33-year old linebacker David Bowens was the star of the game for the Browns last weekend when he returned two interceptions off Drew Brees a combined 94 yards and they both went for TDs.  Bowens has now played in 6 games for the Browns this year and he has 3 tackles, 3 passes defensed and 2 INTs.  Bowens came over as one of Mangini’s boys from the Jets.  Bowens has now played in 22 games in his career with the Browns (2 years) and he has 74 tackles, 8 passes defensed, 5.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 3 interceptions.  Bowens only had 1 interception in his first 10 years in the NFL so last week’s game was probably the best of his entire NFL career.

24-year old NT Ahtyba Rubin has taken over as the starter from veteran Shaun Rogers.  Rubin has played in all 7 games for the Browns this year and he has 33 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception.  Rubin has helped the Browns’ run defense as they are giving up 111.3 yards rushing per game but only 3.9 yards per carry which is much better than last season.  31-year old Shaun Rogers has played in 6 games for the Browns this year but he only has five tackles so far. 

In my mind the Browns should only be choosing between rookie Colt McCoy or Seneca Wallace (if healthy at QB) to start against the Patriots after the bye week.  Jake Delhomme has been so awful that I wouldn’t consider him unless the other two guys were banged up.  McCoy would be my choice to start.  He has played in 2 games for the Browns this year and he has completed 32 of 49 passes (65.3%) for 355 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs (76.5 QB Rating).  McCoy has also carried the ball 9 times for 17 yards (1.9 ypc) and he has also caught 1 pass for 13 yards so far this year.  The kid looks like he’s not intimidated at all by the NFL as he keeps his eyes down the field when dropping back and he has a pretty strong arm with nice touch on the football.

Veteran Seneca Wallace has proved to be a solid QB for the Browns also this season.  Wallace has played in 5 games for the Browns so far this year and he has completed 63 of 100 passes (63%) for 693 yards with 4 TD passes and 2 INTs (88.5 QB Rating).  Wallace has also carried the ball 7 times for 9 yards (1.3 ypc) so far this year.  Wallace would be the choice to start at QB when he gets healthy if the Browns are going to make a playoff run, but I just don’t see that happening so why not see if the kid can play?

Jake Delhomme has been injured pretty much the whole year except for the first two quarters of the year in Tampa.  Delhomme has played in 2 games for the Browns so far this year and he has completed 33 of 60 passes (55%) for 324 yards with 1 TD pass and 4 INTs (48.2 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 2 times for 1 yard (0.5 ypc) so far this year.  He just looks like a player who is toast and I wouldn’t play him again this year unless the Browns are forced to due to injuries to McCoy and Wallace.

The Cleveland Browns have signed 27-year old WR Demetrius Williams.  Williams played in 12 games for the Ravens last season and he caught 8 passes for 142 yards (17.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has now played in 44 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has caught 63 passes for 1,008 yards (16.0 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  The Browns need the help at WR and Williams has some talent so I really like this signing for them.  The Browns have released WR/KR/PR Yamon Figurs to make room on the roster for Williams.  Figurs played in 1 game for the Browns and he carried the ball 1 time for a loss of 4 yards.

The Browns have waived 24-year old RB James Davis.  Davis played in 4 games for the Browns this year and he carried the ball 4 times for 9 yards (2.3 ypc) and he also returned 1 kickoff for 11 yards.  In his two seasons with the Browns, Davis played in 6 games in which he carried the ball 13 times for 24 yards (1.8 ypc).  He also caught 4 passes for 5 yards (1.3 avg) with the Browns.  He was quickly signed by the Redskins to their practice squad.  The Browns have claimed 26-year old RB Thomas Clayton off waivers from the Patriots.  The Browns play the Patriots on November 7th (after the Browns’ bye this weekend) so they might have claimed Clayton to extract info out of him.  He was drafted in 2007 by the San Francisco 49ers and he’s bounced around and has not played in a regular season game yet in his career.

The Browns beat the Saints badly on special teams and defense which was enough to easily win in New Orleans yesterday.  Linebacker Scott Fujita was a beast against his old team as he had 11 tackles, 1 sack, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 pass defensed and a QB hit today.  He must have coached the defense up about Drew Brees and his WRs because the Browns have 4 interceptions on the day but they could have had 7 or 8 if they just caught the ball better on D.  Backup linebacker David Bowens was the star of the show for the Brownies today as he had 1 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.  Bowens returned both INTs for TDs with only going for 30 yards and the other going for 64 yards which sealed the Saints’ fate today!  CB Sheldon Brown also had a solid game for the Browns today with 7 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception.  The Saints finished up with 58 yards rushing on 18 carries (3.2 ypc) and they also completed 37 of 56 passes for 336 yards.

The special teams were outstanding for the Browns in this game and a big part of the reason was that the Saints actually were kicking the ball to Josh Cribbs.  Cribbs returned 3 kickoffs for 68 yards (22.7 avg) and he returned 3 punts for 40 yards (13.3 avg) today.  His best played though came on a punt return where he started to his right and then threw a lateral pass all the way to the other side of the field to CB Eric Wright who returned it 62 yards.  It’s about time that Wright made a positive impact for the Browns this year.  Punter Reggie Hodges took a snap on a 4th down deep in Browns territory shortly before halftime and he took off running.  He was tackled 68 yards later by the Saints.  That set up a Browns’ field goal.

Rookie QB Colt McCoy was in game manager mode for the Browns today.  He completed 9 of 16 passes for 74 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also caught a 13-yard pass from Peyton Hillis on a perfect play.  Hillis was busy with 16 carries for 69 yards (4.3 ypc) with 1 TD run today.  Brian Robiskie (3 rec, 25 yards) and Chansi Stuckey (2 rec, 16 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Browns today.  The Browns finished up with 125 yards rushing on 28 carries (4.5 ypc) and they also completed 10 of 17 passes for 85 yards as they only had possession of the ball for 24:26.  The Browns are now 2-5 on the season after this shocking but well deserved victory.

The Cleveland Browns got beat 28-10 last week in Pittsburgh but they played much better than the scoreboard showed.  The Saints absolutely destroyed the Bucs in Tampa last week 31-6.  The Saints are 2-1 at home but the games have been close as they have outscored opponents 54-50.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Browns have the ball:  The Browns are going to come out trying to run the ball with Peyton Hillis in an attempt to control the ball and the clock.  The Saints are giving up 106.0 yards rushing but only 3.9 yards per carry so far this year so Hillis might find some running room.  The Saints aren’t a good pass rushing team and the Browns have a good O-Line so rookie QB Colt McCoy will likely have time to throw the ball.  He will likely be looking a lot to the TEs (Evan Moore & Ben Watson) seeing how his top wideout this week could be Chansi Stuckey.

When the Saints have the ball:  The Saints might try to run the ball a bit more than usual against a Browns’ D that is allowing 120.2 yards rushing and 4.0 ypc.  It will be interesting to see if rookie RB Chris Ivory is for real after his breakout game against the Bucs last weekend.  The Browns are going to be blitzing a lot in this game trying to rattle Drew Brees but that might be a mistake.  Brees is very good at getting rid of the ball quick and he has a great group of receivers to throw to.

PREDICTION:  SAINTS 30, BROWNS 17

25-year old cornerback Eric Wright has really sucked for the Browns so far this year.  He has played in all 6 games for the Browns so far this year and he has 25 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 6 passes defensed.  Wright has been getting toasted weekly and he is a poor tackler all of a sudden.  It’s time for the Browns to reward first round pick Joe Haden for his solid play on D and on special teams by starting him over Wright.  Haden has played in six games for the Browns so far this year and he has 18 tackles, 4 passes defensed and 1 interception (he returned it 62 yards against the Steelers last Sunday).  Haden has also returned 2 kickoffs for 45 yards (22.5 avg) so far this year.  It’s time to put Haden in the starting lineup and bench Eric Wright.

When the Browns picked 23-year old free safety T.J. Ward in the second round all of the draft “experts” said that the Browns were reaching.  Well it appears that the draftniks are wrong once again as T.J. Ward is a animal.  Ward has played in all six games for the Browns so far this year and he has 54 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 forced fumble and he has blocked a field goal.  Ward got fined for a nasty hit on Jordan Shipley of the Bengals earlier this year.  He has sent the message that you aren’t safe as long as he is on the field and that helps the Browns’ D.  Ward blasted Rashard Mendenhall so hard on a play near the end of the game last week that Mendenhall didn’t even remember playing that day!  Ward was an excellent pick for the Browns last April.

Opposing teams have finally gotten smart as they just aren’t kicking the ball to Josh Cribbs this year.  Cribbs has played in all six games for the Browns this year and he has returned 15 kickoffs for 309 yards (20.6 avg) and he has returned 6 punts for 37 yards (6.2 avg) so far.  The Browns are trying to get the ball into Cribbs’ hands more on offense to try to make up for his lack of return yardage.  Cribbs has carried the ball 13 times for 53 yards (4.1 ypc) and he has caught 13 passes for 175 yards (13.5 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Cribbs has also completed both of his pass attempts good for 19 yards.  All told, Cribbs has touched the ball 49 times for 593 yards (12.1 avg. per touch) so far this year and it’s just not enough.  The Browns need to get Cribbs more involved in the offense, period.