Thursday Night

I'm stuck in hotels here in Little Rock, but, since the first preseason game is thurday night, I hope I get to actually watch a game for a change. After this week, I'll be based in Ohio again, but unfortunately I'll be in Jamestown, which is Bungles territory.

Anyway, more often than not I'll be just about anywhere in the U.S. on any given sunday. Still, with my company's HQ there in Ohio, here and there I can probably find opportunities to get to a pre-designated Browns-Backers location around Columbus to catch a game. Of course, work comes first.

Anyway, for this game, you guys get to see how right I am about...oh yeah, you won't, because you're still boycotting this blog. Well, somebody who doesn't know me might stumble across it and see that I'm more accurate than Grossi or any of the other reporters, and notice. Maybe they'll tell you about it, and you will forget that it's just me, and start reading it. Or something.

Anyway I won't predect anything about David McMillan. I will just say that he could really make an impression. He is very talented, and has now had plenty of time to develop. Peek's injury gives him his last chance on this team. If he doesn't perform well, he will probably be gone.

That would be sad, since you can't teach speed, and he's one of those guys who could possibly play inside as well as outside. I haven't heard anything about his coverage, but understand that he is doing well against the run from the strongside OLB spot.

Alex Hall has probably already made the roster. He learned at lightspeed, and should definitely make it based on special teams, his ability to play specialized defensive roles immediately, and the probability that he'll develop into a good depth-player as the season progresses.

I like the way they're handling him. When Peek went down, he did get some reps on the strong side, but for the most part has kept working behind Wimbley. While the rate at which he's learned is startling, and he does appear to have great instincts, it's just plain smart to keep a raw kid like him focussed on one spot until he's pretty well mastered it--and working against other second-teamers until he's mastered them.

I think I may have erred in one element of my evaluation of Shantee Orr. I'd said that he was probably a better inside linebacker than outside, and that his lack of height on the outside was a big disadvantage as an edge-rusher. Well...that's true, however he seems to overcome it. He's embarrassed Kevin Schaeffer from the outside more than once. He's even quicker than I'd thought, and apparantly much faster too. I'm really glad Phil got him!

I believe Travis Wilson will do well here. I know that Jerome Harrison will--as usual. I bet he struggles for extra yards oafter contact, too--demonstrating some power. Not that anybody will notice. "Wadd iv Lewis goezz downnn?"

Shaun Rogers is a monster. The other day, he just steamrolled Thomas. Not that this will happen often, (or ever) again, but it brought me back to this: They're crazy to play Shawn Smith at DE rather than on the nose when Rogers is perfectly capable of playing DE. I mean, he might be a somewhat better nose tackle than Smith, but he's a MUCH better DE.

And what are left tackles, first and foremost? Pass-blockers! Rogers couldn't get AROUND Thomas, so he went through him. He matches up well against ANY left tackle. Conventionally, that guy is keyed to the defense's best passrusher. In a 3-4, that's normally a Wimbley. Wimbley will line up outside, and the most important area for the tackle to watch is outside.

I'm getting technical--the nutshell is this: Rogers at DE screws up any offensive line. No single left tackle can drive him off the ball, and few can do more than slow him down on his way to the backfield. He overmatches many left guards as well; they're more athletic and better passblockers than run-blockers. Rogers has a freakish first step to go with his huge bulk, and gets on top of these guys before they can anchor their feet.

Offenses would be forced to use two tight ends more than they want to, and deprive the QB of a recieving option. I mean, Wimbley and Rogers both coming from over there? Rogers shifting over the tackle, Wimbley veering inside to challenge the guard (who has to lunge at him)--I can think of all sorts of nighmarish monkey-wrenches here.

Leave Shawn Smith at nose tackle. He's also quick, and is short enough to get under the center's pads consistantly and drive him back. How can the left guard help against him when both Rogers and Wimbley are coming from the blindside? It's a chain reaction.

Sure, on running downs and stuff it's fine for Smith to be outside and Rogers inside, and it's also good to move people around to exploit matchup issues and keep the offensive line all discombobulated, but the base should be RDE Rogers, NT Smith, and LDE everybody.

You'll see, though, that Rogers and S Smith won't play more than around 2/3'ds of the snaps, and the other two guys more than 3/4ths. A 3-4 line takes a lot of abuse and duke it out with multiple goons. If they play too many downs, they WILL wear down and get hurt.

None of the (I'm guessing) 6 defensive linemen will just sit the bench. One of the last two guys will be more of a passrusher (like Schaefering), and the other a utility guy (like Louis Leonard).

In re Schaefering: I've read reliable camp reports about his being unable to get off blocks, playing too tall, and being too small. Of course, he's a rookie under 300 lbs. But he doesn't have to be a total-package 3-4 defensive end to contribute this season. Until he gets more refined and bigger, he's not a candidate to be in the normal rotation. But if he is an effective big passrusher, he can rotate in on passing downs.

Writers rarely think outside the box about any of these things. They've labelled Leonard as a nose tackle only, when he's worked at and has the tools to play DE as well. The top four remain a cut above him, at least for now, but he's doing okay and actually has more upside than Rubin as well.

Anyway, I also bet that Quinn does fine in an actual game. It's actually a good thing that Romeo is keeping several vets out with hangnails, because we'll get to see how the punks do. Especially the cornerbacks.

Not that this will matter..."vedderrrunnn". OKbye