Ask CSC

Be careful what you wish for. Because it’s the Browns we’ll probably get Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots again.

But seriously, I think the Browns will be lucky if they get 6 wins this year, though they will continue to be competitive in every game. They just don’t have the talent.

Least worried? The left side of the offensive line.

Most worried? Drew Brees is going to pick apart the secondary not only because the secondary is bad but because he will likely not be feeling a lot of pressure.

There is a lot of debate as to how safe Mangini’s job is, but most of us here seem to think that if the team stays competitive in games that he’ll keep his job.

There may be more confidence in McCoy than any of our other options right now, but that’s pretty much damning with faint praise when you consider that our other options are washed-up interception machine Jake Delhomme and perennial backup Seneca Wallace. I think that most of were intrigued enough with McCoy’s promise based on his performance against the Steelers that we’d like to see more. As for starting the rest of the year, I think the board here is split on whether he should start the rest of the year in place of the veterans. Many are willing to defer to whatever Holmgren decides based on his track record of developing QBs.

As for the Saints, are they playing down to the level of their opponents this year or what? Shouldn’t they be performing at a much higher level than we’ve seen? Super Bowl hangover? Injuries? How much do they miss Reggie Bush?

I think somewhere around 6 wins, with the possibility of 7 or even 8, but also with the possibility of 5.

I am least worried about the offensive line, even the right side, which I think a lot of people here are too harsh on.

I am most worried about QB, and will be until we see someone play the position consistently well. If you don’t have good QB play, you’re sunk.

I would think Mangini is pretty safe. His OC may not be, but I think Mangini is. Unless the team quits on him, I think it would be hard for Holmgren to take an objective look at the situation and say he deserves to get fired.

I feel much more comfortable with him now than I did a week ago. That said, how he does this week will probably determine whether or not he plays after the bye. If McCoy has another solid game, I want him back out there for the rest of the year. If he looks like the raw prospect we thought he was, I want him back on the bench.

Now for my question. The Saints went through as much losing as any franchise, so you are able to understand our position as browns fans. how amazing does it feel to finally have a super bowl trophy?

Here’s my answers to your questions (I will keep them short but can elaborate):
 
- 6-10 & I’d like to think so

- Punting squad (Hodges & Co have been amazing) / O-Line (Joe Thomas) / Running game (Peyton Hillis is a monster provided he stays healthy)

- Secondary (Eric Wright looks like Ray Charles in coverage, Shelden Brown likes to fall down)

- I’d like to say pretty safe, but who knows (he has been given Limes and asked to make lemonade)

- Yes. I am on the “play Colt” bandwagon (Seneca would be ok though, but Jake just makes me hurl)

Some (possibly silly) questions for you:
-Any chance we win this game?
-Given our secondary woes, do you see Brees throwing us out of the stadium?
-Would it be crazy to say Hillis runs for 100+ against your D?
-Do you miss Scott Fujita? I know we are happy to have him.
-How are former Buckeyes Will Smith and Malcolm Jenkins doing?

- It’s hard to say. I’m not sure I can say with confidence that we will win X amount of games, because we are at somewhat of an awkward position: We have just enough talent that we can win a good number of games, but we have little enough talent that we won’t win many games unless we play mistake-free football. So realistically… I’d put us at probably 5 or 6 wins.
 
- Our most complete units are our ST unit and our O-Line. Out of the two, I think ST will give opposing teams the most trouble in gameplanning.

— Secondary. Hands down. Haden shows some promise, but he is a rookie and still makes rookie mistakes. Same with TJ Ward. Abe Elam doesn’t show up much on the stat sheet. Eric Wright and Sheldon Brown have both been burned for a pretty surprising amount of touchdowns.

— I’d say pretty safe. I think it’s clear that he has succesfully changed the culture of the locker room, and it’s starting to show on the field. We haven’t won more than 1 game yet, but we’ve been competitive in every single game we’ve played and we haven’t been giving up on games. I think Heckert and Holmgren realize that Mangini has the ship headed in the right direction. Now it’s just a matter of getting him more talent to work with.

— I’m pretty confident in McCoy right now. It’s only been 1 game, but he looked REALLY good in that game (against the best defense in the league). At this point, I don’t really see any advantage to benching him once the other guys get back. Obviously this week will reveal a little more about him and what we should expect. I know it’s only 1 game, but the possibilities have me foaming at the mouth. I’d like to say that normally I’m pretty realistic and would know better than to get excited about a rookie after 1 start… But I keep telling myself he did what he did against THE STEELERS. Basically… I want him to be the QB of the future real bad.

1.) 7 wins
2.) O-Line
3.) WRs. Not only do we lack talent, but with injuries, we now lack depth. And even though we are relatively young, I see an stark lack of promise for the future with these guys.
4.) I’d say 40% chance of being the coach still in March
5.) I didn’t want him to play, but whatever Holmgren thinks is best for his development- this is the only factor that should matter.

1. 6-10
2. O-line. Mack and Thomas are legit. We could still use a young RT.
3. Quarterback. If you don’t have one, you need one. McCoy did some good things, but it was one game. Until QB is finalized, that’s always the biggest concern (jealous). Linebackers and WRs are a close 2nd and 3rd.
4. I am not sure. Holmgren seemed to genuinely want him when he was talking about it. I think they all know we aren’t very talented. I don’t think he can survive a 1-15 season. He will also have to keep becoming more likeable, and he will have to merge his (Belichick’s) philosophies with Holmgren’s (Walsh’s).
5. Not comfortable with him as the future yet. Impressed by his one game. Like his “it” factor. I want to do whatever the coaches and FO think will maximize his chances of being good down the road. If that means playing him, great. If that means sitting him, fine.

How does it feel to have Drew Brees?
What is up with you guys this year?
How do you feel about your defense? Enjoy the blitzing? Does it work well with your O? (Obviously it worked well enough last year)
Do you ever read Brophy’s blog?
Knowing what I do about your offensive scheme, I am positive you guys miss Reggie Bush from an Xs and Os standpoint. Do you see this same thing from more of a general standpoint?

My thoughts on your questions go like this…

1) 7-9 I think we get a win streak going for a few games soon
2) O-line (we could use a RT, but i’m more comfortable with this part of our team than any other)
3) Our secondary (Brees may quite possibly have a career day if our secondary keeps giving up deep balls)
4) I think his job is pretty safe. Despite our record we are much better and we have been in just about every game til the end.
5) McCoy is kind of a question mark. He played as well as anybody could ever ask him to play against the Steeler’s stingy D. That said, he should some outstanding promise that possibly we found our QB. Its still early though and we will have to see him play more before we are convinced with him. Many of us are in favor of continuing to start McCoy, even after the other QB’s are healthy, if he continues to show growth and promise in the next few games.

I would actually ask you the same 1-3 questions that you asked.

 * What do you think the Brown’s final record will be this year? Will you guys have another end of the year comeback?
I predicted 7-9 to start the season, but I think it’ll be 6-10.

• What is the part of the team you are least worried about? (O-line, D-line, etc.)
  Special teams, left side of the o-line

• Part you are most worried about?
  Our secondary, pass rush (or lack thereof), and WRs

• How safe is Mangini’s job? Or is he a walking corpse?
  This is tough to say. I wouldn’t mind keeping Mangini around for next season, but I don’t know if another 6-10 season is going to be a strong case for him. It’ll be what Holmgren feels is best, and I won’t be surprised either way.

 * Since I followed McCoy while he was at UT and watched him win so many games for them, I have a few questions on him alone. Do you feel confident in him as a potential starter? Do you advocate him finishing off the year once your QB injuries subside or would you rather someone else while McCoy rides the bench?
I’m a huge Colt McCoy fan. I think he could end up being our QBOTF, and I hope this is the case because we desperately need one. When you look at his stat line for the game, 2 inteceptions and 1 TD in “garbage time” doesn’t seem that impressive. But he wasn’t tentative at all and was taking shots down the field. Also, 281 yards against the Steelers’ D is pretty damn good. If he continues to play like this, I say keep him starting. Delhomme and Wallace are stop-gaps, not part of this team’s future.

Here are mine:

1. How has Malcolm Jenkins looked?
2. What can we expect Lance Moore? (fantasy question)
3. Is Ivory for real?

8 games this year. I think were 3-13 and we bring in a proven coach or holmgren steps in and does it himself. Ill bet hes chomping at the bit…so what if we fire mangini…the hay is in the barn! Our strong points are def half of our o line. I think TJ and Joe Haden have proved to be greaT PICKS FROM THE DRAFT ALREADY. iN 3 yrs or so we will have one of the best secondaries in the league. Peyton is a monster and his will to play exceeds only his pain threshold…he will play healthy or not. We have no receivers…not 1 decent receiver. Imagine what it would be like if we had a threat downfield…how much would it open up everything else?? our staff must know this??? I like our LB core but we need more pressure on the QB….Sheldon and eric wright have both been torched several times. I think we will upset eother the saints, pats or jets. Look for something special against the pats or jets especially.