Training camp starts tomorrow. That got me thinking a little more than usual about the Browns.

Question no is asking one: Can the Browns actually beat teams over .500 this year?
Although the Browns won 10 games in 2007, only one (Seattle) was over a team with a record of .500 or better.

The game against the Seahawks was only possible thanks to 14 fourth-quarter points and a 364-yard passing day by Derek Anderson. Hardly encouraging.

So, whatever will the Browns do this season considering their opponents had a .546 winning percentage last season. As a wise man often says, not so fast my friend.

That schedule is good for seventh toughest in the league. Guess who has the hardest and third-hardest schedule based on 2007 winning percentage. That would be the Steelers and Ravens, respectively. And what then about the Bengals? Their opponents have the same 2007 winning percentage as the Browns.

Question no one is asking two: Can Jamal Lewis do it again?
Lewis had something of a career resurgence in his first season with the Browns, rushing for 1,304 yards and nine touchdowns.

In the three years prior to last season, Lewis averaged 1,015 yards per season, so last season was something of a spike. Look a little deeper in his stats, and there's a more disturbing picture. Lewis got more than half (789) of his yards in the last seven games last season. On the Browns side of the field, Lewis got 901 of his yards (69 percent). Yes, it's true he gets a lot more attempts (57 percent) on the Browns side of the field, but there's still a case here.

Let's compare Lewis' stats with another running back whose team uses a similar blocking scheme and one main running back (which is a little rare today). The closest match Thomas Jones of the Jets. While they're certainly different runners, the circumstances are similar.

He had 1,119 rushing yards in 15 games last season. The yards were dispersed fairly evenly. Fifty-seven percent of his yards came on the Jets' side of the field.

The point here is (I think I'm making one), is that while Lewis had a good 2007, the Browns will need him to become much better on the opposing side of the field. That will take even more pressure off Anderson, who completed only 52.5 percent of his passes on the opposing side of the field.

Under the microscope: Defensive coordinator Mel Tucker
With all the fuss about the a stellar offense and the additions on the defensive front line, Tucker's transition to coordinator has been underplayed.

Tucker is being given the task of improving a defense that gave up 23.9 points and 359.6 yards per game last season.

Coming into his fourth season with the Browns, Tucker was the defensive backs coach until replacing the fired Todd Grantham. Tucker's only coordinator work came at Ohio State from 2001-04, which he shared with Jim Heacock.

Fortunately, head coach Romeo Crennel has such a strong background on defense that it shouldn't matter too much. Still, outside of being able to develop players in the secondary, Tucker is an unknown.

Biggest impact from an offseason acquisition: Defensive lineman Corey Williams
Williams has been vastly overshadowed this offseason by defensive tackle Shaun Rogers. Don't forget the Browns traded Green Bay a second-round pick for Williams.

Williams, who will be 28 at the start of the season, is in the prime of a career that has seen steady improvement. He's had seven sacks each of the past two seasons and will be Cleveland's top pass rusher along the defensive line.

Question no one is asking three: How will safety Sean Jones perform in a contract year?
Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer wrote the other day about Jones being the leader of the Browns' secondary. He briefly touched on Jones' contract running out at the end of the season. Equally important, to me at least, is that he mentioned that Jones is something of an introvert.

While it's not fair for me to judge the mental prowess of another person, it makes you wonder a little how Jones will do with a possible big-money contract looming. A lot of players seem to flourish in a contract year so hopefully Jones will be the same way. It's also a little confounding that Jones' impending free agency is rarely mentioned considering the team seems to be openly negotiating with tight end Kellen Winslow.

Notes…
If you subscribe to the Beacon Journal, you probably saw a nice page previewing training camp Sunday. Well, since I like you, I converted that page online here. Whatever stories beat writer Marla Ridenour or columnist Patrick McManamon write about training camp, you'll be able to find them there, or the usual places on Ohio.com

Speaking of McManamon, he wrote this column wondering whether or not the Browns should have gone after defensive end Jason Taylor. By the way, make sure you're checking out Pat's blog. It's always filled with good opinions, a laugh or two and (if you're lucky), a picture of Adriana Lima.

The Browns made a couple roster moves.

Rich Passan of Scout.com wrote about one of my all-time favorite Browns, center tackle Cody Risien. As a youngster, I met Risien. Probably at a mall or a car dealership. Possibly a pet store, I don't recall. What I do remember is that glorious mustache. Risien owned one of the most underrated mustaches in the history of mustachiodom. He was a pretty good offensive lineman as well.

Are you going to training camp this year? If you are, tell us all about it. Did an unknown player impress you? Did a starter look bad? Is Shaun Rogers the largest human being you've ever seen?

Send your thoughts to me and it'll go up on the blog. If you have any photos you took at training camp, please share and we'd be glad to put them up.

• Derek Anderson did an interview with Statesman Journal.   The interview doesn't give up too much info besides the fact that Anderson once hated the idea of playing in Cleveland.
• Lane Adkins spoke to linebacker Antwan Peek, who felt both he and the team didn't get it done last year. 
• Brett Favre and LeCharles Bentley have something in common, according to Tony Grossi. 
• Zachardy Bardou at Realfootball365.com predict that Browns will attempt to spread out their offense more this season, a la the Patriots. 

Update:  Former Browns beat writer James Walker (now with ESPN.com) has confirmed that Joe Jurevicius will likely start the season on the physically unable to perform list.   This could be a huge hit to the Browns offense unless the trio of rookie Paul Hubbard, Joshua Cribbs, and Travis Wilson can produce.

It's inevitable, and every Browns fan has been in this debate.  Andra Davis, a holdover from the Butch Davis regime, has been a starter at left inside linebacker in Romeo's 3-4 defense since 2005.  Before that, Davis had been the starter in Butch's 4-3 defense. 

Typically, Davis is a player fans love to hate.  He's not flashy, is a pure run stopper, and rarely plays on third downs.  Most Browns fans at some point have ripped him to shreds.  At some point every Sunday where Browns games are played, this debate pops up. 

So just how bad is Davis?  Many Clevelanders are ready to build a shrine to Leon Williams (or Beau Bell) and burn Andra at the stake.  Doug Farrar of Football Outsiders posted an article for the OBR Report showing Davis is better than most are giving him credit for. 

Some of the statistics used to justify this argument are not conventional, but the idea behind it is that Davis is not the scapegoat for the Browns defense that everyone is looking for or maybe as bad as the message boards would have you think.  The article compares him favorably to the Ravens Bart Scott, who gets much more national recognition. 

Davis had a down 2007 year due to a lingering high ankle sprain, and now he faces stiffer competition from the rookie Bell and third year veteran Williams.  After restructuring his contract, this is a make or break year for Davis in Cleveland. 

Because of a weird rule, training camp will benefit the Browns a lot more than the Bengals this year.

The Boston Globe continues the Browns preseason hype.

D'Qwell Jackson may have led the team in tackles last season, but it's time for the trade for the middle linebacker really pays off.

LeCharles Bentley is still unemployed.

Joe Thomas is the second-best offensive tackle in the NFL.

Dallas Morning News previews the 2008 Browns.

Derek Anderson is only the 16th best quarterback in the NFL.

Ho-hum, another week, another story showcasing the four-letter's admiration of the Browns. This will never get old. Perhaps they're making up for lost coverage.

The story this week is again from senior writer John Clayton. In this saga, Clayton waxes on the greatness of Brady Quinn. He's becoming a better team leader. He's throwing the ball much better. He's so, so dreamy. Fine, that last one wasn't actually in the story, but it may as well been.

Of course, this means an imminent headache for Derek Anderson. His first incomplete pass will probably lead to chants of "Brady, Brady, Brady." Such is life of a Cleveland Browns starter.

It used to be that when publications would list the 50 or 100 best players in the NFL, there was never a Cleveland Brown to be found (that rhymes!). That is no longer the case.

Pete Prisco of CBS Sportsline just put out his top 50, mostly because there's really nothing better to write about this time of the year. He lists Browns wide receiver Braylon Edwards as the 34th best player in the entire league. That's higher than guys like Drew Brees, Osi Umenyiora and Tony Gonzalez.

That's good for seventh-best receiver in the league. It's also 10 positions higher than teammate Kellen Winslow Jr., who comes in at 44. By Prisco's ranking, that means Winslow is the second-best tight end in the NFL. Lofty.

Do yourself a favor, though. If you check out this list, don't even bother reading the comments. You might heave harder than you did last night when the Cavs drafted J.J. Hickson.

UPDATE: Dawgs by Nature has an interesting take on the list. No Joe Thomas in the top 50? Blasphemous!

Chris Pokorny of Dawgs by Nature had a tidbit recently about the Browns being a possible suitor for Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver bum Matt Jones.

It's become quite clear this offseason that Jacksonville is looking to part ways with Jones. The Jaguars converted Jones out of college from quarterback to wide receiver, something unheard ofthat happens more than I thought in the NFL. After looking somewhat promising his first two years, catching 77 passes for just over 1,000 yards and 9 touchdowns. Last season, though, he struggled and played in only 12 games.

Personally, I don't this happening. The Browns were just a mention, as were Dallas and Miami.

Notes…
James Walker of ESPN.com writes that the Browns are good, but cornerback is still a major concern. There is nothing really new in the article, though.

With this being the deadest part of the football year (and yes, football is a year-round spectacle), fantasy football articles are coming out. The site I help with, New Era Scouting, just released their quarterback rankings. Derek Anderson is No. 7.

In other rankings news, Sporting News just put out rankings for the AFC's best wide receiver groups. The Browns are fifth behind Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and New England. This does not include tight ends, so that's about right.

Kevin Ace of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that the Browns are among the teams that have shown an interest in San Diego Chargers wide receiver and punt returner Eric Parker.

Parker missed last season because of a toe problem and hasn't participated in minicamps. While he has been productive in the past, it doesn't seem like the Browns need another receiver. That is, unless they're fearing the worst with Joe Jurevicius.

Notes…
Terry Pluto wrote yesterday that the Browns will continue looking for another cornerback throughout the summer. The best way to acquire one? Trade Darnell Dinkins. Fair enough. Dinkins is the current odd man out, if Steve Heiden can come back healthy. The team could also move fullback Charles Ali for a cornerback. I'm not sure how many teams will be looking for a fullback.

A neat look by the Canton Repository's Steve Doerschuk on how the Browns could have drafted several of this year's Hall of Fame inductees. If you're a sad-sack Browns fan, don't read it.

In other Doerschuk news, I picked up the Sporting News NFL preview annual a few days ago. Doerschuk wrote the Browns portion. SN is generally the best season preview guide. However, it predicts the team will finish 9-7, third in the AFC North, and miss the playoffs.

Dawgs By Nature , through the OBR.com, is reporting the Browns have released three undrafted rookies:

WR Nate Hughes (Alcorn State)
LB Xavier Mitchell (Tennessee)
CB Darnell Terrell (Missouri)

The team then added guard Derrick Morse (Miami-FL) to a contract, to replace the departed LeCharles Bentley. All of these moves are not shocking, though Terrell was rumored to have had his moments in mini camp.

One interesting piece of news is that the Browns might finally be getting something out of running back Jerome Harrison. In 11-on-11 drills, he took two passes for touchdowns. The Browns have been fairly patient with Harrison, who really struggled to handle the passing game so far in the NFL. If he can get his hands on the ball, he can be a dynamic option, but he clearly couldn't be trusted in the past. Lets hope Harrison figures it out.

Finally, how can a fan not love Joe Jurevicius? He's coming back for an eleventh season, despite injuries, to win a Super Bowl ring with the Browns. Joe's a class act, and someone who genuinely loves his hometown and is living out his dream wearing orange and brown.  Who wouldn't want to see the former Lake Catholic star close out his career holding the Lombardi Trophy as a Brown?