Browns lined up for ‘Hard Knocks’

Published 12:00 am Friday, May 18, 2018

The Browns?

“Hard Knocks,” the HBO documentary series that takes an inside look at an NFL team in training camp, has chosen its 2018 subject: the Cleveland Browns, who are coming off a winless season.

Since its debut in 2001, “Hard Knocks” has focused on good teams (the 2008 Dallas Cowboys were coming off a 13-3 season) and bad teams (the 4-12 Atlanta Falcons going into 2014). But never on a team too bad to even win a game.

“The storylines in Cleveland are compelling, which make the Browns an ideal partner on ‘Hard Knocks,’” said Ross Ketover, an NFL Films senior executive.

There is something compelling about the Browns, although it is not football excellence. The team has not made the playoffs since 2002 and has not won a playoff game since being reborn in 1999.

One compelling storyline when the show debuts Aug. 7 will no doubt be coach Hue Jackson, who has somehow kept his job.

Another is the quarterback situation. The Browns have struggled to find an adequate starter, using 29 quarterbacks since returning to Cleveland, including such long-forgotten signal-callers as Spergon Wynn, Thad Lewis and Ken Dorsey and the probably better forgotten Johnny Manziel. Last year’s starter, rookie DeShone Kizer, put up poor numbers, and the Browns have since acquired Tyrod Taylor from the Buffalo Bills and drafted Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield out of Oklahoma with the No. 1 pick.

— The New York Times

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