Secondly, I may eventually eat my words from last week's blog about Chris Wells not being one of the top five factors crucial to the Buckeyes winning the national title. Sure, they probably don't win the title or even beat USC in a couple of weeks without Wells, but I'm not backing off what I said: Wells is not as important as the players and coach I mentioned. They can still win it all and beat USC with a combination of Maurice Wells, Brandon Saine and Dan Herron running behind that spectacular offensive line.

Third, congrats to Bowling Green State University, the school at which each member of the Podcast staff earned his degree. It was a big win at Heinz Field against Brian George's Pittsburgh Panthers. If they can get by these next three games -- Minnesota at home, at Boise State (their toughest game on the schedule in my opinion), and at Wyoming -- they have a real chance to go into the Mid-American Conference championship game undefeated.

Now, on to the five Browns players and coaches who are most important to Cleveland returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2003.

5. Sean Jones, S: The Browns' secondary is probably the biggest question mark for Cleveland entering this season, and deservedly, so given its preseason performance and the youth of talented corners Eric Wright and Brandon McDonald. Jones is not young, however, and it's time for him to become the leader of this group. Jones was second on the team in tackles and interceptions in 2007, and his improved play in the second half of the season led to improved play by the Browns defense. He needs to pick up where he left off last season, and hope that his swollen knee improves in time for him to take the field on Sunday against the Cowboys.

4. Kamerion Wimbley, LB: Wimbley had only five sacks last season after racking up 11 in his rookie season, as teams adjusted to push him outside and make his path to the quarterback longer. Wimbley claims to have some new moves up his sleeve this season to get to the quarterback quicker, but his performance in the preseason indicated he still suffers from some of the same problems from a season ago.

It seems like even when he gets to the quarterback, he can't bring him down, as evidenced by the Pittsburgh game last season, when he could not bring down Ben Roethlisberger when he had him in his grasp. If Wimbley is to become an elite pass rusher, he has to make the plays when they are available and get to the quarterback. To be fair, Wimbley hasn't had a whole lot of help in the pass rushing department, which made it easier for teams to double-team him. But with general manager Phil Savage's spending spree on the defensive line in the offseason, Wimbley should have more help and thus more single coverage. Which brings us to ...

3. Corey Williams, DE: Savage traded a second-round pick to the Packers to get Williams, so a lot is riding on him improving the team's pathetic pass rush and run defense. While Big Shaun Rogers has been the talk of the preseason, Williams could have a bigger impact on the Browns' defense. Rogers will demand a lot of double teams, which should free up the aforementioned Wimbley and Williams to make some plays and get to the quarterback. Williams had seven sacks a year ago, which would have led the Browns. He must equal, or better yet, exceed that to make this Browns defense good enough to contend for the playoffs and give their young secondary a break by getting more pressure on the quarterback.

2. Romeo Crennel, head coach: It's obvious the players ultimately have to get the job done on the field. But preparation and in-game decisions by the head coach do make a difference.

First of all, Crennel has to improve when he uses his challenges. Some of his challenges have been a joke in his first three seasons. This may not seem like a big deal to some fans, but it cost the Browns some crucial timeouts when they could have used them in some close games, particularly in that gut-wrenching loss against Pittsburgh last season. But the biggest question is whether Crennel has it in him to take the Browns to the next level. It's obvious the players love him, and give the guy a lot of credit for managing a lot of egos and getting them on the same page to win 10 games last year.

But taking the next step is the toughest part, as a lot of teams will tell you, and Crennel is going to face his biggest challenge this season in keeping all of these guys hungry and motivated. Kellen Winslow and Josh Cribbs are already asking for new contracts, Rogers is famous for being a malcontent, Braylon Edwards always seems to be in the middle of some kind of controversy and the fans will be screaming for Brady Quinn at the first sign of struggle from Derek Anderson.

The preseason game against the Giants was disturbing, especially in terms of the amount of stupid penalties and their preparation level, and a lot has been made about Crennel being too soft during training camp and not preparing his team for the physical nature of the NFL season. Regardless, they need to come out better prepared for a brutal regular season schedule than they did in the preseason. If the Browns win five or six games this season, I believe it's conceivable Crennel loses his job.

1. Jamal Lewis, RB: I believe the Browns can go to the playoffs with Anderson or Quinn at quarterback, but I don't think they go without Lewis. The offensive line should be the team's strength despite its pitiful preseason performance, and with a healthy Lewis running behind it, it will make the quarterback's job a lot easier. Without Lewis, you're looking at the likes of Jerome Harrison or Jason Wright. Nothing against either of those guys, they are solid running backs, but they are not the kind of running backs who can take over a cold-weather game in December and lead the Browns to a crucial victory. Lewis can do that, and the fact that Rob Chudzinski didn't let him do that against the Bengals last season while Anderson threw pass after pass up for grabs to the Cincinnati secondary remains baffling to me. Hopefully, Chudzinski will learn from his mistake and have a chance to do the right thing this December.