CLEVELAND, OHIO (TheOBR.com) - Good morning, Cleveland Browns fans! The Bengals are getting set to head north, there's actual NFL football tonight, and your webdork continues his post-Labor Day illness comeback tour, so let's roll.
I'm not sure there's actual NFL football tonight. The Dallas Cowboys are involved, so it's somewhere between NFL Football and an episode of Dance Moms, with Jerry Jones representing a particularly irate mother of a six-year-old fledgling ballerina. Or something. The Dallas Cowboys are more of an "entertainment product" than a legitimate franchise as long as Jones is running things.
The Eagles, who employ an actual General Manager rather than an owner cosplaying at GM, are likely to stomp the Parsons-less Cowboys, but it's the NFL, so who knows in Week 1.
BROWNS PREPARE FOR BENGALS
Speaking of NFL owners cosplaying as front office execs, the Cincinnati Bengals have become somewhat more successful since owner Mike Brown has diminished his role. As for this year's product in Cincinnati, I keep hearing a variety of perspectives about a team that finally signed Trey Hendrickson after a great deal of unnecessary drama.
Joe Burrow
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (Photo: Getty)
One thing that can't be denied is that the Bengals have a powerful air attack led by Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase, which is responsible for a significant portion of the Bengals' salary cap not already claimed by Hendrickson. The key for the Bengals will be to avoid the ferocious Browns pass rush, which looked pretty darn good even without Myles Garrett. So, I'm expecting a Bengals attack built around quick pass patterns, putting pressure on the Browns' defensive secondary to limit YAC and providing an opportunity for Grant Delpit and Ronnie Hickman to shine. I'm still predicting the Bengals will win, but looking forward to this one nonetheless.
A BRIDGE TOO FAR
Apparently, the NFL can continue to shake down fans, pricing many out of live attendance, but placing commercials within the NFL RedZone show has fired up a lot of people. Per Awful Announcing, "Fans can clearly see through this move (that was tested last year) as a pure cash grab that further lines the pockets of the richest sports league in the world."
Not that any of this is a surprise. Roger Goodell handles profiles like the Browns seem to handle quarterbacks, with the "you can never have enough" credo. The surprise is that blame for this blasphemy doesn't seem to point to ESPN, as RedZone is an NFL production at this point.
I only rarely watch Redzone because of other gameday commitments, so I don't have a dog in this fight. However, it appears that the NFL is losing something special in RedZone due to its desire to extract even more from the consumers of its product, for what has to be pocket change for the league. But the NFL's priorities are clear. Oh, and a popular free sports streaming site has been shut down, unsurprisingly, just a couple of days before the season begins. Fork over the cash, folks.
POWER RANKED RIGHT WHERE THE BROWNS BELONG
The Browns may protest about being underrated, but PFF's initial power ranking of the club as 31st in the league is pretty predictable. I was expecting anywhere from 27 to 32. Initial power rankings are very similar to pre-season predictions from the national press, and are mostly last year's results slightly adjusted for some fashionable thinking. The Rats seem an early beneficiary of this, showing up at the top of several power rankings.
Those of us working locally can see some avenues of hope for the Browns (strong draft class, emerging young pass rushers), but national folks work very much more from the 50,000-foot level, and focus on the team's lack of quarterback as the limiting factor in their potential success. Given the importance of that position in the modern NFL, they're probably not that far off.
Have a good one! GO BROWNS!
Newswire Bloviation Archive
OBR STUFF
OBR VIDEOS
Inside the Browns Beat - Ft. Mary Kay Cabot! - YouTube
GARAGE BEERS LIVE - EPISODE 279 - FT. CAMRYN JUSTICE! - YouTube
Browns Healthy and Ready to Shock As They Gear Up for Opener - YouTube
OBR ARTICLES
OBR Staff Roundtable: What Will the Cleveland Browns Record Be in 2025 - Jacob
Cleveland Browns News and Rumors 9/3: Bloviators Can't Stop Wont Stop - Barry
Cleveland Browns Film Room: Mason Graham and Carson Schwesinger's Preseason Performance - Sam
Browns Need Greg Newsome to Step Up; Key Players Practicing; Mike Hall, Quinshon Judkins Updates: Kicker, More - Fred
Which Cleveland Browns Are Set To Be 2026 Free Agents? - Jack
BROWNS FORUM POSTS
ASK THE INSIDERS (VIP)
Myles Garrett Depth Chart
Texas @ Ohio State Scouting
Judkins update?
RB order?
Ward
What is the plan?
THE WATERCOOLER
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LiveWire Thread for 93 - Twitter, Video, Articles
Audio: Fred talks Bengals week on WTAM
Judkins signed.?- Proven False
OT: NFL RedZone now with Full Commercials
Lack of Excitement for Game 1
OT: Lou Holtz needs to STFU
The Shootout by the Lake, Browns vs Bengals, 2007
Catherine Hickman
The Official Call Your Shot Browns Record For 2025 (TOTALS)
THE LIFT
Positive news from the world of sports and beyond...
Fire-resistant homes 3D-printed in Colorado 'fire country' promise to 'stand strong 100 years from now' - (goodgoodgood.co) Slow Horses season 5 is coming, and it looks better than ever - (9to5mac.com) Radical new Big Bang theory says gravitational waves created galaxies, stars and planets - (space.com)
A couple of Lift stories this morning, but the one that captures my attention the most is the Big Bang Theory, which does not involve Kaley Cuoco. Trying to understand where the universe came from is like the ultimate quest to determine who we are and why we're here. I'm endlessly fascinated by it.
WRAPPING UP
*When not watching Redzone, Barry McBride is the Publisher and Founder of the OBR and bloviates this nonsense every morning. You can follow him on Twitter @barrymcbride or write him at barry@theobr.com if you are so compelled. *
CONTACT Barry to sponsor the OBR. We have plans for nearly any budget!
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