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Maybe some of you can relate to this if you’ve played some pickup basketball games before. You have your reasons for playing — the fun of playing, staying conditioned, improving your game, and the general competitiveness factor. Every so often, though, you see that certain someone or that certain team that walks on to the court with a boisterous attitude that just ignites a fire in your belly. It’s the fire that makes you go, “%$#$ it, there’s no way we’re letting them win.”
That is the fire that Brian Billick just lit inside of Browns fans, when he tweeted this Wednesday afternoon:
You'll dismiss this as "Billick just trashing the Browns again" but seriously...look at schedule & find a single win. You can't do it!
— Brian Billick (@CoachBillick) September 7, 2016
The former Ravens head coach, who has had to settle for an analyst job in recent memory because teams weren’t interested in him leading a team again, poked the bear. It’s also why playing the “schedule game” is so stupid. Only one team has ever gone winless on a 16-game schedule, and that was the Detroit Lions in 2008. It’s an anomaly. Even bad football teams will have a couple of good games every year.
The tweet even made it to Browns head coach Hue Jackson, as a reporter asked him about it during Wednesday’s press conference:
“Who said what (laughter)? Wow. Good for him. I didn’t know he worked here (laughter). I’m just being honest. Nothing to Brian, but I think it is really interesting that everybody can comment on other people’s teams and don’t even understand their inner workings. I have great respect for Brian. He was a great coach in this league. We will see if that’s true. We will see if what he said is true. We will look back in 16 games and see if it is right, but I’m not going to get caught up in that. Obviously, I think you guys know my competitiveness, I don’t want anybody to say we can’t win anything. I just don’t think that is right. I don’t think it is fair. At the same time, I know how hard these guys work, I know what the expectation is and we have to go prove it. Me talking about it is not going to change it. The only thing that is going to change it is what we do on the field.”
I know Hue brushed it off, but I’m sure hearing that lit a little extra flame in him too (not that he needs it).
Billick later tweeted that if the Browns win in Week 1 against the Eagles, he’ll wear the team’s jersey on air heading into Week 2. Don’t expect him to ever be humbled, though; I’m sure he’d find another arrogant way to spin it off.
If they go into Philly and win...I'll wear a #Browns jersey to open @NFLGameDay show for week 2. https://t.co/Gwx59dmeHT
— Brian Billick (@CoachBillick) September 7, 2016