The defense is far from perfect, but there's young talent that promises good things for the next few years.
View full sizeThe strong play of defensive end Jabaal Sheard (right) and second-year cornerback Joe Haden (combining to force a fumble by the Steelers' Heath Miller) is part of the positives that can be found from the 2011 Browns, says Tony Grossi.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Sure, there are some areas that offer hope for the 2012 season.
1. The defense: GM Tom Heckert has used his top two picks in the past two drafts on defense. Those players -- Joe Haden, T.J. Ward, Phil Taylor and Jabaal Sheard -- form the young core. Also included should be D'Qwell Jackson and Chris Gocong. Having an experienced, sage defensive coordinator in Dick Jauron assures the group will continue to develop. Now, it has to be rounded off with another defensive end, another young linebacker and a cornerback, but the foundation has been laid.
2. Playing experience: Force-feeding young players into the lineup can be painful. But the suffering can lead to better things. The experience gained by offensive linemen Jason Pinkston and Shawn Lauvao, receiver Greg Little, and the defensive linemen mentioned above should accelerate their growth. All those players improved as the season wore on.
3. Getting better: True, the Browns lost each of their six division games for only the second time since their rebirth in expansion. But if you examine those games, you notice two things. First, they closed the margin in their second meeting against each opponent. Lost to Cincinnati by 10 points, then by 3. Lost to Baltimore by 14 points, then by 6. Lost to Pittsburgh by 11 points, then by 4. They also limited their rivals to 121 points in six games. Those were the fewest amount of points scored on them in a season since 2002, when the Browns made the playoffs. And this was a year in which all three of their rivals reached the postseason, so there were no off years.
4. The off-season: Never has a true NFL off-season been so sorely needed. There's no question the Browns were hurt more than most teams by the lockout last year and the resultant absence of workouts and minicamps. Pat Shurmur had never been a head coach at any level. He was robbed of the ability to get to know his team and introduce new offensive and defensive systems. Now he'll have an off-season to fine-tune his methods and plans. Further, with extra picks in the draft and plenty of room under the salary cap, the Browns have the ammunition to upgrade their roster. Last year's free agency season was disrupted by the lockout, also. This year, Heckert can concentrate on filling needs in free agency before the draft.
5. The 2012 schedule: I'm not one to base a season's hopes on its schedule of games. But it's unavoidable to look at the 2012 slate and not consider it a positive. The six division games are a gantlet, of course. But of the remaining 10, only two are against playoff teams this season -- Denver (8-8) and the Giants (9-7). The remaining games are Kansas City (7-9), San Diego (8-8), Buffalo (6-10), Philadelphia (8-8), Washington (5-11), Oakland (8-8), Indianapolis (2-14) and Dallas (8-8). Yes, the makeups of each team will change. But that's a fairly weak schedule heading into the off-season.
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2012/01/five_reasons_for_optimism_with.html
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