I Like What I See

             Since the end of last season I've seen a Brown's team desperate to give their city a competitive team, and Lebron's departure may turn that line of thinking into serious motivation. Holmgren has the organization making the right decisions. Sheldon Brown, Eric Wright, Haden, and Brandon McDonald will be a new top-tier corner group in the division, especially with the pass-rush that showed up last year. There is competition at every position between serious players, and no one seems be sure of their job but Alex Mack, Joe Thomas, and some of that D-Line.

             Another tidbit of news which really made me want to share the Ohio love was a small note on clevelandbrowns.com about Shaun Rogers. I'm sure a few fans around the league have heard of Ahtyba Rubin and Rogers' subsequent shuffling to defensive end, but the article says that Shaun has expressed his interest in being used on offense on the goaline as a fullback or tight end. The guy has even been working on his hands with the JUGS machine. It's great to see that the Brown's are trying to use every weapon they have in any way that helps.

            With the amount of talent brought into the defensive secondary, the new receiving options in Watson and Mitchell, the development of Massaquoi and Robiskie, and a couple of legitimate quarterbacks to try out, the Browns are my Dark Horse team of the year. I doubt they win the division this year but if the would-be-2nd-place team (whoever that may be) sleeps on the Browns, they'll pay for it with their wild-card playoff berth. Mangini might even have the team that that wild-card spot goes to.

            You can bet that Marvin Lewis won't forget about the Browns on his schedule in 2010, and after Tomlin's humiliating defeat last year, I doubt he will either. That victory proved that the Brown's are ready to play in this division and really win some games consistently. Harbaugh, on the other hand, may be a bit too confident in his teams' ability to out-muscle a "weaker" team like Cleveland.

            Despite last year's record, this may be the strongest foundation the Brown's organization has had since their return to the NFL, especially along the offensive and defensive lines. On a side-note: I'm really excited about Clifton Geathers. He seems like a prototypical fit for you guys at end and I expect to see him in the rotation regularly with Rogers and Robaire, maybe even more than Mosley.