I know that traditionally I'm not the one who makes this thread. I'm certainly not trying to steal anyone's thunder but we are less than four days away from our season kick off at this point. With that in mind I decided to start the thread.

There are a total of five teams with new HC's for the 2020 season.

Mike McCarthy, Dallas Cowboys.
Ron Rivera, Washington Redskins. ...
Matt Rhule, Carolina Panthers. ...
Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns. ...
Joe Judge, New York Giants.

Both McCarthy and Rivera have extensive NFL HC experience. That leaves the other three, including Stefanski as having no NFL HC experience. While there are exceptions to the rule, the rule itself is that would leave them somewhat behind the curve even under normal circumstances.

2020 is under any terms not "normal circumstances". People can and certainly will say that's nothing but an excuse because all teams have to deal with the conditions 2020 has dealt. To a certain extent that's true. But to a large extent it isn't.

When your team has played under the same system the year before, the bulk of your roster knows your system. They know all of the verbage and language in the play calls. The players who were there the year before can and do work with the players new to the system to help coach them up. To make them become familiar with the system being employed.

This is not true for a new NFL HC implementing entire new systems on both sides of the ball. Everyone is a student and there are no teachers on the roster. Even under normal circumstances, it's a heavy task to prepare your team with an entire new playbook, systems and have enough time for everyone to be on the same page. Now, with very limited practice time, no rookie mini camps and no preseason, you just amplified that problem ten fold.

When I look at our LB's I can see opponents exploring those short passes over the middle. The opposing TE's this season may be our worst enemies. That isn't a certainty but a strong possibility.

Wills I think will be fine as our LT but not right away. There will certainly be growing pains going from RT to LT. This was heavily debated during the draft process. Some of us tried to explain that moving in the opposite direction from how you've always played would take time to translate. Still others tried to downplay that notion. Well now is the time we will see how that all plays out.

With those factors and still others in mind, my prediction is 6-10.

It could be better if things begin to hit on all cylinders quicker than I imagine they will. But I think we have a mountain to climb before that happens.

I left out any comments about Baker on purpose. My reason is that I have no idea at all how he will play this year. I've seen good Baker and I've seen bad Baker. I like that he took his share of the responsibility for 2019 and see that as a very positive sign. Unlike some I didn't try to dismiss Baker's comments or try to say he was lying and that he had no responsibility in his 2019 performance. Nor did I say he was all to blame and dismiss Freddie's part of the problems. But sometimes objectivity gets you nowhere here.

With that said, I still simply can't make any prediction on what I think I'll see from him this year.

Your turn.

9-7.

Wildcard.

10-6 Wildcard.

Ravens 12-4
Browns 10-6
Steelers 9-7
Bengals 5-11

We go 11-5, win the division and lose the AFC championship again.

hue, Greg, Freddie...in two seasons. If this front office and coaching staff could conjure a winning season this year I'd be amazed. Here's to an optimistic 8-8 Shock me Browns.

2-14

I'm hoping for 10-6, but my prediction for our 2020 season is 7-9.

I'll go with this.

North division games will be huge.

I see us splitting with Ravens and Steelers. And winning both Bengal games.

10-6

I see the Browns traveling to Pittsburgh in week 17 with both teams tied at 8-7... Winner goes to playoffs. Will the curse be lifted?

I see the team struggling out of the gate to find any sort of footing week-to-week. I'm hoping to start turning the corner when we start getting into mid-season, but the usual Browns ridiculousness might have taken hold by then (plus some Corona-shenanigans). I'm hoping for some player and coaching leadership to guide us out of this.

I am going with 8-8. The schedule is just brutal.

I'll say 7-9.
The deck is stacked against teams with new coaches this season.

I had the Browns under .500 with a clueless Crimson Tide loser for a coach last year.
The oline is lacking continuty and the LBers
Are really lacking a thumper and a guy that can stay on TEs.
The Browns will.be in every game. But Stefanski will get out coached in most games

5 11

No such thing.

Keep trying.

We have the second easiest schedule in the league according to Warren Sharp.

I think I read where we had the 29th hardest schedule, but Sharp does good work w/analytics and I can see how he may have adjusted it. Either way, we don't have a "brutal" schedule.

I think the this team should win 10 games minimum given the overall talent. But, if Baker and HC suck again, the team will not reach that mark. I'm not asking for Baker or the coaching staff to be great, but please, at least be competent.

Wk 1 - @ Baltimore - Loss
Wk 2 - Cinci - Win
Wk 3 - Washington - Win
Wk 4 - @ Dallas - Loss
Wk 5 - Colts - Loss
Wk 6 - @ Pittsburgh - Loss
Wk 7 - @ Bengals - Win
Wk 8 - Raiders - Win
Wk 9 - Bye
Wk 10 - Houston - Loss
Wk 11 - Philadelphia - Loss
Wk 12 - @Jacksonville - Win
Wk 13 - @ Tenn - Loss
Wk 14 - Baltimore - Loss
Wk 15 - @ NY Giants - Win
Wk 16 - @ Jets - Win
Wk 17 - Pittsburgh - Loss

7-9 record

I used your template and added.
Yellow = playoff caliber team.
White = Cupcake. I don't expect Cinci to be a cupcake team. Burrows is going to be good, Green, Boyd, Higgins is a really, really good group of receivers. If they are very bad I think it'll be their D.

hoping for 10-6....

So many unknown variables this year... what starters will we or other teams lose to covid? How long will it take for teams to be in mid season form this year? Who is on the schedule that will either be way better or way worse than last year? etc etc. etc.

But just like every year these are just guesses and my guess would have to be based on previous years, so I'll go with 6-10. Hoping they prove me wrong.

6-10

19-0

9 and 7, hopefully wild card this year. We split with Rats and Stoolies, and edge out the Bengals.

I would love to be surprised.

I’d love to split with Pittsburgh, Baltimore and beat Cincinnati 2 times. That’d be a good sign

7-9

Would love to see a winning season - but this is Browns so 8-8.

If given the choice between 2nd easiest and 'brutal', I think I have to pick brutal. I look at that lineup and just don't see too many easy games. The NY teams aren't good and we should beat them, but they have a little talent. Jax is a mess. Cinci should be bad, but they may have found their QB, we always somehow split with them regardless of how bad they are, and we have them early when we're going to be a mess at the start of the season.

I don't know what the Raiders are supposed to be like this year, but I see a lot of solid to very good teams on that schedule.

The hardest part about our schedule is having to play Balt/Pitt twice. Outside of that, playing at Dallas is never easy, nor will it be easy to host the Texans, Raiders, or Eagles IMO.

On the other hand, playing the Bengals twice, the Redskins at home, the Jags, the Colts at home, and both NY teams makes it manageable IMO

We split with the division last year ...... so going 4-2 would be a step up. We'll see.

it was a good sign to beat everyone once last year, but the losses to Pittsburgh and Cincy were inexcusable at the time

This is where I am at. I hate the thought of another losing season, but I need to temper my expectations. I think we have the talent to have a winning season, but I will go with 7-9 and hope to be pleasantly surprised.

And, don't tell anyone, but the original poster said "Redskins."

I think will go some where in the 7-9 to 9-7 range so I'll just split the difference and say 8-8.

9-7

6-10 to 7-9 with most of the wins coming after week 8, our lack of linebackers and defense depth is going to be an issue. I think the gap with the new staff will be pretty big too. I think if we stay healthy we should start to see a pretty good team by the end of the season as things start clicking. Then next season i think is where we start making noise

Progress in my book. We fight over the leftovers outside the division for playoff spots.

Just win, baby.

4-12 injuries and our lb's kill us.

10-6

I'm not convinced we'll play a complete season yet. Protocol fatigue looks like it is already setting in. Makes it hard to make a prediction.

I just predicated the thread based on playing the complete season. It's just customary that we have this thread every year before the season begins.

I certainly can't disagree with you that your concerns are not well founded and logical. Just consider the thread wishful thinking.

I'm going to say 8 - 8 for now. That is based on the unusual OTAs, training camp and no preseason games. It could be 6 - 10 or 10 - 6 .. so will use 8 - 8 for my mean.

I noticed the homerism is less and less this year. It seems like there is more realism and common sense regarding the Browns this year.
Nobody is touting how many genuises are in the front office now or how the Browns have the
Best coaching staff in.the NFL.

7-9. There are too many obstacles for a team with a new coaching staff.

Last year should have brought us back down to earth ... plus, with a bad QB we it’s tough to think we could be a winning team. Now, if Baker improves that’s a different story

I see no reason to lower expectation from a year ago.

This team has the potential to win it all. Can they?

I said we could win 11 last year I will go with that and hope for better starting tomorrow.

Think that has as much to do with the state of the world/country as it does with football reasons. People just have other things on their minds and they've had limited/different access.

If we beat Baltimore, I'm sure they'll pop back up.

I'm between 6-10 and 8-8

Become the other teams obstacle.

Petty conflicted. I think half way decent coaching and play calling alone could make a major difference. I really have no idea if those things will be so improved but I think I like the coach. But as all have noted, lack of preparation trumps all in the early going this season. There’s great potential for key stone cops meets Benny hill in the first 8 games.

I really am looking for the exact same thing as I was last year.... significant improvement from the start of the season to the end. 2-6 in the first 8 and I would be very happy with 6-2 in the last 8.

So I’m going with optimistic.

8-8

General consensus seems to be that this team could take a wildcard spot OR Browns out again with a losing record. I think either are realistic due to talent level and history. The most obvious outcome is another let down year where we do not live up to our talent. Let's hope we get the cardiac kids version or an outright dominating version of the Browns this year instead.

5-11

New coaches, new system, amazing talent; my prediction is a lot of close losses against a hard schedule. 5-11. OBJ traded and one of the RBs traded mid season.

We have one of the easiest schedules in the NFL.

9-7, getting a wildcard playoff spot.

J/C

Realizing that we were 2-6 at one point last year, I actually don’t see us being worse than 3-5 this year

Stefanski weakest head coach in the afc north.
When we beat Baltimore we were 10th in defense.
Mayfield Is on his 3rd head coach in 3 years his head must be spinning with only 14 days in the new system.
I hope I am wrong this to me means we are in for a long season
and 90 percent Of this board calling for Berrys head and Stefanski to.

8-8 just missing the playoffs.