Bold Cleveland Browns Predictions for 2009

The Browns are the underdogs in 2009, and all the experts and analysts are predicting a less-than-stellar season for the Browns.

Hot off of the Bleacher Report assignment desk and into your home, I have been asked (or dared to depending on how you look at this assignment) to give out bold predictions for the Browns in 2009.

There will be many who do not agree with what will be said in this article, and there will be many who will agree, but I am confident in making these points and the Browns have a good chance to accomplish most of them, if not all of them in 2009.

A side note: I am not going to say anything regarding the quarterbacks, because it is best for that to just play itself out naturally. Also, it is too much of a hot topic right now that anything I may say has probably been said in another article already.

The Browns will finish the 2009 season in third place in the AFC North with a record of 9-7.

vs. Minnesota – Win – The Favre Saga continues and that will hurt the Vikings. Also, Eric Mangini's strategic plan of not releasing who the Browns' starting quarterback will work to his advantage.

at Denver – Win – Too much drama in Denver which means not enough focus too.

at Baltimore – Loss – Tough loss, but it will be close. The Ravens defense will not be as good without Rex Ryan then they were with him.

vs. Cincinnati – Win – The Bengals have a lot of raw talent, but it will take time to develop.

at Buffalo – Loss – The TO circus is just that, a circus. It will not be enough to get the Bills out of the cellar in the AFC East.

at Pittsburgh – Loss – Being in Steeler country is just too much for this rebuilding Browns team to handle.

vs. Green Bay – Loss – Too much firepower coming out of Aaron Rogers' arm.

at Chicago – Loss – Close game, but the Bears will win, not because of Jay Cutler, but because of running back Matt Forte.

Bye week

vs. Baltimore – Win – The Dawg Pound will be too much for the birdies in this battle.

at Detroit – Win – If the Browns lose this game......then no comment.

at Cincinnati – Loss – I'll give this one to the Bengals because they are at home.

vs. San Diego – Loss – Too much to handle from one of the AFC's best teams.

vs. Pittsburgh – Win – This will be a dirty battle, but the Browns will end the losing streak, finally.

at Kansas City – Win – The Chiefs are rebuilding, like the Browns, but the Browns have a little more talent.

vs. Oakland – Win – Al Davis is driving this ship into an iceberg. Poor Raiders.

vs. Jacksonville – Win – Close game in the freezing cold Lake Erie air, but the Browns will come out on top.

The Browns will have six Pro Bowl players in 2009.

Those players will be ILB D'Qwell Jackson, CB Eric Wright, DT Shaun Rogers, LT Joe Thomas, ST Josh Cribbs, and OLB Kamerion Wimbley

D'Qwell Jackson, ILB – Jackson led the NFL in tackles in 2008 and now that he has fellow ILB Eric Barton to mentor him, he will absolutely explode not only statistically, but as a playmaker and leader on defense.

Eric Wright, CB – Wright has displayed solid man-to-man coverage in practices and preseason games and he also has a nose for the ball. Look for Wright to stand opposite of the other teams' star wide receiver all year long and shut them down.

Shaun Rogers, DT – Rogers has been rested for all of the preseason games and he will be extremely hungry once the regular season begins. Look for more double and triple teams on him, more blocked field goal attempts, and more pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

Joe Thomas, LT – He is one of the top left tackles in the game. With two years under his belt and two Pro Bowl appearances, you can't say much more than that.

Josh Cribbs, KR/PR/ST – Cribbs will play this season, despite his agent saying that Cribbs will hold out, because Cribbs is too much of a competitor to sit out any games. Cribbs will make the Pro Bowl as not only the returner, but as the gunner too.

Kamerion Wimbley, OLB – Wimbley has had his ups and downs in his career, but Mangini and Rob Ryan have found the key to unlock his potential. It may not mean that he will get more than 10 sacks in 2009, but he will be everywhere on the field making plays left and right.

Jamal Lewis will lose the starting job and James Davis will run for over 800 yards.

With all the questions surrounding Jamal Lewis and his ability to still run the ball, Davis will see more carries as the season progresses and eventually take over as the starting running back role around mid-season.

Lewis will contribute as a short yardage and goal line runner for the remainder of 2009.

Davis was pegged to be a first or second round pick if he would have come out of Clemson after his junior year, but now as a sixth round pick, he is eager to show all the other teams that passed on him that they made a huge mistake.

Davis will be in contention for the AFC Rookie of the Year, but probably will not win the award.

Phil Dawson will kick a 50 yard field goal in horrible conditions at Cleveland Browns Stadium

In 2007, Dawson kicked a 40-yard field goal in a blizzard against the Buffalo Bills, but look for Dawson to better that kick and nail a 50-yarder in a downpour of rain with 25mph swirling winds off of Lake Erie or some kind of other brutal Cleveland weather.

Safeties Will Struggle

Pool will struggle and get replaced by Mike Adams during the season. Pool is in the last year of his contract and will not get re-signed for the 2010 season.

Elam's 2009 season will not be as bad as Pool's but he will end the season better than he began it.

Eric Mangini will once again prove that he is worthy of his “Mangenius” nickname.

Mangini has been doing things his way since he came to the team, but after the 2009 season, it will show that he really knows what he is doing.

In 2010, look for more of the same from Mangini and he will also start to make deals to accumulate as many second round picks as his can and by doing this he will acquire a lot of talent for a very cheap price.