Cleveland Browns Week 1 Preview: 5 Keys to Success Against Cincinnati Bengals

Finally, the first week of the NFL season has arrived.

Back in March, it was questioned whether or not there would be a season at all because of the lockout that lasted for quite some time.

No one may have been more affected by the suspension in play than the Cleveland Browns.

Not only did they have to get acquainted with a new head coach in Pat Shurmur, but they also had to learn both a new offense (west coast), and defense with the 4-3.

Luckily for Cleveland, President Mike Holmgren has tried to build towards the west coast offense through the draft, including the drafting of quarterback Colt McCoy back in 2009.

McCoy is a perfect fit for the west coast offense as he does not have the strongest arm, but has good mobility and throws quick accurate passes while on the run.

The Browns have been handed a very favorable schedule, one where they will not see the Pittsburgh Steelers or Baltimore Ravens until Week 13.

There are plenty of winnable games on Cleveland's schedule, including their first game against the rival Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bengals have had their own issues this offseason with the threatened retirement of Carson Palmer.

Palmer had requested a trade or he would retire and when owner Mike Brown refused, it was assumed that he was done with football.

If the Browns can accomplish these keys to success, they could get off to a hot start.

1) Put Pressure on Andy Dalton

When Carson Palmer threatened to retire, Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown didn't think he was bluffing.

To try and fix the problem, the Bengals went to the draft and picked TCU quarterback Andy Dalton.

Dalton will have a tough start to his NFL career as he will start his first game not only on the road, but against a division rival in one of the most hostile environments in the NFL.

The "Dawg Pound" knows exactly what to do with rookie quarterbacks and it will be no different with Dalton, so he can expect a lot of hand signals because he will not be able to hear.

The Bengals' plan for Dalton is to ease him into his new role and not confuse him with running too many plays.

According to the Sporting News, Dalton and the Bengals are not looking as smooth as the team would like going into its first game of the season, and the Browns will most likely see a lot of Cedric Benson while Dalton gets used to the speed of the NFL regular season,

"Offensive coordinator Jay Gruden says there are 100 plays in the playbook right now but he wasn’t happy with the unit’s execution following Wednesday’s practice."

"With Dalton and his receivers still trying to establish a rapport, a steady dose of Cedric Benson is highly likely against the Browns."

If the Browns can stop Benson with rookie Phil Taylor and Ahtyba Rubin plugging up the middle, Dalton will have no choice than to throw the ball to their young and inexperienced wide receivers, led by rookie AJ Green.

If Cleveland was smart, I would put pressure on Dalton early and often.

2) Don't Start the Game with Flashy Plays

At the beginning of the season, the opposing defense is not exactly sure what they are going to see.

With a new Browns' offense and coach, the Bengals are going to be prepared for everything.

This is the main reason that the Browns should not try to come barreling out of the gate with trick plays or Hail Mary passes in the first few possessions.

As much as the deep pass can be effective, the Browns should stick to what makes the west coast offense successful, which is quick short passes to move the ball and kill time of the clock.

Throwing a deep pass on the first possession could lead to a costly turnover early on, which will take the roaring Cleveland fans out of the game, and that is one advantage the Browns do not want to lose.

New coach Pat Shurmur wants to get his NFL career off on the right foot and creating early turnovers because of stupid play-calling does nothing good for his confidence.

I am happy to say that I do not see Shurmur calling any trick plays early.

The Browns will stick to what made them successful in the preseason and will spread the field out with not only their receivers, but their tight ends and Peyton Hillis out of the backfield, which was one of the main reasons he was so dangerous last season.

3) Focus on the Tight Ends

The Browns' tight end position has a tandem that is slowly becoming of the league's most impressive.

Last season, Cleveland signed tight end Benjamin Watson and he did not disappoint in his first year, leading the team in receiving yards as well as touchdowns, alongside Brian Robiskie.

Evan Moore, on the other hand, did not have as hot a season as his counterpart. Moore struggled with injuries, including a concussion in Week 2, and was never able to get off on the right foot.

However, Moore has been impressive in the preseason and is catching everything in sight. Moore has done so well, that the Browns offered him a two-year extension, which the Stanford Cardinal quickly accepted.

Both of these players have quickly become two of quarterback Colt McCoy's favorite targets in the preseason and Sunday should be no different.

The Bengals defense is hurting already (we will touch on that in a bit) and the Browns need to take advantage.

Watson and Moore can provide major mismatches for Cincinnati's young linebacking core (only three players are over the age of 25).

If Watson can start where he left off last season and Moore can stay healthy, the Browns' passing attack will be light years ahead of last year's team, which relied too heavily on the running of Peyton Hillis.

4) Target the Bengals' Weakened Secondary

If not Carson Palmer, the biggest loss for the Bengals this season was the loss of cornerback Jonathan Joseph.

The Bengals could not re-sign the 27-year-old and he went to free agency, where he signed with the Houston Texans.

Joseph, along with teammate Leon Hall, were great at their position and allowed Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer to open up the team's blitz packages.

Luckily the team was able to re-sign Hall, but without Joseph, that leaves question marks on the entire field.

The team still has some talent in the secondary, but the injuries have already made a big hit early.

According to Sporting News, neither newly acquired safety Taylor Mays or cornerback Kelly Jennings have been able to practice this week and will most likely miss Sunday's game.

Adam Jones, who was rumored as the best possible candidate to replace Joseph, will start the season on the active/physically-unable-to-perform list with a spinal injury and could miss several weeks.

This leaves the Bengals with possibly only four corners for Sunday's game (Hall, Morgan Trent, Nate Clements and Rico Murray), which does not leave a lot of room for error. If the injury bug strikes again in Week 1, the Bengals could be in a lot of trouble.

With a slim amount of corners in the secondary, if the Browns can spread out the entire field and tire them early, the Browns' passing attack will be impressive.

5) Don't Overload Peyton Hillis Early

Peyton Hillis had one of the most impressive season on the Browns roster and he did it bowling over defenders with his power-running attack.

Hillis was the first Brown to reach the 1,000 yard mark since Reuben Droughns accomplished the feat in 2005 and it only took him 13 games to do so.

The Arkansas Razorback alum could have had a lot more yards last year, but his body became worn and he was battling several different injuries.

Then offensive coordinator Brian Daboll ran Hillis a lot, barely giving the 25-year-old a break during games.

The Browns had a weak running attack behind Hillis after rookie Montario Hardesty tore his ACL in the preseason.

Jerome Harrison had an impressive end to the 2009-2010 season and used his speed to his advantage as opposed to Hillis who used his strength.

However, Harrison struggled in the beginning of the year and was later traded to the Philadelphia Eagles for running back Mike Bell. Bell also struggled and the Browns were forced to continue to hand the ball off to Hillis as he was the only back who posed a threat.

This lead to Hillis' body breaking down towards the end of the season.

Now, with a healthy Hardesty back in the lineup as well as Armond Smith, who had an impressive offseason, Hillis should get more rests during the game.

Don't get me wrong, Hillis will get the ball a lot during Sunday's game, but the Browns should be smart and not try to use him on every down.

As much as Cleveland wants to get off to a hot start, you can't get your star players hurt early on and ruin any chances for success during the season.