As final predictions for the 2015 NFL season are pouring in from experts, and as the chirpers on Twitter are growing louder by the second, the Cleveland Browns aren’t flinching amid the persistent buzz about their franchise.
“Nobody wants to be disrespected,” Pettine said at the start of training camp. “It’s a prideful group and I just see it as a motivating thing.”
This isn’t some gimmick: The Browns fully believe they are a better football team than the squad that went 7-9 in Pettine’s debut season. A stingy defense has been tweaked in Year 2 of the system and a barrage of new 300-pound tanks have reinforced the defensive line.