Terry Pluto in this article wrote the best stuff I've read since the Browns went out with a whimper against Baltimore. Most of what he wrote is stuff I'd already written, of course, but as usual he found some more:
Like zone blocking. Will the new coordinator use it?
Terry points out that two key assistants who've been retained use it, and that's the most important thing. All teams use a little or a lot of zone blocking, and all coordinators understand it.
One ignoramus commenter asked, if zone blocking was so great, why doesn't everybody use it? Well, because it doesn't rely on road-graders the way conventional man-schemes do. It relies on speed, quickness, and balance in space. Not everybody can use it effectively.
Second, it's much more complex than man-blocking, and takes awhile to learn and integrate. Finally, if you do have a bunch of big powerful "hogs", you do what they do best--which is man-blocking and brute force.
With Thomas, Bittonio, and Mack the Browns have 3/5ths of a zone-blocking offensive line already. Greco surprised me by losing weight and doing pretty well in it...until Mack went down...but he and Schwartze aren't ideal zone guys.
At any rate, the specific blocking scheme isn't integral to any offense. Coordinators know that they must run the ball, and will use whatever works best. Coaching the techniques is up to the assistants.
The real variable is the passing game. Here, a coordinator usually has some strong feelings.
I'm forced to accept the possibility that somebody in the front office texted Kyle Shanahan during games. Nobody but Haslam or Farmer would dare. I really hope it was Jimmy, but then Ray played the game, understands what's happening, and would have been tempted.
I do NOT accept the gossipy narrative about the whole Manziel thing. Hoyer was sucking--like the vacuum of space. No, the coaches did not feel that Manziel was ready, but they had to try something.
Mary Kay alludes to implicit front office pressure to start the raw kid. That's a real good guess! Because the need was obvious.
I do buy that Kyle might not have been a big Johnny fan. Nor Pettine, nor myself--for that matter. And we've all got a lot of company, including a lot of ex-quarterbacks.
I know that Haslam wanted the guy, but don't believe he forced Farmer to make that pick. I think Ray Farmer owns that one.
And I feel very smart today, because I would have taken Teddy Bridgewater instead.
On Shanahan, I can't blame him for wanting tf out of here. If the text stuff is true, and if he looks at the quarterback situation like I assume he does, he can't feel good about this.
However, as usual I look at the brighter side.
Kyle's passing system was as complex as any in the game. I find it hard to fault even Manziel for stumbling over some of the calls. I myself lack the facility to learn a second language, Rosetta Stone or no.
The Browns will probably try to hire a coordinator who runs a simpler system. Sure, it will be new, and everybody will have to start from scratch all over again, but many blow this stuff out of proportion.
The route trees are still identical. So are certain reads that every reciever in every system must make. Every offense uses some timing plays, and the other kind is one every reciever coming out of college can run.
The terminology is the hard part.
A simpler system would give Manziel his best chance to succeed in 2015. Ditto Public Enemy number one Josh Gordon. Ditto the rookie tight end that Jordan Cameron might well force them to draft.
Terry says they should cut Gordon, but with Kyle's departure I see that as even more unlikely and unwise.
He needs to be an adult and show up for meetings and stuff yes, but as for the on-the-field stuff, here again there was Shanahan's system. Gordon had his own problems with it, and by the way he looked heavy (not in shape) to me too.
A new coordinator with a more user-friendly system might be just what the doctor ordered for both his performance and attitude.
And Kyle Shanahan is not superman. He and RGIII had a rift in Washington. What was RG's side of that, I wonder?
Terry expects the Browns to use another high draft pick on another offensive lineman, and so do I. The loss of Alex Mack did a lot more damage than it should have. Terry mentioned depth, but I call it upgrade. If you get another Bitonio, he starts. Your depth is now the starter he replaces.
Terry doesn't see them drafting a quarterback high, but I think he's probably wrong. They can't get Mariota and I feel shouldn't draft that punk Winston, but Brett Hundley might well be worth a shot.
But then I don't know. As I've said, Hundley does have a lot to prove, including everything Manziel had not proven when he was drafted. But he's not a punk or a screw-up, and that's half the battle.
Terry might have fallen into the "immediate impact" trap. No, there is no rule that anybody taken anywhere in the top two rounds has to be an immediate pro bowler. Especially not a quarterback.
The fact is, Manziel could well be another Jamarcus Russell, Ryan Leaf, or whatever. He could well bomb out and leave a journeyman in charge in 2015. So now what?
Even if the party boy does well, any quarterback they draft is money in the bank. That's a future trade of either of the two.
And again on Hundley in particular: I remember all the same stuff that's now being said about Hundley being said about Cam Newton prior to his own draft. Newton had a lot fewer starts than Hundley has. Hundley has all the same tools.
The Newton pick that high was widely panned by most of the REAL experts, and the consensus was for him, as it is for Hundley, that he'd need a season or two on the bench before he could be very good in the NFL.
Again, I don't know. Newton is a rare bird. But Ray will do his homework, and if he and the new coordinator and quarterback coach think Hundley is like Newton between his ears, they won't hesitate.
Speaking of which, it's known that Loggains pushed hard for Johnny himself, and there can be no doubt that his opinion weighed heavily in that pick. Probably, I need to point out, more heavily than Jimmy Haslam's.
And now he's gone. I assume the new guy will be expected to be a better talent scout.
One commentor listed a real athletic fullback as a "need". One that not only blocks, but can catch and run as well. This depends largely on the new coordinator, but I wouldn't mind that a bit.
And you can often find those guys in the third round or lower.
Regardless, the new coordinator will stress the run, because he has to with the quarterback situation the way it is. That's why they might draft more than one offensive lineman in the top four rounds.
They already have two tight ends who can block in-line and move the chains. If they lose Cameron, as I expect they will, I hope the guy they draft can block better, and doesn't have a glass jaw.
As Terry said, Farmer's comments about elite quarterbacks, taken in the intended context, was right. Elite quarterbacks don't grow on trees, and most teams have to make do with less.
Here's another great opinion piece on our problem child punk quarterback. Food for thought. For those who think with their brains, anyway.
Farmer would probably trade three first round picks for Mariota, but I don't think it's possible for any price, so that's just reality. That's what Farmer really wanted to tell everybody: DEAL with it.
That's the state of the Browns. Some bad, some good.
Deal with that.
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