1: The Browns take phone calls from other GMs. They listen to every offer. They are not going to trade Josh Gordon unless they get somebody else's whole draft. Since they won't, they won't. Just stop it.
2: I've heard that my Calvin Johnson voodoo doll is paying off and he won't play. I'm not sure. However, I would be just about as happy to see him try to beat Joe Haden with a bumb leg.
3: Suh and Fairley rightfully get a lot of hype, and Ansah not enough. Those guys are scary, and they'll be lining up all over the place.
But I'm glad Luavao is back all the way and has had a nice tune-up. Luavao isn't that great, but is better than Cousins.
Despite the hype, Detroit's defense is about average overall, and the Browns with Luavao could have a chance to actually run the ball some.
They'll try to. But what even some of the GMs on NFL Radio don't seem to get is that second and third and longs happen when a running back gets stuffed too.
Two weeks ago the Browns couldn't run the ball, and resorted to using dumpoff passes. These are what Lindy Infante called "long handoffs".
Bullcrap aside, Weeden can do this about as well as Hoyer did. Bullcrap aside, Weeden has good touch.
Ideally, the run will work fine, but if it doesn't, look for dumpoffs and try to comprehend that these are more like 75-80% plays than normal passes, and are designed to get the ball to a back in space and moving foreward. Dumpoffs are very hard to defend.
Most defenses will have one linebacker mirror the back, but remain in coverage. The rest of the defense will attack the pocket or cover. They have to trust the single linebacker to get a hat on the back before he can do much damage, and then on their ability to converge.
Turner's offense, now with Josh Gordon, keeps more defenders further upfield. It's quite possible that the Lions defensive line can clog everything up inside, and force things laterally too, when the Browns try to run, but a dumpoff puts the back instantly out of their range with one guy to beat and a two-way go.
This should also draw a penalty from the homicidal psychopath, who starts trying to maim or kill everybody if he can't hurt somebody early. Inflicting pain or death on other people is his drug of choice, and he is an addict. If Suh didn't have a stat sheet, he'd have a rap sheet, and 20 years-to-life to contemplate it.
But I digress.
If Calvin J can't play, Stafford will be in the same place as Weeden in the first two games, Flacco, and Big Ben. Horton will kitchen-sink him and blow up runs on the way in. Now that Skrine has improved, the secondary can cover pretty tight and Gipson can stay shallow.
Stafford is an excellent quarterback, but sans Johnson he'll have smaller windows and less time.
The Lions are favored largely on the strength of their super-tough defensive line, but the stats say that's the best part of that defense, and the Browns can beat them.
And should.
4: I was glad to hear Weeden say exactly the right things about getting rid of the ball and "trusting" his guys.
I know, we've heard this stuff before, but this time I think he'll follow through, because Cameron, Little, and Bess will join Gordon this time and not let him get away with window-shopping. I bet the linemen get in on it too. We'll call this the "Hoyer Effect".
In all the pregame analyses I've seen, I have yet to find out who is going to cover these guys. And I don't think it matters.
This is cool too, because I'll be in Toledo to watch it. Toledo has become Detroit/Cleveland no man's land, and I look foreward to trading barbs with Detroit fans in the bar.
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