Looking Ahead To Titans-Browns 8-29-09

The “dress rehearsal” game of the preseason is upon us.

I had certain expectations going into the first two preseason games, but I’m not too sure what to expect out of this game, so I’m going to run down a list of what I’d like to see.

Even with the first team playing deeper into the game, it’s tough to come up with some concrete expectations now that the Browns have actually lived up to my earlier goal of just showing up and looking like a professional football team.

That being said, one thing I do expect to see this week is fewer penalties from the offensive line. Should they continue to commit drive-killing false starts and illegal formation penalties, it’s going to be a long year.

James Davis should get some quality reps with the first team. The offensive line, while not exactly good, did manage to open a few holes last week. I’d like to see how Davis does with those kinds of openings.

Jamal Lewis isn’t hitting them, so don’t waste them.

I’d like head coach Eric Mangini to be a little more consistent with how he conducts the quarterback competition because he has been very inconsistent in how he distributes the reps with both quarterbacks.

Not only is this unfair to Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson, it’s unfair to the team. This team needs a leader on the field, and busting up the reps like Mangini has been doing isn’t getting the team any closer to a decision.

Brady got good reps in week one, but Anderson didn’t get much to work with when he was behind center. In week two, it was the exact opposite with the same results.

I’ll qualify that comment by stating Anderson didn’t do much with the opportunities he was given—He just doesn’t make good decisions.

I could say I expect Anderson to make better decisions this week, but that would be like asking a diva wide receiver to put the team before themselves.  We all know that’s not going to happen.

While I don’t expect it, I do hope to see our defense put some pressure on Kerry Collins, contain the running game, and not see Abram Elam get smoked. That might be asking for a lot, but one can dream.

Actually, what I would like to see from our defense is some some progress from rookie David Veikune that demonstrates he’s starting to “get” the adjustments he’s had to make since being moved to the inside.

It also would be nice to see Kaluka Maiava put up a few more takedowns like he did last week versus the Lions. Those kinds of tackles on special teams never get old.

I haven't predicted any scores yet due to the innate kookiness of the preseason. I'll start doing that with the regular season. However, I wouldn't be surprised to see this game turn into a high-scoring affair.

This week, more than any other week in preseason, will give you an idea about how the Browns will look coming out of the gate in Week One.

Let’s all hope they look good.