Cleveland Browns 2010 NFL Preview

[BernietheKid]

Cleveland Browns 2010 NFL Preview
Originally Published: September 2, 2010
Expert Picks (Consensus: 4th)


The Browns finished fourth in the AFC North last season with a 5-11 record. For more Browns coverage, visit: James Walker's AFC North blog … on Twitter | Clubhouse | More predictions

ANALYST	PREDICTION
James Walker ESPN.com	DIVISION FINISH: 4 The Browns are just too short on talent to compete in the AFC North. This team added a few parts, but the Browns remain at least a year or two from contending.
John Clayton ESPN.com	DIVISION FINISH: 4 The talent gap between the Browns and their three division rivals is too vast for Eric Mangini's coaching to close. He has the secondary to match up against the division's QBs but he doesn't have the offensive firepower.
Adam Schefter ESPN	DIVISION FINISH: 4 The arrow is pointed up in Cleveland, but the three teams the Browns go against in their division might be as tough a three outs as any in football.
Matt Williamson Scouts Inc.	DIVISION FINISH: 4 Like Buffalo, the Browns might be poised to go winless within their division. They still have a ton of work to do.
Seth Wickersham ESPN The Magazine	DIVISION FINISH: 2 This is karma for LeBron James leaving. The NFL has an odd way of rewarding cities that suffer relocated teams (Baltimore, St. Louis), endless losing (Arizona, Indy, Tampa) or huge tragedy (New Orleans). No Super Bowl, but they'll get an 8-8 season.

Intelligence Report


Five things you need to know about the Browns:

1. In good hands: For the first time in a long time, Cleveland has stability in the front office with plenty of experience. New president Mike Holmgren and general manager Tom Heckert know how to put together winning organizations. Both have experienced success in important roles with the Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks and Philadelphia Eagles. The Browns are hoping that success rubs off in Cleveland. Do not expect the team to be an overnight success, but things appear to be headed in the right direction.

2. Delhomme has eased some concerns: Whether you are on the Jake Delhomme bandwagon or still skeptical, his solid preseason performance has quieted some concerns after a tumultuous 2009 season. Delhomme was benched and eventually released by the Carolina Panthers after throwing only eight touchdowns and 18 interceptions last season. Questions remain about whether he will continue his poor play in Cleveland. But so far Delhomme has had good command of the offense in limited playing time.

3. Running game is strong: One of the best ways the Browns can take pressure off Delhomme and the passing game is by pounding the football. Cleveland isn't deep in a lot of areas, but the team has plenty of running backs. Jerome Harrison, Peyton Hillis and Montario Hardesty all bring different strengths to Cleveland's offense, and the Browns plan to keep runners fresh while wearing down the defense. Even Josh Cribbs and Seneca Wallace will contribute to the running game via the Wildcat. This run-first formula was successful during Cleveland's four-game winning streak last season.

4. Don't expect much from McCoy: Unless there is a complete debacle at quarterback, Colt McCoy will not see playing time as Cleveland's starter this season. The third-round pick doesn't look ready for the NFL game and still has a lot to learn. McCoy is third on Cleveland's roster behind Delhomme and Wallace, both of whom have a better grasp of the offense at this stage. Cleveland fans always get excited about the backup quarterback. But the Browns want to groom McCoy the right way by letting him sit at least one year on the sideline.

5. Weeks 1 and 2 will be huge: The Browns are notoriously slow starters, but that has to change if they want to have a successful season. Cleveland has two winnable games early at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and home against the Kansas City Chiefs. It's a golden opportunity for the Browns to start the season 2-0 and develop momentum before they begin their tough division slate against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3. The Browns were 1-5 against the AFC North last season. On paper, they don't match up well against the division again this season. So winning outside the division will be important.
-- James Walker, ESPN.com




Scouts Inc.'s Fabulous Five


Scouts Inc. has evaluated and graded more than 2,500 NFL players heading into the season, giving Insiders a leg up on the competition with exclusive grades and scouting reports.

TOP FIVE PLAYERS	ANALYSIS
1. Joe Thomas Offensive tackle 6-6 | 312	(Grade: 93) Thomas is one of the most effective left tackles in the league. He is tall with a long, athletic build, and has excellent feet and quickness for the position.
2. Shaun Rogers Defensive tackle 6-4 | 350	(89) Rogers has had weight and stamina problems throughout his career, but when fresh, he is a dominant player who commands a double-team on most snaps.
3. Alex Mack Center 6-4 | 311	(82) Mack has the quickness to gain leverage against larger defenders. He understands angles and hand use to make effective double-team, reach and backside scoop blocks.
4. Eric Steinbach Guard 6-6 | 295	(78) Steinbach is going into his eighth year and continues to perform at a high level. He has been a durable, versatile lineman who can play tackle in a pinch but is best suited for guard.
5. Eric Wright Cornerback 5-10 | 190	(77) Wright has average size with excellent athleticism and deceptive strength for the position. He is a fluid, fast athlete with good lateral quickness and agility.
Grading scale: Elite (90-100), outstanding (80-89), solid starter (75-79), good starter (70-74)

Draft Class Watch


(Photo by Jeff Hanisch/US PRESSWIRE)
Joe Haden: Secondary reinforcement.
Summary: The first draft of the Mike Holmgren-Tom Heckert era is an important building block to turning the Browns around. Most notably, Cleveland put a lot of stock into building its secondary by using its first two picks on cornerback Joe Haden and safety T.J. Ward.
What to expect: Many rookies will play important roles for Cleveland this season. Ward is expected to start right away, and Montario Hardesty, Haden and offensive lineman Shawn Lauvao will see playing time in the Browns' rotation early. The latter three players are one play away from being starters.
Fantasy value: Hardesty has the biggest fantasy value among Cleveland's rookies. He suffered a knee injury in training camp, which put him behind. But Hardesty will be in the tailback rotation, and the Browns are expected to run the football a lot this season.
-- James Walker, ESPN.com

Cleveland Browns 2010 Preview - ESPN

[JewDago]

james walker is a moronic hack. he's the exact kind of middle-of-the-road, make-only-obvious-observations lemming that the mainstream media rewards.

when i check his work, which i do infrequently, i'm always disappointed. he has every story at least two days late and always writes as blandly as possible.

last, his sucking up to fans and self-congratulatory tone are both saccharine and noxious. oh, jim, you predicted that the bengals would be decent this year. thanks for reminding me about it seventeen times in the past week.

steelerschuck could write a better AFC North roundup, and a more balanced one, too, at that.

[Danamal]

Nobody will pay any attention to a team that is exciting as watching paint dry or put any effort into it and why should they?
Granted there hacks and they all suck,truth is there is just no story on this team worthy of anyones time or effort until you get there attention.
Losing as ugly as we did for the first twelve weeks of last season was enough to chase fans away why would you think it would attract writers?
How many MNF appearances did we get from our 10-6 season?
How many this year?
Win and they will come,it's just that simple.

[JewDago]

i should have clarified: my walker rant is a long time coming. it's not so much a response to this piece in particular, just my opinion of him after finding him dissatisfactory for about two years at this point.

it's not his estimation of the browns that i dislike. he's usually pretty on point about how badly we suck. it's his lack of insight, dull writing, pandering to fans, and inability to be on top of a story that bother me most.

where you're really right, dan, is that most sports writers suck. it's why blogs are slowly but surely overtaking the mainstream media.

[hiwaygal]

Screw them...lol!

[DeadWombat]

I like how the 1 guy who predicts us to be 2nd in our division says its because of karma... not any of those silly things like a good team or fantastic coaching or anything like that.

[BernietheKid]

Confident Cleveland Browns are rarin' to go: 2010 season preview

Published: Saturday, September 11, 2010, 11:59 PM Updated: Sunday, September 12, 2010, 7:50 AM

Mary Kay Cabot, The Plain Dealer

BEREA, Ohio — The excitement level is running so high among Browns players heading into today's opener in Tampa, Fla., that the coaching staff has almost had to curb their enthusiasm.

View full size Charlie Riedel / Associated Press
Josh Cribbs says Browns players are "jumping out of their skin" with excitement for the season to begin. It starts today against the Buccaneers in Tampa, Fla.

"Coach is trying to calm everyone down, because we know we have something," said special teams ace/receiver Josh Cribbs. "We're so excited about this season and so ready that we're jumping out of our skin. I'm so excited for the world to see our new Cleveland Browns offense. I'm just ecstatic."

Almost all of the players agree on one thing: The feeling is entirely different this season than it was heading into 2009 -- a season in which the Browns started 1-11 and before finishing with four straight victories to help first-year coach Eric Mangini keep his job.

"I'm psyched," said linebacker David Bowens, who helped lead the defensive surge late last season. "With the way things are going, the feeling, the confidence, everyone's on the same page. It's an exciting feeling and we didn't feel it last year.

"We were waiting and we were catching teams and trying to see what they would do.

We have the mentality this year that we're setting the tone and it feels great."
Question is, can the Browns keep the momentum of the last four games going into this year?

"That's the plan," said receiver Mohamed Massaquoi, the No. 1 wideout. "We all worked very hard in the off-season and re-dedicated ourselves to our craft, to get better and try to string some wins together. There's so much camaraderie on this team right now. Guys are in it to win it for each other. Everyone's trying to help the next man do well."

View full size PD
Browns fullback Lawrence Vickers is on the verge of a big season.

Even players such as fullback Lawrence Vickers, who weren't completely on board with Mangini's program at the beginning of last year, have come around and become leaders. Vickers, who blew up defenders as a lead blocker from his fullback position last season and helped the Browns gain an NFL-high 900 rushing yards in the final four games, is poised for a Pro Bowl-caliber season.

"I feel like we have a different spirit about ourselves, meaning by the way we handle our business," said Vickers. "A lot of the guys have matured, myself included. My mind-set is to win by any means necessary."

One major reason for optimism is quarterback Jake Delhomme, who's taken over the offense like it's been his for years.

"He's been great," said offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. "He can really operate the offense effectively, whether we're in the huddle or whether we're not in the huddle.

Just to have Jake around, he's so experienced. Some of the things you just can't teach with that guy. You can tell he's been around so many other good guys in his career, he just gets it. He's just a true leader and I hope he has a really good season for us."

Not even the loss of rookie running back Montario Hardesty for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament has been enough to dampen the mood.

"We're going to roll with the guys we have, Jerome Harrison, Peyton Hillis and James Davis," said Daboll. "They'll be ready on Sunday. Jerome will give you his best effort and I'm happy with Peyton. He's a hard-nosed guy, tough, got good size, very selfless kind of guy."

Defensively, coordinator Rob Ryan scoffed at the notion that the Browns won't be able to muster much pressure on the quarterback, based on their one sack through the first three preseason games.

"We'll light this quarterback up (the Bucs' Josh Freeman), just like all of them every week," said Ryan. "We'll get after the passer. We know what we're doing and our players know what they're doing and that's more important."

Added Bowens: "It's coming. We don't have all of those linebackers for nothing. Wait and see. It's going to be a good show."

The big test in Tampa will be to limit former Browns tight end Kellen Winslow, the Bucs' best player. It's a task that will fall in part to rookie T.J. Ward and linebacker Matt Roth.

"He's a bully," Ryan said of Roth. "Whatever tight end they put out there, Matt will be able to beat him up and that's just a fact. I'm looking forward to Matt being here for a full season, it's going to be great. I know Cleveland fans will love this guy. He's tough and he's legit."

The Browns have also likened Freeman to Ben Roethlisberger.

"He's a big guy that makes plays with his feet," said Ryan. "He bides time by being so strong in the pocket and then he gets outside of it and makes all those plays like Ben does. You can't hit him, you've got to wrap this guy up or he's going to run around and kill you. He's got the big arm. He can throw the thing 100 yards."

Ryan took exception to national pundits predicting the Browns will struggle this year, with some saying the Browns will win two games.

"I think we're going to win the Super Bowl so what the (heck)," he said. "I don't care what people think out there. Is our defense much improved? Absolutely. Is our quarterback legit? (Darn) right he is. Do we have guys in here working Eric Mangini's plan for the team? (Darn) right we do. They can say whatever they want to say, but it's what I believe in."

Confident Cleveland Browns are rarin' to go: 2010 season preview | cleveland.com