It must be the parade.
How else can you explain the sudden burst of optimism for the Cleveland Browns this week. In the words of the 'Voice of the Browns,' Jimmy Donovan, it's been a "very, very good week" for the franchise after the hiring of Eliot Wolf and Alonzo Highsmith to join GM John Dorsey in the front office.
In addition, the Browns added Jimmy Noel as Assistant Director of Pro Scouting, Matt Donahoe as Scout and Dan Zegers as Personnel Coordinator. All three worked under Dorsey in Kansas City.
Look, the Browns have a long way to go. I think we all know that. But as I laid out in my analysis on Wednesday, gone are the days of backstabbing, flying by the seat of the pants drafting, and analytics from the second floor in Berea.
Smart, experienced football people are going to draft talented football players. That's how you start to dig out of this 1-31 hole that the Browns have been mired in.
Meanwhile, I sense anxiety from the fans for the team that plays at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario. There is some degree of impatience from those who were expecting more activity from the Cleveland Indians. Instead, this is what they're seeing:
- Carlos Santana heading to Philadelphia (with Yonder Alonso brought in to replace him)
- Joe Smith is now a member of the defending World Series champion Astros. His fellow reliever Bryan Shaw signed with Colorado
- The Tribe tried and were unsuccessful in trading Jason Kipnis to the Mets
- Jay Bruce left to sign a 3-year, $39 million dollar deal with the Mets, while the Tribe picked up the option of Michael Brantley. Dr. Smooth is an All-Star caliber hitter when healthy, but he hasn't played more than 90 games since 2015.
Jimmy and I talked about this very strange role reversal for the Browns and Indians during Thursday evening's Donovan Live Postgame Show.
Watch the Donovan Live Postgame Show in the player above.