Early look at the Detroit Lions 2017 opponents: Cleveland Browns
By Ash Thompson
The Cleveland Browns are churning through their perpetual rebuild, but appear to have actually made some progress in 2017. There are still major question marks on their roster, but the Browns look like a better team going into the season.
The Cleveland Browns fans know a thing or two about disappointment. They might even be more familiar with it than Lions fans because they’ve been the victim of the moments that other teams celebrate for decades. Art Model fired the man the team was named after, and he moved the team to Baltimore after a spat with the city council. Being a Browns fan has been hard. Watching the Ravens win a Superbowl shortly after losing that team has to have been one of the most bitter pills a fan base has ever had to swallow.
The Browns had Bill Bilicheck one job too soon. They had a great team in the late 1980s but just kept running into John Elway and the Denver Broncos in the AFC championship game and falling one play short. Their best player in the history of the franchise walked away early too. Jim Brown is still referred to as the greatest running back in the history of the game by most people in the know.
The Browns have one of the few fanbases that can look at a Detroit Lions fan and legitimately compare notes regarding the feelings of hopelessness that the franchise inspires at times. But whereas the Lions are on an upswing, having made the playoffs in two of the last three seasons, the Browns are riding no such wave. The Browns fans have not watched a winning season since 2007. Nine straight years of disappointment are the lot they have received. In fact, since re-entering the league in 1999 they have managed only two playoff births.
The Detroit Lions face the Cleveland Browns in week 14 of the season. If the past is any indication, they will face a beleaguered team. They will have long ago lost any motivation but pride. Is this the season that the Cleveland Browns reverse their fortunes and have something on the line in mid-November?