DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum EARLY - Win/Loss Predictions for all 32 Teams

Not fearing the Browns so much in this article.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...aa0c&ET_CID=271955&ET_RID=713506

I think it's the "Too EARLY" win loss prediction time. I'll at least wait until the roster is set and preseason is over. A lot of things including injuries can happen between now and then. And for all we know, even more player signings could be on the way.

I dont get all the love for the Jets. They will not have a better record than the Browns. Aaron is not the whole team.

I'm not condoning or disagreeing with the article. I do find it interesting that PFF and Las vegas both have the Browns under 8.5 and in agreement with the article. It becomes difficult at times to fairly evaluate the Browns with the constant hoopla on the forum. I totally agree with your "Too Early" statement, but it is interesting to see what the "talking heads" are thinking about the roster and projected strength of our team after all the moves to date. Like you posted in another thread, "you are what you are until you're not."

All I care about is the Browns:

Cincinnati - LOSS - they are the best team in the AFC this season
at Pittsburgh - LOSS - tough to win in primetime in Pittsburgh
Tennessee - WIN - their offense isn’t good
Baltimore - LOSS - Lamar steals a game on the road
San Francisco - LOSS - they are a top 5 team in the NFL
at Indianapolis - WIN - their offense won’t be good
at Seattle - LOSS - tough to win in the PNW and there are always weird games there
Arizona - WIN - they will stink
at Baltimore - LOSS - Same as before
Pittsburgh - WIN - we’ll split with Pittsburgh
at Denver - LOSS - just a hunch that they’ll be a dark horse with that roster
at LA Rams - WIN - they are in rebuild mode
Jacksonville - WIN - probably our win of the year against a good team
Chicago - WIN - we’ll be able to get enough stops against a good running QB
at Houston - WIN - they stink and we are surging too late
NY Jets - LOSS - with a slim hope for playoffs we lose a heartbreaker
at Cincinnati - LOSS - they’ll be resting guys but we won’t care either

8-9 overall

We were 7-10 last season

A full season of Watson should be 3 games better than Brissett
(If not then we seriously overpaid)

Schwartz replacing Woods and the additions to the d-line should be worth 3 games as well
Ventrone taking over as ST coordinator is another win.

Let's presume that some of those wins overlap for a net improvement of 4 games
Prediction 11-6 - as long as we stay relatively healthy


The number 1 risk for a failed season?
In my mind, it's Stefanski
He is an average to slightly above average OC - should be adequate
My worry is his leadership skills. To date, I haven't been impressed.
I am hoping Schwartz can help him with that.

Browns/Lions Superbowl - Book 'Em Danno.

I see 12 wins for us IF DW returns to his former self. I cannot believe that we are not a significantly improved team from last season....

If we arent then we are in trouble. But the talking heads have been with us before on that bandwagon and have gotten off. Cant blame them. BP you are what you are. Time to be the new Browns

They're getting 2019 Browns offseason hype. That season ended up imploding on the Browns. Jets may crash and burn, too.

The only betting site I have seen with the Browns win total at 8.5 is Caesars sportsbook and that's at -175 for the over. Everywhere else is 9.5.

https://www.vegasinsider.com/nfl/odds/win-totals/

Imo, as goes our DL and secondary, so goes our season (and record).

If DW gives us average play (maybe) or great play (probably) doesn't really matter if opposing offenses are eating us up in the second half.

If the new defense can make a stand when it counts: 11-6.

If they can not: 7-10.

I'm probably stating the obvious.

They’re getting hype in part because of Rodgers, but iirc they have a fairly stout D that is on the rise (they may have lost guys in the off-season). I’m just throwing this out there without any research and I could be way, way wrong.

I have been thinking since the end of last season that senerio would be an awesome match up on my opinion. I also think it would be a great story marketable by the NFL Throwback to the 1950s, Browns/Lions title game.

Obvious or not, it sounds well thought out.

I'm thinking the Browns will go 9 & 8 this season.

P.S. I was right on the money last season. (Hey-now!)

Could you please predict us to go 17-0 then?

I love that we get what is considered by many on this board to be our FQB who is elite - and we are seeing lots of predictions that would essentially place us middle of the pack with a very slim chance of making the playoffs. . . . or does that need to be in purple.


There are lots of moving parts for sure - and lots of variables that are beyond the teams control - but I will be absolutely gutted and sick to the bottom of my stomach if we are playing the last 4 games of the season without a realistic chance to make the playoffs.

With what we have invested into the roster, coaching staff, and QB we dang well better be in the playoff hunt. If not, it’s an absolute failure.

dawg4life, last year you predicted one and five in the division.
and this year the same thing.
they were 3 and 3 in two of the last 3 I think.

We could be better than 1-5 or we could be worse lol. Until we prove anything, my predictions will remain pedestrian

Last year I predicted we would win 6-8 games and I was right. This year with a better DC, D and DW playing above average I predict 9-11 wins and 3-3 in our division. Barring major injuries of course. Injuries are always the wild card with all teams. JMO

Agreed. The AFC north is a tough division top to bottom. We finished last with 7 wins and we weren't a pushover team. Heck, we should have won 2 more games easily. It's a physical division. Why shouldn't DW play well? There's talent around him and he now has an offseason to get more assimilated with the coaches and players not to mention the legal issues are pretty much behind him. If he just plays to 80% of what he was we'll have the best QB since Bernie maybe better because he's more gifted physically. JMO

Nearly 1 in 4 NFL games are decided by 3 points or less. 23.22% to be exact. That just points to how accurate you are about teams being much closer than many realize.

https://cleanuphitter.com/nfl/stats/nfl_common_scores.php

I see it pretty much the same way. I mean I do participate in such prediction threads right before the season begins but just as a lark. I certainly don't take myself seriously when I do. As was mentioned with teams being so close, the ability to "compete" with all or most any team I think places you firmly in the middle of the pack when using that as a gauge.

At this time I have no idea what I would predict. But the outcome will rest squarely on the shoulders of how DW performs and what the expectations of the fans are of him. The Browns made the playoffs in 2020 with an 11-5 record losing to the Chiefs by a five point margin in the playoffs with what pretty much everyone including myself feels is a much inferior QB. So I think a reasonable expectation would be at least that and maybe more.

But I do understand everyone's expectations may be very different.

to date, Watson has won about 3 more games in a Browns uniform than RG3 did.
Baker Mayfield, took the team for 3 or 4 years and wrestled the winningest @uarterback in your stadium title out of the hands of your hated rivals hall of fame predator.
IF, Watson becomes a far superior @uarterback, 'for the Browns' than Mayfield was, He's got a lot of work to do to Prove it, in my opinion.
It can only be done with time, but it's still that he has to put the work/time in, in my opinion.

Bone you made a comment on moment that made me start thinking. The Browns record is tied to DW which I do agree with. Although I have a little less faith in him than you do, and I think Schwartz is going to be the key to a playoff run. Jmo.

But let's stick with DW who is no doubt pivotal.

Would it then be reasonable to say:

Browns will go as far as DW and KS can take them. Chubb is a factor because he is so good, but is does he fit in the "how far chubb will take them?" I sort of feel not, because of KS.
Ravens will go as far a lamar can take them.
Bengals seem to have a weakened D... They go as far as Burrows and Chase And Higgins take them. Boyd and Mixon are more of a factor than Chubb? Maybe.

Steelers go as far as Tomlinson takes them. Everything is on the HC in Pittsburgh it feels.

I mean nothing earth shattering there. But maybe the keystones or success vary slightly in each city? None more so than Pittsburgh? Which to me is an interesting thought and if they out perform The Browns - which I fear just out of battered Browns syndrome - does that drive a nail into the coffin for KS as HC?

I feel like Pittsburgh will go as far as Watt takes them. He’s such an MVP for their team

How many games do we have to lose before the "Give them time to gel" statements come into play?

None at all. I think it officially starts as soon as the NFL schedule is released. Hope we gel all over the place.

Go, Browns!

I have heard in the past that the defense gels faster than the offense. Perhaps with the veteran talent they have brought in they can be a cohesive unit quickly. My concern is Watson. All our eggs are in that one basket and if he flounders then so does the team. Let's hope his performance last season was due to the amount of time he was off the field and his focus divided between his legal issues and learning a new system.

I fear that some are expecting a "Superman" performance out of Watson and anything less bolsters their feeling.


We need the guy to be good. We don't need him to be the best of all-time. He needs to be good.

As for Schwartz, no doubt the guy is a qualified, proven DC. My feeling is a good coach can add to what the players can do, but they can't make them great. That is up to the players, but, a poor coach can screw up good players and make them look worse

Schwartz is a very good coach. He knows what to do and what is needed. If we are really good or just so-so is up to the players.

An architect can present the best blueprint ever designed, but if the guys on the ground screw up, the building is going to be flawed.

Slight tangent.. What I find interesting purely from a wider perspective is that the author, for the most part, amplifies variance. So if Vegas predicts a poor season, he predicts it to be even worse. If Vegas predicts a good season, he predicts even better. Not always of course but mostly. Statistically that’s not usually sound, the more games there are the more they’ll tend towards the mean.