Why These ‘Ain’t the Same Old Browns Anymore’

The vibe is different in Cleveland, and it starts with their 60-year-old head coach, Todd Monken, who has his team tied for first place in the AFC North.

It's been a different vibe in Cleveland with first-year head coach Todd Monken. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared as an item in Albert Breer’s Week 6 takeaways published on Oct. 19.

Todd Monken’s confidence is radiating through the Browns’ roster

Being around the team this summer, it was pretty clear the vibe was different in Cleveland. There was an energy and a defiance that the new 60-year-old head coach was bringing that the young team there was very clearly buying into. And that came out, once again, when I talked to veteran linebacker Quincy Williams after Cleveland’s game Sunday.

Williams didn’t seem remotely surprised that the Browns outlasted the Lamar Jackson–less Ravens, 13–10. In fact, as he seemed to see it, this was no more a measuring stick for his team than it was for the established power traveling into northeast Ohio.

“Man, we number one,” Williams told me. He reiterated, “Listen, we number one. We knew that they were coming in here to take our number one spot. We said, Think about it, somebody trying to run up in your house and take your favorite trophy. They can’t get it. So that was our mindset going into the game, going in the half, coming out of the half: Hey, man, they in our house and they trying to take something. So let’s ride.”

Ride, the Browns did.

They fell behind 10–0 in the first quarter and trailed by that deficit at the half. Deshaun Watson had 70 yards on 8-of-14 passing through three quarters. Andre Szmyt missed his first field goal of the year, a potential game-winner, from 48 yards out with 3:44 left, leaving the score tied at 10.  Any of these occurrences might have led to former Browns teams chalking this one up as another off day for a franchise that’s had a lot of those.

But Monken’s group wouldn’t.

“We ain’t the same old Browns anymore,” Williams said. “At the beginning of the season, we said that.”

They’ve spent their time since then proving it. On Sunday, that meant Watson piloting a drive in the fourth quarter to tie it, then two more to set up field goal attempts. It meant the Carson Schwesinger–led defense getting the ball back on the possessions in between. It meant a young Browns team not losing its head when things didn’t look good.

Yes, this is different.

“They’re taking ownership of their positions,” Williams said of his younger teammates. “It’s not that they’re not making young mistakes, but they’re actually making what we call vet-mindset plays. They’re anticipating plays, they’re making the play.”

And they’re all like that which, Williams would go on to say, has led to a team that’s connected.

Now, does that mean they’ll be there at the end in an AFC North race with three established powers at the top? Not necessarily. But it does mean that, with all the young talent on the roster, this 4–2 start is no mirage—it’s more a reflection of Monken’s vision coming to life.

So you’d say no one thought they’d be this good? That’s actually not true.

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