The Sports Guru

Projected Record

6-10, 4th Place AFC North

Projected Schedule W/L
New Orleans     (L)
@Cincinnati      (L)
Baltimore         (W)
@Oakland        (W)
@Carolina        (L)
Denver            (L)
NY Jets             (W)
@San Diego     (L)
@Atlanta          (L)
Pittsburgh        (L)
Cincinnati         (W)
Kansas City      (L)
@Pittsburgh     (W)
@Baltimore     (L)
Tampa Bay      (W)
@Houston        (L)

I have to be honest.  When I first put all this together I had the Browns at .500.  Then LeCharles Bentley, Ryan Tucker and Daylon McCutcheon went down and Kellen Winslow(career stats: 5 catches, 50 yards, 30/32 games missed)proclaimed that he was the best TE in the NFL.  The more things change the more they stay the same.  Tucker and McCutcheon will be back, but Bentley is lost for the season.  That loss is a 2 game swing for me.  The Browns have dealt with big injuries before and will deal with this one, but no doubt it is a HUGE loss for Cleveland.

Team Strengths – Romeo Crennel is a great coach.  The positive way he has handled the Bentley situation is great to see.  Phil Savage is solid in the front office.  There is finally stability at the top.  On the field, I would have gone with the O-Line, but can’t.  I can go with the defense.  The Browns made huge strides last season converting to the Crennel 3-4 system, actually leading the league in Red Zone efficiency.  In the off-season they got even better by bringing in Ted Washington and Willie McGinest.  With the 13th pick in the draft they drafted DE Kamerion Wimbley.  Linebacker D’Qwell Jackson was drafted in the 2nd round.  It is easy to see the the way the Browns want to build this franchise, and they are on their way.

Team Weaknesses - The loss of Bentley means another long season up front for the Browns.  They have actually downgraded at center, with journeyman Bob Hallen.  Hallen is technically sound but will struggle dealing with the likes of Casey Hampton, Haloti Ngata and Sam Adams, all three of which start at nose tackle in the AFC North.  The line also has lost Ryan Tucker for the pre-season.  Depth was already a problem and if the line sustains any further injuries it could be panic time.  Charlie Frye is now the full-time starter and there has to be a question mark there.
 

Best Case Scenario – All of this Bentley stuff was just a nightmare and he is actually healthy and ready to go.  Ok, so that isn’t going to happen, so the Browns need to hope the injury bug stays away and the youngsters on offense(Frye, Winslow and Braylon Edwards) can have a full season to create a chemistry with each other.  On defense, the Browns need their early draft picks to make a big impact and suck up as much knowledge from the veteran leaders as possible.  The Browns have more talent than at any point since they returned and could still surpise to get to 8-8.

Worst Case Scenario – The Bentley situation is a sign of things to come.  Starters fall left and right and the Browns are forced to play Ken Dorsey at quarterback.  The Browns do have talent, but they lack depth.  If any of the major players get hit with a long-term injury then it could be a disasterous season.  If Frye gets hurt, the Browns are in BIG trouble.
   

My Opinion – During the off-season the Browns were at a crossroads.  Late last season reports had surfaced that GM Phil Savage was going to be fired after only one season.  There were rumors swirling of a feud with team President John Collins.  Collins was a confidant of Owner Randy Lerner.  When word leaked out the fan outpouring forced Lerner to rethink his stance.  It was Collins that ended up leaving, and Savage stayed.  Big win for the Browns.  They finally have the stability at the top all great organizations need.  They have a plan, to build a tough, in-your-face, defense.  They are bringing in Cleveland guys.  LeCharles Bentley, Joe Jurevicious, Matt Zastudil all are from the area.  All understand the rivalry with the Pittsburgh Steelers.  The Browns are going in the right direction.  Now they just need to stay healthy.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 4th, 2006 at 11:15 am and is filed under Broncos/NFL, 2006 NFL Preview. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.