At one point this season, this team had a lot of hope. They may have been a mere 5-7, but they had one of the toughest schedules in the league. In fact, at that point, they had beaten every sub .500 team they had played (Cincinnati, Carolina). They hung within a touchdown of Tampa Bay, Kansas City, Baltimore, New York, and Jacksonville.

Rookie Colt McCoy had impressed in 5 starts, leading the team to victories over the Saints and the Patriots, before an ankle injury. Peyton Hillis had emerged into one of the premier backs in the league. The young defense had stepped up big time and elevated this team to victories over Carolina and Miami even without McCoy. Even when they lost 13-6 to the Bills week 14, things still looked promising with McCoy coming back.

However, McCoy wasn’t the same in his final 3 starts, going 54 for 95 for 3 touchdowns, 6 picks and an 0-3 record. Peyton Hillis also hit a rough patch at the same time. The breakout back, who had rushed for 1070 yards, 11 scores, and caught 57 passes for 446 yards and another 2 scores through 13 weeks, only had 107 rushing yards and 4 catches for 31 yards in his final 3 weeks. The Browns ended the season at 5-11 and Head Coach Eric Mangini was fired and the hope that was once strong has dwindled.

However, there is still some hope. Browns fans can hope with time to rest, both McCoy and Hillis can regain their form. Last year was McCoy’s rookie year and Hillis’ first year as a feature back, so it’s possible they both just hit “rookie walls” of sorts. The Browns will almost certainly try to get McCoy better receiving options this offseason.

They also will add to a defense that ranked 13^th in fewest total points allowed, a very impressive number for a young defense. Their defense only accumulated 29 sacks, so that’s obviously an area they can improve. However, this defense does look promising for the future thanks to the breakout play of rookie corner and 7^th overall pick Joe Haden.