Camp Notes

I subscribe to the Orange and Brown Report, and picked some stuff up by analyzing some amatuer witness reports. I have the advantage of having been a professional unsuccessful writer, as well as an intelligent analyst, so I can intuitively sort through the crap and pick out the releveant stuff.

RYAN KRAUSS was drafted by Sand Diego in the sixth round, and is now entering his third season. He is a tight end now, but was a small-college wide reciever--a very prolific, sure-handed one. He weighed 240 at that time, and currently weighs about 245. In one game as a rookie for San Diego, he led all recievers with 89 yards.

But San Diego was San Diego, and the kid was a project. As you might suspect, he wasn't a great blocker. Marty liked him a lot. The current coach...maybe not.

The third season is when projects usually "get it", so this kid is due. There has never been any question about his recieving skills. He has retained the speed and precision of a wide reciever, and in camp has been sent on similar deep routes to those run by K2.

As I mentioned earlier, this offense will most often feature two backs or two tight ends, and even sometimes both--mostly because these guys are better recievers than most of the damn WIDE-recievers, and 2-3 of them are faster, too.

Darnel Dinkins is probably a better in-line blocker than Krauss, but Krauss fits the scheme better. He would provide depth behind Winslow, so that should K2 go down, they wouldn't need to throw out half the playbook. (Naturally, Chud is building a playbook aimed at maximizing his best assets...and is a TE coach and former TE.)

For a long time, I've been weary of people going overboard about a TE needing to be a glorified tackle blocking-wise. If you want a TE like that, quit pretending and just stick a spare center out there. Too many people have too little imagination. A fast, mobile TE may not be decking DE's single-handed, but can get to and cancel out linebackers and safeties. They can be sent in motion to lead-block, including cutting up through an intended hole. They can set up as H-backs. They can chip or scrape and STILL catch passes.

The bottom line is, Chud coached Krauss in San Diego and has him here for a reason. I predict that he will make the team, and maybe even show up opposite Winslow (instead of Heiden) in some situations.

I love Steve Heiden, who reminds me of Milt Moran. He's a total package--blocking and catching. Especially CLUTCH-catching. But you don't send him deep. Krauss is a guy who can get ten yards, where Heiden might get eight--and who can outrun most linebackers. And he can set up on a wing, wide.

Think of this: Harrison, Lewis, K2 and Krauss trot to the huddle with Edwards. The defense has to answer with "big" people. Now the huddle breaks, and Krauss, K2, Edwards, and Hrrison all hit the line, with only Lewis in the backfield. Naturally, a cornerback has to take Edwards, and the other Harrison. Who do they cover Krauss and K2 with? Do you want both of your safeties to attempt to man-up? (hint: NO!!!) Got to use a linebacker on one or the other, and keep the free safety back (and hope he doesn't soil himself.)

They can run up the gut, or attack every part of the field with Lewis as a bodyguard (and a delayed draw threat). Blitze? Well, who do you send? You've got your strong safety and one linebacker in coverage (and outside). Lewis can pick one guy up. If one TE is in-line (or in motion) he can pick somebody else up. Every one of the recievers is ready to zero in on the vacant zone, and you're weak behind him.

You could do this with Heiden, but with Krauss, it's a potential BIG play--and he'll get played softer, and drag his man further off the line, away from Lewis if you run, or away from the intended reciever. And he or Winslow can stay ahead of anybody to lead-block. That's better than having Heiden block somebody on the line.

Krauss will make this team.

The coaches are exacting. When somebody drops a pass, they do pushups. When they're off on a route, they get reamed.

This was one of the problems last season. A reciever in a certain situation is to break off his route at eight yards. Not nine, not seven. The QB has to TRUST him enough to throw the ball to that exact point BEFORE he makes his move. If this discipline is not there, the QB won't make the throw.

That's because HE gets bood when he throws it to a point eight yards upfield, and it's intercepted because the bonehead is two yards deeper, and wasn't LOOKING (like the safety was.)

This is why recievers are bumped at the line; so that they can't get to their pre-assigned reception point. The best QB's see this, and adjustments are made in the scheme for press coverage.

Tight ends are often different. They're bigger targets, and secondary or tertiary reciever. Where the wide and slot recievers are expected to run their precise routes, TE's have some more flexibility, and the QB looks for and finds them before he throws.

These TE's will be at least as important as Jamal Lewis or Joe Thomas for any Browns QB. When all else fails, they can look for Hieden, K2 or, for that matter, Jurevicious. All of them can wall-off defenders with their bodies, out-each and overpower people for the ball. You'll see that every time, at least one and often two of these guys will be crossing in front of the QB at various short and intermediate ranges.

Tim Carter is, as of right now, the third reciever. My man Travis Wilson has not impressed. Carter has only dropped one ball that I know of, and is a burner.

Chud has some flexibility because of his personel. His possession guys are Jurevicious and three (you'll see) tight ends, and three of these can do some painful damage with a reception, shallow or deep. IF Carter doesn't drop more...I mean, as MANY...I mean, HALF as many as Edwards did last season, he's a valuable third reciever, even if the only routes he runs are deep ones.

With he and (the fully recovered) Edwards on the field, I doubt that any defense can afford not to keep one safety deep, and to commit that safety to one or the other quickly. Press coverage on Edwards is suicidal, and on Carter it's high-risk (if the cornerback lets him by, it's over for him).

I like these personnel. Harrison, Edwards, and Carter are big plays waiting to happen, and right behind them is the (also extremely dependable) K2. That's half the battle. Speed kills. Brute force crushes. We got both.

We may or may not have a QB to live up to it this season. We can hope. Frye is "workmanlike". Yeah...ok look this writer doesn't like Frye and had his shit-colored glasses on. Frye is accurate and decisive. The coaches DEMANDING precision and hands will help him, Anderson, or Quinn a lot.

Bill Walsh won 2 games his first season, and six his second. Montana lost his first five or six games. They wanted Walsh's scalp for drafting Rice--who dropped a bunch of passes...and called the rookie...the ROOKIE small-college reciever a bust.

PATIENCE, Oblivia! The new coaches mean business--whether or not Romeo does.