25-year old backup linebacker Blake Costanzo has been a special teams ace for the Cleveland Browns this season.  He only has 1 tackle this season but he’s forced 2 fumbles already.  He forced a fumble on the opening kickoff last week setting the Browns up for a field goal.  It appears that Costanzo could become a fan favorite for the Browns as the special teams again appears to be the strength of the team.

The Browns have claimed 26-year old TE Greg Estandia off waivers from the Jaguars.  He played in 2 games (1 start) for the Jags this season without catching a pass.  Estandia has played 4 years in the NFL playing in 28 games (2 starts) in which he has caught 19 passes for 249 yards (13.1 avg).  He will be the #3 TE for the Browns behind Robert Royal and Steve Heiden.  To make room on the roster for Estandia the Browns cut Martin Rucker.  Rucker played in 5 games (1 start) in his career with the Browns making only 2 catches for 17 yards (8.5 avg).

The Cleveland Browns have signed 27-year old CB Anthony Madison.  He played in all 16 games for the Steelers last season and he made 19 tackles.  He has now played 3 years in the NFL and he has played in 38 games (0 starts) in which he has made 42 tackles.  The Browns have cut CB Marquis Floyd to make room on the roster for Madison who will likely help the Browns on special teams.

The Cleveland Browns laid another egg in Denver yesterday.  The Browns were only down 10-6 at the half before the roof caved in.  Brady Quinn had another poor game completing 18 of 31 passes for 161 yards with 1 interception.  The Broncos ganged up on Jamal Lewis as he carried the ball 14 times for 38 yards (2.7 ypc).  Braylon Edwards had a good game for the Browns as he caught 6 passes for 92 yards (15.3 avg).  The Browns finished up with only 200 total yards on offense (54 rushing, 146 passing) and that just won’t get the job done.

The Broncos passed to get the lead on the Browns before grinding it out on the ground to finish them off.  LB Eric Barton led the Browns in this game with 8 tackles.  The Broncos finished up with 449 total yards in this game (186 rushing, 263 passing).  The Browns are now 0-2 on the year as they are looking like one of the worst teams in the NFL.

This should be a interesting football game as the Broncos beat the Browns in Cleveland last season 34-30.  Don’t expect another shootout like that one as a long has changed with these two teams.  Look for the Browns to run the ball a lot more this week.  Jamal Lewis looked great last week but the Browns didn’t use him much in the 2nd half of the game last week when they were trying to catch up.  The Broncos only allowed 86 yards rushing last week on 27 carries (3.2 ypc) but I think Jamal Lewis is a lot better than Cedric Benson.  The Broncos will likely be blitzing when they get off the team bus against the Browns trying to force Brady Quinn into make some mistakes with the football.  The Browns must find a way to get the ball to Braylon Edwards more this week or they will have problems moving the ball thru the air.

It’s apparent that the Browns have not fixed their run defense as the Vikings rolled up 225 yards rushing (6.1 ypc) last week.  With that in mind look for the Broncos to run the ball more often than they did last week.  Look for Correll Buckhalter and rookie Knowshon Moreno to split the carries this week.  The Browns did get 4 sacks last week and they will likely be bringing a lot of heat against Kyle Orton when the Broncos pass and he must protect the football. 

PREDICTION:  BRONCOS 21, BROWNS 17