Cleveland Browns: Week 9 NFL power rankings
The Cleveland Browns keep trying, but they just can’t find a win. That is why they take up their familiar spot at the bottom of the weekly power rankings.
The Cleveland Browns have hit the midway point of the 2016 NFL season with an 0-8 record.
It is the first time the Browns have lost consecutive games to open a season since 1975, a year that saw the club finish at 3-11 in Forrest Gregg’s first season as head coach.
Those Browns would bounce back the following year by finishing at 9-5 and just missing out on a three-way tie for the AFC North title after a loss on the season’s final weekend.
Whether or not the current team is on a similar path remains to be seen, but with the way things are going, head coach Hue Jackson would probably sign up for nine wins next season in a flash.
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“Obviously, we have reached the halfway point in the season, which to the team I called the second quarter of the season. We are not anywhere close to where we want to be or where we hope to be,” Jackson said on Monday. “Our players came in today like the normally do, very excited about getting into the tape and seeing what we can do better. It is a resilient group that works extremely hard. They understand our process. We cannot undo yesterday. We can just learn from it and grow from it.
“There are always lessons in losses, and we have had several so there have been a lot of lessons to learn. Hopefully, we keep growing from it. I don’t detect anybody falling off or discouraged. We are disappointed to a man, to a coach because we haven’t been able to get it done, but we are not discouraged. We are determined to stay after it and keep working at it, and we will continue to do so.”
While the effort is there (most of the time), the Browns have not been able to find a way to grab that first win, which is reflected in the weekly NFL power rankings.
Cameron DaSilva at Fox Sports:
Chris Simms at Bleacher Report:
Elliot Harrison at NFL.com:
ESPN: