Cleveland Browns 2004 schedule | 2003 results | 2003 stats More Teams 49ers Bears Bengals Bills Broncos Browns Buccaneers Cardinals Chargers Chiefs Colts Cowboys Dolphins Eagles Falcons Giants Jaguars Jets Lions Packers Panthers Patriots Raiders Rams Ravens Redskins Saints Seahawks Steelers Texans Titans Vikings

Andre Davis David Maxwell/Getty Projected starting lineup Offense No. Player Pos. 81 Quincy Morgan WR 87 Andre Davis WR 11 Kellen Winslow TE 77 Ross Verba LT 70 Enoch DeMar LG 50 Jeff Faine C 63 Kelvin Garmon RG 72 Ryan Tucker RT 5 Jeff Garcia QB 42 Terrelle Smith FB 44 Lee Suggs RB 4 Phil Dawson K Defense No. Player Pos. 92 Courtney Brown LE 94 Gerard Warren LT 99 Orpheus Roye RT 96 Kenard Lang RE 57 Warrick Holdman WLB 54 Andra Davis MLB 51 Chaun Thompson WLB 33 Daylon McCutcheon CB 37 Anthony Henry CB 24 Robert Griffith SS 20 Earl Little FS 3 Derrick Frost P 2004 Draft Rd. Player Pos. School 1 Kellen Winslow Jr. TE Miami 2 Sean Jones S Georgia 4 Luke McCown QB Louisiana Tech 5 Amon Gordon DT Stanford 6 Kirk Chambers OT Stanford 7 Adimchinobe Echemandu RB California Outside the Huddle The way they were When the new Browns debuted in 1999, Al Lerner was owner, Carmen Policy was president, Dwight Clark was top football executive, Chris Palmer was head coach and Tim Couch was quarterback. Now Randy Lerner is owner, John Collins is president, Butch Davis is top football executive and head coach and Jeff Garcia is quarterback. Gotcha In three previous seasons as head coach, Davis watched 13 of his former players at the University of Miami become first-round draft picks. Each of them eluded him in Cleveland. This year Davis didn't let Kellen Winslow Jr. get away. It's in the cards Odds are pretty good each of the Browns' six draft picks will make the team. Davis kept 22 of 23 players from his previous drafts. Flashback Lee Suggs' 186-yard rushing performance in the 16th game was the biggest game on the ground for a Browns' back since Earnest Byner had 188 in 1984. Bad openers The Browns have played their first game of the season at home, and lost, in each of the last five years. They open this season at home against the division rival Ravens. Passing the torch The Browns were 22–37 (.373) with Tim Couch as the starter. Only Kelly Holcomb (3–7) and Doug Pederson (1–7) won games in place of Couch during the past five years. 2003 Revisited The Prophecy: "QB controversy brewing by the Lake." The Lie: "[Lee] Suggs, who made a complete recovery from a torn ACL two years ago, will miss the entire season after rotator cuff surgery." --Athlon Sports Pro Football 2003

Cleveland head coach Butch Davis may be the envy of his peers. Most coaches would be on a hot seat following a 5–11 season in his third year. Instead, Davis received a two-year contract extension through 2007, a vice president title and a direct link to the team owner.

When owner Randy Lerner replaced Carmen Policy as president and CEO with John Collins, formerly the NFL's highest-ranking marketing executive, he reaffirmed Davis' authority over all football matters. Davis and Collins each will report directly to Lerner in the new organization chart.

"My role models are the Packers under [Vince] Lombardi, the Browns under [Paul] Brown, the Cowboys under [Tom] Landry, the Steelers under [Chuck] Noll, the 49ers under [Bill] Walsh," Lerner says. "So it seems to me if those are your role models it's about the coach, and it's about the organization, and it's about total support."

Davis removed an albatross from his neck when he replaced Tim Couch with San Francisco reject Jeff Garcia. Couch had become the focal point of angst and distraction. Rather than make an earnest attempt to redo Couch's unwieldy contract, Davis signed Garcia, 34, for $25 million over four years.

The Browns hope to get two solid years out of Garcia. New offensive coordinator Terry Robiskie will seek to take advantage of Garcia's ability to throw on the run. He will support Garcia with intermediate routes and dump-off options.

Deposed 2003 starter Kelly Holcomb reverts to the backup role after blowing a career opportunity. Holcomb's major asset at this point may be his contract, which has one year left at a moderate price. After this year, he'll be replaced by rookie fourth-round draft pick Luke McCown, the team's future starter.

This position always changes for the Browns. William Green was the feature back until he missed the last eight games under an NFL substance abuse suspension. Out of nowhere, Lee Suggs came off the bench in the 16th game and laid claim to Green's job with a 186-yard, two-TD performance.

The Browns were smart to take a chance on Suggs in the fourth round of the 2003 draft. Teams knew he needed shoulder surgery and the Browns had the time to wait. Now he may enter his second season as the No. 1 back. Suggs ran with an aggressiveness that Green had lacked. He also displayed the quickness to turn the corner and break upfield. If Green stays straight, Robiskie may tinker with both in the same backfield.

But the addition of free-agent fullback Terrelle Smith assures a two-back set in the base offense. An enthusiastic lead blocker, Smith should improve the Browns' short-yardage and goal-line offense.

James Jackson returns as a competent backup. He is in the last year of his contract and might give way to seventh-round rookie Adimchinobe Echemandu.

A switch to a two-back set and the addition of first-round rookie tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. should limit the reliance on three- and four-receiver formations. It's a good thing, because the Browns' depth at receiver has been reduced significantly.

The team repaired relations with leading receiver and punt returner Dennis Northcutt, who vowed never to play for the Browns after an agent's mistake cost him free agency, by signing him to a three-year, $9 million deal.

Still, starters Andre Davis and Quincy Morgan are the top receivers. Both have been explosive playmakers at times, but struggle with consistency.

Winslow Jr. brings an offensive presence unseen in Cleveland since the retirement of Hall of Famer Ozzie Newsome in 1990. Winslow's run-after-catch ability is rare for a tight end. He should become Garcia's favorite target in the new offense.

After failing to trade for franchise left tackle Robert Gallery in the draft, Davis resorted to Plan B and returned Ross Verba to the position. Verba, who missed the entire 2003 season with a torn biceps tendon, would have been moved to guard if a better tackle were acquired. His partner at guard could emerge from a competition among unheralded prospects Enoch DeMar and Chad Beasley, and 2002 third-round draft choice Melvin Fowler.

From center to right tackle, the Browns feel they have built a strong side to run behind. Center Jeff Faine missed seven games with knee and ankle injuries as a rookie, but he is now healthy and is expected to be a stalwart. In free-agent right guard Kelvin Garmon, the Browns added a 350-pound inside force. Right tackle Ryan Tucker is a leader who played every offensive snap in 2003.

Injuries traditionally decimate this unit on the Browns. The tackle positions are thin with only three-year veteran Joaquin Gonzalez and sixth-round rookie Kirk Chambers as backups.

When healthy, this could be the team's strongest unit. But once again, the Browns enter a season crossing their fingers that they will get 16 games out of Courtney Brown. The left defensive end did well to come back from 2002 knee surgery and make it through 13 games, but he finished the season with a ruptured biceps tendon. Davis signed free agent Ebenezer Ekuban with Brown's injury history in mind and to help in the rotation with right end Kenard Lang. Backup Mark Word is strictly a rush specialist.

Gerard Warren and Orpheus Roye form a good tandem at tackle. Warren seems to have matured into a more conscientious player. The position is deepened by the re-signing of 2003 pickup Michael Myers, the return to health of Alvin McKinley and Antonio Garay, and the addition of fifth-round draft pick Amon Gordon.

Davis' 2003 experiment of inserting three second-year players into the starting lineup all at once had mixed results.

Middle linebacker Andra Davis led the defense in tackles and added five sacks in exceeding the coach's expectations. But outside linebackers Ben Taylor and Kevin Bentley had only sporadic success. Each experienced problems in tackling and coverage. They will join free agent Warrick Holdman in competition for one starting spot. The other one was given to Chaun Thompson, the surprise second-round pick in 2003 who spent his rookie year on special teams. Davis is hoping Thompson's athleticism makes up for his inexperience. Brant Boyer is a valuable special teams player and can play any linebacker position.

A year ago, the Browns' 15 interceptions were below the league average. Cornerbacks had only three of them. Poor tackling also contributed to a league-high three individual 200-yard rushing games against the Browns.

Still, few changes were made. Rookie second-round draft pick Sean Jones was supposed to compete with Robert Griffith, 33, or Earl Little for either starting safety spot, but Jones may miss the entire season with an ACL tear. Little led the team with six interceptions but was lax in tackling.

Starting cornerbacks Daylon McCutcheon and Anthony Henry may be pressed by 2003 fifth-round pick Michael Lehan and Leigh Bodden. Henry had 10 interceptions as a nickel back his rookie year, but slumped to two and one in the last two seasons as a starter.

Kicker Phil Dawson is the lone returner from what used to be one of the league's best placekicking teams. The Browns incorporated long snapper Ryan Pontbriand into the mix last year. This season they will break in a new holder after Chris Gardocki left for rival Pittsburgh. Gardocki will be doubly tough to replace because he was the team's dependable punter for five years. Favored to succeed him in that role is undrafted free agent Derrick Frost.

Davis is in the fourth year of his quest to run the ball on offense and stop the run on defense. Incremental progress has been made every year in each area, but there is a long way to go for the Browns to compete at the highest level.

The most improvement this year figures to come on offense because of the change to a two-back system that employs a fullback and the addition of bigger run-blockers up front. But until the defense stops giving up record performances to opposing backs, the Browns will be hard-pressed to challenge their division rivals, much less the conference's elite teams.

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