Also made me uneasy when I read this afternoon that Bleecher agrees with me.

@tour2ma said:

When you say the Chiefs, there is one issue to consider....What if Smith and/or Charles are injured? Either would be a HUGE blow to their offense. The Browns have much greater viable depth at QB & RB than KC. We'll just have to see what happens, but it will be an interesting season.

Mike

@jafbf said:

These kinds of things make a fan feel good when his/her team is mentioned as an up and comer. The only thing is, each year, regardless if the author really thinks your team is going to make a statement, your team will inevitably make it onto one of these lists. Think about it, we are indeed in the class of shit teams/franchises where the only way to go is up. Secondly, they can't always list the same teams as ones to watch year after year.

I distinctly remember SI once having the Browns on the cover as the team predicted to win it all. The Browns had a losing season that year, I believe.

I see the Browns lacking at QB, WR TE and RB. I believe having average to below-avrage players in this ctegory will cause the team much problems. I could be wrong at 3 - 13 +/-.one win, but the Browns aren't going to the playoffs and 8 - 8, considering that 1 -5 just in the division alone is about the best we can hope for, this is not goin to be a dramatic change of much.

1-5 in the division, 5 - 5 elsewhere gets you to 6 - 10, but that 5-5 segment is a tough row to hoe.

Is this team going to be better than last' year's? There is no indication at all. All we know is that once again, th people involved have changed. Change alone is not an indication of coming victories.

@gftchris said:

Yup... and as you pointed out, I even overlooked DQ. Smacks of the Bleecher writer trying to gloss over a point that does not support his hypothesis. Below is the 2010 D-Depth chart... Unbelievable turnover in just three years. Enough material for a season's worth of "Where-are-they-now" features. And it's the same on Offense...

2010 Defensive Depth Chart

RDE: Kenyon Coleman -- Jayme Mitchell

NT: Ahtyba Rubin -- Shaun Rogers -- Brian Sanford

LDE: Brian Schaefering -- Derreck Robinson

OLB: Scott Fujita -- David Bowens -- Jason Trusnik

ILB: Eric Barton -- Titus Brown

ILB: Chris Gocong -- Eric Alexander

OLB: Matt Roth -- Marcus Benard

RCB: Sheldon Brown -- Mike Adams

FS: TJ Ward -- Nick Sorensen

SS: Abe Elam -- Ray Ventrone -- Sabby Piscitelli

LCB: Joe Haden -- Eric King

@tour2ma said:

I was trying to think of that as well - most of the players on the roster have been Browns as long as I have! About 2-3 seasons, that is. So apart from rubin and d'qwell, everything's changed. Bryant, Kruger, Mingo are all completely new, Fort, Robertson are second years, Skrine, Sheard and Taylor third years, all after mangini. The secondary doesn't really count so much towards this, so haden and ward are less relevant.

This one comment really puzzled me...

"The Browns, though, have been in a 4-3 for just two seasons; quite a few key players are holdovers from Crennel's 3-4."

OK... Rubin counts... but Ward and Haden??? Also the article is so fucking glowing about the 2012 Browns, it ALMOST made me wonder why the FO was changed. (Relax... I said almost...)

Sorry, but the Defensive change is significant enough... and no, there are not enough players from Crennel's D to make it smooth. Not to mention we are changing offenses as well.

And then there's the Wheezy question...

It's early yet (and, no, they are not going to leap into "The Penthouse"), but I'm leaning toward the Chiefs increase their win total the most in 2013. They were 2-14 in 2012. If nothing else, we're spotting them 3 games before the season starts.

Going to delve into Leister's article, "An In-Depth Look Inside Ray Horton’s Defense", referred to in the Bleecher article. Here's the link in case anyone is interested:

http://www.draftbrowns.com/2013/05/an-in-depth-look-inside-ray-hortons-defense/