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Published: July 24, 2010
It was another horrid season for the Cleveland Browns in 2009 as the club finished with a regular season record of 5-11 and missed the playoffs.
The team began the season at 1-11 and then went on a four game winning streak to finish the season and save head coach Eric Mangini’s job. Former Seattle Seahawk head coach Mike Holmgren was signed as the teams president during the off season.
The team was broken in all areas finishing 32nd in total offense averaging just 260.2 yards per game and 31st in total defense allowing 389.3 yards per game.
The team had trouble scoring averaging just 15.3 points per game and ranking 29th in the league.
The Browns are hoping for better fortune at quarterback as the team had ridded themselves of Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn. The team brought in mistake prone Jake Delhomme as starter and former Seattle Seahawk backup Seneca Wallace will serve in a backup role during preseason for the Browns.
Cleveland allowed 244.7 yards passing last season and ranking 29th in the league. They addressed a bad secondary in the draft by selecting cornerback Joe Haden from Florida in the first round and safety T.J. Ward from Texas in the second round.
Quarterback Colt McCoy was drafted in the third round by Cleveland and is projected a as a project as he lacks the necessary NFL quality arm strength.
After cutting ties with veteran running back Jamaal Lewis it was Jerome Harrison producing 862 yards on 194 attempts for a 4.4 yards per carry average.
The Odds:
Bodog sportsbook has set the 2010 Cleveland Browns regular season projected win total at 5 ½ wins with over and under returning -115 odds.
The Cleveland Browns have been set by Bodog sportsbook as 80-1 underdog odds to win the Super Bowl in 2010.
The team is set by Bodog at 40-1 odds to win the AFC championship and +1200 underdogs to win the AFC North division.
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2010 Cleveland Browns Regular Season Schedule:
Cleveland competes in the AFC North division so they will play a home and away date against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals.
The Browns division will play against all the teams from the AFC East and NFC South in the 2010 regular season.
Cleveland’s AFC East opponents will be home games to the New England Patriots and New York Jets with road contests against the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins.
From the NFC South the Browns will face at home the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers with road games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints.
As the last place team from the AFC North in 2009 the team will play the two other last place finishers so that will bring a home game against the Kansas City Chiefs and a road tilt at the Buffalo Bills.
The Cleveland Browns schedule is easy to remember. They play no nationally televised prime time game and play every game during the NFL season on Sunday at 1PM Eastern. Their bye week comes in week 8.
The team gets smacked by the NFL scheduler with three straight road games.
Week 13 the team travels to Atlanta followed up by a week 14 contest at the Buffalo Bills and concluding in week 15 on the road to division rival Cincinnati Bengals.
Offense:
The 2009 season was a complete nightmare for quarterback Jake Delhomme as the veteran completed only 55.5% of his passes and was a turnover machine with 18 interceptions and 59.4% passer rating in just 11 games as starter. Ironically the club inserted Matt Moore as starter and the Panthers flourished with a 4-1 record to close the year. Delhomme had a better running attack at Carolina but Delhomme may be a short term fix as the club drafted Colt McCoy in the third round out of Texas to groom him for the future.
The running game will feature five year veteran Jerome Harrison as the feature back with rookie second round pick Montario Hardesty as his back up.
Harrison had a productive season with a 4.4 rushing average and 5 touchdowns on 194 carries and Jamal Lewis retired posting a very poor 3.5 yards a carry in 2009.
Delhomme’s targets in the passing game will be Josh Cribbs and Mohamed Massaquoi as the #1 and #2 options with Chansi Stuckey and second year wide out Brian Robiskie. Cribs contributed mightily in the return game in 2009 but had only 20 receptions for a 6.8 yards per reception average and 1 touchdown. He is used in the Wildcat look for the Browns and had 55 rushes in 2009 for 381 yards and an impressive 6.9 yards per carry average.
Mohamed Massaquoi the second year receiver out of Georgia contributed with only 34 catches but an impressive 18.4 yards per reception average with 3 touchdowns. The Browns backups produced very little for the club in 2009 as Robiskie and Stuckey combined for just 26 catches. Ben Watson was acquired in free agency from New England and had 29 catches for a very good 13.9 yards per reception average for his position.
The offensive line will shape up with Alex Mack at the center position with Floyd Womack and Eric Steinback at the guards. The tackles will feature Joe Thomas on the left side with Tony Pashos at right tackle. The Browns allowed 30 sacks a season ago. Pashos is the newcomer here coming over from the 49ers in free agency.
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Defense:
The Browns were 28th in the league against the pass and their 3-4 defense will feature the veteran Shaun Rogers at the nose tackle with Kenyon Coleman and Robair Smith out wide. Rogers missed the teams final five games in 2010 with ankle problems.
Cleveland lines up at linebacker with Eric Barton and D’Qwell Jackson on the inside with the veteran Scott Fujita and Matt Roth on the outside. Fujita comes over from the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints via free agency. They added depth to this core by obtaining former Philadelphia Eagle Chris Gocong. Second year player Kaluka Maiava a fourth round pick in 2009 out of USC saw limited time as a rookie but contributed with 45 tackles and will work more of a role into with this bunch in 2010.
The team invested heavily into the draft on their secondary. It will be Eric Wright and the veteran Sheldon Brown playing the cornerback position with Abram Elam and Mike Adams lining up at safeties. Cornerback Joe Haden was drafted 1st out of Florida and in the second round the club drafted T.J. Ward from Oregon to provide depth to this corps. Starter Sheldon Brown was acquired in a trade with the Eagles.
And now to my Selection:
Jake Delhomme had an issue looking off his star receiver Steve Smith last year in Carolina and predictable quarterbacks don’t survive the sophisticated defenses of the NFL. Delhomme tends to make unnecessary risks in the passing game and must be more disciplined here. Team president Mike Holmgren is a stickler for correct play and mistakes simply get to him. It is interesting to see how he handles this role from afar with Eric Mangini under Holmgren‘s microscope.
The Browns addressed needs to their secondary by adding a mix of youth and veterans to their line up. The club had 40 sacks a year ago so the foundation is their to build with.
Playmakers need to be generated at the receiver position and scoring is still a huge question mark with this team. Delhomme was turnover prone in 2009 and the Browns were -12 turnover differential ranked 29th in the league. It comes down to Delhomme being patient but he is just to anxious to make things happen and without enough talent in the passing game the Browns will fall short of this number. They are taking baby steps but won get to 6 wins in 2010.
Selection: Play Under 5 ½ wins in 2010 Regular Season.
