The Browns have lost 31-year old starting RG Eric Steinbach for the entire 2011 season due to surgery to repair a herniated disc in his back.  Steinbach played in 16 games (all starts) for the Browns last year.  He has played in 62 games (all starts) in his first four years with the Browns as he was a very dependable and solid player.  Rookie 5th round pick Jason Pinkston looks like he will be the starting left guard for the Browns in 2011.  Hopefully, LT Joe Thomas and C Alex Mack will be able to help Pinkston on the left side.

The Browns have claimed 27-year old G/T Oniel Cousins off waivers from the Ravens.  Cousins played in 16 games (1 start) for the Ravens last year.  He has now played in 25 games (4 starts) in his first three years in the NFL.  The Browns needed some depth at guard and right tackle and Cousins should be able to provide both.  This was a good move for the Browns.

23-year old QB Jarrett Brown looked pretty good against the Eagles last week but he was horrible in his first two preseason games for the Browns.  If he wants to stick around as the #3 QB for the Browns in 2011, he will have to have another solid game against the Bears this Thursday.  Brown has played in all 3 preseason games for the Browns so far and he has completed 5 of 10 passes (50%) for 48 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT (57.5 QB Rating).  Brown has also carried the ball 5 times for 23 yards (4.6 ypc) so far this preseason.  The Browns have to be sure that Brown can handle himself because the Browns started all three of their QBs in 2010.

UPDATE:  (9/4/2011) – The Browns have released Jarrett Brown.

The Browns looked sluggish offensively for most of this game and it hurt them on the scoreboard.  Colt McCoy didn’t look too good last night as he completed 9 of 18 passes for 89 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT.  Seneca Wallace was better as he completed 3 of 6 passes for 53 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  Jarrett Brown looked the best of the Browns’ QBs last night in his attempt to win a roster spot.  Brown completed all 4 of his pass attempts last night and they were good for 35 yards and a TD pass.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 16 yards last night.  Quinn Porter led the way for the Browns last night with 32 yards rushing on 4 carries (8.0 ypc).  Peyton Hillis also looked solid with 3 carries for 18 yards (6.0 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 35 yards (17.5 avg) last night.  WRs Brian Robiskie (3 rec, 23 yards) and Greg Little (3 rec, 23 yards) led the way for the Browns in the passing game last night.  TE Alex Smith (1 rec, 17 yards, TD) and WR Chris Matthews (1 rec, 4 yards, TD) also made huge grabs for the Browns last night.  The Browns finished up with 103 yards rushing on 20 carries (5.2 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 28 passes (57.1%) for 139 yards last night as they only had possession of the ball for 25:16.

CBs Raymond Ventrone (4 tackles, 1 pass defensed), James Dockery (4 tackles, 1 pass defensed), DeAngelo Smith (4 tackles) and Joe Haden (4 tackles) led the way for the Browns’ D in this game.  DT Travis Ivey and DE Jayme Mitchell pitched in with 1 fumble recovery apiece last night.  The Eagles finished up with 147 yards rushing on 32 carries (4.6 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 30 passes (63.3%) for 135 yards last night.  The Browns are now 1-2 on the preseason.

The Cleveland Browns are likely going to throw the ball a lot more in 2011 now that Pat Shurmur is calling the plays.  That doesn’t mean that 25-year old RB Peyton Hillis won’t get his touches, because he will.  Hillis played in 16 games (14 starts) for the Browns last year and he carried the ball 270 times for 1,177 yards (4.4 ypc) with 11 TD runs.  He also caught 61 passes for 477 yards (7.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs last year.  Hillis came over from the Broncos in the Brady Quinn trade with the Browns are probably still laughing about.  Look for the bulldozer to get his fair share of yards in 2011 as long as he doesn’t succumb to the Madden Jinx.  Hillis has now played in 42 games (22 starts) in his first three years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 351 times for 1,574 yards (4.5 ypc) with 17 TD runs.  He also has caught 79 passes for 675 yards (8.5 avg) with 3 TD grabs in his NFL career so far.

25-year old Brandon Jackson will likely be the Browns’ #2 RB in 2011.  Jackson played in 16 games (13 starts) for the Packers last year and he carried the ball 190 times for 703 yards (3.7 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also caught 43 passes for 342 yards (8.0 avg) with 1 TD grab last year.  Jackson will probably be the #2 back because Montario Hardesty just can’t seem to stay healthy.  Jackson has now played in 52 games (16 starts) in his first four years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 347 times for 1,329 yards (3.8 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  He also has caught 110 passes for 844 yards (7.7 avg) with 2 TD grabs in his NFL career.  Jackson’s main job will be to lessen the workload for Peyton Hillis in 2011.

The Browns took Montario Hardesty in the 2010 NFL draft and they had high hopes for him.  He suffered a knee injury that required surgery which caused him to miss his whole rookie season.  Hardesty is having knee issues again in this camp, so it will be hard for the Browns to have confidence in his ability to help the team in 2011.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BROWNS RBS IN 2011:  B

The Cleveland Browns’ backups let them down in this game as the starters looked pretty good.  QB Colt McCoy was solid once again as he completed 10 of 18 passes for 96 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 3 yards last night.  Seneca Wallace was the next QB in and he completed 6 of 8 passes for 40 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 9 yards (9.0 ypc) last night.  Jarrett Brown finished up the game at QB and he looked pathetic once again.  He didn’t complete any of his four pass attempts last night but he did carry the ball 2 times for 9 yards (4.5 ypc).  RB Armon Smith led the way on the ground for the Browns last night with 90 yards rushing on 15 carries (6.0 ypc) with a 81-yard TD run.  He also caught 1 pass for 7 yards.  But, it wasn’t all good for Smith as he lost two fumbles in this game that the Lions turned into TDs.  Brandon Jackson had a hard time last night with 19 yards rushing on 8 carries (2.4 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 5 yards.  TE Evan Moore was the star of the show for the Browns last night as he caught 3 passes for 40 yards (13.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Rookie WR Greg Little also made a mark in this game with 2 grabs for 25 yards (12.5 avg) with 1 TD grab.  The Browns finished up with 135 yards rushing on 22 carries (6.1 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 30 passes (53.3%) for 136 yards as they only had possession of the ball for 23:49 last night.

The Browns gave up a lot of yards last night but they also had to defend some short fields too.  LB Titus Brown (5 tackles), LB D’Qwell Jackson (5 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) and CB James Dockery (5 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) led the way for the Browns’ D last night.  DE Jabaal Sheard also had a good game with a tackle and a fumble recovery that led to a TD.  The Lions finished up with 176 yards rushing on 45 carries (3.9 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 29 passes (65.5%) last night.  The Browns are now 1-1 on the pre-season.

The Browns have claimed 24-year old safety Brett Johnson off waivers.  Johnson didn’t play in any games as a rookie last year.  That being said, the Browns are desperate for depth at safety, so Johnson could get on the field at some point in 2011.  But, he will have to impress the Browns in the next three weeks if he’s going to make the team.

UPDATE:  (8/30/2011) – The Browns have released Brett Johnson.

23-year old WR Carlton Mitchell and 21-year old rookie safety Eric Hagg are going to miss a few weeks apiece do to injury.  Mitchell had finger surgery last Friday.  Mitchell played in 5 games as a rookie for the Browns last year but he didn’t catch any passes.  Mitchell also carried the ball 1 time for 9 yards last year.  This is a bad break for Mitchell who was having a pretty good training camp for  the Browns.  Eric Hagg will undergo “minor” knee surgery this week.

The Browns really looked good offensively last night against the Packers.  Colt McCoy was really sharp as he completed 9 of 10 passes for 135 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  Seneca Wallace followed McCoy in the game and he was so-so.  He completed 11 of 17 passes for 99 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 13 yards (6.5 ypc) last night.  Jarrett Brown finished up the game at QB and he didn’t look too good.  He completed 1 of 2 passes for 13 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT.  RB Armond Smith led the way for the Browns on the ground with 10 carries for 41 yards (4.1 ypc).  He also returned 2 kickoffs for 55 yards (27.5 avg) as he was impressive last night.  Brandon Jackson pitched in with 28 yards rushing on 8 carries (3.5 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 7 yards.  Peyton Hillis had 16 yards rushing on 5 carries (3.2 ypc) with 1 TD run last night and he also caught 1 pass for 8 yards.  TE Ben Watson (2 rec, 56 yards), WR Josh Cribbs (2 rec, 37 yards, TD) and WR Jordan Norwood (3 rec, 36 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Browns last night.  Norwood also returned 3 punts for 55 yards (18.3 avg) last night.  The Browns finished up with 124 yards rushing on 32 carries (3.9 ypc) and he has also completed 21 of 29 passes (72.4%) for 240 yards last night.

The Browns still have work to do defensively.  LB Titus Brown led the way for the Browns’ D in this game as he had 4 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and he recovered a fumble that he returned 43 yards for a TD.  DE Brian Sanford (4 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 sack), CB Ramzee Robinson (4 tackles and 2 passes defensed) and CB Raymond Ventrone (4 tackles) also had solid games for the Browns on D.  The Packers finished up with 78 yards rushing on 19 carries (4.1 ypc) and they also completed 28 of 48 passes (58.3%) for 263 yards.

Browns’ president really wanted the Browns to draft Colt McCoy last year and finally GM Tom Heckert relented in the 3rd round.  McCoy was forced into action last season after injuries to Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace, and he was not overmatched.  He goes into this season as the Browns’ starting QB.  McCoy played in 8 games (all starts) for the Browns last season and he completed 135 of 222 passes (60.8%) for 1,576 yards with 6 TD passes and 9 INTs (74.5 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 28 times for 136 yards (4.9 ypc) with 1 TD run last year.  McCoy lead practices during the lockout proving that he relishes taking a leadership role with the Browns and that is exciting.  He could get off to a really good start to build confidence this year because the Browns don’t see the Steelers or Ravens until December, but they do play them in four of their last five games this year.

31-year old Seneca Wallace will be McCoy’s backup this year.  Wallace is a decent QB as he has good mobility and enough arm to get the ball down the fields.  Wallace played in 8 games (4 starts) for the Browns last year and he completed 64 of 101 passes (63.4%) for 694 yards with 4 TD passes and 2 INTs (88.5 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 7 times for 9 yards (1.3 ypc) and he caught 1 pass for 9 yards last year.  Wallace knows the West Coast offensive system like the back of his hand as he has been on Mike Holmgren’s teams (Seattle and Cleveland) for his whole career so far.  Wallace has played in 56 games (18 starts) in his first six years in the NFL and he has completed 397 of 657 passes (60.4%) for 4,021 yards with 29 TD passes and 16 INTs (83.9 QB Rating).  Wallace has also carried the ball 61 times for 223 yards (3.7 ypc) with 1 TD run and he has caught 5 passes for 85 yards (17.0 avg). 

23-year old Jarrett Brown will battle 23-year old Troy Weatherford for the #3 QB job in 2011 for the Browns.  Brown was an undrafted QB out of West Virginia last year while Weatherford is a undrafted rookie out of tiny Hillsdale College.  This will be a interesting battle in training camp to watch.  After all, the Browns’ #3 QB last year (Colt McCoy) started 8 games in 2010.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BROWNS QBS IN 2011:  C+