Following the hiring of Mike Pettine as the new Browns' head coach--and the Senior Bowl--I've looked around the web for useful information and dumbassitude.
I've been rather disappointed in the latter, and tend to ignore the usual "We're all gonna die everybody sucks" mantras (Mantra: a repetitive chant used to quiet the conscious mind and induce a state of meditation. Meditation is a state of non-thought.)
But first the good stuff: Dilan James of the Bleacher Report really impressed me with a thorough, objective, and thoughtful bio of Mike Pettine, and projections of how he might operate.
With the Bleacher Report, I tend to read articles expecting to find something stupid and ignorant to mar even the best articles, but in this lengthy piece I couldn't find anything. This guy is a pro.
At the Senior Bowl, the inexplicably dissed Derrick Carr completed 7 of 12 passes for 45 yards with a 17-yard TD. It doesn't sound impressive, but that was pretty much the best performance of any of the six quarterbacks.
I don't get why this guy is being discussed as "working himself into" the bottom of the first round. He's eclipsed his brother David, a number one overall draft pick, at the same school. His first year as a starter was in a pro style system, and he has 27 starts.
Beyond the stats in the Senior Bowl, at least two of his incompletions were perfectly placed deep throws: The ball went where only the reciever could catch it, and there was no chance for a pick. These were big-time throws, and Josh Gordon or Jordan Cameron probably hauls them in.
Carr is separated from his bust brother by almost a generation, and unlike his brother has football OCD. David's biggest problem was that he was a good family man. Meaning he spent quality time with his kids. Meaning that when practice was over, he went home--ya know? Derrick's not like that. He's a junkie.
Along with RB James White, unheralded small-school RB David Fruellen averaged 5.5 YPC.
Read for yourself at the Senior Bowl Website: This game was rich in hybrid passrushers suitable for a 3-4, DTs, and bigger cornerbacks. There were also several offensive linemen that will be drafted high.
TE Crocket Gilmore is just a freak.
In my never-ending search for mental midgetry among fans this week, I find myself forced to resort to Hey Tony! Tony is pretty smart, but I can always find stupid ignorant questions:
Look, I know that firing Chud after one year was unpopular (including with me), but it's assenine to jump over the cliff in the second year of a new regime based on this.
The coaching search was deliberately thorough, and the stupid thing to do would be to hire the first guy they could just so they could beat everybody else.
It is true that the candidates were concerned about the quarterback situation and an owner that seemed to have an itchy trigger finger, but I need to restate this: The Browns might have a quarterback (named Hoyer). Pettine knew this. He learned it the hard way.
So the national and local pundits who keep repeating that the Browns have "no quarterback" are ignoramuses. You could reasonably say that the Browns have no proven quarterback, since Hoyer got injured before he could prove to be consistant--and beat defenses who had game-tape on him. But to just dismiss a guy who did what he did is just infuriatingly stupid. I root for these fighters; these underdogs, mainly because everybody else wants to dismiss them.
Anyway, Tony's first questioner was already talking about Pettine eventually forcing this incompetant front office out.
It sure didn't take long for Joe Banner to go from highly respected front office guy to idiot, did it? (I should qualify that: The ex-GMs, players, and coaches I listen to still think he's pretty smart, even though many disagree with the Chud firing. It's guys like this that have issues with premature expostulation that don't).
I need more evidence. No necktie parties just yet. Go home and sober up.
Another guy wondered if the top quarterback drafted would refuse to come to Cleveland (see now the players all think it sucks too ok?). That makes sense, since no quarterback in his right mind would come here to be stuck with Gordon, Cameron, Joe Thomas and bums like that.
Another guy wasn't really dumb at all, as he speculated about Mingo at ILB, where the unfairly bashed Robertson plays.
Don't laugh. Mingo could do that. I'm not sure about Pettine's defense, but in Ray Horton's, Roberts was more a safety than a linebacker, as he often had to cover tight ends who towered over him. Mingo matches up better with these guys.
I really doubt that Pettine would designate Mingo a starter at this position, but wouldn't be at all surprised to see him running with tight ends more.
This reminds me--I found more dumbassitude in the Bleacher Report! Somebody called Mingo a "huge disappointment" because he had only five sacks as a rookie playing part-time at a new position. How utterly mindless.
Mingo will certainly return bigger and stronger, but with his metabolism it's not realistic to expect him to get much over 245 lbs. First and foremost he must rush the passer and set the edge, which is why he'll need that extra heft and strength, but he can do much more. I believe Pettine will use him all over the place.
The issue here is Paul Kruger. Unlike Mingo, Kruger is a veteran and was a disappointment (smart people don't use words like "huge" all the time). At 8 mil a year, if Pettine can't get him going, he's a GMF.
You don't want Paul in coverage, so if he can't nail quarterbacks, he's a bust. Pettine will experiment with different fronts and matchups to see if Kruger does better with his hand on the ground or as a joker first.
Right now, OLB is a position of need. You can't count on Kruger, or even be certain of Mingo. Sheard looks good, but Groves is 33, and you really need four.
Fortunately, in the Senior Bowl alone there were three excellent 3-4 OLB prospects (who can also play 4-3 DE), and this draft in general looks deep there. I'd like to see more talent at this position, because without it there's no flexibility, and Mingo can't be moved around as much as he could be otherwise.
Now, Tony himself is not a dumbass, but is sometimes pessimistic about retaining free agents. Ozzie Newsome in Baltimore, Bill in New England, and the people in Pittsburgh often don't extend or re-sign potential free agents.
Ozzie tells them to go test the waters and get some offers, then come back and we'll see if we can afford you. The agents and players appreciate this, and he retains a surprising number of younger veterans.
Tony would rightfully point out that those are perennial contending teams with franchise quarterbacks, so the players tend to want to stick around, even if they make less money. The Browns? Well?
Good point, but Pettine and Haslam aren't BS-ing about the good points here: five Pro-Bowlers, young talent, draft picks (incuding a franchise QB calibre first rounder) and yes YES HOYER. H O Y E R.
So they might not lose Ward or Mack.
If they lose Ward, they have Josh Aubrey. This might alter the scheme to a cover 2 with twin safeties, but Aubrey is a hell of a player. Nor is the book closed on Bademosi, who is still young.
The loss of Mack would be tougher. There are players on the roster who could play center, but not as well. And the use of one of these at that position would take him away from guard. There are good centers in this draft, but rookie centers make mistakes.
The disruption would be bad. A veteran might make the correct line-calls, but the unit would take time to become cohesive and integrated. Pettine could really do without that, as it could cost him games.
I hope they can keep Mack. I really do.
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