Cleveland Browns vs Green Bay Packers Preview
The Browns face a very difficult foe in the Green Bay Packers. It will be a homecoming of sorts as the Packers’ roster includes former Ohio State All-American AJ Hawk who is married to Brady Quinn’s sister and Clay Matthews who is the son of former Browns’ linebacker of the same name. That may be the only joy Cleveland fans get on a blustery day on the shores of Lake Erie. On the offense side of the ball, the Browns will face a tough Packer defense that employs a 3-4 set. The Statue, Derek Anderson, will remain the starting QB which is extremely difficult to comprehend. Brady Quinn started three games against teams that have a combined record of 15-3 and have very good defenses yet Quinn was benched despite completing 61% of his passes. Quinn threw 3 interceptions in those games for a QB rating of 62.9. #10’s stats were not scintillating but for a QB who has only 6 starts under his belt it wasn’t horrible. For the season, The Statue has started three games and played a half in another, in those games he has thrown 6 interceptions with only 2 touchdowns and completed a paltry 44% of his passes. The Statue’s QB rating is 41.7. By comparison, Washington QB Jason Campbell is under immense fire, has a QB rating of 84.2 with 6 touchdowns and 6 picks while completing 66% of his passes. In the last two games DA has led the Browns to a whopping 14 points combined. In reality the Browns could sign a backup QB from the CFL and he could do no worse yet BQ remains on the pine. How and why does the Statue keep his job? That is a question that has no logical answer. The Browns will once again rely on their special teams to generate points.
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The running game will have to be a factor behind Jamal Lewis and Jerome Harrison to have chance. Look for Josh Cribbs to see more time in the Wildcat formation and add some energy to the running game. If the Browns line up receivers instead of The Statue at wide out, Cribbs may be able to make some plays through the air as well. Rookie WR Mohamed Massaquoi will make some plays as he continues to progress. On defense the Browns will be missing their leading tackler D’Qwell Jackson who is out for the season with a shoulder injury. The Packer’s passing game behind Aaron Rodgers will be a tough test for Toast (Eric Wright) and Skirt (Brandon McDonald). Toast was in a car wreck during the week but may be able to play. The LB corp will be tested by Donald Driver who loves to run underneath routes. Look for rookie linebackers David Veikune and Kaluka Maiava to get some playing time. The special teams unit will be a major factor led by Mr. Everything Josh Cribbs. Cribbs makes big plays and gives the offense very good field position. Any points the Browns score will be aided by Cribbs. Prediction: The Packers aerial game will put points on the board and the Browns will continue to struggle with The Statue at the helm. Green Bay 34 Cleveland
By
Scott Dryden
Scott Dryden is a member of the DFN Sports team and also writers for Ohio Sports Time, an