Browns Post-FA Flea Market Analysis Analysis

Tom Reed of the PD wrote a pretty good article on the Browns' free agency moves and how precarious the secondary now looks.  I can't criticize the article, as it came right on the heels of twelve roster moves, and Tom was in a kind of race with everybody else to publish something.

He should have been reading this blog.  If he had, then he'd remember that Aubrey and Bademosi were cornerbacks last season, and can cover wide recievers in sub defenses.  Especially the bigger ones, leaving the smaller, quicker ones to the three cornerbacks.

This is about boxes and labels again, see?  Can Bademosi and Aubrey cover wide recievers?  They can and did.  The "S" next to their names didn't take away that skill.

But Tom's right about cornerback being thin.  Buster Skrine scares the hell out of me, and Aubrey and Bademosi will be backing up the two safety slots, so if there are injuries, the secondary could get in trouble quickly.

Overall, however, I love how the front office is working this.  Certainly there were other cornerbacks they could have signed, but none appeared better than those on the roster now.  

They do this from top to bottom.  If the free agent isn't (in their opinion) better than the lowest-ranked player at a given position, they pass, period.

I can't care much about the kicker or punter.  These guys don't need playbooks, and could be signed the day OF a game and do their jobs.

While conventional wisdom says that the best ones are all gone by now, it's still possible that the Browns will pick up a younger guy that nobody else wants to give a fair shot.

I miss Dawson too, but don't second-guess that decision.  He wanted too much money, and they're building for the long term.

Keavon Milton is thought to be the replacement for Kellen Davis as a blocker, and for this season that might be the case.  But for the long term, its's quite possible that he'll be turned into a left tackle.

You heard that here first.

I've got to give credit to The Dawg Pound Daily's Peter Smith again for nailing the Rainey AND Dennis Johnson as potential Browns before those players were signed.  That dude is good.

THIS JUST IN: Thanks to SB Nation I not only know that the Browns signed seven players to their practice squad, but even who TF they are!

FOUR are defensive backs.  One is called a cornerback, but has tackle and sack stats like a (real scary) passrusher.  It would be awesome if the guy could cover too--I have no idea.

Another one is called a safety but is about as big as the linebacker they just signed from Dallas.

These guys are on the practice squad for now, where I'm sure they'll be looked at hard.  Barring further FA signings, one or more will most likely be activated soon.

Remember that this is a predominantly man coverage scheme, which is far less complex than zones, so that if a guy has the physical tools and instincts, he only needs to be taught the dirty tricks.

I doubt that anybody but me will tell you this, until they read it and pretend they thought of it themselves, but anyway you heard that here first too.