A look around an NFL where the Browns are back … and Gronk could be too?

BY CARL STEWARD

ARE THE CLEVELAND BROWNS FOR REAL?

Even though the NFL national media are going ga-ga over the Browns’ resurgence, we reserve the right to be exceedingly skeptical. Do you remember the last time they won a playoff game? It was 1994. Remember who their coach was? Bill Belichick. Remember who they beat? Try the New England Patriots. Odell Beckham Jr. and Baker Mayfield notwithstanding, there’s much to prove still despite last year’s jump to 7-8-1 from 0-16.

WHAT ARE THE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS FOR KYLER MURRAY?

And what can we realistically expect from the Arizona Cardinals in support of the 5-foot-10 Murray? Look, Russell Wilson at 5-11 kind of blew away the whole short quarterback myth. Wilson went to two Super Bowls, won one (and should have won the other if not for the worst play-call in history) and is now the highest-paid player in the league. But will Murray have the coaching infrastructure under new head man Kliff Kingsbury? Will he have any blocking? Will he have good targets beyond aging Larry Fitzgerald?

Do the Cleveland Browns have what it takes? With QB Baker Mayfield, right, maybe, but they still have much to prove. GETTY IMAGES

IS THIS THE YEAR ANDREW LUCK GETS OVER THE HUMP?

What Luck did to rekindle his career last year was admirable because he was looking pretty prematurely done before the Colts decided to protect their investment with an offensive line that allowed him to be sacked a mere 18 times (fewest in the NFL for a full-time starter). The Colts are taking a measured approach to building their team under GM Chris Ballard, but that’s the structure that best suits Luck, who’s still only 29. Keep protecting him and good things are bound to happen.

HAS RAMS RUNNING BACK TODD GURLEY ALREADY HIT HIS EXPIRATION DATE?

Despite the fact that he just turned 25 on Aug. 3, Gurley has exceeded 1,000 carries in his four-year NFL career and added a couple hundred more totes on receptions. He has the most touchdowns of any player in the league over that period with 46. But diagnosed with an arthritic left knee following his troublesome performances in the NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl, it’s an open question what Gurley’s future holds. Two trendy words will likely define Gurley’s 2019 season: load management. But at what expense to the Rams’ season does that unfold?

WHICH FORMER 49ERS QB IS MORE LIKELY TO PLAY IN THE NFL AGAIN, ALEX SMITH OR COLIN KAEPERNICK?

Despite reaching a confidential settlement on collusion charges Kaepernick made against the league, it remains questionable whether he’ll ever play in the NFL again, even though he is just 31. New England, which lacks an experienced backup for Brady, has been rumored as a possibility, but would President Donald Trump’s favorite team actually take a shot on a player Trump has so thoroughly scorned? As for Smith, the devastating compound leg fracture he suffered in Week 11 last year continues to leave his future in doubt, but all indications are he wants to play again, and he does have a contract with Washington that runs through 2022. Smith turned up at camp sporting crutches, trying in any way to help out and earn his $15 million contract for this season.

COULD THE VIC FANGIO EXPERIMENT ACTUALLY WORK?

The Broncos’ Fangio, 60, certainly has deserved a shot at the big chair for many years based on his defensive success with numerous teams, including the 49ers. But let’s just say it — Denver is a strange fit. You have an offensive-minded team president in John Elway who brought in a new veteran quarterback in Joe Flacco and your biggest issues are clearly on offense. Maybe Rich Scangarello, hired away from the 49ers to be the O.C., didn’t want the limelight, but he might have been a better choice.

HOW DOES A GRONKLESS NEW ENGLAND CONTINUE ON … OR DOES HE RETURN?

Don’t rule out the latter. After all, Gronk is only 30, and one of the tight ends the Patriots acquired to try and fill the void is old New England hand Ben Watson, who’s 38. Watson will be suspended for the first four games, too, which will only heighten the swirl around a Gronkowski return. Gronkowski may simply be waiting until he’s really needed and avoiding the heat of summer workouts. It’s a solid bet the fun-loving Gronkowski comes back at some point, once he tires of the party in his head. The only real doubt is whether it’s this year.

WHICH SUCCESSFUL TEAM FROM 2018 IS PRIMED FOR A REGRESSION?

A lot of NFL aficionados think the Chicago Bears are primed for a fall, but we prefer going with a franchise that’s already partially fallen – the Pittsburgh Steelers. (How many losing seasons have the Steelers had since 1972? Try seven, only one more than the Raiders have had in this decade alone.) They missed the playoffs last year but still went 9-6-1. They haven’t had a losing year since 2003. But this season, Ben Roethlisberger will start at age 37 without Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell and perhaps most important, offensive line coach Mike Munchak, arguably the best at his job in the league and he’s now in Denver.

WHICH LOSING TEAM FROM 2018 CAN MAKE THE BIGGEST JUMP?

Lots of candidates: Atlanta. Jacksonville. Green Bay. But OK, gulp … how about the Raiders? Clearly this wasn’t a slow rebuild project here, not when you trade for a flamboyant star in Antonio Brown and then give big money to free agents Trent Brown, Lamarcus Joyner and Tyrell Williams, then draft a step-right-in running back in Josh Jacobs. Beyond Oakland nostalgia, the Raiders also could use a bump heading into their new Las Vegas play-palace. That town already has enough losers. It doesn’t need 53 more plus a head his team — Philadelphia’s Doug Pederson. So here’s a working Top 6 butt-burn list for starters: 1. Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh. 2. Jay Gruden, Washington. 3. Jason Garrett, Dallas. 4, Doug Marrone, Jacksonville. 5. Ron Rivera, Carolina. 6. Bill O’Brien, Houston.

WILL NEW ENGLAND BE THE FIRST TEAM IN 15 YEARS TO WIN BACKTO-BACK SUPER BOWLS?

coach that’ll still be on the books for $80 million more deep into the 2020s.

IS THIS A BOUNCE-BACK YEAR IN JACKSONVILLE WITH NICK FOLES AT THE HELM?

Maybe, if only because the AFC South is such a schizophrenic division. Foles brings stability if nothing else. He’s not flashy, but he gets the job done. And players seem to believe in him. That’s huge, because there never seemed to be a lot of belief in Blake Bortles externally, and you have to wonder what the sentiments were internally. The gig comes with a workhorse back in Leonard Fournette and a defense that doesn’t figure to get involved in too many shootouts. Maybe not 11-5 like two years ago, but good enough to make the playoffs again.

WHICH NFL COACHES ARE ON THE MOST SCALDING HOT SEATS?

“Coaches” is the operative word, because here’s an amazing stat: For 14 consecutive years, there have been no fewer than six head coaching changes in any NFL season. Of seven head coaches hired three years ago, only one is still with

The Patriots were the last to do it in 2004-2005 and it’s only been done eight times, but this is the longest gap since the game’s inception in 1967. New England has played in three straight Super Bowls and only one team – noted nonwinner Buffalo — has played in four straight. The retirement of Gronkowski could prove to be a concern, and the Patriots also lost a standout free agent D-lineman in Trey Flowers. At some point, there has to be an expiration date on Tom Brady, not to mention Bill Belichick. But as long as the AFC East provides an easy expressway to the postseason, New England will be a threat.

COULD THE NEW PASS INTERFERENCE RULES GET OUT OF HAND?

Absolutely. Head coaches can now challenge both offensive and defensive pass interference, whether flagged or not, except in the last two minutes of each half. Then a designated replay official takes over with the power to make a pass interference ruling or reverse one, but at least according to the league, only in extreme circumstances such as the gross missed PI in the NFC Championship Game. It’s a one-year trial balloon. Our prediction: The final two-minute replay official sticks, but the coaches’ challenge will be altered. It’s set up for a nightmare. There are simply too many plays in which pass interference could be called, much like holding. Expect extended delays and even longer games. Ugh.