t’s that time of year again when NFL fans—specifically Browns fans, in this case—overanalyze every little thing happening during the preseason. With the Cleveland Browns currently 0-2 in the NFL preseason, fans have already started expressing concerns for various reasons. Today, I want to break down those concerns and ask the question that’s been on my mind since the preseason started: Why do we, as fans, take the NFL preseason so seriously?

The main concern—and to me, the only truly valid one—that I’ve seen from the Browns’ preseason is the lack of depth at the offensive tackle position. In their previous game against the Vikings, the Browns sustained three injuries to their tackles: James Hudson’s ankle, Germain Ifedi’s hand, and Hakeem Adeniji’s knee. With both starters, Jack Conklin and Jedrick Wills, currently on the PUP list, the Browns are down to the bottom of their depth chart at tackle. This is concerning because starting QB Deshaun Watson is expected to play in their final preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks with less-than-adequate protection due to these injuries. I truly hope we see the return of the starting tackles soon, for our quarterback’s sake, especially since we expected to see Jedrick Wills back by now.

Now that I’ve covered the valid concerns, let’s move on to the less logical worries I’ve seen surrounding the Cleveland Browns this preseason. The most popular one is the perceived lack of positives coming from the offense. This doesn’t surprise me, as we have this conversation every year. However, Kevin Stefanski has never run the full scope of his offense in the preseason, preferring to keep his cards close to his chest until the season truly begins. So, the fact that the offense hasn’t been exciting or doesn’t seem to be gelling yet doesn’t scare me at all. Another popular concern, at least before the Vikings game, was that the defense didn’t seem as aggressive as it was last year under defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. The Browns have yet to play many, if any, starters on either side of the ball, so the team not looking like itself makes total sense. Lastly, if you’re upset that Dustin Hopkins has yet to play in the preseason, I have to ask why. He had no problem adjusting to Cleveland’s tough kicking conditions after losing his kicker battle with the Chargers, and given his injury history, there’s no need for him to take warm-up kicks during the preseason.

As a fanbase, I think we need to remember who this team is. The Browns wear the same uniforms all preseason, don’t have a fully painted field, and run the bare minimum plays from their playbook. Like many other NFL franchises in today’s league, the Cleveland Browns don’t take the preseason seriously; they use it to evaluate the bottom end of their roster and then move on to what matters most—competing in games that count toward the playoffs. So, I urge you to treat the preseason accordingly. Be happy that football is back, but don’t take the wins and losses to heart, because if there’s any fanbase that knows better, it’s us—the preseason doesn’t matter.