DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Has our Schedule "Softened"? Do we pick up more wins?

Right now, Colts, Raiders, KC, Steelers (1), Dallas & Skins all seem potentially winnable. Do we take these games and squeak out one or two more surprise wins for a "shocking" seven-eight win season?

I'm picking the Giants Sunday as our first "surprise" win of the season. Of course, with them coming off a loss, this could be a blowout, but there's a reason Eli is the comeback king, they're always behind in the 4th Q. We have 10 days to prepare, and the team is showing some spark on offense and some solidity on D. We're due for one of these to go our way, and I guarantee the team and coaches do not want to go 0-5.

Or:

Is it possible we pick up a win against the Bengals at home?

Can we beat the Steelers twice? I know it sounds impossible, but is it really?

Which Charger team will show up, and will they look past the Browns?

What shape will Peyton and the Donks be in week 16? Could this be a surprise win if we hit them with a head of steam?



Or do we fold and end up somewhere near 2-14?

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Do we take these games and squeak out one or two more surprise wins

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I'm not trying to be sarcastic, but which wins won't be a surprise? I think this team is showing promise and is capable of winning some games if they can keep the mistakes to a minimum but there is not a single game on our schedule that I can look at and say we SHOULD win... every win this year will be somewhat of a surprise.

However, of your list, yes some of those teams look a little more vulnerable than expected at the beginning of the year... of course KC is going to be tough as I just read that Brady Quinn may be getting some snaps since Cassell is playing so poorly... so we can't win that one.

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but which wins won't be a surprise?

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I agree, but I put "surprise" in quotes, as I think the team is getting better week to week. Having said that, WRs dropping passes, very few holes being opened in the run game, and mediocre coaching all add up to a BIG problem. We still miss Taylor and Haden, and we have a huge hole at FS. Some of these things can be fixed this season, others can't. BUT, if not for a couple drops by Little & Norwood, or a couple exceptional plays by Ladarious Webb, we win that Ravens game. In that sense, we really only needed a couple things to go our way for a win, and on Sunday as we all know, anything can happen.

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In that sense, we really only needed a couple things to go our way for a win,

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The story of our lives.. until somebody steps up and makes those plays, we will not win games.. unless we play a team that makes as many mistakes as we do. Heck, Philly tried as hard as they could.

i honestly believe we'll be fine this year. finish somewhere around 5-7 wins. as long as we continue to be competitive throughout and keep getting better, I think this is a good year for us.

it sucks that we have waited so long, but the youth actually looks competent for the most part.

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until somebody steps up and makes those plays, we will not win games.

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That's what progress on a young team is all about, isn't it?

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Yes, but we've had a "young team" for 13 years.

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Not really. For quite awhile it was an old team. And this is definitely the most talented team since the return.

More wins?

I agree with most on here that this is an improved team and we should start seeing some promise with the future. However, I think we need to taper our expectations. Against the Giants front defensive 7, I believe you will see how vulnerable our guards can be (or how good they could potentially be).

I know most on here seem to think they are seeing progress (talent wise) when it comes to watching this team (myself included). How that translates into wins is another question. This team already laid an egg against one of the teams that I thought was a winnable game against Buffalo.

I think the real question is what Haslam see's in this team's future and how it impacts his decisions. Not being a Shurmer or Holmgren fan, I still don't want to see this thing blown up again as I believe it will stunt the growth of such a young team. What will it take this year to save the Shurmer/Holmgren party? 7 wins could save them.

Do I see 7 wins in this team for this year? Sorry fans, I hope I'm wrong but am already saying "wait til next year".

We could win some of these games, but I think Richardson has to get unleashed for that to happen.

The game is about playmakers. He's our only one.

I do kind of like the Browns this weekend to surprise the Giants, though. From what I have read, the locker room has stayed together and guys believe they are on the verge. I think they'll play hard. If we can get Richardson to give us 150+ yards, we could pull it out.

It would be nice if Little had a breakout game too, especially if Mass can't go.

Not to be a supreme cynic but at this point ANY win will feel like a surprise.

Problem I have is that we have the same discussions every year now since 99 .. Year in and year out .. Haslam is going to put His mark on the this Team fast and often .

PS: Had some great Walleye fish up on Devils lake this year

I think some of these games have been winnable thus far. Any wins would be welcome, surprise or no. I think we can beat some of these, but it means we will have to play above ourselves, and produce. But I am a foolish optimist, I suspect.

It's probably a foolishly optimistic thread.

I think we can very realistically win 3 out of the next 5. We should beat indy and cincy. I think we have a good shot beating the ravens or chargers at home.

Towards the end of the schedule i think that we should beat pitt atleast once, and beat raiders, chiefs, and redskins. Thats 6-7 wins for the year.

It would be nice to take two from the steelers. I think this year is our best shot in awhile to do that.

I see no more than 3 to 4 wins on our schedule. We dug ourselves a nice 0-4 hole at this point. I'm thinking that the soonest that we get our first win is probably going to be when I see it in person in Indianapolis a few weeks from now. If we don't win that one, I'll honestly be surprised if we win before week 13 against the Raiders. I can't foresee a scenario where we don't pick in the top 3 in the 2013 draft. We have some potential on this team, but it's not a team that seems to know how to win, and the talent to win just isn't very developed.

To answer the question, A WIN would, in and of itself be more wins. Hope Paco is correct. If the group ever catches fire, it could be giddy. Too many are NOT ready to play and it will continue on game day until they "go to work" with a blue collar, lunch bucket mentality. And I can't wait.

We hung tough against cincy w/out haden and phil taylor. So I fully expect to beat them at home.
Raiders, Indy, KC, should be gimme games to us. As a whole we have been way more consistent and competitive than any of those 3 so far.
I honestly do believe we can maybe sneak both games from Pitt. They are down this year bigtime. Our Dline should dominate against their oline.

I would of like to see us at 2-2 but inexperience and young will lose close games. 6 wins isnt out the question. Thats .500 the rest of the year and the schedule eases up some.

The schedule has eased slightly. For a competitive team that is in need of some confidence, that can be a big difference but no one is gonna lay down for an 0fer team. Losing to the 0fer team gets coaches fired. If they can pull the upset against the Giants, it is really going to propel them in the confidence category.

We played 2 divisional road games and the giants game will end that 3 of 4 on the road stretch and then we usher in a 3 of 4 at home stretch. They need a confidence win and I think we match up very well against the Giants at least in the trenches.

October 5th....and were 0 - 4 0 - 4.......three to four years into this last rebuilding thing, we had crammed down our throats and pryed from our wallets.....This is what we get for believing in them...

0 - 4 is what we get for being Patience

0 - ...***** 4...Common

What is going on down there, is anybody making these recievers catch balls, is anybody teaching these guys how to not jump off sides, is anybody teaching these Cornerback how to cover how to tackle....you'd think if somebody was teaching something we'd see improvement, but week after week it's the same, broken promises and hearing we battled...

It's October 5th hasent even had our first snow, not even a flurrie, heck we havent even had a hard frost and our season is pretty much over...OCTOBER 5TH......AND IT'S LOOK AHEAD TO THE DRAFT TIME ALREADY.....I havent even put the boat away for the winter yet and our Football season is pretty much over.....soooooo tried of this b...s...we keep getting fed year after year, im tired of being the laughing stock of the NFL, tired of hoping for a soft schedule or to catch a team on a bad week just so we can win a game here or there.....

IM SO TIRED OF PRAYING FOR A WIN WORRIED WEEK AFTER WEEK AFTER WEEK, JUST SO WE DONT GO 0-16.....GOD PLEASE DONT LET US GO 0-16....If you dont think it could happen, just remember Detroit & Tampa didnt think it would happen either, they both said they figured they'd pick up a win sooner or later and before they knew it the season was over...

Really?

This season was never about wins and loses as much as it was about improvement and quality of play. Weeden never took a snap under center and played in a division without defense. He was a panicky QB going to a high pressure division. He is standing tall in the pocket and taking the hit to deliver the ball and he is moving around a bit inside the pocket now.

Richardson missed all of training camp and still doesn't have his great initial burst that made him such a stud in college. He is great once he gets going but it takes him a little longer to get it going now.

The TE position has been a injury ridden disaster. They are just now starting to get healthy.

Our receivers need work but there is improvement Benjamin is 100% improved from college. Mo has dramatically improved his game. Norwood had a bad week and Gordon is the project.

Little is struggling but it is a confidence thing, it isn't necessarily a bad hands thing. If he is getting blasted or the defender hanging on him, he is making the catches. He is an emotional player,those guys are always streaky and
we just need him to get it going in the positive direction.

Defensively, we have lost Taylor, Haden, Gocong and JMJ. Sheldon is playing injured and we are covering the #1 receiver with our #3 corner. The thing is this group is playing some pretty good football. I think they are on the verge of being a special defense. Still need that blindside pass rusher however.

Anyway, I feel pretty good about where this team is at. We have gone from embarrassment to highly competitive. Now we just have to go from highly competitive to winner.

well said.
when was the last time you could say the Browns roster on Sunday was more
talented than the team they were playing that day?
When was the last time the Browns had better coaches than coaches on the other sideline?
every year,its the same old messages. "We aren't even expected to make the playoffs"
"it was never about winning this year"
funny how the rest of the AFC North teams aspirations and goals are totally different than the Browns going into the season.
every team the Browns play this year,if they win,it will be considered a "upset"
how often are the Browns the favored team going into Sunday?
It comes down to talent.
how many players do the Browns start on gameday or really "starter" material for a playoff team?
Haden
Rubin
Jackson
Richardson
this roster has too many players playing as starters that should be back ups.
too many players from Heckerts draft classes of 2010-11 are not making that jump in their 2nd years.
Holmgrens plan simply did not work.
Heckert has added some legit NFL talent since becoming GM.
But his 1st draft did provide enough difference makers on Sunday.
He hit on Haden and missed on everyone else.
look at the Browns 2010 Draftees and the Patriots 2010 Draftees.
the Pats hit on more players in that single draft than Heckert did in 2 drafts.
the Browns are about 4-6 players away from becoming a playoff team.
but drafting players that turn out to be average at best won't get it done.
ignoring proven talent in FA won't get it done

you didn't shut me up..but go ahead and play "Mr.Enforcer" on a message board. whatever.
see the Ravens and Steelers draft so good,they can afford to wait a little longer for their players to make that transistion from "drafted player" to "difference maker"
and BTW,the Ravens and Steelers don't draft "projects" at WR like Little and Gordon.
no they find gems like Antonio Brown and Torrey Smith.
they don't spend 4th RD picks on a FB that has all the tenacity of a Care Bear.
see the Ravens and Steelers can afford to miss on mid to late RD pick.
the Browns can't.
Heckert had to draft players that could make impacts the sooner the better in order to close the gap.
But no,his drafts have been littered with one All-Pro Pro Bowl calibur player Haden and a bunch of misses and backups that happen to be starting cause the Browns are non factors in the FA market.
going back to 2010, compare Heckerts drafts to the rest of the AFC North.
he's 4th in a 4 team race.
you doubt me...whats the Browns record vs the AFC North in that timespan?
how many Browns that he drafted could start for other AFC North teams? very few

You cited the great players these teams find in the mid rounds and we don't...then I gave you their mid rounders and you DID shut up all of a sudden and while continuing to post in that thread, never even tackled my answer despite me calling you out....well, it probably was the smartest thing to do considering the hard evidence against your jibberish

If only 2010 to 2012 draft picks would play, the Browns and Bengals would demolish the Steelers and Ravens...not even close...our team NOW basically IS those draft classes and we already play them up to the last minute...what we miss and why we lose is we don't have a Pola, Roethli, Ed Reed, Ray Lewis etc from previous regimes and many other solid vets those teams still depend on...just field the last 3 draft classes and we eat them up alive, esp. the Steelers

Remember that boom or bust WR from Texas the Steelers "stole" in round 2? I think it was the Mendenhall draft...he was so bad I forgot his name, he was a 1st round talent and the everyone but me congratulated the Steelers for yet another steal...same this season with Adams and DeCastro....Steelers will be a basement team for a long time once Pola and Roethli hang it up or don't have it anymore....we have already dominated the trenches against them for the past 2 seasons, but the difference in QB talent in particular made up for that...with Weeden to make them pay and improving, I expect wins coming our way the next seasons and as soon as this season vs the Steelers...hell, even the Raiders looked like a dominant passing Offense against them

who from the Browns 2010 Draft Class is so great?
Haden....thats about it.
the Browns have never dominated the trenches vs the Steelers in recent memory.

Except that one game on Thursday night a couple years ago. That was awesome.

Limas Sweed is the WR you're thinking of

seems like the Browns have drafted too many Limas Sweeds.
the Steelers missed on him,but made up for it with Wallace,Sanders and Brown.
I look at the Browns WRs and right now I don't see one that has "gamechanger"
"difference maker" written all over him. Benjamin is intriqing. He's pretty fast.
They need to get him in space more and do some damage.
Gordon has a high ceiling. he's raw.
But they need a WR that can take over a game ala A.J Green,Roddy White.

Josh Gordon's ceiling is a game changer because of his size and athleticism. However like you said, he is raw.

We are the ONLY team in the NFL that is 0-5.Haven't won ONE game.We have been rebuilding since 1999.That's all we have heard........"rebuilding".So sick of watching this team lose.It's always....we were close.Only lost by one or two points.How about winning by one or two?I'm done venting now.....Continue on.

I think this team may finally win a game when...wait for it....McCoy is inserted into the lineup....I see Weeden making the same boneheaded throws week in and week out...i count 5 times Yesterday weeden threw into TRIPLE coverage...he should have been picked 3 more times yesterday.....Weeden is another Jeff George.....a QB with a strong arm and no brains....

IMO Colt McCoy has a "better chance" of being a quality NFL starting QB then Weeden does....Colt McCoy is a "young" Matt Hasselbeck...similar size, simliair arm strength, etc...your forgetting it took Hasselbeck 4 years to develop (3 of those years on the Green Bay bench)...it didn't happen overnight.

I only say this because being mobile is a BIG PART of the WCO and Qb in general...Joe Montanta was mobile, Steve Young was mobile, Donovon McNabb was mobile, Rothlisberger is mobile, Flacco is mobile, I could go on.

what McCoy lack in arm strength in comparison to Weeden he more then makes up for in decision making....not to mention Colt McCoy has never lost 4 straight games in his pro career. The reason McCoy had a bad year last year was because of no camp and learning a new playbook, the whole O struggled.....and no running game at all. The Previous year Colt McCoy played well for a rookie under Mangini.

I fully believe Weeden will play himself right out of a job....because when Shurmur seats begins getting extremely hot in the next few weeks he won't have any choice. you could clearly see the frustration on shurmur's face yesterday, and in his press conference Shurmur threw Weeden under the bus....shurmur is getting fed up with weeden's penchant for throwing god awful INTS....

What little i got to see at training camp, Colt McCoy has improved on his arm strength (his shoulder is probably finally 100% this year, it wasn't last year) and he seems to have a much better grasp of the offense, and his ball placement was for sure improved.

mark my words...colt McCoy will get another shot this year, and when he does many of you will eat crow.....