Eagles Ready for 2012 Season; Open vs. Browns

When the Eagles take on the Browns on Sunday they will enter the game as an eight point favorite and coming off a relatively easy 27-10 preseason victory over Cleveland just two weeks ago.

While the preseason is the preseason, there were a few things to take from the win.  First off, the the Browns ran the ball 22 times for just 65 yards, good for just 3.0 yard per carry.  If that happens this time around, the Browns are in for a long day as rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden doesn’t have a lot of options to throw the ball to this season.  No Cleveland receiver has established himself as the go-to guy at this stage of the season.

Running the ball could be a little easier with the expected return to rookie running back Trent Richardson.  The No. 3 overall pick in the draft looked healthy running around in Browns practice Monday according to head coach Pat Shurmur, who confirmed he’ll start if active on Sunday.

With or without Richardson in the line-up, the Browns simply aren’t good enough and should not stand in the way of a team that has Super Bowl aspirations according to owner Jeffrey Lurie, this season 8-8 simply will not be tolerated.

“I really wanted to try to explain to you that 8-8 was unacceptable,” Lurie admitted.  “Yeah, I guess if two thirds of the team is not playing [then] there are always exceptions. That was a really unacceptable outcome. I just want to reiterate that.”

For the 2012 season, the Super Bowl is where Lurie envisions this team but he knows that a lot needs to go your way for that to be achieved.

(Click here to continue reading: Eagles Ready for 2012 season; Open vs. Browns)