2009 NFL Football Picks Preview: Cleveland Browns

As far as NFL football betting is concerned, the Cleveland Browns lost people a lot of money last year. Following up on the heels of their surprising 2007 campaign, they were expected to come out on all cylinders in 2008. Many people believed they could win the division and challenge in the playoffs.

However, they immediately came out and started losing. Their surprising star in Derek Anderson had a terrible year and their incumbent in Brady Quinn didn't do much, either. Can the Browns rebound in 09?

The Good News

There really wasn't a whole lot of good news in the offseason for the Browns. I guess, if you consider bringing the coach who failed to take a talented Jets team to the playoffs last year good news, then the Browns are doing great.

Maybe the change of scenery will help Mangini get his genius status back. He brought with him a bunch of Jet castoffs to rebuild the defense. However, if it didn't work in New York, what makes anyone think it's going to work in Cleveland?

The Bad News

The bad news is a lot more lengthy than the good news in '09 for the Browns.

To begin with, their top-three pick from a few years ago, Braylon Edwards, was at the top of the league leaders in dropped passes. The supposedly "can't miss" wide receiver prospect has been doing a lot more missing than expected. He'll have to step it up if he wants to regain the promise that he showed in previous seasons.

Their emerging tight end in Kellen Winslow got shipped off in a trade that made absolutely no sense. In addition to that, their other big acquisition, Donte Stallworth, might not even play this season after killing a man in a car accident. The aerial attack is a huge question mark going into the season.

They don't know if they have a legitimate quarterback, wide receiver, or tight end on the roster. They also reached in the second round on wide receiver Brian Robiskie, who many considered to be a third or fourth round pick, because of their troubles at receiver. The running game is nothing to write home about either, with Jamal Lewis on the tail end of his career.

The defense has a lot of young play-makers already in the fold. Kamerion Wimbley, Eric Wright, and Brodney Poole have showed flashes of brilliance in their young careers. However, the trick is whether or not they can all come together as a unit.

Outlook

As far as free NFL picks go, the forecast doesn't call for sunny skies in Cleveland this year. Expect the Browns to battle it out with Cincy for last place in the division, while the Ravens and Steelers fight it out for the top spot.

Mangini has shown nothing that should make anyone believe he can right the ship in Cleveland and the additions they made are marginal improvement, at best. Maybe they'll benefit from addition by subtraction without a distraction like Winslow in the locker room.

Just don't expect much in the win department this year.

Make sure you check out Vernon Croy's Expert NFL Picks this season.