1: DA: Don't apologize any more. Just know that the sub-human scum who (respectful note to Terry Pluto) indeed cheered because you got hurt don't represent all of us. I wasn't embarrassed by Bottlegate; even drunk fans know refs fixing a game when they see it. But I was shamed by those imbeciles.
Without going into detail, I've been there, DA. But most important for you now is to prove me right and them wrong: Kick ass.
2: I promised before that I wouldn't presume to pick on Holmgren about having anything to do with quarterbacks, but I sure wish they weren't bringing Jake Delhomme here.
Well, that's my gut reaction. I mean, he's 35, and really does seem to have lost it.
...but I sure wish I'd have seen those interceptions. I mean, if it was mental...well I just don't know--but Holmgren might fix it. If it was just inaccuracy, then it could well mean that he's just entering his geezerhood, and...
Well what the hell do we know? Mary Kay Cabot was the one who surmised that he was here to compete for the starting job. I personally doubt that.
Well...if he IS signed, which who knows--he should indeed be given that chance. If he's done, let's see it. If he's not; if the change of scenery and Doctor Holmgren can cure him--why wouldn't you use him?
But I rather think he's here to back up and teach.
Seneca: Everybody but the player himself seems to assume HE'S here to be a backup. One writer pointed out that when Seneca was drafted, it might well not have been Holmgren's call. And I actually lean toward that, since Wallace is too short for Mikey.
However, who knows him better than Holmgren? How many old vets do you need? Why after getting Wallace are they now checking out Gramps Delhomme?
All that stuff about he and Cribbs--that's interesting, but when you talk about the two of them on the field at the same time, you're talking about Seneca under center and Cribbs in a role that Harrison or a wide reciever could play. It's not a big thing.
But it IS interesting that now we got two Okie quarterbacks!
Seneca said that this offense wouldn't be exactly like Seattle's. Ya think? I strongly suspect that they could go over 20% Oklahoma, for one thing. How 'bout hurry-up Oklahoma?
They're not done yet, so at this point even I in my humble insightful brilliance am stabbing in the dark (apologies to Mr. Hitchcock).
Troy Smith has three years in the league and a 5th-round tender on him. This is frustrating to watch, as I know that he, too, is too short for Mikey. Wallace's arrival makes it unlikely that that move will be made.
I have to stick to my promise and not question Mikey about quarterbacks. But I sure want to.
Remember Marty? Well, there's one of the best win/loss records in NFL history; even while rebuilding teams sometimes. Truly an excellent coach...who later on even learned not to get ultra-conservative with prevent-the-win defenses too soon...
Anyway, he was a blockhead sometimes. Bill Belichick just let a great wide reciever go for nothing. Too small. Too short. Too slow. Even the best NFL coaches are so often blockheads. They can look right at something and tell you it's not there. They can look right at nothing and tell you what it looks like.
Maybe it's built in. You make up your mind, and stick to it. No matter what.
Of course, Mangini is a lot less like that. It doesn't matter where you were drafted or who drafted you. If you don't practice hard, you don't play. See who started and played most of the last few games. But I digress...
But what is, is. I know that Mikey will draft a quarterback, but I now think it could be any one of a bunch of guys throughout the draft.
The combination of Wallace and interest in Delhomme at this premature point indicate three possibilities:
1: Quinn will stay and probably start. Wallace is the backup/situational contributor, and Jake the old wise vet emergency guy...with a low-round QB on the practice squad.
2: Brett Ratliff. I know it sounds insane, but he fits the profile: several years as a backup, having shown flashes, and owning the physical tools.
Remember Kelly Holcombe? He looked pretty crappy on paper. Steve Young? "Failure". Ratliff is familar with the players and the basic system, and Holmgren said that he feels he could make any kid with the basic ingredients into an excellent quarterback.
Just sayin'...
3: Wallace is actually here to start. He could be the bridge to the next quarterback.
It does make sense in some respects:
1: They could run the Oklahoma at any time during the game, and with Wallace the passing threat is significantly greater.
2: While an NFL offense can't live on roll-outs, more roll-outs could be mixed in with the core 3/5-7-step drop-back offense to help him out.
3: Holmgren might indeed have a pretty rigid attitude about height, but has seen Wallace actually run the normal offense fairly well. While he probably doesn't see Seneca as "the answer", he could be the guy to buy him one season.
4: The running game is well-established. Until the Browns prove they can strike deep, safeties will play up in stacked boxes, unless it's the Saints or the Colts or somebody and they have indeed piled up a big lead on a Browns defense which will be very good.
Side-note: Pat Kirwin, who I respect a lot and have learned a ton from, said (of a dominant running game), that some teams would just play their regular defense and let them pile up ground yardage because they couldn't score fast enough. But he assumes here that the counterpart offense has or will score a lot on the counterpart defense.
This statement makes zero sense in a close game. A dominant running team will beat a defense down and get stronger later. You can't outsmart a beat-down, Pat.
Anyway, to continue: A super-athletic quarterback like Wallace forces any defense to commit one guy to spy on him. They also can't just attack him up the middle; they have to contain him, or he'll burn them with his legs outside. That includes the edge. If a guy gets around a sluggish right tackle, he's opened a lane behind him.
Now, you got 20+% Oklahoma with both him and Cribbs, then maybe 20+ percent rollouts to exploit Wallace's strengths and minimize his weaknesses. Hell, the Browns passing offense could be 50% "gimmicks"!
You run over half the time. You run a lot of play-action passes. But about half of your passes are conventional. Now, the defense has a whole freaking lot of wierd stuff to prepare for.
The key is that running game, and the fact that the rest of the NFL (ie all the other teams the enemy defense prepares and builds itself for) are trying to pass first. The Browns can be different.
Now, about Wallace: Some might compare him to Micheal Vick, and he sorta is. However, per his recievers, Vick seemed unable or unwilling to throw until he'd locked eyes with the reciever; when he was supposed to throw before the reciever had turned. Further, he was inaccurate, and often indecisive.
Wallace ran the West Coast and ran it well. He initially lacked touch on short passes, but has improved in that area. He's not perfect at all, but he's better than what we've had.
For the future, Seneca isn't who Holmgren wants, but if you have a good defense and a strong running game, a super-athletic quarterback and a gimmicky, unpredictable passing offfense could win a lot of games.
But another thing about Seneca? He's got a gun. If the Browns can get somebody deep, he can deliver it, with accuracy.
Innovation: If I were a head coach, I would see what everybody else was doing, and do the opposite. This is why the 3-4 defense was so dominant early after it's introduction.
Now, teams routinely run 3 and even 4-wide offenses and tend to pass first. Hard to argue with the stats on playoff and Superbowl teams (thanks Starting Blocks)--that's how almost all of them got there.
But Bill Cowher said run-first would come back in the cycle, and he was correct. Let all the other defenses carry those extra defensive backs and focus on pass-rushers and coverage linebackers. Let them practice for five weeks to stop passing teams and then have to play a physical smash-mouth team.
I don't know about Quinn, Ratliff, or even some guy they haven't got yet, but right now I sort of think Wallace has a real shot here, despite being a short guy. (I do wish it could be Troy Smith, but alas).
Because all those aformentioned teams are also built to stop a 6'4" pocket passer who can't outsprint most safeties. With Wallace under center, playing the Browns would be a trip to the Twilight Zone.
Not to mention painful.
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