When all was said and done Sunday the Cleveland Browns won 10 games, but it wasn't enough to make the 2007 playoffs as the Tennessee Titans beat the Indianapolis Colts to lock up the 6th and final AFC spot. Many were left to wonder what could have been and though there were some negative feelings, there was no feeling of failure as the Browns made the biggest turn around of any team in 2007 by winning 6 more games then they did in 2006.

The Browns also did something that had not been done since the NFL went to a 16 game season, they won their 7th home game of the season beating the San Francisco 49ers 20-7 Sunday. No one who watched the Browns self-destruct in week 1 of the season at home would have thought they would win their next 7 at Cleveland Browns Stadium. In doing so they created a home field advantage that had not been in place since the team returned to the NFL in 1999. The 10 wins were also the most by the club since 1994 and the most since they returned in 1999.

The Browns defense appears to have turned a corner late in the year. In 5 of the last 6 games they held their opponents to under 20 points, shutting out the Bills and yielding only 7 points to the 49ers Sunday. Young players like Eric Wright, Brandon McDonald, Brodney Pool, Sean Jones, Leon Williams and D'Qwell Jackson played a significant role this year and will anchor a defense that will only get better. The 49ers, playing Chris Weinke at QB who they just signed 2 weeks ago, only mustered 185 yards of offense and 9 first downs.

Offensively the Browns hitched their wagon to RB Jamal Lewis and he produced another 100 yard effort. His 128 yards on 26 carries performance gave him 1,304 yards on the season. He became only the 2nd RB in Browns history to eclipse the 1,300 yard mark in a season. The only other RB was Hall of Fame RB Jim Brown. Lewis accomplished the feat in only 13 games this season. Lewis had five 100+ yard rushing games this season and two other games where he had 92 yards rushing. The Browns now have to determine if the veteran RB is in their future plans as he was playing on just a 1-year deal. The numbers say they should sign him yesterday.

The Browns and their fans also got to see rookie QB Brady Quinn for the 1st time in real game action Sunday. Quinn came in after starting QB Derek Anderson injured his wrist and pinky on his throwing hand late in the 2nd quarter. Anderson would come back to the game, but not until Quinn had a series running the 1st team offense. Quinn looked shaky on his first 2 throws and later admitted his feet felt like they were in cement, but then got in a groove. Starting at his own 37 yard line, Quinn directed an 11 play drive that covered 57 yards and ended in a Phil Dawson 23 yard field goal to give the Browns a 17-7 lead. Quinn was only 3-8 for 45 yards, but 2 of his passes were dropped in the end zone and should have been touchdowns. One thing that was obvious, the playbook was not altered for Quinn and the offense appeared to not skip a beat with the rookie signal caller in the game. Quinn's appearance reminded many of former Browns QB Charlie Frye's first game appearance in 2005 when he came in against the Dolphins and led the Browns on a drive that ended in a field goal. The future at QB in Cleveland, whether it's Derek Anderson or Brady Quinn, looks very bright.

Pro Bowl return man Joshua Cribbs had another sensational game. Cribbs took a punt late in the 1st quarter and galloped 76 yards for the teams first TD and his first punt return TD of his career. Later in the game Cribbs had a 94 yard kickoff return called back due to a questionable holding call. Cribbs also added 4 special teams tackles on the day showing all that he is not just a return man, but a special teams ace.

The Browns do have some question heading into the off-season. Will they re-sign Jamal Lewis? Will they offer Derek Anderson a long-term deal, tender him as a restricted free agent or look to trade him and turn the future of the franchise over to Quinn? Will the Dolphins offer the Browns a deal to good to resist to get head coach Romeo Crennel? Will Crennel want to start another reclamation project now that the Browns seem to have turned the corner? Will the Browns sign Crennel to an extension? As you can see, even though the Browns are heading into the off-season, there is still plenty to do.

One thing you can be assured of in 2008, the Cleveland Browns will find themselves on Sunday and Monday night football more then once and deservedly so.

From all of us at DawgBones.com we would like to say thank you to the 2007 Cleveland Browns. For the first time in years you gave the fans something to cheer about each and every week of the season. Browns fans today are holding their heads high knowing that the future is very bright for the Cleveland Browns.

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