Let the real Browns season begins

4-12.

Yup, that was alot worse than alot of us expected.

I'm not going to do a full "Season in review". I just don't have the time to waste on such a fruitless exercise. What's the point in reviewing if alot of the names and faces are going to be different next year? And they WILL be different.

So instead, I'm ready to jump right into the offseason. And for Browns fan, the offseason is our REAL football season. The 17 weeks that the Browns are playing games just serves to drive home how bad our team is. So the offseason comes as a nice respite from the cruel realities of incompetence.

During the offseason, we can talk about our young players who are turning the corner. We can talk about our injured players who will be back, stronger than ever, ready to return us to our glory days of 2005's 6 wins. We can talk about our draft picks, who will surely all contribute immediately. And we can talk about our free agent signings, the cream of the crop who have never been injured and who have never failed to live up to their billing.

Some might say that we're just setting ourselves up for disappointment, since those corners are never turned, new injuries come faster than old injuries heal, draft picks are busts, and free agents are content hauling in their big paychecks. And they'd be right. But really, even with low expectations the Browns still would be a 4-12 team, so its not like we're missing out on that much.

Grossi mentioned something in a chat along the lines of "I thought the Browns would win at least 7 games. Of course, I was being optimistic, because thats what the fans want". You know what Tony, you're right. That is what I want. If we're going to watch crap for the 17 weeks out of the year that the season is going on, I'm OK playing a little game of self-deception the other 35 weeks of the year. Thanks, Tony. Time to haul out a little optimism.

So I'm ready to talk about free agency and the draft. I'll leave end of season analysis to those more qualified than myself.

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Various end of season notes:
> Sean Jones really stopped looking like a ball hawk towards the end of the season. No interceptions past game 9, only a handful of passes defensed in the last few games. He probably had to play alot more conservatively with the CB crew being down with the plague, so I'm not saying cut him. But he sure didn't look like anything special.
> Last game of the season. We are short one guard. We have two options: Isaac Sowells, our 4th round pick and potential guard of the future, and Rob Smith, undrafted rookie who couldn't hang on as center because he was too sweaty to hold onto the ball. So who plays? Rob Smith of course. So, is Sowells such a bust that he can't beat out an undrafted player? Or does Crennel just have some talent management issues? I think its a little bit of both.
> I think alot of the offensive coaching staff shakeup is justified. Especially "offensive quality control coach Carl Crennel". There was quite obviously no quality on this offense.
> Word is that the Browns will interview Jason Garrett, Miami Dolphins QB coach, for offensive coordinator. Does anybody share my sentiment of WTF!?! Our offense is a shambles with a lack of personel, our head coach doesn't know play calling from linear algebra, and we're going to bring in a guy with no direct experience calling plays, and very little indirect experience? What exactly are his credentials? That he coached Daute Culpepper and Joey Harrington to greatness in Miami?