Torturing Cleveland: 2018 Edition

Other than an NBA championship a couple of years ago, the city of Cleveland has had to go through very tough times since the 60s for its sports. This week, it has been a crumbling path of destruction. With the Browns of the NFL, they fired coach Hue Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Haley. In the first season without LeBron James again, the Cavaliers fired coach Tyronn Lue very early in the NBA season, going 0-6 to start the season before last night's win with their new coach.

My take on the Browns is that it is still a very dysfunctional organization. They give up way too easily on coaches and players, but you can't make excuses for Jackson, who only won three games in his two plus years. Since 1999, they have gone through almost, if not, about 30 quarterbacks. No one has a started a full 16-game season other than Tim Couch in 2001. Whatever they try to fix one year, another gets broken. I don't know if its poor management or making the wrong choices, but even with Baker Mayfield it's not making them better. You look at Detroit, who went winless in 2008, and see the amount of progress they have made since, I don't know why the Browns don't look at how they handled that situation. Either way, it's more disappointment that will keep plaguing them.

It's not unusual now in the NBA for a coach to get fired early on. Houston did that with Kevin McHale a few years ago after a poor performance eight games into a season. It makes me wonder what the Cavs were expecting after James left for Los Angeles. It wasn't like they were going to dominate the Eastern Conference. It's surprising that they gave up on Lue very early when he was the reason along with his players that they won the Finals in 2016. Everybody knew things were going to be different, but to fire? I think it's panic and maybe one or two other things, but giving up very quickly makes them look really bad.

Other than the Indians, there isn't much to get excited in Cleveland with their sports teams.

Lowly Tie

If you're the Pittsburgh Steelers, this should be a travesty in itself. Facing the Cleveland Browns should have been a walk in the park somewhat. Instead, they let them comeback and not only tie the game, but end the game in a tie.

For one thing, do not blame this on Le'Veon Bell. James Connor put up one hell of a game that totaled almost 200 scrimmage yards and a touchdown. The defense put up their effort, particularly one T.J. Watt with four sacks. Ben Roethlisberger had the awful game with three interceptions despite over 300 yards passing. More than likely, that was what got Cleveland back in.

On the other side, Tyrod Taylor was abysmal in accuracy, but the ground game is what got him and Carlos Hyde to score. Jarvis Landry is one guy Miami might regret trading away if he has games like he had this week. The defense did not give up. For rookie Denzel Ward to get his first two picks ever off of one of the great quarterbacks, it says a lot for not just him, but for the team.

Pittsburgh has it tough facing Kansas City for Week 2. Although they beat them in the playoffs two seasons ago and the regular season last year, they were tight match ups. Dealing with Tyreek Hill is their most concerning issue. Cleveland goes to New Orleans, who laid an egg against Tampa Bay and backup Ryan Fitzpatrick. I see Drew Brees getting the victory and the winless streak continuing for the Browns. Ultimately, Pittsburgh should be ashamed of having this as, although it's just the first week, it could be a huge factor in whether they are a postseason team or not.