This weekend's match-up between the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons has many pundits already making up their mind as to the victor. However road games are road games; I don't care who it is, it's tough to win in someone else's house.
Last week Cleveland got a win against their AFC North rivals the Cincinnati Benglas which suprised many in the NFL blogsphere. So instead of blindly judging the Browns let's delve into how they rank against the rest of the NFL.
Offensive Ranks:
- Passing: 22nd (193 yards per-game)
- Rushing: 14th (116.5 yards per-game)
- Red Zone Scoring Percentage: 17th (50% tied with Atlanta)
- Sacks Allowed: 5th (4 Sacks Allowed)
- QB Hits Allowed: 2nd (10 Hits Allowed)
Looking at Cleveland's offense it becomes apparent of a few things.
- They have a beastly offensive line.
- They are a decent, but not amazing, rushing team
- They're not as ineffective on offense as some lead you to believe.
I'm not saying it's going to be impossible to get to the quarterback, however the Browns unit seems to be extremely effective in protection. Cleveland's front five consists of Joe Thomas, Eric Steinbach, Alex Mack, Floyd Womack and John St. Clair. While this unit is productive, they are still getting average production from the quarterback position. The Falcons will need to get a great game out of their front-four if they are to win this game.
Defensive Ranks:
- Total Yards: 22nd (344.5 yards per-game)
- 3rd Down Percentage: 22nd (42%)
- Passing: 24th (235.8 yards per-game)
- Rushing: 17th (108.8 yards per-game)
- Sacks: Tied 12th (8 Sacks)
- Interceptions: Tied 20th (3)
Defensively the Browns are below average in most categories. They allow a fair clip of yardage, find it difficult to get off the field and find it difficult to take the ball away from opponents. However they are decent in one area and that is sacks, which they have eight of, tied with the Falcons.
Summary
This is going to be a more difficult game than people think. We should win this, and I expect us to. But the Browns have some very strong points that will make this weekend a tougher game than expected, not the walk-over many thought it would be in August.