I know the NFL season just ended a couple days ago, but I thought I would go ahead and give my early opinion of the Cleveland Browns for the 2008 season.
First of all, I'd like to say that I don't think there is any way the Browns will be able to win 10 games again next season. I'm not saying I think the Browns will get worse next year. I'm saying they have a bitch of a schedule in '08 and I think they will be lucky to win 8 games next season.
The good news for the Browns is that the Steelers have a tougher schedule than Cleveland.
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Here is a look at the teams on Cleveland's schedule for '08. Each opponent's '07 record is in parenthesis after their name. In addition to Cleveland's Divisional foes, the Browns also face every team in the AFC South and NFC East, along with the 2nd place team from the AFC West (Denver) and the 2nd place team from the AFC East (Buffalo):
Cleveland's Home Games: Houston (8-8), Indy (13-3), Dallas (13-3), Giants (10-6), Denver (7-9), Pittsburgh (10-6), Cincinnati (7-9), and Baltimore (5-11).
Cleveland's Away Games: Jacksonville (11-5), Tennessee (10-6), Philadelphia (8-8), Washington (9-7), Buffalo (7-9), Pittsburgh (10-6), Cincinnati (7-9), and Baltimore (5-11).
Those are the 16 games that Cleveland will play in '08. All that remains to be determined is the exact dates the Browns will face each of their opponents.
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OK, now that I have covered how difficult the Browns schedule is going to be next season I would like to move on to the next issue I see facing the Browns. The quarterback position.
I've been saying most of the season that I think the Browns should keep both Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn for one more year. But, after looking at the Browns schedule for next season I think it might be wise for Phil Savage to at least listen to what other teams might be willing to offer for either Quinn or Anderson. The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that the Browns are in fact willing to listen to trade offers for Derek Anderson. The thing I find most interesting about the Plain Dealer's story is that there is no mention of the Browns possibly trading Brady Quinn. Does that mean the Browns have already made up their mind who the long term quarterback in Cleveland will be? If so, I wonder what information they are basing their decision on?
You would think that a team that might be considering trading their starting quarterback in the offseason would have at least given their untested backup QB a few meaningful snaps during the regular season. But, the Browns didn't do any such thing. Even in the Browns' last game of the season against San Francisco, which was a completely meaningless game, coach Romeo Crennel stuck with Derek Anderson throughout. Quinn did actually get to see some action on one drive late in the 2nd quarter of the 49er game when Anderson got hurt and had to leave the game, but Crennel put Anderson right back in to start the 2nd half. Quinn finished the game 3 for 8 and led the Browns to a field goal. Edwards and Winslow both dropped Quinn passes in the end zone on that drive that should have been caught for a touchdown. All in all, I thought Quinn looked pretty decent on his only drive of the entire NFL season. That's right, that is the only action Brady Quinn saw all season.
Wouldn't you think the Browns would want to see how Brady Quinn performed in actual games before they even entertained thoughts of trading away Derek Anderson?
I'm not defending Derek Anderson. I think DA may be the most overrated quarterback in the NFL. Sure, Derek threw 29 TD passes this year, but he also threw 19 interceptions and only completed 56.5% of his passes. And any knowledgeable Cleveland fan will tell you that DA always threw his INTs at the worst possible time. But, at least DA is a known quantity. And all things considered, I think Derek did a pretty decent job in his first season as a starter in the NFL.
Now, Cleveland finds themselves in a difficult situation. They are without a 1st round draft pick this year, they have a defense that needs a lot help, and they have a schedule next season that will make it difficult for either of their quarterbacks to achieve the kind of success that Derek Anderson achieved this year. So, if they decide to keep Anderson as the starter there is a good chance that he will suffer a sophomore slump and his trade value will drop. If they bench Anderson and decide to go with Quinn, they will be entering the season with an unproven starting quarterback who will probably struggle against a much tougher schedule than the one Anderson faced this season.
I'm sorry, but I think if the Browns don't trade one of these guys this offseason they will be facing the mother of all quarterback controversies next year. And, if they decide to keep both of these guys for one more year and either of them looks bad next year, the Browns will lose the ability to get something of value in a trade for the loser of their quarterback controversy.
So, if Cleveland is even thinking about trading either one of these guys then they better do it now. I know it will be a tough decision, but that is the kind of decision that Crennel and Savage get paid the proverbial "big bucks" to make.
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Next, the Browns need to find a way to resign Jamal Lewis or find a decent replacement for him. Jamal is 29 years old and probably doesn't have a lot of miles left on his engine, but there is no doubt that he was an integral part of the Browns' success this year. Lewis put up over 1300 yards rushing this year, averaged 4.4 yards per carry, had 30 receptions, and scored 11 touchdowns. That kind of production is hard to replace.
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The Browns need to talk Joe Jurevicius into returning for at least one more year. All indications are that Joe will return next year, but he has mentioned the possibility of hanging up his cleats. Joe was a nice 3rd option this year with 50 receptions and his productivity would be sorely missed next year if he chooses to retire.
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Cleveland also needs to try and do something to get a first round draft pick this year. Their defense needs a lot of help and they need to move up in the draft where they can get somebody that will make an immediate impact on the defensive side of the ball. There are some Free Agents available in this year's market, but I think the high impact players will probably get the franchise tags from their respective teams. So, Cleveland's best bet will probably be to try and get better in the draft. I think Cleveland's most desperate need for next year is on the defensive line, and there are some quality defensive lineman who should still be available in the middle of this year's first round. You can check out some of this year's defensive line prospects here.
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So what do I think will happen in Cleveland?
I think the Browns will resign Jamal Lewis and talk Jurevicius into at least one more year. Then, I think the Browns will try to sign and trade Derek Anderson for draft picks. The only question being to which team they try to trade DA, and what kind of draft picks they ask for in return. I think the Browns will probably try to get a 1st and 3rd round pick for Anderson. I'm just not sure which team they will try to trade him to. I think the most obvious teams that will show interest in DA would be the Vikings, Bears, Falcons, Dolphins, 49ers, Jets, Ravens, and Chiefs.
All of those teams except the Bears and Falcons have a young quarterback on their roster who has shown some promise. The Vikings have Tarvaris Jackson, the Dolphins have John Beck, the 49ers have Alex Smith, the Jets have Kellen Clemens, the Ravens have Troy Smith, and the Chiefs have Brody Croyle. I think the argument can easily be made that DA is a better quarterback than all of those guys. But, all those teams have young QBs with potential on their roster and probably won't be willing to pay the high price for DA. But, you never know.
I don't think Bill Parcells in Miami will be willing to give up the first overall pick for Anderson, so I don't think Miami will be in the running at all.
That leaves the Bears and the Falcons. I think there is a pretty good chance the Bears and Falcons will both probably draft a quarterback (Matt Ryan from BC or Andre Woodson from Kentucky). But, I think the Bears are closer to being a playoff team than the Falcons and might consider trading for a QB instead of drafting and developing one. So, if any team is willing to pay the price that Cleveland will be asking for DA, I think it will be the Bears. Unless, of course, the Bears somehow manage to acquire Donovan McNabb. Then, all bets are off.
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