Don't put the cart before the horse.

We've all heard it, but Cleveland Browns fans have spent this offseason ignoring the ages-old warning.

Social media is oozing with confident Cleveland football fans proclaiming that this is the year. This is the year that their beloved Browns steal the spotlight and rise to the upper echelon of NFL teams. Some are even predicting a Super Bowl win.

The fanfare comes in the wake of a 7-8-1 season in which the Browns won three of their last four games and can legitimately claim that they kept the hated Steelers from making the playoffs with their forcing of a 21-21 tie in Week 1 last season.

On one hand, I can understand the excitement felt by Cleveland's faithful. The Browns went 0-16 in 2017, so their seven wins a year ago was a major leap toward becoming a playoff contender.

In Baker Mayfield, the team has a young, brash quarterback and from what he showed last season (27 TDs, 14 Ints), it seems he has the talent to back it up.

Running back Nick Chubb fell just short of 1,000 yards, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. Defensive end Myles Garrett had 13½ sacks in 2018 and leads a young, talented defense. A trade added Odell Beckham Jr., one of the most talented wide receivers in today's game, to the roster.

Browns fans are focused on all of the above, all the optimism projected by the stat sheet.

But there are also red flags with this team and it starts with Beckham, who spent the first five seasons of his career with the New York Giants. His quarterback there was Eli Manning, who Beckham claimed was holding him back with poor play and decision-making.

Manning had ample opportunity to fire back. Every time Beckham sounded off, microphones were soon flashed in front of Manning for his response, but he always took the high road and brushed off the criticism. It's just not Manning's style to get caught up in a war of words, especially with a teammate.

But Mayfield will not be so forgiving. He's very outspoken and when there's an issue between him and Beckham, and it will happen, the situation could become a major issue that affects play on the field.

First-year Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens is well aware of this potential powder keg and is keeping his fingers crossed his team can avoid it as long as possible.

Chubb did his damage on just 192 carries last season. How will his body respond if and when he's asked to carry the ball 20 times per game?

The Browns will have the use of running back Kareem Hunt starting in Week 10. Hunt's ability on the field is not in doubt, but his conduct off of it is in question. While playing for Kansas City, he was involved in an incident of domestic violence, which led to him being suspended for the first eight games of 2019.

Cleveland's fan base is desperate for a contender. The Browns last won it all in 1964, two years before the first Super Bowl. The last time the franchise fielded a consistent playoff team was when Bernie Kosar was connecting with Webster Slaughter on big pass plays and Frank Minnifield and Hanford Dixon were roaming the secondary. That was in the late 1980s, when Cleveland won seven straight games against Pittsburgh.

Then Browns fans had to endure owner Art Modell's move of the franchise to Baltimore. From 1996-98, Cleveland had no team to root for. Since the Browns' return, the few rays of success have been eclipsed by disappointment.

In 2002, the only season in which the Browns made the playoffs since coming back into the league, Cleveland let a 24-7 lead slip away in a Wildcard loss to Pittsburgh.

In 2007, the Browns finished 10-6, but missed out on a playoff spot by losing a tiebreaker to, you guessed it, the Steelers.

Cleveland wants a winner, I get it. But Browns fans need a large dose of something that has apparently been lost in the waves of preseason boasts.

Cautious optimism.

Derek Pyda is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.