Ok I think he's on the line---
"--and here I am with this other famous guy. Famous people like me"
Johnny? Wile E Coyote here.
"Who? You got an album out? Oh you're on that Modern Family show right?"
No I'm just a blogger--
"Excuse me. And here I am with this other famous guy. Please friend me and follow me ok?"
...Nevermind.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Why So Many Outsiders Want Manziel to Start Game One
It's because it's just the Browns so who cares? It will be an excuse to watch their games. They don't care if the Browns lose. They just want to watch Johnny Football.
And it would be great to watch Johnny try to get away from Dick LaBeau! Awesome!
Josh Gordon isn't a top TEN reciever? The Steelers' draft was better than the Browns? This one's funny: The Steelers are ranked ninth (ahead of the Bengals by the way) and the Browns' 20th in one power ranking.
It's just the Browns. Who cares?
Self-Correction: RG3 was not the only exception to the junior quarterback sucking in year one rule. I forgot Cam Newton. We can debate the others, but they the best of them was mediocre.
I have to comment on Johnny Football in Las Vegas: Big deal.
Back to the National hate affair with the Browns: Pat Kirwan is a true professional and extremely smart/knowlegable. And he hates the Browns and loves the Steelers. Everything he says about the two teams is contaminated: Boredom for the Browns and worship for the Steelers.
A lot of them feel the same way. The Browns have been losing for so long, it's just sort of imprinted on them. Maybe if I wasn't a Browns fan, I wouldn't blame them...
Nah! Because I was an intelligence analyst, and I can't tolerate not thinking with your brain.
Solomon Wilcotts, as you will see, thinks with his brain. If he has any favorite teams, it's virtually undetectable, even to me. And you can't know as much about our team as he does without actually digging into and studying them.
Solomon, in fact, reminds me of me.
Especially on Manziel vs, Hoyer. His differences with Pat and several of the other real experts (ex-players/gms/coaches) isn't necessarily greater insight. It's more just about objectivity.
The other guys don't care if the Browns lose, and in fact expect them to lose no matter what happens anyway. Solomon--I can tell--gets frustrated as he argues with these guys. He keeps hammering on which quarterback gives the Browns the best chance to win right now. They keep bringing it back to magic, excitement, jersey sales, where he was drafted, etc.
It's not that Wilcotts is a closet Browns fan. It's just where he comes from: The hell with all the other crap. What will PETTINE do to WIN? PERIOD.
How can you rank the Browns 20th, while mentioning five Pro Bowlers and a great draft? How can you rank the Steelers draft way higher and cite two new starters, when the Browns might well have landed four, and two more who will in the future...AND a first and fourth round pick? How can you do that?
You can if you're biased. If you're not being objective. I can't stand it.
It bothers me on behalf of the Bengals, too. Their draft was so-so, but they're more talented than the Steelers too. And Buffalo: Everybody is saying the 2015 first rounder the Browns got from them will be a high pick.
This is mostly because they expect EJ Manuel to play the same, and that's just idiotic. He'll be a lot better, and now he has Watkins.
Even the Ravens will probably be better than the Steelers this season! Come ON, man!
On the home front, I'm thrilled by the collective intelligence of the fans! They must have installed a new filter at the water treatment plant or something. Many agree with Solly and me that Hoyer should start, and that Ray and Mike are handling the QB situation the way they should.
Those who disagree are actually attempting to use LOGIC:
"Shanahan tweaked his offense for RG3 and can do the same for Johnny". Johnny is smart, and mentally a prodigy. He has overcome every challenge in his path--quickly. All valid points. I'm not used to opponents who aren't tomato cans.
Not that you're right--but we could pop a beer and have fun talking about it.
Just quit talking about excitement, magic, jersey sales, where he was picked, and crap like that which means absolutely nothing (except to people who are bored by the Browns and think he'd be fun to watch.)
And it would be great to watch Johnny try to get away from Dick LaBeau! Awesome!
Josh Gordon isn't a top TEN reciever? The Steelers' draft was better than the Browns? This one's funny: The Steelers are ranked ninth (ahead of the Bengals by the way) and the Browns' 20th in one power ranking.
It's just the Browns. Who cares?
Self-Correction: RG3 was not the only exception to the junior quarterback sucking in year one rule. I forgot Cam Newton. We can debate the others, but they the best of them was mediocre.
I have to comment on Johnny Football in Las Vegas: Big deal.
Back to the National hate affair with the Browns: Pat Kirwan is a true professional and extremely smart/knowlegable. And he hates the Browns and loves the Steelers. Everything he says about the two teams is contaminated: Boredom for the Browns and worship for the Steelers.
A lot of them feel the same way. The Browns have been losing for so long, it's just sort of imprinted on them. Maybe if I wasn't a Browns fan, I wouldn't blame them...
Nah! Because I was an intelligence analyst, and I can't tolerate not thinking with your brain.
Solomon Wilcotts, as you will see, thinks with his brain. If he has any favorite teams, it's virtually undetectable, even to me. And you can't know as much about our team as he does without actually digging into and studying them.
Solomon, in fact, reminds me of me.
Especially on Manziel vs, Hoyer. His differences with Pat and several of the other real experts (ex-players/gms/coaches) isn't necessarily greater insight. It's more just about objectivity.
The other guys don't care if the Browns lose, and in fact expect them to lose no matter what happens anyway. Solomon--I can tell--gets frustrated as he argues with these guys. He keeps hammering on which quarterback gives the Browns the best chance to win right now. They keep bringing it back to magic, excitement, jersey sales, where he was drafted, etc.
It's not that Wilcotts is a closet Browns fan. It's just where he comes from: The hell with all the other crap. What will PETTINE do to WIN? PERIOD.
How can you rank the Browns 20th, while mentioning five Pro Bowlers and a great draft? How can you rank the Steelers draft way higher and cite two new starters, when the Browns might well have landed four, and two more who will in the future...AND a first and fourth round pick? How can you do that?
You can if you're biased. If you're not being objective. I can't stand it.
It bothers me on behalf of the Bengals, too. Their draft was so-so, but they're more talented than the Steelers too. And Buffalo: Everybody is saying the 2015 first rounder the Browns got from them will be a high pick.
This is mostly because they expect EJ Manuel to play the same, and that's just idiotic. He'll be a lot better, and now he has Watkins.
Even the Ravens will probably be better than the Steelers this season! Come ON, man!
On the home front, I'm thrilled by the collective intelligence of the fans! They must have installed a new filter at the water treatment plant or something. Many agree with Solly and me that Hoyer should start, and that Ray and Mike are handling the QB situation the way they should.
Those who disagree are actually attempting to use LOGIC:
"Shanahan tweaked his offense for RG3 and can do the same for Johnny". Johnny is smart, and mentally a prodigy. He has overcome every challenge in his path--quickly. All valid points. I'm not used to opponents who aren't tomato cans.
Not that you're right--but we could pop a beer and have fun talking about it.
Just quit talking about excitement, magic, jersey sales, where he was picked, and crap like that which means absolutely nothing (except to people who are bored by the Browns and think he'd be fun to watch.)
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Corrections and Browns Roster Sleepers
Corrections:
1: Hoyer is the best quarterback by a good margin. It's true. Manziel is a longshot to become a consistent match for him by the time the Browns have to face the Steelers defense in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers deliberately confuse and screw up young quarterbacks about as well as the Patriots do. You want magic? How about less than three interceptions and your quarterback not hospitalized?
There's no Dog and Pony show. It's just that the adults are in charge.
2: Mitchell Schwartze is not a great prospect at guard in this offense. He's a possible fit at right guard, as Shanahan and company could tweak the zone scheme to make the most of a mauler there, but the others he'll compete with are better scheme fits. Even Greco might fit better.
3: Greco has started at/can play right tackle.
4: Billy Winn was always a better 3-4 DE than Rubin. Hughes at DE is not a good thought. Winn is MUCH faster and has MUCH better range than the other guys. Hughes and Rubin are best rotated and used situationally inside.
Now for the sleepers:
Chris Faulk is no longer much of one, as even people in Oblivia have gradually become aware of his existance. Oblivia is less aware of the fact that he is athletically a good fit at guard here.
The notion of replacing Schwartze at right tackle has reached a fever pitch, so everybody who is tall enough is being penciled in there.
But there are two reasons why Faulk will probably be tried out at right guard first: Paul McQuistan and Reid Fragel.
McQuistan is, of course, no sleeper. While he looks good at either guard spot in this offense, given the other personnel on hand, he looks even better at right tackle. He has the size, and is more nimble than Schwartze. His experience (including at this very position) makes him a plug-and-play prospect who won't get outsmarted.
Fragel, who was a blocking tight end until his senior season at Ohio State, stands 6'8", and it's tackle or nothing for him. But this guy has the highest upside at either left or right tackle of any player on this team.
This is a new regime, and they're trying to complete the core of a perennial contender. They are hoping that Faulk and Fragel will have learned and developed enough to start right now.
As Ross Tucker will tell you over and over again, continuity is more important than talent for an offensive line. The offensive line is a unit, and it takes a lot of repetitions for it to become efficient. The sooner the offensive line which the coaches project years into the future is put together, the sooner it becomes efficient, and the better it will ultimately become.
McQuistan is 31, and is not part of this future. Greco is even older, and doesn't fit well to boot. (Note: I love Greco. Those who bash him are morons. I hope he sticks around for versatile depth).
Both Faulk and Fragel have a real shot at becoming starters at right guard and right tackle this season.
I don't hate Schwartze, but I trust Peter Smith (Dawg Pound Daily). Peter says that while Schwartze improved a lot over last season, he did get a lot of help from the tight end in pass protection. The other guys are quicker and more nimble, and you don't want to use a tight end that way unless you have to.
Fullback Ray Agnew, a new undrafted free agent out of Southern Illinois, might have made the veteran free agent fullback on the roster expendable. Tony Grossi is crying in his beer, hoping that the Browns sign another veteran blocking fullback, as he seems unaware of Agnew.
Agnew is 5'10" or 11", 247 lbs. and was almost exclusively a lead blocker for four years in college. He caught eight passes for an 8.9 YPC average, so it's remotely possible that he has some skills which were never exploited by his coaches.
Many, obviously including Tony, think that a blocking fullback should be over six feet tall so that he can get his hands on the bad guys before they can get their hands on him. On the other hand, the axiom "low man wins" (the leverage battle) is a counter-theory.
I wish I could tell you about Agnew's speed and how much he squats and stuff, but I don't know. What I do know is that this guy could make the team as the situational lead-blocker Tony has been pining for.
One commenter wondered if tight end MarQueis Gray could lose a few pounds and play wide reciever. Not gonna happen. Gray played wide reciever (and quarterback, running back, ball boy and bottle washer) in college, as well as tight end.
Last season, the Browns used him at fullback, as well as H-back and tight end.
Because he was Mister Everything, he lacked experience at everything coming out of college, which is why he slid.
As those of us with cerebral cortexes will recall, Jordan Cameron got very little playing time as a rookie, and then played more, and played well, in his second season.
As a wide reciever in college, Gray had some pretty good stats. Cameron, on the other hand, looked terrible on paper.
Gray has all the physical tools to become a Cameron-like tight end, and apparently is already a better in-line blocker. While everybody else is decrying the lack of depth at tight end, I don't live in Oblivia, and see a young guy who, more likely than not, will take a big step forward to provide that depth.
Kyle Shanahan is not above using a second pass-catching tight end in lieu of a third wide reciever.
Gray remains a bit of a wild card, too: HE could be tried again as a blocking (and running/pass-catching) fullback. Poor Tony will scoff at this notion, but in reality Gray has the requisite tools.
Thankfully, Kyle Shanahan thinks outside the box, and will consider all possibilities. I really like and respect Tony Grossi, but am glad he doesn't run the Browns.
Charles Johnson is a guy I pointed out to Oblivia about a month ago, and who is gradually getting noticed just a little.
At the time I wrote him up earlier, I missed the fact that he had acl surgery in October. That's not good for 2014, because he's a wide reciever, and not a quarterback like Hoyer.
He may have his straight-line speed back by game one, but it takes longer to be able to drive off the repaired leg into a cut. Not only is the leg still vulnerable, but the player is all too aware that it is.
He might still make an impact, as the West Coast elements of this offense generally require only one decisive cut off a route, and even knowing that it will be to the inside doesn't help a defense that much. If he gets a step on anybody and remains vertical, it won't matter anyway, because nobody will catch him.
There are a number of other guys that I am overlooking or not listing. We all tend to forget that a wide reciever doesn't have to be 6'2"-plus to do damage consistantly, or that a taller guy who is slow can still catch eight or ten yard passes all day long.
Gil Brandt and others are saying that about a round and a half out of this draft fell out the bottom, and over 40 players with draftable grades went undrafted.
Many of these were juniors, with higher upsides than the more experienced players who were drafted. The biggest of all these sliding sleepers were the shorter wide recievers, and Ray collected a bunch of them.
Stay tuned.
1: Hoyer is the best quarterback by a good margin. It's true. Manziel is a longshot to become a consistent match for him by the time the Browns have to face the Steelers defense in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers deliberately confuse and screw up young quarterbacks about as well as the Patriots do. You want magic? How about less than three interceptions and your quarterback not hospitalized?
There's no Dog and Pony show. It's just that the adults are in charge.
2: Mitchell Schwartze is not a great prospect at guard in this offense. He's a possible fit at right guard, as Shanahan and company could tweak the zone scheme to make the most of a mauler there, but the others he'll compete with are better scheme fits. Even Greco might fit better.
3: Greco has started at/can play right tackle.
4: Billy Winn was always a better 3-4 DE than Rubin. Hughes at DE is not a good thought. Winn is MUCH faster and has MUCH better range than the other guys. Hughes and Rubin are best rotated and used situationally inside.
Now for the sleepers:
Chris Faulk is no longer much of one, as even people in Oblivia have gradually become aware of his existance. Oblivia is less aware of the fact that he is athletically a good fit at guard here.
The notion of replacing Schwartze at right tackle has reached a fever pitch, so everybody who is tall enough is being penciled in there.
But there are two reasons why Faulk will probably be tried out at right guard first: Paul McQuistan and Reid Fragel.
McQuistan is, of course, no sleeper. While he looks good at either guard spot in this offense, given the other personnel on hand, he looks even better at right tackle. He has the size, and is more nimble than Schwartze. His experience (including at this very position) makes him a plug-and-play prospect who won't get outsmarted.
Fragel, who was a blocking tight end until his senior season at Ohio State, stands 6'8", and it's tackle or nothing for him. But this guy has the highest upside at either left or right tackle of any player on this team.
This is a new regime, and they're trying to complete the core of a perennial contender. They are hoping that Faulk and Fragel will have learned and developed enough to start right now.
As Ross Tucker will tell you over and over again, continuity is more important than talent for an offensive line. The offensive line is a unit, and it takes a lot of repetitions for it to become efficient. The sooner the offensive line which the coaches project years into the future is put together, the sooner it becomes efficient, and the better it will ultimately become.
McQuistan is 31, and is not part of this future. Greco is even older, and doesn't fit well to boot. (Note: I love Greco. Those who bash him are morons. I hope he sticks around for versatile depth).
Both Faulk and Fragel have a real shot at becoming starters at right guard and right tackle this season.
I don't hate Schwartze, but I trust Peter Smith (Dawg Pound Daily). Peter says that while Schwartze improved a lot over last season, he did get a lot of help from the tight end in pass protection. The other guys are quicker and more nimble, and you don't want to use a tight end that way unless you have to.
Fullback Ray Agnew, a new undrafted free agent out of Southern Illinois, might have made the veteran free agent fullback on the roster expendable. Tony Grossi is crying in his beer, hoping that the Browns sign another veteran blocking fullback, as he seems unaware of Agnew.
Agnew is 5'10" or 11", 247 lbs. and was almost exclusively a lead blocker for four years in college. He caught eight passes for an 8.9 YPC average, so it's remotely possible that he has some skills which were never exploited by his coaches.
Many, obviously including Tony, think that a blocking fullback should be over six feet tall so that he can get his hands on the bad guys before they can get their hands on him. On the other hand, the axiom "low man wins" (the leverage battle) is a counter-theory.
I wish I could tell you about Agnew's speed and how much he squats and stuff, but I don't know. What I do know is that this guy could make the team as the situational lead-blocker Tony has been pining for.
One commenter wondered if tight end MarQueis Gray could lose a few pounds and play wide reciever. Not gonna happen. Gray played wide reciever (and quarterback, running back, ball boy and bottle washer) in college, as well as tight end.
Last season, the Browns used him at fullback, as well as H-back and tight end.
Because he was Mister Everything, he lacked experience at everything coming out of college, which is why he slid.
As those of us with cerebral cortexes will recall, Jordan Cameron got very little playing time as a rookie, and then played more, and played well, in his second season.
As a wide reciever in college, Gray had some pretty good stats. Cameron, on the other hand, looked terrible on paper.
Gray has all the physical tools to become a Cameron-like tight end, and apparently is already a better in-line blocker. While everybody else is decrying the lack of depth at tight end, I don't live in Oblivia, and see a young guy who, more likely than not, will take a big step forward to provide that depth.
Kyle Shanahan is not above using a second pass-catching tight end in lieu of a third wide reciever.
Gray remains a bit of a wild card, too: HE could be tried again as a blocking (and running/pass-catching) fullback. Poor Tony will scoff at this notion, but in reality Gray has the requisite tools.
Thankfully, Kyle Shanahan thinks outside the box, and will consider all possibilities. I really like and respect Tony Grossi, but am glad he doesn't run the Browns.
Charles Johnson is a guy I pointed out to Oblivia about a month ago, and who is gradually getting noticed just a little.
At the time I wrote him up earlier, I missed the fact that he had acl surgery in October. That's not good for 2014, because he's a wide reciever, and not a quarterback like Hoyer.
He may have his straight-line speed back by game one, but it takes longer to be able to drive off the repaired leg into a cut. Not only is the leg still vulnerable, but the player is all too aware that it is.
He might still make an impact, as the West Coast elements of this offense generally require only one decisive cut off a route, and even knowing that it will be to the inside doesn't help a defense that much. If he gets a step on anybody and remains vertical, it won't matter anyway, because nobody will catch him.
There are a number of other guys that I am overlooking or not listing. We all tend to forget that a wide reciever doesn't have to be 6'2"-plus to do damage consistantly, or that a taller guy who is slow can still catch eight or ten yard passes all day long.
Gil Brandt and others are saying that about a round and a half out of this draft fell out the bottom, and over 40 players with draftable grades went undrafted.
Many of these were juniors, with higher upsides than the more experienced players who were drafted. The biggest of all these sliding sleepers were the shorter wide recievers, and Ray collected a bunch of them.
Stay tuned.
Friday, May 23, 2014
Marty Vs. Billick
Marty once said that statistics are for losers. ...ok it might have been Sam.
Anyway in a recent Hoyer-bashing session, Brian Billick cited Hoyer's statistics and the reason why the Browns would kick him to the curb for a short quarterback with 24 college starts in a non-pro two-read system.
59%.
That's Brian Hoyer to Brian Billick. 59%. Certainly, using statistics without considering trends or context is for losers.
Well, Hoyer completed a little over 55% in his first start vs. the Vikings. It was a rough start, with two interceptions in the second quarter, and one in the third. I'm not sure, but think the third quarter pick was the perfect pass that got deflected.
Anyway, the ongoing issue was that the Browns had no running game to speak of, so that even before the Vikings had established a lead, it was on Hoyer.
He and his recievers dug the Browns a hole, but come crunch time when he had to, he scored twice to turn defeat into victory. Aside from an above 73% third down and fourth quarter percentage, his aggragate stats don't show this, and former quarterback Brian Billick ought to know it.
(Oh yeah...Billick was a career backup....HMMM!)
By rights, we should just throw out the first half of that game. It was rust. But I won't.
Anyway, then it was the Bangles in Cinci. This was a very good defense. Pasrush and coverage. Marvin Lewis. Here, Hoyer was excellent for the entire game (statistically elite).
Forget Pettine's Bills. Hoyer was injured too early in that game for his (2/4) stats to have any meaning.
Other comments on Hoyer vs. Manziel: Rich Gannon feels there's no substitute for game experience under fire, and young QB's should play. Jim Miller says there's a LOT of benefits to taking it slow and letting the youngster master the mental parts first and getting practice reps before throwing him in.
Former safety Solomon Wilcotts said that if it's a read-option it should be Manziel, but it it's the base offense it needs to be Hoyer. A bunch of people ganged up on him. He kept reminding them of how deceptive that defense is, how raw Manziel actually is, and all the other obvious reasons.
They kept talking about "excitement" and "magic". Wow.
Obviously I agree with Miller/Wilcotts. I think so would Colt McCoy, Tim Couch, Brian Sipe, Kelly Holcomb, Aaron Rodgers, Joe Montana, Drew Brees, and Bernie Kosar.
You get used to the terminology and NFL recievers with NFL DB's covering them. You get used to the rythm and timing. You acquire habits that won't leave you the first time you get hit. You're ready. They train our pilots on simulators--not in combat.
Boxers shadow-box, hit bags, and spar. Want to see what happens to a kid who doesn't? You don't.
Stalin gave the peasants pitchforks and antique rifles and threw them at Hitler. Is that your plan here?
Yes, Kosar had time too. He was a prodigy, but still had four games behind Danielson before he had to come in. And Kosar was a pure pocket quarterback, coming out of a Pro style system designed by Jimmy Johnson.
Game one vs. Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh? You want the run-around kid with twenty four college starts--really? Really?
Anyway in a recent Hoyer-bashing session, Brian Billick cited Hoyer's statistics and the reason why the Browns would kick him to the curb for a short quarterback with 24 college starts in a non-pro two-read system.
59%.
That's Brian Hoyer to Brian Billick. 59%. Certainly, using statistics without considering trends or context is for losers.
Well, Hoyer completed a little over 55% in his first start vs. the Vikings. It was a rough start, with two interceptions in the second quarter, and one in the third. I'm not sure, but think the third quarter pick was the perfect pass that got deflected.
Anyway, the ongoing issue was that the Browns had no running game to speak of, so that even before the Vikings had established a lead, it was on Hoyer.
He and his recievers dug the Browns a hole, but come crunch time when he had to, he scored twice to turn defeat into victory. Aside from an above 73% third down and fourth quarter percentage, his aggragate stats don't show this, and former quarterback Brian Billick ought to know it.
(Oh yeah...Billick was a career backup....HMMM!)
By rights, we should just throw out the first half of that game. It was rust. But I won't.
Anyway, then it was the Bangles in Cinci. This was a very good defense. Pasrush and coverage. Marvin Lewis. Here, Hoyer was excellent for the entire game (statistically elite).
Forget Pettine's Bills. Hoyer was injured too early in that game for his (2/4) stats to have any meaning.
Other comments on Hoyer vs. Manziel: Rich Gannon feels there's no substitute for game experience under fire, and young QB's should play. Jim Miller says there's a LOT of benefits to taking it slow and letting the youngster master the mental parts first and getting practice reps before throwing him in.
Former safety Solomon Wilcotts said that if it's a read-option it should be Manziel, but it it's the base offense it needs to be Hoyer. A bunch of people ganged up on him. He kept reminding them of how deceptive that defense is, how raw Manziel actually is, and all the other obvious reasons.
They kept talking about "excitement" and "magic". Wow.
Obviously I agree with Miller/Wilcotts. I think so would Colt McCoy, Tim Couch, Brian Sipe, Kelly Holcomb, Aaron Rodgers, Joe Montana, Drew Brees, and Bernie Kosar.
You get used to the terminology and NFL recievers with NFL DB's covering them. You get used to the rythm and timing. You acquire habits that won't leave you the first time you get hit. You're ready. They train our pilots on simulators--not in combat.
Boxers shadow-box, hit bags, and spar. Want to see what happens to a kid who doesn't? You don't.
Stalin gave the peasants pitchforks and antique rifles and threw them at Hitler. Is that your plan here?
Yes, Kosar had time too. He was a prodigy, but still had four games behind Danielson before he had to come in. And Kosar was a pure pocket quarterback, coming out of a Pro style system designed by Jimmy Johnson.
Game one vs. Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh? You want the run-around kid with twenty four college starts--really? Really?
Monday, May 19, 2014
You Go Ray!!!
In addition to being a judge of talent, Ray Farmer has just proved to be what I call "the Moron Whisperer".
He just said that regardless of what the coaches or team decide, within the locker room, the players know what's up--and can't respect anybody who gets anything handed to them unless they've earned what they get.
I paraphrase.
This statement has reassured me. The Browns quarterback who starts vs. the Steelers in Pittsburgh will be the one that the Browns (and the p l a y e r s) believe will give them the best chance to win, period.
That's all I (and the players) want.
Sounds like Hoyer to me. Deal with it.
He just said that regardless of what the coaches or team decide, within the locker room, the players know what's up--and can't respect anybody who gets anything handed to them unless they've earned what they get.
I paraphrase.
This statement has reassured me. The Browns quarterback who starts vs. the Steelers in Pittsburgh will be the one that the Browns (and the p l a y e r s) believe will give them the best chance to win, period.
That's all I (and the players) want.
Sounds like Hoyer to me. Deal with it.
Dumber and Dumbest
You keep expecting these guys to learn a couple things about different systems and players, but they just keep saying this dumb stuff, like here: Rant Sports.
This guy predicts the opening day starters, beginning with--naturally--Johnny Manziel at QB because he makes plays that Hoyer can't. (No really--that's it. If he'd only had TWELVE starts in college--nay six--this guy would say the same thing.)
His starting wide recievers are all the old guys. That's okay, except for the slot. He's got Bennett in the slot and Hawkins on the bench. I know the real reason for this is the fact that Bennett is bigger. Period. He's also bigger than Wes Welker and Danny Amendola.
This analyst is playing piano with boxing gloves.
Anyway, now he's got Greco and Bitonio starting at guard. Bitonio sure, but why Greco? Why, because Greco played pretty good last year!
If I could pry his paw out of his 16 ounce glove, I'd try to get the guy to comprehend the difference between a zone-blocking line and a man-blocking line. Greco is a mauler not as well suited (at guard) to the zone system as to a man-blocking system. He used to have pretty good feet, and might test Schwartze at right tackle this season, but he's in the twilight of his career now.
McQuistan was a starter in Seattle's zone system, and did a solid job there. He probably has the advantage over Greco, and then there's Rodney Faulkfield. He will be given every opportunity to start, and WILL start if he's even close to the older players.
The stopped clock nailed the defensive line and OLB's, but called Kruger's contract "massive", which is bullcrap, and said he just needs to improve against the run. This will be hard to do, since he was among the best OLB's in the NFL last season against the run. Sheard, of course, no longer even exists.
ILB Dansby and Kirksey check. I was surprised to read that Dansby wasn't explosive, and was merely solid. Somebody please tell this guy that D'Qwell Jackson is no longer with the team, and Dansby is a different player. He replaced the younger Jackson BECAUSE he's an explosive big-play linebacker.
Cornerbacks check.
He's got Tashaun Gipson at "free safety", and says the Browns can't like this because Gipson is really more of a backup "type", so his tackles and interceptions last season were just a fluke. No matter what.
And look: the base here is cover two with no free or strong safety. Joe Haden let me know recently that they'll run a lot of "single high" stuff, which would put Gipson more often than Whitner in center field. Whitner is bigger and can hit harder, and Gipson is a semi-off-man cornerback, so that makes more sense...but it's cover two. No Chris Rockinses here!
I wish the guy had mentioned the slot corner, because I'll bet he'd have Skrine on the bench and the new 6'1" Desir that clocked 4.59 covering Amendola and Welker.
I keep thinking these guys have to get better, but they get worse instead.
While I've touched on mismatches here, everybody has noticed that many of the undrafted wide recievers are smurfs. I get this: The big tall guys are at a premium, so these perfectly good little guys got dissed.
And everybody wants bigger/taller cornerbacks to cover them.
Well, I just want to point out that the best Head Coaches are the innovators. The're the ONES that everybody else copies. They adapt to changing trends and get ahead of them, and lead the arms race. They don't follow. They lead. And because of it, guys like the one who wrote that article say "What the hell is he doing? Fire him!"
Well, if everybody is getting big, tall cornerbacks, the maybe Kyle will try smurfs.
The taller guys have longer limbs and a higher center of gravity. When they change directions, they're pushing more mass. They'll fatigue sooner, as well. If they can get a good bump on a smurf at the line, they can be okay, but if the little guy dodges that bump, they're overmatched in the open field. Taller corners need to crouch down low to turn quickly, and even this takes too much time--the smurf has a step and is near top speed.
Maybe these smurfs are making lemonade out of lemons.
I'm not predicting another Dolphins offense with the Marks Brothers or anything. I look foreward to Gordon's return, and think the skyscrapers are here to stay. However, I think that maybe two or even more of these smurfs might make the team, and show up situationally in games--
Whenever Kyle can force a defense to try to cover him with a big, tall cornerback.
Just sayin.
This guy predicts the opening day starters, beginning with--naturally--Johnny Manziel at QB because he makes plays that Hoyer can't. (No really--that's it. If he'd only had TWELVE starts in college--nay six--this guy would say the same thing.)
His starting wide recievers are all the old guys. That's okay, except for the slot. He's got Bennett in the slot and Hawkins on the bench. I know the real reason for this is the fact that Bennett is bigger. Period. He's also bigger than Wes Welker and Danny Amendola.
This analyst is playing piano with boxing gloves.
Anyway, now he's got Greco and Bitonio starting at guard. Bitonio sure, but why Greco? Why, because Greco played pretty good last year!
If I could pry his paw out of his 16 ounce glove, I'd try to get the guy to comprehend the difference between a zone-blocking line and a man-blocking line. Greco is a mauler not as well suited (at guard) to the zone system as to a man-blocking system. He used to have pretty good feet, and might test Schwartze at right tackle this season, but he's in the twilight of his career now.
McQuistan was a starter in Seattle's zone system, and did a solid job there. He probably has the advantage over Greco, and then there's Rodney Faulkfield. He will be given every opportunity to start, and WILL start if he's even close to the older players.
The stopped clock nailed the defensive line and OLB's, but called Kruger's contract "massive", which is bullcrap, and said he just needs to improve against the run. This will be hard to do, since he was among the best OLB's in the NFL last season against the run. Sheard, of course, no longer even exists.
ILB Dansby and Kirksey check. I was surprised to read that Dansby wasn't explosive, and was merely solid. Somebody please tell this guy that D'Qwell Jackson is no longer with the team, and Dansby is a different player. He replaced the younger Jackson BECAUSE he's an explosive big-play linebacker.
Cornerbacks check.
He's got Tashaun Gipson at "free safety", and says the Browns can't like this because Gipson is really more of a backup "type", so his tackles and interceptions last season were just a fluke. No matter what.
And look: the base here is cover two with no free or strong safety. Joe Haden let me know recently that they'll run a lot of "single high" stuff, which would put Gipson more often than Whitner in center field. Whitner is bigger and can hit harder, and Gipson is a semi-off-man cornerback, so that makes more sense...but it's cover two. No Chris Rockinses here!
I wish the guy had mentioned the slot corner, because I'll bet he'd have Skrine on the bench and the new 6'1" Desir that clocked 4.59 covering Amendola and Welker.
I keep thinking these guys have to get better, but they get worse instead.
While I've touched on mismatches here, everybody has noticed that many of the undrafted wide recievers are smurfs. I get this: The big tall guys are at a premium, so these perfectly good little guys got dissed.
And everybody wants bigger/taller cornerbacks to cover them.
Well, I just want to point out that the best Head Coaches are the innovators. The're the ONES that everybody else copies. They adapt to changing trends and get ahead of them, and lead the arms race. They don't follow. They lead. And because of it, guys like the one who wrote that article say "What the hell is he doing? Fire him!"
Well, if everybody is getting big, tall cornerbacks, the maybe Kyle will try smurfs.
The taller guys have longer limbs and a higher center of gravity. When they change directions, they're pushing more mass. They'll fatigue sooner, as well. If they can get a good bump on a smurf at the line, they can be okay, but if the little guy dodges that bump, they're overmatched in the open field. Taller corners need to crouch down low to turn quickly, and even this takes too much time--the smurf has a step and is near top speed.
Maybe these smurfs are making lemonade out of lemons.
I'm not predicting another Dolphins offense with the Marks Brothers or anything. I look foreward to Gordon's return, and think the skyscrapers are here to stay. However, I think that maybe two or even more of these smurfs might make the team, and show up situationally in games--
Whenever Kyle can force a defense to try to cover him with a big, tall cornerback.
Just sayin.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Solomon Wilcotts Corrections, Jimmy and NFL Media
I think it was a bad move to take Bernie Kosar out of his preseason color role. Nobody can replace his X's and O's instant insights, and I personally loved him for his blunt, if sometimes brutal, comments.
I hope the rumors I've heard of his being a featured analyst on a weekly show is true.
What's done is done, and Solomon Wilcotts will be taking over for Bernie in preseason.
I read one comment in which this goober ranted that Wilcotts was a former Bengal and Steeler and hated the Browns. This is utter nonsense. Maybe this was the same guy who hears racist "code words" in nearly everything said or written.
I've listened to Solly for years on NFL Radio, and he might be THE most insightful and fairest of them all in re the Cleveland Browns. In fact, he's often forced into defending them, as he was yesterday by co-host Ross Joan Rivers Tucker.
Solly thinks Jimmy Haslam's statements to and about Johnny Manziel only backed up what his head coach had already said. He believes that Pettine meant what he said: Hoyer is the current starter, Johnny will have to pry the job away from him, and he'd prefer any rookie QB to sit the bench for his first season.
And Wilcotts agrees.
He is openly supportive of Haslam. In some detail, he went back to Haslam's purchase of the team and the front office he brought with him. He explains to anyone who cares to listen that he is a first-time owner who quickly realized he had made some mistakes, and didn't screw around in correcting them.
He says that if you talk to those who know, Ray Farmer and Mike Pettine are both held in the highest regard, and however the time-line went, the bottom line is that Haslam has a better structure and team in place.
Ross Tucker likes to pick through each and every sequence of two or more words uttered by anybody to find hidden or deep meanings, and kept bringing up what the QB coach said about Haslam saying "Let's go get him" or something.
AHA! This means we've got another Jerry Jones on our hands!
Solomon points out that these discussions between the parties were old news, and that when it comes to first-round quarterbacks who will be the face of the franchise, every owner will reserve that right, and make that call.
He assures the Chicken Littles and conspiracy theorists that Manziel probably was indeed their highest-ranked quarterback, and Ray Farmer had him targeted anyway. In other words: Big deal.
Today I've read some more national writers bashing Jimmy for telling Manziel to act like a backup. It's fine for Herm Edwards to say that this was a disservice to the young man--you have to listen to a guy like that.
But that's a disagreement. These writers generally don't make sense.
Nor do they get it: Haslam wasn't talking to Johnny. He was talking to THEM.
I'm up to my eyeballs in both the real experts and the hangers-on treating the notion of Brian Hoyer as the opening day starter as laughable. The clueless writers are using this as a premise, and it's bullcrap.
Pettine and Shanahan by now know more about both quarterbacks than anybody else. Some say that the fact that Manziel was drafted in the first round proves that they had no confidence in Hoyer, which is just an olympic-calibre conclusion-leap.
The GMs all know this: If you have a shot at a potential franchise quarterback, you take it--even if you don't need him.
Johnny will have to beat Hoyer out. Assuming that he will, as a rookie, in a new system, with 24 college starts, reflects a deplorable lack of respect for a 4-year NFL vet who played like a franchise QB last season, and won two of the only four victories that team had in his only two complete games.
One ignoramus asserted that Hoyer had no advantage, since the system was new to Hoyer as well as to Manziel. But Hoyer has worked in similar systems in the past. In fact, the New England Patriots system isn't much different.
Four NFL training camps and scout-team reps are absolutely valuable, as we learned from "career backup" Kelly Holcomb. (PS Holcomb never flamed out. He just got hurt).
What if Hoyer simply continues to play the way he played in his last seven quarters? Johnny can't beat that! Hoyer was decisive, accurate, smart, and responded well to pressure. He passed from the pocket, the way he's been practicing to for his whole career.
Of course he's the starter! Of course the Redshirt Sophomore is the backup!
Manziel is very smart, and I know that if he were to read this he wouldn't be angry, and might not even disagree (although he'll never believe anybody is better than him, which is the attitude he has to have, and is fine with me).
As I've mentioned before, Pat Kirwan has often cited the success-rate of college quarterbacks with less than thirty starts who started as rookies. It's dismal. RG3 is the only exception to that rule. Not only did the others do badly, but many never recovered.
Late Note: I forgot Mark Sanchez...but what df happened to him?
But Pat, as I've mentioned, is studiously oblivious to the new personnel, coaching, and systems as well as to the several Pro-Bowlers on this roster. He will, as usual, expect the Browns not to contend.
He is guaranteeing that Manziel will be the opening day starter because he expects Pettine to realize that the awesomely dominating Steelers and Ravens are light years ahead of them, and they don't stand a chance.
So why not get the rookie in there so he can get some experience so that in two or three years he'll be ready to contend?
Did you catch it? Pat says that starting a junior quarterback is almost always bad, but that the Browns should start the little guy here. In-ter-es-ting!
Now that's what's laughable.
By the way...I need to research this: Who was the Jets GM who traded a first round pick to the Patriots for Drew Bledsoe? Might have been Pat Kirwan!
I'll just isolate game 1 and the Stoolers: They added ILB Ryan Shazier, which got a groan from me, because he's just awesome. He can do everything the younger Troy Polumalu did, including in coverage. He will single-handedly make that defense a lot better.
DL Stephen Tuitt is also really good. He'll start at DE and indirectly strengthen and deepen nose tackle.
RB Dre Archer is an explosive little shrimp who could show up in the slot and stuff.
WR Matavias Bryant is a solid reciever overshadowed by Watkins.
The other picks aren't that special. There should be three new starters out of this class.
Gramps Roethsenberger and Gramps Polumalu are still there, the corners are nothing to write home about, the offensive line is still maybe average.
They will get heat on the QB from the outside and the inside, and should be tough to run against as well, but a good zone-blocking team can run on just about anybody, short timing passes are a good answer to a passrush, and the new/improved Browns' defense is more than a match for that offense.
Pat is big on tradition, and the Steelers have traditionally dominated the Browns, therefore always will forever and ever amen. Regardless of coaching and talent.
He's fulla crap.
Of course, that's a home game for the Stoolers. It's harder to beat the referees than the team.
The Browns can contend, and you field your best players in that situation. I believe that with his intelligence, arm, and instincts Johnny Manziel will become a franchise quarterback.
Just not yet.
I hope the rumors I've heard of his being a featured analyst on a weekly show is true.
What's done is done, and Solomon Wilcotts will be taking over for Bernie in preseason.
I read one comment in which this goober ranted that Wilcotts was a former Bengal and Steeler and hated the Browns. This is utter nonsense. Maybe this was the same guy who hears racist "code words" in nearly everything said or written.
I've listened to Solly for years on NFL Radio, and he might be THE most insightful and fairest of them all in re the Cleveland Browns. In fact, he's often forced into defending them, as he was yesterday by co-host Ross Joan Rivers Tucker.
Solly thinks Jimmy Haslam's statements to and about Johnny Manziel only backed up what his head coach had already said. He believes that Pettine meant what he said: Hoyer is the current starter, Johnny will have to pry the job away from him, and he'd prefer any rookie QB to sit the bench for his first season.
And Wilcotts agrees.
He is openly supportive of Haslam. In some detail, he went back to Haslam's purchase of the team and the front office he brought with him. He explains to anyone who cares to listen that he is a first-time owner who quickly realized he had made some mistakes, and didn't screw around in correcting them.
He says that if you talk to those who know, Ray Farmer and Mike Pettine are both held in the highest regard, and however the time-line went, the bottom line is that Haslam has a better structure and team in place.
Ross Tucker likes to pick through each and every sequence of two or more words uttered by anybody to find hidden or deep meanings, and kept bringing up what the QB coach said about Haslam saying "Let's go get him" or something.
AHA! This means we've got another Jerry Jones on our hands!
Solomon points out that these discussions between the parties were old news, and that when it comes to first-round quarterbacks who will be the face of the franchise, every owner will reserve that right, and make that call.
He assures the Chicken Littles and conspiracy theorists that Manziel probably was indeed their highest-ranked quarterback, and Ray Farmer had him targeted anyway. In other words: Big deal.
Today I've read some more national writers bashing Jimmy for telling Manziel to act like a backup. It's fine for Herm Edwards to say that this was a disservice to the young man--you have to listen to a guy like that.
But that's a disagreement. These writers generally don't make sense.
Nor do they get it: Haslam wasn't talking to Johnny. He was talking to THEM.
I'm up to my eyeballs in both the real experts and the hangers-on treating the notion of Brian Hoyer as the opening day starter as laughable. The clueless writers are using this as a premise, and it's bullcrap.
Pettine and Shanahan by now know more about both quarterbacks than anybody else. Some say that the fact that Manziel was drafted in the first round proves that they had no confidence in Hoyer, which is just an olympic-calibre conclusion-leap.
The GMs all know this: If you have a shot at a potential franchise quarterback, you take it--even if you don't need him.
Johnny will have to beat Hoyer out. Assuming that he will, as a rookie, in a new system, with 24 college starts, reflects a deplorable lack of respect for a 4-year NFL vet who played like a franchise QB last season, and won two of the only four victories that team had in his only two complete games.
One ignoramus asserted that Hoyer had no advantage, since the system was new to Hoyer as well as to Manziel. But Hoyer has worked in similar systems in the past. In fact, the New England Patriots system isn't much different.
Four NFL training camps and scout-team reps are absolutely valuable, as we learned from "career backup" Kelly Holcomb. (PS Holcomb never flamed out. He just got hurt).
What if Hoyer simply continues to play the way he played in his last seven quarters? Johnny can't beat that! Hoyer was decisive, accurate, smart, and responded well to pressure. He passed from the pocket, the way he's been practicing to for his whole career.
Of course he's the starter! Of course the Redshirt Sophomore is the backup!
Manziel is very smart, and I know that if he were to read this he wouldn't be angry, and might not even disagree (although he'll never believe anybody is better than him, which is the attitude he has to have, and is fine with me).
As I've mentioned before, Pat Kirwan has often cited the success-rate of college quarterbacks with less than thirty starts who started as rookies. It's dismal. RG3 is the only exception to that rule. Not only did the others do badly, but many never recovered.
Late Note: I forgot Mark Sanchez...but what df happened to him?
But Pat, as I've mentioned, is studiously oblivious to the new personnel, coaching, and systems as well as to the several Pro-Bowlers on this roster. He will, as usual, expect the Browns not to contend.
He is guaranteeing that Manziel will be the opening day starter because he expects Pettine to realize that the awesomely dominating Steelers and Ravens are light years ahead of them, and they don't stand a chance.
So why not get the rookie in there so he can get some experience so that in two or three years he'll be ready to contend?
Did you catch it? Pat says that starting a junior quarterback is almost always bad, but that the Browns should start the little guy here. In-ter-es-ting!
Now that's what's laughable.
By the way...I need to research this: Who was the Jets GM who traded a first round pick to the Patriots for Drew Bledsoe? Might have been Pat Kirwan!
I'll just isolate game 1 and the Stoolers: They added ILB Ryan Shazier, which got a groan from me, because he's just awesome. He can do everything the younger Troy Polumalu did, including in coverage. He will single-handedly make that defense a lot better.
DL Stephen Tuitt is also really good. He'll start at DE and indirectly strengthen and deepen nose tackle.
RB Dre Archer is an explosive little shrimp who could show up in the slot and stuff.
WR Matavias Bryant is a solid reciever overshadowed by Watkins.
The other picks aren't that special. There should be three new starters out of this class.
Gramps Roethsenberger and Gramps Polumalu are still there, the corners are nothing to write home about, the offensive line is still maybe average.
They will get heat on the QB from the outside and the inside, and should be tough to run against as well, but a good zone-blocking team can run on just about anybody, short timing passes are a good answer to a passrush, and the new/improved Browns' defense is more than a match for that offense.
Pat is big on tradition, and the Steelers have traditionally dominated the Browns, therefore always will forever and ever amen. Regardless of coaching and talent.
He's fulla crap.
Of course, that's a home game for the Stoolers. It's harder to beat the referees than the team.
The Browns can contend, and you field your best players in that situation. I believe that with his intelligence, arm, and instincts Johnny Manziel will become a franchise quarterback.
Just not yet.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Potential and Competition at WR: Let the Games Begin
The signings of Earl Bennett and Miles Austin aren't spectacular, but do most certainly improve the '14 Browns prospects at WR.
Bennett is the anti-Little. He's been overshadowed by a couple of great ones in Chicago, so he hasn't had a lot of catches, but he gets open and is sure-handed. He has nice size to play outside, and unlike in Chicago, here he'll get his long-awaited opportunity to start.
This guy is and has generally stayed healthy, is only 27, and should win the possession role here. One former Chicago resident compared him to Brian Brennan: "Mister Third Down".
For you young whippersnappers, Brennan was the first, or one of the first slot recievers in the NFL. He didn't start, but was the third (inside) reciever on third down. Everybody knew what he was about, but they still couldn't stop him from moving the chains.
Bennett is much, much bigger than Brennan and won't have a problem playing outside/starting.
Miles Austin is just a calculated risk. He's still young, but has been injury-prone as hell (especially his hamstrings). History doesn't bode well for his health, but IF IF IF he can for once remain healthy, Ray Farmer just hit a home run. This guy makes big plays.
Interesting note: He was an undrafted free agent. I was going to say "like Charles Johnson" (Rodney Johnsonfield), except Johnson was drafted by the Packers.
Johnson has number one ability, and Austin isn't the default guy for obvious reasons. I feel confident that Pettine and Shanahan are not blockheads, and will let Johnson have his shot, even if Austin is healthy.
It's also possible he could knock Bennett back, because he can do all the underneath stuff as well.
Likewise, Gurley should get his shot at the possession role.
Aside from Johnson and Austin, there's nothing special here, but the odds of the Browns' having a respectable or even good Gordon-free WR corps just shot up, however these chips fall.
Charles Johnson: Watch this guy!
Bennett is the anti-Little. He's been overshadowed by a couple of great ones in Chicago, so he hasn't had a lot of catches, but he gets open and is sure-handed. He has nice size to play outside, and unlike in Chicago, here he'll get his long-awaited opportunity to start.
This guy is and has generally stayed healthy, is only 27, and should win the possession role here. One former Chicago resident compared him to Brian Brennan: "Mister Third Down".
For you young whippersnappers, Brennan was the first, or one of the first slot recievers in the NFL. He didn't start, but was the third (inside) reciever on third down. Everybody knew what he was about, but they still couldn't stop him from moving the chains.
Bennett is much, much bigger than Brennan and won't have a problem playing outside/starting.
Miles Austin is just a calculated risk. He's still young, but has been injury-prone as hell (especially his hamstrings). History doesn't bode well for his health, but IF IF IF he can for once remain healthy, Ray Farmer just hit a home run. This guy makes big plays.
Interesting note: He was an undrafted free agent. I was going to say "like Charles Johnson" (Rodney Johnsonfield), except Johnson was drafted by the Packers.
Johnson has number one ability, and Austin isn't the default guy for obvious reasons. I feel confident that Pettine and Shanahan are not blockheads, and will let Johnson have his shot, even if Austin is healthy.
It's also possible he could knock Bennett back, because he can do all the underneath stuff as well.
Likewise, Gurley should get his shot at the possession role.
Aside from Johnson and Austin, there's nothing special here, but the odds of the Browns' having a respectable or even good Gordon-free WR corps just shot up, however these chips fall.
Charles Johnson: Watch this guy!
Consensus on Johnny Manziel
The only consensus on Manziel is that he's exciting.
Ron Jaworski and Warren Moon seem to be the biggest detractors worth listening to.
After watching five games, Jaws said he wouldn't draft Manziel before the fourth round, then stood by it for awhile. After Manziel's Pro Day, he moved him into the third round.
Jaws was criticized for this, but the criticism was deliberately ignorant. Jaws wanted to see the ball come out of his hand, and if he could hit every part of the field, and he did. So Jaws gave him a modest promotion. Big freaking deal.
In the most recent Jaworski analysis I've found, he had Manziel ranked third in the class, ahead of Bridgewater, and I'm guessing behind Bortles and Carr.
He got bashed for that, but he never said he thought any of these quarterbacks were anything special.
Now, Warren Moon went into more detail: He said that what made Manziel special was his ability to improvise. But in the NFL, regardless of the system, he'd have to play in a structure--and how good could he be then?
This is why I cooled on Manziel myself. If you remember Warren Moon, he was a superior athlete himself, and speaks from experience.
Gil Brandt is kind of on the other side of it. Gil almost rants about his psychological and white board tests. He read and diagnosed every defense. Every called for check-with-me call, primary, hot read, check-down etc. in sequence.
No QB in history has out-done him mentally, including Luck and Manning.
Gil (and most others) say that his leadership is innate and instinctive. He thrives on adversity. He's who you look to when the building is burning down around you.
I don't think Jaws looked at this. Jaworski probably found mistakes he'd made, and didn't like his mechanics. He might not even have considered the other intangibles. "He completely overlooks this guy here, and throws it here instead". "He got lucky with that one. He just threw it up there".
And I stipulate here that Jaws is always right about this stuff.
Roger Staubach is a third ex-QB who weighed in on Manziel. He loves him. He says he'll succeed. And it's Texas A and M, so Roger probably saw all his games.
I think it might have been Bill Parcells, (who seemed carefully neutral on Manziel), who pointed out that picking at his mechanics was a little silly. He has rare balance and body control, and can throw accurately (and all-arm) from any position. Elway couldn't do this as well as him. Tarkenton could. Montana could. Marino, Kelly, Manning, Brady, and most of the rest can't.
This is why there is one model for throwing mechanics--so that normal guys can get better at it. But Manziel isn't a normal guy. When he can stand and deliver, his mechanics are fine, but when he's flushed and running for his life or being tackled, his mechanics are flawed...except he still hits where he aims, so who tf cares?
But Jaws and Moon are making good points: Manziel is not yet a franchise quarterback.
As Pat Kirwan, (who expects Manziel to be the opening day starter over that bumb Hoyer), pointed out to Joe Namath, Manziel only started 24 college games.
Namath said he thinks Manziel was "spectacular". He said he was very smart--"at least football smart", and would be a winner.
"Of course, I don't know if he'll start right away, out of respect for Hoyer" THANK YOU JOE! PAT WERE YOU LISTENING?
The kid needs refinement. As Pat would tell you (were anybody but Hoyer the current quarterback), he should ideally sit for a season. Pat thinks all juniors should. Except now. Partly because it's the Browns, so who cares?
Pat is a big Steeler fan, though he tries a little to hide it. He annually picks them for first in the division or a playoff spot, no matter how many holes they have, or how old they get. The fact that he's been wrong for the past two seasons will only convince him that they're overdue. Again.
When talking about Andre Johnson, he once again dismissed the Browns as suitors: "They don't fit his criteria"--subject closed. Pat has already made up his mind that the '14 Browns will be losers again, no matter what.
Made up his mind last season.
No matter what.
Ron Jaworski and Warren Moon seem to be the biggest detractors worth listening to.
After watching five games, Jaws said he wouldn't draft Manziel before the fourth round, then stood by it for awhile. After Manziel's Pro Day, he moved him into the third round.
Jaws was criticized for this, but the criticism was deliberately ignorant. Jaws wanted to see the ball come out of his hand, and if he could hit every part of the field, and he did. So Jaws gave him a modest promotion. Big freaking deal.
In the most recent Jaworski analysis I've found, he had Manziel ranked third in the class, ahead of Bridgewater, and I'm guessing behind Bortles and Carr.
He got bashed for that, but he never said he thought any of these quarterbacks were anything special.
Now, Warren Moon went into more detail: He said that what made Manziel special was his ability to improvise. But in the NFL, regardless of the system, he'd have to play in a structure--and how good could he be then?
This is why I cooled on Manziel myself. If you remember Warren Moon, he was a superior athlete himself, and speaks from experience.
Gil Brandt is kind of on the other side of it. Gil almost rants about his psychological and white board tests. He read and diagnosed every defense. Every called for check-with-me call, primary, hot read, check-down etc. in sequence.
No QB in history has out-done him mentally, including Luck and Manning.
Gil (and most others) say that his leadership is innate and instinctive. He thrives on adversity. He's who you look to when the building is burning down around you.
I don't think Jaws looked at this. Jaworski probably found mistakes he'd made, and didn't like his mechanics. He might not even have considered the other intangibles. "He completely overlooks this guy here, and throws it here instead". "He got lucky with that one. He just threw it up there".
And I stipulate here that Jaws is always right about this stuff.
Roger Staubach is a third ex-QB who weighed in on Manziel. He loves him. He says he'll succeed. And it's Texas A and M, so Roger probably saw all his games.
I think it might have been Bill Parcells, (who seemed carefully neutral on Manziel), who pointed out that picking at his mechanics was a little silly. He has rare balance and body control, and can throw accurately (and all-arm) from any position. Elway couldn't do this as well as him. Tarkenton could. Montana could. Marino, Kelly, Manning, Brady, and most of the rest can't.
This is why there is one model for throwing mechanics--so that normal guys can get better at it. But Manziel isn't a normal guy. When he can stand and deliver, his mechanics are fine, but when he's flushed and running for his life or being tackled, his mechanics are flawed...except he still hits where he aims, so who tf cares?
But Jaws and Moon are making good points: Manziel is not yet a franchise quarterback.
As Pat Kirwan, (who expects Manziel to be the opening day starter over that bumb Hoyer), pointed out to Joe Namath, Manziel only started 24 college games.
Namath said he thinks Manziel was "spectacular". He said he was very smart--"at least football smart", and would be a winner.
"Of course, I don't know if he'll start right away, out of respect for Hoyer" THANK YOU JOE! PAT WERE YOU LISTENING?
The kid needs refinement. As Pat would tell you (were anybody but Hoyer the current quarterback), he should ideally sit for a season. Pat thinks all juniors should. Except now. Partly because it's the Browns, so who cares?
Pat is a big Steeler fan, though he tries a little to hide it. He annually picks them for first in the division or a playoff spot, no matter how many holes they have, or how old they get. The fact that he's been wrong for the past two seasons will only convince him that they're overdue. Again.
When talking about Andre Johnson, he once again dismissed the Browns as suitors: "They don't fit his criteria"--subject closed. Pat has already made up his mind that the '14 Browns will be losers again, no matter what.
Made up his mind last season.
No matter what.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Browns Fan Comments
Glenn Moore of the PD wrote a piece on the possibility of the Browns aquiring disgruntled WR Charles Johnson. The fan comments after the piece were stunning. I just have to use them to make some points:
I am most concerned that Gordon allegedly knew about this since "early winter". Did he not tell the team like it was going to go away? Did the league not tell the team about the failed screening at the same time they told Gordon? That would mean that the team knew at least 4 months before the draft and did nothing.
Still not a believer in Farmer's level of gray matter.
And lest anybody doubt it, the starting QB will be whoever Gentleman Jimma Haslam says it will be. I seriously doubt neither Farmer or Pettine will EVERY stand up to the ol' southern boy with neck of red knowing how he just one day up and decided to fire his 2 top lieutenants.
Idiot. I try to sound like this clown to be funny, but they're really out there!
It's about time the Browns start doing what they've been wanting to do since ........... forever, run the ball and stop the run. If they do that, the receivers won't be such a big deal.
Please. Seattle has decent recievers sufficient to threaten defenses.
Without decent recievers, defenses can stack the box and run-blitze to stop any running game. If just one run is stopped cold on first down it's second and ten. Get it?
Everybody just sit down and relax. There's still plenty of time to get a receiver, if needed. Does anyone think there are any 1600 + receivers out there? Receiving just might be done by committee this year.
...Huh?
I'm hoping the Brows can get some mileage out of the guys on their roster. Tori Gurley's been a bit of a journeyman in his still yet short NFL career, but you never know. I seem to recall James Harrison bounced around a number of camps until he clicked with the Steelers. Likewise, I'd like to see what Charles Johnson can do, he's got the size, played at a relatively small school, according to previous scouting reports, ran in the 4.4/4.5 range, encouraging that he Packers had him on their practice squad, like the OT LSU product Faulk, had the ACL injury before he even got here. Haven't heard much about Johnson or Faulk, but they are reasons to have some hope. I also wonder, hey were fans right? about the plan for Marquis Gray, I watched him play our here at Minnesota for a number of years and his junior year as a wide out he performed very well, he's bulked up a bit to play the te role, but I'm wondering if he lost 10 pounds that he could be in the mix and see what he can do as well. Seeing quite a few big ten games out this way, I saw quite a bit of Iowa and the backer the Browns got in round 3 is a player. The hawkeyes lb's play a lot of different roles, Christian is a physical player, to me his cover skills are almost like having a third safety on the field, a nice compliment for Dansby. Lastly, I want to chime on the espn piece regarding rumblings about the league changing gears on marijuana. Maybe too much hope here, but hoping Josh's alleged violation will be viewed in the light of whatever this new policy will be put in place.
No comment. Not dumb.
There was another one...from some clown who...writes everything he writes...like this...with the pauses...you know? I guess...he thinks it's...profound or...something.
There was debate about the national perception of the Browns. Some sheisskoffs ranked then 32 out of 32 in their power rankings.
The reality is that opinions are mixed, and many view the Browns as contenders IF they fix wide reciever. Johnson might be smart enough to recognize the very talented team this is.
1: QB: Johnson will probably fall for the bullcrap about Hoyer, but be interested by Manziel.
2: RB: Need you ask?
3: Added to Thomas and Mack are Bitonio and McQuistan. As Peter Smith of Dawg Pound Daily points out, not only Bitonio, but McQuistan could challenge Schwartze at right tackle, but both fit as zone-blocking guards, and Bitonio will be exceptional. A very, very strong offensive line.
4: TE: Johnson would like working with Cameron.
5: Johnson will understand that the defense has replaced Jackson with Dansby, added Kirksey to dramaticly improve coverage, will now field an elite corps of shut-down cornerbacks, and added the hardest-hitting safety in football. A great 3-4 AND 4-3 defensive line, and (a player should know) the outside passrush will obviously improve.
True, Johnson knows he's on his last legs, and wants a Superbowl more than anything else. There are other teams with better prospects this season, and nothing is certain next season. But unless the Patriots free up some space, the other teams can't pay the price in draft picks or money.
As for the assertion by the homer writer that Johnson won't go anywhere due to his contract, that's just plain dumb. After june first, the dead cap-space goes down to around seven million, the bulk of that money is not guaranteed, and the contract is reasonable for at least this season, after which it could be re-negotiated.
Oh yes, it could: A 33-year old player will take less in order to get a greater portion of it paid as a bonus, or guaranteed.
Johnson is no doubt fading, and can't be expected to be what he was in his prime, but he has the size and the hands to remain a reliable target worth a little under eight million to this team this year.
Worth a third round pick or lower, which a team devoid of leverage might be inclined to accept.
I don't hate taking older players this year. This is a very strong team which can contend right now, and this guy is still a difference-maker.
We'll see. The guy just got a great new coach, and he's not really being fair. He might well decide to stay.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Now that Joe is signed, I have the nickname for the Browns' secondary--or maybe defense:
The BEREA TRIANGLE
Where footballs mysteriously vanish, and sometimes reappear moving in the opposite direction.
The BEREA TRIANGLE
Where footballs mysteriously vanish, and sometimes reappear moving in the opposite direction.
As the Stomach Turns
Ray was all set to draft Bridgewater at 26, but one of two large bent-nosed Italian men handed him a note. The note said "Get Manziel or else, see? Jimmy H".
Ray, who was relieved that da boss had not discovered the affair he was having with his wife after all, then had to trade away one third round pick in order to accomplish this move.
Ray would, of course, never have drafted Manziel himself.
A little later, Ray got a similar note: "Don't draft any wide recievers, or else. Jimmy H".
This was just a reminder. Jimmy H had already had one of his famous Hitlerian tantrums over Josh Gordon, and has asserted that all wide recievers were idiots. He had ordered Kyle Shanahan to design a wide recieverless offense.
Haslam then boarded a flight for Dallas. He had scheduled a meeting with Jerry Jones for advice on how to run an NFL franchise.
Oh, come on, Mary Kay!
Here is what I would have done: I would have made the same trade Ray did, targeting Johnny Evans as I hear/believe he did. When Evans was gone, I would have taken Wilkins just like he did.
I would not have targeted Manziel. The thing is, I haven't interviewed and studied these quarterbacks, and don't even understand all of the mechanics. I'm not qualified.
With that disclaimer in mind, I have confidence in Hoyer, but might have nabbed Bridgewater for insurance. As Jim Miller keeps stressing, his arm is stronger than people think, and he is the only one of these quarterbacks capable of stepping in for Hoyer immediately if necessary. Well, and Derrick Weeden.
Signing a player in the first round enables you to underpay him for up to five years, whereas the lower picks contracts expire after three, period.
In my mind, Hoyer kicks butt, and Bridgewater shows great stuff in preseason, but waits. At some point in the first two years, Hoyer is injured, and Teddy steps in and kicks ass too. Now you can trade one or the other for some really good draft picks.
OR I'm wrong about Hoyer and we have the most NFL-ready quarterback in this draft.
I would also have drafted Jordan Matthews in the second round--but really Bitonio looks like another Fanika, and could make an even bigger difference believe it or not. Between Ray and me, you should listen to Ray.
Setting my ego aside, along with this stupid Reality soap opera crap about Jimmy interfering already, I'm re-examining Manziel.
It's been pointed out that during his Heisman year, he sucked in the pocket. But last season, he made around 40% of his throws from the pocket, and completed 73% SEVENTY THREE PERCENT of them. I'm not sure, but I believe that those who picked on him over the pocket thing went back two seasons without regard to trends or improvement, which is Memorex Moron stuff.
I was also going to say this as a joke, but the more I thought of it, the less funny it sounded. He has size sixteen feet. If he stands on his toes he's at least 6'6" and can see the field over the linemen. (Go ahead and laugh anyway it is funny.)
Oh here's Ross Tucker talking to Grossi on NFL Radio. I love Ross, but he's like an old lady gossiping over a fence. Trying to get Grossi to agree that Jimmy is a meddler. When Ross talks football, he's one of my top sources. But when he talks gossip, I ignore him.
Tony is for once standing up for Hoyer. Now he's pointing out how Hoyer was in the process of rescuing the season last year when he was injured. He now sounds like he didn't think quarterback was a huge need.
I agree with him: It's not fair that a bunch of juvenile, starstruck fans and pundits will tilt the playing field as heavily in Manziel's favor as they will. Hoyer not only has to beat Manziel out, but also the mob.
I'll add more later
It's later: Pat Kirwan has weighed in. He doesn't care what Haslam says, Manziel will start opening day. Nothing Hoyer has done changes Pat's mind. As he continued, I realized that nothing that has happened since last season has changed his mind about the Browns.
He's talking about last years' team, as if the new coaches, free agents, and draft picks mean nothing. Just as he dismissed what Pettine and Haslam said about competition and Manziel being a backup for now, he also dismisses anybody who says that the Browns will resemble Seattle with a strong running game and defense, which will help the quarterback.
Kirwan has more football expertise in his little pinky than I do in my whole brain, but I can honestly say that I USE that brain a lot more efficiently.
They just plugged every hole in their defense, and might now have the best press corner tandem in the NFL. They already had a top 5 3-4 D-line, and it will also be a top five 4-man defensive line when deployed that way! Dansby and possibly the best coverage linebacker in this draft don't matter to Pat.
Two new guards, including one who could be another Fanika, Shanahan's zone-blocking system with THREE new one-cut running backs don't even register with him.
No, Pat says this team will be playing from behind and be forced to pass, maybe sixty times a game.
Unbelievable. Pat is a Memorex Moron. What a waste!
He claims he checked the Browns roster "Nothing there". Then he didn't really check, because he would have at least mentioned Charles Johnson in order to dismiss him off-handedly like he dismisses a whole lot of other facts.
Johnson is 6'2", 215 and ran under 4.38 twice and this is-- as Pat likes to say--inter-esting.
But I digress. In reality, the Browns will obviously have a much stronger running game and defense this season, which will help the quarterback. Just as obviously, they really need wide recievers bad.
Benjamin could help, but won't be fully recovered from his own acl thing. He might have his straight-line speed back, but be unable to cut to one side effectively.
Out of necessity, they've got to give Braylon Little another shot. I don't know--there's a chance.
Anyway, this is another reason NOT to screw Hoyer out of what he's earned.
Look, the West Coast is a sophisticated offense with which Hoyer is familiar. Manziel is used to running when his first or second reads aren't there.
To be honest, I'm not sure of Texas A&M's system, but most college quarterbacks rely on their eyes, and throw when they SEE a guy open. It's very hard for some guys to throw to a SPOT with the reciever's back still turned to him.
The players on this team were looking forward to Hoyer starting. They had confidence in him. If Manziel can actually prove that he is already better than Hoyer, ok. But if Pettine succumbs to public pressure, and starts the second-best quarterback, they will lose respect for him, and resent the situation, if not the anointed one himself.
Kirwan talks about "four career starts" as if four training camps, all that time under Brady, and all that practice are meaningless, but they're not.
What about Tom Brady, Pat? Wasn't even a full-time starter at Michigan. Too skinny. Weak arm. Nobody wanted him. Accuracy issues.
But he got bigger and stronger. He developed a strong arm. He became very accurate at every level.
But Brady was special, right? It's not even possible that some of that rubbed off on Brian Hoyer? Don't you know, whatever Brady did to improve himself, Hoyer has been doing?
Pat Kirwan would have put Drew Bledsoe back as the starter when he was healed. Bill Belichick TRADED the first-round pick WITHIN HIS DIVISION and KEPT (the as yet still developing) Brady!!!
The sixth round pick. The guy nobody else wanted. The inexperienced, still imperfect guy! Pat would never have done any of these things.
When Marc Sanchez was drafted, Pat pointed out a scary statistic: Junior quarterbacks who start as rookies almost always fail. They need over thirty starts in college before they have a statistically decent chance.
RG3 was the one exception to this rule since. Wilson and Luck were both old hands. So is it based on RG3 that Pat now thinks starting an inexperienced kid is smart here?
When he asserts that the Browns will be playing from behind, have to pass a lot, and don't have any wide recievers?
I see! Pat hates Manziel! He wants to see him get destroyed! That explains it! It's the only thing that makes sense!
Pat Kirwan is the guy who described how two college defenses at least slowed Johnny down. He said they contained him--the ends didn't penetrate too far or get behind him. Everybody stayed in his lane and gave him nowhere to scramble.
They used what Pat called "phantom blitzes" in which a linebacker would take a step to fake a blitze, but then back off again into coverage.
Pat didn't go further, but I know that he meant that one of his recievers read it and diverted to that linebacker's coverage zone--to find himself covered. Manziel skipped his progression to look for his hot read--who was covered.
I still learn a ton from Pat. If anybody else had said the stuff he said, I'd call him an idiot. All I can say to Pat is, I don't think he really thought it through or did his homework.
I love Marty Schottenheimer too, but he was a blockhead. Ok. Pat Kirwan is a blockhead. He'll believe the strong running game and the dominating defense when he sees it, but lacks the imagination to see it coming.
And he'll NEVER accept Hoyer as more than a backup, no matter what he does.
Good for Haslam calling Manziel a backup! That wasn't for Johnny. I have little doubt that he and Pettine have privately assured him that he'll have his chance, but they expect Hoyer to keep the job. Most likely they asked him if he could be honest enough with himself to accept that Hoyer was better for now.
No, that statement was for Pat Kirwan and the MOB. Right up front, he wants everybody to know that Peter King, Pat Kirwan, and the mob are not running this team, and this team belongs to Hoyer until the kid takes it from him fair and square.
Want a second opinion? Ask the players in that locker room.
Want a third opinion? Ask Bud Shaw.
Ray, who was relieved that da boss had not discovered the affair he was having with his wife after all, then had to trade away one third round pick in order to accomplish this move.
Ray would, of course, never have drafted Manziel himself.
A little later, Ray got a similar note: "Don't draft any wide recievers, or else. Jimmy H".
This was just a reminder. Jimmy H had already had one of his famous Hitlerian tantrums over Josh Gordon, and has asserted that all wide recievers were idiots. He had ordered Kyle Shanahan to design a wide recieverless offense.
Haslam then boarded a flight for Dallas. He had scheduled a meeting with Jerry Jones for advice on how to run an NFL franchise.
Oh, come on, Mary Kay!
Here is what I would have done: I would have made the same trade Ray did, targeting Johnny Evans as I hear/believe he did. When Evans was gone, I would have taken Wilkins just like he did.
I would not have targeted Manziel. The thing is, I haven't interviewed and studied these quarterbacks, and don't even understand all of the mechanics. I'm not qualified.
With that disclaimer in mind, I have confidence in Hoyer, but might have nabbed Bridgewater for insurance. As Jim Miller keeps stressing, his arm is stronger than people think, and he is the only one of these quarterbacks capable of stepping in for Hoyer immediately if necessary. Well, and Derrick Weeden.
Signing a player in the first round enables you to underpay him for up to five years, whereas the lower picks contracts expire after three, period.
In my mind, Hoyer kicks butt, and Bridgewater shows great stuff in preseason, but waits. At some point in the first two years, Hoyer is injured, and Teddy steps in and kicks ass too. Now you can trade one or the other for some really good draft picks.
OR I'm wrong about Hoyer and we have the most NFL-ready quarterback in this draft.
I would also have drafted Jordan Matthews in the second round--but really Bitonio looks like another Fanika, and could make an even bigger difference believe it or not. Between Ray and me, you should listen to Ray.
Setting my ego aside, along with this stupid Reality soap opera crap about Jimmy interfering already, I'm re-examining Manziel.
It's been pointed out that during his Heisman year, he sucked in the pocket. But last season, he made around 40% of his throws from the pocket, and completed 73% SEVENTY THREE PERCENT of them. I'm not sure, but I believe that those who picked on him over the pocket thing went back two seasons without regard to trends or improvement, which is Memorex Moron stuff.
I was also going to say this as a joke, but the more I thought of it, the less funny it sounded. He has size sixteen feet. If he stands on his toes he's at least 6'6" and can see the field over the linemen. (Go ahead and laugh anyway it is funny.)
Oh here's Ross Tucker talking to Grossi on NFL Radio. I love Ross, but he's like an old lady gossiping over a fence. Trying to get Grossi to agree that Jimmy is a meddler. When Ross talks football, he's one of my top sources. But when he talks gossip, I ignore him.
Tony is for once standing up for Hoyer. Now he's pointing out how Hoyer was in the process of rescuing the season last year when he was injured. He now sounds like he didn't think quarterback was a huge need.
I agree with him: It's not fair that a bunch of juvenile, starstruck fans and pundits will tilt the playing field as heavily in Manziel's favor as they will. Hoyer not only has to beat Manziel out, but also the mob.
I'll add more later
It's later: Pat Kirwan has weighed in. He doesn't care what Haslam says, Manziel will start opening day. Nothing Hoyer has done changes Pat's mind. As he continued, I realized that nothing that has happened since last season has changed his mind about the Browns.
He's talking about last years' team, as if the new coaches, free agents, and draft picks mean nothing. Just as he dismissed what Pettine and Haslam said about competition and Manziel being a backup for now, he also dismisses anybody who says that the Browns will resemble Seattle with a strong running game and defense, which will help the quarterback.
Kirwan has more football expertise in his little pinky than I do in my whole brain, but I can honestly say that I USE that brain a lot more efficiently.
They just plugged every hole in their defense, and might now have the best press corner tandem in the NFL. They already had a top 5 3-4 D-line, and it will also be a top five 4-man defensive line when deployed that way! Dansby and possibly the best coverage linebacker in this draft don't matter to Pat.
Two new guards, including one who could be another Fanika, Shanahan's zone-blocking system with THREE new one-cut running backs don't even register with him.
No, Pat says this team will be playing from behind and be forced to pass, maybe sixty times a game.
Unbelievable. Pat is a Memorex Moron. What a waste!
He claims he checked the Browns roster "Nothing there". Then he didn't really check, because he would have at least mentioned Charles Johnson in order to dismiss him off-handedly like he dismisses a whole lot of other facts.
Johnson is 6'2", 215 and ran under 4.38 twice and this is-- as Pat likes to say--inter-esting.
But I digress. In reality, the Browns will obviously have a much stronger running game and defense this season, which will help the quarterback. Just as obviously, they really need wide recievers bad.
Benjamin could help, but won't be fully recovered from his own acl thing. He might have his straight-line speed back, but be unable to cut to one side effectively.
Out of necessity, they've got to give Braylon Little another shot. I don't know--there's a chance.
Anyway, this is another reason NOT to screw Hoyer out of what he's earned.
Look, the West Coast is a sophisticated offense with which Hoyer is familiar. Manziel is used to running when his first or second reads aren't there.
To be honest, I'm not sure of Texas A&M's system, but most college quarterbacks rely on their eyes, and throw when they SEE a guy open. It's very hard for some guys to throw to a SPOT with the reciever's back still turned to him.
The players on this team were looking forward to Hoyer starting. They had confidence in him. If Manziel can actually prove that he is already better than Hoyer, ok. But if Pettine succumbs to public pressure, and starts the second-best quarterback, they will lose respect for him, and resent the situation, if not the anointed one himself.
Kirwan talks about "four career starts" as if four training camps, all that time under Brady, and all that practice are meaningless, but they're not.
What about Tom Brady, Pat? Wasn't even a full-time starter at Michigan. Too skinny. Weak arm. Nobody wanted him. Accuracy issues.
But he got bigger and stronger. He developed a strong arm. He became very accurate at every level.
But Brady was special, right? It's not even possible that some of that rubbed off on Brian Hoyer? Don't you know, whatever Brady did to improve himself, Hoyer has been doing?
Pat Kirwan would have put Drew Bledsoe back as the starter when he was healed. Bill Belichick TRADED the first-round pick WITHIN HIS DIVISION and KEPT (the as yet still developing) Brady!!!
The sixth round pick. The guy nobody else wanted. The inexperienced, still imperfect guy! Pat would never have done any of these things.
When Marc Sanchez was drafted, Pat pointed out a scary statistic: Junior quarterbacks who start as rookies almost always fail. They need over thirty starts in college before they have a statistically decent chance.
RG3 was the one exception to this rule since. Wilson and Luck were both old hands. So is it based on RG3 that Pat now thinks starting an inexperienced kid is smart here?
When he asserts that the Browns will be playing from behind, have to pass a lot, and don't have any wide recievers?
I see! Pat hates Manziel! He wants to see him get destroyed! That explains it! It's the only thing that makes sense!
Pat Kirwan is the guy who described how two college defenses at least slowed Johnny down. He said they contained him--the ends didn't penetrate too far or get behind him. Everybody stayed in his lane and gave him nowhere to scramble.
They used what Pat called "phantom blitzes" in which a linebacker would take a step to fake a blitze, but then back off again into coverage.
Pat didn't go further, but I know that he meant that one of his recievers read it and diverted to that linebacker's coverage zone--to find himself covered. Manziel skipped his progression to look for his hot read--who was covered.
I still learn a ton from Pat. If anybody else had said the stuff he said, I'd call him an idiot. All I can say to Pat is, I don't think he really thought it through or did his homework.
I love Marty Schottenheimer too, but he was a blockhead. Ok. Pat Kirwan is a blockhead. He'll believe the strong running game and the dominating defense when he sees it, but lacks the imagination to see it coming.
And he'll NEVER accept Hoyer as more than a backup, no matter what he does.
Good for Haslam calling Manziel a backup! That wasn't for Johnny. I have little doubt that he and Pettine have privately assured him that he'll have his chance, but they expect Hoyer to keep the job. Most likely they asked him if he could be honest enough with himself to accept that Hoyer was better for now.
No, that statement was for Pat Kirwan and the MOB. Right up front, he wants everybody to know that Peter King, Pat Kirwan, and the mob are not running this team, and this team belongs to Hoyer until the kid takes it from him fair and square.
Want a second opinion? Ask the players in that locker room.
Want a third opinion? Ask Bud Shaw.
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Grading the Browns Draft
Phil Taylor at 22: That's an A...huh?
Oh I'm sorry. How concieted would it be for me, just a guy, to second-guess a GM on this draft? Isn't that like a first grader grading his teacher? Are you kidding?
After three years, one can grade a draft. The results are mostly in. Everybody has become veterans and ascended their growth curves. That's why it's time to grade the 2011 draft.
It began with the trade with the Falcons, which wanted Herschell Jones...that is Julio bad enough to surrender #27, their second and fourth, and their first rounder in 2012. Yes! For one guy who wasn't a quarterback!
At the time, it was a really unpopular move in Cleveland. Jones was the sparkly, shiny thing. As we can see, he took the Falcons to...nevermind.
Heckert had to use more picks to move up and nab Phil Taylor. This was also unpopular, since he wasn't one of the guys who gets to run around with the football either. But at 21 overall, this has turned out to be an A.
With their original pick high in the second, he took Jabaal Sheard. Yeah that's an A-plus. "Never hearda him! BOOOO!" A-plus.
27th in the second (Atlanta) it was Greg Little. Well, he subsequently caught more passes as a rookie than Jones, but with his chronic drops to date that has to be a D-plus. (No, not an F it's low in the second round not high in the first. Quit going overboard).
The trade for Taylor took away their third round pick. I forgot that--let's make the Taylor pick a B that's fair...
Anyway at number five in the fourth they got this crappy tight end named Cameron, I think (BOOOO!). That's an A-plus, obviously.
At 27 in the same round, Owen Marecic. Ok it was low in the fourth but I'll give that an F anyway.
With the 6th pick in the fifth FIFTH round it was Buster Skrine, and that's a B-plus that low do you get that? Fifth round?
At 19 in the fifth it was Jason Pinkston and that's a B. (You do understand that we're almost into the sixth round, don't you? The guy was a serviceable starter when healthy).
In the seventh it was Eric Hagg. I think he's still in the NFL somewhere. He was ok. C.
The following year, Heckert used Atlanta's first rounder on Brandon WeDone, so that's an F.
Overall the 2011 draft was a C plus. I know I snuck into the 2012 draft with Atlanta's pick, and it's too early for a final grade on 2012, but I've got to say...he traded UP for Trent Richardson, then drafted WeDone so he's WAAAY behind on that one.
Oh I'm sorry. How concieted would it be for me, just a guy, to second-guess a GM on this draft? Isn't that like a first grader grading his teacher? Are you kidding?
After three years, one can grade a draft. The results are mostly in. Everybody has become veterans and ascended their growth curves. That's why it's time to grade the 2011 draft.
It began with the trade with the Falcons, which wanted Herschell Jones...that is Julio bad enough to surrender #27, their second and fourth, and their first rounder in 2012. Yes! For one guy who wasn't a quarterback!
At the time, it was a really unpopular move in Cleveland. Jones was the sparkly, shiny thing. As we can see, he took the Falcons to...nevermind.
Heckert had to use more picks to move up and nab Phil Taylor. This was also unpopular, since he wasn't one of the guys who gets to run around with the football either. But at 21 overall, this has turned out to be an A.
With their original pick high in the second, he took Jabaal Sheard. Yeah that's an A-plus. "Never hearda him! BOOOO!" A-plus.
27th in the second (Atlanta) it was Greg Little. Well, he subsequently caught more passes as a rookie than Jones, but with his chronic drops to date that has to be a D-plus. (No, not an F it's low in the second round not high in the first. Quit going overboard).
The trade for Taylor took away their third round pick. I forgot that--let's make the Taylor pick a B that's fair...
Anyway at number five in the fourth they got this crappy tight end named Cameron, I think (BOOOO!). That's an A-plus, obviously.
At 27 in the same round, Owen Marecic. Ok it was low in the fourth but I'll give that an F anyway.
With the 6th pick in the fifth FIFTH round it was Buster Skrine, and that's a B-plus that low do you get that? Fifth round?
At 19 in the fifth it was Jason Pinkston and that's a B. (You do understand that we're almost into the sixth round, don't you? The guy was a serviceable starter when healthy).
In the seventh it was Eric Hagg. I think he's still in the NFL somewhere. He was ok. C.
The following year, Heckert used Atlanta's first rounder on Brandon WeDone, so that's an F.
Overall the 2011 draft was a C plus. I know I snuck into the 2012 draft with Atlanta's pick, and it's too early for a final grade on 2012, but I've got to say...he traded UP for Trent Richardson, then drafted WeDone so he's WAAAY behind on that one.
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