. 

Last season, that mistake-prone defense cost the Browns at least three victories. Schwartz's defenses rarely make the kinds of mistakes that essentially torpedoed the last two seasons. It will be unrecognizable this season.

Sacks and turnovers will rise. Shorter fields will be handed to an offense that now boasts a wide receivers room that can arguably be called one of the best in the league after fielding one of the worst last season. It's the best since the Bernie Kosar era with Webster Slaughter, Brian Brennan and Reggie Langhorne.

With all that overall talent, consider this a no-excuse season for the front office. Anything less that a return to the postseason will be considered an abject failure and a lot of people will be cashiered, including most of the front office.

There is just so much failure Jimmy and Dee Haslam will put up with. The fact Berry and Stefanski are still around is somewhat of a surprise since the owners are well known for their quick hooks. They are basically on probation.

Considering three of the first four games this season are against division opponents, two of them at home, we'll know soon enough the direction the Browns head. It's almost as though the league's schedule maker after being told the Browns are definitely better this season, said, "OK, let's see early on what they've got." 

The no-excuses theme extends to quarterback Deshaun Watson, whose patently awful six-game sneak preview of this season did not resonate well with Browns Nation last season. It seemed like a total disconnect between Stefanski and his quarterback.

Serving an 11-game suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy, and playing for the first time in 700 days all but wrecked his reputation of playing well enough to be named to the Pro Bowl twice  with the Houston Texans.

Right now, no one knows what to expect from Watson. He sure looked good, confident in 7-on-7 drills during the recent minicamp. But that was with no pressure and pre-scripted plays. 

Motivation this season can come from how he fared in a recent ESPN poll of coaches, scouts and executives determining the league's top 10 quarterbacks heading into this season. Watson, despite previous  accomplishments with Houston, was saddled with an honorable mention.

Team strengths: An aggressive defensive boss; vastly improved pass rush; a sound ground game with Nick Chubb, who will be the club's ground attack; stronger off the bench along the offensive line, secondary and at wide receiver; looking for a comeback season from kicker Cade York.

Team weaknesses: Offensive left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. has been a colossal failure; a head coach who should be a head coach only and not a playcaller; questionable production at linebacker; a worrisome falloff of talent at running back; questionable whether the run defense is improved.

Wild predictions (non-record type): Stefanski is gone if the Browns are 1-3 after the rugged beginning and Schwartz is named at least interim if not the new boss; Watson regains his Houston form, looking nothing like last season; Elijah Moore leads the team in pass receptions and yardage; Chubb misses at least two games with injuries; rookie Dawand Jones replaces Wills at left tackle early; Myles Garrett and Za'Darius Smith combine for 32 sacks (equalling the team total last season), 12 of the strip-sack variety; veterans Anthony Schwartz, Tommy Togiai, Jordan Elliott and Jason Phillips will not make the final 53.