What To Expect From The 2009 Cleveland Browns: Growing Pains

By MICHAEL HEINBACH

The month of May isn't the right time to dust off the crystal ball and begin predicting an NFL team's fate for the upcoming season. Then again, some folks look a challenge in the eye and think, "bring it". New Cleveland Browns head coach Eric Mangini is obviously in that camp.

The former Bill Belichick understudy and recently jettisoned New York Jets coach has a daunting task ahead of him in attempting to turn around a Browns franchise that since its rebirth in 1999 has done little to inspire hope in its highly-devoted fan base. Last season, Cleveland was one of those sexy preseason picks to reach the playoffs, a team on the rise with a core of solid young talent ready for a breakout campaign.

In the end, the Browns produced exactly one highlight - a 35-14 drubbing of the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants before a national Monday Night Football audience in Week 6 that left Cleveland at 2-3 and its victory-starved fans talking the p-word. Take it away Jim Mora.

"Playoffs? Don't talk about playoffs! Are you kidding me? Playoffs? I'm just hoping we can win a game, another game."

From then on, the Browns bumbled their way to a 4-12 finish. They saw 2007 Pro Bowl quarterback Derek Anderson return to earth, second-year QB Brady Quinn, the face of the franchise, look pedestrian and end his season due to injury after three mediocre starts, another former Pro Bowler in wide receiver Braylon Edwards lead the league in dropped passes and not a single offensive touchdown scored over the excruciating final six games of the season. 

The ghastly final numbers: 14.5 points per game (30th in the NFL), 249.1 yards per game (31st), 148.8 passing yards (also 31st) and 100.3 rushing yards per game (26th).

All this led to the start of an era in which Mangini and new general manager George Kokonis will attempt to turn a fixer-upper into a legitimate NFL franchise, something Browns Backers have begged for the last 10 seasons. The duo firmly put their stamp on the team by trading away the team's best offensive player in tight end Kellen Winslow, trading down from the fifth pick in the draft in order to stockpile more picks as well as former New York Jets and calling for an open competition for the starting quarterback position.

There will obviously be some stumbling blocks to conquer in 2009 as the Browns get used to a new coaching staff, a new playbook and a wealth of new players. But there is some legitimate talent on this team and under Mangini, the Browns will be forced into a new era of discipline and accountability that was missing under Romeo Crennel. Could the new coach bring and end to an old Cleveland Browns' offensive staple, the false-start penalty? 

There are areas where the team looks improved on paper. The defensive secondary was highly scrutinized a year ago despite getting little help from the pass rush.

Starting cornerbacks Eric Wright and Brandon McDonald should build on last season. New additions Hank Poteat and Corey Ivy as well as draftees Coye Francies and Don Carey all have potential to shine (my way of saying tremendous upside because I refuse to use words invented by Mel Kiper Jr.). But the addition of Abram Elam might have been the biggest score during the Browns' draft-day swap meet.

The defensive line, starring Cleveland's best all-around player Shaun Rogers, could be better than in 2008 as Corey Williams, Kenyon Coleman, CJ Mosley, Robaire Smith, Ahtyba Rubin and Shaun Smith combine for a formidable unit. An offensive line that struggled to meet expectations in 2008 added first-round pick Alex Mack to go with standout Joe Thomas and Eric Steinbach has a strong chance of returning to form.

But wide receiver will be a question mark as Donte Stallworth will almost surely miss the season while defending himself on a DUI manslaughter charge and Edwards is still reportedly on the trading block. Nobody knows if the 2007 or 2008 version of Edwards will show up, though he should be motivated by playing in a contract year. Draftees Brian Robiskie and Mohamed Masaquoi will battle with veteran free-agent acquisition David Patten for the Nos. 2 and 3 receiver positions.

This year could see the end of the line for Jamal Lewis as the Browns' featured running back, and that should mean more touches for rising star Jerome Harrison, who former offensive coordinator Rod Chudzinski failed to use to his potential. Sixth-round draft pick James Davis was a steal out of a Clemson backfield in which he was forced to share carries with CJ Spiller. On film, Davis looks like the Lewis who literally ran over the Browns through the early part of the decade.

Cleveland's tight ends - Steve Heiden, free-agent signee Robert Royal, Darnell Dinkins and Martin Rucker - all have good hands and can block. All should fit well in Mangini's offense.

Special teams were the brightest spot for the 2008 squad with Josh Cribbs continuing to morph into one of the league's elite return men and place kicker Phil Dawson and punter Dave Zastudil each continuing their solid play.

Here's the bottom line: Though it would be nearly impossible to take a step backward after a miserable 2008, the Browns have too many unanswered questions to hope for anything better than a .500 finish to 2009, and even with a far easier schedule than a year ago, 8-8 would be asking a lot. If a No. 1 quarterback emerges, the defense improves and the receiving corps plays to its potential, there might just be a light at the end of the tunnel. But a true Browns fan would never count on one.