BL Predicts: Week 1 vs Cincinnati

This first game of the new NFL season is very hard to predict. There are a lot of new variables all coming together so let's study them:

Negatives
* A new coach together with a new offense and defense. I am very happy with Pat Shurmur and the direction he is taking the team, but for the first game of the year, the fact that he's new is more negative than positive, especially when you consider the lockout and short time Shurmur has had to acclimate his team to completely new ways of playing. Due to the lockout, the Browns lost the entire off season and only had a handful of weeks to teach their team these new systems.
* The offensive line has lost Eric Steinbach to a season ending injury and will start rookie Jason Pinkston in his place. Watch Pinkston's play today early if you want an initial take as to how the game might go. Look for the Bengals to try to confuse and take advantage of Pinkston on obvious passing downs. If Pinkston can rise to the occasion, it should be a good afternoon for the Browns. Otherwise, McCoy might find himself on his back more than a few times.

Positives
* Colt McCoy appears to be ahead of schedule in understanding the West Coast offense.
* In game one, the Browns are at home. The home team wins nearly 60% of the time in the NFL.
* The Bengals will start a rookie quarterback against the Browns. Andy Dalton will likely make a few errors during the game that will assist the Browns.

BL Predicts
Browns 23
Bengals 17

For reference find the Browns depth chart for today's game:
OFFENSE

QB: Colt McCoy
2nd - Seneca Wallace
3rd - Thaddeus Lewis

RB: Peyton Hillis
2nd - Montario Hardesty
3rd - Armond Smith

FB: Owen Marecic

TE: Ben Watson
2nd - Evan Moore
3rd - Alex Smith
4th - Jordan Cameron

WR: Mohammed Massaquoi
2nd - Josh Cribbs
3rd - Jordan Norwood

WR: Brian Robiskie
2nd - Greg Little
3rd - Carlton Mitchell

LT: Joe Thomas

LG: Jason Pinkston
2nd - Artis Hicks

CT: Alex Mack
2nd - Steve Vallos

RG: Shawn Lauvao
2nd - John Greco

RT: Tony Pashos
2nd - Oniel Cousins


DEFENSE

LDE: Jayme Mitchell
2nd - Emannuel Stephens

LDT: Phil Taylor
2nd - Scott Paxson

RDT: Ahtyba Rubin
2nd - Brian Schaefering

RDE: Jabaal Sheard
2nd - Marcus Benard

WLB: Chris Gocong
2nd - Kaluka Maiava

MLB: D'Qwell Jackson
2nd - Titus Brown

SLB: Scott Fujita
2nd - Quinton Spears

LCB: Joe Haden
2nd - Buster Skrine

RCB: Sheldon Brown
2nd - Dimitri Patterson
3rd - James Dockery

FS: Mike Adams
2nd - Usama Young

SS: TJ Ward
2nd - Ray Ventrone
3rd - Eric Hagg


SPECIAL TEAMS

P: Richmond McGee

K: Phil Dawson

H: Richmond McGee

LS: Ryan Pontbriand

KR: Josh Cribbs
2nd - Buster Skrine
3rd - James Dockery
4th - Armond Smith

PR: Josh Cribbs
2nd - Jordan Norwood
3rd - James Dockery
4th - Armond Smith

PRACTICE SQUAD
RB Quinn Porter
FB Eddie Williams
WR Rod Windsor
OT Dom Alford
OL Jarrod Shaw
DL Brian Sanford
DE Auston English
LB Ben Jacobs