A little over two months ago, the Cleveland Browns kicked off their preseason with a game against the Green Bay Packers. When QB Aaron Rodgers tore the Browns' defense apart, we could attribute it at the time to an "off day", and our offensive struggles could be blamed on "not wanting to show too much." At 1-5, I don't think either of those statements were true as we head into this week's contest against the Packers.
| GREEN BAY PACKERS (3-2) | WEEK 7 | CLEVELAND BROWNS (1-5) | |||
 | VS. |  | |||
| Date: | October 25, 2009 | Location: | Cleveland, OH |
| Time: | 1:00 p.m. ET | Stadium: | Browns Stadium |
| TV: | FOX | Favorite: | Packers by 6½ |
| Radio: | WTAM, 1100 AM | Over/Under: | 43½ |
| SBN Coverage: | Acme Packing Company | Announcers | Ron Pitts, John Lynch |
Considering the Browns were facing a more popular team in the Green Bay Packers, I expected FOX to provide our game with a better announcing crew. I guess I shouldn't have expected that when we're up against the Vikings/Steelers game at the same time on FOX, so for the second week in a row, we get a "Z" crew for the announcing duties.
Let's start off this week's preview with the overall team statistics heading into Week 7...
OFFENSE
| Category | Packers | Browns |
| Points Scored | 26.0 (8th) | 11.5 (30th) = Push |
| Passing | 258.4 (10th) | 136.2 (31st) = Push |
| Rushing | 101.2 (19th) | 103.7 (18th) = -2 |
| Total Offense (yards) | 359.6 (10th) | 239.8 (31st) = Push |
DEFENSE
| Category | Packers | Browns |
| Points Scored | 18.6 (9th) | 24.7 (26th) = -3 |
| Passing | 192.6 (10th) | 242.0 (23rd) = -13 |
| Rushing | 105.4 (16th) | 165.3 (30th) = +2 |
| Total Defense (yards) | 298.0 (8th) | 407.3 (32nd) = -3 |
| GREEN BAY PACKERS | Position | CLEVELAND BROWNS | ||
| Rodgers will pick us apart, perhaps more than Roethlisberger did last week, if we cannot get pressure on him early and often. |  | QB | As an outsider, it must seem absurd that Anderson's starting job seems "safe" when you look at his stats from the past two weeks. | |
| I've been surprised at the lack of carries for the backup running backs. After Ryan Grant, the next highest RB rusher has six carries. |  | RB | | With the Browns' season-long struggles in the passing game, Jamal Lewis will likely get quite a bit of carries with better production than last week. |
| Is it somewhat of a surprise that Greg Jennings has not had a more productive season than Donald Driver at this point? | | WR | It's Brian Robiskie's time, hopefully. When everyone else drops the ball, what excuse is there for not playing him? | |
| Left tackle Chad Clifton won't play this week, meaning rookie fourth-rounder T.J. Lang will get his first start. Starting center Jason Spitz will also miss his second straight game. | | OL | | Rex Hadnot returned in limited action last week, which provides the Browns with the ability to rotate more on the offensive line. |
| The Packers aren't a serious threat at getting pressure; it's hard to believe that Cullen Jenkins will beat Joe Thomas. | | DL | Corey Williams returns to face his former team. Has he been saving his finest performance for his former team? (Doubt it) | |
| LB Clay Matthews hasn't been starting, but he had a big game last week: 5 tackles, 2 sacks, and a pass deflected. | | LB | I'm disappointed that D'Qwell Jackson is the player we have to lose at this unit. Hopefully Kaluka Maiava or David Veikune see playing time instead of Jason Trusnik. | |
| Al Harris and Charles Woodsen might not be in their prime any more, but they are still a solid combination and will pick off Anderson often if he continues to make errant throws. | | DB | Assuming Mangini still won't play Coye Francies, we really can't afford to bench Brandon McDonald with nobody else worthy on the roster to replace him. (Again, why'd we cut Hood?) | |
| The team's longest kick return of the season is 46 yards. Mason Crosby is 11-of-13 on kicks this season. | ST |  | Kicker Phil Dawson probably won't play again. *sigh* At least Joshua Cribbs is always there for a highlight. | |
The Packers, statistically, are much better than the Browns are. Their defense has been suspect at times though, giving up 31 points to the Bengals and 30 points to the Vikings, both of which were losses. Green Bay was prepared for the Lions after their bye week though, destroying them 26-0 a week ago. Anderson and the offense will play one of the team's most exciting games of the season this week at home, but fall on the losing end of a shootout. Don't make fun of me for the amount of points I'm giving the Browns; it merely falls in line with the shootout prediction!
The weather today is supposed to be very pleasant though at about 59 degrees!
FINAL PREDICTION: Green Bay Packers 34, Cleveland Browns 28.
CHRIS' RECORD IN PICKING BROWNS GAMES: 5-1
CHRIS' OVERALL NFL PREDICTIONS RECORD: 67-23
This is the official gameday thread for the Cleveland Browns in Week 7 as they take on the Green Bay Packers. All comments regarding the game should be posted in this topic. Enjoy the game, and GO BROWNS!!!