3 Reasons Why The Cleveland Browns Will Be Playoff Bound

The Cleveland Browns are coming off, yet again, another losing season in 2013 posting a very disappointing 4-12 record. Since 2002, when the Browns lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 33-36 during the AFC Wild Card round of the playoffs, Cleveland hasn’t been able to make it back to the Promised Land.

The last winning season the Browns had seen was in 2002 when they went a respectable 10-6 in 2007. Unfortunately this was only good enough to grab second place in the AFC North as they continued their 12 year playoff drought. However with all of this being said, the Browns future may have taken a turn for the best after the firing of their one and done head coach Rob Chudzinski and GM Mike Lombardi. With CEO Joe Banner stepping down as well, there is a lot to look forward to in Cleveland.

Fast forward to today and the Browns selected the galvanizing college football star Johnny Manziel with the 22nd overall draft pick in 2014 NFL draft. The Browns season tickets skyrocketed as they sold more than 1,500 of them priced at $500 each in only 12 hours after they selected Manziel. The city of Cleveland should be happy, it’s a new year, new coach, fresh start and a chance to hit the restart button. The Browns have a ton of potential this year and they are a team to look out for in 2014 season.

Get ready to dive in as I will give my top 3 reasons on why this is finally the year for Browns.

1^st Mike Pettine. He is the son of a legendary Pennsylvania high school coach, who spent one year with the Bills, after four as Rex Ryan’s defensive coordinator with the New York Jets and now he has became he Browns’ sevenh full-time coach since 1999. Jimmy Haslam, the owner of the Cleveland Browns, believes Pettine is the right fit for the Browns and said, “He’s perfect, he’s tough and he’s hard-nosed. He comes to work every day with that lunch-pail mentality. But let’s face it, at the end of the day, it’s about winning games. He gets that. I get that. Everybody in the organization gets that.” Mike Pettine is a very defensive minded coach. In his first year with the Buffalo Bills as their defensive coordinator, he let loose a versatile, unforgiving, attacking defensive unit. They set franchise records with 57 sacks and 23 interceptions, which were both second in the NFL last year.

Kiko Alonso, who inopportunely tore his ACL during this past offseason for the Bills, had 159 tackles last season and was the runner-up for defensive rookie of the year. He revitalized the Buffalo Bill’s defense and will do the same for Cleveland. His success in the defensive department goes beyond just the Bills, in 2009, when was he was the defensive coordinator for the New York Jets, he was the mastermind behind the league’s top defense which only allowed 252.3 total yards per game.

What Mike Pettine does best than most coaches, is cater different defensive schemes to the various skillsets of each player. He gets each player to play to their full and maximum potential. It’s truly a beautiful thing to watch happen. Now with Pettine as the head coach of the Browns, he is going to help evolve this Cleveland Browns defense into a powerhouse and help Brian Hoyer play like the star he was last year until he sustained a torn ACL. The Browns are going to make some noise in the AFC North and look out for them to be a sleeper team in the less dominate AFC conference.

2^nd Brian Hoyer. He took over as the Browns starting quarterback last season in week 3 and led the team to three straight wins after Cleveland started out 0-2. Unfortunately, Hoyer went down during the Browns week 5 matchup against the Buffalo Bills and tore his ACL. This was a devastating loss for the Browns and their fans as they were riding a three game winning streak with Hoyer starting under center. Hoyer’s injury forced the Browns to turn to Jason Campbell and Brandon Weeden for a quarterback. This duo only managed to get one more win the rest of the season ending with a dreadful 4-12 record.

Though Hoyer only played in three games, he showed a lot of promise with a quick release, great decision-making ability and proved to be clutch when needed. Hoyer had one of the few luxuries that not many people will ever have in the NFL which was to be the backup QB behind arguably the best quarterback in the NFL, Tom Brady. When he was asked his thoughts on being a backup for Brady, Hoyer said, “In my opinion, [Brady’s] the best and I got to see how he approaches things, how he runs the team, how strict he is on himself and really holds himself to the highest standard. I’ve seen what it takes to be the best and every time I go out on the field, I try to do the same.”

Hoyer didn’t get a lot of chances to shine in the NFL as he was the backup to Tom Brady for three seasons and did not get a chance to do much in his short backup stints with the Cardinals and Steelers. Now that he is on the Browns, it is Hoyer’s job to lose. He will have a veteran receiving core with Miles Austin, Nate Burleson, the former Cincinnati and CFL player, Andrew Hawkins as well as a healthy Travis Benjamin. On the negative side, Josh Gordon, who is likely to be suspended, due to violating the substance abuse policy, will not be available for Hoyer so look to these wide receivers and emerging tight end Jordan Cameron to have a significant impact in Hoyer’s success.

The good news is that the Browns also acquired running back Ben Tate from the Houston Texans, who was the backup for the three time Pro-Bowler Arian Foster. He is looking to establish a quality running game to help alleviate some of the pressure off Hoyer to constantly produce. He has shown that he can run the ball very well and take care of the football which are two things that every head coach likes to see in a running back. With Brian Hoyer under center, a plethora of maybe not star wide receivers to throw too, but ones who will get the job done, one of the top tight ends in the game in Jordan Cameron and a good looking offensive line, success is inevitable for Hoyer.

3^rd – When asked about the Cleveland Browns defense, “We were excited when we walked in here and had a chance to go back through last year’s tape,” Pettine said. “We were fortunate to lock up an elite corner in Joe Haden long term, and then to add in free agents Donte Whitner and Karlos Dansby in the middle of the defense, and to already have here Barkevious Mingo, Paul Kruger and Jabaal Sheard to flank the defense. You also got guys like Phil Taylor and Billy Winn on the inside. We think, if things fall right and we build it the right way through training camp, that this group has a chance to be really special.”

The Browns have some elite talent with one of the best tackles in the game, Joe Thomas, center in Alex Mack and cornerback Joe Haden. The only two teams to allow fewer yards per opponent’s plays than the Browns with 4.8, were the Seahawks with 4.58 and Bengals with 4.74. These two teams had very strong defenses so to be put in a category with them speaks volumes about the Browns, especially since they did not have one of the best cornerbacks in the game, Joe Haden and studly defensive tackle, Phil Taylor, for a combined 13 games. The Browns were very strong against the run and pass last season, ranking in the top 10 in yards surrendered per rush and pass as seen in the chart below. The acquisition of Karlos Dansby, who had a great 2013 season with Arizona accumulating 122 tackles, 19 passes defended, 4 interceptions and 6.5 sacks is an upgrade at linebacker to D’Qwell Jackson who went to the Colts this past offseason. Finally, the Browns were not done defensively, as they also made a big move at the safety position, signing Donte Whitner after they lost TJ Ward to Denver.

Here’s a chart that consists of both offensive and defensive statistical rankings for the Cleveland Browns. The numbers below demonstrate that the offensive is their main problem, especially the rushing game, which new running back Ben Tate and draft pick Terrence West, who the Browns are tremendously high on, will look to change. The Brown’s defense, of course, has some flaws, for instance, Cleveland is concerned on whether the teams outside linebackers Mingo, Kruger and Sheard can hold up against the run offense this upcoming season. These worries should soon be eliminated as Mike Pettine and his masterful defensive mind will improve this lackluster defense against the run. The Brown’s defense will definitely evolve and become a powerhouse during the Pettine era. Also, with Cleveland having elite caliber players on their side, look for them to be a dangerous opposition for offenses around the league to face this upcoming season.

In conclusion, with a new head coach who will bring the pain on the defensive side of the football, a quarterback who played with a lot of promise last season, and a defense that is rock solid, the Browns are going to make some noise this upcoming season. The 2014-2015 Cleveland Browns are finally primed to return to the Promised Land and bring legitimacy back to Cleveland.

For more on sports injuries, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.

Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on twitter – @Matty_ICE07. Support LWOS by following the site on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and by “liking” our Facebook page.

Football fans…check out our two partnered NFL podcasts – Thursday Night Tailgate Radio and Overtime Ireland. Both shows bring you interesting commentary, critical analysis and fantastic guests including former and current NFL players, coaches and personalities.