September is here and that means football is just around the corner. The Cleveland Browns will open their 2023 season this Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals and at least locally, everyone is poised for a good season.
We aren’t going to make a prediction for a playoff spot because the AFC by all expert accounts are loaded, with every team in the conference, save for Houston and Indianapolis being a threat for double digit victory totals.
However, we will say that as it usually happens a few of the other teams will stumble early and not be a part of the playoff chase, such as what happened to Denver and Las Vegas a year ago.
We will say the Browns are talented enough to be in the mix for a post-season berth until week 18 and they should win at least 10 games which on the surface should be enough to quell a late season discussion of whether or not Kevin Stefanski should keep his job, which is the most popular topic on sports talk radio every late autumn and early winter.
Cleveland should be better because their defense should be much improved. The Browns ranked 25th in the league against the run last season, and the only team ranked behind them that won 10 games was the Chargers.
Overall, the defense ranked 15th, but there’s a new sheriff in town in veteran defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who likes to go after opposing quarterbacks.
Last year’s defense seemed to sit back, play zone, and hope Myles Garrett would get to the passer. This year, we think the plan is to play more man-to-man and GM Andrew Berry has added a cadre of players who can rush the QB.
That alone should make Cleveland better.
Offensively, the key is Deshaun Watson, who Berry gave up a boatload of draft capital to obtain. If he plays to the level he performed at in Houston, the Browns should have a prolific offense.
They have all the ingredients.
They have a very good offensive line led by guards Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller. Hopefully, Jedrick Wills improves, and Jack Conklin stays healthy, but for the latter there seems to be depth with James Hudson and the massive rookie Dewand Jones in reserve.
Nick Chubb should be considered the best running back in the game currently, coming off a 1500 yard season.
David Njoku should be used more often because he has big play capabilities, and the wide receiver corps is solid, led by Amari Cooper, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and Stefanski’s newest toy, Elijah Moore.
It should be a complimentary attack. If opposing teams decide to stop Watson, Chubb should have a big game and vice versa.
But as we have been saying all off-season, everything starts with Watson returning to his early career form, when he led Houston to 11-5 and 10-6 records and a playoff win in 2019. His 2020 season, his last full campaign, was prolific even if the Texans finished 4-12. He led the NFL in passing yardage and yards per attempt.
If the Watson we see is the one who finished the last six games in ’22? Well, disregard those hopes for a winning season, and without another first round pick next season, it could be more years of pain for Browns’ fans.
We don’t think that will be the case, but even though it hasn’t been because of injury, the last time Watson was a very good QB in the NFL was three years ago.
It’s a tough conference for sure, and the Browns probably play in the NFL’s toughest division. We still see at least a 10 win season. The talent is there.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 