When the Jets 1-13 play the Browns on Sunday in their final at home, they should look the field at the opponent and see hope for themselves.
The Browns were 0-16 in 2017. Still, they enter Sunday’s game with a 10-4 record, are a virtual guarantee to make the playoffs and still have outside chances to win the AFC North.
This is a breakthrough in a short time for a Cleveland franchise that, like the perception with which the Jets are marked (10 years removed from their last playoff appearance), was considered a black hole.
Is there a Jets fan on the planet who didn’t sign up to be in the Browns ’current position in two seasons?
“That says a couple of things,” former Jets CEO and current ESPN analyst Mike Tannenbaum told The Post this week when asked about Browns ’resurgence. “One is that maybe they were a little closer than people perceived. Some of these games in which the Browns participated [in 2017] they were single-possession games, so close.
“And now, they have made a couple of good decisions and the quarterback [Baker Mayfield] improved. They brought [head coach Kevin] Stefanski a, [offensive line coach] Bill Callahan comes in and has a better offensive line. A combination of all these things and you can turn things around quickly, because our sport is built intrinsically so that teams are in the center, 8-8 ”.
The Jets, who suffered 9 points to beat the Browns, are two more losses from finishing 1-15 for the second time in their history, and the rebuilding looks daunting with a much-needed new coaching staff, uncertainty in the quarterback and a list that just doesn’t good enough.
Tannenbaum, however, does not believe the Jets are light years away.
“If you just start with the last two months: the Patriots played MetLife very close, that game was really competitive, a game with a score until the end,” Tannenbaum said. “Look at the Raiders game [a 31-28 loss in the final seconds]. Obviously, they had a good chance of winning this match. And they simply beat a good Rams team on the road.
“Therefore, the cabinet is not peeled by any stretch.”
Neither was the Browns, who have blossomed under the direction of Stefanski, a coach who seems to have pressed all the right buttons.
Stefanski was in Minnesota running the Vikings offense while the Browns worked 0-0.
Asked about how a daunting reconstruction of tasks from 0 to 16 appeared, Stefanski, in his first year in Cleveland, after inheriting a team that went from 6 to 10 last year, said: “I find it hard to go -because then he was not here. But I can tell you everything we’ve done since I got here, and all that it took to take it one day at a time and build this thing meticulously in terms of outline and staff.
“Then with Andrew Berry on board and taking the reins [as general manager], what he has done is to incorporate the right people, “Stefanski continued.” We brought in good football players and brought in good people, we hired a coaching staff that made me feel very strong. “
Stefanski has also proven to be the right person for the job. Interestingly, he was considered an “offensive” coach, just like Adam Gase when he was hired by the Jets before last season.
The difference, however, has been marked by Stefanski as CEO of the entire team, not just as an offensive, unlike Gase, who hasn’t had much to do with the Jets defense.
“I just tried to be myself,” Stefanski said. “But I’m the head coach of the team, so I think the players understand that I’m not the offensive coach, I’m the head coach. I also feel firmly for the technical body we have formed here.
“Andrew prepared a plan during the off-season and identified the guys he wanted to follow through trade, free agency, the project. He went to a lot of areas that we thought were important. I know everyone is looking at the line. offensive, and that’s fair to do.We went out and got a guy in free agency [Jack Conklin], wrote one [Jedrick Wills] and incorporated coach Callahan, who I think is the best in the business ”.
Gase, who has tried to build two unsuccessful programs with Dolphins and Jets, admired the Browns’ construction from afar. Of course, Sunday will have a close look.
“They’ve done a good job as far as building this thing face to face and they’ve got the right kind of guys ahead, either in line O or line D,” Gase said. “Obviously, they have an elite runner [Myles Garrett], and they have an O line that is doing a very good job creating holes and creating a very good racing game [led by Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt].
“They have surrounded the quarterback with a lot of skill players who help him stay excellent and improve every time. Arriving this year, a lot of people were wondering how good [Mayfield] he was going to play. He’s played really well this year and they’ve won a lot of games. “
If you’re thinking that’s exactly what the Gase Jets lacked (a strong offensive line and skill players surrounding quarterback Sam Darnold), you’re not alone.
Asked if he sees the work the Browns have done to rebuild themselves into a candidate in such a short period of time as a sign of hope for a franchise like the Jets, Stefanski said: “It’s very difficult for me go there. We keep the shutters focused and focus on what lies ahead. “
What Stefanski commented on was what his team has in front of them on Sunday, and it seemed to echo the undressed feeling in Tannenbaum’s closet regarding the Jets.
The Browns freshman coach showed up in front of his team Wednesday morning and told them, “Just put the tape” on the Jets’ win over the Rams last week.
“I know they won the game last week; you can see the result, “he said.” But I also wanted them to look at how they won. That was a physical group out there, taking the ball, attacking blocks, running the ball and it was explosive. I think the tape was jumping on the boys “.