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.