In the 20-year history of the new Cleveland Browns, fans of the orange and brown have had to endure two decades worth of poison to their hearts, minds and souls. Even if this year's top pick in the NFL Draft, Baker Mayfield , performs to what equates to a crap sandwich, it is likely to be a better alternative than the nauseating product Cleveland has been forced to ingest since 1999.
Cleveland's quarterback issues have been well publicized. 29 different quarterbacks have started over the last 19 years. None of them very good.
20 years after going first in the 1999 NFL Draft, Couch is the winningest quarterback in Browns history…at 22-37. As a group, Cleveland Browns quarterbacks have thrown 324 touchdowns in its 19 years. To put that into perspective, Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning and Philip Rivers–who all joined the league five years later–have more touchdown passes than the Browns do as a team. Drew Brees and Tom Brady have also surpassed the Browns team totals.
Peyton Manning threw 579 touchdowns in his career, regular and postseason combined.
Since 1984, the Cleveland Browns have 576 passing touchdowns.
— Football Perspective (@fbgchase) May 8, 2018
Obviously, those 300-plus passing touchdowns are the fewest in the NFL during that time span. The quarterback who was brought in before Mayfield, Tyrod Taylor, has more touchdowns the past three years as the starter in Buffalo than Cleveland.
Ineptitude at quarterback has led to a historic run–and not the good kind. Cleveland has been to the playoffs once. The Browns have two winning seasons. That's it. They have finished in the bottom four in offensive production 12 out of 19 years. Only once have they finished in the top half.
It has only gotten worse. The Browns have a 4-49 record since Thanksgiving, 2014. The Patriots have one less SUPER BOWL berth as the Browns have WINS during that time. The losing has gotten so bad, Cleveland's first son, LeBron James had to comment on the awfulness.
LeBron said he has opinions on #Browns didn't want to share them but said, "I ain't been 1-22 at nothing. Nothing."
— Tom Withers (@twithersAP) October 24, 2017
If you haven't thrown up or got severely light-headed from such putridity, there is a silver lining.
Browns general manager John Dorsey and the coaching staff feel like they may have finally found their quarterback.
Which isn't hard to say since the last time a quarterback started an entire season in Cleveland was 2001.
The truth of the matter is the bar is set low for Mayfield. Think about it as an entire classroom full of not-so-smart people failing every test. The teacher–to counteract the badness–has to lower expectations and the difficulty of exams. Then, one not-so-dumb person comes in mid-semester and changes the entire landscape of the classroom simply by not failing. After all, Mayfield need only not suck and he will bring so much hope to the city, Cleveland might name a bridge after him.
Cleveland has set them up for success, or a version of it at least. For the first time since Johnny Manziel flashed the "money sign" in New York City, there is optimism. Due to picking early and often in previous drafts, the Browns have a bevy of talent on both sides of the ball.
Mayfield will have four legitimate offensive targets in Josh Gordon, Corey Coleman, Jarvis Landry and Duke Johnson. Carlos Hyde and Nick Chubb should be able to grind out yards and alleviate pressure for Mayfield.
On the defensive side, Myles Garrett and Larry Ogunjobi should help anchor an improved defense. Denzel Ward's addition on the outside should dramatically affect one of the worst passing defenses in the league.
Should Mayfield succeed, or at least make the playoffs at least once in a decade, they might erect a statue.
That's the thing about Cleveland becoming a "Factory of Sadness," your hunger for success never goes away, only the definition of your standards.
Good news for Mayfield.
