Since the Cleveland rejoined the NFL for the 1999 season, the Browns have enjoyed 2 winning seasons in the 11 full-years of play.
Their average season record during this time-frame has been 5-11. As this has been during the salary-cap era, with scheduling designed for parity; this level of ineptitude is fairly striking. It begins and ends with the poor results they have had from their drafting.
From the perspective of an outsider, I was surprised Phil Savage did not have better success with the organization. I was amazed that George Kokinis did not get more of an opportunity.
From the perspective of the Browns and their fans, I imagine the entire focus is looking forward. Their Head Coach Eric Mangini faced a lot of scrutiny early last-season, as the Browns lost 7 consecutive games in the middle of their season. Mangini impressed his new boss Mike Holmgren by leading the Browns to victories in their last 4 games of 2009.
Roster:
O-Line: I imagine the Browns feel good about Joe Thomas at LT, Steinbach at LG, and Alex Mack at Center. They look weak on the right-side, and I expect the Ravens to bring their pressure to attack there.
RB: If the Browns are going to be competitive in 2010, they need Jerome Harrison to put up yards in the rushing game. He averaged 4.4 yards a carry in 2009, and finished with 862 yards. He added an additional 220 as a receiver. Against the Ravens last-season, he had 52 yards in the initial game, and missed the 2nd. In the last 3 weeks of ’09 he had at-least 33 carries, and 127 yards in each game (including the amazing 286 at Kansas City). So far in ’10, Harrison has just 25 carries in the first two games, and is questionable for tomorrow.
WR/TE: Cleveland is starting a pair of 2009 2nd-round picks (Massaquoi, and Robiskie) at WR. Both have excellent size, and so-so speed. Robiskie is not expected to play. The starting TE is the Patriots former 1st round Benjamin Watson. The wild-card to this group is KR/WR Joshua Cribbs, who is obviously explosive when he gets in the open-field.
QB: Delhomme is not expected to play tomorrow, setting the stage for Seneca Wallace to receive his 2nd-start. If Wallace were to go down to injury, the Browns would have to turn to rookie Colt McCoy.
DL: You can write it down now in Sept 2010, the Browns will spend multiple early picks in 2011 NFL Draft attempting to improve their Defensive line. Shaun Rogers remains a force when he wants to play, but the remainder of this group is limited. The Ravens could bring multiple lineman off their bench who would start for the Browns.
LB: The Browns will be without their best LB D’Qwell Jackson (Maryland) for tomorrow. That means another former Terp – Eric Barton – will get plenty of time tomorrow. Cleveland will also be missing former USC Trojan Maiava. Reserve David Bowens has had some success in his career as a pass-rusher. Similar to the Defensive Line, the Ravens have multiple reserve LB’s (Gooden, Ellerbe, Phillips) who would easily start for Cleveland.
Secondary: If Cleveland fans are looking for an area to feel relatively good about, it has to be their secondary. 1st round pick Joe Haden is not starting, and that is reportedly because the Browns like their existing starters Wright, and Brown. Their 2nd round pick T.J. Ward is starting at Strong Safety.
Prediction: Before really looking at the Cleveland roster, I was anticipating a Ravens rout for tomorrow. You know the Ravens will be hungry to make-up for their showing last-week, and perform in front of their home crowd. Baltimore should be able to do everything they want tomorrow on both sides of the ball.
The Ravens will be committed to running the ball down the throat of Cleveland, and taking away the will of the Browns early. I envision the Browns putting 8 in the box to slow the Ravens rushing attack, and Flacco will exploit the single-coverage on his receivers.
Baltimore is going to pour on the points tomorrow, and the Browns will not be able to do anything offensively. 38-3 Ravens.
Owner
Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.