Cleveland Browns 2009 Season Outlook

It’s hard to believe that – just two years ago – the Browns were 10-6 and one of the most exciting young squads in football. Now, on the heels of a disastrous 4-12 campaign, they’re under a new regime (head coach Romeo Crennel is out; Eric Mangini is in) and new faces are everywhere.

Key Departures: CB Terry Cousin, LB Andra Davis, QB Ken Dorsey, S Sean Jones, WR Joe Jurevicius, OT Kevin Shaffer, TE Kellen Winslow, RB Jason Wright.

Key Acquisitions: LB David Bowens, LB Eric Barton, DE Kenyon Coleman, S Abram Elam, OT George Foster, WR Mike Furrey, CB Rod Hood, CB Corey Ivy, CB Hank Poteat, QB Brett Ratliff, TE Robert Royal, OT John St. Clair, OG-OT Floyd Womack.

Draft: 1st Round: C Alex Mack; 2nd Round: WR Brian Robiskie, WR Mohamed Massaquoi, OLB David Veikune

As you can see from the above, Eric Mangini came into town and rebuilt the Browns in a hurry. The draft-day trade of the No. 5 pick to the Jets (New York selected USC’s Mark Sanchez) netted him three former players in Coleman, Elam and Ratliff; Mangini then signed former Jets linebacker Eric Barton and cornerback Hank Poteat. If Mangini’s goal was to add major depth to Cleveland’s defense (admittedly a weakness from a year ago) then he certainly did it – a slew of veterans have been brought in with the understanding that no starting job is set in stone, and that substitutions will be frequent.

Offensively, the Browns have a lot of issues. The Kellen Winslow experiment was a flop and they jettisoned him to Tampa. While it cleared up some chemistry and maturity issues, it left Cleveland without one of its best pass-catchers. And that’s troubling, because Braylon Edwards is coming off a terrible year, Donte Stallworth is mired in a legal mess and Joe Jurevicius was released. The issues at receiver forced Mangini’s hand at the draft and he answered by selecting Brian Robiskie and Mohamed Massaquoi. While promising, it’s yet another area of the team that’s being rebuilt on the fly. A lot of Cleveland’s success this year will depend on which QB – most likely Brady Quinn, but possibly Derek Anderson – can gel with all the new faces on offense.

Notable 2009 Games: It’s not an easy schedule for Cleveland. The Browns play five of their first eight games on the road in Denver, Buffalo, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Chicago. The Browns do get a Monday night game this year – Week 10 vs. the Ravens – and that could very well be the highlight of their season.

2009 Outlook: Mangini has a history of turning around bad teams. In his first season with the Jets, he took a 4-12 team to 10-6 and a playoff berth. But while Mangini will likely make the Browns a more competitive team than last year, it’s hard to fathom they’ll be anything like those aforementioned Jets – the schedule is just too tough. A 7-9 or 8-8 season will be seen as a step in the right direction, but even that’ll be tough to achieve.