BEREA, Ohio – After the Browns team president gave a detailed account of planned improvements to the game-day experience Monday, Joe Thomas shared a simple vision for fan enhancement.

“I think about the day I run out of the tunnel of Cleveland Browns Stadium for a home playoff game,” Thomas said. “That’s my dream, that’s why I show up every day.”

For all of his individual accolades, Thomas heads into his seventh season bereft of a postseason appearance. Yes, the Pro Bowl tackle is optimistic for a new year, but experience has been a cruel teacher to him.

Thomas arrived here in 2007, the year the Cavaliers reached the NBA Finals and the Indians were a win from the World Series. The city crackled with possibility and the Browns contributed to the good vibes, logging a 10-6 record in Thomas’s rookie season.

“Sitting here today am I’m surprised we haven’t gone to the playoffs?” Thomas said. “Yeah, probably. Six years, that’s a long time especially when you start 10-6 with a fairly prolific offense.

“Obviously, at the end of that year I was thinking, ‘We are going to be better the next year and have a better offense because we had pretty much everyone coming back.’”

Instead, quarterback Derek Anderson lost his mojo, the team dropped 12 games and coach Romeo Crennel was fired. Thomas had never endured a losing season or a coaching dismissal in his football career.

There was more of each to come. He hasn't won more than five games since his rookie season. He termed the habitual losing, "drudgery."

The perennial All Pro has played under four coaches and protected 10 starting quarterbacks since 2007. It’s one reason why he tempers his enthusiasm when analyzing the rebuilt Browns

“There certainly have been a lot of changes,” he said. “It remains to be seen if they were the right changes because in this game you are measured by wins and losses. There’s been a lot of change, that’s for sure. It’s good to talk about it now, but it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks about those changes. It’s what happens on Sunday.”

Thomas, however, knows the excitement the club would generate with a return to the relevance. He’s good friends with Browns radio analyst Doug Dieken who tells him what it meant to play in Cleveland and later chronicle the club’s success during the 1980s and early 90s.

Thomas also loves the fact coach Rob Chudzinski grew up a Browns fan and understands the connection between the franchise and its fan base.

“When the Cavs went to the finals that was cool,” Thomas said. “But it’s such a football town. (Winning) would mean so much to everybody. It would be unbelievable.

“I try to talk to the young guys and let them know how important this team is to the city. We could be legends if we bring this organization back to where it was a couple decades ago or even win a Super Bowl. You’d never buy another drink, never buy another dinner the rest of your life if you won a Super Bowl here.”