CBS Sportsline writer Pete Prisco ranked all 32 NFL teams according to their offensive lines. Personally, I think it would've been a little bit easier to read the piece if Prisco had actually listed the rankings in descending order. In alphabetical order, it takes quite a bit of back-and-forth page-scrolling to compare one team to another.
For each team, Prisco highlighted the team's best player and weak link. Here's what he had to say about the Browns, a team that he ranked sixth (I list the five teams above and below us too):
1. Dallas
2. San Diego
3. New England
4. Indianapolis
5. Jacksonville
Best player: LT Joe Thomas. Weak link: C Hank Fraley.
The skinny: The addition of Thomas last year as a rookie and free-agent guard Eric Steinbach really improved the line, especially the left side. The right side isn't as good, but the addition of guard Rex Hadnot might help the run game. Fraley is solid at center, but he has trouble with the big nose tackles.
7. NY Giants
8. Minnesota
9. Philadelphia
10. Green Bay
11. Seattle
17. Cincinnati
24. Pittsburgh
25. Baltimore
I also provided the rankings for the Bengals, Steelers, and Ravens, respectively. Prior to last season, we didn't have a top-16 offensive line since returning to the league. Leaping to No. 6 and seeing everyone else in our division fall to the bottom half of the league only adds to the expectations the Browns have this season.