It’s finally that time of year again. Football season has returned, Tony Romo is already injured, and Browns fans are once again looking to a new mobile quarterback to deliver the franchise from the depths of mediocrity. This time, it’s not an alcoholic party animal in the form of Johnny Manziel, but an injury-prone veteran from Washington, Robert Griffin III (RG3).
As anyone who has watched any NFL football in the last four years will remember, RG3 had a stellar rookie season but quickly went downhill from there. Marred by nagging injuries, the quarterback from Washington has as of yet failed to recreate the success of his rookie season. In 2012, then-rookie RG3 accumulated 3,200 passing yards and 815 rushing yards, which was an incredible total for a rookie. RG3 also set the record for the highest passer rating for a rookie, ever. That level of success was possible because rookie RG3 was healthy. He could run without fear of injury, and took more risks with the ball. That RG3 no longer exists. Instead, the Browns got the same RG3 who was behind both Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy on the depth chart last season. While I hope that somehow RG3 is able to recreate his rookie success with the Browns this season, I am not optimistic.

In other areas, the Browns look promising. At receiver, the Browns picked up Corey Coleman, a deserved first round talent who will undoubtedly see a good share of catches this season. The run game seems promising this season, as the Browns backfield includes both Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson Jr., both tough, solid runners. As long as both Crowell and Johnson Jr. can stay healthy, the Browns run game should put up respectable numbers. Additionally, former Pro-Bowl selectee and First-Team All-Pro Josh Gordon will return week five, after serving a four game suspension. This is huge for a Browns offense with a new quarterback and a mediocre offensive line (apologies to Joe Thomas) that was ranked an underwhelming 21st out of 32 teams by profootballfocus.com.

Also, the Brown’s defense did not look promising this preseason. Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers especially, the defense looked outmatched. Jameis Winston passed all over the secondary, and the defensive line had a tough time stopping the run all game. This was not just because it was a preseason game and all the starters were not playing; the starters looked rusty and sluggish as well. Hopefully this was just a preseason fluke, and the regular season defense looks much different than the one we saw face off against Tampa Bay. As the season gets started, I truly hope the Browns can move past their quarterback woes to finally have a successful season in 2016. UPDATE: I wrote this article back in August, and the Browns did not disappoint. RG3 has already confirmed my worst suspicions and is projected to miss around eight games. The Browns have lost their first three games in heart-breaking fashion. I am now convinced that the Browns truly have no hope and are cursed.