Final Countdown

The Browns conclude their preseason tonight at Soldier Field in Chicago against the Bears. This is it ... the final "game" before the regular season.

After tonight, everything the Browns do will count. After tonight, there are no more excuses. It's put up, or shut up. In just 10 days, Brett Favre and the Vikings come to Cleveland for the first game of 2009.

The Browns have many questions to answer before then, however. And, I'm not just talking about the biggest, most publicized question of the preseason: Who will be the Browns starting quarterback.

Up 'til now, Mangini has done a good job of playing out the QB competition between Anderson and Quinn. Each QB has had equal time in both practice and in "games." And, as usual, he's not decided on who will start tonight against the Bears (well, he probably has, he just isn't telling us).

As I said before, the Browns have to answer some other questions before the season begins in 10 days. For example, let's look at the running back position.

First, you've got Jamal Lewis. He may be running out of steam (didn't we know that when we signed him a few years ago?), but he's still slated as the starter. He does have the most experience, which isn't saying much since the other running backs on the roster have next to none.

Jerome Harrison, listed as Lewis' backup, has always looked pretty good when given the chance to play. He's explosive and lends an element of excitement to the offense whenever he's in the game.

But, since Harrison missed the last two preseason games with a left knee injury, rookie James Davis has filled in nicely. Perhaps the fastest guy on the team (he runs the 40 in 4.3 seconds), Davis has looked solid the last couple of weeks — enough to garner him some national attention.

Wide receiver, tight end and linebacker are three more positions where the Browns have more questions than answers. And, with Saturday's roster deadline looming, Mangini is going to have to decide fairly quickly which 22 players he's going to cut.

With so many questions and so little time, tonight's final preseason game actually seems important. Let's hope the Browns go out there and make us proud to be Browns fans.

Go Browns!

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