The Cleveland Browns have lost linebacker Antwan Peek for the season due to a torn patella tendon in his knee which required surgery.  Peek played in 14 games (5 starts) for the Browns last season and he made 19 tackles, had 4 sacks and defended 4 passes.  The Browns have re-signed Shante Orr to replace Peek on the roster but he’s not in Peek’s league as a player.  Orr made 2 tackles in his season opener for the Browns against the Cowboys.

The Browns should have given the fans their money back after the performance they gave on Sunday.  Derek Anderson only completed 11 of 24 passes for 114 yards with 1 TD pass.  He also carried the football 4 times for 24 yards (6.0 ypc).  Jamal Lewis was effective but the Browns couldn’t really use him after they fell behind to far.  He carried the ball 13 times for 62 yards (4.8 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 14 yards.  Kellen Winslow led the way in the passing game for the Browns as he caught 5 passes for 47 yards (9.4 avg) with a TD grab.  Braylon Edwards was either scared or hung over as he dropped way more passes than he caught in this game.  Edwards only caught 2 passes for 14 yards in this game.  The Browns only had possession of the football for 22:31 of this game and it’s virtually impossible to win that way.  The Browns finished up with 91 yards on 18 carries (5.1 ypc) and they also completed 11 of 24 passes for 114 yards.

The Browns’ Defense was supposed to be improved at least against the run this season but they didn’t show it against the Cowboys.  Linebacker D’Qwell Jackson led the way for the Browns’ Defense in this game with 11 tackles.  Safety Michael Adams got the start for a injured Brodney Pool and he made 8 tackles.  The Cowboys finished up with 167 yards rushing on 31 carries (5.4 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 32 passes for 320 yards.  The Browns better get their act together this week in practice as the Steelers are coming to town on Sunday Night.

The Dallas Cowboys better be careful in this football game as the Cleveland Browns have a 7-game home winning streak.  The Cowboys would probably prefer to run the football to set up the passing game but that may be hard against a vastly improved front 7 of the Browns’ defense.  Still, Marion Barber and Felix Jones will get their carries and they will have to deal with DE Corey Williams and NT Shaun Rogers.  Inside linebackers Andra Davis and D’Qwell Jackson are also enforcers in the middle of the Browns’ defense.  The Browns’ secondary could have issues at CB as Eric Wright and Brandon McDonald will have to deal with WRs Terrell Owens and Patrick Crayton all day long.  Both of the Browns’ CBs have talent but they are both inexperienced as they are each in their sophomore year in the NFL.  The best matchup of this football game with be All-World TE Jason Witten against rising safeties Brodney Pool and Sean Jones.

The Browns would also like to run the ball first but that might be hard to do with Jamal Lewis a little gimpy.  If he can go he will be challenged by inside linebackers Zach Thomas and Bradie James.  The Browns’ have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL and they should be able to give Derek Anderson enough time to get the ball downfield to Braylon Edwards, Donte’ Stallworth and Kellen Winslow.  Adam Jones will get his first start in two years and the Browns might be looking to pick on him. 

PREDICTION:  CLEVELAND BROWNS 37, DALLAS COWBOYS 34

The Browns have claimed 27-year old Scott Young off waivers from the Eagles.  Young has good size at 6’4″, 312 pounds but he doesn’t have a lot of experience.  He has played in 13 games (0 starts) in his 3 year NFL career.  He did get a lot of action in the preseason for the Eagles and he played in all 4 games, starting two of them.  It never hurts to roll the dice on a offensive lineman so this was a nice little gamble for the Browns.

The Browns have released WR Travis Wilson despite him playing pretty well during the preseason.  Wilson caught 9 passes for 115 yards (12.8 avg) this preseason for the Browns.  Wilson has been a huge disappointment for the Browns as he has only played in 4 games (1 start) in two years for them and he has caught 2 passes for 32 yards (16.0 avg).  Wilson was quickly signed by the Broncos to the practice squad.

The Browns have terminated linebacker Shante Orr’s contract despite him being third on the team in tackles (13) this preseason.  The only two Browns to have more tackles than Orr this preseason are LB Kris Griffin (19) and LB Leon Williams (14).  The Browns won’t miss Orr as they are loaded at linebacker for the 2008 season.

UPDATE:  The Browns have re-signed Orr to replace the injured Antwan Peek on the active roster.  He made 2 tackles against the Cowboys in the season opener.

The Browns have placed offensive lineman Lennie Friedman on the Injured Reserve List ending his season.  This will hurt the Browns’ depth along the line as Friedman can handle playing either guard or center.  He played in all 16 games (0 starts) for the Browns last season.  He has now played in 32 games (2 starts) in his two years with the Browns and they will likely miss him a little bit.

The Cleveland Browns have placed #3 WR Joe Jurevicius on the PUP List as he continues to recover from knee surgery.  This injury will keep him out at least the first six weeks of the season and that will likely hurt the Browns’ offense some.  Kevin Kasper was thought to be in the lead early in trainging camp to replace Jurevicius in the role of the #3 WR but he was placed on the Injured Reserve list due to a concussion which will end his season.  The Browns will head into the season with Joshua Cribbs, Syndric Steptoe and rookie Paul Hubbard battling it out to win the #3 WR job unless they can find a veteran on waivers that they like enough to pick up.