ESPN: Cleveland Browns 2017 Team Not One Of The Worst In The Last Decade
The years 2016 and 2017 were the toughest of times for Cleveland Browns fans. The team was at an all-time low. Going 1-31 over a two year span, including an 0-16 season, it just doesn’t get much worse. Well, one ESPN analyst seems to think that it actually does.
Aaron Schatz of ESPN listed his five worst teams of the last decade. Surprisingly enough, this list did not include either Cleveland Browns team from those years. The 2018 Arizona Cardinals were listed as the worst team, but they were able to win three game, more than Cleveland did in that two year span. Another surprising one on the list is the 2019 Miami Dolphins, a team that won five games. Even though they over achieved, it seems silly to put them on the list since they did win five games. To put that into retrospect, the 2019 Cleveland Browns with a ton of talent won just six games, the Dolphins certainly had a better head coach.
In 2017 when Cleveland went 0-16, DeShone Kizer was at the helm, coached by the one and only Hue Jackson. A toxic combo from the start, Kizer was no where close to ready to play in the NFL, was thrown into the fire anyways. An 11 touchdown to 22 interception ratio is sure to have you at the bottom of the league, which is exactly where they were. Jackson would throw Kizer under the bus, along with other players and coaches, always claiming he would fix things - never did.
This 2017 Browns team looked to have some fight in them at times. Duke Johnson was the teams best playmaker with over 1,000 total yards, Isaiah Crowell ran the ball hard. Cleveland would lose six of those 16 games by a touchdown or less. Ending the season against the Pittsburgh Steelers with an overtime loss, one the team on Lake Erie though they had.
2017 was Myles Garrett’s rookie season. He was dominant when he was on the field at times, he missed five games due to injury though. Cleveland’s splash free agent signing was Kenny Britt, who would play just nine games before packing his bags, a disaster. If there’s one thing that came good out of this season, it’s that Cleveland landed their hopeful franchise quarterback with the first overall pick the following year.
Browns fans are probably happy they were left off of this list from ESPN, but they know the truth. That 2017 Cleveland team was one of the worst in recent memory and maybe ever. The future looks bright in Cleveland, 2017 seems like years ago and the Browns have bigger plans looking forward.
