Cleveland Browns: How Many Wins Should Be Expected In 2016?
By Ryan Rosko
Less Wins Than Last Season
Kris Grimes
Analysts and “gurus” have the Cleveland Browns winning 1-2 games this year. Even Brian Billick of the NFL Network believes that they could go 0-16. So should Browns fans be worried?
Well, in the near 100-year history of the NFL, only one team managed to lose every game and go 0-16. That team was the 2008 Detroit Lions, and it wasn’t the easiest of feats to accomplish. There was a lot that went wrong that season. So the likes of it happening are rare, but the 2016 Browns might look like 0-16 contenders on paper.
Why do I say that? For starters, the defense looks a lot different than the one that was still among the worst in 2016.
Gone are stable and reliable veterans like linebackers Karlos Dansby and Paul Kruger, and safeties Donte Whitner and Tashaun Gipson. All of them were released while others like linebacker Barkevious Mingo and cornerback Justin Gilbert were traded away for any value they have left.
The only potential impact player coming back is cornerback Joe Haden. Who knows what he has left after a concussion and injury riddled 2015 campaign. If the Browns are going to stop anyone on defense, it’s going to be up to their youth movement.
Sashi Brown and Hue Jackson are going all in on first year rookies like defensive end/linebacker Emmanuel Ogbah and defensive end Carl Nassib. They will be paired with young veterans like linebacker Christian Kirksey, defensive lineman Danny Shelton, linebacker Nate Orchard, and safety Jordan Poyer.
It’s a risky move, given the Browns’ defense has consistently ranked among the worst in the NFL, but honestly how much worse can they be? The hope is that the youth on defense will get some help from the offensive side.
Such hope lies in the potential reclamation of Robert Griffin III. He has an offensive line that still has its premier left tackle in Joe Thomas, and a young receiving core led by the eventual return of Pro Bowler Josh Gordon and Pro Bowl tight end Gary Barnidge.
If you watched SportsCenter at all during the preseason, there’s a good chance you saw highlights of big pass plays from RG3 to Gordon and Terrelle Pryor. You saw the potential.
If that’s all you saw though, you’d think the Browns are poised to challenge the Kurt Warner-led (then) St. Louis Rams for the title of “Greatest Show on Turf.” However, if you’re a real Browns fan, you have seen the work that needs to be done during the rest of the preseason games.
The running game is iffy and the offensive line is young with the losses of Alex Mack, and Mitchell Schwartz. It’s mostly those highlight reel bombs that the Browns have gotten away with, and those might not be so easy to come by once the regular season starts.
So to finally get to the point, how many wins should fans expect from the Cleveland Browns this year? Two to three wins and being competitive in three to four more games would be great for this team.
I know, that’s kinda low expectations, but honestly I don’t know how the Browns defense is going to stop anyone. They will get some stops, but the defense is so young and filled with holes. The talent on defense is raw.
There will be a lot of ugly games, but players like Nassib could emerge as a potential play-maker, like he did in the preseason. On offense, there will be both good and bad games. I have a feeling the bad ones will be really bad. Pair that with a young shaky defense and it’s going to lead to some lopsided losses.
That all said, the Browns aren’t going to go 0-16. They’ll get a few lucky wins, just as the 1999 Browns did and so many other bad Browns teams over the years. It’s obvious that this regime is gutting the roster, and the record this season will reflect that.
However, if they are given something to build upon like a few wins and some growth with the youngsters on defense, 2017 begins to look a lot brighter. With the picks and cap space they have amassed, Cleveland is poised to infuse talent into the roster once again. It’s just going to take fans stomaching another double digit loss season to get there.
Next: Cleveland Will Be Better Than Some May Believe