THE DAILY BLOVIATION
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Good morning, Cleveland Browns fans!
One of the joys of this gig is that no one ever holds me accountable. I say massively stupid stuff, and our readers nod their heads wisely, thinking, "Oh, whatever can we do about Barry McBride and his idiocy?" They dismiss it and then quickly move on to matters of greater importance.
Well, today, I suggest that you bookmark this article because it's going to come back and haunt me. You should keep it around for easy reference, the next time I'm an idiot and declare anything of relevance about the Cleveland Browns.
Here's my huge mistake that I will put down quite simply: I AGREE WITH A LISTICLE FROM BLEACHER REPORT.
You may be shuddering at the moment, as your security that I instantly dismiss listicles from national sources referencing the Browns has been shattered. But, in this case, the couple of paragraphs about the Browns Top/Best/Worst, whatever, mixed in with 31 others for the rest of the NFL, struck a chord with me.
Here is the article. It's titled "Predicting Every NFL Team's Biggest Bust of the 2025 Season".
They select Joe Flacco as the biggest bust of the Browns' upcoming 2025 season.
The reasoning in the article isn't that strong. Flacco had a fantastic finish to the 2023 campaign, if you ignore the Houston playoff game, leading the Browns to a 4-1 record. He wasn't that bad in 2024 either. Last year for the Colts, he posted 1,761 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions in eight games.
Joe Flacco
Should I doubt this man? (Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
The Bleacher Report article doesn't address Flacco's performance, really, instead saying that the Browns basically stink, and Flacco's surrounding cast (and defense) isn't enough to allow him to reel off a 4-1 record again this year.
I believe Flacco is doomed due to high expectations. The memories from that 2023 run are so strong that there's an expectation that he will repeat them, and such an expectation is unrealistic, especially given the quality of the Browns' initial opponents. I believe the Browns will be lucky to win two games out of the five. Just from the bottom line of wins and losses, Flacco is not going to look as good as he did in 2023.
But add to that the thinness of the Browns wide receiving corps. There's a bit of a "throw it at the wall" feel to the team counting on someone(s) out of a group consisting of Cedric Tillman, Jamari Thrash, David Bell, etc, to emerge and provide secondaries with someone other than Jerry Jeudy to worry about. When Flacco gets a bit desperate, he tends to boldly throw the ball into coverage, and I suspect his interceptions will rise in 2025.
Finally, there's the matter of Flacco's age. Flacco is 40 now and will turn 41 if the Browns make it a couple of weeks into January. While Tom Brady helped to reset the bar for aging quarterbacks, Flacco is at the point where performance may drop off significantly and without much warning. I think of the case of Peyton Manning and how he managed pretty well as his arm weakened. But Flacco's style of big-arm quarterbacking means to me that if his arm weakens at all, it's a bad sign.
Put all this together, and I think there's a good chance that Flacco lasts only 5-6 games as the Browns starter before the team becomes interested in looking at alternatives.
I hope to hell I'm wrong, and that we get one last glorious season out of a guy who the team already loves.
But the bottom line is that I agree with Bleacher Report that the potential bust factor is somewhat high. I felt the same way with Derek Anderson after the 2007 season that I feel about Flacco now. I was right once. Perhaps there's a second time.
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