Romeo Crennel knows a thing or two about the Cleveland Browns. After all, he was the franchise’s coach from 2005-08 and was the last coach to lead the team to a winning record (10-6 in 2007).
What Crennel has seen thus far from rookie coach Kevin Stefanski has been impressive.
“It looks like they’ve made a lot of progress to be 5-3,” Crennel said. “They started out pretty good. This league is a tough league for everybody, but they’re in the hunt. They’ve put themselves in the hunt. We’ve got the last half of the season to play and we’ll see how they come out at the last half.”
The last time the Browns were 5-3 was 2014 under coach Mike Pettine, also a rookie coach. Cleveland got as far as 6-3 before faltering to a 7-9 finish.
“Everybody wants to start strong, but a lot of times in the NFL, it’s how you finish,” said Crennel. “I’ve seen it occur both ways. I’ve seen guys win the first half of the season and then all of a sudden, the bottom drops out. I’ve seen guys lose the first half of the season and then get on a roll on the second half.”
From what Crennel has been able to observe, the Browns have taken things one game at a time, similar to the approach the Texans are having to take with a 2-6 record yet still hopeful they can stay in the playoff hunt.
“They’ve got a quarterback,” said Crennel. “They’ve got a good supporting cast around the quarterback. They’ve got some defense, so I think they’re headed in the right direction.”
Houston hopes to knock Cleveland off course in Week 10 as they square off at FirstEnergy Field Sunday at 12:00 p.m. CT.