Cleveland Browns: Kick Them While They're Down—NFL Fantasy Football Rankings

I'm not someone that usually writes a downer piece about an organization or a team...but it's time to talk about the Cleveland Browns and their situation. After an embarrassing loss this past Monday night to the Ravens , it's easy to see why fantasy football owners will have continued success against the Browns.

This offseason, I was able to see some positives for the Browns and thought that they could be headed in the right direction.

I liked the fact that head coach Eric Mangini traded away his top five draft pick and received a bunch of picks in return. Not only did the Browns acquire more picks, but they also received some decent defensive players from the New York Jets .

Seeing that Mangini was the head coach of the Jets the prior season, it seemed to make sense that these players would make an impact.

When Cleveland finally selected their first round pick, they took Cal Bears star center Alex Mack . I believed this was another strong move (I still do) because it would give them another top talent on the offensive line.

Mangini did a nice job in New York building up his offensive line. This move only seemed to bolster both the passing and running games.

A Step Towards Success—A Step Towards Disaster

As the summer progressed, I believed that the Browns would be fine in the long run if they could get Brady Quinn and Braylon Edwards going. Quinn needed to establish himself as the clear starter on the team, while Edwards needed to re-establish himself as a true No. 1 receiver.

Unfortunately, both of those players failed to do so and by week five, Quinn was benched for Derek Anderson and Edwards was traded.

Prior to Anderson's benching after the team's week eight loss to the Bears, the offense was still struggling to produce. The sole bright spot on offense was the off and on play of rookie wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi .

Massaquoi was one of two receivers (other being Brian Robiskie) drafted in the second round by the Browns in April.

His highlight performance was against the Bengals in week four, as he totaled eight receptions for 148 yards. That game was the Browns best offensive performance of the season and this young Massaquoi led the way.

Unfortunately for Massaquoi, the team traded Braylon Edwards the following week and the rookie now has to deal with being the top receiver on the team. With that title, defenses will line up their best cornerback on you every week, and this top coverage hasn't helped Massaquoi's chances to produce.

Outside of Massaquoi's development, there isn't much else nice to say about this offense.

A Team Going Nowhere

With Quinn's arrival back in the starting lineup on Monday night, the team has become more conservative than ever. I'm not certain, but I can't remember more than maybe one play late in the game where the Browns threw a pass further than ten yards.

That is bad against just about every defense in football, and especially bad against the Baltimore Ravens. Just two weeks ago, the Ravens dominated the Denver Broncos as their offense tried a similar approach. Defenses will feed on an offense that can't challenge down the field.

If the Browns continue to play offense this way, and run the football ineffectively, than you should continue to start your fantasy players against this team.

As far as starting anyone on the Browns, I can possibly recommend Jamal Lewis or Massaquoi for this weekend. Both players aren't great, but they are getting an opportunity to play against the miserable Detroit Lions.

Rookie running back Chris Jennings is starting to take carries away from Lewis, and if Lewis should suffer an injury, Jennings might be worth a look.

Jennings isn't an explosive runner, but he should be able to handle the ball twenty plus times a game for the remainder of the season.

After this Season

It's clear that Mangini needs to leave this organization, as the Browns need a new outlook and fresh start. I'm not sure what it's going to take for this team to get going in a positive direction, but for starters, they could use a strong running game.

With a strong running game, they can prevent their defense from staying on the field for long periods of time. This will be key, as I can't see the passing game being dependable in the next few seasons.

In short, it's going to be a while before the Browns will turn things around, so in the meantime, start your fantasy defenses against them and enjoy.

NFL Fantasy Football Player Rankings writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com