This piece in the New York Times is a detailed, well-informed, and fair-minded preview of the Browns’ upcoming season. Author Andy Benoit eschews the anti-Cleveland snark so common in outsiders’ analysis but spares no mercy for players he finds lacking:

On Colt McCoy:

Holmgren’s selection of Weeden upset the incumbent quarterback Colt McCoy, but contrary to what the Browns have shown over the years, this is not pee-wee football. Players’ feelings do not matter. What matters is being able to execute all of head coach Pat Shurmur’s offense. Holmgren knows what 30 other teams (and the Bengals) know: you cannot win today with a middling player under center… It does not matter how likeable or noble McCoy is off the field; on the field, he cannot play at the level needed for sustainable N.F.L. success. The arm strength just is not there, and he lacks the innate accuracy or dynamic athleticism to make up for it. It doesn’t help that McCoy struggled to read the field in his 13 starts last season.

On DT Ahtyba Rubin:

arguably the most overrated defensive tackle in football. Rubin is lauded for his run-stopping ability because he led all defensive linemen in tackles last year. But the truth is most of his tackles came downfield, after he got handled up front. Rubin’s propensity to play too light and too laterally was a big reason zone-running offenses destroyed the Browns. Dawg Pound fans who do not buy this can go back and look at the film. Or they can just ask themselves: if our leading defensive tackle is truly that good, then why did our run defense rank 30th last season?

I don’t agree with everything in the piece, but I highly recommend it anyway for the depth of its player analysis.