#30 - Cleveland Browns

You have to feel for Cleveland fans.

They haven't seen a championship team in 45 years, since the 1964 Cleveland Browns won the NFL Championship. They have seen way more than their fair share of painful playoff losses (The Drive, The Fumble, Jordan's buzzer beater, Game 7 of the 1997 World Series). They had to endure watching their beloved Browns leave town after 1995, and then they had to watch that same team win a Super Bowl only a few years later.

Through it all, they have handled the pain and heartbreak without trying to blame the losing streak on long dead sluggers or goats with supernatural powers.

Unfortunately for members of the Dawg Pound, that streak is going to continue, at least until next June's NBA Finals.

But that's not to say that this team is not going to be interesting to watch this year. The Browns have brought in Eric Mangini -- who was run out of town by the Jets when Brett Favre's arm fell off last December -- as the new head coach. Mangini replaces another former Bellicheck disciple, Romeo Crinnel. In 2006, his first season with the Jets, Mangini guided New York into the playoffs only one year after they had finished 4-12. Coming off a 4-12 season last year, Cleveland is hoping for a similar turnaround.

Offensively, this could be a season of transition for the Browns. After using a total of four starting quarterbacks last year, the team is letting Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn compete for the starting job in camp. When Quinn was drafted in 2007, he was going to be the future of the team, but then Derek Anderson won ten games that season and was rewarded with a huge contract. It seems unlikely the Browns would want to pay him that much money to hold a clipboard, and Quinn didn't exactly impress in his three starts last year (0-3, completed less than 50 percent of his passes, 2 TD, 2 INTs).

Losing Dante Stallworth to a suspension (for a DUI manslaughter) won't help the passing attack, but at least they still have Braylon Edwards, who is coming off a dissapointing season where he led the league in drops. However, he did have more than 1,200 yards and 16 TDs in 2007, so you know what he is capable of.

Jamal Lewis, coming off his sixth 1,000 yard season in the last seven years, is going to be the primary rushing threat. As good as his numbers have been throughout his career, last season he averaged nearly a full yard less than his career average per rush; and he will turn 30 later this month. The Browns need him to be productive to take pressure off whoever emerges as the starting QB.

Defensively, this is a team that ranked 16th in points allowing in 2008, but they allowed more yards per game than any team in the AFC that wasn't playing in the West Division (where the idea of defense just doesn't exist). They also allowed a 3rd down conversion rate of 46 percent, which was near last in the league. This offseason, the secondary was completely revamped, and Mangini brought in a number of former Jets to fill some other holes. Among the additions are Rod Hood, Hank Poteat, and Abram Elam, but defense is still going to be a question mark heading into the season.

Aside from having to play Baltimore and Pittsburgh twice each, the schedule is not all that difficult. Four of the first five games (Minnesota, at Denver, Cincinnati, at Buffalo) seem win-able, and they get to finish with four of their last five at home. Also helping matters is the fact that Cleveland gets to play the NFC North and the AFC West this season.

The bottom line: A lot will hinge on the QB situation. If that gets resolved, and whoever wins the job proves capable, this team could win a few games. More likely, Quinn will win the job, but won't be anything special. Derek Anderson will get another chance to prove himself elsewhere. Anything less than 5 wins would be a huge disappointment, and they should aim for a .500 season, but the AFC is too good for Cleveland to even think about the playoffs.

- Eric

www.WeAreTheHecklers.com