2009 NFL Preview: Cleveland Browns

By 49er16:

Well the Cleveland Browns dumped a former New England defensive coordinator in favor of another former New England defensive coordinator. The Browns fired Romeo Crennel and their GM Phil Savage after the Browns fell apart last season after starting out with huge expectations. In comes Eric Mangini who the New York Jets fired because his team fell apart after starting the season with huge expectations.

It still baffles my mind that the Browns hired Mangini after firing a coach who is just like Mangini. Both Crennel and Mangini were the Patriots defensive coordinator's. Both have the same type of personality. And both had the same type of coaching record. The hiring to me just made no sense at all, but it's the Browns. There hoping Mangini can find the success he had with New York in his first season, when he lead the Jets to the playoffs. Needless to say Cleveland is once again starting over.

Coaching Staff: Besides Mangini being named the new head coach, there is an entire new coaching staff. The defense will remain the same, but with Rob Ryan leading. Ryan was Oakland's defensive coordinator the past two seasons, and was the main culprit as to why Lane Kiffin was fired. Ryan will continue to run the 3-4 defense that Mangini prefers and his main goal for the defense is to stop the run and don't give up big plays.

The Browns will employ a west coast offense that wants to stretch the field. The Browns can't go anywhere but up on offense after going six straight games last season with a touchdown.

Quarterback Battle: Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn have continued to battle for the starting quarterback spot. Obviously the Browns want Quinn to win the starting job after spending money and time developing him. Anderson though is a better deep passer and he might fit the offensive philosophy better than Quinn. That is when Quinn isn't giving the defense the offensive hand signals. As of this moment, neither one has been named the starter.

Receiving depth: One of the area's the Browns will not have much depth in, is at receiver. With Sgt. Winslow in Tampa and Donte Stallworth suspended, Braylon Edwards is the only threat the Browns have at this moment at receiver. Edwards struggled mightily last season. He lead the league in drop passes. The Browns will try and use Joshua Cribbs at receiver, but that experiment has failed before.

An Improved Offensive Line: The Browns did improve their offensive line in the off season. They drafted Alex Mack and signed John St. Clair and Floyd Womack to give the team depth on the line. The Browns will need a strong offensive line to take pressure off of the quarterback and to open up lanes for old man Jamal Lewis.

Schedule: The Browns caught a break with their schedule. Their toughest road games are divisional games and they only have to play four playoff teams. Their toughest opponents have to travel to the dog pound this season. Plus they also catch a break in the fact that they play AFC West and NFC North opponents. Mangini caught a huge break in the scheduling department for his first season in Cleveland.

Video: Here's a video of the great and depressing history of the Cleveland Browns.



Prediction: 8-8, 3rd AFC North. The quarterback battle and the lack of depth at receiver will hurt this team in the long run. Their schedule will help them out finish the season off with a respectable record, but their division is too tough for them to reach the playoffs.