DETROIT, Michigan -- Scribbles in my Cleveland Browns notebook as they prepare to face the Detroit Lions on Sunday:

1. Eight games left. Half of the season. That rolls around my mind, wondering what can we expect from the Browns. I know more losing, etc. But what else? Anything else?

2. Lots of fans are excited to see Josh Gordon play. That's understandable. But the soonest it can happen is when the Browns play in Los Angeles on December 3. That gives him five games.

3. But just as important to the Browns is the return of Corey Coleman. If eligible to come off the injured list, he probably could play this week in Detroit. He will be ready for the Nov. 19 home game against Jacksonville. Coleman caught six passes in the first two games, including a TD grab against Pittsburgh. He had a promising preseason.

4. Can Coleman play? Is Myles Garrett as good as the coming attractions -- four sacks in his first three games? Part of judging the front office has to go beyond, "They didn't pick a quarterback in the first round." OK, who did they take?

5. In 2016, Coleman was their only first-round pick. Then he broke his hand ... twice ... once last season, once this season. We haven't seen enough to know if Coleman can be a good NFL receiver.

6. Garrett has to stay healthy. Can he play the final eight games? That's his major test.

7. What about Jabrill Peppers. When the Browns passed on Deshaun Watson and traded down, they took Peppers. He clearly is out of position at deep safety. Early in the week, Hue Jackson admitted: "We have to play with what we have and he has been our best free safety ... but we see his skill set being closer to the ball."

8. The strong safety is Derrick Kindred, who defends the run very well. He is part of the reason the Browns run defense has been so strong. Several weeks ago, Gregg Williams said the Browns tried other players at free (or deep) safety -- but Peppers was the best. In the last eight games, can the Browns put him in position to make more plays? Can he learn to make an impact at free safety?

9. For what it's worth, Profootballfocus has the same opinion as the Browns when it comes to Kindred. They rank him as the No. 4 safety against the run this season. Peppers ranks extremely low in several categories.

10. The Browns also received Houston's 2018 first-round pick in that Watson trade, so they have more than Peppers to show for it. But Peppers was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. You'd never know it by how he's playing as an NFL rookie.

11. The Browns also took David Njoku in the first round -- the 29th pick. The tight end from Miami has caught three touchdown passes. He has only 18 receptions. Second-year tight end Seth DeValve has 17 catches. The Browns expected more from the two tight ends, especially because the wide receivers are so weak. Will that change?

12. Emmanuel Ogbah was the team's second-round pick in 2016. The defensive end has been very good against the run. But he has only two sacks. He has knocked down four passes, a big plus. In the Browns last game, he played 67 snaps and didn't have a single tackle.

13. The Browns believe the return of Garrett will help Ogbah, as he won't be the main target of blockers in passing situations. The last eight games is time to find out if that's true.

14. Yes, I waited this long to get to Deshone Kizer. How will he react in Detroit? During the bye week, the Browns tried to trade for A.J. McCarron. The plan was for McCarron to immediately start. Combine that with Jackson have pulled Kizer TWICE this season for poor performance during games. He was also benched for a third game.

15. Kizer has been worse than Jackson or anyone with the Browns could imagine. He ranks at the bottom of nearly every important quarterback category. His last TD pass was September 24 against the Colts. Since then, he played 12 quarters with four interceptions and zero TDs.

16. Prediction: Detroit 24, Browns 13.