Cleveland Browns
NFL betting line: Over 6 -135/Under 6 +105 (line subject to change)
Last season: 5-11
Our pick: Over 6
If you’ve been betting over on Browns’ season win totals in recent years, we’re surprised you can afford the device you’re reading this article on. Cleveland has not won more than five games in a season since 2007, and has cracked the seven-win plateau just once over the past decade.
That said, these don’t appear to be the same old Browns in 2013. Cleveland has new ownership, a new front office, a new head coach (former Panthers offensive co-ordinator Rob Chudzinski is the Browns’ third head coach in the last four years) and a couple sharp-minded co-ordinators (Norv Turner on offence, Ray Horton on defence).
Though the Browns went 5-11 last year, there are some pieces for the new bosses to work with. Cleveland’s defence is young and improving, Trent Richardson shows potential of blossoming into an elite running back and WR Josh Gordon is emerging as a deep threat. (Gordon will miss the first two games of the season after being suspended for violating the league’s substance abuse policy).
The big question mark for Cleveland is at quarterback. Former first-round pick Brandon Weeden struggled last year as a 27-year-old rookie, throwing more interceptions (17) than touchdowns (14) and posting a quarterback rating of 26.6. Even despite those numbers, Weeden is expected to be the undisputed starter again this year.
When you suck for a decade, you tend to get a few breaks when it comes to the schedule. Cleveland’s out-of-division slate includes home games against Miami, Buffalo, Jacksonville and Chicago – four very winnable contests. The Browns will also visit Kansas City and the Jets, where they will likely be small underdogs each time. Unfortunately, the schedule also includes stops in Green Bay and New England, in addition to six games against tough NFC North opponents Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Cincinnati. But the Ravens are a shell of their Super Bowl-winning self after some key offseason losses, and Pittsburgh wasn’t even a playoff team a year ago.
Public opinion of the Browns is obviously not very high, and neither is their season win total. That makes it easy to endorse a rare ‘over’ when it comes to Cleveland season wins. The Browns are good enough to beat each of their division rivals at least once this year, meaning we need just three more wins out of them to guarantee a push and four to cash our over ticket. A .500 season is not out of the question as another rebuilding program is well underway in Cleveland.
Cleveland Browns 2013 schedule
| 1 | Sun, Sep 8 |
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1:00 PM CBS | |||
| 2 | Sun, Sep 15 |
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1:00 PM CBS | |||
| 3 | Sun, Sep 22 |
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1:00 PM CBS | |||
| 4 | Sun, Sep 29 |
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1:00 PM CBS | |||
| 5 | Thu, Oct 3 |
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8:25 PM NFL | |||
| 6 | Sun, Oct 13 |
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1:00 PM FOX | |||
| 7 | Sun, Oct 20 |
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4:25 PM CBS | |||
| 8 | Sun, Oct 27 |
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1:00 PM CBS | |||
| 9 | Sun, Nov 3 |
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4:25 PM CBS | |||
| 10 | BYE WEEK | |||||
| 11 | Sun, Nov 17 |
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1:00 PM CBS | |||
| 12 | Sun, Nov 24 |
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1:00 PM CBS | |||
| 13 | Sun, Dec 1 |
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1:00 PM CBS | |||
| 14 | Sun, Dec 8 |
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1:00 PM CBS | |||
| 15 | Sun, Dec 15 |
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1:00 PM FOX | |||
| 16 | Sun, Dec 22 |
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1:00 PM CBS | |||
| 17 | Sun, Dec 29 |
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1:00 PM CBS | |||