Cleveland Browns: The Talk of the NFL at 3-5

Cleveland is a tough-luck sports town full of agonizing losses that have given it the reputation as the most "Tortured Sports Town in America."

Events such as, "The Shot," "The Catch," "The Drive" and The Fumble" have forever placed Cleveland on the receiving end of bad karma in sports and of course, there is the whole "Decision" fiasco.

But who would have thought that a team that finished 5-11 to end 2009, would become the talk of all the NFL, let alone in all of sports, who would have thought the Cleveland Browns, the once proud and now down-trodden franchise, would create a Justin Bieber-like buzz?

For once, Cleveland is in the news for something good and not on the receiving end of another heartbreaking defeat, as it is a great time to be a Cleveland Browns fan again.

Who could have honestly foreshadowed that the Cleveland Browns with a third-round pick starting at quarterback would beat two first-ballot Hall-of-Fame quarterbacks in Tom Brady and Drew Brees, who have a combined four Super Bowl rings?  

Certainly not anyone from outside of Cleveland would have given the Browns a Hail Mary of a chance against NFL contenders such as New England, let alone defending champion, New Orleans.

The simple plan for the Browns this year was to be "competitive" and play good defense and field position, and have veteran quarterbacks, Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace take the snaps instead of fresh-faced rookie, Colt McCoy.

Who would have thought that a former third-string running back in Denver would be fourth in the entire league in total touchdowns and in the discussion for a spot in the AFC Pro Bowl team? Certainly not Peyton Hillis, right?

After pulling off back-to-back upsets in shocking and dominating fashion, the Cleveland Browns have risen from afterthought to national relevance in such a astonishing fashion, that they are on the lips of every sports writer and media site from Yahoo! to ESPN to even USA Today.

ESPN currently has the Browns ranked 23rd and rising even more considering the rest of the schedule they face, the Browns could realistically contend for a AFC Wild card berth, not bad for a team that was close to doing a complete house-cleaning.

Consider that the Cleveland Browns were 1-7 at this exact point last year and were offensively putrid in every statistic.

Last year, the Browns were 28th in points per game at 15.3 and last in total yards per game at 260.2 yards per game, Currently, Cleveland is 25th in the league in scoring, as they are averaging 19.0 points per game and also 25th in total yards per game at 306.0 yards.

Cleveland also has the 13th-best running offense per game, as they average 117.2 yards per contest and this will be key going down the stretch months of November and December in the rugged AFC North.

The biggest reason for the Browns two-game improvement through eight games so far is not just Mangini and his sole focus on just coaching but it starts at the quarterback spot.

Let's just say that the Browns have come a LONG way from the Quinn-Anderson debacle.

Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson through eight games last year had a COMBINED 48.1 percent completion percentage and threw for a meager 1,090 yards, three touchdowns and 12 interceptions for a embarrassing QB rating of 35.1.

The current QB tandem of Seneca Wallace and Colt McCoy through eight games has thrown for a combined 1,222 yards and completed 65% of their passes for five touchdowns and four interceptions for a QB rating of 86.0.

Last year's wide receiver corps of Mohamed Massaquoi, Joshua Cribbs, Brian Robiskie, Chansi Stuckey and Mike Furrey combined for 47 catches, 544 yards and zero touchdowns for a average of 5.8 receptions and 68 yards per game.

This year, Stuckey, Cribbs, Massaquoi, Robiskie and Hillis have combined for 91 receptions, 900 yards and three touchdowns for a average of 11 receptions and 112 yards per game.

Last year's tight end unit of Robert Royal, Steve Heiden and Greg Estandia combined for 13 catches, 87 yards and one touchdown.

This year's tight end group of Benjamin Watson, Evan Moore and Royal have combined for 43 receptions, 592 yards and three touchdowns to average 14 catches and 197 yards per game.

And the main reason for Cleveland's recent resurgence is the improved production on the ground.

Last year's running back tandem of Jamal Lewis and Jerome Harrison combined to rush the ball 167 times for 584 yards for a average of 20.8 rushes per game and 73 yards per game for zero touchdowns.

This years running game led by Peyton Hillis and Harrison, have combined for 735 yards and seven touchdowns on 164 carries for a average of 20.5 rushes and 91.8 yards per game.

The Browns defense under Rob Ryan has played very energetic and inspired football the last three weeks and they are actually near the top 10 in total tackles with 563, which they rank 12th, and they are 11th in the league in interceptions with nine.

If Cleveland is going to make a push down the stretch then they will have to get more pressure on the quarterback. Cleveland ranks only 21st in sacks with 14.0 and despite their inspired play, Cleveland gives up 346.4 yards of total offense a game.

With the 6-2 New York Jets next on Sunday, Cleveland can firmly cement itself as a team to talk about and not just a ten-second highlight clip on ESPN with another shocking upset.

And only then would Cleveland and the Browns become truly relevant again.