Garrett is just a great player on a bad team

Myles Garrett might be the best Cleveland Brown I have ever seen.I was born in 1980, and started obsessively watching the games in 1986. Cleveland's football team was really good when I started watching, with players like Ozzie Newsome, Clay Matthews and Michael Dean Perry populating the rosters.Newsome is in the Hall of Fame. Matthews should be. And Perry was so popular that area McDonald's restaurants named a sandwich after him.Of course, the expansion era Browns haven't had many great players, and have never really had a great team.Joe Thomas played his entire 11-year career in Cleveland, and was enshrined in Canton a few years ago.Nick Chubb is the greatest Cleveland running back I have watched. And my favorite players growing up were Kevin Mack and Earnest Byner, so I don't say that lightly.But Garrett is different. When he's on – like he was in Sunday's 32-13 loss at New England – he's practically unstoppableGarrett sacked Patriots' quarterback Drake Maye five times. He has 10 sacks on the season, tied for the league lead.And he was shown on the FOX TV broadcast slamming his helmet to the ground on the sideline as another Browns game turned into a loss.Garrett was understandably frustrated – about the game, and about being pulled in final minutes – and his helmet slam reflected how fans feel watching this team.Garrett requested a trade from the Browns last February, saying he wanted the opportunity to play in a Super Bowl.But about a month later, he signed a contract extension with the Browns.Maybe a trade would have been the best thing for Garrett and the Browns.Garrett could have started for a team that was a contender.The Browns likely would have netted draft picks that would have helped with the team rebuild.But the salary cap made a trade of Garrett difficult, if not impossible.So, Garrett is still in Cleveland, piling up sacks and other accolades as the Browns continue to lose.Some have said they feel sorry for Garrett, that the Browns are wasting his talent.But I don't see it that way.The Browns dressed 45 players for Sunday's game. Every single one of them had to work hard to get to the NFL, to make playing football a career.Their reward for all that work was to play on a bad team with no playoff hopes.But that's just the reality of professional sports. Garrett will end up in the Hall of Fame one day, and he will have more money than he will ever need.So he's playing for a bad team? A third of all NFL players are on bad teams. That's life.I don't feel bad for Garrett because he plays for the Browns. I do feel bad for him because he has to watch this Cleveland offense up close every week.The Browns scored a touchdown on their first drive Sunday. Then, it was just a bunch of bad football. Rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel doesn't look like he should be anywhere near an NFL field, and the wide receivers are non-factors.The offense is bad and boring.The Browns defense is good, certainly good enough to win games with a competent offense.Sadly, Cleveland doesn't have one right now.And I have sympathy for Garrett – and his defensive teammates – because of that. PLAYER OF THE GAME: Garrett. There have been seasons where it felt like the Browns wouldn't get to five sacks. NEXT WEEK: The Browns are on a bye. I have to admit I'm hoping the team pulls the plug on Gabriel and starts Shadeur Sanders against the Jets.I have no idea if Sanders is ready to play quarterback in the NFL.But has Gabriel looked ready? The Browns are 2-6. What do they have to lose? Zach Baker is the sports editor for The Courier and Review Times