Browns as a surprise team this year - what needs to happen?

[swerb]

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/693 ... w-part-iii

Another piece linked above that suggests the Browns could be one of the surprise teams this season. Read a few of these now. Lombardi was also high on the Browns in a podcast w Simmons last week.

Browns seem to be one of the sexy under the radar sleeper teams for alot of pundits out there that seem to have a pretty good handle on the game. Everyone and their mother is all over teams like the Lions, Rams, and Texans as sleepers. Browns are in that next tier.

I think the D is gonna be a lot better than we thought. D Line has been a big surprise to me this pre-season. DBs are gonna be solid if inconsistent but make some big plays.

Keys to me with this team is keeping Fujita/DQwell/Gocong healthy. The young guards being able to keep people off Colt. And finding someone to make big plays in the passing game.

Feels like 6-10 with some really tough losses to good teams. Low scoring games. Almost all of em close. But this league .... the line between 6-10 and 10-6 is so slim. A lot of people like the Browns to be this years Chiefs or Bucs.

[peeker643]

I thought the d-line was disappointing other than Taylor. Maybe they were playing opossum but Sheard looked lost and Mitchell didn't impress me a lot in the run game.

I'm right there for 5-7 wins. Thing is, with this schedule and the breaks they get early (likely no Manning in Indy game and they play Cincy, Miami and Titans along with Bengals in first four) they could be 3-1 or 4-0 legitimately given the suck and luck of the schedule. Maybe guys grow up fast. Hard to say. But this team, to me, is a solid year away from wildcard-competitive.

[GodHatesClevelandSport]

Right now, the Browns-as-surprise-team meme is based on their poor schedule. Now with Manning probably gone in Week 2, the Browns have four favorable matchups to start the season. It's not out of the realm of possibility for the Browns to play four winless teams in a row. Then it's Oakland, Seattle, and San Fran after the off week. I wouldn't pick any of the Browns' first seven opponents to make the playoffs, not even the Colts.

That's what it will take for the Browns to surprise -- the schedule to play as it looks on paper. After that, they need to stay healthy. They appear to be very thin.

To be a true contender, they need someone to step up on offense. Still no one to catch the ball. For all the raves Sam Bradford received under Shurmer, well, the Rams only scored 18 more points than the Browns last season. I just don't see the Browns offense being better than last year without the personnel being better.

[hiko]

If the Browns are indeed a sexy sleeper pick for national pundits then they are definitely fucked.

[motherscratcher]

Right now, the Browns-as-surprise-team meme is based on their poor schedule.

No doubt. And don't forget that last year right about now we had pretty much pencilled in a 2-0 start going up against doormats Tampa Bay and KC.

[mistero]

I liked what the rooks did in preseason. Greg Little is everything you could hope for. It seems like his talent is right up there with Julio Jones and AJ Green. He's caught everything and used his lanky body to get open and shield defenders. He's become Colt's fav non-redzone target. Colt can then turn to the TE's inside the 20's.
I like our passing game, I really do.

Hard to say how the running game is going to fair. Hillis will be Hillis but with no blocking fullback , I'm worried. We really need 10 carries from Hardesty a game.

On defense my concerns are with depth only. I like the starters even Sheard. Why we haven't brought in Lofa Totupu is beyond me. He must be at Betty Ford.

If we can stay healthy we may hit 10 wins before we even play Pittsburgh. I like our chances for a wild card.

[mattvan1]

What needs to happen? Too much, unfortunately

Stay healthy - no depth anywhere
Be able to run the ball against 8 defenders in the box
Generate a pass rush from the down 4, especially off the edge (a big concern of mine)
Stay healthy - see above
Little needs to stretch the field and force teams to keep a S back
Colt needs to start and finish 16 games
Rooks need to come up big - yes I am including you slow guy from Stanford

All of the above? 9 wins
Reality? 7 wins

[leadpipe]

1.They need to be better defensively then we think they are.

and

2. They need to advance enough offensively to move past "West Coast 101" by mid-season. Cause that second half of the schedule....you better give those teams more to be concerned about than 5 yard routes to the TE.

[JCoz]

Right now, the Browns-as-surprise-team meme is based on their poor schedule. Now with Manning probably gone in Week 2, the Browns have four favorable matchups to start the season. It's not out of the realm of possibility for the Browns to play four winless teams in a row. Then it's Oakland, Seattle, and San Fran after the off week. I wouldn't pick any of the Browns' first seven opponents to make the playoffs, not even the Colts.

That's what it will take for the Browns to surprise -- the schedule to play as it looks on paper. After that, they need to stay healthy. They appear to be very thin.
To be a true contender, they need someone to step up on offense. Still no one to catch the ball. For all the raves Sam Bradford received under Shurmer, well, the Rams only scored 18 more points than the Browns last season. I just don't see the Browns offense being better than last year without the personnel being better.

Could not have said it better.

[Prosecutor]

The starting linebackers need to stay healthy. There is no depth at all at those positions. Even so, Jauron is going to have to pull off a masterful job.

McCoy has to consistently find and hit the open receiver to keep the chains moving and keep the defense from stacking up on Hillis. Establishing the ability to throw deep on occasion would be huge.

Also, the offense has to develop the ability to score TDs more and settle for FGs less. With bigger TE's and receivers like Watson, Moore, Massaquoi, Little, and Cameron operating in the red zone this may be very realistic.

Rookies Taylor, Little, Sheard, and maybe even Pinkston need to progress very quickly. Hardesty needs to stay healthy and recover the burst and change-of-direction he showed in college. Benard, Sheard, and Jayme Mitchell need to get consistent pressure on the passer.

Fortunately the schedule is easier in the beginning. As the team gets used to the new systems and the rookies adjust to the league, the Browns should improve which could put them in position to pull off a major upset in December along the lines of the improbable wins over New England and New Orleans last year.

[rebelwithoutaclue]

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6943943/all-continuity


Simmons actually picks the Browns to make the playoffs, almost purely based on a perceived easy strength of schedule, which we know can flip once the season starts. Though he doesn't even mention the lack of continuity with a new coach/scheme that the Browns face, it does seem as if the Browns fit most of his core attributes for being a sneaky sleeper. Though I'm not as high as some people, I do think Colt McCoy will legitimize himself this year as an NFL QB and I don't think 8-8 or 9-7 is out of the question just because of the schedule.

[pup]

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6943943/all-continuity


Simmons actually picks the Browns to make the playoffs, almost purely based on a perceived easy strength of schedule, which we know can flip once the season starts. Though he doesn't even mention the lack of continuity with a new coach/scheme that the Browns face, it does seem as if the Browns fit most of his core attributes for being a sneaky sleeper. Though I'm not as high as some people, I do think Colt McCoy will legitimize himself this year as an NFL QB and I don't think 8-8 or 9-7 is out of the question just because of the schedule.

My favorite part of his criteria is certainly they have the look of a team we could sit there next year and say "this team is in line to regress".

[Triple-S]

-Win the games you're supposed to. (have to at least get 6 wins in the first 11)

-Win at home

-No Injuries, none, zero. The Browns are paper thin at is at several key positions. (this has already began to happen..so scratch this off)

...Finally, Colt's gotta come in and be the X-Factor, the fact that when it comes down to the nuts and bolts, down by 6, Ball at the 20 yard line with 2 minutes to go, he's gotta be able to go down the field and go "We're winning this game". He has to be the reason the Browns win, not anything else. Not defense, not the running game, not his wide-recievers, because we have next to nothing in those departments, it's been put on him at this point to make something happen. If not, we're looking down the barrel of trying to get Luck next year.

[swerb]

Simmons off the Browns bandwagon after one game:

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/697 ... ock-market

CLEVELAND: Remember when Miami ran that awful fade pass on fourth-and-goal to Brian Hartline in Monday's Pats-Dolphins game, the classic "trying to get too cute" football play that seemingly works about 12.77 percent of the time because four things can go wrong1 and only one thing can go right? And remember how the Football Gods paid them back for their idiocy with Welker's 99-yard touchdown on the next play? Well, I ran that version of the fourth-and-goal fade pass in last week's NFL preview, rolling the dice with Baltimore to miss the playoffs and Cleveland to jump in its place. In retrospect, we'll remember that plan as the second-worst idea of the fall, behind The Playboy Club. After the Bengals hung around for three quarters, then ran a trick play for A.J. Green's go-ahead touchdown catch in the fourth, Colt McCoy completed just 3 of 12 passes for 20 yards and a pick in crunch time. What happened? Put it this way: There's a reason Mohamed Massaquoi, Greg Little, Brian Robiskie, Josh Cribbs, Benjamin Watson and Evan Moore didn't get drafted in your fantasy league. You can't make the playoffs in the National Football League if you can't play from behind.

SELLING: All 1,000 shares.

[British_Pharaoh]

Well first of all we need to be shitty rookies and overhill second string QBs.

Getting under 75 penalties a game may be a step in the right direction too. But what do I know I'm a left wing limey.

[swerb]

But what do I know I'm a left wing limey.

Good point.

[motherscratcher]

:lmfao:

Simmons off the Browns bandwagon after one game:

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/697 ... ock-market

CLEVELAND: Remember when Miami ran that awful fade pass on fourth-and-goal to Brian Hartline in Monday's Pats-Dolphins game, the classic "trying to get too cute" football play that seemingly works about 12.77 percent of the time because four things can go wrong1 and only one thing can go right? And remember how the Football Gods paid them back for their idiocy with Welker's 99-yard touchdown on the next play? Well, I ran that version of the fourth-and-goal fade pass in last week's NFL preview, rolling the dice with Baltimore to miss the playoffs and Cleveland to jump in its place. In retrospect, we'll remember that plan as the second-worst idea of the fall, behind The Playboy Club. After the Bengals hung around for three quarters, then ran a trick play for A.J. Green's go-ahead touchdown catch in the fourth, Colt McCoy completed just 3 of 12 passes for 20 yards and a pick in crunch time. What happened? Put it this way: There's a reason Mohamed Massaquoi, Greg Little, Brian Robiskie, Josh Cribbs, Benjamin Watson and Evan Moore didn't get drafted in your fantasy league. You can't make the playoffs in the National Football League if you can't play from behind.

SELLING: All 1,000 shares.

That's what that was? A trick play? The Bengals ran a trick play on us there?

What a fuckin' douche.

[hiko]

That's what that was? A trick play? The Bengals ran a trick play on us there?

What a fuckin' douche.

I know. I read stuff like that, and I wonder "Did they even watch the freakin' game?"

But I know the answer to that. No one watches Browns vs Bengals except Browns and Bengals fans, and often not even them.