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Are The Cleveland Browns A Good Football Team?

By Nick Dudukovich

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Oct 11, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Josh McCown (13) celebrates as he run in for a touchdown during the third quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

With Josh McCown compiling historic numbers, and the Cleveland Browns going on the road to earn a rare win against the Baltimore Ravens, I had to ask. Are the 2-3 Browns really a good football team?

The Cleveland Browns may be a little underrated, but they’re far from being a good football team.

It turns out that Josh McCown can play. In fact, he’s now the all-time single-game leader for passing yards in a game with 457 yards. For all the quarterbacks this town holds dear (Otto Graham, Brian Sipe, Bernie Kosar), it’s the 13-year journeyman who stands atop the record book.

That’s exactly what Ray Farmer had planned, riiiiight.

Duke Johnson‘s also shown why the Browns made him a third round pick and basically pinned the hopes of their rushing attack on his back. But he missed all of training camp, so it shouldn’t be too big of a surprise that it’s taken a month to acclimate to life in the NFL.

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And Gary Barnidge…apparently he’s privy to some talent-sucking device that he must have used on Jordan Cameron before he bolted to Miami, because Barnidge is putting together a Pro Bowl season while leaving Browns fans asking, who is Jordan Cameron?

But elsewhere, the Browns still have gaping holes. They still can’t consistently run the ball, and it shouldn’t matter that Ravens were deadset on shutting down the Browns’ attack.

The NFL’s an execution league. There’s a reason those coaches spend hours in the film room. Everyone knows what’s going to happen, it’s a matter of actually getting it done. The Browns did rush for 79 yards, inflated by an 18-yard scamper from Isaiah Crowell, but McCown still threw the ball over 50 times. Nobody can honestly believe that’s a recipe for sustained success in 2015.

And then there’s the defense. Justin Forsett easily added his name to the list of backs who have rushed for 100 yards against the Browns this season. Judging on what we’re seeing, that’s not going to be an exclusive club.

The linebacking corps continues to be invisible, as Paul Kruger got burned by Alphabet Soup, also known as Cleveland native Kyle Juszczyk.

As much as we’d all love to start making Super Bowl plans, and while the Baltimore win was great, the Browns still aren’t good and will probably lose a lot more than they win.

For for this week, anyway, the team is 1-0 in the AFC North, and our beloved orange helmets left those dirty-bird Ravens reeling with their season on the brink.

Take what you can get Browns fans, because wins are often few and far between.

Next: Browns Beat Ravens: Game Balls

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