What Brandon Weeden Said

I'm tempted to write "Weeden Fires Back at Bernie Kosar", like a lot of bloggers do, but it would be dishonest.  You won't read Soap Opera/fake reality show stuff here.  Unlike what Kosar said about the Lions backup quarterback, Bernie's critcisms of Brandon are constructive.

In a synopsis of an interview on NFL/com, Weeden defended himself and his recievers in the week of a bad preseason outing in Indianapolis.

I was unable to see or even hear that game, and relied on other media to figure out what went on.  (After reading more, written by smart people, and getting comments by the coaches and players, I've upgraded my own assessment from "putrid" to merely "bad".  Plus, I always knew that 17-3 early in the third quarter wouldn't spell doom).

"I don't think there's any reason to push the panic button like a lot of people want to," says Weeden.  I like that!  The way he expressed it!  "Like a lot of people want to".  The man's got a bead on all you Chicken Littles!  He knows you've been waiting for the first bad game (or interception) to come out of your caves, hopping up and down saying "SEE?  I told you!  I was right and Turner, Chud, Banner, Kosar, Jaworski, are wrong!  We're DOOMED hahaha!"

"I've watched the tape four times, and all four times their coverage was really, really good," Weeden said.  Wow!  You mean the opposing defense actually has something to do with what happens on the field?  

Brandon, don't you know you're not supposed to acknowlege that opposing players have anything to do with it?  Why, that's making "excuses"!  "Winners" transcend mere physical obstacles!

But seriously, I like to hear him get smart-alecky.  He watched the film four times and couldn't see where he overlooked an open guy.  He can't control that, and is a rational person.  Good.

In another more in-depth synopsis of the same interview, Weeds said that the "locking on" thing was overstated.  He physically imitated a "no-look" pass.  That was facetious, since he knows that looking off a safety means pretending you're looking somewhere else, just so that the safety will hesitate or even take one step the wrong way, then going to your real target.

But what I really like is what he said after that:  "I'm not that good yet."

Ah, there it is.  I was right.  Unlike Joe Montana, who had great peripheral vision, Weeden is afraid that if he looks away, he'll have trouble finding his real target when he looks back.

I now think that it's just possible that last season he was trying to look off safeties, and wound up holding the ball because he couldn't "find" his real target in time when he looked back.

It's just possible that behind the scenes, Norv Turner saw that the look-offs screwed Weeden up and told him to quit trying it (for now) until he's more accustomed to the individual recievers and their routes.

As Pete Smith says, Weeden's arm and yes, accuracy let him get away with this sometimes, because he can lower trajectories and get the ball to the reciever before the safety or zone corner can jump the route.

It's certainly a flaw, since more passes will get broken up, recievers will get hammered, etc., but it beats the hell out of Weeden standing back there five seconds after the snap trying to figure out where his primary went.

His recievers took turns dropping balls, and fumbling in one case.  It was important that Weeden re-affirmed his confidence in them.  This is a hiccup, not a pattern.  They had a bad day, and up until this game were all very reliable.

There are no Braylon Edwards' on this team.

Richardson was pulled early, the best outside linebackers were MIA, the Colts attacked a right guard spot in turmoil, and are an 11-5 team with a record-setting second-year quarterback who's very athletic.

I'm also now reading that the Browns' offense and defense were both pretty vanilla...

I can't fathom how some writers can't fathom this.  Sure, it's the all-important third preseason game, but it still doesn't count, ok?  The object is to test the players, ok?  

The best way to test the players is to make it as hard on them as you can, so you keep it simple and predictable.  Players prove themselves, and for that matter learn more, when their opponent sees them coming, and they have to physically beat them.

Sure enough, the more experienced 11-5 first units beat the new Browns' first units.

In this game, Weeden took more snaps from under center.  Thanks to Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer, I now know that this wasn't why he sucked, as he actually had better stats from under center than from the shotgun.

The shift in philosphy for this game might have had to do with the vulnerablity of the right guard.  It's easier for a center to block after snapping a ball than after throwing it.  It's easier for a DT to get by a guard when he knows where the QB is and where he has to stay until he gets the ball.

It certainly had to do with the fact that they wanted to run more, and it's harder to run out of a shotgun.

By the way, Peyton Manning (the statue) is running a lot of pistol stuff in Denver.  See?  It told you that the pistol doesn't neccessarily require an athletic quarterback.  Look for that here.

Anyway, I'm now more encouraged about this season.  17-3 vs an 11-5 team running vanilla with key parts missing is actually pretty good for a team this early in it's growth curve.  In a real game, the starters ten points down with most of the second half remaining wouldn't have been insurmountable, either.

There will be more stumbles and setbacks.  This is why even I can't bring myself to predict that they'll pass up either the Bengals or the Ravens yet.

But I know they'll be fun to watch, are being massively underrated, and will win several games that they're supposed to lose.

EEEWWWWW!!!

Kristopher Knox in the Bleacher report came up with the first intelligent fantasy analysis of Cleveland Browns fantasy sleepers I've read.  

To me, Kris was only pointing out the obvious, but that's rare these days.  Basically,  due to last season's record and the players' histories, you really can't (and don't need to) draft any Browns' player high.  However, when looking for number twos and threes in lower rounds, there is value.

I especially liked that he asserted that the Browns defense could be a top ten fantasy value.  I'm certain that many will scoff at this because they are ignoramusses, but...well I guess enough said.

It's an attacking defense with an elite front three and a top flight front seven.  It will attack from every position and angle unpredictably.  Due partly to it's question marks in the secondary, and partly due to an unavoidable risk factor, it will yield some big plays.

However, by intent and design, it will create turnovers and negative plays--and a lot more of these.  It's much faster than any defense the "new" Browns have had, which will enable it to actually score some points on those turnovers.

Objective people see domination, versatility and depth in the trenches and at OLB, and speed/athleticism at ILB.  Lost in this is Joe Haden.

While we'll have to wait and see how one cornerback slot and free safety play out, Haden has the ability to take on the opponent's top reciever without help.  These guys are hard to find, and most teams don't even have one.  Even if the other cornerback isn't that hot, the free safety will be better situated to help him and the slot corner.

Anyway good for Kris.  I read a lot of crap on the Bleacher Report but he's ok.

This just in:  In the wake of the Indianapolis drubbing, the Dawg Pound Daily's Peter Smith analyzed what's wrong with Brandon.  I was unable to watch or even listen to the game, which apparently was good luck.

Weeden is still locking onto recievers, and Peter says he's been doing it all along.  This is getting old.  Maybe the guy is afraid that if he looks away, he won't be able to re-acquire his target or something, but you just plain can't do that!

And you know that Turner is riding him constantly in practice, reminding him.

Peter also mentioned how he handles pressure from inside.  To be sure, I knew the Colts would target the right guard position, where Gilkey and Cousins shared time with the first unit.  In point of fact, every defense will try to pressure this offense up the middle, and the rookie and the so-so player in there made it worse in this game.

Now I begin to doubt that Weeden has the psychology to become a franchise guy.  I could well be wrong, but it sounds as if Weeds started out completing six in a row, and then took some heat in his grill...and thereafter remained jittery and tense.

Locking onto recievers and throwing off your back foot is reversion.  As I've said before, one of the reasons boxers train so diligently is to embed muscle-memory into their nervous systems.  This is so they can recover their balance and throw punches when stunned--which is often.

You just know that Turner is yelling "LOOK AWAY!" and "RESET YOUR DAMN FEET!", and that Weeden is doing these things in practice.

But maybe he's like the boxer who just forgets everything he ever learned the moment he gets hit.  How to describe this...

Here's how it's supposed to work:  BANG! Ouch ok jab-jab close in--

Here is how it's not supposed to work:  BANG! Oh shitohshitoshit--

But this is just a semi-educated guess on my part, and certainly way too early to give up on a second-year quarterback.

Peter kept mentioning "near his legs", and I guess quarterbacks are paranoid about their legs.  I hadn't realized that, but it makes sense.  Weeds does do fine with lateral pressure when he gets it, and only gets shook up by pressure in his grill.

Your legs can flex sideways but not backwards.  I reckon that's probably it.  Quarterbacks have to stand erect to throw, which really exposes their knees.

Well as I said, it's early.  The Detroit Lions blew the Patriots out of the water this week too, so we're not all gonna die.

Smith also repeated that this is Weeden's season to grow into the role, or not.  At least one guy besides me in this town gets that: He's a second-year player, and unless he just completely sucks, you give him all the rope you can before you give up on him.

I disagree with Peter and almost everybody else about Jason Campbell--he'd be a winner on this team with this talent.  But even I wouldn't yank Weeden until I know for sure that he's just not going to get it; 

That he won't start throwing without his feet set and locking onto recievers every time he gets pressured.

And Chud is absolutely right: They needed this, and thank God it didn't count.

Rob Fisher in Dawg Pound Daily has more bad Fantasy Advice relating to Cleveland Browns players.

He was ok on TRich, as he recommended him as a second-tier backup type.  In view of his injuries etc., that was logical.

But after that, he felt that everybody else were a buncha bumbs.

If his projections are accurate, Jordan Cameron will go undrafted.  I simply can't fathom this, since--just how many tight ends are even big-play recievers!?  They really don't grow on trees, you know!  Certainly, based on history I could find a few tight ends I'd trust more, but...undrafted?  Really?

I mean, I can see waiting til later because you're worried about his health, and because he hasn't proven anything yet, but to avoid him--that's just crazy.

He thinks Gordon will go in the lowest rounds.  He'll only miss the first two games, and he's THE deep threat in Norv Turner's offense.  What has he done to be called a mediocre afterthought?

Here's a clue:  This guy said that Little has struggled mightily with drops "since he came into the league".  Here's another memorex moron who doesn't bother to separate seasons into portions to gauge improvement in second year players.

So it's not dumbassitude.  Just laziness.

Of course he predicts that Weeden will go undrafted.  I can kind of see this, I guess, since despite Norv Turner, TRich, the recievers, and the offensive line, he could still concievably manage to be crappy.

And here I could tick off Ryan, two Mannings, Brees, Rodgers, maybe Newton, the three new guys from Weeden's draft; they might score a lot.  So I can see Weeden rated low in fantasy.  But undrafted?

Anyway, this guy has sold me on Fantasy Football.  I'm going to scoop up some touchdown machines dirt cheap and take this guy's money.

Pat Kirwan and Tim Ryan don't quite agree on the AFC North.  Pat defaults to the Steelers being back as good as ever because...

T-Rock makes his case with the Steeler fans who dominate the call-ins by asking questions:

Who is your deep threat?  Who is the underneath mismatch guy?  How can Heath Miller catch passes when he has to help overmatched left tackle Mike Adams pass protect?  How old is he, is he healthy, will Polumalu be better or worse than last season, will Big Ben play 12 or 13 games, do you really think Bell is all that, who's the new Casey Hampton, how old is Woodley...

Pat keeps repeating "next man up" as the answer to all of this.

It's true that that front office has done an incredible job of finding real talent in the middle and lower rounds, and then of developing it.  But it's not magic.  It's not perfect, or eternal.  You keep drafting low for year after year, and eventually the next man up isn't a very good player.

Ozzie Newsome-the bastid--narrowly avoided a big step back this season as he lost some serious talent.  But of course he pulled a rabbit out of the hat and the Ravens have to be considered favorites in the AFC North along with--yes---The Bengals.

But this crap with the great and awesome legendary Steelers is getting downright silly.  They got Jarvis Jones who yes, is an upgrade over Gramps Harrison, but everybody else is a year older. They got a very good safety just in time for Troy's wheels to come off for good.

They got Bell, a good but unspectacular big running back, and from last season they got an exceptional, potential Fanika-type guard in Castillo.  But they've got a right tackle playing left tackle, a beat up aging quarterback...

Nevermind.  Nobody listens.

Nice move getting Moffit.  He's nothing special, but is competent and reliable.  There's an outside chance that this former third round pick could blossom in his fourth season with the change of scenery or something, but if not he's at least an average interior lineman.

Chud said that he'd be competing.  He meant it.  He won't start unless he really is better than the Viking kid.

Don't count the kid out.

Bad Advice in re the Browns

Eric Mack agrees with smart people that Jordan Cameron looks like a hot Fantasy TE prospect, and that Josh Gordon should prove pretty valuable after his suspension.  He recommends these two recievers, but says you should avoid the quarterback who will be throwing them their touchdown passes.

He also wonders if Trent Richardson, who caught fifty passes, scored--what is it--eleven touchdowns?  --with broken ribs--as a rookie, is worth anything.

Eric also recommends that you avoid the Browns defense, since it was a little below average last season.

I haven't played fantasy football yet, but suddenly feel qualified to give advice on it: You should avoid Eric Mack.

Eli Nachmany, a  Bleacher Report "Correspondent" thinks that San Fran WR A J Jenkins for merely a third round pick would be a smart deal.

Honestly, I couldn't make myself read much of the article, but reckon it was partly because Little didn't catch any passes vs Detroit.

Yes, I can readily see how wide reciever is an area of need.  All they have is Gordon, who is a ticking timebomb ready to go off at any moment, Greg Little, who dropped passes as recently as the first half of last season and clocks slightly above 4.5 in the 40, Devone Bess, who has never been to the Pro Bowl, Travis Wilson, Benjamin who is very small, Norwood, and some other guys.

So absolutely, they should by all means seek to trade their third round pick for another wide reciever.  After all, all you can get in the third round might be a starting guard, safety, fullback, inside linebacker etc. so yeah the third for a wide reciever by all means!

Chuh.

Dion Lewis's broken leg might have saved Hardesty's roster spot.  The flock feels that the Browns must urgently scour the waiver wire and perhaps trade for another running back.

After all, they're down to just Richardson, Jackson, Obgannaya, and Maysonet.  That's only just four guys!  Of course, I'm not counting Hardesty, since I guess nobody else is.  And of course Maysonet is a rookie, and as we all know, it takes years to master the complex intricacies of playing running back in the NFL!

And Obgannaya is listed as a fullback, ergo he can't be a running back!

...Not that the Browns won't look to sign some promising YOUNG RB, same as before Lewis's broken leg.

Actually guard is different.  I seem to be the only one on the planet who believes that Gilkey has a decent shot at grabbing a starting slot and never letting go; of indeed growing into a very good starting guard over time.

But I could be wrong, and there really is no depth behind the two starters any more due to those slow-healing injuries.  So yeah, they're looking.

I just need to point out that they will always, always, look for the guys with two or three years in the league; guys with remaining upside first.  These guys aren't all that uncommon.

Guards are typically selected low in the draft, and not paid all that much.  All personnel guys look for the physically gifted-but-raw developmental types; especially those with solid starters already in place on their teams.

They're worked at different positions, often spending their first season on the practice squad, and are developed slowly.  And as it happens, after a season or two, the team grabs more polished veteran, or drafts another interior lineman higher, and the now pretty well-coached and practiced young veteran with upside is the victim of the numbers.

More than at any other position on the field, it's common for players like this to blossom into excellent starters at guard, center, and sometimes right tackle.

The Browns do have other undrafteds and free agents with potential, but they're not at all ready.  Gilkey himself is very raw and mistake-prone, but has superior physical tools, an awesome work ethic, and great intelligence to help him get by and develop faster with real experience.

It might indeed be urgent to sign another veteran guard, but not neccessarily to replace Gilkey.

Peter Smith (Dawg Pound Daily) wrote a nice piece on Gordon's impact on the offense.  I recommend that you read it.

But I've read some comments about him that should be addressed.  Smith is a highschool football coach, and tends to think deep and fast.  He should probably proofread his articles better, since as he writes them he's trying to pack a lot of information and analysis in, and doesn't bother catching his grammatical errors before he publishes.  

Smart people don't care about this stuff, as long as you understand his message.  If you read such deep and insightful analyses by Pete or anybody else, and your comment has to do with his grammar, you are an idiot.

Anyways, in this article he did belabor things a little, but then he's used to hammering stuff into highschool players.

I've been unable to watch the first two games, and I learned from Peter that Gordon often set up close-in, and was rendered almost a slot guy through presnap motions by the running back.  That's so cool!

Setting the big tall burner up outside like everybody else does make sense, because it keeps him out of traffic and gives him the inside field to work with.  But with a back or tight end motioned outside of him, the defense has to adjust to it, thereby telling the quarterback about the coverage and matchups.

Gordon further inside deprives a man corner of his ability to try to use leverage to keep this big monster from crossing or slanting inside, since that would give Gordon abundant real estate between himself and the sideline to run away from him--wide open.

This is, by the way, exactly what happened.

Defenses will indeed have to either play zone or give a man corner help with Gordon.  Either way, he'll do what a true number one reciever does: command extra attention, taking defenders away from the box and the line, and leaving at least two other recievers single covered.

Peter explains this better than I have.

How bout that Suh?  That guy is a sadistic psychopath who belongs in prison.  I can't believe they let him do commercials.  Are you kidding me?  I'd say he's the dirtiest player in football, but James Harrison is still around.

I haven't checked: Has Schwartze defended him the way Pittsburgh's Head Enabler Mike Tomlin defended Harrison?

Finally, it's just excellent that Ray Horton has encouraged his players do participate by designing sets and plays for the defense.

As others have pointed out, it will encourage a sense of ownership and enthusiasm in the players.  It's just a terrific motivational tool.  And it's original, and ego-free.  I just love this guy!

I also love his honesty.  He doesn't talk in cliches and sound-bytes like most coaches do.  He doesn't pretend to never be satisfied, like some do.  He says stuff like he's happy with the progress the team has made thus far.  He knows they need to get better (of course), and that this and that went wrong last week, but he's not fronting.  There's nothing artificial about this guy.

Oh, for sure he's only here for one season.  I'd be shocked and share his outrage if he's passed over again for a head coaching gig.  I already know that I'll miss him like hell, BUT:

He has assistants who are watching and learning, and who might well continue this player involvement in design.  Even if his replacement isn't as good as he is, the players themselves might preserve and continue to build what he's started.

You da MAN, Ray!

Gilkey

Peter Smith yanked me off the "See ya Montario" bandwagon just as it left the station before last night's preseason game against the Lions.  Thanks to him, even before Dion Lewis broke his leg, I thought they might keep Hardesty.

Smith asks a simple question: If they were babying/protecting TRich, couldn't they be doing the same with Hardesty?  Hardesty remained healthy last season, and any intelligent or sane coach would have put a saddle on him and allowed TRich's ribs to heal.

Yes, now he's getting a scope, but this is a comparatively minor procedure.  It bodes ill for a player's longevity, but won't prevent him from being a valuable contributor in the short term.  Moreover, Obi is a fullback--hell click the link.

Now, before I get to the Lions game, I have to confiscate some phrases.  Nobody is allowed to say:

"I mean", "--still got a long way(s) to go", "at the end of the day" and of course "utilize".  Except for "utilize", which is a bullcrap word, these phrases will be returned to you when you prove you can use them responsibly.

By the way, I need to tell Ed Reed not to say "converstate." "Converstationalize" is much more impressive.  Six syllables!  Count 'em!

Anyway there's little point in ranting and raving about all the great stuff the first unit showed against the Lions.

Except: Josh Gordon has been working hard all along.  Little has made him look bad because he's turned into a maniac.  All the same, it's great that now Gordon has turned into a maniac too.

Of greatest interest to me is Gilkey.  In Pinkston's absence, everybody else is expecting the Browns to rent an old journeyman guard.  While that's possible, it might not happen.

You have to remember that these coaches think outside the box, and won't necessarily do what your average blockhead would do.  

Pinkston was a college left tackle.  Gilkey was a college left tackle.  Pinkston started as a rookie.

The difference is that Gilkey came from a very small college, and played against the weakest possible competition.  Certainly, he's making a much bigger jump.  Certainly, he must be more unrefined.

Gilkey was embarrassed in pass protection at the Senior Bowl during practice, but did okay in the actual game.  His biggest issue is his height.  At 6'6", he's tall for a guard and vulnerable to bull-rushes.  Bull-rushes are about leverage, and not really power.  Typically shorter DT's get under his pads, jack him erect, and push him around because he's not low enough.

To be sure, this is a challenge for him.  But with the proper technique--which basicly means crouching down more than other guards have to, he can be effective.  There are other ways he can help himself:

His arms are short for his height, but he'll have a reach advantage against most DT's, and has a strong punch.  He can use that punch to elevate and stagger passrushers before they can get their hands on him.

Offensive line coaches are divided about hand position.  Many teach linemen to hold their hands high to protect their pads.  Others want the hands low, since hands coming up from that postion automaticly exert upward leverage to a punch.  Gilkey's hands should be low, and come up.

Aside from being susceptable to veteran trickery and deciet, Gilkey has no other weaknesses.  He has quick feet, balance, and great power.

Look who he gets to practice against.  Taylor is 6'5". But just the same, leverage is a big part of his game.  Rubin is better for Gilkey, as he's shorter.  If Gilkey can become a match for Rubin in practice, he's there.

And once again, there are two 3-4 defenses in this division.  If Gilkey remains at right guard, he'll often be going after linebackers in space, and he's good at that.  (He needs to play more under his pads--has a tendancy to lean foreward too much so that they can yank him off-balance, but this is coachable).

As passrushers, the linebackers usually start from farther back, so that he has a chance to set himself.  A bull-rush is much easier when you start in a guy's face with your hand on the ground (Remember we're talking about a guard, not a tackle.  Tackles can be bull-rushed by setting them up with fakes.)

I think the Browns might well go veteran-shopping, but that they want this young man to start if he's ready.  (And if he does, he's not going anywhere.)

I was just listening to NFL Radio with Ross Tucker and another ex-player.  They agree that the Browns defense is scary, but the other guy...I have a hard time believing this: he mentions Gordon, Cameron, and TRich and then says that the Browns offense just doesn't have anyone who "scares you".

I'm pretty stunned.  I mean, he could have mentioned Travis Benjamin too.  Just what does it take to scare this guy?

Ross didn't argue, but remained silent, and I'll bet he thinks the guy is full of crap too. Think it might have been Armani Tumor, which would explain a lot.

Post Rams Analysis Analysis, Brandon Weeden

Some Canadian guy pretended to ask and answer this question before the Rams game:  Which team would improve more in 2013?

Now, in the military an analyst can't screw around.  They sometimes have to tell their superiors things they don't want to hear.  If they're wrong, stuff gets broken, people die, and for that matter the analyst himself is in deep doodoo.  

For this reason, they are taught emotional detachment and a form of scientific theory.  That is, you step outside of yourself, and...ok let's put it this way: Imagine Mister Spock standing over your shoulder.  Imagine you did a mind-meld or something, and you are observing yourself through Spock's eyes.

As Spock, you are going to grade your analysis.

So, are you, as Spock, going to ask you:

You seem to feel that a fourth year quarterback will improve more than a second year quarterback.  Why?

Why do you mention Austin, but not Travis Benjamin, who is a similar player also entering his second season?

Did you research?  Schwartze, Gordon, Benjamin, Richardson, Roberts, Hughes, Winn, Skrine, Bademosi, and several others are entering their second seasons.  Which year during a players' career shows the greatest growth?  

Why did you not consider the acquisitions of Kruger and other key free agents, or the fact that the Turner system is pre-tailored to Weeden?

Why are each and every one of these omissions anti-Browns and pro-Rams?

Shaun Heidrick of yahoo sports did a much better job, as he systematically cited the many reasons why he believed that the Browns would go "over" the projected win/loss proposition of six games.

Many Cleveland fans confuse realism with optimism, but Shaun's appraisal was realistic. Some of you will just need to get used to that.

Now, as my bro pointed out, the Rams ran a vanilla defense, and Weeds was not subjected the the pressure he'd get in a real game.  While many of you were surprised by how good he was sans pressure, those of us who see what we look at aren't.  To us, this performance was sort of neutral, since our biggest questions about Weeden have to do with his performance under pressure.

But he did answer some secondary questions: his footwork was much improved, and he decided and delivered the ball quickly, rather than holding it for five seconds, seemingly oblivious to wide open receivers, then running and throwing a wounded duck somewhere.

That was great to see,

What was great to hear was Weeden discussing the deflection off Cameron which Little came down with.  Weeden saw a defender maneuvering to jump the route, so he threw early and hard to get it there before the guy had a chance to mess the play up.

That was just outstanding!  Way above average, even for a veteran quarterback.

Cameron had barely turned his head to look for the ball before it was in his face.  He probably won't be caught unprepared again.

I'll feel more confident in Weeds after I've seen him get beat up a little.  I want to see if he keeps his cool, and takes short choppy steps to re-set rather than to flee.  If his brain continues to work smoothly and he remains decisive and aggressive.

Let's just hope that Suh, the second dirtiest player in the NFL, doesn't manage to deliberately injure him.

Browns Not Signing Geezers

Andrea Hangst of the Bleacher Report didn't surprise me when she suggested that the Browns might do well to sign veteran FS Kerry Rhodes.  Andrea is apparently from Missouri, and won't believe that any young player (Gipson) can be any good until he already is.

It's certainly a fair question, since Rhodes is still just 30 and would bring valuable experience to help the younger guys.  (Free safety, unlike wide receiver, is one position where a veteran mentor is as valuable as most fans think it is).  Oh yeah, and he's pretty good, too.....so far.

Ok, he might not lose that critical step this season, or even the season after that--but then he's done.  The Browns aspire to contend when Rhodes is 31.  Not in 2013.  Horton wants to give Bademosi and Gipson experience, so that they'll know what they're doing when that time comes.

If Andrea's consistant assumption is correct, and niether young player can be any good, great value can be found at that position in the middle rounds of the draft.  But I personally and as usual lean the other way on young players, and tend to think they'll get better, and get better faster with actual playing time.  

You know, instead of sitting on the bench watching the guy who will be gone next season play?

However, I respect the idea.  Kerry is just 30, would provide great guidance for the younger guys, and might come pretty cheap.  In fact, it's still quite possible that the Browns might nab him if he remains available after final cuts.

I know I sound like I'm agin it, but really I'm just bugged because I just knew that Andrea would once again be throwing the young unheralded guys overboard without a hearing.

Speaking of which, I've already discussed Gipson, and the nice stuff he showed as a raw kid, but now there's Bademosi, who actually did a decent job at cornerback, showing every possible physical tool required of a free safety.

His challenge is bigger, because the FS has to call the coverages for everybody else, and he's never done that.  Not everybody can.  It's a very steep learning curve, such that even if he's the better player, Gipson could well still start ahead of him.

I know that Andrea, if she ever read this, would be saying "That's what I was talking about!  Rhodes could teach him!"  And she's right.  I just think that with that year under his belt and a full offseason, Gipson can do it, and would rather see him actually play.

Andrea:  Young players get better.  Old players get worse.

I was initially concerned about Weeden's inaccuracy at Family Fun Night, but then I read that this was the opinion of LaCanfora.  What a relief.  LaCanfora came to the scrimmage knowing what he would see, and sure enough saw it.  Boy am I surprised!

As I checked out the comments of real analysts who saw it, I come away with this uberanalysis:

Obviously he was very accurate throwing to Devone Bess.  I wonder why that is.  Maybe Bess had magnets in his hands and they put iron filings in the ball?  

I think it more likely that Bess got open more.  

Yes, it's more about deeper passes that he missed, and even bat-downs again.  But I also understand that Ray Horton's new defense was also somewhere on the field, and that they got in his face a lot, and pulled all sorts of dirty tricks that Horton was probably saving up.

Peter King (who's jock LaCanfora couldn't carry) has his own doubts about Weeden (and for that matter so do I), but he believes that this defense will be better than people think.  (He said "think", but "ass ume" is more accurate).

Duh.  So they mixed up the coverages and got in his face.  So the defense is indeed ahead of the offense this time of year duh.  Weeden did some good stuff and some bad stuff.  

What encourages me is this: The Ravens and Stoolers won't show him anything he hasn't seen here in spades, and in reality their front sevens don't have the same kind of speed or even talent.  THIS defense can make Weeden look bad in practice all season long, for all I care, because compared to these guys, those guys will be easy.

Laugh at me now but believe me later.

So Hardesty is hurt again?  Really?  And he makes how much?  Nice knowing him! Brandon Jackson is only 27 with more versatility.  For that matter, Obgannaya deserves a slot.  All he does is run, catch, and block exceptionally well!

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big Hardesty fan, but inury-prone is injury-prone, and I like Jackson just fine too.  And Dion Lewis?  You've got to mix that guy in here and there--he scary, man!  If you set up to stop TRich or Obgannaya and find out it's Lewis (I mean if you can see him), you are dead.

Maybe he's Jerome Harrison without the baggage.  Maybe Gregg Pruitt.  I like him.

That's another point: I bet they didn't run a lot on Family Night.  Runs are much simpler plays, with a lot more dangerous collisions.  I'll bet they focussed on developing the passing game (and Horton shamelessly exploited it).

We'll see how much heat a real opposing defense can put on Weeden when they might get a snoot full of TRich.

A Banner Day for Browns Analysis Corrections! I got Pluto and Smith!!!

Peter Smith (Dawg Pound Daily)'s analysis of the interior line was excellent, and really this isn't a correction; just something I picked up to fill in some blanks:

Ross Tucker of NFL Radio is a former journeyman offensive lineman, and one of the sharpest analysts they have--especially on anybody in the trenches.

He said that right guards are often isolated one-on-one in pass-blocking.  Defenses tend to shade tackles and nose tackles to the center's left; much closer to the center than to the left guard.  They seek to hit the center as his right arm is back and useless to him, and penetrate before the left guard can get leverage on him by getting in front of him.

The center is thus engaged by design, islolating the right guard on another passrusher, often with "too much space" on both sides of him.

This is a big reason why Luavao was abused last season.

Tucker said he vastly preferred center and left guard to right guard for that reason.  Ross could move people, but knew his limitations, one of which was his ponderous footwork.

Peter is right about John Greco and Luavao being stronger drive blockers, and about the right guard normally being the road-grader, but I guess he didn't have a chance to hear this really smart ex-lineman talk about the position.

Pinkston, a former left tackle who could probably play right tackle here if needed, has a better chance of dealing with an athletic passrusher in space than the other guys.  And although it's not saying much, Pinkston is the most mobile of the bunch, with the best chance to get out ahead of screens and such.

Another factor is the nature of the defenses the Browns must face; notably the 3-4's of Pittsburgh and Baltimore.  Rather than trying to drive back a defensive tackle, Pinkston is more likely to be trying to nail down a slippery linebacker in space when he's run-blocking, so the road-grader right guard is less in demand for this particular team.

Now, Terry Pluto of the PD made a rare mistake in saying that Jordan Norwood was not a deep threat.  Norwood has excellent speed, and can go deep.  He's been clocked at under 4.4.  

Last season, he was used almost exclusively in the slot, and ran almost exclusively short quick-hitters on the rare occasions when he was given a chance to play (because somebody else was injured).  He got open quickly and didn't drop any balls, and they needed him to do exactly that.

But now with Devone Bess here, Gregg Little becoming ever more reliable, and Cameron coming on strong, Norwood should stick around, and if he does get more chances, he'll be allowed to run deeper if the cornerback crowds him.  I don't believe that in Squarepeg Shurmer's offense he was ever allowed to.

Also, Terry was there to actually watch the camp and I wasn't, so I'm at a disadvantage. Plus, I'm loathe to disagree with Pluto on general principles.  Still...

Well, I just think he was a little hard on the tight end position.  He said that Cameron has made some nice leaping catches and that Barnidge has "had his moments", but that the tight end position still looked thin.  I wish he'd explained that.

It's possible that Terry has fallen for it.  It's like the fullback thing.  Norv Turner loves tight ends, right?  Therefore, the tight ends should get thrown to a lot, right?  Sounds like an assumption to me.

They're trying to put a new offense on the field.  The priority right now might be to develop chemistry with the wide receivers.  The tight ends run shallower inside routes and rely more on physical mismatches than precise routes.  The wide receivers are farther away, smaller targets, and there's much less room for error on those routes and those throws.

If I'm right, this is the smart way to develop this QB and this corps.  Focus on the most precise, dangerous stuff first.  Don't take the easy throw to the big guy if there's a little fast guy deeper.  That's how you bring a Weeden along.  

I reeiterate that if Cameron remains healthy, he will kick butt (and I mean in blocking too), and that Barnidge is massively underrated as a receiver.

Nice article by Mike Florjancic of Cleveland Browns.com on Mitchel Schwartze's development.  Wow, he gets to practice against Kruger, Sheard, and Mingo!

Kruger will use leverage more--Mingo speed and hands.  Schwartze should be ready for anybody!

Well, I just can't leave this page without taking somebody to the woodshed, so I'll copy/paste a couple questions Tony Grossi got on "Ask Tony", and answer them myself:

Hey Tony: I spent some time watching Barkevious Mingo's highlight reels on YouTube and I from what I see I don't think he has the potential to be great in the NFL. He looks like a smaller version of the Browns 2006 first round pick Kamerion Wimbley with similar one dimensional skills as a situational pass rusher. While he's maybe a bit more scrappy on the field than Wimbley, I don't think he's big enough to be a dominant force in the pass rush or an effective run stopper. Prediction, Mingo is the first bust of the Lombardi era. My question is, do you agree with my assessment and if not why? Please tell me I'm wrong.

Hey dumbass:  Mingo is MUCH faster than Wimbley, with better reach.  Wimbley was a DE here, then turned into a pretty damn good linebacker, though he never lived up to his draft status.  But the two players are much different.

Mingo has a variety of passrush moves already, which is partly why he was such a hot commodity.  

The YouTube tapes are of him at DE vs. a dangerous running quarterback, and he had containment on him.  He did his job, which in this case was making sure the guy couldn't scramble upfield to his right.  He wasn't going for sacks.  He was waiting for the QB to run.

Hey Tony: I've been reading that Josh Gordon's attitude has taken a downward plunge and this is blamed, in part, on the hard line the front office and coaching staff has taken with him. Is all of this true? Do you see Gordon being on the team long-term, assuming there is no additional suspensions? It seems to me that this is heading to a bad conclusion. Do you agree? It's too bad because I love Gordon's talent and the Browns haven't had many players like him in last 20 years. Thanks.

Hey black helicopter guy:  Gordon is dinged up, but the coaches have been talking about his sincere effort and work ethic.  Do you think they were lying?  Is this like Watergate to you?

See my last post: He pulled up at least once before completing a route and got yelled at. It's very, very possible that his knee was hurting and he was trying to work through it just like Chud said.  He was probably frustrated and angry.

I personally react to pain with aggression.  That's not uncommon.  If I'm hurting and somebody is yelling at me, I'm not very diplomatic myself.  

Stop trying to make mountains out of molehills.  Crap I've already read posters saying they should cut Gordon!  

Welcome to Cleveland.