Jul 9th 2008 10:04AM by Ryan Wilson (author feed)
Filed under: Browns, AFC North, NFL Fans
Somehow I missed this last week, but thanks to Hashmarks’ James Walker, I am happy to report that the Cleveland Browns are going to the Super Bowl. At least according to the ‘ Rich Gosselin, one of the best best NFL columnists anywhere. The Browns are one of only six NFL teams that have never been to a Super Bowl. So let’s send Cleveland to the 2008 NFL championship game against the defending champion New York Giants. Go ahead, skewer me. But my loyal readers/e-mailers also skewered me last November when I forecast a Giants-Patriots Super Bowl in this same Internet space.

That’s what makes the NFL so intriguing nothing is ever as obvious as it seems. As we sit here the opening week of July, there are probably 20 teams that believe they can be in Tampa next February playing for an NFL title. The Browns and Giants are certainly two of them. Gosselin isn’t just waving his hands and making outrageous proclamations (well, at the very least, he’s not waving his arms); he points out that Cleveland returns all 22 starters from last year’s surprising 10-6 team (), and they’ve added Donte’ Stallworth, Corey Williams and Shaun Rogers this offseason.

Still, suggesting the Browns will emerge as the AFC’s representative ahead of New England, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, and even division rival Pittsburgh, seems a tad optimistic. Do I think it’ll happen? Uh, no. But as Gosselin suggests, there are probably 20 teams with Super Bowl aspirations and it’s not completely insane to think the Browns are one of them. Okay, maybe it is, but, it’s July, who really knows what the NFL landscape will look like in six months?