CLEVELAND — Training camp is just days away for the Cleveland Browns. As excited as fans might be to see this team in action in 2019, I'm not sure anyone is as ready as Jim Donovan and Doug Dieken are.
The duo is set to begin their 21st season together in the radio booth calling the action on the Cleveland Browns Radio Network this fall, but first they spent some time chatting with The Athletic's media writer Richard Deitsch.
Things are changing fast in Cleveland. Baker Mayfield is the quarterback, newly-acquired wideout Odell Beckham Jr. will be one of his primary targets, joining other talented skill players like Jarvis Landry, David Njoku, Nick Chubb, and after his suspension is over, Kareem Hunt. The Browns have a legitimate shot at their first playoff appearance since 2002 and their first division title since 1989.
"All of this is pretty cool, I must tell you. There have been a lot of people through all the losing who have come up to me and said, ‘Boy I don’t know how you do it every Sunday. That is tough.’ Now everyone can’t wait for the start of the season and neither can I," Jimmy told Deitsch.
“This city deserves it,” Dieken added. “These people lost their football team, they got one back, they suffered through basically 20 years of bad football, and now it looks like they will finally get what they deserve – a good football team. The difference between two years ago and last year is people want to talk football all the time. You go into a restaurant or bar and they say, ‘How do you think we are going to do this year?’ It’s just a different feel throughout the area.”
Deitsch points out that since 1999, no NFL play-by-play broadcaster has called more losses than Jimmy has. The Browns are 95-225-1 (.298) during Donovan’s duration with the team, the worst mark among NFL teams between 1999 and 2018 by 24 games. (The second-worst Lions are 119-205-0 during the same stretch.)
“When they were losing I think people appreciated we were very honest about what was going on the field and the organization,” Jimmy added. “And I give the Browns credit. They never called us in, hamstrung us, or said lighten up on us. People appreciated the honesty, but last year it was good for us to get a chance to call exciting games and relevant games."
Just imagine how it's going to be this fall!
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