Cleveland Browns

2007 Record: 10-6

2007 PF: 402    PA: 382          

2008 Schedule difference:  Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills                               &nbs p;  

Team Strength: Scoring offense     

Biggest weakness: secondary               & nbsp;  

Key Areas of Concern: weak secondary – RB depth – QB controversy

Key Additions: 

D-linemen Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams were the big off-season splashes.  These two are expected to turn Cleveland’s biggest weakness into one of their core strengths.  Rookie Linebackers Beau Bell figures to push Andra Davis for a starting job.  Martin Rucker was drafted as an insurance policy on Kellen Winslow’s knees.  Donte Stallworth was added in FA to take some heat off of Braylon Edwards on the outside.  Rex Hadnot should challenge for a starting RG spot, and Terry Cousins was brought in as a band-aid over the Holly and Bodden loses.

Key Loses: 

Leigh Bodden was traded away for Shaun Rogers weakening an already suspect secondary.  Just after that Cleveland karma kicked in and Daven Holly was injured and cut.  LeCharles Bentley was cut, but never played a down for the Browns so he was really a non-factor.  Orpheus Roye and Ethan Kelley losses were offset by gaining Rogers and Williams.

Offensive Outlook: 

This will largely be the same unit from a year ago.  The offensive line is great on the left side and decent on the right.  The RB situation will remain a concern.  An aging Jamal Lewis is their only real threat, and if he can’t hold up there is nothing behind him. 

Donte Stallworth will present an upgrade over Joe Jurevicius with his deep speed.  Stallworth is far from a complete player however.  New Orleans, Philly, and New England all let him go over the past 3 years for a reason.  Paul Hubbard and Josh Cribbs will compete to provide some decent # 4 depth.  Winslow will now be backed up by Martin Rucker.  If Rucker pans out Cleveland could use some 2 TE formations.

Derek Anderson is the big question mark for the Browns offense.  He made a Pro Bowl last year but had only the 25th best completion percentage and 12th best QB rating in the league.  He faltered late in the year and began the season as a back-up.  If Anderson falters so will Cleveland unless Brady Quinn shows he is ready to go. Anderson very well may be the next Scott Mitchell and the tough schedule may bring that out of him.

Defensive Outlook: 

No unit has gotten more attention this off-season than the Browns 3-man front.  Adding Pro Bowl caliber players in Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams should be an immediate upgrade.  Shaun and Robaire Smith as well as rookie NT Ahtyba Rubin will make for a solid and deep unit.  The questions remain as to how well Williams will transition to a 3-4 and how Rogers will play at DE and NT.  One thing is certain though, when Cleveland uses 4-man fronts in passing situations their DT’s will be a holy terror rushing the passer up the gut.

At LB Andra Davis, Beau Bell, and Leon Williams will all compete for starting ILB duties next to D’Qwell Jackson.  Kam Wimbley is expected to be the beneficiary of the improved DL and Antwan Peek and Willie McGinest will split time on the opposite side.

The defensive secondary will be this teams Achilles heel.  Sean Jones is a quality starter at Safety.  After him it is a bunch of young guys and question marks. 

Brodney Pool has underperformed his 1st day draft status at FS.  2nd year CB’s Eric Wright and Brandon McDonald are penciled in as starters.  Behind them is FA journeyman Terry Cousins and UDFA’s Darnell Terrell, AJ Davis, Gerald Lawson, and Jereme Perry. 

This entire unit aside from Cousins has less than 2 seasons worth of starts combined.  If the front 7 doesn’t dominate Cleveland is in trouble.  I’d expect teams to come out in hurry up and spread the field exposing the week secondary much like what happened to the Steelers during the Scott, Alexander, Washington, Flowers, and Poteat days.  Bruce Arians is sure to remember that.

Special Teams Outlook:  

Josh Cribbs is the top return man in the game outside of that Hester kid in Chicago.  Dave Zastudil and Phil Dawson are solid vets at P/K.  The coverage units are fair, but didn’t get much help in the off-season.

2008 Season Projections:                                      

The Browns are the media darlings this year much like Saints and Bengals were last year.  We all saw how that turned out.  The teams had two very solid additions in Rogers and Williams.  I’m not buying into the Donte Stallworth addition as he was hardly a factor for the best offense in NFL history last year and was let go by 3 teams in 3 years. 

The loss of Bodden and Holly on the secondary could be crippling.   There is enough talent on the offense for them to again score points in bunches.  The defensive front should also be improved thus making Cleveland a better team.  However, Cleveland’s 10-6 last year was mostly smoke and mirrors.  They only beat one team with a winning record in the past two years.  That was vs. Seattle at home in OT.  The same Seattle team who lost every 1:00 east coast road game they played the past few years.  

Cleveland is a better team then they were, but playing against the big boys in the AFC South and NFC East along with a 2nd place schedule should set them back a bit.

Clowns 2008 Season prediction : 8-8  (T-2nd AFC North)

Pittsburgh Steelers

2007 Record: 10-6   

PF: 393   PA 269                & nbsp;        

2008 Schedule difference:  NE Patriots and San Diego Chargers                                &nbs p; 

Team Strength: Well Balanced O & D   

Biggest weakness: Pass Protection   

Key Areas of Concern: O-line – FS – DL Depth

Key Additions: 

Adding Rashard Mendenhall to a backfield that already had a Pro Bowl RB in Willie Parker should fix the Steelers RB depth issues.  Mendenhall will provide the power back that the Steelers lacked since Jerome Bettis retired.  Mewelde Moore will be a very solid 3rd down back and PR man.  Limas Sweed also fills a void at WR.  He will be a 3rd WR and perfect compliment to Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes.  Justin Hartwig should immediately upgrade the Center position where Sean Mahan struggled mightily last year.

Key Loses: 

Alan Faneca is the Steelers only major loss.  He was a fixture in the Steelers running game for years, however his play had slightly declined and his pass protection left a lot to be desired at times.  Clark Haggans won’t be missed as 2nd year man Lamar Woodley was clearly the better talent last season.  Cedrick Wilson will only be missed by Patron’s Mexican Grill in Wexford, PA as he made the joint semi-famous by publicly slapping his baby mama in their bar.  You stay classy Ced!

Offensive Outlook:  

Can the Steelers find a way to improve an offensive line that lost its best player?  That is the major question mark for this team.  Chris Kemoeatu will step in at the LG spot and Justin Hartwig will take over at Center.  Marvel Smith should be vastly improved over his 2007 form after getting his bulging disc fixed.  There is a looming battle at RT between Willie Colon and the 7 million dollar man Max Starks

Aside from the O-line the Steelers skill positions are absolutely loaded with talent.  RB Willie Parker has the ability to score anytime he touches the ball.  He should be more effective with a lighter workload.  Rashard Mendenhall should do all the heavy lifting in short yardage and goal line situations, as well as salting away leads late in games.  Mewelde Moore should be a dangerous weapon out of the backfield on 3rd downs.

Adding the 6’4 Limas Sweed to the speedy Santonio Holmes and the gritty Hines Ward will give defenses fits.  Somebody will have to be single covered when all 3 are on the field.  Nate Washington will continue as a solid back-up and should be better than any #4 CB he would face in 4 wide sets.  Look for Dallas Baker to stick on the roster and add an additional tall red zone threat. 

When accounting for the Steelers backs and WR’s teams may forget about the TE’s.  Heath Miller is productive and well balanced, and Matt Spaeth is a mammoth target that caught 3 TD’s as a rookie in limited playing time.

Look for this unit to move the ball and score bunches of points; however sacks will again be a problem vs. teams with speedy outside rushers or dominant inside defensive tackles.

Defensive Outlook:  

Will the real Steelers D please stand up?  Is it the unit that led the league in pass yards allowed, rushing yards allowed, and points allowed deep into the season?  Or is it the unit that got abused by the lowly Rams and Ravens offenses late in the year. 

The key may be Defensive end Aaron Smith staying healthy and Casey Hampton getting in better shape.  The starting D-line of the Steelers remains dominant; however depth is a serious question.  Back-ups Travis Kirschke and Nick Eason were abused routinely last season.  Will a rookie UDFA step up, or will Ryan McBean emerge as a quality player?  Something needs to happen here to improve the unit.

The linebacking unit will undergo some changes in 2008.  Long time starters Clark Haggans and Larry Foote should be replaced as starters by last years top two picks in Lawrence Timmons and Lamar Woodley.  James Harrison evolved into a Pro Bowler last year and he should greatly benefit from having a dominant force like Woodley opposite him.  James Farrior is still a solid ILB, and Larry Foote will provide some good depth.  Bruce Davis likely won’t see the field much, but may be used as a situational pass rusher in his rookie year.   Look for Timmons to also get a lot of looks in dime packages.

The secondary remains largely unchanged from last year.  Bryant McFadden and Deshea Townsend will again battle it out at CB for the #2 and #3 jobs opposite Ike Taylor.  Troy Polamalu is working to remain healthy for an entire season.  Opposite him Ryan Clark appears to be back after a major operation and illness.  If he has any setbacks Anthony Smith will again reclaim his FS spot.   Look for rookie Ryan Mundy to factor into the mix as well as Ty Carter has likely fallen out of favor with the staff after his putrid playoff performance.  Willie Gay should again provide a solid #4 CB option.                                                          

Look for the Steelers defense to be a top 10 unit again, however they should take a step backwards statistically due to the toughest schedule in the league.  They play a ridiculous 11 games vs. teams with a Pro Bowl QB.  If there are any injuries along the D-line, the unit may again have some struggles vs. the run.

Special Teams Outlook:  

The Steelers coverage units are historically shitty.  It’s hard to figure out why, so the coaching staff decided they spent too much time on the area last year and will neglect it this year to create some urgency.  

Rookies Mike Humpal, Bruce Davis, and Ryan Mundy will surely provide an upgrade in the area, as will Keyaron Fox if he sticks on the roster.  Second year punter Dan Sepulveda needs to live up to his lofty draft status.  At times he did, and at other times he looked like a wasted pick.  The talent is there, but the performance needs to be there every time out, especially in key situations. 

Jeff Reed made every single FG he attempted last year except one in a monsoon that was buried in 6” of mud, and another that would have been the longest in league history.  He does need to work on getting his kick-offs deeper, or Sepulveda needs to take the job away.  

The core of hungry young rookies coupled with putting some starters like Harrison and Keisel on the coverage units should be enough to fix the leaks.  The “all hands on deck” approach has been floated by Kevin Colbert, we will see if it works that way or not this year.

2008 Season Projections:                                      

The Steelers offense very well could improve statistically.  Adding Mendenhall, Moore, Sweed, and Hartwig is a nice haul.  The season likely will all come down to the trenches.  If the O-line can gel and the D-line can remain healthy the Steelers should win the division and be legit SB contenders.  If the O-line falters and the D-line depth gives out, this team could fall off to being a .500 team.  The murderous schedule should be enough to keep this team from getting a 1st round bye, but they should be able to sneak out a division title and home playoff game.                                

Steelers 2008 Season prediction : 10-6  (1st AFC North)