Playoffs, playoffs, playoffs, Cleveland Browns fans just hope their team wins a game. All kidding aside, one member of the Browns defense is standing behind his guarantee of a playoff birth.
Linebacker Christian Kirksey told reporters during the Browns off season program that the Browns will make the AFC Playoffs in 2018. One year after becoming just the second team in NFL history to go 0-16.
Kirksey backed up his prediction when he spoke to the media Friday afternoon before day two of Browns training camp.
#Browns Christian Kirksey doesn't regret offseason tweet, says he's sticking to his playoff prediction. pic.twitter.com/7keVXn8D9I
— Scott Petrak ct (@ScottPetrak) July 27, 2018
“I know a lot of people will say, ‘You haven’t won a game, this and that.’ If we keep that mindset, then we’re not going to win a game,” Kirksey said. “You have to have that mindset where you’re going to compete. You’re going to win. As a competitor, that’s the attitude you have to have. I really believe we’re destined to win a lot of games.”
So what has Kirksey seen since the end of the 0-16 season that supports his guarantee?
“Just seeing the work ethic in these guys.,” Kirksey said. “I have been here for going on five years. This team that we have together right now, is one of the better units that I have been around. Just seeing the type of guys added to the team. The draft picks and all of that. It is just a different feel. I was very confident in that tweet, and I stick to it. I truly believe that.”
2018 isn’t the first time the linebacker made a guarantee. In 2016, he said the Browns would not go 0-16 following loss number nine of that season. As a result of the Christmas Eve miracle over the former San Diego Chargers, that guarantee was right.
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Head coach Hue Jackson addressed the playoff guarantees. It’s a long way down the road with just two days of training camp completed.
“We have work to do,” Jackson said. “I love that our players are excited about the team that is in the locker room, but at the same time, statements do not mean anything; the action (does). I support our players whole-heartedly – no question about that – but this is so early in the game for us right now. What we need to do is put our head down, just work and just keep getting better as a football team each and every day. Hopefully, those things become a reality. You have got to believe something first before it ever happens. Our guys are saying those things, but at the same time, we have got to back it up. So we have to work.”
Therefore, Kirksey and the Browns have to walk the walk after talking the talk.
Scott Piker is the Managing Editor for Full Press Coverage Browns.
