The Cleveland Browns did very little during the 2016 season to earn respect around the league, forcing Jimmy Haslam and his wife Dee into an open-letter apology to season ticket holders. They appeared to be ready to repair broken trust when the Browns brought Paul DePodesta of “money ball” fame into their ‘war room’ to help them sift the young talent in order to rebuild a competitive team during the NFL Draft. They’ve made some offseason moves with the signing of Calvin Pryor and a handsome extension agreement with Christian Kirksey.

However, those moves may not have been enough. With a few words on a nationally-aired sports show on Wednesday, former NFL executive Bill Polian called out the Browns organization in a big way.

The reparations and early indications

In the Haslams’ letter, they openly stated:

Clearly, this season has been a painful part of our building process. You deserve the best, and you certainly deserve better than a 1-15 team…

That seems to be a straight-forward, clear message, but were they playing to the crowd or participating in their own gamesmanship?

Jackson has been playing things up a bit with the media during recent OTA sessions. One day he was quoted talking about how far the defensive line has come. The next statement pointed out how well the rookie additions were contributing in practices. Then Jackson really ramped things up by making a non-statement about who may or may not be the starting quarterback while hinting it may be Brock Osweiler, who the Browns acquired in an off-season pre-draft trade, or it may not be.

Hue Jackson sees QBs "emerging" and showing overall improvement in OTAs

5 Things to Know » https://t.co/uKnEEmbQhD pic.twitter.com/NI3Ew3ExBZ

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) June 6, 2017

Right now, as the last practice of OTAs open to the public has passed, the Browns and Jackson are either crazy as a fox or just plain crazy; puzzling enough that Polian called them out.

Purposely non-competitive?

In an interview on ESPN Radio’s “Mike and Mike” show on Wednesday, Polian – a six-time NFL Executive of the Year – spoke about the housecleaning the New York Jets have underway, competitive player rosters, referenced the Philadelphia 76ers and then strangely circled around to the Browns and how he felt Cleveland purposely was non-competitive last season in the league. In fact, Polian called out the Browns for throwing their 2016 season away.

The thing that worries me is that the Browns essentially tanked the season last year and no one said – except a few of us – said anything about it.  And it may well be that this is something that can spread around the league, and I don’t think that’s good for the sport in the long run because in the end, it robs the customers of a chance to see a competitive team.

Polian was asked for clarification on saying the Browns ‘tanked’ the 2016 season, one host stating, “it wasn’t that the players just weren’t trying…it’s not that the players on the field weren’t giving maximum effort…sometimes management lets salary and age dictate whether or not the best players will be on the field.” Polian then referenced the fact that Cleveland did not sign an available Robbie Gould at placekicker last season, but chose to sign relative unknown Cody Parkey.

Did the Browns “Moneyball” Gould/Parkey?

Polian’s statement points to questions surrounding whether the Browns ignored special teams coach Chris Tabor’s efforts to go after Gould after Patrick Murray injured his knee or low-balled for Parkey. Per the Miami Herald, the Browns claimed that Gould was too expensive to bring aboard.

Gould was an 11-year veteran while Parkey had three years under his belt. The minimum salary to hire Gould over Parkey? $500,000 more, give or take. Cleveland led the league with nearly $48 million available at the time and admitted they saw kickers as interchangeable players on the field and indicated they would “moneyball” their approach.

But, when the report came out that they may have purposely navigated away from Gould, per NFL sources familiar with Tabor’s statements, a ‘source’ told the Akron Beacon Journal, “Money played no role in the decision. It’s ridiculous to think that it would.”

For the record, Parkey missed three field goals in the game against the Miami Dolphins just hours after he was hired. It gave the Dolphins their first win of the 2016 NFL season. Yes, the Browns were on their third quarterback – Cody Kessler – in his first NFL start. Yes, the Browns were missing several players due to injury and/or suspension.

The fact remains, Parkey was not nearly as prepared for the game as he was when he made the Pro Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles as a rookie. That was what the Browns used to justify his signing over Gould; ignoring or perhaps overlooking missing the 2015 season with a groin injury and losing his spot to Caleb Sturgis in Eagles training camp.

Hue Jackson is live at the podium following Tuesday's OTA https://t.co/yRAM5o5hlr

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) June 6, 2017

Shell game hype or actual hope for Cleveland fans?

With all the positive hype over at the Cleveland Browns’ practices, you might think Polian is being overly critical of the organization’s recent past. They had what many consider to be a successful draft of young talent that could build into something special. They have veterans returning that are sharing their excitement in interviews over the upcoming season. So, why is Polian convinced the Browns have set a precedent that would be bad for the NFL?

That brings things back to DePodesta’s hiring.  In an interview with Peter King of Sports Illustrated, DePodesta was asked what he does for the Browns. DePodesta answered, “I don’t know.” DePodesta, the “Moneyball” King, stated that he was hesitant to share what the Browns organization was attempting, telling King:

We are trying to develop things that ultimately will give us a competitive advantage and get us back onto the landscape in terms of those competitive teams that are playing in January every year.

Something’s afoot in Cleveland, but what it is exactly is unclear right now. Some would suggest that the Browns threw 2016 away for the opportunity to grab young talent at a much lower cost than veteran salaries. Others would shake their heads, claiming “their team” would never go to those lengths.  If you ask Hue Jackson, he’ll tell you that Jimmy Haslam’s organization is squared away and the team is preparing for stiff competition in 2017.

Jackson offers one of the best verbal shell games in the industry, so Cleveland fans have to be cautiously optimistic. A rebuilt, retooled team can be an exciting thing to lay eyes upon.  They’ve been burned in the past and another season like last season may be just enough to tank their future support – especially season ticket holders. How the Browns respond to Polian’s statements may be the tell.

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Steel City Underground will run a series of articles in 2017 under the ‘rival report’ headline aimed at analysis of the National Football League’s AFC North teams who are rivals to the Pittsburgh Steelers: the Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens. These will include team news, player and coaching staff quotes, transactions and critical information from rival camps.