CLEVELAND BROWNS
Optimism: If there’s room for optimism everywhere in the NFL, its hard to see it in Cleveland. The Browns have been rolling along the NFL’s bottom for the greater part of last decade, and things aren’t expected to get better anytime soon. These Browns have struggled to a 27-36-1 ATS record over the last 4 seasons, and a SU record that lands 26 games under .500. Ouch. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Cleveland can’t score points either, going 23-38-3 O/U from 2003-2006. On the other hand, the Browns can only go up from here, right?
Over or Under: At least the Brownies have been consistent… It just happens to be consistently bad. As I said above, over the last 4 seasons, Cleveland is 23-38-3 O/U. They have been a sure bet as an under wager, as they were 6-9-1 O/U last season, and have only finished closer to the over once since 2002 (In 2004 they were 7-9 O/U). If you were betting on the Browns to struggle offensively, you cashed in big time over the last 2 seasons. Especially in 2005 where the Browns were 4-11-1 O/U. This team has had trouble scoring points.
Against the Spread: The Browns haven’t just been poor record wise, they’ve struggled against the spread as well. Since 2002, Cleveland is 9 games under .500 ATS. While their ATS record is poor over the last 4 seasons, Cleveland is a very average 15-16-1 ATS in 2005 and 2006 combined. That means they were 12-20 combined in ’03-’04. They are better on the Road (8-8) than at home (7-8-1), but not by much. The last year the Browns finished with a solid ATS record was 2002 (10-5-1 ATS).
Straight Up: 19-45 isn’t much to get excited about. In fact, unless you’re a compulsive Brown hater, there hasn’t been much excitement in Brown games over the last 4 seasons. In fact, Since Tim Couch looked like a promising young quarterback in 2002 (Many forget, but Tim threw for 2842 yards and 18 touchdowns in 14 ’02 starts) have the Browns finished over .500. 6 wins, 4 wins, 6 wins, and 4 wins; sounds like an expansion team. Remember, the Browns just came back to the NFL in 1999. But its hard to blame the expansion years for the problems Cleveland has had winning games lately.
AFC Noooo!-rth: Within their own division, things couldn’t have been worse for Cleveland. They haven’t had an easy time of it over the last 4 seasons, as the Bengals have joined the Steelers and Ravens as 3 of the toughest opponents in the NFL. Over the last 4 seasons, Cleveland has struggled to 5-19, and a lowly 8-15-1 record ATS. But that’s only the half of it. Over the last two seasons, The Browns have 1 win to show against their divisional rivals. 1-11 in ’05 and ’06, and a complete goose egg last year, as they finished 0-6 in the AFC North.
