If you are a Browns fan, you have seen it all and then some. You know all of the tropes and cliches that have been thrown your way over the years, anytime a new front office trots it out, it has to make your skin crawl.
So what are you expecting to hear when the Browns and the Cleveland media decide to anoint Gregg Williams as a great hire?
“Proven Winner.”
“Lots of experience.”
“No nonsense.”
The fans have heard it all before and plainly, none of it matters. Results do.
Williams, who formerly worked for the lowly Los Angeles Rams has a track record of being a coach and that is pretty much it. Wherever he has gone the defense has been serviceable at best and putrid at it’s worst. Some of it could be blamed on personnel but at his latest stop, he had some impact players and he wasn’t able to do much with it. In many statistical categories, his defense last year was in the bottom half of the league. Overall, the total defense was ninth in the league. Can it truly be attributed to him?
It might be a slight improvement. So what is this analytical front office doing with someone like Williams?
Sashi Brown and Paul DePodesta were supposed to bring their “money ball” approach and it hasn’t come to fruition yet. They are stock piling draft picks like crazy and it has produced some players but no home run picks. Taking stock after only one year is a fools errand as well. This just doesn’t seem to add up.
To be fair, moving up from dead last in the NFL in defense to say, maybe, the top part of the bottom half is still an improvement. When you are the worst, the only way you can go is up. Long term solutions and continued maintenance of a roster are hallmarks of any good analytical front office, it doesn’t matter the sport, it is a tried and true way to build a team. Williams brings prior controversy with him and is known for butting heads as well.
Then again, we may not be privy to information the front office has and it could make for an interesting off-season. Are they going to completely retool? Are they going to target different players than they did under Ray Horton?
Too many questions and not enough answers. If you see a Browns fan, make sure to give them a hug today. They need it.
