Written by Dave Kolonich

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Could the NFL scheduling Gods be any crueler to our Browns? Besides the point that the Browns are not even halfway through a sinister gauntlet of playing seven of the league’s top teams, we have had to begin the season with the following realizations:

1. Tampa Bay – winners of just three games a season ago – is possibly further along in their overall team development than our Browns.

2. Kansas City – a team who last season was joined at the Browns’ hips in nearly every power poll – is the league’s only remaining unbeaten team.

3. Baltimore – Remnants of Modell and the whole Ozzie Newsome thing. Enough said.

And now on Sunday, another team who just two years ago finished 4-12 enters Cleveland as one of the NFC’s prime playoff candidates.

Or in other words – while all of the above teams have rapidly rebuilt over the past couple seasons, our Browns are still mired in a swamp created by the last decade of franchise instability.

And while the Bucs have recently come back to Earth – with the Chiefs soon to follow – perhaps the case of the Falcons is the cruelest evidence of NFL socialism we will encounter all season.

Consider the following.

In 2007, the Falcons were among the league’s worst teams, still stinging from Michael Vick’s entreprenurial endeavors, along with Bobby Petrino’s decision to bolt to the SEC midway through the season. Attendance was abysmal, Joey Harrington was the starting QB and the locker room was best characterized by the likes of DeAngelo Hall.

However, pretty much overnight the Falcons’ proactive owner Arthur Blank hired a former Bill Belichick protege in Thomas Dimotroff to run the front office and brought in an experienced coach in Mike Smith. Two drafts later, the Falcons landed a franchise QB, quality Left Tackle, and a few athletic defenders to go along with some smart free agent additions.

Conversely, during this same period of time, our Browns – “led” by the tepid Randy Lerner – fired two general managers and one head coach.

And so it goes in Cleveland.

But before this begins to sound like an article destined for the PD complaint department, at least we can take comfort in the idea that perhaps this time around, our Browns have finally righted the ship.

Again. If you know what I mean.

Anyway, let’s take a look.

Culture Clash

Beyond the still lingering doubts regarding whether Jake Delhomme or Seneca Wallace will start on Sunday, one mystery remains how the Atlanta offense will fare against the Browns’ 3-4. Specifically, if the Browns’ defense has shown us anything this year, it is that with the exception of the KC game, they have been stout against the run.

Enter the Falcons – who despite the high profile status of Matt Ryan – are essentially a run-first offense. For the Falcons to be able to generate a downfield passing attack, they have to able to establish the run against the Browns and what is truly a foreign scheme of defense.

But then again, who am I kidding?

The prospects of Ryan – certainly an above average QB – throwing to Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez at will are frightening. However, it’s worth noting that the Browns essentially took Chad Ochocinco out of last week’s win over the Bengals – at the expense of Terrell Owens’ 200 + receiving yards.

Of course, the ultimate matchup will be found underneath, down the middle and over the top of the field, as the Browns simply have no one who is able to match up with an elite pass catching tight end – such as Tony Gonzalez.

In other words – for daily readers of this site – expect my usual Sunday night lamentations regarding the lack of athletic linebackers on the Browns roster.

But then again, we have to remember that the last time the Falcons played the Browns was in 2006 – when Charlie Frye and Reuben Droughns were leading the Cleveland attack. In this sense, the Falcons may be surprised by the revitalized power rushing game the Browns have featured over the past two weeks.

And to add to the point, the Falcons defense has some speed at defensive end and linebacker, but may not be built to handle the continual pounding of Peyton Hillis and Lawrence Vickers.

One can only hope at least.

Although with a new week comes a different sort of challenges for the Browns. First, the Falcons feature a terrific pass rush – one that could prove quite the test for a slumping Joe Thomas and still untested Tony Pashos.

And again – Tony Gonzalez against either Eric Barton and/or Abe Elam. The NFL is just not fair.

Special Needs

I alluded to the potential impact of the Browns’ special teams in last weekend’s preview, but was a bit off in my speculation. Yet, while the big plays haven’t been seen in the Browns’ return game; the overall play of the special teams has been more than solid. Both Phil Dawson and Reggie Hodges have been productive and the coverage units have played to our expected level.

However, with Atlanta coming to town, the prospects of a game-changing special teams play dramatically increase. In short, special teams play has been the Falcons’ weakness so far in 2010 – highlighted by last week’s meltdown against San Francisco.

I’m just saying….something could happen.

The Pick

Is it just me, or was every positive Mangini/Process article balanced by one with the phrase “hot seat” in the title? Even after a win, this guy can’t catch a break.

Anyway…..although it is still tremendously difficult to keep both feet within the Eric Mangini Process Bandwagon/Support Group, it’s obvious that these Browns have played tough football in all four games – and in an ideal world that often exists far away from Cleveland – it’s not impossible to see this team standing at 3-1.

However, talent gaps being what they are, these Browns will again need another Herculean performance by Hillis, combined with some efficient QB play, improved defense and perhaps a big special teams play to pull off an upset.

Or at least give us all a bit of breathing room.