Who do you think wins and why?

So far Bell has not signed his contract. James Conner will probably start in his place.

The Browns have alot of question marks on the left side of the Oline. Bitonio has playing left tackle but is normally the starting left guard They also traded tackle Shon Coleman. The Dline just cut Meder, Brantley, Orchard and Nassib.

The Cleveland Dline is in good shape, though I would have liked them to keep Nassib. Yes, the Left Tackle position is an issue. I think Bitonio will start there and he should be fine, though I hope they pick up a LT in the next draft. Bitonio is a Pro Bowl Guard.

 

Cleveland's Defense is going to be strong. They will put pressure on the QB with Garrett and Ogbah. The secondary has been upgraded and Ward will play a big role in that. The running game will be solid with Hyde, Chubb, and Duke Johnson. Receiving core is also better than last year, especially if Josh Gordon gets up to speed quickly, but even without him they are improved. I look for the TE Njoku to have a good year.

 

The QB situation is better than last year. Tyrod Taylor protects the ball and is an accurate passer. The talent on this team has been upgraded this year. The coaching staff also has received an upgrade. Todd Haley as OC is better than Hue trying to be both HC and OC.

 

The Browns played the Steelers pretty well in the opener last season--lost 21-18. I think Cleveland will beat Pittsburgh at least once this year. I don't know if it will be in the opener though, but it is possible.

Pittsburgh 24-13.

The Browns are going in the right direction but until they can start to string together a couple of wins, I have to pick Pittsburgh. I do think this will be a close game.

 

PIT 21

CLE 17

The Browns are going in the right direction but until they can start to string together a couple of wins, I have to pick Pittsburgh. I do think this will be a close game.

 

PIT 21

CLE 17

 

This is a reasonable opinion.

Bell is still holding out. James Conner has looked really good in the preseason but is obviously a step down from Le'Veon Bell. If Bell does return in the next few days he most likely will not be his normal self the first few weeks. This will be the best chance the Browns will have to beat the Steelers.

I think Bell holding out in a way might help the Steelers. The players are obviously not happy with Bell and will go all out to show Bell they can win without him. Any chance that the Steelers would overlook the Browns this week are now gone. They will be a focused football team IMO.

I think Bell holding out in a way might help the Steelers. The players are obviously not happy with Bell and will go all out to show Bell they can win without him. Any chance that the Steelers would overlook the Browns this week are now gone. They will be a focused football team IMO.

 

There must be more to it than just the holding out. I have never heard a locker room talk bad publicly about a player holding out. There has been multiple players from the Steelers call him out.

Can we add a third option to this prediction thread?