Greetings ladies and gentlemen to the Blawgpound! This is my first of many installments here on ClevelandBrownsNews.com. I hope to offer a different spin on football; college and pros, fantasy football, and of course our beloved Browns. So without further ado, here goes.
Well Browns fans the regular season has started aaaaannd it feels eerily similar to the start of last season. Yes we got manhandled but, hey at least we didn't trade Derek Anderson to the Patriots on Monday; ala Charlie Frye.
There are alot of people out there saying that we weren't supposed to win, and the Cowboys are probably going to win the Superbowl so we should hold our heads high and be happy we held them to 28 points. Um, no thanks. Yes this is Derek Anderson's first action since being concussed against the Giants, and yes this was Braylon Edwards first action since his barefoot race with Stallworrth that landed him in the ER with 13 stitches on his foot. Announcers and coaches say there timing was off due their inactivity. WHAT ABOUT THE LAST 4 MONTHS OF PRACTICES BEFORE THEY WERE BOTH HURT!!!!????? For as indecisive and rattled as DA looked, Braylon looked that much more confused nervous and unsure how to catch the ball. The stitches were in his foot right? Not his hands. Okay, if you say so.
The offensive line looked bad, the defensive line; with the exception of Shaun Rogers, looked bad. The linebackers, sheesh, do we have any linebackers? Don't tell me that with the absence of Antwan Peek it TOTALLY changed our defensive abilities. If our entire defense hinged on Peek, we were in trouble before we started. Wimbley, paging Mr. Wimbley your one year wonder tag is waiting. Andre Davis is NOT a 3-4 linebacker. Alex Hall looked like, well like a rookie who was overwhelmed. D'Qwell Jackson and Leon Williams were 1 step behind all day.
The secondary, save a couple of plays, performed better than expected considering there was no pass rush. Remember this one; Brandon McDonald will make the pro-bowl before Eric Wright. I like Eric Wright but McDonald is just more physical. However, their run stopping safety, Sean Jones is out for at least a month following arthroscopic surgery on his knee. DOH!! Better call up Travis Key.
And the hits just keep on coming.
Donte Stallworth will probably miss the game this week due to a sudden Quad injury in last week's pregame warm-ups. Remind me why we signed this guy again. That's right, to stretch the field not to get hurt WHILE stretching on the field. That's okay Travis Wilson can come in and contribute, no wait we cut him and kept Nick Sorenson. At least he's solid on special teams. Hey Nick ever play any receiver?? No. Didn't think so. Well defenses will quiver at the appearance of hometown kid Steve Sanders. Well maybe not. Josh Cribbs will probably be out as well, still recovering from the dreaded high ankle sprain. Syndric Steptoe stepped in( no pun intended) and performed admirably but he is still no Cribbs.
Oh and Romeo, Romeo for art thou COMMON SENSE ROMEO???!!!! You don't kick the field goal when you are down by 21 in the 4th quarter. Announcers mentioned he might have been sending a message to his team. Well I think they got it.
You are nice guy, a players coach, who has no frigging idea what he's doing on the sideline. Period.
Ok well now for the positives. Yes, there are some positives. Kellen Winslow is the best tight-end in the NFL. The guy hasn't been healthy since his rookie campaign, albeit the worst injuries came at his own doing, he still produces week in and week out. He's a soldier!! I couldn't resist. Jamal Lewis looks like he has plenty left in the tank and we should ride that horse for as long as we can. God forbid Lewis go down but Jerome Harrison looks like he turned the corner. I like his burst and he's showing better patience. Also as I eluded to earlier Brandon McDonald looks like the real deal. With the exception on being beat on one play when the safety didn't come over the top and help. He was physical and held T.O. to one TD which was big. Shaun Rogers is unbelievable. He was making plays while being held, double teamed and tripled teamed. If they can't give this guy some help I'm afraid what he's going to be like in the locker room. Reference his years in Detroit.
The running game was working. They just had to abandon it because we fell too far behind. If the defense can keep from giving up big plays this year holds some promise, if not we will have anew head coach next year. "Hello, may I speak to Bill Cowher please?"
Predictions for 2008;
The Browns will finish 8-8 and miss the playoffs
Barring injury Derek Anderson will start all year and throw twice as many td as int. 30 to 15
Braylon Edwards will still have a pro-bowl year. 1300yd receiving and 13td
Kellen Winslow will lead all tight-ends in pro-bowl votes. 1050 yd receiving 9td
Jamal Lewis will have 1300yd rushing and 8 rushing td
Donte Stallworth will only play in 9 games
Beau Bell will become a fixture in the middle of the Browns defense by week 9. See ya Andre Davis.
The Browns offense will finish in the top 5 of the league but our defense will finish in the bottom 5.
Even though the Browns defense will be in the bottom 5 they will have a defensive player in the pro-bowl, Shaun Rogers.
The Browns will lose this Sunday, but in the spirit of the scoring fest last year against Cincy it won't be without a fight. Final Score: Pittsburgh 42 Cleveland 38
See ya back here in the Blawgpound with team updates and Fantasy predictions.
