Cleveland Browns 2010 Season Predictions

There is hope once again in Cleveland, as the Browns are putting their trust in new president Mike Holmgren to lead this team to a Super Bowl. Head coach Eric Mangini likely saved his job after he led the Browns to four consecutive victories to finish off the 2009 season, but don't expect Mangini to stick around much longer if this team starts 1-11 again. Here is a look at what the Browns will be sending onto the field on both sides of the ball in 2010, plus my prediction on where they finish the year in the AFC North.

Offense: This offseason the Browns had a complete makeover at the quarterback position. Both Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson are gone, and the new starter is former Carolina Panther Jake Delhomme, who lost his job in Carolina after throwing just eight touchdowns to 18 interceptions in 2010. The Browns drafted Colt McCoy, but don't plan on playing him this season.

The Browns look like they could have one of the better backs in the league in Jerome Harrison, but the question is whether or not he can last for a full season. To help soften the load on Harrison the Browns traded up in the draft to select Montario Hardesty, who could be very good if he can stay healthy.

The Browns leading receiver in 2009 was rookie Mohamed Massaquoi, but he had just 34 catches for 624 yards and three touchdowns. The hope is that they will get better play out of Brian Robiskie, Joshua Cribbs, or Chansi Stuckey this season. The Browns also drafted Carlton Mitchell out of South Florida in the sixth round.

The offensive line is the best unit on this side of the ball, as they have one of the best left tackles in the game in Joe Thomas, who has played in the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons. The Browns added tackle Tony Pashos to possibly take over right tackle from John St. Clair. Center Alex Mack was outstanding in his rookie season, and it won't be long before he is considered one of the top centers in the NFL.

Defense: The Browns are anchored in the middle of the defensive line by veteran Shaun Rogers, but it's likely he will be suspended for part of the season after getting caught with a gun at Cleveland Hopkins Airport. The Browns are hoping to get a little more out of veteran ends Robaire Smith and Kenyon Coleman, as neither did much to talk about in 2009.

The Browns got a little better at linebacker this offseason with the addition of Scott Fujita from New Orleans, and he should team up well with D'Qwell Jackson on the inside. Cleveland traded away Kamerion Wimbley to the Raiders, and are hoping that Matt Roth can bring the pressure from the outside. The Browns also traded for Chris Gocong from the Eagles, and he should be a solid backup to both Roth and veteran David Bowens.

The Browns figure to be much better in the secondary this season after adding corner Joe Haden in the first round and safety T.J. Ward in the second of this year's draft. Haden is expected to battle newcomer Sheldon Brown for the starting corner job opposite of Eric Wright, while Ward is expected to start opposite of Abram Elam at safety.

Prediction - 4th AFC North: It's hard telling exactly what to expect from the Browns this season, as they still are weak in a number of areas. They key will be the play of Delhomme, if he gets things figured out, this team should be much more competitive in 2010.

Check out where the rest of the teams in the NFL stack up in our 2010 NFL predictions. If you plan on betting the NFL this season, be sure to stop back each week to check out our live NFL odds page.

A Look Back Into The History of Authentic NFL Jerseys

You've been at football games most of your life. You have jumped with joy every time your team makes that game winning touchdown. You went home with your head bowed down every time your team lost. Whether they win or lose, you still go to their next game excited and full of adrenaline. You do all this while wearing your favorite authentic NFL jerseys.

But how did football jerseys came to be? Do you have any idea about the history of authentic NFL jerseys?

According to the history of authentic NFL jerseys, the popularity of team uniforms surged sometime in the 1990's. However, reaching the height of what it is at present did not come that easy.

Although the National Football League started to gain ground during 1920, the idea of teams having uniform was not that prevalent then. Most teams not only varied their uniforms from season to season, they usually just bought them. Jerseys around this time was typically made of wool. Another thing that was unique during this period was the fact that football players did not have any helmets on. Why you ask? It is for the simple reason that the football league did not require players to do so at this time.

However, as the history of authentic NFL jerseys tells us, sometime in the period of 1930 to 1940, the league required players to wear helmets. One reason could be to protect the players from possible head injuries. The Chicago Bears' Dick Plasman was the last football player said to play without having a helmet on. Another development during this period was that teams were now placing numbers on the jerseys in order for the players to be easily identified.

Although the wearing of helmets was made compulsory during the 1930's, it was only during the period of 1940 to 1905 that football helmets had its special design. It is often said according to the history of authentic NFL jerseys, that a player belonging to the Los Angeles Rams for example, in the 1948 season, had the horns of a ram decorated into his headgear. During this period, teams also started experimenting with colors looking for the right combination.

History also tells us that during 1950, the National Football League experience a lot of changes. Teams were starting to realize that uniforms did not need to be so boring, so to speak. Most team opted for the plastic helmets replacing the leather helmets worn by the players.

When the American Football League was formed sometime in the period of 1960 to 1970, the increase in the number of teams paved the way for some remarkable uniform designs. Facemasks, which started sometime during the 50's, became the standard by the end of 1970. It was not until the 80's when the design used on uniforms were given a finality. One reason for this was likely due to the fact that there were no new teams during the 1980's.

As mentioned earlier, it was during the 90's that the popularity of jerseys experienced a surged. The sale of football jerseys was now one of the best merchandise. This period, the history of authentic NFL jerseys tells us, also experienced some changes in the design of team's uniforms largely because of some teams moving. The Rams for example, was now that St. Louis Rams. Some news teams were also introduced like the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Presently, the league now has a rule that allows a team to wear an alternate uniform for a maximum of three times per year.

So that's about it. So did you learn anything from the simple history of authentic NFL jerseys? Now you can go to games and wear you authentic football jerseys with more pride and more knowledge.

Article Authentic NFL Jerseys [http://www.skyfireproducts.com/servlet/the-NFL-Football/Categories] is written by Cassaundra Flores, owner of skyfireproducts.com

Should You Run the Triple Option in Youth Football?

Triple Option and Coaching Youth Football

How beautiful is it to see a well executing triple option team? If you are like me, it is like poetry in motion. I'm a big fan of Navy and Georgia Tech, just because of the way they run the triple so well. As a Nebraska native and fan, I was raised on option football and ran it in High School. Of course when I got my first youth football coaching job back in 1986 or so, I went back to what I loved and knew, option football.

What many people don't realize is youth football and the College game are much different animals. While they are both played on the same field and use a similarly shaped ball, there are many differences that significantly impact the ability for the College game to be replicated on the youth field. We wont even get into the advantage NCAA rules give option teams versus NFHS rules which 48 of the 50 states use as a basis for their youth football rules and includes both Pop Warner and AYF.

Most people don't even realize that many of the option plays they are seeing on the College field is NOT triple option football, in spite of what the so-called television "analysts" tell you. Did you know that highly touted option guru Tom Osborne's Nebraska Cornhuskers never ran the triple option? Read Tom Osborne's book, everything they did was a called double option, no true triple. The reason Osborne didn't coach the triple is he said he felt he didn't have enough practice time. Mind you, that was with a group of 18-22 year old young men who practiced 6 days a week, played a game on the seventh and had spring practices as well. On the other hand, most youth teams are practicing 3 times a week, about half as much time as the college kids. Once you add in the spring practices, film and classroom sessions, the youth player is practicing about 20% of what a College player practices.

Note that many of the option plays you see on television on Saturdays are NOT triple option plays either, they may look like triple option plays but when was the last time you saw a pitch on an inside Veer play? So much of what we see on Friday nights and Saturdays are double options, like what Nebraska did in their option heydays and 3 National Titles in a 4 year timeframe.

There are other things to consider, in college football, the offensive players only play on the offensive side of the ball. Those option Quarterbacks for Navy and Georgia Tech aren't starting at Linebacker or Corner, like they are for your youth football teams. Those great option Quarterbacks and Running Backs aren't returning kicks or kicking PAT"S like the kids on your team.

There simply aren't many two-way players anymore and very few of the starters play on the special teams. In the youth game, all your players are going to have positions on offense, defense and in most cases special teams as well. In College football the offensive players, especially the skill players are practicing on the offensive side of the ball 90% plus percent of the time. At the youth level those skill position players are your best players, they are going to play both ways and on special teams, they may never leave the field. Those kids are practicing offense, defense and special teams, obviously much less specialization than the College players. When you factor this into your effective practice time equation, the youth skilled position player is now getting from 7-10% of the offensive preparation as the College player. We get that by taking the 20% rate and multiplying that times the amount of offensive practice time one might get in a typical youth practice which would be 35-50%.

At the College level, all of the players have experience playing the game, most of them have reasonably good fundamentals. While fundamentals are key at all levels of football, most College kids have a base level of competency and have overcome their fear of contact. In youth football, that certainly isn't the case. At the College level, there are no minimum play standards, goals or requirements, at the youth level for most programs there are. At the youth level we are spending an inordinate amount of time teaching fundamentals and how to play the game, not to mention getting kids comfortable with their gear and over their fear of contact. At the youth level we have to invest time that the College coach never has to worry about.

In youth football, the squad sizes vary from about 17-30 kids. In College football the teams vary in size from 105-180 players. In youth football you hope you get a single durable Quarterback and Running Back as a couple of competent average backups. In College football, most teams are carrying 5 scholarship Quarterbacks and 5-10 scholarship running backs, all of which were probably the superstar of their respective High School team. At the College level, when one player goes down, most teams have a good backup who can step right in and do the job.

In youth football with the small squad sizes, we simply don't have that luxury. Even with very good coaching the difference in talent level from a first team Quarterback and Running Back is usually pretty dramatic when compared to the replacement. In youth football, if you decide to run the triple, you better have at least 2 very good and durable Quarterbacks that don't ever get sick, injured or have academic problems, same goes for your Fullback and main Running Back threat.

I coached option football out of the I Formation and Veer for seven years. Even running just double options or midline option is a HUGE investment in time if you are going to get very good at it at all. When we had very good Quarterbacks, good Fullback and a stud Running Back AND we stayed injury free, we had good seasons. When we didn't have that stud Quarterback, solid Fullback and stud Running Back, we didn't have very good seasons and my teams were running double options, not triples.

My Quarterbacks were making just a single read, not two reads within the span of 2 seconds or so. That's a lot to ask of a College Quarterback according to Tom Osborne, not to mention a youth Quarterback. At the College level the triple option is seen as an equalizer type offense, at the youth level and even at the High School level to an extent it is not an equalizer. The reason is, these are two entirely different sets of equations with different boundaries.

Are you enamored with the idea of running the triple option at the youth level? Consider all of these factors before you commit to it. Think about your constraints and where you are going to steal all that practice time you are going to need to get reasonably proficient at the option game and what that is going to do to your team on the other side of the ball. I found out the hard way many moons ago and didn't want my seasons to be totally dependent on whether God dropped a bunch of great skill position players on my doorstep that season or not.

Now don't label me an option bigot or fuddy-duddy, I still love option football, just not for my own teams.

Dave Cisar-
Dave is a Nike "Coach of the Year" Designate and speaks nationwide at Coaches Clinics.His personal teams using this system to date and has a 132-18 record in 5 Different Leagues.

To Sign up for his free 170 page book on "How to Start a New Football Program or Team" to: Starting a New Football Program