Browns Season Preview
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i bought the sporting news season preview the other day and it had us going 2-14 and the chiefs posting a winning record and the jets winning the super bowl. what a joke. 8-8 is the wcs this year.
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Could These Be the Best Browns Since 1999?
Written By: Craig Lyndal
One thing I really dislike about the NFL off-season is the constant guessing about how a team is going to do down to a win/loss record. It leads to all sorts of off-season championships that truly don’t exist. You can just hear NFL analysts all over the nation desperately trying to figure out how many teams they can call “sleepers” in order to get one right. With that in mind, I am not going to sit here and predict anything good about this year’s Browns team. I am going to go out on a limb and say that this might be the best of the mostly bad teams we have watched since 1999. With my expectations are in check, I am very excited to see this team hit the field this year.
As I said, I am not even going to begin to predict wins and losses. There are too many factors that go into that including injuries and coaching all the way to refereeing and weather. If the Browns play reasonably well this season even in just a couple of spurts, and even if they miss the playoffs, this team has a chance to be the best one we have seen. We have covered the quarterback situation before, and that could just as easily blow up in the Browns’ faces just like previous years with guys like Trent Dilfer and Jeff Garcia. Still, the parts that give me warm fuzzy feelings is that the Browns have more depth and experience on the roster than ever before.
Scott Fujita has never had the career highs that Willie McGinest had before arriving in Cleveland, but Fujita is an experienced 31 instead of 37-ish. Chris Gocong comes in via trade after relative productivity in Philly at age 26. Add in D’Qwell Jackson and Matt Roth and it is reasonable to say that the Browns have something they haven’t had in a long time. The Browns have experienced depth in the linebacking corps. They are certainly still missing that premier playmaker at linebacker, but you have to walk before you can run, right?
At tight end, the Browns don’t have the big game potential that Kellen Winslow used to bring even with his hobbled knees. This year though, instead of having to sit and pretend that maybe, just maybe, Robert Royal was going to be able to catch the ball, the Browns can rely on Benjamin Watson from New England. At 29, Watson has a lot of experience with a winning organization, and should have plenty of solid football left in him. On top of that, we saw receiving flashes out of Evan Moore last year.
Obviously, I could write 2500 more words going position by position. I certainly won’t. I think we have spent enough time talking about the new options in the defensive secondary, at running back / fullback, safety, etc. The only spot on the field where the Browns stood pat and are counting on internal, organic improvement on the field is at wide receiver and on the defensive line. Make no mistake, that those are important positions, but the Browns couldn’t address every need during this off-season. Additionally, they thankfully avoided potential pitfalls like Terrell Owens who still remains unsigned.
The important thing to me is that the Browns are seemingly in year two of putting a real foundation for a competitive NFL team on the field. They have a nice mix of veterans with useful playing time left, and young guys who might finally be able to develop the right way without being thrust onto the field instantaneously. They still lack playmakers on both sides of the ball, but a few have potential like Josh Cribbs, Jerome Harrison, Joe Haden, Mohamed Massoquai and if the Browns are really lucky down the road Larry Asante, T.J Ward and Colt McCoy. For now, Browns fans might be treated to some pleasant surprises this year if this does truly turn out to be the best team since 1999.
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Could These Be the Best Browns Since 1999?
Written By: Craig Lyndal
One thing I really dislike about the NFL off-season is the constant guessing about how a team is going to do down to a win/loss record. It leads to all sorts of off-season championships that truly don’t exist. You can just hear NFL analysts all over the nation desperately trying to figure out how many teams they can call “sleepers” in order to get one right. With that in mind, I am not going to sit here and predict anything good about this year’s Browns team. I am going to go out on a limb and say that this might be the best of the mostly bad teams we have watched since 1999. With my expectations are in check, I am very excited to see this team hit the field this year.
As I said, I am not even going to begin to predict wins and losses. There are too many factors that go into that including injuries and coaching all the way to refereeing and weather. If the Browns play reasonably well this season even in just a couple of spurts, and even if they miss the playoffs, this team has a chance to be the best one we have seen. We have covered the quarterback situation before, and that could just as easily blow up in the Browns’ faces just like previous years with guys like Trent Dilfer and Jeff Garcia. Still, the parts that give me warm fuzzy feelings is that the Browns have more depth and experience on the roster than ever before.
Scott Fujita has never had the career highs that Willie McGinest had before arriving in Cleveland, but Fujita is an experienced 31 instead of 37-ish. Chris Gocong comes in via trade after relative productivity in Philly at age 26. Add in D’Qwell Jackson and Matt Roth and it is reasonable to say that the Browns have something they haven’t had in a long time. The Browns have experienced depth in the linebacking corps. They are certainly still missing that premier playmaker at linebacker, but you have to walk before you can run, right?
At tight end, the Browns don’t have the big game potential that Kellen Winslow used to bring even with his hobbled knees. This year though, instead of having to sit and pretend that maybe, just maybe, Robert Royal was going to be able to catch the ball, the Browns can rely on Benjamin Watson from New England. At 29, Watson has a lot of experience with a winning organization, and should have plenty of solid football left in him. On top of that, we saw receiving flashes out of Evan Moore last year.
Obviously, I could write 2500 more words going position by position. I certainly won’t. I think we have spent enough time talking about the new options in the defensive secondary, at running back / fullback, safety, etc. The only spot on the field where the Browns stood pat and are counting on internal, organic improvement on the field is at wide receiver and on the defensive line. Make no mistake, that those are important positions, but the Browns couldn’t address every need during this off-season. Additionally, they thankfully avoided potential pitfalls like Terrell Owens who still remains unsigned.
The important thing to me is that the Browns are seemingly in year two of putting a real foundation for a competitive NFL team on the field. They have a nice mix of veterans with useful playing time left, and young guys who might finally be able to develop the right way without being thrust onto the field instantaneously. They still lack playmakers on both sides of the ball, but a few have potential like Josh Cribbs, Jerome Harrison, Joe Haden, Mohamed Massoquai and if the Browns are really lucky down the road Larry Asante, T.J Ward and Colt McCoy. For now, Browns fans might be treated to some pleasant surprises this year if this does truly turn out to be the best team since 1999.
nmills said:
Could These Be the Best Browns Since 1999?Written By: Craig Lyndal
One thing I really dislike about the NFL off-season is the constant guessing about how a team is going to do down to a win/loss record. It leads to all sorts of off-season championships that truly don’t exist. You can just hear NFL analysts all over the nation desperately trying to figure out how many teams they can call “sleepers” in order to get one right. With that in mind, I am not going to sit here and predict anything good about this year’s Browns team. I am going to go out on a limb and say that this might be the best of the mostly bad teams we have watched since 1999. With my expectations are in check, I am very excited to see this team hit the field this year.
As I said, I am not even going to begin to predict wins and losses. There are too many factors that go into that including injuries and coaching all the way to refereeing and weather. If the Browns play reasonably well this season even in just a couple of spurts, and even if they miss the playoffs, this team has a chance to be the best one we have seen. We have covered the quarterback situation before, and that could just as easily blow up in the Browns’ faces just like previous years with guys like Trent Dilfer and Jeff Garcia. Still, the parts that give me warm fuzzy feelings is that the Browns have more depth and experience on the roster than ever before.
Scott Fujita has never had the career highs that Willie McGinest had before arriving in Cleveland, but Fujita is an experienced 31 instead of 37-ish. Chris Gocong comes in via trade after relative productivity in Philly at age 26. Add in D’Qwell Jackson and Matt Roth and it is reasonable to say that the Browns have something they haven’t had in a long time. The Browns have experienced depth in the linebacking corps. They are certainly still missing that premier playmaker at linebacker, but you have to walk before you can run, right?
At tight end, the Browns don’t have the big game potential that Kellen Winslow used to bring even with his hobbled knees. This year though, instead of having to sit and pretend that maybe, just maybe, Robert Royal was going to be able to catch the ball, the Browns can rely on Benjamin Watson from New England. At 29, Watson has a lot of experience with a winning organization, and should have plenty of solid football left in him. On top of that, we saw receiving flashes out of Evan Moore last year.
Obviously, I could write 2500 more words going position by position. I certainly won’t. I think we have spent enough time talking about the new options in the defensive secondary, at running back / fullback, safety, etc. The only spot on the field where the Browns stood pat and are counting on internal, organic improvement on the field is at wide receiver and on the defensive line. Make no mistake, that those are important positions, but the Browns couldn’t address every need during this off-season. Additionally, they thankfully avoided potential pitfalls like Terrell Owens who still remains unsigned.
The important thing to me is that the Browns are seemingly in year two of putting a real foundation for a competitive NFL team on the field. They have a nice mix of veterans with useful playing time left, and young guys who might finally be able to develop the right way without being thrust onto the field instantaneously. They still lack playmakers on both sides of the ball, but a few have potential like Josh Cribbs, Jerome Harrison, Joe Haden, Mohamed Massoquai and if the Browns are really lucky down the road Larry Asante, T.J Ward and Colt McCoy. For now, Browns fans might be treated to some pleasant surprises this year if this does truly turn out to be the best team since 1999.
Saw this article on "Waiting For Next Year." Good stuff.
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lol and awesome name change. Thanks wonder-mods. Classy group.
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at the end of the day, what happens on the field is never determined by the talking heads. they can be doom and gloom or too gracious. when reading these previews and predictions, what i try to look for is solid info. i need the writer to be unbiased and objective. tell me what you have to say with facts.
it's nice to read stuff like this, but the only thing that really matters is that holmgren's heroes do what they need to do to make the browns a great organization. let's hope they can do just that and prove their critics wrong.
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cry some more.
Do you see my crying? I think it's pathetic but hey it's not going to deter me from posting occasionally. Classy group. There is plenty of crying around here without my involvement.
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The writer notes that the Browns never learn from their mistakes.
Huh? It seems like that's EXACTLY what happened this offseason with Lerner hiring Holmgren to run the organization and not making yet another knee-jerk coaching change.
Will we be great? Probably not. Playoffs are still a dream for Cleveland but certainly not out of the question if our young players play to their potential and we don't suffer any serious injuries to key players. ANYTHING can happen from week to week in the NFL.
We are going to see stories like this nearly every day from national "experts" who have a word count quota to hit and a deadline to meet. Anyone who watched our games last year saw the potential at the end of the season, and also saw that we were a black hole at QB and Delhomme/Wallace are clearly an improvement over Quinn/Anderson.
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All I'm asking for this year just like every year is for the team to be competitive. If the Browns play hard each game and compete I'll be satisfied. The teams that they have fielded with the exception of 2002 and 2007 even 2006 when they went 6-10 have been the only ones that have been truly competitive. It's been an absolute nightmare for the decade. I just hope that the team goes out there and plays hard and keeps the game within 10 points or less. A win would be great, but I for one am sick of the blowouts week in and week out. There were games last year where they did compete and play hard especially the last 4 straight wins but some of those games they didn't even come close to competing. There's a difference between a 3-13 team and a competitive 3-13 team. Yes, they do exist. What I mean is, if a team goes out each week and loses because they're less talented that's fine. What I don't like watching is a team that can play much better than what they did and get run out of the stadium. That's disgusting.
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Good point, I just want to see competition before winning. They kind of go hand to hand if you think about it. That's why being competitive will suffice for me for now. Obviously I don't want to see a team that plays and loses a lot of close games year in and year out. Just compete first and then winning will come.
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Good point, I just want to see competition before winning. They kind of go hand to hand if you think about it. That's why being competitive will suffice for me for now. Obviously I don't want to see a team that plays and loses a lot of close games year in and year out. Just compete first and then winning will come.
Good point, I just want to see competition before winning. They kind of go hand to hand if you think about it. That's why being competitive will suffice for me for now. Obviously I don't want to see a team that plays and loses a lot of close games year in and year out. Just compete first and then winning will come.
Excellent post, IMHO. A friend at work said a losing season is NOT acceptable by any means. I say you have to walk before you can run. I feel the Browns now have viable leadership, better talent, and, regardless of won/lost record, should be much more competitive.
Keep in mind that in 2007, we got lucky...many career seasons, weak schedule, & little to look forward to as evidenced by the fact that Brady (along with other reserves) got no playing time due to Derek's inability to put a game away. The doomsayers can say what they will, but I tend to look at the future, which I believe is bright. As always, I will make no prediction, but I DO think that we will see a better brand of football in Cleveland this year.
Mike
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Good point, I just want to see competition before winning. They kind of go hand to hand if you think about it. That's why being competitive will suffice for me for now. Obviously I don't want to see a team that plays and loses a lot of close games year in and year out. Just compete first and then winning will come.
Good point, I just want to see competition before winning. They kind of go hand to hand if you think about it. That's why being competitive will suffice for me for now. Obviously I don't want to see a team that plays and loses a lot of close games year in and year out. Just compete first and then winning will come.
Im also looking for the team to be competitive game in and game out win or lose, however i cant tolerate another season of losing games because of over-conservative and consistently gutless and stupid playcalling like we seen last year...holmgren should have a motto for both mangini and daboll that reads...play without balls and you both will lose it all....Our defense under ryan should make every game closer and more competitive as long as mangini stays out of the equation...
When you have less talent creativity and balls can be the great equalizer but unfortunately it appears that neither our HC or OC possess these tangible cunning skillsets..
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Good point, I just want to see competition before winning. They kind of go hand to hand if you think about it. That's why being competitive will suffice for me for now. Obviously I don't want to see a team that plays and loses a lot of close games year in and year out. Just compete first and then winning will come.
Im also looking for the team to be competitive game in and game out win or lose, however i cant tolerate another season of losing games because of over-conservative and consistently gutless and stupid playcalling like we seen last year...holmgren should have a motto for both mangini and daboll that reads...play without balls and you both will lose it all....Our defense under ryan should make every game closer and more competitive as long as mangini stays out of the equation...
When you have less talent creativity and balls can be the great equalizer but unfortunately it appears that neither our HC or OC possess these tangible cunning skillsets..
Im also looking for the team to be competitive game in and game out win or lose, however i cant tolerate another season of losing games because of over-conservative and consistently gutless and stupid playcalling like we seen last year...holmgren should have a motto for both mangini and daboll that reads...play without balls and you both will lose it all....Our defense under ryan should make every game closer and more competitive as long as mangini stays out of the equation...
I respect your opinion and I would love nothing more than to win the AFC North and have an explosive offense with a bone crunching defense. But let's be honest for a second. If you have a team that flops and doesn't play hard on the conservative plays just basic, run of the mill plays, what makes you think that any coach would call for deep passes or gadget plays? I want to see the team hustle every play for every second of that game on Thursday, Sunday, or Monday. The games are won and lost by the players. The coaches have their philosophies but it's the players that implement them on every down, quarter, and game. Case and point....Bill Belicheck (spelling) widely considered a genius of strategy (barring the whole taping thing). But without Tom Brady and a select handful of players, he would not be viewed in such a light. Same thing with other good coaches like Jimmy Johnson. Plays can be made on the most simplest design. A simple dive play can explode for a 76 yard dash to the end zone. (Willie Parker Super Bowl XL). The players must play the game to the fullest on every play conservative or not and that's not what I've seen from our beloved Browns.
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Good point, I just want to see competition before winning. They kind of go hand to hand if you think about it. That's why being competitive will suffice for me for now. Obviously I don't want to see a team that plays and loses a lot of close games year in and year out. Just compete first and then winning will come.
Good point, I just want to see competition before winning. They kind of go hand to hand if you think about it. That's why being competitive will suffice for me for now. Obviously I don't want to see a team that plays and loses a lot of close games year in and year out. Just compete first and then winning will come.
We were competitive for the last half of last season. It is time to start winning now. There are no "good" losses.
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I agree with those here that say it is time to win now! This is the NFL. With the way it is set up teams have been known to go from worst to first very quickly. I don't expect the Browns to win the Super Bowl this year, but I do expect the Browns to have a record over .500! I like what I saw at the end last year, and I like our front office. The players didn't quit at the end of the season last year, and I want to see that momentum carried over.
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Lord, I can't even finish that article. Terrible analysis, full of contradictions. Can't believe idiots like that get paid.
Lord, I can't even finish that article. Terrible analysis, full of contradictions. Can't believe idiots like that get paid.
That's going to be the same coat tail riding homo that won't have enough good things to say about the Browns if they emerge from the basement this year. I don't really like listening to analysts because very few can ever admit they were wrong. They just hop from band wagon to band wagon. I can even go as far as to say that I have seen very few true fans of the game that are analysts. They make me laugh. The biggest example was when they were on and off Mark Sanchez's sack all season long. First he was Joe Nameth reborn then he was going to cost the Jets their season then he just might take them to the Super Bowl. It was pure lunacy. Either jump on a band wagon and stay on it or not get on it at all and be objective.
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