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Who would have thought anyone would be discussing the Cleveland Browns this early and this often? Well, they’ve done it. They’ve finally done it. They are relevant once more. GM John Dorsey has done an outstanding job at getting better football players on their roster. Predictions courtesy of YouWager
Cleveland cannot wait for Week 1 against the Steelers, but they have to finish their preseason slate first. Week 3 of the preseason is Thursday night. They take on the Eagles in preseason action on, and are -3 in the game.
Changes Made in Cleveland
He’s improved nearly every spot he could with the exception of left tackle. Losing Joe Thomas to retirement was a tough blow for the team. It’s not often you have a player like that on the roster. Even on a great roster, he’s probably your best player. So let’s break this down a bit and give credit to the most improved team in football.
They traded for Jarvis Landry, shipped Corey Coleman out, brought in Tyrod Taylor to play quarterback, drafted Nick Chubb and signed Carlos Hyde. Those are just the changes made on offense, but that alone is enough change for any organization. Oh wait, they also changed offensive coordinators. The terminology change would be enough for one player to struggle, say Kirk Cousins in Minnesota, but the whole darn team is pushing it.
Mistakes will happen early in the season and this much volatility and change to one offensive unit is going to be chaos. Delay of game penalties, holding calls, illegal shifts, and many more penalties will happen all because of confusion, confusion caused by inconsistency and lack of continuity amongst teammates and coaches.
Defending Champion Eagles
The Eagles, on the other hand, didn’t have too many transactions this offseason that would change their approach. Frank Reich is now the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts and therefore, a big loss to the offensive structure, but much of the core concepts of the offensive unit are intact. Duce Staley remains running backs coach and the new offensive coordinator, Mike Groh was hired from within.
Critical contributors during their playoff push last season remain, while also adding key talent like Michael Bennett and Dallas Goeddart. Losing the likes of Mychal Kendricks, Brent Celek, and Vinny Curry will be tough, but these additions are pretty good plugs for whatever leaks may spring at these respective positions.
Pick and Prediction
Because of their continuity and recent successes, adding to increased confidence, I like the reigning champs to beat up on the Browns in week one. After all, the Browns have gone a combined 1-31 in the past two years. Playing the best team in the sport last season probably won’t have them all of a sudden rising to the occasion.
Bet on the Philadelphia Eagles +3 at YouWager.Even with a roster overhaul, we are still talking about the Browns. Todd Haley is an elite offensive coordinator, but he can’t pull this rabbit form his hat, not with this little time to transition. Eagles soar on to week one with a “W”.
