Cleveland Browns - Week 4

The Browns win again! Thanks in large part to Jordan Cameron and Brian Hoyer. I don't know if he is the answer at quarterback, but I'd really like to try him out. Hopefully Chud won't switch him out for Weeden. Cleveland would be in an uproar and Chud may have to fear for his life. I think Weeden is at a disadvantage because of his age, so he had to learn things quickly. He didn't. I'm not willing to sacrifice on QB, so I say we either stick with Hoyer, draft our franchise QB next year, or both. Either way, let's trade Weeden or cut him. Maybe we can get a 6th round pick for him. That's a little bit of money coming off the books, too, which allows the Browns to pick up another good player.

I wrote a post about the Browns last year giving some hope for future years. While I still think we're a year away from the playoffs, and I could be wrong about that as we may be going this year, we have some promising, young talent. I think the keyword here is young. Not only will the team start to gel more and bring in some more talent, but the current talent we have will grow. Gordon and Cameron can still get BETTER. Isn't that a scary thought!?

Negatives

Offense is still the work-in-progress for this team. This has to be taken with a lot of salt grains, though, since Hoyer has 3 starts in his entire career under his belt and the offense is making a lot of big adjustments. Richardson is gone, Gordon is back, and McGahee is added. McGahee keeps improving, by the way. What a great mid-season pickup. Still, they have some things to set right. The Browns should have scored more points than they did, but we'll get there. Norv Turner is doing a fantastic job with Hoyer.

I don't think this is as big a deal, but the kicking game needs to step up. I'm glad we didn't settle on a bad kicker, but Cundiff can't go 1-3 on field goals and expect the Browns to win tight games. I'm glad to see he punched the 51-yarder in, so I'm willing to give him some leeway, but keep an eye out for any really good kickers in the draft or that hit the free agent market. Dawson was a great kicker, so at least in special teams, the Browns expect a lot.

The right side of the O-line will need to be tweaked a little going into next year. With Mack and Thomas on the middle/left sides, the right side can still be a concern. Granted, we were going up against possibly the best D-line in the NFL this past week, so it's not a huge concern they weren't terribly effective. With injuries always seeming to pile up on that side of the line, though, this issue may need to be addressed by next year, at least in terms of depth.

Positives

This defense is a top-5 defense without question. Right now, they are ranked #6 in total defense, #9 in passing defense, and #4 in run defense. Ranked #3 in sacks. We have a top-10 defense in BOTH rushing and passing. How dramatic a change is that?! Thank you, Ray Horton. This guy really is the real deal. Even Buster Skrine looks good in this new defense! And want to hear something really crazy? In terms of yards per attempt, Cleveland has the #2 ranked pass defense and #1 ranked rush defense. What that means is that even though we've given up a few more yards in each category, it took teams a heck of a lot more tries to do it. You can make the argument that Cleveland has the #1 defense in the NFL right now.

Brian Hoyer is clutch. Having a clutch QB makes a huge difference, especially when NFL games are closer than ever. Remember that Weeden pass that sailed over the WR's head last year? I'll take Hoyer right now. Even when he loses (because he will eventually), he's proven a lot so far. Right now, the Browns are ranked #12 in passing. If we just go by Hoyer's performance and not Weeden's, we're probably top-10. It may be a fluke, but isn't it better than the alternative right now?

Jordan Cameron has my vote for most improved player. I took him on all my fantasy teams and it paid off. He has the build of the great tight ends in this game, and he's shown he can do more than catch. Josh Gordon is a constant deep threat and is still getting better. While Bess, Benjamin, Little, and Cooper are all good options at WR, we still need a #2 guy (or another #1 guy). Wanna hear some of the names next year to get excited about? Keep in mind, last year was the Browns' defensive overhaul. This year it's gonna be the offense:

• Victor Cruz...best WR on the Giants, but if they slip, does he want out?
• Anquan Boldin...if the 49ers don't win it this year, or come close, think he may want to stick it to the Ravens bad enough?
• Kenny Britt...when healthy, he's a really good receiver. 
• Ted Ginn...Ohio State guy, may be the fastest guy in football. With him and Benjamin lined up, how can you contain their speed AND double Gordon?
• Jeremy Maclin...another injury-plagued guy who Chip Kelly may not want anymore. When healthy, he's a top-15 receiver. 
• Mario Manningham...coming back from injury, the 49ers have set up a WR core without him. He may want to feel more needed. 
• Hakeem Nicks...another Giants player who may want out.
• Santana Moss...maybe the frustration in Washington grows too much.
• Emmanuel Sanders...if the Steelers win only a few games, would he want out?
• Devin Hester...another speed guy.
• Jacoby Jones...another Ravens player who may want to join Kruger. 
• James Jones...very good receiver for Green Bay. Rodgers may not be there much longer, though, if he and his coach can't get along. What happens to their receivers without Rodgers?
• Jerricho Cotchery...another Steeler we'd gladly take just to stick it to Pittsburgh, right?
• Phil Dawson...not a WR, but how cool would that be to see Phil come back!?

The Browns were criticized heavily by the media, especially by Jamison Hensley the AFC North ESPN blogger, for not going out and getting more talent through free agency, especially a CB opposite Joe Haden. I loved the Browns response to this. It was basically "we brought in a lot of new guys, we just didn't want to overhaul the whole thing so we cut it at the number of new players that we did." They proved after the Richardson trade that, once everyone started to gel on the team, they were not opposed to bringing in new talent. Hence, McGahee. Don't be surprised if they add in a couple more pieces before season end. This administration is making the right calls for player personnel because, for once, they care about winning. So not only do we have the guts to pull the trigger on some new guys, we have the money. We can easily overpay for a guy on this list.

Take Away

Cleveland has really positioned themselves well. This is what Seattle and San Francisco did a few years ago. They used to be horrible. That division was the bottom-dweller of the NFL. Now it's a powerhouse. What happened? They brought in new coaches, new administrations, new ways of thinking. They collected draft picks and hit a gold mine at QB that NOBODY else saw. Maybe Hoyer is that guy, and if he's not, we'll get our guy in the next draft.

Well guess what, football fans?! The Browns now have a great coaching staff, a great owner, and a great GM. We are finally doing things the right way. We haven't for a while; now we are. This isn't the same old Browns team. Even if they finish 5-11, it's a different feeling. Getting rid of Richardson may have woken up some Browns fans. "We get rid of arguably our best player and get BETTER?!" Holmgren really looks bad now having drafted Weeden and Richardson in the first round. He did pick up Gordon and Cameron, though. So thanks for those.

The Browns are on our way to becoming a contender in the AFC. Contender for what? I don't know, but it's not contending for last place anymore. Suck it, Steelers!!