Expectations for the Cleveland Browns' Offense

The questions surrounding the 2009 Cleveland Browns are numerous. Trying to answer them all is an exercise in futility, something the Browns were all too familiar with last season.

There's plenty of new personnel and an entirely new coaching staff. Most importantly, there will be a new playbook that takes over for jettisoned head coach Romeo Crennel's— the one that failed to produce a touchdown by the offense over the final six games of 2008.

Looking at new head coach Eric Mangini's tendencies and the players he's brought into the fold since being hired in January, it becomes a little easier to envision what this year's Browns will look like on the field.

Mangini, like his predecessor in Cleveland, is another disciple of Bill Belichick. Yet his coaching style and philosophies are far more similar to Belichick's than Crennel's ever were.

To a fault, Crennel was thought of as a players' coach. Under his guidance, there was a general lack of discipline and accountability surrounding the team that inevitably led to a miserable 4-12 finish to the 2008 campaign.

What Browns owner Randy Lerner envisioned when hiring Mangini was a 180-degree about face in that department. Mangini knows there's nothing more important than the football and will not tolerate playing fast and loose with it.

The drafting of sure-handed receivers Brian Robiskie and Mohamed Massaquoi, as well as the acquisitions of veteran pass-catchers David Patten and Mike Furrey, means the heat is on Braylon Edwards, the Browns' top receiving threat.

Edwards' penchant for dropping passes will not sit well with his new coach. Including Joshua Cribbs, who has nearly become exclusively a kick returner, the Browns now list eight wide receivers on the roster.

Should Edwards remain with the team when the season begins, he'll be on a very short leash and certainly not re-signed when his contract expires at the end of the year if he continues to put football on the ground.

Mangini began his tenure in Cleveland by stating the battle for starting quarterback would be an open competition. But his style dictates that the job is Brady Quinn's to lose.

The Browns' new coach would prefer an accurate passer, like Quinn, rather than one from the gun-slinging, rocket-arm school like Derek Anderson. Having Brett Favre forced on him by New York Jets management last season obviously didn't workout and may have done irreparable damage to Mangini's hairline.

In regards to the passing game, expect a wealth of screens and short slant patterns when throwing on first or second down. In third-and-long situations, don't hold your breath for the long ball, but expect routes that have the intended receiver catching the ball just beyond the first-down marker.

With the Jets, Mangini developed a love for the two-pronged running attack and used Thomas Jones and Leon Washington to complement each other. Both made the Pro Bowl last season and each is unhappy in their current contracts. Mangini might try to work another deal with his former team for one of the two, but let's focus on the current roster.

Jamal Lewis still has some gas left in the tank and will be called on to be bruising punisher that wears down opposing defenses in the fourth quarter. But unlike Crennel, Mangini should find more value in getting touches for Jerome Harrison, who is more of a speedy scat back.

Should sixth-round draft pick James Davis meet expectations, he could see some time giving Anderson some much needed breathers.

This should lead to Lewis doing his grinding up the middle and Harrison running around the ends and catching quick screens. Most likely, the Browns will run first to set up the pass, rather than the other way around.

All this depends on what Mangini feels are the team's strengths coming out of preseason camp. But a study of Mangini's past does a decent job of providing a glimpse at the future of the Browns' offense.