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2007 Was a Treat, Now it’s Time to Look Ahead to 2008
The sour taste is gone – let’s focus on 2008

Ok Browns fans. At 10-6, the Browns failed to grace the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year. But it’s time to move on.

Stop dreaming up your “what if” scenarios where Phil Dawson’s field goal didn’t get blocked in Oakland, Kellen Winslow’s hail marry catch wasn’t called out of bounds in Arizona or Derek Anderson didn’t tank it in Cincinnati. It’s over. Time to look at the bright side – the Browns are contenders.

The glaring bright spots are mostly on the offensive side of the ball: A revamped offensive line, a legitimate rushing attack and a receiving unit that finally lived up to lofty expectations. Topped off with the emergence of Derek Anderson and the heart of Phil Dawson, the offense hit its stride after the Week 1 massacre.

The defense is still a work-in-progress. It improved throughout the course of the season despite a lack of staggering statistics.

Below are some thoughts about this off season:

From the reports coming out of the front office, it looks very likely that Derek Anderson will be back in Cleveland. Now it’s time to dot the I’s and cross the T’s. Phil Savage is showing stability for the Browns by stating Anderson is still the starter and that they are going to try to keep him sporting a number three in Cleveland. Having both Anderson and Brady Quinn in town is only going to push both to be the absolute best they can be. They both think they should be the starter, and hopefully both have the talent to be the starter. Look around the league and see how many teams had to resort to their backup quarterback for at least one full game. It’s staggering. Heck, Billy Volek just won a playoff game against the defending Super Bowl Champs and the best defense in the NFL. Oh yeah, a man by the name of Tomlinson was on the sidelines too. Back to the Colts – what if Peyton Manning ever went down? Jim Sorgi can’t even complete a five-yard pass, and that was proven in the last game of the season against the Titans. Man what if the Colts would have won that game…

Whew, almost got off track there. Bottom line: Two quality quarterbacks are crucial to the success of any team. Not many Browns fans disagree that Anderson should return.

Speaking of return, Jamal Lewis needs to come back. Give the man a two-year contract to stay, maybe three. He did a great job, and should continue to produce. He is only 28, leaving plenty of juice left in the tank.

A third or fourth receiver would be nice to obtain in the off season. Tim Carter didn’t impress. What happened to Travis Wilson? He never really got a fair look. There are a couple of guys who could come in and really enhance the dynamic of the offense. The former Buckeye Drew Carter is available and would be a nice addition. Bernard Berrian seems to have fallen out of favor in Chicago. He’d fit right in to Cleveland’s scheme.

Some defenders that would also look nice on the Browns 2008 squad include the obvious – Albert Haynesworth. Everyone has their sites on him though. Suspicious too that he had his best season in a contract year. Certainly Justin Smith could cruise up the I-71 corridor and join Shaun Smith and Eric Steinbach as the former Bengals trio that came to Cleveland after escaping the jungle. He’d fit into the 3-4 system quite swimmingly. Or Savage could utilize his ties in Baltimore and lure Terrell Suggs to Cleveland much like Lewis. He is the sideline-to-sideline linebacker that could put the Cleveland defense in the top half of NFL defensive units.

Tags: brady quinn, derek anderson, jamal lewis, kellen winslow, phil dawson, tim carter