At this point, Donte Whitner and Karlos Dansby have been signed, and TJ Ward has gone off to Denver.
My pal Waittilnextyear is really enthusiastic about this stuff, but not me so much.
Of course, W started it out thinking that the Browns had signed Moats out of Buffalo, which had me all atwitter, but I can't see where he heard that, and am disappointed. (Late edit: I read the article and am still hopeful).
Instead, it's Dansby, who is 32 years old. That's just about the age at which, prior to the current regime, the Browns have habitually picked over the New England Patriots Retirement home, and brought shadows of great players here to disappear.
And I've heard this: The guarantees are short-term, and he was awesome just last season. This is encouraging, and I do believe that Dansby will at least be a very good player in '14. But not as good as he was last season.
Whitner is different, at only 28. Just recently, I read more of this false and ignorant crap that TJ Ward was a liability in coverage, and Whitner is vastly superior in that category, etc. That's stupid, mindless sheepthink bullcrap. Ward covered well last season.
Whitner is kind of similar to TJ, really. But he misses fewer tackles, and does indeed have the edge on him in coverage. He's a better fit for Pettine's cover 2 scheme than TJ was, also.
Pettine uses twin safeties, rather than one center-fielder for coverage and one strong safety for the box and short field. A box safety really has no place in this scheme, but a free safety does.
A traditional strong safety roams the short and intermediate area to stop the run and cover backs and tight ends, while the free safety hangs back in center field to pick up any deep threats. A cover 2 safety covers everybody, from the line of scrimmage to the friendly goal line.
Both must stop the run, and the backside safety is supposed to lag behind to watch out for cutbacks. The scheme makes it very hard for an offense to block either one, as they often can a traditional strong safety.
Whitner is a better fit than TJ was.
Dansby can play either if the ILB positions, and (so far) covers really well, is an excellent blitzer, and even at 32-33 is a big upgrade.
The great Terry Pluto made another rare mistake today in discussing the potential acquisition of Arthur Moats from the Bills. Moats is a converted defensive end currently playing outside linebacker. Here, he would play inside on the strong side. He would replace Jackson, not Roberts. You don't want Moats trying to cover people in space.
Late edit: Terry was right, I was wrong.
It seems that at this point Dansby will be the "run-and hit" guy and replace Roberts.
His signing tells me that the Browns are trying to turn things around immediately. I also believe that these two were signed out of the gate so that Farmer can point them out to other potential free agents who may be reluctant to sign on to a losing team.
I do wish they'd sign Moats, though.
Rumors about the Browns trading multiple picks for Revis and his current contract are, I hope, false. Revis is a great 28-year-old player, but his contract is rediculous, he'll be released tomorrow, and I at least hope that Farmer isn't as anxious to get rid of those draft picks as others think he is.
Revis may still be the best cornerback in the NFL, but let's not go nuts here. Is he worth 30% more than a guy who's 7% worse?
But I get it: Haden/Revis = Dixon/Minnifield, and the quarterback often can't get rid of the ball. All I'm saying is that I wouldn't mind an almost Revis at a much, much, much lower price.
And is Joe Haden signed yet? Better damn well get that done before you sign Revis for like half again as freaking much as you were offering Joe, know what I mean this is BUSINESS do you get that?
The biggest single reason that Seattle just won the Superbowl was that Wilson is paid nickles and dimes, and they could afford excellent players. Denver lost because Peyton Manning hogs the bulk of their payroll and they couldn't afford that. The Patriots are perennial contenders partly because Tom Brady signed a team-friendly contract, and Bill could afford talent. The Ravens had no shot at repeating because Joe Flacco wiped out their roster.
These are QUARTERBACKS. Revis is a cornerback, and is paid almost as much! Hell. No.
As it stands, the defense is upgraded a little. The venerable Dansby is better at almost everything than both DQwell and Roberts, and Whitner is more durable, better in coverage, and a better system fit than TJ Ward.
Rodney Gipsonfield also projects better with Pettine and company than in Ray Horton's more conventional coverage scheme. Gipson's tools project better to cover 2 than to free safety. If you think that Farmer or Pettine are in a big hurry to replace this guy, who enters his third season, you don't get it.
Darryl Revis is extremely greedy, and I really hope that Farmer doesn't do a Savage and pay just any price. This guy is starting on the downside of his career and is due for a BIG pay cut. He may not even be the best cornerback in the NFL any more, okay? Joe Haden might even be better than he will be in 2014 okay? Stop deifying these guys okay?
There's a chance that Farmer WILL massively overpay this guy, but assuming he gets a nosebleed and leaves the room with his eyes rolling, there are still several good cover corners around.
Here I'll use Russell S Baxter's 3/27 entry in the Bleacher Report: Talib, Verner, D R Cromartie, Tillman, the Ravens Corey Graham are a few (I haven't kept track. Some of these guys might be off the market now I don't know).
Antone Exum is ranked seventh among the draftable cornerbacks on NFL.com, for example. He's ranked that low because he's coming off a knee injury, and because he has little experience in zone coverage (he's been all-man all the time). He's also knocked for seeming "arrogant", and he needs some refinement.
Pettine, I believe, will use man coverage almost exclusively, so inexperience in zone is not a big thing. Moreover, this guy is 6', 214 and contrasts with Joe Haden for more flexible matchups. This guy could last until the second or even the third round!
Asamoah and other top free agent guards are off the market now, and it looks more likely that they'll draft one in the middle rounds or higher if Rodney Faulkfield or Rodney Gilkeyfield don't emerge as second year starters in this zone scheme.
Faulk is a guy I've forgotten about as both a right tackle and a potential zone guard. He's taller than you like as a guard, but has the mobility and agility to function in this scheme--that's a rare size/speed combo. Many of the scouting reports on him actually describe a better "finesse"/zone blocker than man-blocker despite his huge size and power.
He only had one year as a starter (left tackle) in college, and had been injured, which is why he didn't have a high value except as a free agent. He now has a year in the pros under his belt, and likely learned more here than he would have with another year in college...shame on me for forgetting about this guy!
Anyway, after only one day of free agency, the defense is actually pretty well set except for one starting outside cornerback and ideally one more inside linebacker.
On that, I'm really hoping for Moats next to Dansby. Moats is ideal for the dirty work that DQwell did, while Dansby can run-and-hit. This would make the Browns very strong inside behind the defensive line, with a pass-rush threat from both slots.
Moats, a converted DE, can also play outside or put his hand in the dirt in this scheme, so he's also depth. Please, Ray sign this guy!
Moats, moreover, is only 25, so unlike Dansby he could stick around for a long time.
This would leave only cornerback on defense, and the Browns could damn near rebuild the whole offense in the draft.
I guess Dansby and Whitner were a good start, and I suspect the other teams in the AFC North are already getting nervous.
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