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!