2 reasons the Cleveland Browns will find success that nobody is talking about! Hint: it's mental
Zach Choice
06/02/2019
Ohio Sports Lead, Fan Writer
12:44 AM
The Cleveland Browns will find success in 2019 for 2 huge reasons that people aren't talking about. Before we get started I need to mention that there are numerous reasons the Cleveland Browns will find success in 2019, including a surging Antonio Calloway. Higgins and Calloway both having big years would be huge for the team and there is no reason to believe it won't happen. There are rumblings that Callaway has shown tremendous growth going into his second year as a pro, and it looks like Hollywood picked up where he left off at the end of last year. Hollywood has grown into quit the receiver with consistent growth each year. However, there are 2 reasons the mental game will play a huge part in the product being produced by the Cleveland Browns that nobody is talking about.
The first reason to be optimistic is the fact that Jarvis Landry will shock the world in the fall! Mr. Landry still has another level to his dawg that we didn't see last year. Don't get me wrong, Landry had a hell of a year making plays that I am still wondering how hell he pulled them off. Who could forget that crazy catch against the Panthers that was put on a dime from Baker Mayfield while being triple covered? It only looked like double coverage because the safety (I think Earl Thomas) fell as he was trying to locate the ball. The season was filled with plays just like that from the pro bowl receiver, but he has another level and I have proof. During the off-season practices and even into the pre-season, Landry made plays that were making Browns fans drop their jaws while watching (it's not easy to impress Ohioans). One handed catches, one handed catches while falling down, down field catches, catches in traffic, catches in the parking lot on the way to the car, catches while sleeping it seems like. Ok maybe the last few were a little extreme, but that doesn't discount the fact that his catch radius was off the charts. If it was in the near vicinity, it didn't matter who was around he was going to catch it. I should also mention the fight, and the wide receiver speech he gave that was on full display on Hard Knocks. I only mention those times because it just serves as proof that his passion for the game and his determination to succeed is something legends are made of. Fast forward to the beginning of the actual 2018 season, and we saw Landry play more tight and not as loose as he did in the exhibitions prior. You could tell that he felt as the leader he wanted to make sure he led by example for the other receivers and mentally he didn't want to take the risks that he was willing to take while in training camp and the pre-season. With the addition of Mr. OBJ, and the emergence of Higgins and Calloway, Browns fans should be prepared to see a special season out of the Pro Bowl Landry. Since he will no longer have to carry the burden of the entire WR room he might finish the year with not a single dropped pass.
The second reason to be optimistic for the browns is the fact that Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham Jr. already have chemistry, and are friends off the field. Not enough can be said about chemistry between a Quarterback and his receivers. Chemistry is probably one of the most over looked aspects of relationships that cannot be taken for granted. Most analysts want to measure chemistry by pointing to efficiency numbers or some other form of analytics that have absolutely nothing to do with actual chemistry. Chemistry is determined by the relationship one has with another regardless of the situation so chemistry can't possibly be a number. Since we know that Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham Jr. were already working out and training together prior to the 2018 season (before they were teammates) it should be fair to assume that the chemistry seed should already be planted at minimum. OBJ is the number one receiver in the league, so I'm quit sure there were no shortage of quarterbacks willing to workout with him. So the fact that the pair along with Landry were already working out together speaks volume about the potential on field production between the two. I could be wrong it has happened one other time in my life, but I don't think I ever saw OBJ and Manning working out in the off-season together. Not only that, but OBJ and Manning couldn't be more different in every aspect of being different. Manning is an aging QB that is losing arm talent that is from the other side of the tracks that couldn't possible understand the younger players entering the league or their culture. Baker Mayfield on the other hand is part of the younger generation and is embedded in the culture. Can you imagine OBJ on the field with a QB that can actually get him the ball in space and a QB that he has an actual relationship with? The possibilities could be historic. I expect these two young men to hit the ground running this season and play as if they have been playing together all of their lives. Both of these players are special talents that could have a record setting year providing the bond these two already share and the admiration one has for the other.
On paper the Cleveland Browns have had a tremendous off-season adding talent and much needed depth to the roster of budding talent, but games aren't won on talent alone. Many of the national analyst talk about the potential of the 2019 Cleveland Browns, however they fail to mention a couple of the deciding factors that will make it a successful. The game is played mostly between the ears, so it was necessary to introduce two aspects of how the mental game will play a huge part in the product being produced on the field in the fall that nobody is talking about.
