2016 Cleveland Browns Season Win Total Predictions

Posted by Jordan Walterss on Tuesday,July 19, 2016 9:56, EDT in

NFL News, Betting Tips, Picks & Previews

So I’m supposed to say something positive about the Cleveland Browns this season and tell you why you might think about betting on their over win total. That’s going to be pretty challenging because this team resembles an expansion roster as the Browns undergo yet another full-scale rebuild. The Browns have a wins total of 4.5 on NFL odds.

Taking a Closer Look at the 2016 Cleveland Browns Season Win Total Predictions

Total Win/Loss Odds Overview

This franchise has had some really bad head coaches since returning to the NFL but I think the Browns got it right this offseason when they hired Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson as their new head coach. Jackson is the third coach that owner Jimmy Haslam has hired since he and his wife, Dee, bought the team in October 2012. Jackson, 50, becomes the team’s 16th head coach and eighth since 1999. He succeeds Mike Pettine, who was fired after a 3-13 season.

Jackson worked wonders with Cincinnati QB Andy Dalton, has earned respect from players wherever he worked and who wasn’t afraid to challenge players directly and forcefully. He is an offensive mind who understands quarterbacks and formations and play calling.

Why Betting On The Over?

I honestly wouldn’t. But to give one reason, maybe new QB Robert Griffin III will play like he did when he was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year with Washington. It’s essentially a no-risk move for the Browns. They got him as a free agent for a two-year, $15 million contract just $1.75 million of which is guaranteed after this coming season. They will give him the chance to compete for the starting quarterback job this season, and if he fails again, there is hardly any cost.

Cleveland could have taken a quarterback with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 draft but opted to trade down from that pick. They decided to wait until the third round to draft USC’s Cody Kessler, who adds his name to a depth chart that also includes Josh McCown and Austin Davis, but the focus is and will remain on Griffin, who has been presumed all along to be the eventual starter, even if Jackson declines to name a starter until into the preseason.

Kessler enters his first training camp having made a strong impression in offseason workouts. Now, he’s focused on taking the next step.

“I want to come into camp and act like I’ve been in this offense for 10 years, I want to be completely understanding of everything, I want to know how to read defenses in the NFL, I want to know how many different looks there are so that eliminates hesitation for me going into (training) camp,” he said.

Why Betting On The Under?

Can the Browns’ top cornerback, Joe Haden, stay on the field? A concussion, along with injuries to his ankle and finger, derailed Haden’s 2015 campaign, in which he only played in five games. You can’t assume that Cleveland’s win total would have changed with Haden on the field, the impact he would have made for a struggling secondary is undeniable. In his six-year NFL career, Haden has suffered re- occurring injuries with his hip, finger, shoulder, ribs, ankle, foot and head. Justin Gilbert, one of the team’s first-round picks in the 2014 NFL Draft, has not yet panned out, leaving the secondary even more depleted.

The Browns again look like they have perhaps the worst group of receivers in the NFL. They took Baylor’s Corey Coleman with the No. 15 overall pick this year. Coleman will be relied on heavily to provide the deep threat that the Browns clearly deemed as a priority this offseason after losing Travis Benjamin in free agency. But Coleman is pretty raw. He did not know many routes during his time at Baylor as he was used frequently on screen plays and on streaks. But the top-selected wide receiver in the past two drafts — Sammy Watkins (2014) and Amari Cooper (2015) — easily led their respective franchises in receiving by the end of their rookie season.