CLEVELAND, OHIO (TheOBR.com) - Good morning, Cleveland Browns fans!
THE DAILY BLOVIATION
At some point, I need to get my life in order. Every day is a whirlwind of stupidity, from paying bills to keeping my house from falling down, to my secret project, to trying to keep the site up to date. One of these days, I'll get organized and efficient about all this and live in productive bliss. Plus, I'll give up all the things I like eating and lose a lot of weight. Someday. Could be any day now.
Yep.
Maybe it all starts... Now.
Nope, that didn't work. How about… now!
Nope, not that either.
Oh well, I'm sure it will happen someday. Until then, it's all randomly bouncing from one thing to another and then noticing it's time to go to bed.
Speaking of which, today's newswire is full of random items that I feel compelled to write about.
DON'T TELL ME THE ODDS: The Browns, according to FTN Fantasy via Cleveland 19, have the league's worst playoff odds at 6.4 percent. That's approximately half of the next-worst team, the New York Jets (checks out). The Browns won't reverse these sorts of predictions until they start winning games, because predictions from the media are generally built like this:
(1). How did the team do last year? Let's assume they'll do the same this year.
(2). What happened this offseason? Was it good or bad? Based on that, move them up or down a little.
(3). Oh, they gave up Myles Garrett??!? That's bad. Really bad. They'll do worse this year.
(4). Put 'em on the bottom because they're Cleveland and never win.
Six percent odds? In this division? Injuries to Lamar and Joe Burrow, and this thing is wide open. I give them about 15%. Maybe even a little higher, just in case a quarterback appears out of thin air. So, regardless, we're in "so you're telling me there is a chance" territory, but one should acknowledge that the AFC North is a wacky division that could go in any number of directions.
MYLES IS FAMOUS NOW: Meanwhile, Myles Garrett won two ESPYs: Best NFL Player and Best Record-Breaking Performance. It's a nice reminder that Browns fans had a chance to see an incredible player in his prime put together a season for the ages while they watched the rest of the team act like it normally does. I have this sneaking suspicion that Myles' recent move to LA now makes it acceptable for him to win these awards, as glittery statues from ESPN are typically not distributed to Browns players.
Spencer Fano and Jared Verse
Spencer Fano and Jared Verse (Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
JARED VERSE GOES ON TV: If the Browns are going to have any chance of beating those odds, Jared Verse is going to have to play a role.
NFL Trade Rumors rounded up Jeremy Fowler's ESPN list work, where Verse drew honorable mention as one of the league's edge rushers to watch. Pro Football Talk also picked up Verse's story about Trent Williams giving him his "Welcome to the NFL" moment, which is the kind of thing that makes you respect both men and also silently thank the football gods that defensive ends do not have to face Trent Williams every week.
LOCAL BOY MAKES GOOD: There was also a nice local angle from Chris Easterling on Travis Switzer, whose football path ran from Akron offensive lineman to Browns offensive coordinator. Switzer is sort of the "other coordinator" this year because Todd Monken is looked on as the key offensive mind on the coaching staff. I rarely read anything about "Switzer turning around the Browns offense". It's all about Monken. But Switzer will be the first one to get fired if the quarterback-dubious Browns can't turn it around.
So, success will go to Monken if the offense turns around. Blame will go to Switzer if it doesn't. That's the sort of webdorkian existence I can relate to.
MORE QUARTERBACK FUN: Elsewhere, Patrick Mahomes said he understands being ranked behind Josh Allen in ESPN's annual quarterback survey, which is a healthy and mature response from a man who has won enough that he does not need to spend July yelling at spreadsheets. Joe Flacco's family, according to Bleacher Report's write-up of Netflix's Quarterback, apparently benched him in fantasy football, which might be the most wholesome betrayal in recent NFL content. If your own family is willing to play matchups, nobody is safe.
NEWSDAY CALLING IT A DAY: And in a less ludicrous but important media note, Awful Announcing reported that Newsday's sports section is facing buyouts and travel cutbacks. That is not a Browns story, but it is a sports story in the deeper sense. When local sports coverage loses travel, bodies, and institutional memory, fans lose boots on the ground. You can replace some things with video clips and aggregation. You cannot replace a beat writer who knows what the room felt like after a bad loss, who asked the follow-up question, or who noticed the thing that did not make the press release.
Have a good one! GO BROWNS!
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Positive news from the world of sports and beyond...
Keep watching the skies.
Astronomers have detected an atmosphere around LHS 1140 b, a rocky planet about 48 light-years from Earth that sits in its star's habitable zone. The atmosphere contains helium, and the discovery is being described as the first direct detection of an atmosphere around a rocky exoplanet in a zone where liquid water could potentially exist.
Nobody is claiming there is life there at this point. This is science, not a movie trailer. But it is still a remarkable little push forward: a rocky world, an atmosphere, the right temperature range for water, and enough mystery left to make the universe feel large and full of possibility.
WRAPPING UP
When not staring down a 6.4 percent chance and calling it technically alive, 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.
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