This is a good game preview by NFL Network.

https://www.nfl.com/videos/bengals-vs-browns-preview-week-1

If we don’t win the opener against Cincinnati, heads should roll. Did they ever beat a Baker led Browns team?

Damn that's a little stiff.

I guess we just have to win.

I am confident that we will win so, I don't think heads will roll.

In fact, I think we will win by two scores or more. I think we are a better team than the Bengals.

Myles IMO will have a big game. The matchup is our defensive front against their OL. That is where the game will be won.

Tough game for the Steelers vs the 49ers. At least it's at home. I'm sure Bosa will get his contract issues resolved and will be playing. It will be a good test to see if the Steelers are for real. Should be interesting.

You hear a lot about Pickett owning the offense.

When it comes to forecasting how young quarterbacks play. I am a wait and see kind of guy.

The North is a fascinating division. Lots of interesting story lines.

From the way I am looking at all of this is the Browns defense. Tomlinson, and Ika, are over 325 lbs. Harris and Hurst can pressure up the middle.

We have great speed on the edge. I think Myles is going to have that monster year. Last year Myles was on his own with crap next to him and along the line.

This year this defense has teeth.

Watson's performance will have to greatly improve from his last start for the Browns to win.

He was inconsistent in his final pre-season appearance but he flashed his talent. I’m not totally convinced he will revert to pro bowl form but I’m very optimistic. As always, we shall see.

Jonah Williams is in for a migraine. Myles owns him.

Joe Burrow is just coming off a calf strain. He will be tested all day.

Chubb has killed the Bengals. This is not just about quarterback play. Football is still eleven on eleven.

DW will be good enough.

I too am in the "we shall see" category. I have no idea what we'll see. I do believe that if he returns to his former self in terms of playing it will take some time. How much time is yet untold. I think he "flashed" sometimes last season he just lacked the ability to be consistent at it and we've seen that before.

The Browns are 2.<five point underdogs at home, in betting, even with all of this talent, and allegedly all healthy,

Can you imagine if we had a real Head Coach who could use all of this talent and get points and know how to put an opponent away.

...
Mar@uise Goodwin and if he will play in the opener?

Kevin Stefanski, or the team, told us that OBJ was suddenly healthy and ready to play, when? Well it was the day after the final pre season game the year of A. Schwartz' rookie opening day, where he produced, he produced b/c OBJ didn't actually play that day, and

They are telling us the same thing at the same timeframe about Mar@uise Goodwin, so I don't believe them, it is a "fool me twice" kind of thing.

There’s no other way to look at it, really. “We’ll see” is all I got.

Do Ford, Strong, and the kicker have the time in with the team to assure the fundamentals will not be an issue after kickoff,
and how can they get prepared in such a short time.
Can analytics properly determine how unwise or wise it is to make such wholesale changes after the end of training camp.

I'll believe it when I see it to from Kenny as well.. Steelers D looks good this year. Calvin Austin, a very speed WR, is healthy this year. Darnell Washington looking good too and is a 6'7" target. Much better OL as well. I think all AFCN teams have a decent shot at the playoffs.

Orlando Brown Jr is the Bengals starting LT. Jonah has been moved to RT and is going to have to deal with Z

Myles rushes from the right a lot.

Schwartz will favor matchups to exploit.

One week from today and it is time to rumble.

I think it would be really funny to put the media predictions in a vault.

Then play them back when the season is over. Just to show how wrong most are. The beauty of sports is.

You have to play the games. Nobody knows.

The Chiefs might miss the playoffs. The Jets might equal last year's record. The Cowboys. Well fill in the blank.

What if the Browns won the Super Bowl. That would sure upset the apple cart.

Ring the dinner bell! Time to feast. Unleash the Elf!

We could always put your "I think we will win by two scores or more" in a vault.

Do the coaches even attempt to win by 2 or more scores?

I think they have no xeal to try and win by 60, they are out there trying to play a long version of soduku that ends in a one point win.
A coaching flaw imo.

Absolutely eligible.

They're just trying to win, period. Before you can win by multiple scores, you have to get up by one.

203 (out of 272) games were within one score in the 4th quarter last season. link

I’ll take the Brownies in a close one.

27-24 Browns.

OK, OCD, what's your answer- Bengals 21- Browns- 20....what heads roll? I think we win game, but what's your answer. Heads roll, first game, I'm NONE.

my prediction ...
Cincinnati 27
Cleveland 16

I think we have some growing pains offensively

I'll take the Browns-24, Bengals-17

After bringing in DW, I expect MORE than Baker gave us. That includes winning the opener against a team Baker pwned. The heads rolling was hyperbole in the fashion of the worst game day threads on any fan board. If we lose, the season is over and we will have to reboot everything. The wrist slitting will commence soon after the loss.

Best hype video ever!

I am such a geek when it comes to stuff like that.

I think any fan of any team sport wants their team to be dominant. Not enough to win. You want to rub their faces in the dirt.

Football brings that out.

I live in the suburbs of Atlanta. Occasionally I will be in a store of some kind and see a person wearing Steelers gear. I laugh at myself because in my mind I am saying "we are going to kick your ass."

I love the passion of competition.

So hell yes Batman Chubb "Let's get ready to rumble."

What do you expect to see in this game?

For myself the one constant of the pre-season has been "the pass rush." We saw it in the pre-season games and that was without Myles.

We heard about it in the week of practice against the Eagles. Jim Schwartz has that reputation of making the front of the defense the primary factor.

Burrow is just getting back from a calf strain. The Browns are going to go after him.

On offense we have not seen Nick. Expectations for Mr. Chubb are you can bank on what he brings. Put in your 401K.

You can count on Nick Chubb to be ready.

Most everyone questions DW. My expectations for DW are: He will be DW. He is 27. He is healthy. I expect him to be the player he has been for all of his career minus last year. I don't think last year is who he is based upon all the circumstances that existed.

That does not mean the offense will be a well oiled machine. It is going to be a new offense. So we shall see if they can execute as a unit.

I might be alone in thinking we are a better team than the Bengals. But hey, that is my opinion.

I expect to win the game.

That was a tasty watch. Pass the kool-aid.

Brad Stainbrook
@StainbrookNFL
#Browns CB Denzel Ward (concussion) not practicing today. Not ideal.

There are many ways to look at this matchup.

One could look at it as a quarterback matchup. Burrow vs DW. Of course Burrow has never been on a different team. He went from rookie to star in this system. He has what most feel is the best receiver unit in the NFL. They have achieved much but have fallen a game short.

The Browns have not achieved a thing yet with DW. In fact this is a new offense. They have some respected players and a highly ranked OL. They have Nick Chubb. Mixon is not a fair comparison. The Browns have Cooper. He is an experienced producer. DPJ is a piece but not a star. Moore is unproven. Goodwin is kind of a specialist.

On defense the Browns are a different team than last year. So, last year's ranking is not relevant.
We don't know how they will play.

The Bengals were ranked 5th last season in defense. However, they lost both starting safeties Jesse Bates and Vonn Bell.

What we think we know about the Browns is that the defense will improve because of Jim Schwartz and the players added.

Based upon last year this game would heavily favor the Bengals. But based upon the games against each other. Joe Burrow is 1-4.

The way I am looking at this game is in the trenches. Browns defensive line against the Bengals the OL.

Left Tackle: Orlando Brown Jr. Left Guard: Cordell Volson. Center: Ted Karris. Right Guard: Alex Cappa, Tight Tackle: Jonah Williams.

For the Browns to win this game they must win up front. If Burrow gets time to throw. We will lose.

I do hope we beat them, but my biggest hope is that Watson looks like 2019 & 2020 Watson.

this would quell all concerns

I agree with you, Bonefish. We need to bring it on D and pressure Burrow a bunch. Last year's D gave them some problems; I believe this one can really give them fits. Burrow does get rid of it quickly, so we need to pound him early. Our O has to drive and put up points. Want to see us convert some FG's with York gone; I don't feel bad about that and believe it had to be done. Hoping Ventrone impresses me, Ski doesn't Ski, and Air Dawson arrives on time. We need big numbers, I think. Make the Pee Guy proud!

Looking forward to heading up for the game this weekend. Hotels booked, restaurants in place. The only variable is the game.

As some have said, I want a win, but the outcome isn't the only criteria. I want us to look good. Winning a sloppy game isn't going to give me as much confidence as losing a well played game.

To me, you won't win as many sloppy games as you will if you play well. Sometimes you just lose.

For the first time in a looooong time have all the ingredients. Now it’s all about putting it together and executing.

For the record I ONLY care about winning this year. No more moral victories. No more seeing progress or positives in a loss and “but for a play here or there we woulda coulda” stuff . Just get the job done. There’s no excuses anymore. $1/4B QB we practically sold our souls for and the most talent rich team we’ve had in decades. Exert your will, get it done.

I am going to try to be objective.

I have to take off my Brown tinted glasses.

The Bengals are probably the best team in the North. Cleveland has the potential to be the best team but they have to prove it.

IMO the Ravens and Steelers are not as good as the Browns and Bengals.

The Ravens are trying to put in a new unproven offensive system and they have defensive weaknesses in the secondary.

The Steelers are one of those teams that will be tough with their defense. But their offense needs lots to go right for them to succeed and that leaves questions.

The Bengals biggest question is can their offensive line keep Burrow healthy?

The game Sunday should answer that question. The Browns are going to bring pressure. How the Bengals handle it will tell a lot about who wins the division.

The Browns have the roster. We will find out if they can play a consistent brand of football.

I think one also needs to consider that the Browns are installing an entire new scheme on both O and D as well. How quickly they can adjust to those will be critical.

any update on Ward/

That is true.

Defensively it was clear that wholesale changes had to be made. Berry did not waste time. Woods was fired and Schwartz was hired quickly.

Berry and Schwartz got to work quickly bringing in new personnel. Players picked to play Schwartz's scheme. I think Schwartz is a guy who coaches hard. Makes players accountable. I think they will be good. The defense is less complicated and less likely to have communication issues. Defense is easier to get up to speed.

KS has had time to plan for DW. Last year any made plans could not be effectively installed after 11 weeks of playing in the old system.

DW and KS have had time to put this offense in place. Hard to say if they will be precise right away. That is a question.

The one good thing is Nick Chubb and the OL are reliable.

The offense has had DW all off season and all through camp. Hopefully they will ready to go.

While I don't really disagree with anything you said, every NFL HC who has and is changing systems has had the entire off season and training camp to prepare. It's simply a question if they can get a more complicated O and D firing on all cylinders right out of the gate or if it will all take time to gel? We will have at least a glimpse into the answer soon enough.

I am not expecting miracles out of the offense right out of the gate.

My expectations on defense are different. I was impressed by what I have seen on defense.

Schwartz brings something that I believe will help KS. His experience is vast. KS got a front seat in seeing that all through camp.

The defensive players really seem all in. And Myles was not on the field. This last game I watched Z run right over his guy. He is way more than Clowney as a pass rusher. The DT unit is a giant upgrade. Juan Thornhill looks like a much better player than JJ. I am very optimistic about the defense.

My hope is the defense leads the way and the offense is good enough and will improve weekly.

Most of these guys have been playing mainly against back ups. I admire your optimism but at the same time want to see how it all looks against NFL starters when it comes to some of these guys.

I do like what I've seen from the Schwartz defense in terms of giving the quicker players more chances to read and react. I think that gives players like JOK the opportunity to use every tool on their toolbox. Something I haven't seen since he's been drafted. To this point, IMO it's as if Woods had him playing in handcuffs.

The defensive stood out against the Chiefs starting OL. The practice week against the Eagles the reports from the Eagles was the Browns front was for real. Myles unblockable.

The players added on defense are better than what we had. Overall IMO the players that were here last year will benefit a lot.

So yes I am optimistic about the defense.

of all games, we need Ward in this one and week 2

j/c...

I like the growing animosity between the Bengals and Browns. Bengals WRs vs Browns DBs is good stuff.

Juan Thornhill is on track to miss game 1. He's one guy I was looking forward to seeing play

Me too

Ward has cleared concussion protocol and will play Sunday
https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/new...ion-protocol-ahead-week-1-against-the-be

good news on ward

It seems like every year we have more injuries in Practice than actual preseason games.

I wouldn't want to hear about it either, if I were him. Funny how some are measuring Burrow for a gold jacket, but he is 1-4 against the Browns. Saying that, it has nothing to do with Sunday, but I find it interesting that with the Browns recent lack of success, we have played well against the Bengals of late.

As of late sounds great if you ignore that last game against them. I wonder what changed?

finally