Based on last years records, it may not seem so daunting. But Houston and Atlanta aren't bad teams; they just had bad years. Some people picked Houston to win the super bowl last year. The Raiders are much improved as are the Jags. The Colts are better, the Bengals are slightly better, and the Bucs are better. The Panthers aren't as good. The other teams we won't know until we start playing.
Looking at this schedule, it's going to be tough. The toughest test will be at Cincinnati on Nov. 6 on a short week. Granted, the Bengals will also be on a short week, but they play Jacksonville the week before at home. No travel, easier team, and they're at home against Cleveland on a Thursday. The good news about this game is that afterwards, the Browns will have ten days to recover before they play the Texans.
With the bye week coming during week 4 (that doesn't help much), the Browns will need to go 2-1 against the Steelers on the road, the Saints at home, and the Ravens at home. That's no easy task. If they manage to upset the @ Steelers on the road, they can pick off one of the next two games. I think they're more likely to go 1-2 or even 0-3. But if they beat the @ Steelers and Ravens, they're 2-0 in the division already. The @ Titans should be a very winnable game, because they're not that good and the Browns are coming off a bye week. Out of the next 4 games (Steelers, @ Jags, Raiders, and Bucs), they should be able to grab 2 or 3 of those games at least. That would put them in the 3-5 wins category at the halfway mark. @ Bengals will be tough just because of the conditions. They will have some time to rest before the Texans but they'll be a tough out this year. As will the @ Falcons the next week. They will need to grab one of those games to stay alive for playoff contention.
The @ Bills should be a win, and they'll need to split the next two games against the Colts and Bengals. The Browns do surprisingly well against good teams, beating 3 previous super bowl winning teams the following year in the last few years. The @ Panthers will probably be out of playoff contention by week 16, and they will have gotten worse from last year since they lost all their receivers.
It comes down to week 17 at the Ravens. Both teams could be competing for playoff spots here. The Ravens got better with the addition of Steve Smith from the Panthers, and by now he will have figured out their system. It will be a tough game.
If I have to make a prediction, I will say:
@ Steelers - Loss
Saints - Loss
Ravens - Win
@ Titans - Win
Steelers - Win
@ Jags - Win
Raiders - Loss
Bucs - Win
@ Bengals - Loss
Texans - Loss
@ Falcons - Loss
@ Bills - Win
Colts - Loss
Bengals - Loss
@ Panthers - Win
@ Ravens - Loss
There you have it: Browns finish 7-9 just missing the playoffs but much improved. They lose to the Saints close, to the Raiders close, and to the Bengals (2nd time) close. If they could get a little luck and win a couple of these games, the Browns could win 9 or 10 games this season. Isn't likely, but it's possible. This also includes barring major injuries say to the QB position or several of our star players. If Gordon doesn't play, that will hurt, too. If they win 7 games, I think it will be a very good year considering the coaching staff's first year.
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