Here is a pretty good analysis of the Browns by Jon Ledyard of the Steeler Depot. I'd half-expected a hatchet-job by a drunk amateur, but Jon was pretty objective.
He wasn't as thorough as he should have been, however, and really--to describe Crowell and West as "showing flashes" and "underwhelming" was pretty dumb. Maybe West sort of faded later on, but Crowell's 4.2 yards per carry was really good.
Jon fully expects Duke Johnson to bench both those guys and do well.
The writer is trying to be fair and entitled to his opinion, so I'm not attacking him. If I were to analyze the Steelers, I might screw up too. Prior to Mack's injury these two ranked among the top backs in the league in yards per carry. They were the engine that drove the offense.
Not that Duke won't play a whole lot.
Jon believes that McCown is keeping Manziel's chair warm for awhile, and that's true. IF/when Johnny is ready he'll get another shot--this season, unless McCown is playing too well (a possibility that's being universally ruled out.)
Jon read too many national articles in his research, since he parrots the "won't get much help" from his receivers line. But after saying that, he gets objective again and says they're a capable group, but far from elite.
I don't know about "far from", but that's about right.
In mentioning Duke Johnson, he describes an offense in "desperate need" of a playmaker, once again ignoring Hawkins and Gabriel, who should again average close to 20 yards per-catch.
He lists Barnidge and Dray as the primary tight ends, and says Rodney Houslerfield will "be in the mix." Actually, Dray and Barnidge are in-line tight ends, and Housler is a "move" pass-catching tight end and the starter.
EJ Bibbs is making a strong case for himself as another "move" tight end who, like Housler, can also block in-line, and don't be too surprised if this guy beats out Dray.
Jon can be forgiven for not mentioning "fullback" Malcolm Johnson, who can do some of the same things himself, and could play a lot and catch a lot of passes.
Housler is being badly underrated. Which is fine with me.
This writer wasn't afraid to say that the Browns might have the best offensive line in football. He describes an elite secondary.
In discussing the moves made to bolster the crappy run-defense, he doesn't mention the players returning from injury or Randy Starks. For some reason, everybody is terrified of predicting a marked improvement in run defense this season, despite the fact that it's obvious and inevitable.
Jon concludes that the Browns might go 8-8, which kind of shocked me.
As a guy with Browns OCD I congratulate Mr. Ledyard on a pretty fair and objective article on my team overall. I'd encourage him to watch for these names, however:
Housler, Gabriel, Crowell.
I also need to point out that Josh McCown has never had this good an offensive line protecting him, and wherever he's had good protection, he has won.
One last thing: The Browns didn't steal a game from your team or the Bengals last season. They beat them. Because they were better. Period.
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