Why the Cleveland Browns will go 13-3 in 2019 and reach the AFC Championship - cleveland.com
https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2019/09...ampionship.html

By Scott Patsko, cleveland.com

BEREA, Ohio – And you thought Doug Lesmerises was crazy.

12-4? Pshaw.

The Browns will be 13-3 this season and reach the AFC Championship. My crystal ball doesn’t let me see beyond that. Maybe they win and make it to the Super Bowl. Maybe their season ends one step away like it has five times since 1968.

But they’re going 13-3.

They will win their first season opener since 2004. They will win primetime games against the Jets, Rams and 49ers. They will hit a rough patch and lose back-to-back games to the Seahawks and the Patriots. But they will sweep the Ravens and the Steelers.

Their final loss will come in Week 17, on the road in Cincinnati, with Baker Mayfield, Myles Garrett, Odell Beckham Jr. and most of the other starters watching from the sideline, saving their strength for the playoffs.

The Browns will win their first division title in 30 years, or, in other words, since before all but two current Browns - Morgan Burnett and Drew Stanton - were even born.

Then they will win their first playoff game since Jan. 1, 1995.

It’s hard to pump the brakes on the Browns when they have so much talent. We’ve seen glimpses of what it can do.

Even in practices, Beckham and Landry have shown how scary they can be together. Nick Chubb is poised to have such a big year that adding Kareem Hunt to the backfield midway through the season will seem unfair. We’ve seen the defensive line unleashed in the preseason, and how it makes the entire defense better. The offensive line has its issues. But every team has its issues. And I don’t believe the offensive line is enough to bring this team down. Not with Freddie Kitchens and Todd Monken running the offense.

And if you think 13-3 is too big a jump from 7-8-1, history says you’re wrong. The Rams went from 4-12 to 11-5. The Bears went from 5-11 to 12-4. The Eagles went from 7-9 to 13-3. They all did it in the last three years.

And they all did it with second-year quarterbacks.

If you bought a Victory Fridge, get ready to open that thing a lot this season.

Why the Cleveland Browns will live up to the hype to go 12-4 in 2019 season: Hayden Grove - cleveland.com
https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2019/09...yden-grove.html

By Hayden Grove, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns are mired amidst some historic streaks that mirror their misfortune.

The team hasn’t won its division in 30 years -- the longest current streak in the NFL.

It also hasn’t reached the postseason since 2002 —the longest current streak in the NFL.

They’ve had just two double-digit win seasons in 25 years —again, the worst mark in the NFL in that time.

That all ends now.

This season, the Browns will finish with 12 wins — one more win than the team accrued in four seasons from 2014 to 2017.

Though the Browns renaissance began the day GM John Dorsey walked into the building in Berea, his work this offseason took Cleveland from a nice story to a serious contender.

It started with Dorsey hiring the right coach in Freddie Kitchens -- a man unfazed by the spotlight, lacking ego and with plenty of NFL experience. Kitchens has the perfect mindset for this football team. He’s a collaborator more than a self-promoter and a coach that can balance between fun-loving and hard-working perfectly.

Dorsey then turned his attention to the roster.

He fleeced the Giants on multiple occasions, trading right guard Kevin Zeitler for hungry pass rusher Olivier Vernon and pulling off a deal that sent the underwhelming package of Jabrill Peppers and a pair of picks for Beckham Jr.

Zeitler was impressive for Cleveland, becoming one of the league’s most dominant guards, but it’s not hard to argue that a pass-rusher of Vernon’s caliber outweighs the impact of an offensive guard in almost any situation.

As for Beckham, well, Dorsey brought the perfect piece into the perfect situation.

The Browns needed an elite threat to combine with Jarvis Landry. So why not bring in his best friend and pair the duo with a receivers coach they’ve worked with since their collegiate days in Adam Henry?

The Browns get their superstar wideout. Beckham gets a fresh start with plenty of loving, familiar faces.

Dorsey then finished off the offense by gambling on ultra-talented running back Kareem Hunt, who will miss half the season due to suspension but could provide plenty of versatility and explosiveness for his hometown team in the second half.

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Turning to the defense, Dorsey added a combination of veterans — DT Sheldon Richardson, LB Adarius Taylor, safety Morgan Burnett — and rookies CB Greedy Williams, LB Sione Takitaki and LB Mack Wilson to bolster the unit.

Though Dorsey laid the groundwork and gave Kitchens a roster filled with talent, it was time for training camp to begin. Kitchens, the purported players coach, instead put the team through a tough, pad-filled camp, leaving it bruised and battered but ready for the rigors of the regular season.

Through it all, the Browns emerged unscathed. Only one player on the 53-roster didn’t practice in full during the only padded practice of Week 1: Takitaki.

The roster is healthy and, when healthy, more talented than any in its division. Outside of Pittsburgh, the reality is it may be far more talented. Name an offensive unit in the AFC North with more talent than Baker Mayfield, Nick Chubb, Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry? Name a division defense with a better defensive line or more athleticism than Denzel Ward, Greedy Williams and Damarious Randall.

The sheer difference in talent should give the Browns five divisional wins. They’ll sweep the Ravens and the lowly Bengals, but as long as Ben Roethlisberger is around, the Steelers deserve respect. They’ll top the Browns on Dec. 1 at Heinz Field.

The Browns also got a bit lucky this offseason, at least in terms of their schedule.

The first half of the schedule is clearly more tough, but going through that gauntlet will prepare them for whatever will be thrown their way.

Three primetime matchups in the first five weeks, including a pair of road Monday Night Football matchups and a Sunday Night game against the defending NFC Champions, is no easy task for any team, much less a team trying to live up to the immense hype it’s received this offseason.

Still the Browns should emerge with four wins in some way shape or form over those first six weeks. They’re better than Tennessee, New York, Baltimore and San Francisco and will prove a tough task for Seattle and Los Angeles.

Following the bye week, the second half sets them up for plenty of success.

A late-afternoon matinee against the Patriots will be a real litmus test for the Browns and while the build up for the Baker-Brady brawl will be great, it won’t be enough to propel the Browns for victory.

It will, however, propel them into a relative cakewalk of a schedule the rest of the way.

Into FirstEnergy Stadium waltz the Miami Dolphins and the Buffalo Bills, along with the aforementioned Ravens, Bengals and Steelers.

Both the Bills and Dolphins are either rebuilding or readying for a rebuild, both of which play into the Browns favor.

As for the road games in the second half, the Browns will head to Mile High to take on the Broncos and then to Phoenix and Cincinnati. That’s three more victories—or least should be three more victories for a better Browns team.

If you crunch the numbers, that’s four wins before the bye, and eight wins after it thanks to a weaker schedule down the stretch.

Low and behold, 12 and 4 will be good enough for the Browns to end each of the aforementioned streak.

They’ll have their third double-digit win season since 1999 and their first since 2007.

They’ll reach the postseason for the first time since 2002.

They’ll win the AFC North and host a playoff game for the first time since 1989.

Accomplishing each, they’ll prove themselves worthy of the hype and the hope that fans had in them.

Buckle up, Cleveland. Get ready for a season of fulfillment and dreams.

Man, that's pretty ambitious. I've got them at 10-6 or 11-5. I do see a playoff win in our future this year, we'll get that monkey off our back. If we stay healthy, get on a roll late, there is no limit to what this team may accomplish.

History shows why the Cleveland Browns can go 12-4 this season: Doug Lesmerises 3rd & Short | cleveland.com
https://expo.cleveland.com/sports/g66l-2...3rd-short-.html

STANDING STRONG ON THE 12-4 BROWNS
We return after a two-week absence with a re-statement of principle that, in the year since 3rd & Short was birthed, defines us as much as anything written in this space.

The Browns are going 12-4 in 2019.

You know this. But a month before camp begins, we’re going to explain exactly how reasonable a prediction that is. Truly, the NFL is designed for a team just like the Browns to win 12 games immediately after a seven-win season.
This is the way of the league.

According to recent Las Vegas odds, the Browns are the favorite to win the AFC North, but the slightest favorite among the eight divisions. Philadelphia, Chicago, New Orleans, the L.A. Rams, New England, Indianapolis and Kansas City are all stronger picks to win their divisions.
Fine. At least the Browns are the division favorite, which their roster justifies.

At 7-1 odds, the Browns are tied with the Colts, behind the Chiefs and Patriots, as the third choice to win the AFC.
Fine. Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady justify that.

At 14-1, the Browns are the fifth choice to win the Super Bowl, behind New England, Kansas City, the Rams and the Saints.
That, actually, is a little crazy in my mind. The Patriots have 6-1 odds; the Chiefs, Rams and Saints are 10-1; and the Browns are only 14-1, with a first-year head coach and a roster populated by guys who have never done this. Even new additions Odell Beckham, Sheldon Richardson, Olivier Vernon and Kareem Hunt have never won a playoff game.

Any 12-win prediction banks on the idea that when it comes to health, leadership, game-calling and locker-room dynamics, almost everything will go right to supplement a roster filled with true talent. But even I’m not thinking all that is going to lead to three playoff wins (yes, at 12-4 a first-round bye is on the table) for a team that has three playoff wins in the last 32 years.

This isn’t about January, and whether the Browns can beat three or four of the best teams in the NFL. This is about four months of football in the fall, when the Browns should on a weekly basis take advantage of one of the 10 easiest schedules in the league.

Our 12-4 prediction arrived in December, before the 2018 season was over. Slowly, others have agreed … almost. When the full NFL schedule was released in April, ESPN predicted records for every team and checked in at 11-5 for the Browns. Louis Riddick did the same on the NFL Network and also reached 11-5.

Of course, that’s not quite 12-4.

Even Joe Thomas, who has positioned himself to be the grand old man of Browns football for the next four decades, went through the schedule on the NFL Network in May and, game-by-game, arrived at 10-6, but only after a four-game winning streak to end the season.
No reason to hedge, Joe. Here’s why: 12-4 seasons come out of nowhere all the time.

In the last 10 seasons, a team has won at least 12 games 46 times. That’s 4.6 a year. And it has been spread around. Here are the 12-win seasons in the last decade by franchise:

In the last 10 seasons, a team has won at least 12 games 46 times. That’s 4.6 a year. And it has been spread around. Here are the 12-win seasons in the last decade by franchise:
8 New England
4 Denver
3 Pittsburgh
3 New Orleans
2 Kansas City
2 Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers
2 Minnesota
2 Dallas
2 Carolina
2 Seattle
2 Green Bay
2 Atlanta
2 San Francisco
2 Baltimore
1 Houston
1 Arizona
1 Philadelphia
1 Chicago
1 Los Angeles Rams
1 Oakland
1 Cincinnati
1 Indianapolis

That’s 22 of the 32 teams, 69 percent of the league, with at least one 12-win season in the last decade. I think too many Browns fans, upon hearing a 12-win prediction, imagine that level of success as a fanciful paradise of competence reserved for Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, Peyton Manning and Mike Tomlin.

Not true. Almost any team can get itself together for a season where lousy opponents match up with actual skill, and, boom, 12 wins.
The rotation of divisions in the schedule means that the Browns lucked into the AFC East and NFC West in 2019. By finishing third in the AFC North last year, the Browns also get the third-place teams from the AFC South (Tennessee) and AFC West (Denver), which means two winnable games, while the AFC North champion Ravens get Houston and Kansas City, and second-place Pittsburgh gets Indianapolis and the L.A. Chargers.
The rules are helping the Browns get to 12-4 because they weren’t great last year as a 7-8-1, third-place team. So if you think making a jump from mediocre to 12-4 is exceedingly difficult, it’s actually staying on top once you’ve won your division that’s far more difficult.

What the Browns need to reach 12 wins is a five-win jump from the year before.

We’re actually going to talk about teams that made at least a four-win jump, because the Browns have that tie in 2018 that means they only need to be 4 ½ games better to reach 12 wins, and they also dumped Hue Jackson, which is worth like an extra half-win on its own that we can factor it.

But first, we must toss out the dynasties, because there’s a certain kind of 12-win team that has nothing to do with the 2019 Browns: the teams that do it all the time.

In the last 10 years, the teams that did not make a four-win jump on the way to 12 wins include the Patriots seven times, the Steelers three times and Peyton Manning teams in Indianapolis and Denver four times.

This is the same kind of stat as the one showing that 16 of the last 18 Super Bowl appearances by AFC teams have been taken by Brady (nine), Manning (four) and Roethlisberger (three).

We’re not comparing Baker Mayfield to those quarterbacks … yet. But if the QB and 3rd & Short are both around eight or 10 years from now, we could be doing that. So we’re not comparing the Browns to the teams of those QBs. There’s no point. It’s a different conversation.
So, that means of the 46 teams that won at least 12 games in the last 10 years, we’re removing 14 teams -- seven in New England, three in Pittsburgh, three in Denver and one in Indianapolis.

That leaves us with 32 12-win teams worth comparing to where the Browns are.
Of those teams, 16 made at least a four-win jump, and 16 did not. Basically, half the non-dynasty teams to reach 12 wins in the last decade were just like the Browns.

So this is what a 12-4 Browns season would be: reasonable, normal, and given how much the Browns have improved since the middle of last season, practically expected.

Your friends think you’re looped for saying the Browns are going 12-4? Tell them it’s even crazier to think the Browns can’t do it.
Here are the 16 teams in the last 10 year that made at least a four-game jump on the way to winning at least 12 games. And 12 of these 16 made the actual five-game leap that the Browns would require.

● 2009 San Diego Chargers, 13-3 after 8-8 in 2008
● 2009 New Orleans Saints, 13-3 after 8-8 in 2008
● 2010 New England Patriots, 14-2 after 10-6 in 2009
● 2010 Atlanta Falcons, 13-3 after 9-7 in 2009
● 2011 Green Bay Packers, 15-1 after 10-6 in 2010
● 2011 San Francisco 49ers, 13-3 after 6-10 in 2010
● 2012 Denver Broncos, 13-3 after 8-8 in 2011
● 2013 Carolina Panthers, 12-4 after 7-9 in 2012
● 2014 Dallas Cowboys, 12-4 after 8-8 in 2013
● 2014 Green Bay Packers, 12-4 after 8-8 in 2013
● 2015 Carolina Panthers, 15-1 after 7-9 in 2014
● 2016 Oakland Raiders, 12-4 after 7-9 in 2015
● 2016 Dallas Cowboys, 13-3 after 4-12 in 2015
● 2017 Philadelphia Eagles, 13-3 after 7-9 in 2016
● 2017 Minnesota Vikings, 13-3 after 8-8 in 2016
● 2018 Chicago Bears, 12-4 after 5-11 in 2017
In there are some very good teams that had down years and bounced back big (like 2014 Green Bay). There also are teams that steadily built to 12 wins that we haven’t specifically mentioned, the 16 teams outside of the QB stars that reached 12 wins without a four-game jump.
Cincinnati went from 10 wins in 2014 to 12 wins in 2015. The Chargers went from 9 wins in 2017 to 12 last year. The Chiefs went from 10 wins in 2017 to 12 last year. Incremental progress is admirable.
But the leaps to 12-4? They’re just as logical. That’s why when it happens with the Browns this season, you shouldn’t be surprised. Of all the teams that made the leap, here are the three that share the most in common with the 2019 Browns.

THREE TEAMS THAT MADE A JUMP TO 12 WINS THAT LOOK LIKE THE 2019 BROWNS

3. 2013 CAROLINA PANTHERS
The Panthers started a third-year quarterback, not a second-year quarterback, but this was a former No. 1 pick coming into his own, backed by a young defense. Cam Newton actually saw his raw numbers come down -- this wasn’t his MVP season or the Super Bowl run he would construct two years later. But the Panthers pulled together everything around him, as linebacker Luke Kuechly reached his first Pro Bowl and Carolina finished on an 11-1 run after a 1-3 start.

After just one winning season in the previous seven, and bottoming out at 2-14 in 2010 to get the chance to draft Newton, the new-look Panthers arrived.

They’ve had up-and-down moments since, but this was clearly the start of an era, something that was built and has been maintained with that QB and key defenders. The Panthers have made the playoffs four of the last six seasons, and overall are 58-37-1 in those six years.

It started by going 12-4 in 2013 after a record of 7-9 the previous season. The Panthers aren’t the Patriots, but they’ve shown some staying power that could certainly be replicated in Cleveland.

Four playoff appearances, including a Super Bowl, in six years? It would be hard for the Browns to argue with that.

2. 2016 OAKLAND RAIDERS
The previous losing looks very familiar here. If the Raiders could jump to 12 wins, the Browns absolutely can. The Raiders didn’t have a winning season for 13 years before stepping up from 7-9 in 2015 to 12-4 in 2016. Even the Browns are only at 11 seasons without a winning record right now.

Again, obviously, it started with the quarterback. From 3-13 in his first year as a starter, then to 7-9, Derek Carr led this revival in year three. But that wasn’t all. The Raiders featured Defensive Player of the Year Khalil Mack, who won the award in his third season (we’re talking to you, Myles Garrett).

The Raiders also added four key starters in free agency and saw ready-to-win players in their late 20s pay immediate dividends after smart signings. Again, does that remind you of anything?

The issue for the Raiders was that they couldn’t capitalize and couldn’t maintain it. Carr broke his leg in Week 16, and the Raiders were a shadow of themselves in their playoff loss. Then the whole thing went south. They followed 12-4 with 6-10, then fired their head coach and traded Mack.

The Browns don’t want to emulate a path that nets them Jon Gruden as a supposed savior. Oakland isn’t a model of sustaining it. But the Raiders are an ideal example of the leap to 12-4.

1. 2018 CHICAGO BEARS
We wrote a lot last year about how the Los Angeles Rams could be a model for the Browns, and we were right on. From 4-12 to 11-5 to 13-3 last year, they showed how firing the wrong coach, hiring the right coach, and building quickly by spending on veterans can flip a franchise.

But the Rams aren’t the only very recent example.

The Bears made a bigger leap last season, moving from 5-11 in 2017 to 12-4 in 2018 behind the kind of superstar acquisition that most resembles the Browns getting Beckham.

The Bears traded for Mack (boy, is he important to winning), featured a diversified rushing attack behind a second-year quarterback in Mitch Trubisky and immediately won for first-year coach Matt Nagy, a former offensive coordinator.

Freddie Kitchens is Nagy, Beckham is Mack, Baker Mayfield is Trubisky and anything the Bears did, the Browns absolutely can do as well. They were stacked with vital contributors in their mid-20s, just like the Browns. It wasn’t their Super Bowl year, but it was their year to show how much they had changed. And how much they could win.

There are more examples. Philadelphia’s Super Bowl year with second-year QB Carson Wentz followed a seven-win season. Dallas made a nine-win jump in 2016 after adding Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott. It doesn’t guarantee it will happen for the Browns in 2019, though nothing short of a catastrophe will shake me off 12-4 until that fifth loss is in the books.

But clearly, you have to understand that the Browns going 12-4 this season isn’t crazy.

12-4

Go with the head or heart? It’s a tough call when predicting Cleveland Browns’ record — Terry Pluto - cleveland.com
https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2019/09...erry-pluto.html

By Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Can Browns fans enjoy the season and have fun with the hype of their team if it starts with a 3-3 record at the bye week?

Or if the Browns are only 4-4 at midseason?

Something like that can happen.

And something like that can cause panic among those who have so longed for the Browns to be relevant again.

In fact, I’d be stunned if the Browns open the season strong.

That’s because the NFL is a hard place, worthy of respect.

That’s because the Browns face only one bad team in their first seven games.

That’s because the Browns have so many new faces, from the coaching staff to the players on the field.

In the first seven games, the Browns face the two teams who were in the Super Bowl (Rams and Patriots). They play at Baltimore (very tough place to win) and at San Francisco.

I know, the 49ers were 4-12. But QB Jimmy Garoppolo blew out his knee in the third game of the season. He’s back and his career record as an NFL starter is 8-2. Just like the Browns are one team with Baker Mayfield and another team without him, that’s the case with the 49ers and most other NFL franchises with a viable QB.

In week six, Seattle comes to town. They have Russell Wilson at QB and they were 10-6 last season.

It’s real simple...for the Browns, it could be very hard, very early in the season.

A DIFFERENT TEAM

The John Dorsey front office has made a massive talent upgrade since taking over in December of 2017. Only nine players remain the previous regimes.

The biggest point is Dorsey has found a QB in Mayfield. I worry a bit about wildly high expectations for him in his second season. He is good now with a chance to be better than that soon.

But the NFL can be a tough place (I know I said that!) and opposing defensive coordinators are now taking the Browns very seriously.

They should.

Suppose you were the defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans. That’s the Browns opening day opponent. The Titans were 9-7 last season...yet another good team on the early schedule.

Anyway, you are preparing your defense for the Browns. Who keeps you up at night?

Mayfield? Odell Beckham Jr.? Nick Chubb? Jarvis Landry?

How about all four of them?

When the Browns opened last season, only Landry was in the starting lineup. Mayfield and Chubb were rookies on the bench. Beckham was in New York.

The Browns began 2018 with Tyrod Taylor at QB, Carlos Hyde in the backfield. Landry and Josh Gordon were the starting receivers.

By the way, Gordon was not supposed to start (according to Coach Hue Jackson), but offensive coordinator Todd Haley put him in the lineup anyway. Welcome to internal discord.

Gordon had one catch in that game.

I’m like most Browns followers. I’m excited to see what this offense can do.

But I’m also worried about opening the season with rookies at punter and kicker. Close games are coming. The special teams were dismal a year ago. That has to change.

THE SLEEPING GIANT?

That’s what Dorsey has called Cleveland as a football town.

He’s right.

But it also can apply to the Browns defense, especially the line.

The additions of Sheldon Richardson and Olivier Vernon to the line should keep opposing offensive coordinators up at night. The same for holdovers Myles Garrett and Larry Ogunjobi.

If the Browns are to surprise with a fast start, the defense could be the reason. Coach Freddie Kitchens has insisted for months the defensive line could be the strength of the team. He could be right.

But the Browns can’t come close to leading the league in missed tackles, as they did a year ago.

BOTTOM LINE?

As I started to write this, I had a 9-7 record in mind.

But as I played the “You are the opposing coach facing the Browns” game, the strength of the roster jumps out.

The concern is continuity. This is not fantasy football. It’s on the field where 11 guys have to work together, and it could take a while for that to happen for the Browns. It’s why I see them as being a strong team in the final two months of the season.

My head has them finishing at 9-7.

My heart wants them to be at least 10-6, far more likely to make the playoffs.

The verdict?

You can pick, but I’m going with 10-6...I think.

I am going with 11-5.

WHAT IF....

We, the loyal Browns fans, can only hope this season will be different than past seasons.

These should go in the Hype Thread.

Why?

This isn't hype, it's predictions.

I’ll go game by game:

Week 1 - Tennessee ... this should be a WIN. If it’s not, things may not start well at all.
Week 2 - at NY Jets ... very tough game in my opinion. I’ll say close WIN.
Week 3 - LA Rams ... LOSS. They’re too talented and experienced.
Week 4 - at Baltimore ... LOSS. Close game but road game.
Week 5 - at San Francisco ... LOSS. They’re a team I’m very concerned about honestly.
Week 6 - Seattle ... WIN. I think we can score just enough to win it.
Week 7 - Bye
Week 8 - at New England ... LOSS. Toughest game of the year.
Week 9 - at Denver ... WIN. Another tough road game, but we squeak it out like last year.
Week 10 - Buffalo ... WIN. We get over .500, but this is not easy sledding. They’re good.
Week 11 - Pittsburgh ... LOSS. A highly motivated Pittsburgh with a top 3 QB.
Week 12 - Miami ... WIN. It better be a win.
Week 13 - at Pittsburgh ... LOSS. Struggles in Pittsburgh continue.
Week 14 - Cincinatti ... WIN. It better be a win.
Week 15 - at Arizona ... WIN. I don’t think they have enough talent or experience.
Week 16 - Baltimore ... LOSS. A tough way to end our playoff hopes.
Week 17 - at Cincinnati ... WIN. It better be a win.


So ... we finish 9-7

we're finishing 12-4 dont @ me

I said it before we acquired OBJ, and I'll stick with it now: the Browns are 12-4 in 2019.

I’ll go game by game (cut/paste from Dawgs4Life ...)

A somewhat optimistic viewpoint.

Week 1 - Tennessee ... WIN
Week 2 - at NY Jets ... WIN
Week 3 - LA Rams ... LOSS.
Week 4 - at Baltimore ... LOSS
Week 5 - at San Francisco ... WIN
Week 6 - Seattle ... WIN. Coin Flip.
Week 7 - Bye
Week 8 - at New England ... LOSS. Would not be surprised to see us win this one coming after a bye week.
Week 9 - at Denver ... LOSS - or a win and we split Pittsburgh.
Week 10 - Buffalo ... WIN.
Week 11 - Pittsburgh ... WIN.
Week 12 - Miami ... WIN.
Week 13 - at Pittsburgh ... WIN
Week 14 - Cincinatti ... LOSS - the come down after sweeping Pittsburgh ... Or we lose at Pittsburgh and sweep Cinci.
Week 15 - at Arizona ... WIN.
Week 16 - Baltimore ... WIN. Split the series - every chance LJ is nicked up by this stage of the season.
Week 17 - at Cincinnati ... WIN.

11-6

We added a game?

j/c:

Ah, the yearly prediction thread...

This year? It's hard for me to guess/not sure. I'm gonna go with 10 & 6, as long as Baker stays healthy.

I'm saying 9-7 but hoping for better.

12-4

5-1 in the division.

Win the AFC North and host a home playoff game.

14 - 2 ...

Week 1 - Tennessee ... WIN
Week 2 - at NY Jets ... WIN
Week 3 - LA Rams ... LOSS.
Week 4 - at Baltimore ... WIN ( I don't see Baltimore being that good this year).
Week 5 - at San Francisco ... WIN
Week 6 - Seattle ... Loss
Week 7 - Bye
Week 8 - at New England ... WIN since we have the BYE before
Week 9 - at Denver ... WIN
Week 10 - Buffalo ... WIN.
Week 11 - Pittsburgh ... WIN.
Week 12 - Miami ... WIN.
Week 13 - at Pittsburgh ... LOSS
Week 14 - Cincinatti ... WIN
Week 15 - at Arizona ... WIN.
Week 16 - Baltimore ... WIN.
Week 17 - at Cincinnati ... WIN.

13-3 at best
more than likely 10-6 or 11-5 with the NE game and one either MIA, CINCY, or ARI beating us. I say that, because EVERY team usually drops one game to someone they should easily beat - every year.

I am optimistic about the season while trying to be realistic at the same time.

Last year fans were saying that Freddie was stuck running Haley's O scheme with a few tweaks. If that's so, we will be running a totally new O scheme this year.

We all know that we'll be running a different D scheme. Freddie is a first time NFL HC. It's very rare that all of those changes get made at one time seamlessly. So I do believe that there will certainly be some hiccups early on in the season.

I can see teams using our weakness on D to their advantage. I believe they will be employing using their TE's and RB's in the middle of the field to exploit the fact that for the most part, our LB's are weak in coverage.

We certainly have the talent to be a great team. However, running the ball may not be a given. Running to the left side should be doable. But running to the right may be a different story.

Considering all of those factors, I think 10-6 is doable.

Win the division, get to the playoffs, then anything can happen..

Basically, 10 or more wins makes me a happy guy..

Your 100% correct ... here’s the rub ... as far as i know ... no team that OVERHAULS the coaching staff has had near as much talent as Freddie does since Siefert took over the niners ...

Most new coaching staffs aren’t handed one of the most talented rosters in the NFL in their first year as a new HC ....

Chew on that one for a bit ....

19-0

I read the headline and thought to myself that the first guy that posts "to Baltimore" gets smacked.

I have chewed on that one for a bit. Familiarity and repetition breeds execution. That's a fact and I'll stand by that.

If we didn't have all of that talent I wouldn't have predicted 10 wins.

See my sig.

I usually default to the mean and work outward from there. Most of our terrible years I usually predicted optimistically. This year, I’m on the other end. I just have a hard time seeing them escaping the bumps and bruises that come with being SO young, with new coordinators and coach and a new system. So much has to go right where it usually goes wrong, not just for us but for any team. Basically very minimal injuries, an over achieving OL, and everyone sticking their landings on the first try. I really think the 11-5 and above predictions are just not realistic unless we get lucky repeatedly. We’ll know A LOT more after this Sunday. Not everything of course, but a lot more.

8-8

first of all, From this article to God's ears.
I hope so,

But I started cracking up. Read this,

13-3, yada, yada, and LOSE to the Bengals, in week 17,

That is freaking hilarious, I start thinking only in Cleveland would a journalist write such ,,
I'm cracking up again.

Ya, make it through the entire NFL cept the Pats, Seahawks, and that juggernaught Cincinnati, what the hey dude, (almost make me cuss)

And ,

Here's a little thing, If this did happnen, they better be rising up and whooping one or both of the Seahawks and Patriots, because

The Bernie, Marty years taught me one thing, those teams didn't lose two in a row all year, if you lose 2 in a row, you don't belong in the superbowl

So that's not going to happen.

I think the Browns go 8-7-1 out of sheer bad luck, bad scheduling, (means the MNF TNF are too early, and the Divisonal are all back loaded)

I Question if ODBJr. is motivated, or peaked in the past or has anything to prove in Clevland,

The TE's are un, well pretty much they just met, so as a group, knowing, how their games mesh, won't be a strong suit,

I think the Ravens probably take the div,

But I want to see what this team can do.

God knows they haven't put the "whole" team together even one time this whole offseason.

I'm with you.

Yes it's true,

We're fanatics, through and through!

I'll try again.

The Browns will go....

As far as the running game and defense take them.

Even in a passing league, you have to establish the run, you have to play defense, you have to have blocking tight ends, you have to pass protect your own Qb,
you have to out maneuver your opponent with slide of hand, as much as one on one matchups,

Everybody seems to know The run game is first, except the Browns offensive playcallers that past 11 years.


If they don't establish the run, if they forget about the running game altogether, if they pass 2 or 3 to 1 as many times as they run, it will go bad for them, and the same for any NFL team, this is something that can observed and repeated through the years

If they didn't have rushing td's from Hyde last year, I don't think they would have gotten to 1-1-1, I think it would have been 0-3.

Have to establish the run, Everybody knows this,

even the bengals,
even the bengals ( unknowledgeable) fans.

j/c:

I just want to enjoy the season w/out all the pressure of such lofty goals placed on this team by outsiders. I think we are better than we were. I want to savor that and not get bogged down if the team doesn't win 11, 12, 13, 14 games.

I think part of that goes back to when I was coaching. After our team got really good, everyone around us was almost guaranteeing a undefeated or 1-loss season. Those kind of expectations set by people outside the program kind of takes the fun out of the season. I was reminded of that last Saturday when the announcers talked about how Ohio State's season is a failure if they lose one game every year. That's some bullcrap. It's hard to win football games and I bet it's harder in the NFL than anywhere else. The season isn't a failure if you don't win the state playoff title, the National Championship, or the Super Bowl. A team should be able to enjoy what they accomplish w/out all the unwanted pressure of having to live up to the inflated expectations of outsiders.

We all know what happens when teams do not live up to those expectations. The blame game starts and men lose their jobs.

So you're saying we'll have between 11 and 14 wins?




That all I got out of that post.




I hear ya though.

j/c

My prediction:

10 or more wins and the AFCN crown. An Appearance in the AFC Championship against the Pats. We'll go up by 1 just after the 2 minute warning. Then we'll watch Josh Gordon catch a bomb on 3rd and long behind Morgan Burnett for the walk-off TD. The Fumble, the Drive, now the Catch. A devastating, franchise-rattling blow. Cleveland won't recover in 2021. By 2023 Freddie is gone, Dorsey is gone, and the roster in blown up.

That is very true.
Usually, they are replacing a fired coach on a mediocre (underperforming) team.

I make no predictions for this thread; there are simply too many unknowns.


I will say this, however- I can't remember a time since the last Muni squad when a Browns team has me so intrigued.

Da suspense is killin' me....

Why the Browns will go 10-6 in 2019 and what happens after that - cleveland.com
https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2019/09...after-that.html

By Mary Kay Cabot, cleveland.com

BEREA, Ohio — The Browns will finish the season 10-6, win the AFC North and beat the Steelers in the wild card round.

Unfortunately for the Browns, after all the buildup and the hype to this season, they fail to get past Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs — the eventual Super Bowl winners — in the divisional round.

The difference proves to be Mahomes’ experience in the playoffs last year and the knowledge of how much the intensity ramps up.

I waffled between 10-6 and 11-5, but went with the former because of slight concerns over Odell Beckham Jr.’s hip injury. Maybe it will prove to be nothing, but if it lingers and he misses games, the Browns will have a tougher road.

It will be difficult to win the division this year, especially with five AFC North games in their final six. Ben Roethlisberger can never be counted out, and the defending division champ Ravens like their chances in Lamar Jackson’s second season.

I think the Browns’ defense will be just as key as the offense in clinching the first division crown since 1989 and first playoff berth since 2002. With a dominant defensive line, I think the defense will finish in the top one or two in takeaways for the second straight season, and that will translate into victories.

I think double-digit victories, a playoff berth and at least one playoff victory should be the expectation for the talent-loaded Browns this season, and I think they will achieve it.

12-3-1

Tie Pittsburgh in Pitt.

We knock off NE and go to the big show.

I pop the Champagne bottle I have been saving for over 40 years and celebrate.

I think we go 5-11 if injuries pile up.

Otherwise, 9-7 and... we somehow win the division.

If we win Sunday 14-2 why NOT

For us its about getting off to a quick start I have little doubt will be unstoppable the second half of the season so for me the key is game one.

I would say 10-6 if we lose Sunday, 1st game sets the season tone, a game i think we should easily win BTW.

14-5

12-4.

W Titans
W Jets
W Rams
L Ravens
W 49ers
L Seahawks
L Patriots
W Broncos
W Bills
W Steelers
W Dolphins
L Steelers
W Bengals
W Cardinals
W Ravens
W Bengals

Regardless of record, I would prefer us to win the Super Bowl so I can collect my 2k+ in Vegas. Im not being selfish because I've spent waaaay more than twice that over the past 20+ years with nothing to show for it. I think they owe it to me... and us.

but what will your new dawgtalkers name be??

Which 2 do we stumble?

The last two when were playing subs cause we clinched home field and Freddie has a soft spot in his heart for the 71 Dolphins ...

Lol. I like it!

I’ve had to be the Devil’s advocate at work, making people temper their expectations. I simply don’t want them to be all bummed out with a 9-win season and a playoff game. Both of which will make me do a happy dance.

As a fan, I would like better than 12-4 obviously. But after the Defeated Season, those simple numbers should make all fans giddy, and they may be homer-type hopes.

But it is feasible. Fans have great reasons to be fans again. Unleash the Elf. Time to go to war.

Personal note. For better or worse, we can't really judge this roster yet. We haven't put it all out there yet, together. So we may need to review its potential upside if it meshes well, and I believe there could be eventual upside. But let's get the first notch first. I feel like a kid the night before Christmas now.

Go, Browns!

1-0 after this Sunday. I'll think about the next game starting about Tuesday afternoon.

I'm gonna savor every moment.

9-7 for me....

Would love to be more optimistic but too many "new" pieces and I think it will take some time to gel.

Slow start is highly probable IMHO and if it goes bad early (for whatever reason) not confident Freddie will be able to handle the adversity and ego's. In this scenario we will see what type of team we "really" have.

Hope we just roll out of the gate and don't look back, bbbbuuuuttttt, don't like the preseason anointing the Brown got and think it puts a bullseye on their back. Teams are quietly circling the Browns game on their schedule saying, "yeah, superbowl Browns lets see what you got...".

I think 9-7 is pretty much the high mark. We have too many question. I didn't care for how we treated preseason so we could be in for a rough start to begin the season and pick up steam after. I think next year is going to be our year to make alot of noise. Biggest question marks for me is FK, OL and was OBJ worth weakening an already shaky unit. I watched a couple of the highlight reels from last year, one thing that was consistent, baker had very little time or made plays with his legs to get himself time. Thats going to be interesting to watch. I think his getting rid of the ball quickly was by necessity more than design. Quick hitters all the time will take away the big play that OBJ is good for and turn him into a guy that has to make plays in space, which probably lead to more injuries. Real easy to second guess everything right now.. Tomorrow we'll know if we're more like the team that came out against washington, or the team that played Tampa. Can't wait either way

miniT

I dunno. Maybe I will borrow one of the names I have been called over in the Political Threads.

Need some suggestions?

11-5 and win the division outright. There's a push in the end for 6 straight to put us over the top as we sweep the Bengals twice and beat the Stealers and Ravens. For the division I think we split the Steelers and sweep both the Ravens and Bengals putting us in front. I think we lose to the Jets, Rams, Pats, and Broncos.

If this is the official season prediction thread, then here goes:

I'm torn between 6-10 or 7-9. I guess I'll be optimistic and say 7 wins.

We're also an early season Nick Chubb injury away from going 4-12.

TROLL ALERT!!!!

Haha

You're Dawgs4Life x 10.

12-4

19-0 baby!!!!

Have you lit up already?

Hey! X100

Who the heck was this guy? He looks pretty accurate through the first half...

I don’t know who he is but I said 8-8 and that our Achilles heal(s) would be our OL and our collective youth and inexperience. I SOOO not patting myself on the back for this one and it’s only one game but so far but that’s EXACLTY what I saw today. I think we’ll be lucky to 3-5 at mid season. One thing I didn’t count on today... that our defense would be such a let down in any game this season.

*coughs*

BUMP

*coughs*

You win. Happy?

Ugh.

3-13.

I was duped.

What a hysterical prediction.

We all were.

I think at this point you just can't predict this team will ever be successful until they are. I mean if Belichick and Brady came over in their primes, you'd have to predict 5-11 until you actually see something different right?

I mean you have to.

Injuries are piling up. 5-11 seems legit. Ugh

Jc

To be fair to myself, I was not duped ... but even I thought we’d near .500 or so. I felt like we had too much talent and that Baker was a legit QB.

Wrong again. Never will I predict more than 4 wins with this franchise

THIS.

EXACTLY.

Believe it when you see it and not a moment before.

It's confounding.

I think of Cleveland Browns Daily and can't help but recall all off season, those two numbskull hosts, proclaiming the Browns were the world's team, talking playoffs, going "full Dorse," giddy about #6, etc...before having accomplished anything. I just can't believe things like this would be tolerated by franchises like New England, Pittsburgh, Baltimore. There is a culture problem that Cleveland cannot shake.

I've been trying to say something to this effect for the last few weeks.

You summed it up nicely.

The Browns Will Go. . .


straight to hell.

Nathan Zegura every other sentence was"it's going to be fun this year " or " you can't single cover anyone on the offense it's the greatest offense of all time !"
Bishop is nothing than his lackey.
Yeah ok Nathan the 1st week of being a Homer yeah we get it. Hype hype hype. New toys.

I’ve often thought that my personal Hell would be something like a continuous reel of Browns confounding losses

I used to have nightmares about Red Right 88, The Drive, and The Fumble .. all running in sequence. Over and over again. Now .. I just fantasize about the kind of season it took to get us to the point where those catastrophes were possible, and wonder if we will ever see a season as good as any of those again.

With no changes they'll be lucky to see 4-12.

Yep. It appears I got my sig backwards.

We witnessed Denver’s 2019 version of The Drive yesterday ... 95 yards with a QB who couldn’t play for Ohio State

Well, you tried...

Bump.

Whoops.

Browns gonna Browns. Worst owned and run franchise in professional sports.

We could sign Jesus and draft Joe Montana and it won't matter. I'll predict/believe this team can win only AFTER I see it.

Completely whiffed on that.

Eh, most of us did.

Nailed it!

Well, my reasoning was pretty spot-on even if I spotted them a few games too many. They have a lot more to do to get this ship turned around than I thought they would after the end of the season. That’s the biggest disappointment to me; That Freddy appears to be pretty terrible at developing the young talent on the roster. I had expected a lot of rookie coach bumbling but hoped to se development among a young core. Instead, it just looks like a mess.

Just FK calling plays in the Red Zone, BM's picks, and our FG and PAT missed kicks in an infinity loop. have a nice forever forever!

The Detroit Lions are the worst owned and run franchise in professional sports. One playoff win since 1957 and no Super Bowls.

Props for accuracy! And too bad you were right, or close enough to it.

... looking for another GM

I'm right here

He said another. You were always right there.

GM you’re THE man

Ummm... if this is not hell? what is?

So I was right in my prediction?

What do I win?

A glass of ice water!