FU Prisco

[pup]

I guess Ole Peter Prisco doesn't think too much of the Browns offseason. I just wanted to store this link somewhere, so we can all e-mail him and CBS when the Browns finish 8-8.

http://cbs.sportsline.com/nfl/powerrankings

[VultureHxC]

do people really think we're going to go 8-8 this year with the schedule we have? we face the steelers, ravens and bengals twice (and we've had horrible AFC North records the past couple years), patriots, rams, seahawks, cardinals, jets, bills, and 49ers. none of those are sure fire "we should win those" games. only oakland and miami (if they don't get trent green) are those games. not to mention that we're probably going to have an o-line with only one, possibly two guys, playing the same position that they did at the end of the season. you have a new offensive coordinator so you basically will have a rookie starting QB no matter which of the three (quinn, frye, anderson) start. add to that a running back on the downside of his career (don't get me wrong, he'll do well, but i have a feeling it will be similar to 2005 droughns with a few more TD's) running behind a first year starter fullback not known for his blocking, winslow coming off another knee surgery, edwards (aka northcutt plus 6 inches) and his drops, a d-line that gets dominated constantly, and half a secondary being replaced (only bodden and jones are returning starters). that is too tough to get that good of a record unless the stars align and we don't have bad luck (which trust me, i'm hoping for cause i would rather see dallas get a high teen, low 20 pick then a top 10 or possibly a top 5, which we could probably have used for d-line help)

[pup]

I think it is VERY realistic to get to 6 wins, 7 wouldn't give me a heart attack and 8 if some bounces go our way.

We go 2-4 in division.

I think we should win 2 of 3 home division games. Even with Frye at QB.

Then we need to "find 4 wins"

At Oakland
Miami
Houston
Arizona

There is 6-10.

Want to work hard for 8-8?

at Jets
Bills

You can't tell me any of those 6 non-division games are games we should not be in.

Above .500?
Home vs. SF in December.

I am not predicting the Browns go 9-7, but they are not the worst team in the NFL right now.

The games they almost have no chance of winning?

@NE
@Pitt
@Balt
@Cinci

The rest of their schedule is the AFC East (pathetic) and NFC West (putrid).

They could realisticaly go anywhere from 5-11 to 9-7.

[wmurphyhh]

His buddy Judge has a different opinion.

http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/10172491

Wow...for us to finish last would turn half those people dancing on E. 9th about trading against Phil Savage and every move he's made.

6-10 is improvement.
7-9 is good.
8-8 Jerry Jones is pissed.

[VultureHxC]

2 of 3 division home games? we didn't even win 1 division game period last season. and it's not like the division got worse. pitt and baltimore still have great defenses, cincy's d got better as the season went on, big ben is fully healthy and could return to his rookie form, mcnair has a year of the offense under his belt and an improved running back in mcgahee, and cincy's offense is still amazing. i would put our winnings more like this:

should win:

houston (no line to block, schaub unproven, still no defense for texans)
oakland (hard for russell to throw 80 yards when he's getting hit finishing his drop)
miami (only if trent green isn't there, otherwise....)

have a chance:

miami (if green is their QB)
arizona (that offense scares me too much, like another cincy)
jets
bills (no major upgrades on D and still need o-line help)
49ers (active in FA and pretty good draft plus yound developing players = scary)
rams (no D)
seahawks (hasselback and alexander still recovering from injuries plus overrated D)

no chance in hell:

NE

so by my tally we have 9 winnable games, plus the 6 division games which are closer to no chance in hell, and 1 where we might as well not even show up. knowing the way RAC has "coached" (i use that term loosely) the browns up for division games, i see 1 division win as a possibilty, 2 as a long shot. not to mention the learning curve of a new offense with half the players replaced, and aging d line and half a new secondary, i say 7 wins would be amazing for this team. i just hope the losses are close to show some sign of being able to compete

[jb]

I dunno Pup. I can't get too worked up.

I remember in 99 when we signed all the FA's and Vic Carrucci doggged us and we all got pissed. He was right.

Remember before 2005 how Sean Salibury said we were the new Bengals, and we all lost our minds? 5 wins, see yah Butch, and player discipline problems.

I have hope we'll be better. I'm still thinking 6 - 7 wins, and closer gaems, which IS better BTW, but we are still a ways away. It is still all about how this talent is developed and brought along.

So these guys don't phase me. We just need our team to improve and earn their respect and what will be will be.

The one thing that struck me in the piece and looking at the rankings was all the parity. Wow, Roselle must be proud.

[pup]

OK, everyone relax. I am not syaing the Browns are Super Bowl favorites right now. I am saying is this team is way more competetive than in years past.

I don't care how long it takes the new o-line to gel, they will be better on the first day of training camp than they were at any point in 2006. That counts for something. It means you are able to pick up 3rd and short wihtout running fullback passes.

Learning a new playbook? From what I have been told, knowing 25% of Chud's playbook will give them a more versatile attack than in 2006.

I also think their schedule is very friendly, after the first 5 weeks. The rest of the AFC East, outside of NE is very beatable. The Jets might have been the worst 10-6 team in the NFL last year, and how much better are they? Miami, with or without Trent Green is average at best. The Bills start JP Losman at QB. The other portion is the NFC West. San Fransisco, in Cleveland, in December. Seattle is not a very good road team. Arizona? Those are some games we can steal.

This team will be better. Their schedule is weaker. To me, that means a better record. Since they were not the worst team last year, how can you put them 32nd this year?

You really want me to believe Oakland, Houston, Detroit, Arizona, Minnesota, Washington and Miami have done more to improve themselves than the Browns? I would put the Browns around 22-24.

[wmurphyhh]

It means you are able to pick up 3rd and short wihtout running fullback passes.

No fullback passes ? I wonder if it is too late for L. Vickers to get his money back from the Mobile Savage / Russell Passing Camp ?

I think competitive games and progress from our 3 day 1 picks, Winslow, Edwards, Wimbley, and the other young defenders will be all we can ask for.

[swerb]

[Dozen]

LOL Swerb! For me it's too hard to look at an NFL schedule and predict a record. It seems in the NFL teams seem to go from worst to first more than any other pro sport. Look at the Saints and Jets last year for example. That being said, I can see the browns going 9-7 to 5-10. They have made alot of key pickups this offseason from the draft to FA and as always HEALTH will be a major factor. Im just looking for improvement in this squad. I dont want to see efforts like that Bungles home loss either. Just get better and start to grow as a team and I will be happy for '07.

[Wolfy]

do people really think we're going to go 8-8 this year with the schedule we have? we face the steelers, ravens and bengals twice (and we've had horrible AFC North records the past couple years), patriots, rams, seahawks, cardinals, jets, bills, and 49ers. none of those are sure fire "we should win those" games. only oakland and miami (if they don't get trent green) are those games. not to mention that we're probably going to have an o-line with only one, possibly two guys, playing the same position that they did at the end of the season. you have a new offensive coordinator so you basically will have a rookie starting QB no matter which of the three (quinn, frye, anderson) start. add to that a running back on the downside of his career (don't get me wrong, he'll do well, but i have a feeling it will be similar to 2005 droughns with a few more TD's) running behind a first year starter fullback not known for his blocking, winslow coming off another knee surgery, edwards (aka northcutt plus 6 inches) and his drops, a d-line that gets dominated constantly, and half a secondary being replaced (only bodden and jones are returning starters). that is too tough to get that good of a record unless the stars align and we don't have bad luck (which trust me, i'm hoping for cause i would rather see dallas get a high teen, low 20 pick then a top 10 or possibly a top 5, which we could probably have used for d-line help)

Does anyone have some hater spray I can use? Sheesh, relax buddy...This is your favorite team?

[VultureHxC]

yeah that did sound negative. i was having a crappy day. so i'll just say the positives then to balance it out:

-the left side of the o-line is now solidified for the next 5 years minimum (baring injury) plus imagine when/if bentley comes back? (i'm so hoping when cause the line would be sick then)
-edwards should now be fully recovered from the knee injury and surgery and is entering the year moost WR's tend to have their breakthrough (i actually feel edwards will be amazing and shake the "he's looking like a bust" comments he's been getting. remember how he was tearing it up his rookie year before he got hurt? i think he'll play better than how he was his rookie year)
-travis wilson and josh cribbs have another year of development under their belt. wilson will probably be the 3rd receiver and cribbs 4th, mainly since this is only cribbs 3rd year as a receiver after converting from QB and wilson was a WR in college
-i think cribbs gets an expanded role and we see the slash role we've been waiting and asking for (also, our top 4 receivers on the depth chart will all be over 6 feet tall, including great athletes in edwards and cribbs, i see horrible match up problems everywhere for opposing defenses)
-o-line stability + better running game=better qb play (hopefully, but has been the case for other underachieving qb's, i.e. brees in SD, plummer when he went to denver, and for rookie qb's)
-we have some LB's that are for real. we now know we have some quality depth in williams and chaun thompson(at least for a few games), and legit starting LB's in wimbley, davis, and jackson. add to that mcginest continuing to teach these guys plus mentoring peek and wimbley some more into pass rushers, and it looks like we're alright at this position for the next 4 or 5 years
-brodney pool has proven himself good enough to man a safety spot that RAC and savage let russell go. we've seen that guys don't get to play as rookies right away until they show some type of competence. edwards, wimbley, and jackson were able to move into their spots quickly because their was either no one already occupying that spot (in jackson's case) or the guys occupying the spot weren't very good. i think we all saw that russell was a pretty solid safety, and no one was demanding to see pool take over for him much like everyone was for wimbley to take over for matt stewart. so the fact that they let russell go and immediately installed pool in a safety spot means they think something of him and i expect some great things from him this year, especially teaming with sean jones
-zastudil is still our punter
-cribbs is still returning kicks

[jb]

LOL Swerb! For me it's too hard to look at an NFL schedule and predict a record. It seems in the NFL teams seem to go from worst to first more than any other pro sport. Look at the Saints and Jets last year for example. That being said, I can see the browns going 9-7 to 5-10. They have made alot of key pickups this offseason from the draft to FA and as always HEALTH will be a major factor. Im just looking for improvement in this squad. I dont want to see efforts like that Bungles home loss either. Just get better and start to grow as a team and I will be happy for '07.

Rack it.

Great points 12.

[consigliere]

Yep, good point Dozen.

I find it very hard to analyze the schedule and say who will be bad/good in May. Teams just go from 10-6 to 6-10 or from 6-10 to 10-6 with the snap of a finger. We know that 3-4 teams will definitely be good, and 2-3 will definitely be bad....which leaves to me about 24 teams that could go anywhere from 5-11 to 11-5 given a couple lucky bounces and inspired play. Browns included.

I'll be conservative and predict 6-10 for now, although I fully acknowledge that may change after I see this team in camp and in preseason.

[jb]

do people really think we're going to go 8-8 this year with the schedule we have? we face the steelers, ravens and bengals twice (and we've had horrible AFC North records the past couple years), patriots, rams, seahawks, cardinals, jets, bills, and 49ers. none of those are sure fire "we should win those" games. only oakland and miami (if they don't get trent green) are those games. not to mention that we're probably going to have an o-line with only one, possibly two guys, playing the same position that they did at the end of the season. you have a new offensive coordinator so you basically will have a rookie starting QB no matter which of the three (quinn, frye, anderson) start. add to that a running back on the downside of his career (don't get me wrong, he'll do well, but i have a feeling it will be similar to 2005 droughns with a few more TD's) running behind a first year starter fullback not known for his blocking, winslow coming off another knee surgery, edwards (aka northcutt plus 6 inches) and his drops, a d-line that gets dominated constantly, and half a secondary being replaced (only bodden and jones are returning starters). that is too tough to get that good of a record unless the stars align and we don't have bad luck (which trust me, i'm hoping for cause i would rather see dallas get a high teen, low 20 pick then a top 10 or possibly a top 5, which we could probably have used for d-line help)

Does anyone have some hater spray I can use? Sheesh, relax buddy...This is your favorite team?

Dawg, one dude's realism isn't cause to pull his papers.

Shit, look at this franchise since 1999.

Just sayin'.

[FUDU]

I think Jerry Jones gets pissed at 7 Brown's wins, suicide ar 8.

We beat the Jets last year no reason on Earth why we shouldn't with a better team this year.

I seriously expect no less than 6 with optimism for 7.

9 is a pipe dream, 8 is reachable if some of our luck from the past 20 years turns or we get accelerated returns from our top 3 picks.

[consigliere]

In this day an age of parity in the NFL, I think 8-8 is not an out-of-whack expectation. Right now, to me, our range in wins should be anywhere from 6-10.

Six wins if some bad things happen with injuries and performance.

7-8 wins if the team stays healthy and stays in every game like I think they can.

9-10 wins if we get a few breaks for once and the FA and draft class were a home run (sort of like the Saints last year).

That all said, I have them pegged for 6 wins. That is what I expect, and anything above that is gravy. We are still a young football team, should be in virtually every game, but we have one more season of growing pains before I think this team becomes a potential AFC North juggernaut.

[jb]

In this day an age of parity in the NFL, I think 8-8 is not an out-of-whack expectation. Right now, to me, our range in wins should be anywhere from 6-10.

Six wins if some bad things happen with injuries and performance.

7-8 wins if the team stays healthy and stays in every game like I think they can.

9-10 wins if we get a few breaks for once and the FA and draft class were a home run (sort of like the Saints last year).

That all said, I have them pegged for 6 wins. That is what I expect, and anything above that is gravy. We are still a young football team, should be in virtually every game, but we have one more season of growing pains before I think this team becomes a potential AFC North juggernaut.

If we get any realistic health at all and RAC can coach worth a shit we close strong after a rough start and can win 7.

I want the 07 Browns to be the 99 Ravens.

[FUDU]

I want the 07 Browns to be the 99 Ravens.

If it means we get beat by a 2001 like Browns soon after I don't, although with a Lombardi trophy (which should be called a Paul Brown kiss my as trophy) under our belt I would take it.

I want the 2007 Browns to be like the 1986 Browns, b/c that is what they are shaping up to be EXACTLY like. Just not the experience of the same starting Oline.


...my mom says FU!

[jb]

I want the 07 Browns to be the 99 Ravens.

If it means we get beat by a 2001 like Browns soon after I don't, although with a Lombardi trophy (which should be called a Paul Brown kiss my as trophy) under our belt I would take it.

I want the 2007 Browns to be like the 1986 Browns, b/c that is what they are shaping up to be EXACTLY like. Just not the experience of the same starting Oline.


...my mom says FU!

Maybe the 1985 Browns, except we're in a bith of a division and 8 - 8 won't get us post season. At upside, DU, that's actually a good comparison. Especially had we gone out and brought back Marty.

But 12 - 4 ?

Yer splifted.

BTW - If we won a SB, B-more could sweep us for the next 5 seasons and I wouldn't care.

[bw]

I see no reason the '07 Browns can't be greatly improved. For whatever reason, Mo was a disruptive influence on the offense and we should be healthy -- At least at the start of the year. If LCB does come back, I say we play him at guard for a while. We need one and he's played the position before. He'd be an imrovement at Right Guard.

[SoulDawg74]

I see no reason the '07 Browns can't be greatly improved. For whatever reason, Mo was a disruptive influence on the offense and we should be healthy -- At least at the start of the year. If LCB does come back, I say we play him at guard for a while. We need one and he's played the position before. He'd be an imrovement at Right Guard.

SD:

The teams that came from nowhere like the Lambs ,
found a QB who could produce , got on a hot streak , building confidence with every win , and then found themselves in the big game , not even dreaming they'd be there before the season started .

While i don't see this happening with the Browns this year , I still harken back to the inbred starting slowly with Maddox as their QB then out of nowhere Rottenberger emerged from their early season wreckage,
and brought Cowchin a championship inspite of himself .

On the Browns , put me down as the skeptic on LCB returning this year ,
too amny references by RAC about RG being open .

I view this year as when Kitna led the Bungles the Year Palmer was drafted .

I believe between Frye and Anderson we'll redshirt Quinns entrance
onto the playing field this year and may actually position ourselves into playoff contention , which will be really surreal.

We finally have real depth at the position , so if either Frye and Anderson or both get hit by shrapnel we'll be playing the guy we want to have the job anyway .

With solid defense a dependable running game and a modicum of decent QB play we can compete in this league if we can escape the minefield of injuries which decimated our chances before we even got started last year.

SoulDawg

[Guest]

No one has any idea what realistic expectations (record-wise) should be as of yet.

They could be as bad as last year. They could have the defense gell and the offense control the line o' scrimmage and they could turn last year's record upside down. They could have a rash of injuries. The teams they play that we think are going to be good could suddenly suck (like PIT). Teams we think should be a cakewalk could suddenly be good.

Until this team starts playing, I can't have any reasonable win-loss predictions.

I expect them to be better. But I expect that every year. How much better? I don't know yet. They just have to start improving, start building a solid TEAM, and the wins will eventually come.

[jb]

I see no reason the '07 Browns can't be greatly improved. For whatever reason, Mo was a disruptive influence on the offense and we should be healthy -- At least at the start of the year. If LCB does come back, I say we play him at guard for a while. We need one and he's played the position before. He'd be an imrovement at Right Guard.

SD:

The teams that came from nowhere like the Lambs ,
found a QB who could produce , got on a hot streak , building confidence with every win , and then found themselves in the big game , not even dreaming they'd be there before the season started .

While i don't see this happening with the Browns this year , I still harken back to the inbred starting slowly with Maddox as their QB then out of nowhere Rottenberger emerged from their early season wreckage,
and brought Cowchin a championship inspite of himself .

On the Browns , put me down as the skeptic on LCB returning this year ,
too amny references by RAC about RG being open .

I view this year as when Kitna led the Bungles the Year Palmer was drafted .

I believe between Frye and Anderson we'll redshirt Quinns entrance
onto the playing field this year and may actually position ourselves into playoff contention , which will be really surreal.

We finally have real depth at the position , so if either Frye and Anderson or both get hit by shrapnel we'll be playing the guy we want to have the job anyway .

With solid defense a dependable running game and a modicum of decent QB play we can compete in this league if we can escape the minefield of injuries which decimated our chances before we even got started last year.

SoulDawg

Yer being realistic.

Yer scarin' me dawg.

I see this as a bengals w/ Ktna season, too, pushing between 6 - 8 wins depending on luck & health with a strong close after a slow strat.

BTW bw, I think that would be much improved over last year.