We've heard it from Freddie. We've heard it from Baker. The sentiment is that they can't believe that we are "happy" about 7-8-1.

I get their point. But I think they miss our point...I am not sure exactly how happy we are about 7-8-1. I mean, just before they canned Haley and Jackson...How "happy" were you? I think we are excited about 5-3. With all 3 of those losses against playoff teams.

In Cleveland, you have to deal with a lot of life hitting you in the face, punching you in the gut and then kicking you while your down. As a football town, our biggest escape is the Browns. We have dealt with such ineptness for so many years. We have been waiting 20 years for this team to be built in a way that they were "BACK". There are a lot of fans who have not witnessed what some of us had in the 80's and early 90's. 2007 was a tease, as we all knew they couldn't afford that team. 2004 was precarious because of the QB situation.

There is only one way to deal with the constant losing. So in trying to keep our sanity, we try to be the eternal optimist. Hope is the one thing that only you can take away. And so we have been accustomed to always looking forward to the next year.

Next year we will put it together. We will have a great draft, guys will develop. They are right on the cusp. They just need a little something to push them over the top of the hill. The let gravity do its thing. Next year will be better, you will see.

These are the sentiments, that have kept us going and made people put us on the top of the best fans lists. But it is also why we are "happy". It is why we are excited.

We are looking at "next year", and it excites us. We see a young team that competes. And not just in a "try hard" way, but on the scoreboard as well. We see a team that is well put together and we didn't break the bank to do it. We are seeing control issues being handled and not allowed to fester. We see players "feeling dangerous" and it is "contagious". This year we have more than just hope to pin on a view of the future.

Are you TRULY happy with 7-8-1??? As someone who aches from Red Right 88, the Drive, the Fumble, the Move, and the Factory of Sadness...

I know I am not...

But I am ecstatic about what the future holds...

You're spot on. I am not happy with 7-8-1. I am happy with the progress we're making. I'm happy that we seem to be on the upswing. I am hoping that 7-8-1 was a stepping stone.

Well put post. Not sure that I am "happy" about the record last season, but I am happy about what we managed to do going forward. Maybe a better word would be 'relieved' because some of the nonsense and distraction is gone and we have less of a media circus. I am happy about that being replaced by football stuff instead of crises regularly.

A story: I came across a man, sitting on a fence; he had tears rolling down both cheeks. His face said quite a bit about his situation as he held on tight to the fence. I stopped. I asked him about his tears. He told me he was in pain. He was sitting on a big nail.
"So, why don't you move?" I asked.
He wiped a few tears, and said, "Well, I am kinda getting used to it."
We have been on the fence, never quite used to it. Time to move. That feels better if not good.

Agree...

Not sure everyone is happy about 7-8-1, but they are happy that the team is showing progress, that the team was a legitimate threat on Sundays, that the team did not look like clowns on the field (although there were still a couple snafus ).

Only thing that would make me happier is to see all those NE fans when NE has a few bad years after Brady And Belichick retire.

I think you are reading their comments wrong.

Are they happy with 7-8-1, No,, of course not.

Are they happy with 7-8-1 vs 0-16, hell yeah and so am I.

What I'm most happy about is what I saw in the second half of the season. I saw a REAL NFL Football team. They did a pretty good job..

5-3 in the second half with essentially the same players that we had in the first half of the season.

THat's what they and I are really happy about.

Baker Mayfield isn't happy with 7-8-1, I don't care what he says... Neither is anyone else on this team or in the front office..

5-3 over 8 games translates to 10-6 over 16 games,..

Would you be happy with that? I would

Pete good to read you.

I cannot speak for other posters but I can Guess what Kitchens and Baker are "HAPPY" About.

The progress of the team. Especially the 5-3 progress under Kitchens.

Don't confuse "HAPPY" to mean "SATISFIED" as in no shape and form do I think for a NY second that Kitchen and Baker are SATISFIED with 7-8-1.

The season is over they cannot change a darn thing about it. So they most definitely are HAPPY about the progress they are Happy with their 5-3 record once Kitchens took over the offense. Considering our team was 1-31 and 1-32-1 when Baker came in and took over for TT in the Jets game. One has to just remember that under a rookie's leadership just a year before they were 0-16.

So I get what you are saying. As a fan now way am I satisfied for a losing record of 7-8-1. But in reviewing the season I can see "HAPPY" to describe the vibe, the success, the definite progress of the team who was one of the youngest in the NFL.

We had so many things to accomplish. All had to do with winning. We hadn't won an away game in over 3 years.

We hadn't won back to back games in over 3 years.

Not just HOPE Pete...for many of us comes EXPECTATIONS as well.

And realistic expectations not just Homer Pie in the sky stuff.

Happy in our transformation not only in won loss but respect given throughout the league. Coaches now wanting to coach here as their first choice. Happy that an Arians state right out that he would only come out of Retirement to coach the Browns. Of course I guess he got bitten by the coaching bug and took any job when we did not choose him.

Happy that FA players actually want to come here and the reason is not that they are from the Cleveland area. They actually see our team as an UP and COMER.

We are looking at "next year", and it excites us. We see a young team that competes. And not just in a "try hard" way, but on the scoreboard as well. We see a team that is well put together and we didn't break the bank to do it. We are seeing control issues being handled and not allowed to fester. We see players "feeling dangerous" and it is "contagious". This year we have more than just hope to pin on a view of the future.

I see you to are very HAPPY with our prospects. Not the 7-8-1. Again don't confuse HAPPY with Satisfied. I don't think any of us are SATISFIED with a losing record.

jmho

Pete, Florida and others said it well.

Having to say whether or not you're "happy" with the final win/loss is doing a disservice to the season.

I'll bring this around to posts I've been making for the past several years... with the hope that this is the last time I make this type of post. I've said at the beginning of each season that it's not about the win/loss... it's about the play on the field. How competitive they are, how they "look".

-We had a defense that showed a real talent for getting the ball. They were real beat up at times, which affected their performance, but you can do a lot worse than a D that will give up yards and points, but can give your O the ball a couple times per game.

-With the information we have at this time (big caveat, I'm not crowning him yet) we have a guy we can be confident in at the QB position. Let's put it another way, we won't go into next season with anything resembling a QB competition/controversy. I'm not anointing him, but I'm excited to see more of him.

-We have a GM who really knows what he's doing. He came in and made a splash. Yes, he had lots of ammo thanks to Sashi, but I will never stop trumpeting the Kizer-Randall trade. I won't go further as I can easily write pages on how awesome that trade was. Getting Landry, and picking Robinson and Perriman off the scrap heap were also savvy moves (I always highlight the Randall trade because I feel that move is criminally under-talked-about).

-On top of the previous point, we have managed to not screw up the past bunch of 1st rounders. The most questionable pick (Peppers imo) is even looking pretty good right now. Not screwing up top draft picks like we used to is a big deal.

-We have some talent we can work with on offense. Our offense going from unwatchable to threatening-at-times is another huge thing. Again, while watching the game and feeling like we still have a chance at the end of games is such an enormous step in the right direction. We haven't had that in a while.

-I'm hoping to be able to add coaching to this list as well. Too small of a sample size as well as uncertainty with how Kitchens will handle his expanded role. Stuff to be hopeful about, but still TBD.


That's why I'm happy.

I think the Baker and Kitchens comment were about the FANS being happy with 7-8-1, which is they wouldn't understand because they haven't been here for 20 years.

Not happy at all. Should've been 9-7 possibly 10-6 with a playoff game/run but we got boned by a bad kicker and inept and/or corrupt officiating. Nope, not happy at all. Happy though, about the potential to be so dominant we overcome all that type of nonsense. Basically, last season, to me, is like the shedded skin of a snake or the cocoon of a newborn butterfly. Useless and irrelevant. On to 2019.

j/c

Without Refs we were 10-6
Without our voodoo kicker issues we'd be 12-4

We saw the huge improvement once coaching was straightened out.

That's why we're HAPPY. Fans that watched all the games saw us win A LOT. Just cuz the NFL kept us out of the playoffs that doesn't take away the fun of watching our team WIN!!!

We're hoping next year the flukes will finally leave us alone and we can make a run at a title. That's a feeling I haven't had since 2007.

However, we are all aware that just like 2007, you can fall off a cliff, so Kitchens is just saying to keep focused I think. I like the attitude.

And as fans, as soon as we lose games, it's fire this person, trade that person, etc etc.

Of course Kitchens, Baker, and the entire team are happy with the progress made compared to the past 2 previous seasons. But they are not fans. They are players. Personally, I'm glad they are wording it the way they are. The PLAYERS need to hear that. End of the day, for players, it's not about the fans. Its about them.

I agree, but it's the fans who often get people fired.

Nice post Pete





That was last season...this season is the one that matters..

Deservedly so... The Fans who pay the Ticket Prices...the parking prices.. the food and drink prices...the cable bill prices... the Players wages...The hotel room prices when we travel...

Without the Fans there would be no Sport...Remember the leagues that tried but failed due to NO FANS ? Remember the teams that moved because of NO FANS ?

You can argue it was due to lack of interest and money....all comes back to the FANS.

Yep...the Fans Rule !!!!

I agree Pete. It's going to be a lot of fun on the lakefront.

I might have to migrate and pick a downtown hotel because I might want to hang around for some after game celebrations.

Happy with the year we had but expect us to make playoffs this year.... if we miss playoffs I'll be pissed...

I think last year this team finally learned how to win...

Now...It is time that they learned how to WIN!


I am not going to be in a "the playoffs or they suck" kind of mode this year. So much can happen...2007 is a perfect example. But I do have an expectation that they should reach the playoffs this year...The statistics of not reaching the playoffs in any sport for such as long a period of time as we have is staggering. But we have seen the ridiculous happen against us for 20 years and so while I have that expectation of them...It isn't my criteria in judging them.

I as a fan am happy looking forward...7-8-1 feels good in comparison to about 18 of the past 20 years...But I am old and I remember a time of perennial dominance...So fro me....there is no being happy about 7-8-1.

So Freddie, Baker...you don't have to worry...we know and understand what you are saying...If you think we are happy now??? Just wait until you learn how to WIN. You haven't seen anything yet. The Cavs Parade is the closest...but it will pale in comparison to a Browns Super Bowl win.