Indians 6, Orioles 4: The Yanimal and a chicken help Tribe in key win
September 5, 2013The Cleveland Sports Attendance Wars Must Stop
September 5, 2013Earlier this week, we heard from Craig on where the bar is set for the 2013 Cleveland Browns. Given that expectations and predictions are undoubtedly different, we here at WFNY provide you with what we feel will happen between today and the conclusion of the regular season. Do enjoy.
1. Fill in the blanks: Trent Richardson will play ___ games and finish with ____ yards and ____ total touchdowns.
Rick: Trent Richardson will play 15 games and finish with 1300 yards rushing and 16 total touchdowns. He has shown he is willing to play when hurt, and so despite getting banged around he plays the majority of the season. The Browns will ride him all year. He will raise the infamous yards per carry number to 4.1 this year.
Andrew: Trent Richardson will play 15 games and finish with 1,103 yards and 12 TD. I don’t really know what to make of Richardson. Everyone seems to be pretty high on the guy, but I’ve never really seen anything that truly “wows” me about him. I think he’s an average, serviceable NFL running back, and these numbers reflect that.
Craig: Trent Richardson will play all 16 games and finish with 1527 yards rushing and 14 total touchdowns. Trent is willing to play hurt. I think his level of hurt last season was odd for him. I expect a bounce-back kind of year health wise.
Kirk: Trent will miss, let’s say two games (those nagging injuries are just going to happen), but he’s still going to run for 1,000 yards and have double digit touchdowns. I’ll go with 1,265 yards rushing, 325 yards receiving, and 14 total touchdowns (11 rushing).
TD: Trent Richardson will play 15 games, total 1,300 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns.
Jacob: Trent Richardson will play 14 games and finish with 1,100 yards and 13 total touchdowns. A better and more efficient season that his rookie campaign, but some durability issues continue to be a mild factor.
Scott: Trent Richardson will play 13 games, rush for just under 1,200 yards and 13 total touchdowns. The work load will make us wonder what could have been had he stayed healthy, but it will also force him to miss a few games in the second half. The guy is a truck and always gets hit more than once with each carry. Given the lack of depth behind him, I fear it may cost him a bit.
Ben:Â I’m gonna be super optimistic and say that Trent Richardson will play 16 games and finish with 1,200 yards and 16 total touchdowns. He’s gonna be a beast the entire season and never ever get hurt. Ever. I do think he’ll get loads of touches in cool, interesting situations near the goal line.
2. Now do the same for Brandon Weeden, but add a line for interceptions.
Rick: I’ll go with all 16 games for Brandon Weeden. Let’s say 3,600 yards, 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Basically, just enough to make us all wonder in the off-season if he has done enough to keep the starting job or if the Browns will go looking for a new franchise QB.
Andrew: Brandon Weeden will play 16 games and finish with 3,580 yards, 17 TDs, and 16 INTs. I expect the Browns to be behind in a lot of games and Weeden will have to throw a lot. I don’t really expect to see exponential growth, but I do think Weeden will be a little better than what we saw last year.
Craig: Brandon Weeden will play 14 games, throw for 3200 yards and throw 16 TDs and 14 interceptions. I really don’t have any idea why I picked these numbers, but I think it’s going to be another up and down season that will leave fans and the team wondering if he can be the guy. Ultimately this will mean that he isn’t if you don’t know after year two and the Browns will be looking for a QB this off-season. It won’t be so bad that some will say he made progress.
Kirk: Brandon Weeden will miss one game at some point in the middle of the year, but he will throw for 3,655 yards passing, 20 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. I think Weeden shows improvement and the more vertical attack promised leads to some more passing touchdowns. He’s still going to have plenty of those head-scratching picks though, I fear.
TD: Weeden will play 15 games, and throw for 3800 passing yards and 18 TDs
Jacob: Brandon Weeden will play all 16 games, throw for 3,900 yards, 19 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. Again, a better season. The Browns will throw it more often and farther. Several of his passing TDs again will go to Richardson. His season keeps him in the conversation if the best QBs aren’t available at the Browns’ 2014 drafting spot.
Scott: Brandon Weeden will play 15 games, throw for 3,785 yards, 19 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. The Browns are going to air it out and take a few more chances than in years past. This will lead to a few punt-by-proxy passes, but will pad the yardage total and lead to an additional touchdown or two when these passes replace what would’ve been a dump-off.
Ben:Â Continuing the optimism, Brandon Weeden will play 16 games, throw for 3,700 yards with 20 TDs and 13 INTs. Norv’s offense will do wonders for the 30 year old sophomore. He’ll also totally stop staring down his receivers.
3. Fact or Fiction: Billy Cundiff will finish the season as a member of the Cleveland Browns.
Rick: I’m going to say fiction because I think that the Browns actually like Brandon Bogotay and will give him another shot sometime this season when he is healthy again.
Andrew: Fact? Projecting kickers is a new thing for post-1999 Browns fans. The Browns front office obviously doesn’t put too much stock in the kicking position, so maybe it’s dumb to think Cundiff will finish the season with the Browns, but we’ll see.
Craig: Fact: Billy Cundiff will play well because he wants a chance at this job next year too.
Kirk: BIG fiction on this one. Cundiff’s lack of distance is going to leave some points on the board, and I could see him falling into an inescapable funk at some point. He’ll hold the job until the bye week, where they’ll sign another young kicker to compete with Brandon Bogotay in 2014.
TD: Fiction – this kicker search has been botched from the get go. If Cundiff was good enough, wouldnt he be kicking for someone else?
Jacob: Fact. Billy Cundiff is an adequate mid-range kicker. Since he returned to the league in 2009, he’s been better than the league average in accuracy within 49 yards. Fans will miss Phil Dawson still, but Cundiff will be adequate. He won’t return in 2014 and the Browns will draft a late-round kicker. Finally.
Scott: Fact, but only due to pure trolling. Cundiff can hit the easy ones. He won’t shorten the field in the way that Phil Dawson did, but it will also force the Browns to take chances for the red zone as opposed to just trying to get to the 35.
Ben:Â Fiction. One can’t help but be uninspired by the Cundiff signing and. I’d be shocked if Billy was still their kicker at the end of the season.
4. The most surprising player will be…
Rick: The most surprising player? I’m going to go with Craig Robertson. Robertson’s name has come up a number of times throughout camp as a player to watch. Ray Horton gets excited talking about him. He has a shot to be very good in this defense, and because of his speed he will be all over the field.
Andrew: The most surprising player will be Davone Bess. I think Weeden likes to fall back on safety nets a lot, and I think Bess will be his security blanket. I don’t know that Bess will have a lot of yards or TDs, but I do think he will have a lot of receptions and be a steady presence in the Browns passing game.
Craig: The most surprising player will be Desmond Bryant. Maybe a big free agent shouldn’t be, but because he‘s played so sparingly in the pre-season I don’t think Browns fans have a flavor for how good he can be. I expect big things from him this year, and I think he’ll surprise a lot of fans.
Kirk: I’m going to go with Craig Robertson as well. I expect him to fly under the radar and rack up a lot of tackles in the middle of this defense and not get out of position much at all.
TD: Jabaal Sheard. For some reason I have the feeling that he will really take to the 3-4 outside linebacker spot and thrive.
Jacob: Can I just pick Davone Bess? People often forget how reliable he has been for the Miami Dolphins. He’s one of only 10 NFL players to catch 50+ balls in each of the last five seasons. He’ll be a durable, steady and productive safety valve for Weeden. Great pick-up.
Scott: I too will go with Jabaal Sheard. He’s getting overlooked due to the additions of Paul Kruger and Barkevious Mingo. I think his speed rush will be utilized even more than in the past few seasons. It may get to a point where we’ll all ask ourselves why the Browns had not been running the 3-4 this whole time. Honorable mention: TJ Ward.
Ben:Â The most surprising player will be Buster Skrine. Maybe he’ll surprise us by not being terrible. Eh?
5. The biggest disappointment (player) will be…
Rick: Let’s get this out of the way. No matter who the kicker is, they will not live up to the gold standard in town. That shouldn’t surprise us though. This said, I’m torn between two players. Paul Kruger is the big money man. He hasn’t been a full time player in the NFL as of yet. I think there will be a bit of an adjustment. His weakness in the running game will be on display, but I think he isn’t the biggest disappointment.
That will be Greg Little I’m afraid.
I know he has been working hard before, during and after practice. He looks better in drills. But during the preseason games and even during 11-on-11 drills he tends to fade into the background.
Andrew: The biggest disappointment will be Trent Richardson. I swear I’m not reverse jinxing the guy (or am I???), but I just don’t see it. He still looks a little hesitant hitting the hole and I don’t think his vision is the quickest. It just seems to take him a while to make up his mind what he wants to do, and that’s a perilous trait for RBs to have.
Craig: The biggest disappointment will be Brandon Weeden. It might not be fair, but with all the advancements I think the rest of the team can make, it’s going to feel a lot like Weeden is the one holding the team back as they improve on defense and also running the ball.
Kirk: With Davone Bess and Josh Gordon getting more looks, I could see Greg Little pouting a bit and having his production slip. I’m going to go with Barkevious Mingo. He’s already got the quirky injury for Week 1, and I think Kruger and Sheard could hold down those starting spots, forcing him to fill in the cracks. I like his potential long-term, but it could be a little underwhelming on the stats sheet this year.
TD: Brandon Weeden – the Browns will be back shopping for a QB in the 2014 draft.
Jacob: Paul Kruger is the easy pick here. This signing reminds me a bit of Nick Swisher: All-Pro money for a solid yet unspectacular cog. I’ll also go with Travis Benjamin, a speedy playmaker who won’t suddenly develop into a go-to target as some fans desire. He’s still an inconsistent youngster.
Scott: D’Qwell Jackson. He may be one of my favorite players on the team, but I think this defense will phase him out in terms of statistical totals. He’ll be the leader this team continues to need, but between the edge rushers and the big bodies on the line, his impact will be a considerable decrease from what we’ve grown used to.
Ben:Â Brandon Weeden. I know this completely contradicts my answer to number 2, but here we are. I doubt we’ll end the season feeling optimistic about Mr. Weeden.
6. The players who will represent the Browns in the Pro Bowl, if anyone, will be…
Rick: Joe Thomas. The voting is different this year, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out. Who am I kidding. Nobody cares.
Andrew: I’ll stick with Thomas, but will add Paul Kruger and Joe Haden.
Craig: Joe Thomas and Joe Haden. It’s Haden’s time. He will take this new defense and increased QB pressure and do some remarkable things.
Kirk: Trent Richardson, Joe Haden, and Joe Thomas. I’m highly confident the Browns get more than one player.
TD: Joe Thomas on reputation alone. Im going to say Trent Richardson as well. I think he is going to be a monster this year.
Jacob: Joe Haden, Joe Thomas and Trent Richardson. The studs get their worthy due. Whether Richardson will be healthy enough to play, I’m uncertain. But he’ll certainly receive the nod.
Scott: Joe Thomas, Trent Richardson and Joe Haden. I don’t know if Richardson’s games played will be a point of contention, but the NFC is the side loaded with the quality running backs (AP, Lynch, Morris…). Richardson can easily join Ray Rice, Stevan Ridley and maybe Jamal Charles. I’m struggling to see who else would make it at this point. Also, this is finally Joe Haden’s time.
Ben:Â The players who will represent the Browns in the Pro Bowl, if anyone, will be Joe Thomas and Travis Benjamin.
7. The Browns record, when it’s all said and done, will be ____. They will finish ___ in the AFC North.
Rick: The Browns record will be 7-9 and they will finish third in the division, above the Steelers.
Andrew: The Browns record will be 6-10. They will finish 4th in the AFC North. I do think that if some breaks go their way, the Browns can finish 8-8 or possibly even 9-7. But when do breaks ever go the way of the Browns? More likely, a couple injuries will hit and the depth issues with this roster will take their toll and wreck what could have been a promising season. I don’t relish being a downer on this team, but I just haven’t seen enough progress to make me believe they can really win more games than they lose.
Craig: The Browns record will be 9-7 and finish second in the AFC North. The Ravens are going to take a step back and so are the Steelers. (Yes, this is wishful thinking. I hate making predictions, and here you’ve forced me to make a bunch of them, so this last one’s for me.)
Kirk: The Browns will go 8-8 and finish third in the AFC North ahead of the Steelers. They’ll grab a win against each of the AFC North teams, gaining traction for the future battles with these three. This team is so much better on paper than the 5-11 team that lost a lot of hard luck games, so I find it hard to believe that they can’t/won’t win 3 more games (at bare minimum two more). Still, as much sunshine as I like to exude, I just can’t see this team doing any better than 8-8 either. They would have to get some truly unforeseen contributions and stay remarkably healthy to go 9-7 (or better).
TD: 6-10, last. They will be more competitive, but this secondary problem is not going away and could be a real problem is a league that has become so pass happy.
Jacob: I’ll go with 7-9 and tied for third. Cincinnati wins the AFC North followed by Baltimore at 8-8. Then, Pittsburgh and the Browns split the season series and tie for last.
Scott: I want to say 7-9 so badly, but I’m leaning toward 6-10. I hope I’m wrong, but between a lack of depth and the fact that Buster Skrine is going to log heavy snap totals, I just don’t know if single-digit loss totals are in the cards. They’ll once again bring home fourth in the AFC North, but it’ll be a lot closer than in years past.
Ben:Â The Browns record, when it’s all said and done, will be 6-10 They will finish 4th in the AFC North. Would be thrilled to be wrong.
28 Comments
6-10 is all that has to be said although I really, really, really hope Richardson has the kind of season the WFNY crew thinks because I have him on one of my fantasy teams. I don’t see him doing that well but 1,000/10 should be easily achieved if healthy.
1. 15/1300run/550pass/16TD
2. 16/3900/18TD/15INT
3. coin flip
4. Bess
5. Gordon
6. Thomas/Haden/Richardson
trip robertson will have 4000 yards
Richardson – 15 games, 1300 yards, 14 TD’s
Weeden – 3800 yards, 20 TD’s, 15 INT’s
Cundiff will finish the season with the Browns
Most surprising player will be Travis Benjamin
Most disappointing player will be Greg Little
Pro Bowlers will be Thomas, Haden, TRich, and maybe Mack
Record will be 8-8, tied for 2nd in AFC North with Baltimore
Oh this is fun! I have one: Mike Holmgren will ________ while __________.
“finish his transformation into a walrus”, “combing his mustache”
Richardson – 15 games 1350 12 TD + 400 receiving and 4 TDs = Pro Bowl
Weeden – 16 games 4000 yards 22TDs 14INT.
Cundiff will finish
Most surprising will be Richardson only because people expect him to be hurt
Disappointing will be Mingo only because of the 1st round hype
Pro Bowlers will be Thomas, Haden, Richardson.
Record will be 6-10 but significantly improved with a 22 PPG average.
I don’t understand how people thing weeden will throw for less than 3500 yards in 15 games this season. That basically means you think he will be worse than last year.
2012 stats in 15 starts (14 complete games) 3385 yards, 14 TDS, 17 INTs.
If you take away the first game against philly, he had the following stats in 13
complete games -3150 14TD 13 INT. (I removed the portion of the Denver game)
So just do the math @ 242 yards a game. He should easily get to 4000 in 16 games if he still running Shurmur’s WCO.
Holy cow, we should be EXPECTING 4000 yards and 20 TDs and anything less should be a disappointment.
1. 14games, 2000total yds from scrimmage, 15TDs
2. 14games, 4000yds, 21TDs,19INT
3. Fiction
4. Sheard (if he can be disruptive on pass rush, then he’s our potentially most complete OLB even w/o hefty sack numbers)
5. Robertson (just based on these expectations. Gipson, Skrine, Owens, Little, Cameron, Weeden are all expected to have some struggles while Robertson gets a few puff pieces and people think the world of him)
6. JoeT, Haden, Ward, Richardson
7. I don’t know. We predict mediocrity every year and they disappoint us with even that. between 6 & 10 wins is where we should fall.
My turn! My turn! I’m hopped up on Kool Aid (thanks, Sham), and it’s my turn!
1. Richardson will play in 18 games, rush for 1,428 yards, and have 21 TDs, including receiving.
2. Weeden will play in 17 games (“high ankle sprain” in the 4th quarter of the Wild Card game), throw for 3,877 yards, with 25, no 26, TDs, and 8 INTs.
3. Billy Cundiff will finish the year with the Browns, but on the practice squad.
4. Most surprising player will be . . . Garrett Gilkey. Locks in the starting G spot, tears up the league with pure Ginger Rage.
5. Biggest disappointment will be Brian Hoyer, after he throws a pick 6 in the second playoff game, while up by 4 with 1:00 left in the game.
6. Pro Bowl: Thomas, Haden, Weeden, Jackson.
7. The Browns record will be 10-8, having finished second in the AFC North, winning one playoff game and losing another.
That was fun, but now I need a refill.
1. 14 games, 1250 yds, 14 tds
2. 15 games, 3850 yds, 19 tds, 18 ints
3. Fiction. He will cost us a game, and be gone shortly after.
4. Sheard. He will fit nicely in his new spot.
5. Weeden. The new system won’t be enough. Bad decisions and arm punts galore. Start scouting the college ranks now, folks.
6. Joe Thomas for certain, and possibly Richardson
7. 6-10, 4th place. Defense will be more fun to watch, but offense won’t be able to stay on the field enough to let them rest.
1428yds including receiving isn’t too heavy in the kool-aid. he sucked and was injured for much of last year and got 1317yds.
“continue to eat sandwiches” “he sits on the crapper”
My sales r off da hook 2day! Kool-Aid 4 every1!!!!!!
So based on these Richardson predictions I’m thinking he’s a definite start week 1, right?
The 1,428 is rushing alone. He’ll have another 481 receiving.
Playing in 18 games is way Kool-Aidy.
gotcha, I saw the “including receiving” and thought it meant the entire item. well, Richardson just fell short of my expectations with that mere 1909 yds from scrimmage!!!
In my projections, he’s clearly going to underachieve!
Sorry for the confusion. The TDs figure was the only combined figure. And, honestly, I do think that folks are being a little too conservative in these TD estimates, particularly seeing the number of games that they are projecting him to play and knowing the style of offense that we have. If he really plays in 14-16 games, and the Browns win 6-9 games, I think 13-14 TDs is too low. With those other conditions, I think the number would have to be higher (also considering we don’t have a “goal line” alternative option – he’s it).
“not develop quarterbacks” while “eating quarterpounders (with cheese)”
Norv & Chud love TEs (goalline alternative)
Oh, sure. Was referring only to RB alternatives. If it’s a running play on the GL, it’s going to be TR.
1) Trich 1250 rush, 450 pass, 14 td’s in 15 games. He will use the bye week plus one game to recover from a minor injury and play hurt the rest of the way.
2) Weeden 3950 pass yds, -2 rushing yards, 20 td’s and 14 ints in 16 games. And we will still try to draft a QB early in 2014.
3) Cundiff should finish the season. If not things will get ugly.
4) Everyone discounts Josh Gordon because of the suspension, but he’s going to light it up for 14 games and gain 1200 yards.
5) The biggest disappointment won’t be a player, but a key injury that we lack depth to overcome.
6) Most likely to make the probowl in order: JT, Trich, Haden, Mack, Sheard, Kruger, Taylor, Gordon, Benjamin (as a PR), Cameron, Ward. My guess is three of these players will go.
7) The Browns will go 7-9, give or take a game, for last place in the AFC North.
I’m feeling pessimistic today….
1) TRich: 13 games, 1350 total yards, 14 TDs
2) Weeden: 12 games, 2750 yards passing (and maybe 12 yards rushing), 17 TDs, 16 INTs
3) Fact. Cundiff will remain on the roster because the front office is fine with an okay-level kicker
4) Ward will be the most surprising player
5) Jordan Cameron will be the most disappointing. Des Bryant second most disappointing
6) Thomas in Pro Bowl, maybe Haden, possibly Benjamin as a kick returner, nobody else
7) 5-11, 4th in AFCN
Happy to be proven wrong.
I know this is typical browns fan thinking but they somehow found a way to lose to the eagles, josh gordon’s drop cost the colts game, and Greg little had crucial drops against the ravens on Thursday night. Despite all that, the browns were still in playoff contention headed into the redskins game. Considering those fluky losses, even the slightest improvement could bring at least 8 wins.
Okay, (a) the Browns were 5-8 going into the Washington game. They were only “in playoff contention” in the sense that, if they won out and a lot of fluky things happened, they might have been able to squeeze into the playoffs as an 8-8 team — something that happens very, very rarely in the NFL.
And (b) the five teams that lost to the Browns can also say “if only.” How many times did the Steelers fumble? Records reflect what a team is, not the best possible outcome of every encounter. There’s no reason to think the Browns won’t have drops, disappointing losses in games they could have won — as well as wins in games they could have lost, opponents fumbling the ball at inopportune times, and so on.
If nothing else, we should all be experts by now in what 4 and 5 win teams look like. They’re always just good enough that someone can say “well, they’re really better than their record, if you look at X.” I saw a 5-11 team last year — some promise, some bad luck, some good luck, and lots of flaws.
Well seeing that a 7-9 team made the playoffs in 2010 and an 8-8 team made the playoffs in 2011, 2008, 2005, and 2004 “very, very rarely” is certainly a stretch.
I guess my point with the Browns’ near losses was the fact that these games came down to one play, not “many fumbles.” If Josh Gordon catches ONE pass the Browns win, if L.J. Fort catches one interception that is fed to him, the Browns win.
I am not denying that the Browns were incredibly flawed and still have glaring flaws, but weren’t at least some addressed? They were 5-11 and could almost taste 8-8 with a rookie starting at all three of the most important offensive skill positions (QB, RB, WR) and with a notoriously pathetic coaching staff. The defense is revamped and the schedule is less grueling than previous years.
All I’m saying is that 8-8 shouldn’t shock the world for this team.
1.T-Rich 16 GP 1250 rush 350 rec yards 20 total TDs
2. Weeden 16 GP 3750 pass 250 rush yards 25 total TDs (23 pass) 12 INT
3. Fiction. Cundiff would end up shanking easy FGs and a couple kickoffs out of bounds that could cost the team a couple wins, especially on the road.
4. Most surprising player: FS Tashaun Gipson. He becomes the ball-hawking safety to fully compliment the hard-hitting TJ Ward, leaving CB as the sole weakness needing addressed in the draft (besides Joe Haden naturally).
5. See #3
6. Pro Bowlers: Thomas, Haden. Replacements could also include T-Rich, Mack.
7.Record: 7-9 (see #3 for reason) 3rd in AFC North (3-3 in division); although the Browns could net up to 10 wins.
I have a new-old category: Most improved aspect of the team and least improved.
Most improved is the coaching as Chud/Norv/Horton greatly surpass Shurmur/Chilly/Jauron.
Least improved, well the biggest regression, is FG kicker. Cundiff hasn’t been the same since he pulled his infamous Ray Finkle.
Just so it gets on the official WFNY record… 🙂
1. Richardson will play all 16 games, finishing with 1,700+ yards (rushing + receiving) and a combined 16 TDs.
2. Weeden will play all 16 games, throwing for 3,800+ yards with 23 TDs and 16 INTs.
3. Billy Cundiff will finish elsewhere, though not because of a high-profile missed kick. Bogotay will come back and reclaim the job.
4. Most surprising player will be Buster Skrine, who will have a stellar year switching between the 2nd CB and nickel slots.
5. Biggest disappointment will be either Paul Kruger or D’Qwell Jackson.
6. Pro Bowl: Thomas, Richardson, and Phil Taylor.
7. The Browns’ record of 10-6 may be enough to beat the Bengals on a tiebreak or may not. If it is, they’ll have a home playoff game against the Bengals or Colts or Ravens, which they’ll win, then lose at Denver. Damn it.