NFL Odds: Cleveland Browns Double-Digit Favorites Over Carolina Panthers

Since back-to-back impressive wins over New Orleans and New England, the Cleveland Browns have suffered a pair of heartbreaking losses to the New York Jets and Jacksonville.  At 3-7, the playoffs are quite the long shot,  but at least the Browns will have a good opportunity to get back in the win column against the 1-9 Carolina Panthers.
NFL odds makers have listed the Browns as a 10-point favorite with the total set at 37.5.
The Browns, however, won’t have the services of rookie quarterback Colt McCoy, who went down with a high ankle sprain injury last week. This paves the way for Jake Delhomme to face his former team.
Delhomme went 53-37 in seven years as a starter with the Panthers. He even led them to Super Bowl XXXVII. Delhomme would like nothing more than to perform well Sunday, but he figures to have some rust, as he hasn’t started since Week 1.
The Panthers decided to part ways with Delhomme because of his high interception rate. Throwing interceptions has remained a problem for him in Cleveland, throwing two in his season-opening start against Tampa Bay, and he threw two more against Atlanta after relieving Senaca Wallace.
In order to take the pressure off of Delhomme, I expect to see a heavy dose of running back Peyton Hillis. One of the biggest surprises in the league, Hillis has tallied 1,125 total yards and 10 touchdowns.
The Browns will certainly need Delhomme to step up, and they may need a little help from a few other replacement players as well. Receiver Joshua Cribbs, tight end Ben Watson, cornerback Eric Wright and defensive tackle Shaun Rogers are all listed as questionable.
It is worth noting that the Browns are 5-0 against the number in their last five games versus a team with a losing record.
Carolina has had its share of injury problems at the quarterback position as well. Matt Moore was supposed to be the guy to replace Delhomme. However, he struggled and has been lost for the season with a shoulder injury.
Rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen has struggled as well, and he missed last week’s game with a concussion. Coach John Fox decided to go with inexperienced journeyman Brian St. Pierre last week and he kept the Panthers within striking distance until he threw interceptions on consecutive passes with under five minutes to go.
Clausen has been cleared to return to practice, but it has still not been decided if he will start. If Clausen can’t go, the Panthers could find themselves in an even worse predicament.
St. Pierre is dealing with a very sore throwing shoulder, and it has been made known that rookie Tony Pike has a sore throwing arm as well. With all this in mind, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility that we could see Keith Null this week.
Null, who started four games as a rookie for the St. Louis Rams late last season, was signed to the practice squad Tuesday.
With DeAngelo Williams on injured reserve and Jonathan Stewart listed as questionable, it appears we will see plenty of rookie running back Mike Goodson again this week. That may not be such a bad thing. The rook is coming off back-to-back 100-yard games.

Tags: feature , Gameday