The Cleveland Browns will serve as Ryan Mallett's guinea pig on Sunday.
Scheduled to make his first NFL start for the Houston Texans, Mallett has the attention of Browns coach Mike Pettine, who didn't need to think too hard about the quarterback's primary asset.
"We know he has a huge arm," Pettine said Tuesday, per the Houston Chronicle. "And you can only look at so much preseason tape -- he didn't play a ton of reps in this year's preseason; you go back to some of his New England stuff. But that's the unknown: How much will their offense change with him in there?"
Mallett remains an enigma under center, but Pettine expects Houston to open up the passing game with "more deeper shots" downfield, a strategy that would appease a seemingly listless Andre Johnson. Still, nothing we've seen from Mallett's hot-and-cold summertime game film suggests a surgeon in the pocket.
The Browns are tied for second in the NFL with 13 picks and boast 12 takeaways over their three-game win streak. The secondary has tightened up of late, although we saw Bucs rookie wideout Mike Evans fry Cleveland for 100-plus yards and two scores in Week 9.
The bigger concern for the Browns comes down to stopping Arian Foster, who currently sits on pace for 1,500-plus yards on the ground. With only two teams in the league running the ball with more frequency than the Texans, Cleveland should expect more of the same come Sunday.
The latest Around The NFL Podcast recaps every Week 10 game from an action-packed Sunday. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.
