Cleveland Browns: The road to 12-4 start Sunday

The Cleveland Browns are just so talented that if they don't fall apart either from injury or through the first six weeks of the season, their most difficult stretch of the year, they are going to be a great team, ultimately finish 12-4.

The path to 12-4 starts when the Cleveland Brown take on the Tennessee Titans. And whether it was training camp, the preseason, or preparing to get the regular season started, there's one belief I keep coming back to that has me confident in this team; the Browns are simply more talented than most of the teams in the NFL.

It remains to be seen how this team comes together and gels, given there are a lot of new pieces being thrown into the mix, but the Browns are just loaded.

They have a great quarterback in Baker Mayfield. They have an incredibly talented defensive line. They have plenty of weapons and can win on the ground or in the air. The offensive line will be questioned every single week of the season, fairly, but they can do enough and may get better as the year progresses.

Take the Titans as an example. Coming into this game, there seemed to be three areas where the Titans have a genuine advantage; offensive line, safety and kicker. But fate has stepped in and eliminated two of those advantages. Taylor Lewan is suspended, so the Titans are scrambling up front, now hoping Dennis Kelly can hold up against the Browns pass rush while their kicker Ryan Succop was placed on injured reserve earlier this week.

The Titans aren't hurting for talent. They have a good defensive line and pass rush unit. They have some offensive weapons that can be dangerous. Their secondary is good. They can certainly win this game, but putting any of these groups side by side with what the Browns have, the advantage goes to the Browns.

And this happens when comparing the Browns to a lot of teams. In the preseason, the Indianapolis Colts looked like a contender and they could still be a playoff team with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback, but the Browns still seemed to be simply better from the first guy to the bottom of the roster.

Beyond the fact the Browns will run into some teams that can also be great like the Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens twice, the vast majority of games look not just winnable, but games the Browns should be favored. And the biggest threat to the Browns in those games may be the Browns stopping themselves.

The Titans this week and the New York Jets look like games where the Browns should have decided advantages, but if they don't come out clicking or turn the ball over, they could find themselves in dog fights that they can lose. If the Browns play well, there is no team they can't beat.

The other issue that could come up for the Browns is because they haven't been in this position before is not fully understanding what it's like to be good and consistent. They could end up playing down to an opponent at some point during the year and lose a game they just have no business losing.

Nevertheless, the Browns should be an overwhelming favorite to beat the Cincinnati Bengals twice, the Arizona Cardinals and Miami Dolphins. And by virtue of the schedule, they don't play any of these teams until the fourth week of November where all three could be checked out and looking ahead to the offseason. Losing to any of these teams would be a massive disappointment, especially since it's not clear they even want to win this year.

The Browns are better than the Titans, Jets, Broncos, 49ers and Bills and while they should be favored, they are loseable football games if the Browns don't play well. Great football teams sweep this group. The Browns have to prove they are a great football team, but they can certainly be happy if they can win four of the five.

The Steelers and Ravens are going to be slug fests as all three teams could be great. Obviously, those are the games that will determine the division. I have the Browns splitting those games, winning one from each, finishing 4-2 in the AFC North.

The Rams, Patriots, and Seahawks are the biggest threats outside the division on their schedule. I have the Browns winning just one of the three. Largely, this is a factor of those teams knowing who they are right now in addition to the fact the Browns play all three of them in their first seven games.

The early part of the schedule has the most potential to be bumpy as the Browns play a number of good teams and we just don't know when the Browns are going to hit their groove and go from a very talented team to becoming a great team. So long as they don't completely fall apart the first six weeks, they should come out and dominate their schedule after the bye week and make the playoffs.

It just comes down to the sheer amount of talent this team has, so long as they aren't devastated by injuries. The Browns are good. The schedule is kind. It's all there for them to have a special season.