Today in Spanning Browns Town we will start our season preview where we will take a look at every opponent on the Cleveland Browns 2009 schedule.
This year the Browns once again open the season at home for what will be the 10th-straight time. This will also be the tenth anniversary of the Browns re-birth, and coming to town to help the celebrate will be Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings, who could also be bringing Brett Farve with them.
Last season the Vikings won 10 games, which was enough to capture the NFC North and make the playoffs. Under head coach Brad Childress they finally seem to be turning things around after the mess that previous head coach Mike Tice left them with.
This year they look to continue their success and should make some noise in not only their division, but also the rest of the NFC.
So just how do the Browns match up? Let’s take a closer look.
Quarterback
With or without Brett Farve this is a very promising unit, but they are not terrible without him either. Sure having Farve behind center would take this team from being a contender in their won division, to possibly being a Super Bowl contender.
Even if they fail to land him they have enough offensive fire power to make a run at their division and possibly the conference crown on their own.
Many people feel that Sage Rosenfels is no more then an 8-8 quarterback, however when you look at his supporting cast their is reason for optimism.
He has the best running back in the league lining up behind him, and a pretty good core of receivers as well. Provided the Vikings do not end up with Brett Farve, Rosenfels will finally get an opportunity to be a starter.
His best season seems to have been two years ago with the Houston Texans when he completed 154 passes of 240 for 1,684 yards. He also threw 15 touchdown passes that season and had a 64.2 percent pass completion rating and averaged 7.0 yards per pass.
Last season he saw his numbers take a dip, although he also had less chances than the year before. He threw six TD’s, while only completing 116 of 174 passes, and less yards (1,431). His pass completion rating was actually higher then the year before at 66.7 percent as did his average yards—8.2.
The big project is going to be getting him to stay away from throwing interceptions as he has thrown a combined 22 interceptions over the past two season.
Still you can’t argue with what Rosenfels has done over the past two seasons. His ratings over the last two seasons where 84.8 in ‘07 and 79.5 last season. He is deserving of the opportunity that awaits him.
Tavaris Jackson has been viewed as more of a project-type of a player. He did finish the year as the starter and was the starter in the playoffs as well.
The story on this second-round pick from the ‘06 draft, though, has not been so rosy bright. He is said to have times where he can have all the talent in the world but the moments he shows his talent are few compared to the bad decisions that he makes. He looked awful in the playoff game and many feel he is no more then a career back up. Let’s see if he can prove others wrong this summer.
Advantage
If the Vikings land Brett Farve then the advantage clearly goes to them—without Farve their QB situation is not the much different then the Browns. The Vikings won’t dominate the Browns without Farve, however I still believe who ever their QB is can get big things done against the Cleveland defense.
Minnesota has more offensive fire power. I give the Vikings the advantage.
Running backs
Many regard Vikings running back Adrian Peterson to be the best football player in the NFL. Few if any can blame those who subscribe to that belief. Really, though, what’s not to like about him?
The guy is performing at an alarming rate for opposing defensive coordinators. Last season he won his first rushing title with 1,760 yards, plus he is only the fifth player in history to accumulate 3,000 yards rushing in only two seasons. Peterson also said during the off season that he wanted to add seven to 12 pounds to help him withstand punishment better.
If he can do that and maintain his explosiveness he will be very difficult to keep up with.
To compliment Peterson the Vikings also have Chester Taylor, who may as well be a starter on many other teams. He had a very successful career with the Baltimore Ravens and it has only continued in Minnesota.
A dimension that makes him very dangerous is his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. Last year Taylor lead all running backs with 25 catches on third down.
Advantage
Any team that has a running back with the capabilities of Adrian Peterson has the clear advantage. Jamal Lewis has a lot to prove after last season and after him there really is not that much in the Browns running back core.
Jerome Harrison had a very good season last year but it remains to be seen if he can do it again and we will have to just wait and see what rookie sixth-round pick James Davis brings to the table—provided he makes the team. I give the advantage to the Vikings.
Wide Receiver
The Vikings posses a very talented group of receivers that will only get better this season. Their big investment was former Bears wide receiver Bernard Berrian.
Last season Berrian finished first among all receivers with 40 catches and averaged 20.1 yard a catch. He is very speedy and the highlight …
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