Brian Hartline brings to Cleveland certain undeniable assets as the newest wide receiver for the Browns. He’s 6-2, 200 pounds. At age 28, he’s in his prime. He takes his professional responsibilities very seriously. He learns his playbook thoroughly. Not only will he be where the quarterback expects him to be, he’ll also know where the other receivers belong as well. He runs precise routes. He has great hands. He’s had only two career fumbles. He is extremely competitive. He believes, even on his opponent’s best day, he’ll beat him. He expects to win. He also speaks up when the occasion calls for it and, at times, when some think he shouldn’t. What a treat!

I can see why Brian Hartline and his new head coach seem to have hit it off. Asked to describe his meeting with Mike Pettine, Hartline called him “a man’s man.” In this day and age we might ask with some suspicion what that means. But those who have listened to Pettine for a little over a year now, probably know Hartline was referring to Pettine’s frankness when he said, “He gets to the point.”

The public comments of modern-day athletes, managers and coaches are so rote, bland, and meaningless anymore that even the casual fan can parody the rehearsed remarks. But Brian Hartline, in his first press conference with Clevelanders, showed a delightful independent streak when he was asked about Josh McCown. The question was worded in a patently offensive manner, trying to get Hartline to acknowledge the Browns’ reputation of being quarterback-challenged. When he didn’t take the bait, the questioner persisted, asking if he understood why there would be such a strong feeling among fans that the Browns just can’t get it right at the quarterback position. His response, “Yes, because they’re fans. Because they don’t play, they’re not on the field or in the locker room. They don’t know …” He then went on to praise McCown’s professionalism and how he’s handled various challenges and successes and how he’s come through it all … “smelling like a rose,” I think he said.

When Hartline referred to “fans” I thought, surely, he’s talking directly and primarily to those trying to draw him into a quarterback controversy, trying to get him to dis his teammate before they’ve even met, before they’ve had even one practice together.

Since McCown’s signing, many (should I say most?) of Cleveland’s self-proclaimed football experts – aka talk radio hosts and reporters – have felt it entirely within their realm of expertise to preemptively declare McCown unfit for duty. They’ve been not only unreasonable, they’ve been crude. To say he’s not the long term answer is almost too obvious to bother saying. He’ll be 36 before the 2015 season starts. Of course he’s not the long term answer and I, for one, would give the Browns credit for knowing at least that much. But “long term” in this town is relative. Around these parts one full year is an eon.

But among the terms used to describe McCown have been “loser,” “bum” and “garbage.” And this, by people who actually earn money by trash talking on the air and reading advertising copy. Most of what passes for “commentary” seems so devoid of genuine understanding of the game that it would be laughable but for the hurt it mindlessly tries to inflict and use for the purposes of entertainment.

The first and most important fact about the actual game of football is that it is the quintessential team sport. Eleven players on offense, eleven on defense, another eleven on special teams, and a handful more used in situational roles. Football is not basketball. But even there, Lebron James (one of five) cannot carry a team to a championship without lots of additional parts of just the right size, shape and talent. So it takes an astounding naiveté to say (as one has) that he wants a quarterback “who can put his team on his back and carry them to the Super Bowl.” What drivel!

Then there is the oft-repeated statement that Josh McCown was one and ten last year. Well, his team was 1-10. In 2014 McCown had 11 TD passes, 14 interceptions, a completion percentage of 56.3, a QB rating of 70 and a lousy offensive line on a bad Tampa Bay team. But don’t tell these critics about 2013 in Chicago where McCown’s stats were quite different, because that just doesn’t square with their formulaic script. But like it or not, here they are: In 2013 McCown played in 8 games, starting five. He had 13 TD passes, one interception, a completion percentage over 66 and a QBR of 109. It doesn’t require an archaeologist’s tools to dig up the answer to what happened to Josh McCown between 2013 and 2014.

McCown has been a backup QB most of his career. He’s moved around. He even played a year (2010) in the United Football League. So this is not a celebrity/superstar signing. When the Browns selected Johnny Manziel in last year’s draft, there were celebratory hosannas along the lines of Cleveland gaining instant relevance and credibility in the NFL. Finally, we’re on the map, we’re at the center of the football universe. We drafted a celebrity.

We now know those celebrations were embarrassingly premature. But after that draft choice crashed and burned a few months later, what was the lesson learned by the various radio hosts and talking heads in the dreamworld of soap opera football? That hype and celebrity have very little substance in the trenches of the NFL? Sadly, no. The new fixation is on one or another quarterback as the Browns’ next savior. The one who will give them instant relevance and credibility. The one who will make them favorites to win their division. Well, gee, how do you know that? Isn’t that guy there older than McCown? And aren’t that other guy’s stats just as unremarkable? And that one over there, isn’t he kind of injury-plagued? And didn’t that other guy just retire? So here we go again.

In the face of contentions that no one wants to play in Cleveland, both Josh McCown and Brian Hartline, having been courted by several other teams, decided to sign here. The reason? Both of them said it: Because of how the Browns are building their foundation from the ground up. Because of what they have already accomplished with their stated unglamorous goal of building the offense around a dominant line and sturdy running attack. In his refreshingly forthright manner, Hartline said football people know that’s the way you win … strong defense and a dominant OL.

Say what you will about this fledgling owner, front office and coaching staff. But whether by design, accident or trial and error, they are developing a more plausible set of strategies than their predecessors. And, in Mike Pettine, the Browns have a coach who gets to the point. In his usual forthright manner, he said the Browns’ QB situation going into the off-season was “muddy at best.” In answer to the question, what would he be looking for, he simply said, “I told Ray I want a starting quarterback.” And Brian Hartline, after signing with the Browns, citing Mike Pettine’s vision, directness and clarity of thought, said, “ … the coach believes in Josh McCown, so I do too.”

Only in The Young and the Restless is the signing of Josh McCown written off in March as meritless. And along with that judgment is an oft-heard expression, “It may not be fair, but that’s the perception.”

Think about that statement for a few seconds. “It may not be fair, or even correct. It might be BS. But it’s what we’ve come to believe.” Is there a more revealing indication that football commentary around here is sometimes little more than a soap opera-like manipulation of perceptions?