The Cleveland Browns return for the second week of offseason on-field work with this question yet unanswered: What constitutes a good 2017 season for this team?

Expectations for the Browns are again low, with even the most optimistic of forecasters wondering if the Browns will push .500. A team that wins one game and follows said 1-15 season with uncertainty at quarterback and receiver and by installing its third defensive system in four seasons has questions to answer. Many of them.

Yet even amidst this low expectation lies optimism. The Browns have been generally praised for how they handled their offseason. ESPN's Bill Barnwell gave them a B grade. ProFootballFocus called the Browns the most improved team in the AFC North, saying, "It's hard not to like what the Browns have done."

The question is what the improvement means in terms of wins.

Even as the Browns struggle to win, executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown refuses to lower his expectations. Trevor Ruszkowski/USA TODAY Sports

A year ago, the Browns were accused of tanking when they cast their lot with Robert Griffin III at quarterback and bypassed on drafting Carson Wentz. The Browns snapped back at the 2016 tanking charge.

In 2017, they say the same -- with emphasis.

"We do understand where our roster is, but no, our expectations are high," executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown said in a May 5 interview on ESPN Cleveland radio. "And the expectation is to win and win now, and I think when you buy into 'We're going to take a year off,' you're adopting a losing mentality. And we're not going to do that here."

Recently, different fans have offered similar takes on their hopes for the season. Measuring sticks have ranged from "show some progress" to "compete in games and keep them close" to this apt summary: "I just want them to do well enough that I believe it's worth coming back."

In this Browns era, change, poor decisions and inept play have led to records with at least 11 losses in eight seasons of the last nine. That level of struggle would be tough to achieve if a team set out to be that bad. The only season the Browns didn't lose 11 games, they still had a losing record -- which means they've not had a winning season in the past nine. The combined win-loss in those nine seasons: 38-106, a .263 percentage.

That is the kind of record that churns fans' stomachs.

For 2017, though, the Browns retained linebacker Jamie Collins and added 10 draft choices, including first overall pick Myles Garrett as well as fellow first-rounders Jabrill Peppers and David Njoku. They took big and strong-armed quarterback Deshone Kizer in the second round and added two talented defensive tackles later in the draft. That plus the rebuilding of the offensive line in free agency means improvement should be expected.

Though this may seem like the most modest of evaluations, it wasn't tough to see a year ago at this time that the Browns were not a better team than the three-win team of 2015.

Coach Hue Jackson said after last season that if the Browns had another one-win season, folks could look for him swimming in Lake Erie. Jackson need not shop for a bathing suit; the team should grow.

But while the measurement for any team is in wins and losses, the Browns should be measured on a curve in 2017. Expecting this team to go from one win to 10 is expecting too much. The Browns have too far to go against tough AFC North competition.

Reaching .500 should be cause for celebration. Getting to six wins would be plus-five from last year's misery, and would set a foundation for future success. Getting to five wins would be acceptable.

But if the Browns struggle around the one-, two- or three-win mark, it's simply not good enough.

That does not seem likely. The Browns' long and painful plan for rebuilding, which involved developing a new culture with young players guided by key retained veterans and Jackson, is becoming clearer.

There should be growth and improvement.

But the biggest growth spurt might come in 2018, after the Browns add two more first-round and three second-round draft picks.

At this point, five or six wins and competitive games would be a step forward in 2017.