Hard Knocks season 13, episode 1 recap: Cleveland Browns
By Shawn Lealos
ARLINGTON, TX – APRIL 26: A video board displays the text “THE PICK IS IN” for the Cleveland Browns during the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft at AT&T Stadium on April 26, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
HBO’s Hard Knocks is entering its 13th season and this year the focus is on one of the worst teams of the last decade – the Cleveland Browns.
However, while the Browns haven’t had a successful season in many years, there is some hope in Cleveland that this year could change that. They have the first overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft in Baker Mayfield, another new quarterback in former Buffalo Bills’ star Tyrod Taylor and the Miami Dolphins’ leading receiver from 2017 in Jarvis Landry.
However, can they succeed in the 2018 NFL while Mayfield learns the playbook and gets up to date on the speed of the NFL and the rest of the young team grows around him? Hard Knocks takes us inside the training camp of the Cleveland Browns.
The Cleanse
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Interestingly, the first thing that they showed on Hard Knocks was workers tearing down a giant LeBron James banner. The NBA superstar had left Cleveland for the Los Angeles Lakers and the question asked was what will replace that banner now that LeBron is gone.
It is a sobering thought.
LeBron James was so huge and so successful that the struggles of the Cleveland Browns seemed even greater in comparison. Now, with LeBron gone, can the Browns be the sports team to save the city and give them something to cheer for once again?
Hue Jackson was the first voice heard from the team. The head coach said that he did not come to Cleveland to lose and reminded people that he is human. However, in his three seasons with the Browns, the team has only won one game in the last two seasons. He said that the players and other coaches are also human, and they need to cleanse themselves of the losses.
Jackson said that if his team did not do any better in 23017, he would go jump in a lake – so he did it and the first thing on Hard Knocks showed that –as the entire team and coaches all jumped into Lake Erie, which Jackson called The Cleanse.
There was also a quick clip of Hue Jackson calling his sister and learning that their mother is still struggling health wise.