If you’re a fan of the Cleveland Browns, you have quite possibly just witnessed the most disastrous season in the history of the NFL.
Former Browns owner Art Modell had to be on to something to consider relocating his franchise from the abyss of Cleveland to Baltimore. The franchise appears to be more cursed than the Boston Red Sox thought they were when Babe Ruth famously cast the fatal spell on them decades ago.
To begin the season, the Browns made major headlines when they drafted the exciting, yet polarizing Johnny Manziel. For the very few who are unaware of Mr. Manziel’s exploits, let’s just say he puts Tommy Lee and Motley Crue to shame. Drafting Manziel alone was not an issue, however. The complete mishandling of him from day one, on the other hand …
Manziel is a very charming, well-spoken and charismatic individual when addressing the media, and listening to him speak would make one believe he is straight as an arrow — even though his off-field behavior never wavered his summertime partying was clearly more than just a phase.
The Browns could have easily handled this better had they been clearer on where they stood with Johnny. The thing is, Manziel believed from the get-go he was a superior talent to Brian Hoyer, and a quarterback controversy involving the likes of him is an embarrassing thought to a former Heisman-winning quarterback.
To make matters worse, owner Jimmy Haslam publicly announced and referred to Manziel as a “backup quarterback,” essentially naming a guy who only started two total games in his career ahead of him.
All of this came to a head when Manziel was named the starter in Week 15 after Hoyer’s terrible play was too much to ignore. With Manziel being thrown into the proverbial fire against two teams hungry for playoff berths in the Cincinnati Bengals and the Carolina Panthers, Johnny Football looked less like a Heisman-winner quarterback and more like a Pop Warner player.
To top it all off, Manziel failed to show up for a treatment session for a hamstring injury suffered against the Panthers. Reportedly, he threw a party the night before and was so hung over that he could not bring himself to show up for a massage treatment.
The latest dealings with the Browns may be the final nail in the coffin as GM Ray Farmer has been named the culprit involved in what is termed “Textgate,” in which he allegedly texted members of the Browns’ coaching staff during games about plays. For those who thought Farmer and the Browns could not be any dumber, they managed to pull off a scandal even worse than Deflategate.
What this proves is that the Browns simply have no business having a team. Seriously, what’s the point? They can’t make the playoffs, they can’t seem to find a quarterback competent enough to run an offense … or sober enough to stay on the field. Their players seem to love the taste of marijuana more than victory, and now executives are involving themselves in scandals — and they still can’t win.
It’s time for the Browns to do the NFL a favor and just disband as a franchise.
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