https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1QN7xpR8ps#t=75

What: New Orleans Saints @ Cleveland Browns

When: Sunday 1 pm

Vegas Odds: Saints (-7)  OVER/UNDER 48

Both teams come into Sunday at 0-1 looking for their first win. The Saints have legitimate Super Bowl aspirations while the Browns are still trying to find their identity and not be last in the AFC North. New Orleans lost 37-34 at Atlanta in overtime and allowed Matt Ryan and the Falcons to pile up 568 yards of offense while Matty Ice threw for a career high 448 yards. The Browns are coming off a 30-27 loss to the Steelers which saw them down 27-3 at halftime, rally to tie the game 27-27 in the 4th quarter, only to lose 30-27 on a last second field goal.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:

Which Browns team shows up?

Do the Browns come out and get behind big early? Or do they play like they did in the second half vs. Pittsburgh? If the Browns spot Drew Brees and the Saints 14+ points I don’t see any way they win this game or even make it competitive. It will be imperative to keep the game close and/or get out to an early lead.

Our rookie Running Back tandem

Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell impressed last weekend in their first NFL game with West gaining 100 yards and Tha Crow finding paydirt twice. I expect the Browns to lean heavily on the running game this week to milk the clock and keep the high flying Saints offense on the sidelines.

The Saints on the road

If this game was at the Super Dome the Saints win by at least 2 scores. In games on the road in September, Sean Payton and the Saints have a winning percentage of 43%. I don’t know why, but on an outdoor grass playing surface on the road the Saints are a completely different team.

Who the FUCK is going to guard Jimmy Graham?

Aside from the Patriots last year, no one in the NFL has figured out how to cover Jimmy Graham. Do you put a corner on him and sacrifice your coverage down the field? Or do you stick a linebacker or safety on him and just pray they keep up with him? Chris Kirksey was lauded for his coverage ability when the Browns drafted him in May, expect him to get most of the coverage duties. Considering everything Graham can do on the football field, I think he’s the best athlete in the NFL. Maybe Whitner can lay a big hit on him at the beginning of the game so he thinks twice about going over the middle.

Hopefully we see a lot of this out of Whitner

But we don’t end up seeing this

Will Travis Benjamin stop being soft on kickoff and punt returns?

In last week’s game Travis kinda looked like a giant baby out there returning punts. Fair catching when no one was around him and running out of bounds before he got a first down on a reverse.  If he bitches out this week I hope Mike Pettine turns to Justin Gilbert and lets the rook get a chance to make a play.

What can we expect to see out of Swagger?

Expect Swagger to come out fired up while he makes his first appearance in front of the loudest and rowdiest crowd of the season. We’ll see how he handles the pressure. My guess is he passes with flying colors. The dude is unflappable.

Prediction: Browns 27 Saints 23. The game goes OVER 48 and the Browns cover the 7 point spread (It’s still early in the season so my optimism is still high. I doubt I actually pick the Browns to lose till around week 8 when we’re 1-7)