DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives DawgTalkers Archives Awwright.. It's time for Come one, come all season predictions

Again, since Diam ain't posting here, I thought I'd continue his annual "Come one come all" post. For those not familiar with this.. the premise is reasonably simple.

What I am asking for is for your season predictions.. I don't want just 8 - 8.. what I want is for you to tell me why.. I want your team analysis, unit by unit.. your take on the leadership.. from Lerner on down lets hear your takes on Holmgren, Mangini, Heckert et al...

I want to hear about the Defense from Ryan on down.. the offense from Daboll on down.. I am looking for thoughts on our recent cuts and our new guys and how it all shapes up for your final season predictions. We've seen OTA's, Camp and pre-season..

Lets hear it guys.. I'm headed out the door for Hocking Hills, I'll spend the weekend thinking about my predictions and my reasonings..

Lets keep the fighting to other threads.. no bickering please.. just your predictions girls.

See you Sunday evening. Post your predictions.

Worst Case: 6-10
Best Case: 7-9

Not much difference between best and worst case for me. I do think 7-9 will be quite an accomplishment with this team. Over the hill QB, no #1 wideout, rookie safety paired with a guy that has no business starting, no speed on D, no playmaker at LB, thin on the DL. Hell, after typing that I may have to adjust my Worst Case.

I had some orange and brown colored glasses on about a month and a half ago. I was thinking this team could compete and be pretty solid. I don't think that anymore. Even if the offense is decent, the D is going to be absolutely terrible. If we were playing in the NFC West like this year's media darlings - the 49ers - I could see 10-6. AFC North, eh ... forget about it. We will once again be the laughing stock of the division.

I am a big Mangini supporter, but I actually despise one aspect of his coaching ... him wanting everyone to be versatile. Just let the guys become experts at their natural positions and let them master those positions without trying to learn everything else. This part of his coaching really pisses me off. Other than that, I think if we stick with him we will eventually see him get this thing turned around with the help of Holmgren and Heckert.

I like the coaching staff, I like the front office, I think we are on the right path. We just have very, very little talent. And until we find a franchise QB, we will continue to be mediocre. It all starts and ends with that position.

I never was one to read directions
So short and sweet I see 5-11
O - at least entertaining sans Quinderson
D - Still toast.

I think we're a 4 to 6 win team. No WRs, slow LBs, and bad DEs.

But we'll play smart, tough and we won't beat ourselves. Teams that do that win a couple more games than they should. Therefore I see:

7-9

And trending upward for next year.

I don't post much, and don't have a good explanation for my predictions.

I hope for 8-8. My Butch Davis "gut feeling™" says 6-10.

Can't wait till next Sunday though. Finally football season!

i don't like to make predictions for the browns, but man, we gotta start off 2-0, it's sitting there calling our name. after the first 2 games, we run a pretty tough gauntlet.

i know when you flip things over to the other side, kansas city and tampa bay both see the browns early on and figure they HAVE to get that one.

but it is there for the taking. the browns can realistically start off 2-0.

I'm no Miss Cleo so I'll abstain from predicting anything. I'll just say I'd be elated to break even this year.

Honestly, with my homer glasses off I realistically see as us an "average" team in 2010, which will be a step in the right direction actually. This means most likely 6-8 wins, but if we get hit hard by injury and some guys collectively lay an egg (like our QBs, or our entire front 7 ouch), then four or five wins. If we get lucky, if we gel and can go 3-3 or 4-2 in the division then 10 wins is do-able. Not likely, but it is do-able.

Offense:

I see Jake/Seneca completing about 270 passes between them. If our QBs can be around 20/15 in the TD/INT ratio, that'd be more than acceptable.
We won't have a receiver who catches 80-90 balls. We might get a guy who catches 70, but IMO we'll have a handful of guys who catch rack up 40-60 each.
Barring injury, Jerome Harrison will get 1,200, Hillis will rush for less but catch more balls out of the backfield. We will run the football, absolutely. James Davis out of the backfield as a 3rd option isn't a bad option. I like our offensive line a lot. Pork Chop is a pretty good backup, if someone on the right side goes down I'd have no problem with The Big Pork in there.

Bottom line: If Mack really blossoms and the rest of the O-line gels and stays healthy, we might have a pretty good offense.

Defense:
The unknown here IMO. How fast will the rookie tandem of Ward/Haden develop? Haden can be brought along slowly because we have Brown and Wright, but Haden HAS to be better than the Hank Poteats and Ralph Browns we trotted out there as 3rd corners in recent seasons.
Our Front 7 is the Over-the-Hill Gang.
I am worried about our LBs. They might be solid, they might be smart but that doesn't mean they can cover guys over the middle. Hopefully Roth cares enough about financial security to go out and have a monster year. Some posters say we will miss Wimbley, but I dont agree. It'd be great if Marcus B-E-N-A-R-D made big strides.
If I am worried about our LB, I am absolutely petrified about our D-line. I don't much stock in the fact that guys like Aaron Rodgers and Matt Stafford moved the ball with apparent ease or that we didn't get much QB pressure in exhibition games: you don't show a whole lot on defense in pre-season. If injuries hit our D-line we will severely suck.

Bottom line: unless Shaun Rogers blows up and has a monster year or unless we go crazy with creating turnovers, we won't have a dominant defense because we don't have a blue-chip linebacker. I don't know that we'll even be average on D. The secondary might be our best unit on D and it's half-filled with rookies.

Intangibles:
* We seem to have a team-oriented bunch of guys, although lots of teams say that in August.
* Gone is the DA/Brady soap opera that went on for three seasons, it's like there's a breath of fresh air around the quarterback position. Jake is on a mission.
* Josh Cribbs. 'Nuff said.
* I think Week 3 is the first huge game of 2010. If we go to Baltimore 2-0 or even 1-1, and beat them in their house we could really turn some heads and get to feeling good about ourselves. If we lose there and say drop to 1-2, we'll be fighting and scraping the whole season, always battling from behind.
* We no longer fear Pittsburgh. In fact, we want them - at our place or their's, it don't matter. This group of guys lost their "Can't Beat the Steelers" cherry on a frigid December night at the Pound.

My Best Bet in a Sober Moment:
We'll be a better team, much more competitive. Not an easy schedule, and we have lots of room for improvement.
7-9

As currently constituted.....6-10.

5-11 Very tough schedule this year

At this point in time, anything better than 6-10 seems like a stretch.

The offense will be improved, but I have not seen anything defensively that suggests we have made significant improvements. I see a need for at least 1 more impact player at each level of the defense before we can be really competitive.

I think the offense will surprise and the D will be a slight improvement over last year.,

We have what appears to be a tougher schedule that may slow us down. Depending on if what appears to be true actually is. You all know how this stuff goes.. a schedule looks tough but it's based on last years results and things can and most often do change..

I'm going with 7 wins.

Rank Team Combined W-L Pct.
T1. Texans 140-116 .547
T1. Titans 140-116 .547
3. Cowboys* 139-117 .543
4. Bengals* 138-118 .539
5. Jaguars 137-119 .535
6. Patriots* 136-120 .531
7. Giants 135-121 .527
8. Redskins 134-122 .523
9. Eagles* 133-123 .520
T10. Browns 132-124 .516
T10. Colts* 132-124 .516


I see us going 5-11 as of right now.

I will take my Browns colored glass off and say I see a 5-11 or 4-12 team.

Offense
We have an over the hill QB, and lack a true playmaker at RB and WR positions. Our offense will be in the bottom 3rd of the league due to this. I am not going to go on a Spiller rant, but he would have helped us out a ton offensivily and gave us an impact player.

Our Offensive Line is good, but we lack talent at the skill positions. Robiskie is the best Wr we have on this roster (Don't mistake last year, Robo had growing pains with special teams and press coverages that he has fixed) Robiskie and Watson have the best hands on the team because these are the only two guys we have that use their hands and reach out away from their bodies to catch the ball. MoMass and others will always drop as many as they catch because they don't catch with their hands and always try to use their chest.

Defense

I said it in the preseason and it didn't sink in with some until after the 3rd preseason game, but out Defense is a sieve...we will not be able to stop anyone at all. The only players we have on D right now that woul start on other teams is Wright, Rogers, Haden, and Jackson(who is hurt) Fujita is a maybe....but the Saints let him go for a reason....we will struggle mightly on Defense

The only way this d is repectable is if Rogers, Bernard, Jackson, Roth, Wright, and Haden have big years...thats a tall order...Bernard and Haden are unproven....

This D is bad...

This team may be worse then last years team....I like Jake, but he is older now...if Jake goes down early in the year...2-14 is a real possibility....we will have no chance if Jake gets hurt...I like Seneca..but he is not a viable NFL QB to go to in the long haul.

Pretty much the only positive I see right now is...hopefully Colt don't see the field.

I really hope this team proves me wrong, I want them too...but I just don't see this team winning more then 5 games and realistically may only win 4....

this team is bad....the d may be the worst I have seen from this team....

Quote:

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This team may be worse then last years team

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Really?

Why? Because we changed QBs? Jake would have to be worse than the worst pair of QBs I have ever seen in my life ..... and I don't think he'll be that bad.

I expect a season out of him along the lines of 2500-2800 yards ..... 20 TDs and 12 INT. That's not world beater numbers, but I don't expect that he'll be asked to be a world beater.

Our O Line is damn impressive. I would put us top 10, and would put out C-LG-LT against any team.

We have a RB who did a really nice job last year. We have what appears to be a nice combo back in Hillis. Davis looks to be the fastest and shiftiest of the bunch. Oh ... and we have TNT Vickers at FB. I think we'll be able to run the ball.

Special teams should again be a strength. Maybe not 3 or 4 TDs on returns strong ... but I expect consistent starting position of the 30 or better on KO returns.

On defense, we have a D Line with a conbination of old/experience and youth. Rubin looks like a star at NT (If there is such a thing) A starting DL of Rogers/Rubin/R.Smith should be effective. Coleman could be a "co-starter", and is effective against the run. Both Robinson and Schaefering look promising. This unit should be improved vs last year.

Oh, and we have a couple of young guys on the practice squad who have some potential. Sanford, especially, looks like a Mangini project waiting to happen. I expect that he'll be up by the end of the year.

LB is going to take some sorting out. I am of the opinion that our best lineup would be Roth at OLB, Fujita and Gocong at ILB, and Benard on the other side. I do not like Fujita at OLB at all. I hope that's not where he winds up playing. I do think that Benard needs to be on the field. Things seem to happen when he is out there.

We have experience at LB in our backups, and a couple of special teams demons. Backups are solid, if not spectacular.

CB will be a strength for this team. If we get modest pressure on the QB,Haden and Wright have lockdown potential. Brown will probably start the year, but I expect that Haden will grab his spot by year's end, with Brown moving to the Nickel.

Depth is currently a concern, but we just signed an effective backup CB, and we also have Adams who proved effective last year.

Excellent at the top, and deep. Very good unit.

Safety is a question. Ward looks like a star waiting to happen. Elam is Elam. Hopefully he can work with superior talent around him. If not ... Adams might just take his starting spot.

You know that Mangini has to love Adams and his approach to the game and play on the field.

Asante could also be one of those late season gems that Mangini likes so much.

Overall ..... this is a hard team to pick a win/loss for. They are on the cusp of being good. How good? Who knows? QB is a huge spot in the equation. Can Delhomme remain effective after imploding last year? Can he stay healthy for the entire year? Big questions there, and really, the year depends on the answers.

I see this team as one of those teams that is really starting to come together ..... and could do it this year, or next, but they will be a playoff team. The realist in me says somewhere between 6-8 wins. The optimist says 8-10. I really don't feel pessimisitic at all.

I'm gonna go with 8 wins. I think that's slightly to the optimistic side of realistic. I think that this team should win games late in the season .... because they are built to handle bad weather. Closing at Buffalo, at Cincinnati, and at home against Baltimore and Pittsburgh could be the decider between so so, and good.

Worst Case: 6-10
Best Case: 7-9


The ONLY thing that scares me is our Defense. I dont think we are going to stop anyone. Our Linebackers are slow, better but nothing to write home about. The front 3 aren't going to do much either.

I see people running on us all day. Plus the middle being open.

I agree with some of your points, but our d Front 7 is terrible outside of Rogers

This run D took a huge nosedive with the loss of Jackson to injury.

As for Jake, I don't think he will last the season...he is older now, I mean how many years in a row now has our Qb or one of our Qb went down? I don't think Jake starts all 16 games...and he is going to have Gerald McCoy chasing him week 1....

Blocking McCoy will be a tall order for our OL considering McCoy is a better inside pass rusher then Suh...suh is the better run defender, and Suh man handled our OL...what do you think Mccoy is going to do considering he is the better pass rusher of the two...Warren Sapp anyone?

Jake is an enigma, if he don't get hurt we really don't know what he will do....will he have a good season? or will he be god awful like his last times in Carolina.

there is a ton of question marks on this team.

The ONLY area there is no question marks is our Defense...they are terrible...that Defense will not be able to stop anyone...and if you can't stop anyone you won't win many games.....

yes we may be worse then last year

we may win our 1st two games

and tank the other 14....it could happen...with this defense...its a definite possibility...

one last question for people

if this team goes 2-14, 3-13...will you be on board to can Cartman then? is that what it will take?

How about we stick to predictions, not attacking/debating the posts of others? That's what the thread-starter politely asked for.

fair enough

I'm not trying to be a ref, it's just that those debates have taken/will take place in a hundred different threads.

i know, I got sidetracked

We needed you to say something to keep order. to keep things on track. thanks!

Worst case: 4-12
Best case: 8-8
Most likely: 6-10

Quarterback: Delhomme was just as bad as our QB's last year. He threw a ton of interceptions and wasn't accurate. He had a top 5 run game and a good o-line, but still was terrible. He has looked good in the preseason, but things could change quickly once he starts seeing actual, non incredibly bland defenses. I'm cautiously optimistic, but wouldn't be surprised if he falls flat on his face.

Running back: The Hardesty injury really hurts here. He was our only complete back, and was going to have a huge impact this year. I'm less of a Harrison fan than ever after his performance in the preseason. He has terrible inside vision and tries too hard to break the long one. Hillis obviously has power, but I don't know how effective he will be outside of short yardage situations. He really doesn't have the speed or burst to run outside, and is one dimensional running the ball. He will, however, be a great 3rd down back. His combination of excellent hands and blocking ability make him perfect for the role. I have no idea how much action James Davis will see, but right now, he is our most complete back, and should, IMO see a decent amount of carries.

Wide receiver: This is a hug weak spot. Even if MoMass and Robo progress, the corps is extremely inexperienced, and lacking depth. Neither MoMass nor Robo are huge playmakers, and both have big weaknesses. Stuckey is not a good player at all, and unfortunately, Cribbs is probably our slot receiver. There are going to be some major struggles here, and with a questionable QB, that isn't good.

Tight end: Watson has great speed, and is a decent blocker. He has had some drop issues, but is an awesome athlete and can make some sweet catches. Moore is a slightly bigger Joe J. with his consistent hands and route running ability. He'll be moved around quite a bit this year, and will be coming out of the slot quite often. Alex Smith and Robert Royal are both great blockers, but I suspect one of them will be cut.

Offensive line: This is, IMO, our strongest unit. We have the best left three linemen in the NFL, and all three are top 10 players at their position. JT is the best in the league, and Mack is on his way up. Steinbach is a great pass blocker, and a top 5 player in a ZBS. Lauvao has impressed from day one, and I suspect he will be solid, but there will be some growing pains. Right tackle is the obvious weak spot. Pashos has always been an underwhelming pass blocker at best, and he has hardly practiced. He and Lauvao are going to be lacking in chemistry. Delhomme will have plenty of time to throw, and the run game will have more than enough push.

Defensive line: The depth here is absolutely terrible. Robaire and Coleman were average last year at best, and both are another year older. Rubin is a rising star, and it will be interesting to see how he and Rogers rotate. Rogers will be playing plenty of end, I suspect, but he has to play nose as well with Rubin lacking a backup. Schafering is going to play way too much.

Linebackers: The opposite of the defensive line. There is plenty of depth, but a lack of elite/good talent. Fujita has no pass rushing ability and is out of place outside. Gocong is slow and doesn't seem to know what he's doing in the 3-4. Roth will be good, but he won't have 10 sacks. Benard has good potential, but he isn't there yet. D'Qwell is a decent player, but he is hurt, and who knows how well he will recover. Trusnik, Bowens, Barton and Maiava are all well below average.

Cornerback: Up there with the offensive line as a strength of the team. Wright is arguably a top 10 or top 15 corner, and Brown is above average as well, though I suspect he will soon be the third guy. He is physical, but he is getting slower as he ages. Haden is going to be a top 5 corner, and I think he is already well on his way. His combination of athleticism and physicality is incredibly rare. Adams is an acceptable 4th corner, but hopefully he doesn't play too much.

Safety: Elam is just terrible. He's bad against the run, and he's worse against he pass. Ward will be very good against the run, and attacking the line, but will struggle in coverage. He showed me the same things in the preseason that he did while at Oregon. He was out of position in coverage, and got burnt a few times, but he will hit hard and make an impact against the run. I still think he's going to be a worse in coverage Bob Sanders. The unit still lacks a safety capable of playing center field against the pass.

Special teams: Cribbs is a man among boys, but I'm concerned about him getting worn down/overused. He also isn't young for a return man. Dawson is a great kicker, and arguably the most consistent over the last 10 years. Hodges wasn't particularly good last year, but I think he can be acceptable. Pontbriand is the best. Maiava and Costanzo will do a great job on coverage.

Coaching: I like Mangini's knowledge of x's and o's. Ryan is a defensive genius and will be the lone reason we get a pass rush this year. Daboll wasn't good last year, but his ineptness was overblown due to the lack of offensive talent. Hopefully he improves this year under the influence of Haskell. Seely does a great job on special teams.

Overview: The offensive line and run game will be good, but the passing game will struggle. The defense will be terrible, and the special teams will dominate.

I think our O is going to look good right from the start.

Our D will struggle early and get better,I look for the D to do much better in the second half of the season than the first,much like last season.

7-9 if things play out this way.

10-6

Keeping 4 TEs and with the RBs we've got I expect the highest run to pass ratio in the NFL in years. I expect Seneca Wallace to greatly increase our red zone%. I expect Evan Moore to consistently cause mismatches.

I expect to see linebackers everywhere, 5 of them on the field won't be the norm but you will see it regularly. I expect Fujita and Gocong to return to their traditional roles for a key game like the Ravens. I expect to see Rodgers get 10 sacks. I expect to see our somewhat short DBs get picked on in the red zone.

I expect the playoffs.

May I also assume you expect to win every time you buy a Powerball ticket?

You may want to temper that enthusiasm......

Quote:

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I expect to see linebackers everywhere

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I believe we can field an entire defense of LBs. I think I tried that in Madden once.

I'd like 6 wins .. 8 would be great. Frankly I haven't analyzed the schedule to come up with a very humble opinion.

post Deleted by Damanshot

Nothing to see here,, move along

This team won 4 games at the end of last season with zero QB play, a strong OL and a good running game. Enter Delhomme and Wallace with a deeper run game plus their experience and play should be worth at least two more wins.

This is Mangini's and Rob Ryans second year together here. They are defensive coaches. They have had some time to assemble enough players to play their scheme. They made changes to the defensive backfield to upgrade both coverage and tackling. They have brought in a bunch of linebackers to pick the best to play their defense. The upgrades and continuity have to be worth two games.

The Browns have ranked very high in specialty teams for two plus years. They have a really good group of specialty team players lead by Cribbs; the best in the league. The unit is well coached by Brad Seely.

Considering the above factors and the schedule they play: I see the 2010 Browns with nine wins.

Nothing long here as in the past.....we win 8.

I went through and predicted all 256 games and came out with 7-9 for the Browns. I'll revisit them all in a couple weeks, because last year, offseasons, and pre-season ball isn't enough to predict what might happen.

Nonetheless, I had division winners of NE, BAL, IND, and SD with wildcards of CIN and HOU (tiebreaker with MIA). For NFC, it was DAL, GB, NO, and SF with wildcards of NYG and ATL. I ended up with a BAL vs GB superbowl.

I had STL, BUF, and TB all ending up with only 1 win, CHI, with 2, KC with 3 and DET with 4. I don't think that will happen - again, it is hard to predict this early.

Worst case scenario: Browns struggle out of the gate and are hit with a rash of injuries during the season. Mangini continues to play some of his "pets" for no apparant reason while fans start chanting for Holmgren halfway through the season. WRs struggle early and Delhomme reverts back to his last season in Carolina while the Browns go 3-13 with the top pick in next years draft.

Best case scenario: Massaquoi improves upon his rookie season and Robo steps it up big time. Delhomme continues to play as well as he did in the preseason and getting Rogers back is a nice lift to the Browns defense. Browns hover around .500 for the year before finishing 7-9.

Unlike seasons past I've found it very hard to predict what this team might do this year

I see about 7 wins, but have an optomistic bone that says 9.

I believe the defense we saw in preseason was not what we will see game one. I truly believe that Ryan was trying guys everywhere to see what kind of mix he could come up with. With Rubin and Rogers the Dline will create problems. People underestimate what Rogers is capable of at DE. He and Rubin could both attract double teams, and that alone will help the LBs. Many here underestimate the consistency Smith brings also.
We saw no blitzes like Ryan used at the end of the year last year in preseason, I doubt he canned them. I look for Roth and Rogers on the same side, and that makes me smile. That is a lot of pressure on one side of the line.

Delhomme is a professional, something we have lacked at QB. He is very smart, and has weapons like Moore, Watson, and Hillis to use when our young WRs can't carry the load.

Running the ball IMO will be our strong suit, I feel Davis is going to be the surprise of the group.

One thing I feel very confident about and leads me to think 9 wins is possible, is the fact that this is a TEAM, and everyone seems to be buying into that notion. That is something that shouldn't be overlooked, but considered an asset.

I would like to update my prediction and add that we will finish above Pittsburg in our division this year. This is the year the wheels come off for that poser Tomlin.

I expect a minimum of 8 wins.

I think we'll go 9-7.

we face 3 very good QBs/offenses outside our division. i'd add in Baltimore's x2, and Bengals/Steelers x1 each...Pitt early won't be clicking yet, and Bengals at the end of the season will have imploded. that's 7 games where we will be downright outmatched defensively, and probably will not be competitive as a result. the remaining games will be tough, hard-fought, and disciplined games. i think it's safe to say we will win at least 2/3 of the remaining 9. provided we have no crucial injuries, i think 1 more (7) is even more likely.

my prediction aside from the 7-9, is that this record will neither save Mangini, nor will it damn him. if we commit among the least penalties again, are close to even or + in the turnover margin, and do not otherwise beat ourselves, Mangini is here awhile longer. if not...Chucky buys a new winter coat.

individually...

Ward, Rogers, and Rubin shine on D. Lavao, Hillis, and the TEs shine on O.
Delhomme and Harrison come back to earth from preseason and end of 09 paces, respectively.
Cribbs gets himself 2 more kick-6es.

On paper I think things look very grim.

We're looking at a stopgap vet at QB who just came off of an atrocious year. Not only that, but I don't see him lasting a whole season. Historically, the odds are against him.

Seneca Wallace will see some time under center as a starter, and with him holding the reins we're a 2-4 win team.

The run game held some promise, but losing Hardesty hurts. Harrison/Davis/Hillis/Cribbs will have to carry the load on offense ... and that's a tall request. They'll have some decent blocking, but they're going to have to make up too much ground for a very weak WR group.

Our WR situation is flat out bad. Promising? Maybe. But at the moment ... bad.

Defensively ... I think we've regressed. I've thought that Mangini & Ryan have been able to squeeze a lot of juice out of some lemons ... but again, a tall order.

Teams should throw on us with ease ... running shouldn't be too hard, either.

As bad as it looks through my eyes ... we could easily start 2-0. And that would make a world of difference.

I have a hard time saying that we can win more than six. However, lucky breaks can take teams anywhere.