Charley Casserly On Browns: "Just Write Down The Team On Paper. They're A Playoff Team"
NFL Network analyst and former NFL general manager Charley Casserly was asked to predict a playoff team from each conference that wasn't there last year. He chose the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from the NFC and the Cleveland Browns from the AFC.
"Throw the name out," Casserly told NFL Network host and Browns fan Andrew Siciliano. "Just write down the team on paper. They're a playoff team."
Casserly is just looking at what the Browns are bringing to the table, ignoring any potential baggage the team might be bringing, including a first year head coach or past failures to live up to the hype. The Browns have some questions to answer, but they have a significant amount of talent with Casserly specifically noting the upgrades at offensive tackle.
"Cleveland Browns, you're a playoff team. You gotta step up and do it now."
The Browns have talent and the NFL is allowing an extra team into the playoffs in each conference. One more team has to get in, but the Browns, presumably in a position to be more functional than last year, can improve from a disappointing 6-10 season in 2019 to step up and find their way into the postseason.
Undoubtedly, there will be people who will call the Browns illegitimate if they can sneak in with a seventh seed, but for a team that hasn't been in a playoff game since 2002, they'll have an opportunity to advance and they would certainly benefit from any postseason exposure they might get.
The Browns are set up to get better in 2021 when they might make a bigger push to the postseason with eyes on a larger prize, so if they can find their way into the 2020 postseason, that would provide a massive benefit.
