29-year old starting TE Ben Watson is having a really solid year for the Cleveland Browns in his first year with the team.  He has played in 5 games for the Browns this year and he has caught 23 passes for 230 yards (10.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Watson is leading the team in both catches and yards this year and Browns’ QBs have completing 23 of 25 passes (92%) when throwing to him.  A young QBs best friend is usually the TE so look for Watson to be even used more with rookie Colt McCoy starting at QB.  Watson has career highs of 49 catches, 643 yards and 6 TD grabs and it’s quite possible that he could eclipse all of those numbers in 2010 with the Browns.

The Browns have looked to the TEs in the passing game when they need big plays this year.  Ben Watson has caught 18 passes for 185 yards (10.3 avg) with 1 TD grab as he leads the Browns in both receptions and receiving yards so far this year.  Evan Moore has caught 4 passes for 111 yards (27.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  So the Browns TEs have combined to catch 22 passes for 296 yards (13.5 avg) with 2 TD receptions.  To put that in prespective the TEs have caught 30.1% of the completed passes by the Browns this year.  They also account for 50% of the TD passes and 37.5% of the Browns’ passing yards this year.  They need the big guys to keep up the good work because the WR corps of the Browns is a bit lacking right now.

24-year old RB Peyton Hillis is now the main man in the running game for the Cleveland Browns.  Hillis was acquired from the Broncos in the Brady Quinn job over the off-season and it’s proving to be a steal for the Browns so far.  Hillis is a battering ram at 6’2″, 250 pounds as he always seems to be moving forward.  Hillis has carried the ball 39 times for 220 yards (5.6 ypc) with 3 TD runs so far this year.  He is #9 in the NFL in rushing yards right now.  Hillis is also a good receiver out of the backfield as he has caught 14 passes for 86 yards (6.1 avg).  I look for the Browns to keep feeding the rock to Peyton Hillis.

25-year old outside linebacker Marcus Benard is really playing well this year for the Browns.  Benard has 4 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 1 pass defensed in his first two game for the Browns this year.  The Browns are likely going to turn Benard loose after the QB whenever he’s on the field.  Benard has now played in 8 games in his career with the Browns and he has 18 tackles, 6 sacks and 1 pass defensed.  This was quite a find for the Browns who signed Benard as a undrafted rookie last year out of tiny Jackson State.

25-year old back-up linebacker Blake Costanzo has found a home in Cleveland.  He has played in 14 games for the Browns this season and he has 13 tackles and 3 forced fumbles this year.  Those numbers don’t look that impressive until you consider that he really only plays on special teams which makes those numbers look outstanding.

26-year old RB Jerome Harrison and 26-year old kickoff return man Josh Cribbs both ran themselves into the record book against the Chiefs last Sunday.  Harrison rushed for 286 yards on 34 carries (8.4 ypc) with 3 TD runs against the Chiefs last week.  Harrison broke the Browns’ all-time record for rushing yards in a game which was set way back in 1961 by Hall of Fame RB Jim Brown who totaled 237 yards in a game that year.  Harrison finished with the third most yards rushing ever in a NFL game behind only Adrian Peterson and Jamal Lewis.  Harrison has now played in 12 games this season and he has carried the ball 122 times for 587 yards (4.8 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He has also caught 32 passes for 200 yards (6.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  The Browns hope that Harrison finishes the year strong against the Raiders and Jaguars the next two weeks.  Josh Cribbs tied a NFL record and he set another won last Sunday.  He tied Ted Ginn Jr. of the Dolphins as the only players in NFL history to return two kickoffs over 100 yards for a TD in a NFL game.  Cribbs also set a new NFL record with 8 career TDs on kickoff returns.  Cribbs has played in 14 games for the Browns this season and he has returned 53 kickoffs for 1,475 yards (27.8 avg) with 3 TD returns.  He has now played in 75 games in his five years in the NFL and he has returned 262 kickoffs for 6,982 yards (26.6 avg) with 8 TD returns.  There is no reason to think that Cribbs might set a record that will never be broken if he continues to return kickoffs and stays healthy for a few more years.  That was probably the most exciting football game since the Browns returned to the NFL in 1999.

The light bulb over Eric Mangini’s head finally popped on when he stated that he is considering making Cribbs a full-time RB.  That would be a smart move for the Browns who need a legit feature back.  Cribbs has carried the ball 42 times for 305 yards (7.3 ypc) this season and he has also caught 19 passes for 132 yards (6.9 avg) with a TD grab.  Cribbs can throw the ball on occasion as he has completed 1 of 3 passes for 18 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT.  The Browns better be careful that they don’t give Cribbs a workload that would cut into his special teams play as he excels there.  Cribbs has returned 47 kickoffs for 1,206 yards (25.7 avg) with a TD return and he has also returned 27 punts for 377 yards (14.0 avg) with a TD return.  All totaled this year, Cribbs has touched the ball 138 times for 2,038 total yards (14.8 avg) with 3 TDs.  He is averaging 156.8 all purpose yards per game this season as he is the best player on the football team without a doubt. 

27-year old OLB/DE Matt Roth has really stepped up since the Browns claimed him off waivers from the Dolphins.  Roth has played in 3 games for the Browns this year and he has made 17 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and he has 1.5 sacks.  If he continues to play strong the rest of the way there is no reason to think that he won’t win a starting job for 2010.

26-year old outside linebacker Kamerion Wimbley is the only good pass rusher the Browns have so they should let him loose.  He can defend the run on the way to the QB in my opinion.  Wimbley has played in 8 games for the Browns this season and he has 44 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 5 sacks.  With the trouble the Browns are having at CB they should be blitzing way more often to rattle the opposing QB.  Wimbley has now played in 56 games in his 4-year career with the Browns and he has made 223 tackles, defensed 4 passes, has 1 interception, 6 forced fumbles and he has 25 sacks.  Wimbley will meet up with Lions’ QB Matt Stafford a lot this Sunday if the Browns take the shackles off of him.

Teams have been foolish so far this season as they have challenged Josh Cribbs a lot and they have paid for it.  Cribbs has returned 25 kickoffs for 723 yards (28.9 avg) with a TD return this season and he has also returned 18 punts for 295 yards (16.4 avg) with a TD.  The Browns have only scored 72 points this season and 14 of them were scored by Cribbs so maybe opposing teams should be more careful with him back to return kicks and punts.  Not to mention that Cribbs has set up a lot of short fields for the offense to work on.  Kicker Billy Cundiff has done a excellent job in filling in for Phil Dawson who has been injured.  Cundiff has made all six of his field goal attempts and he has converted all four extra points this year for 22 points.  But, punter Dave Zastudil is probably the 2nd best player on the Browns (behind Cribbs) and that really says something about the quality of the roster.  He has punted the ball 43 times for 1,916 yards (44.6 avg) this season.  Zastudil has 5 touchbacks this season (11.6%) and he has pinned the opposition inside their 20-yard line 25 times this season for an alarming 58.1%!  Zastudil and Cribbs should be representing the Browns in the Pro Bowl this season if they stay healthy and continue to play at their current level.