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.