The New Shurmer

I like this guy!

First off, it's easy to bash anybody's playcalling.  You wait to see what happens, and if it doesn't work, it was stupid.  Another method is the Obvious method.  You must always run up the middle on first down.  Another is the Predictably Unpredictable method: You must always pass on first down.

Then there's the They'll Never See This Coming method: You must always do the opposite of the obvious.

Most bashers mix-and-match all these methods play-by-play, but merely as reasons why the unsuccessful play was stupid.

I'm not bashing the bashers or anything, because I was bashing Shurmer's playcalling too.  For me, it was the getting inside Dawson's range and shutting down everything but the run to make sure nothing bad could happen.  This guaranteed us a bunch of field goals and no touchdowns.

But some of the bashing is coming from asylums.  Like, you never pass the ball on first down!  Or you must go 50/50 pass and run on first, regardless of the defense, their front, etc.

The new Pat, however, is aggressive and opportunistic.

The Browns have a big offensive line that can move people inside--whether they know it's coming or not.  Whether they like it or not.  So he's been going for it more on fourth and inches.  Like when the referees screwed Weeden out of his first down on third-and-inches with a bad spot?  They went for it on fourth with the same play.  I guess the center and guards were angry, because they blew it up and Weeds accidentally got around two yards.

But the point is, Shurmer DID call the play.

When they get into the red zone, now he lets Weeden take shots at the end zone rather than handing (or dumping) it off to TRich 3 times and then kicking a field goal (after the entire defense ignores everybody else and converges on the overworked rookie running back because they know he's going to get the ball no matter what every single time).

When Weeden threw a stupid interception, Shurmer didn't immediately delete all intermediate and deep passes from the game plan.  NOW, you just never know when Weeden will try to wooden-stake you.

How 'bout going for it on fourth and a couple feet and PASSING?  Most wait for the end of that play and then decide if it was stupid or not.  But more than a few can't handle not running no matter what in that situation.  I am proud to say that I like the guts and wouldn't have bashed it if it hadn't worked.

That's a wooden-stake play, as certainly as any long bomb.  The whole defense is all over the line of scrimmage.  The linemen are diving for penetration, so it's very hard for them to get back up and muster a pass-rush.  No reciever can be double-covered at all because the safeties must think run first.

Any reception here could go all the way, as the reciever is already behind most of the defenders.

Field position matters as well.  Had the fourth-and-inches pass failed, the opponent simply takes over on downs with good, but not great, field position.  About the same as a punt-and-return.  Risk/Reward--I love it.

Part of this is Weeden.  He has apparantly won more confidence from Shurmer in these situations.

Vs. the Raiders, I thought he was inconsistant, and was frustrated as hell with him.  Then I find out he'd thrown for 364 yards--and then there was that last crunch-time TD-drive.  He kept his cool and handled it like a veteran.

I figure this must be like one of those college games where these defensive coordinators bragged about how they'd beat his team by getting more pressure in his face.  He threw for something like 360 and 450 yards in those games, too.

I see his issue now.  He has to have his feet set.  When he does, he's accurate as hell.  But when he's on the move, he's mediocre.  This can be worked on, but not during a season.

But I digress: In my amateur opinion, Shurmer's last two games have featured some really good playcalling--and game management too.  Two penalties in LA? They're disciplined.  Even Little catches everything now.

We'll see what happens the rest of the way, but I have to give Shurmer a fair chance of keeping his job, whether the permabashers like it or not.

How bout that Josh Gordon?  Nice move, Tom!  Yeah most of the guys on NFL Radio thought a next year's second-rounder was too much to pay for a guy who'd hardly played in college and had been in trouble.  But Tom doesn't listen to that stuff.

Part of that criticism was based on the assumption that the Browns would again draft at or near the top of the draft because they would suck even worse than they did last season.  (I still find this inexplicable.  How can you assume that a team this young, in the second year of new offensive and defensive systems, would regress? That's just insane!)

Heckert all along was probably expecting six or more wins.

Now look at that Gordon move!  He's already passed up Gregg Little and MoMass!  The rawest, most inexperienced rookie wide-out in football is a touchdown machine who just had his first 100-yard game.  Can you imagine what this guy will be like coming back from a full off-season with that experience under his belt?

You saw on that 44-yard touchdown what I mentioned before: Once he gets behind a guy, it's over.

Commentors who declare Heckert a goner already are clueless.  Yes, it is possible that they'll fire him--but it would be pretty stupid, and I don't think Haslam is stupid.