Bold Predictions for the 2013 NFL Season

December 30, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA: Cleveland Browns center Alex Mack (left) waits to snap the ball against Pittsburgh Steelers nose tackle Casey Hampton (right) during the second quarter at Heinz Field. The Pittsburgh Steelers won 24-10. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Anonymous: “The Browns will finish with a better record than the Steelers.”

This is a prediction that many people could discard as silly or highly improbable, but this actually could happen. If you look at last years records, the Browns only finished three games behind the Steelers. For those that watched Browns games (the few, the proud, the bored) last season, they lost a few very close games because of one or two bad plays. If they weren’t…you know…the Browns, they would have won a few more games and perhaps finished 8-8 like the Steelers. From the Browns standpoint, I like Brandon Weeden as a starting quarterback for now. He’s no Tom Brady, but he posted the best rookie season in Browns’ history and threw for 3,385 yards, 14 TDs, and 17 INTs. He has a strong arm even if his accuracy could use some improvement. Trent Richardson is the future of the franchise so if he remains healthy and Weeden’s accuracy improves under the tutelage of Norv Turner, the Browns will finish better than last season’s 5-11 record. Their defense is young and quietly getting better but still needs a lot of help. From the Steelers’ standpoint, their team is pretty old and on a downward slide. Big Ben had some big blunders last season and cost his team a few games with his play being the opposite of clutch.  Polamalu is hurt all the time and not getting any younger and Mike Wallace took his talents to South Beach. The Steelers need other players to step up or they risk falling even further than the 8-8 they hit last season.