An Order of Crow With a Side of Humble Pie to go, Please

John returns with his state of the Browns evaluation, and this time it’s surprisingly optimistic. 

Hey everyone . . . So, last time you heard from me I was entertaining the idea of calling for Romeo Crennel’s head. OK, I admit I was a bit hasty; mostly because I was writing out of frustration after watching my beloved Browns give away a game to the Steelers. I have had some time to settle and have to admit that this team has made significant improvement this season.

At the beginning of the season, my hope was that the Browns would win 8 games. Well, Sunday’s win over the Jets was number 8, and with 3 games to play the Browns are staring at a likely playoff berth: they hold the second Wild Card spot with destiny in their hands (a good position to be in). There is even an outside (way outside) shot at the North Division Champion spot as Pittsburgh continues to struggle. When all is said and done, I believe the Browns have a really solid shot at winning 10 games.

Notes on the Browns before the first pre-season game

Much has happened on the Browns front since the last time I posted on them. Brady Quinn is in camp finally, running the scout team. Let me say this again- Brady Quinn will not start the season. He will eventually start this year. I say that because while I believe that the Browns will be better, they will not make the play-offs, and Quinn will see the field after they are eliminated from play-off contention, if injuries don’t force him on the filed earlier.

The real news is that the injury bug has started biting again. Willie McGinest will need surgery on his back, and will be out for 6 weeks minimum. Eric Steinbach will miss 2 weeks or more with a bruised knee. Matt Stewart is out for the season with a torn labium. Isaac Sowells continues to miss practice with a concussion issue. Orpheus Roye is still weeks away from practicing after his knee surgery. Steinbach is the only one on this list that is irreplaceable in my book. Roye is a close second, but if the Browns are going to really improve this year Eric has to play at a high level. The only more significant injury would be if Jamal Lewis were to go down. In which case, we might as well start Quinn. (No, we shouldn’t!)