Well here we are again, folks, it's Sunday and we're all about to subject ourselves to three hours of torture at the hands of the Browns. Why do we do it? We love 'em, yeah, but man oh man is this one probably going to be tough to watch.
The Browns go into Houston without Peyton Hillis, Montario Hardesty, and the offense may come back without their dignity. Chris Ogbannaya will make his first start as a Brown against his former team (granted he was on the practice squad, but still), and I'm hoping we can find lightning in a bottle. I actually thought Ogbannaya was the most effective running back the Browns have had watching him in his first couple of games. Perhaps that's because other teams don't have any film on him yet, but it could be because he's talented. Maybe he'll be our Ryan Grant—someone who was on the Giants practice squad and then turned into a very effective runner for the Packers (well...until he was hurt and the Packers won the Super Bowl without him, but that's not important).
In other offensive news, Mohammad Massaquoi is back today. Yay... Look, there is absolutely no offensive weapon that we have that might actually put fear in the hearts and minds of the Texans defense, which is led by one of the best defensive coordinators around in Wade Phillips. He's taken a squad that consistently brought the Texans down and turned it into a 3-4 machine, as they rank third in total defense and fifth in points per game. Look for Colt McCoy to be running around all day long like a chicken with its head cut off with Houston's pass rush and the Browns swiss cheese for an offensive line. Bleh.
Ont the defensive side of the ball, I'm not so worried. Matt Schuab is without his biggest weapon in Andre Johnson, who is out with a hamstring injury (that nobody is questioning...sorry Peyton Hillis). Unfortunately, they've still got one of the league's top rushers in Arian Foster, who is ninth in the NFL with 532 yards and four rushing touchdowns. The biggest problem for the defense is going to be staying off the field, as the offense is probably going to look like poo. Hopefully Dick Jauron has his squad prepared for a long game...
So let's get to the bottom line.
The Prediction: CLE 10 - HOU 20
The defense will keep Houston off the scoreboard for the most part, but Browns turnovers/generally ineffective offense will be the downfall of the Browns today. Maybe I'll be wrong...but don't count on it.
No halftime blurb today, as I've got something to do mid-game, but look for a final word later tonight after I watch the rest of what might be a DVR'd mess.
See you then,
~MAS
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