Company

This column keeps getting harder and harder to lead as the Browns keep tearing my heart out and stepping on it. Last week, I wrote: “Will the REAL 2008 Cleveland Browns please stand up, and remain standing? Not so fast, Derek.” At least we got that part right. WE’VE GOT BRADY!

The Browns’ season is all but done relative to the playoffs, but the Broncos come in struggling themselves after losing three straight. Both clubs have some injury issues. Will the short week be enough time for Quinn to get ready? Which team can withstand its injuries? More importantly, will anyone outside of the 73,000 at the stadium actually get to watch this game on the elusive NFL Network? Without further ado…

The Browns Will Win If…

Craig: …they can ride the wave of excitement that the fans have with Brady Quinn starting. Confidence and momentum are going to be key. Everybody, whether they have believed from the beginning or not, wants to see the second coming of Tom Brady run out onto that field to lead the team. Brady Quinn’s physical gifts have been questioned, but hopefully he can deliver the kind of cool, confident leadership that has come to represent the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. That’s it. He just needs to be Joe Montana. The Browns will win if Brady Quinn can be Joe Montana. Just let me dream until 8:00 PM tonight, please.

Scott: …if they can build off of the energy that will be filling Cleveland Browns Stadium. Nearly 70,000 fans are anxiously awaiting Brady Quinn’s debut – the rest is up to the Browns to make the most of it. The Broncos are going to score, it will just be up to the Browns offense to score more, as John Madden as that may sound. Jamal Lewis should have no issues running the ball, which should set up the pass nicely. As mentioned, K2 has to be involved. And for God Sakes, get Jerome Harrison the field. The rest will fall into place.

DP: …they can achieve solid offensive balance while breaking in their new QB. Jamal Lewis is most likely going to see a lot of carries, and I suspect Jason Wright and Jerome Harrison might get some more touches. I am guessing Romeo is going to do everything he can to try to hold Quinn’s hand, which I think is a bit short-sighted. NFL football is all about exploiting matchups, and as Scott pointed out there is at least one matchup (Winslow v. Manuel) that should be exploited. Without Bailey, one would expect there to be others there for Quinn to go after, as well. I know I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but getting ahead and grinding out time of possession is going to be key. The defense showed on Sunday that they will get worn down if the offense keeps going three-and-out, and they can ill-afford to go down that road again. Not running a prevent in the third quarter will help, too, but I digress. The Broncos rushing attack is staggering right now, which is uncharacteristic for them. Hopefully this is a game for the rush defense to get well on again. However, the Browns secondary will have their hands full with Cutler, Marshall, and co., so the front 7 is going to have to get pressure up front as well. I wish I had faith that they could actually do that.

Finally, four words to Mr. “This Is What I DO!” Edwards: CATCH THE [BLEEP]ING BALL!!!

RockKing: …Brady Quinn is the real deal. Short and sweet and to the point. If Brady is no better than DA, the Browns will probably lose. If he’s better than DA, the Browns will have a chance. The Broncos have no running game, which is good for the Browns. The Broncos have no defense, which is good for the Browns. As cliché and obvious as it may seem, Brady Quinn is the focal point of this game. The Browns’ chances for success lie with him.

Mike…they stick to their offensive gameplan. Yes, we know the importance of running Jamal Lewis. That should happen every week. Considering Denver is missing both D.J. Williams and Champ Bailey, the Broncos will be short handed in passing coverage and that should make the matchups even more favorable to both Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards. These mismatches should also allow Quinn a better oppurtunity to spread the football around the field better. Considering the fact that Brady Quinn has been in the system for a year and a half now, I really expect the Browns to take advantage of this defense, open up the playbook a little bit, and see what the quarterback can handle in his first NFL start.

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Now, for the other side of the coin. To channel Rick Pitino (and thankfully so, in this case), John Elway is not walking through that door. Karl Mecklenburg and Steve Atwater are not walking through that door. Sammy Winder and Bobby Humphrey are not walking through that door (although I suspect with their injuries at RB the Broncos might welcome them). What do the fans of the struggling Broncs think about this game?

We reached out to the gang at the Mile High Report to get their take on the game tonight. Mile High Report is the premier site for informed, positive analysis of the Denver Broncos, and is proud to be a member of the SBNation Sports Network. Mile High Report is also the home of MHR Radio, a weekly Wednesday night radio podcast dedicated to the Denver Broncos and their fans, and the “Chalk Talk” series, which gives an inside look at the inner workings of pro football offensive and defensive schemes. Without further ado…

The Broncos Will Win If…

…they commit to the running game. Bottom line. On the season Denver is fielding a fantastically unbalanced offensive approach, and is currently at 72% pass, 28% run. In the past three games, all losses, Denver has tried to commit only to be derailed early by either turnovers (back to back fumbles by a second string RB), injuries (our starting RB, Selvin Young, missed several games to a groin injury, and our expected starter going into the season got his first start of the season last week after missing the first half of the year to a broken elbow), or BOTH injuries and turnovers (Cutler handed out 3 INTs last week, and we lost two of our starting RBs and our primary kick returner to injured reserve in that game)!

Now the team must rely on Ryan Torain and a less than 100% Selvin Young. Young is injury prone, and hasn’t played much for Denver lately, so much of the job is up to Torain who is getting only the second start of his NFL career. He carried the ball three times and got only one yard against MIA in his first game since college. He has also spent the last several weeks recovering from an elbow injury.

One thing to watch for, however, is FB Peyton Hillis (#22), the rookie out of Arkansas. We wouldn’t be surprised if Hillis gets some carries as a halfback. He can catch out of the backfield on screens, but he can also run downfield for catches. Shanahan made a comment that he still needs to work on blocking, but this may indicate that Hillis is more ready to run the ball and catch it than to block. Also, Hillis got a taste of experience in the last game, going over 100 yards receiving, the first for a Bronco back in decades.

Another top consideration for the Broncos will be to limit the stupid mistakes. Early in the season it was the opponents making the mistakes and Denver playing clean football. That has seen a complete reversal with Miami and NE having only 4 penalties between the two of them (none in the first halves). Denver has also taken a serious dive in the turnover ratio, losing 16 turnovers in the past four losses while creating only two. The primary culprit here has been Cutler, with 8 INTs and 2 fumbles, but when you drop back to pass as often as Denver has, bad things are bound to happen. Again, if Denver can establish the run, expect the number of Cutler turnovers to drop considerably, possibly to the zero level which he maintained through three of Denver’s wins this year.

One thing Cutler has NOT had to worry about has been pocket pressure. Denver is second in the league in sacks allowed (6), and first in sacks allowed per attempt. A rookie LT and a rookie RT have been exemplary in pass protection. Except for NE, who managed 3 sacks on Denver in a blowout, every team has been terribly frustrated in their pass rushing attempts. But crafty secondaries have proven to be quite troublesome to Cutler, so dynamic, inventive coverage schemes with exotic player matchups have given him fits so far this season and could definitely lead to trouble.

One last thing we are personally watching for is to see if the recent trend of our defense playing better from game to game continues against a QB receiving his first start on a short week. The hallmark of the defense was its inability to contain opposing teams’ passers, allowing completion %s in the high 70s every game, until last week when Pennington (the career NFL leader in completion percentage for a QB with over 2000 attempts) was held to only 57%. That is only a small part of a trend of getting better against the run and pressuring the passer that has developed recently. This is a trend that has manifested DESPITE losing our two defensive captains, Champ Bailey and DJ Williams. I will be very interested to see if it continues in their absence.

In a game between two teams needing more ‘want-to’ than ‘can-do’, the outcome is anybody’s guess this Thursday night. Good luck to the Browns, and more importantly, here is to making it out of this game healthy!

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What does everyone else think?