LAST SEASON: 7-9, tied for 3rd in AFC Central
PROJECTION: 2nd in AFC North
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| Brown is ready to live up to the hype. |
The Browns lost five of their last six to ruin Butch Davis' rookie year. With a maturing QB and a feature back, that won't happen again. At 9–7, they'll sniff the playoffs.
STRONG SIDE
DL: The Browns led the NFL in takeaways last season, keeping the team in several games despite the league's worst offense. The defensive line anchors an emerging D. Right DE Courtney Brown (4.5 sacks in five games) is coming off an ankle injury, but he's shown the power moves to become an elite end. Massive DT Gerard Warren (6'4", 322) is a disruptive force in the middle. Left DE Kenard Lang, a run-stuffer signed away from the Redskins, is thrilled to line up alongside Brown and Warren. "Warren reminds me of Warren Sapp," Lang says. "And Courtney Brown is like this big old toolbox -- whatever he needs, he has it."
WEAK SIDE
OL: If Tim Couch (sacked 51 times last year) doesn't improve, blame the O-line. The Browns finished last in rushing and total O, and they have four new starters on the line, where continuity matters most. C Dave Wohlabaugh is the lone holdover. New LT Ross Verba isn't quick enough on the outside. G's Shaun O'Hara and Barry Stokes are blue-collar, but hardly A-List starters. Ex-Rams RT Ryan Tucker brings the nasty streak this line needs.
OTHER UNITS
QB: Couch can make every throw in the game. With an improved running attack, it's time the fourth-year QB put up the numbers of a No. 1 pick. He topped 3,000 yards in 2001, but threw 21INTs to 17 TDs. If Couch decreases his picks, Cleveland rocks into the playoffs.
RB: The Browns finally have a feature back. First-round pick William Green is set to turn around the league's worst rushing attack (84.4 ypg) -- at least that's what Green says. James Jackson (554 rushing yards) brings depth and Jamel White (44 catches, 418 yds) adds third-down production.
WR: After Kevin Johnson caught 84 balls for 1,097 yards last season, the Browns rewarded him with a $13.35M contract. But until No. 2 WR Quincy Morgan steps up as a consistent threat, Johnson won't reach the next level -- and neither will Couch.
LB: Plan A went out the window when All-Pro OLB Jamir Miller (team-high 13 sacks) tore his right Achilles tendon in the preseason. Darren Hambrick gets Miller's spot, but the Browns need MLB Earl Holmes, Pittsburgh's leading tackler the past three years, to shore up the shaky run D (29th last year).
DB: Hard-hitting S Robert Griffith improves the run support of a unit responsible for 24 of an NFL-best 33 INTs. Rookie CB Anthony Henry (league-high 10 INTs) keys the dime package and will push Corey Fuller (3 INTs) for the starting spot opposite the aggressive Daylon McCutcheon.
ST: Phil Dawson was No. 2 in the NFL in accuracy (88%). P Chris Gardocki (NFC-leading 207 punts past two years), hasn't been blocked in 10 years. Rookie returner Andre Davis will make a sudden impact.
This article appears in the September 16 issue of ESPN The Magazine.
