The Browns will likely be without 32-year old starting outside linebacker Scott Fujita due to a nasty concussion.  He has played in 5 games for the Browns so far this year and he has 32 tackles.  24-year old Kaluka Maiava will replace Fujita in the starting lineup.  Maiava has played in 5 games for the Browns so far this year and he has 3 tackles.  He has now played in 23 games in his first 3 years with the Browns and he has 49 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 2 passes defensed.  The Browns hope that Maiava steps up this weekend.

The Cleveland Browns are getting next to no production out of their RBs this year.  The Browns are only averaging 81.6 yards rushing per game and 3.3 yards per carry so far this year.  A big part of the problem has been with 25-year old RB Peyton Hillis.  He wants a new contract and he is sitting out whenever he has a hangnail.  Hillis has played in four games for the Browns so far this year and he has carried the ball 60 times for 211 yards (3.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He has also caught 15 passes for 76 yards (5.1 avg) so far this year.  24-year old Montario Hardesty missed his rookie season due to knee surgery in 2010.  He has played in 5 games for the Browns so far this year and he has carried the ball 40 times for 143 yards (3.6 ypc) with 0 TD runs.  Hardesty has also caught 10 passes for 86 yards (8.6 avg) so far this year, but he drops as many balls as he catches.  The Browns have recently signed Chris Ogbonnaya off of the Texans’ practice squad and I look for him to get in on the action this weekend against the Seahawks.

25-year old QB Colt McCoy’s passing numbers don’t look too bad so far this year.  In his first four games, McCoy has completed 100 of 172 passes (58.1%) for 984 yards with 6 TD passes and 3 INTs (78.7 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 12 times for 35 yards (2.9 ypc) so far this year.  A lot of McCoy’s numbers have come from dink and dunk short passes, as he doesn’t have good enough WRs to drive the ball down the field.  Maybe the bye week gave the Browns enough practice in the passing game for McCoy’s confidence build in throwing the ball to WRs Mohammed Massaquoi, Greg Little and Josh Cribbs.  The Browns might also get TE Evan Moore more involved in the offense going forward.

25-year old QB Colt McCoy deserves a lot of the blame for last weekend’s loss to the hapless Bengals.  He completed 19 of 40 passes (47.5%) for 213 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT (70.1 QB Rating).  McCoy also carried the ball 3 times for 11 yards (3.7 ypc) and he caught 1 pass for -5 yards.  McCoy needs to quit dumping the ball off so much and throw the ball to his WRs.  He completed only 6 of 14 passes for 108 yards to his WRs, with a lot of those yards coming on 1 play….a bomb that he completed to Mohamed Massaquoi.  While it’s true that McCoy doesn’t have much talent in the WRing corps, he still has to throw the ball down the field or opposing defenses will start taking away the TEs and Peyton Hillis.

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.

24-year old rookie Colt McCoy had a couple of rough games against the Ravens & Steelers the last two weeks of the year but overall he played well enough to likely enter 2011 as the Browns’ starting QB.  McCoy was especially impressive when you consider the WRing corps he had to work with.  One of the Browns’ top priorities this off-season will be upgrading at WR in both the draft and free agency.  McCoy played in 8 games for the Browns as a rookie this year and he completed 135 of 222 passes (60.8%) for 1,576 yards with 6 TD passes and 9 INTs (74.5 QB Rating).  McCoy also carried the ball 28 times for 136 yards (4.9 ypc) with 1 TD run as a rookie.  McCoy will likely be a good fit in the Browns’ new West Coast Offense built on timing and rhythm.

30-year old Seneca Wallace will likely return as McCoy’s backup in 2011 due to the fact that he played pretty well last season and he knows the West Coast System pretty well from his time in Seattle.  Wallace played in 6 games for the Browns last season and he completed 64 of 101 passes (63.4%) for 694 yards with 4 TD passes and 2 INTs (88.5 QB Rating).  Wallace also carried the ball 7 times for 9 yards (1.3 avg) and he caught 1 pass for 9 yards.  Wallace has now played in 54 games in his NFL career and he has completed 397 of 657 passes (60.4%) for 4,241 yards with 29 TD passes and 16 INTs (83.9 QB Rating).  Wallace also has carried the ball 61 times for 223 yards (3.7 ypc) with 1 TD run and he has also caught 5 passes for 85 yards (17.0 avg) in his NFL career.  Wallace is a solid backup and the Browns would be smart to bring him back.

The Browns are likely to part ways with 36-year old Jake Delhomme as he was pretty awful when healthy in 2010.  Delhomme played in 5 games for the Browns this year and he completed 93 of 149 passes (62.4%) for 872 yards with 2 TD passes and 7 INTs (63.4 QB Rating).  Delhomme has now played in 102 games (92 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 1,723 of 2,904 passes (59.3%) for 20,764 yards with 125 TD passes and 101 INTs (81.2 QB Rating).  Delhomme has also carried the ball 175 times for 328 yards (1.9 ypc) with 7 TD runs in this career to date.  I look for the Browns to release Delhomme this off-season.

VERDICT:  McCoy looks like he could be the Browns’ QB of both the future and the right now based on what I saw this year.  But, the Browns are going to need to revamp the WRing corps to give him a fair shot.  Seneca Wallace is a solid backup while Jake Delhomme looks like he’s toast.

24-year old rookie QB Colt McCoy has a high ankle sprain which is going to cause him to miss a lot of time the rest of the year.   McCoy has played in 5 games for the Browns this year and he has completed 81 of 127 (63.8%) for 975 yards with 3 TD passes and 3 INTs.  He also has carried the ball 20 times for 87 yards (4.4 ypc) with a TD run so far this year.  The Browns are going to turn to 35-year old Jake Delhomme as the starting QB this weekend against his old team (the Carolina Panthers).  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 also has carried the ball 2 times for 1 yard (0.5 ypc) so far this year.  Delhomme will need to step up this weekend if he wants to regain the starting job for a little while because Seneca Wallace is almost healthy.  This is a big blow to the Browns as the offense looked pretty good under Colt McCoy.

39-year old head coach Eric Mangini and the Browns struggled to a 5-11 record during his first year on the job.  Club President Mike Holmgren was convinced after meeting Mangini in the off-season to give him another chance in 2010.  Holmgren had to be pissed about the clock management in last weekend’s loss to the Jets but the Browns have played outstanding football overall the last three weeks.  They are 2-1 against the Patriots, Saints and Jets the last three weeks but they are still only 3-6 overall this year.  The Browns are now 8-17 (32%) in Mangini’s second year on the job.  Hopefully the Browns finish strong so Mangini’s job isn’t an issue.

Josh Cribbs missed a lot of yesterday’s game due to 4 dislocated toes on his right foot but he’s still going to try to play this weekend against the Jaguars.  Cribbs hasn’t been himself this year as teams have been kicking away from him, which is very smart on their part.  He has returned 21 kickoffs for 439 yards (20.9 avg) so far this year and 11 punts for 95 yards (8.6 avg).  The Browns have tried to get him more involved in the offense to make up for his lack of chances on returns.  He has carried the ball 16 times for 69 yards (4.3 ypc) and he has also caught 17 passes for 235 yards (13.8 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this year.  He has also completed both of his pass attempts this year good for 19 yards.  The Browns hope that Cribbs will be able to give it a go this weekend against the Jaguars.

UPDATE:  (11/19/2010) – The Browns will likely be without Josh Cribbs after the signing of Clifton Smith.

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.