BL Predicts: Week 3 vs Minnesota Vikings

I have to confess that up until Wednesday evening, I was seriously pondering the possibility of predicting a Browns victory Sunday in Minnesota.   Then the NFL and Browns fans around the world were rocked by the stunning trade of Trent Richardson to the Indianapolis Colts.

Football is an emotional game.   More than any other sport an emotional edge can help a team sustain a winning effort on any given Sunday.   I believed that the entrance of Brian Hoyer this week as the Browns QB might give our Browns a boost.  Hoyer is a rather mediocre QB, which in my view places him well ahead of the disastrous Brandon Weeden.  However what I really like about Hoyer is the strong leadership he displays.   Hoyer knows how to create intensity with his teammates, something that Brandon Weeden has no idea how to generate.    How does Hoyer do it?   By decisiveness about how each play needs to be executed, enthusiasm and directness in the huddle and sacrifice and courage on the field of play.   Weeden is often confused instead of decisive, monotone as opposed to enthusiastic, and visibly afraid.

With a boost from Hoyer on top of a Ray Horton led defense that is playing very well, I believed the Browns could win in Minnesota.   However the Richardson trade has thrown a shadow of doubt over everything.   By far the worst element in this fiasco was the fact that the Browns organization, led by President Joe Banner, did not have the courage, discipline and class to inform Richardson he was traded.   Instead, Trent found out by listening to the radio.   I have run a large organization and always made it a matter of pride to deal directly and forthrightly with difficult matters.   This builds trust and motivation.

No matter how it is spun, when leadership in an organization avoids delivering difficult messages to it's employees, those employees lose motivation and commitment because they don't trust the people who lead them.

Our Browns players are professionals and many of our leading players have great character, but emotion is a fuel that can add passion or take it away.  I am convinced that because our Browns are led by players like D'Qwell Jackson and now Brian Hoyer, they will start out Sunday with motivation however faced with a hostile crowd and coming off a draining week noted by a serious erosion of trust by Joe Banner, that motivation will dissolve as the game progresses.

I believe that the Browns will start off very well against the Vikings, but will not be able to sustain that intensity and we are going to lose a very close one Sunday in Minneapolis.

BL Predicts

Browns       13
Vikings       17


The BL are 2-0 year to date on the prognostication front.