Hell. Yes.
Oh, I hear you. I was never a big Glennon fan myself. His stats last season (his second...you get that right? The second season, in which defenses got you figured out and bring you down? Like RG3?) are decent, but he did have issues.
Oh yeah, I hear you. Can't call you a dummy for not liking him. But who's that who said that Manziel was better? YOU are a mow-ron!
Not that I'm dooming Manziel by any means. It doesn't look good at the moment, but you can't count a guy like him out.
No, but it's risk/reward, you see? If the Browns trade up for Mariota, it will cost at least their second round pick, and in my opinion more likely both their firsts and maybe more.
For that, you get a tremendously talented kid who may or may not have the wetware in his skull to run a pro offense and eventually become a franchise guy.
It's also about certainty. Ray can make all the plans he wants, but could well still lose a bidding war IF IF IF a trade is even possible.
I myself am not nearly as big a Glennon fan as I am a Foles fan, but the two players are similar. In fact, the two of them are similar to Joe Flacco physically.
But here's the thing: Mike Glennon has significant starting experience, and is still growing. His persistent problem as a pro has been his pocket presence, as he still doesn't step into throws in the face of pressure.
I really hate that. But then, last season Derrick Carr, who had the same problem, did okay for the Raiders, and it's not one of those things you can't fix. Glennon has proven that he can run a pro offense, from his rookie season on.
So far, he's nothing special, but he's not bad either. I would even say he's above average, with upside remaining.
I'd prefer this young guy to Gramps McCown. Given the same support and protection I expected McCown to do well with, I believe Glennon in his third season would do better.
Cincinnati has won a lot of games with Andy Dalton. Well, Glennon has a lot more upside than Dalton. He might or might not ever grow into a franchise guy (doubtful), but should become pretty good.
To date, his QBR is around 83, which is better than this team has had since Hoyer's flame-out (and until Hoyer, for several YEARS). In his third season even with the same team, you could expect that to get up around 90--that's about normal growth with experience.
If the price is a third round pick, why are you even arguing with me? You know, a third round pick is kind of lower than numbers twelve, nineteen, and maybe next year's first, you know?
If Farmer trades a third for Glennon, now we've got a younger, more promising, and experienced starter than McCown, McCown to help coach him, Johnny, and the massively underrated undrafted guy with the pop gun.
Ray's got that instead of possibly NOTHING, by the way. Remember, this is the Browns, right? Do you feel confident that, no matter HOW much Ray offers, the football gods would let him land Mariota?
Now they've still got those two first round picks. NOW, they might get one of those top three wide recievers and an elite OLB or something, and a third starter in the second round, see?
Or he could trade down and stockpile picks into the future again--and still get some really good players.
Tony Tony Tony! Listen, man: The roster is already pretty loaded, and if they draft ten players they'll have to start cutting good players--whether they're guys you just drafted or developmental guys already on the roster.
And what about franchise quarterback insurance, Tony? You think the Browns plan to wait til next year for a franchise guy...and get him with what? I know you, Tony. You know they can't manage to lose more than 9 games even with McCown, so how are they supposed to get a franchise guy in '16 without picks to trade, huh?
But I digress: If the Browns land Glennon for a third rounder, this is a guy who still has a chance to become a franchise quarterback--even as soon as this (his third) season with the best team he's had around him.
You've got Johnny there to fight it out with him, and you just never know--maybe HIS light goes on. If all else fails, at least you've got Gramps McCown.
Take your chances with these two guys. Surround them with talent. Run the ball, let them manage games--see what happens. It could just work out.
Risk/reward. Bird in the hand. Competition.
Mike Glennon just might be the answer.
Or not.
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Cleveland Browns: We're All Gonna Die Part 79
First off, a few corrections:
1: Rationality must not be confused with bendoveritis. When your team looks like it's about to get screwed over by commissioner Dick Tater, it's not irrational to call that spade a spade.
More than a small fine and suspension for Textageddon is patently rediculous. It is rational to say so.
This matter was all internal, gaining the team no advantage. For that matter, this level of micromanagement by the league office is preposterous in the first place.
2: Danny Shelton is very slow. Gil Brandt and several other real pros I've heard from see him as a good NFL nose tackle--not worthy of a top 15 pick.
Phil Taylor is the forgotten man in all this. Taylor is as massive as Shelton, and much more athletic. He shouldn't be kicked to the curb due to his injuries, and any past lack of discipline is correctable.
It's true that the Browns sucked against the run after Taylor went down, but nose tackle is not a position of great need.
Ishmaa'ily Kitchen is listed as a DE, but is more of a nose tackle. The recent acquisition of Randy Starks, who takes great pride in stuffing the run, will help too.
John Hughes was just extended. He missed time to injury as well, and his main role is stopping the run.
The real net change here is Hughes and Taylor healthy, plus Randy Starks. Improvement against the run is already here, so there's no need to overdraft a ponderous nose tackle.
3: Edge rusher may not be as "desperate" a need as we'd thought. Unlike many others, I believe that Barkevious Mingo played most of last season hurt. He was used more in coverage, and not even "sent" after quarterbacks.
I absolutely love what Blunt Force Trauma said about using Armonty Bryant at OLB. It's hard to find a place for this guy as a down lineman in this kind of defense.
Bryant is ideally a 4-3 defensive end, but was just too talented for Mike Pettine to throw away when he came here.
Prior to his own draft, Armonty was worked out at OLB by a number of teams, and many (including me) thought he'd be used that way here in the first place. I'm still not sure why Ray Horton did that.
Pettine left it alone in his first season, as Bryant was still developing at the pro level, and can be used as a passrusher in any defense.
But with all the depth on this defensive line, including Desmond Bryant, Billy Winn, Starks, Hughes, Solomon, etc., Mike wants to find ways to get Armonty on the field more often, while also filling a real need.
I still don't know how the healthy, more experienced Mingo will look in his third season. His biggest problem could be his metabolism. Some guys (who the rest of us just hate) have a hard time getting bigger, and he is one of those.
But he's aging, and there's a good chance he'll come in at a cut-up, stronger 242 or something with all his speed intact, and accomplish something as a passrusher.
Between the bigger, stronger Armonty Bryant and him, one or both could go a long way towards counterbalancing Paul Kruger.
3: Stopping the run is not as important as rushing the passer. Statistics prove this. This is why the Browns defense last season ranked among the better ones in the league, despite being almost the very worst against the run.
As I keep repeating over and over again (to no effect), Pettine doesn't run a traditional 3-4 defense, and the need for a human fire hydrant nose tackle is overblown.
Ideally, you definitely want guys who can do that--like Kitchen and Taylor. But this is just one of the "looks" he uses, as it's just as often a 4-3.
Pettine's priority will remain pressure and penetration. This is why sometimes his linemen will two-gap, and other times they'll attack. He tries to mask their intentions prior to the snap, and send one-gappers from different spots.
A conventional 3-4 uses three down linemen to eat up blocks period.
Pettine is willing to risk cut-back runs and guards on linebackers in exchange for tackles for losses, forced fumbles, and rushed throws. By design, his defenses may never rank in the top 10 against the run.
But that's okay if they rank high in turnovers and scoring. That's what it's all about.
I'm seeing Marcus Mariota sliding down the draft boards, and can already see this coming if Farmer trades up to grab him:
He'll be burned in effigy for giving up more than he had to.
Look, most of the draft pundits were never General Managers, or even scouts. I follow Brandt, Kirwan, Mayock, and guys like that, and take most of the rest with a pound of salt.
Mariota is one of only two quarterbacks in this draft who project as franchise guys. It's possible Mariota could slide to the Jets, but doubtful. If Ray doesn't make a move, somebody else will.
This article by Jared Mueller on the possibility of the Raiders trading out of their third spot is a well-reasoned reason for optimism, should Marcus slide to that spot. This could only cost the Browns their second rounder and 12.
I'm not even predicting that Farmer will try it. He loved the guy prior to last year's draft, but his ardor may have cooled somewhat. In fact, the problems he's had with Johnny Selfie may have iced it.
Physically, there's no comparison between the two. Nor even psychologically. However, Mariota never had a playbook or took snaps from under center either.
There's no doubt at all that Mariota can do all the mechanical stuff easily. There's high confidence that unlike Johnny, he loves the game and will study hard. Nobody questions the guys intelligence.
But the information-processing part is something other than intelligence, and some guys are simply incapable of it. That's not even fixable, and it's a huge risk with a guy like this.
Ray is damned if he doesn't, and may be damned if he does. We'll see.
One mock draft saw the Browns trading away their second rounder to nab Kevin White. Chuh. I really like both Cooper and White, but can safely predict that Ray Farmer won't trade up for any wide reciever. Some guys just throw it against the wall and hope some of it sticks.
I kind of hope the league forces "Hard Knocks" on the Browns. Johnny will show up early and leave late. Mike Pettine would no doubt point out the cameras installed in the film room first.
I can kind of see part of an episode in week 3.
Scene: Mike Pettine's office. Johnny is sitting in front of Mike's desk.
Mike: So far so good, Johnny. But I'd like you to stop smiling at the cameras. Just try to forget they're there like everybody else, ok?
Johnny: Sorry.
Mike: Ok. Now, the IT guys brought me this. Yes, we see you in the film room and all, and the cameras don't see what you're watching, but IT does. This is a report they gave me on how you're killing time in there.
Looks like you're Grand Warrior Wizard Throg, and you've made some serious inroads into the Grog Empire...
Johnny: Uh--
Mike: We really need you to take this seriously, Johnny. Hey! (snaps fingers) I'm over here. Quit looking at the damn camera!
1: Rationality must not be confused with bendoveritis. When your team looks like it's about to get screwed over by commissioner Dick Tater, it's not irrational to call that spade a spade.
More than a small fine and suspension for Textageddon is patently rediculous. It is rational to say so.
This matter was all internal, gaining the team no advantage. For that matter, this level of micromanagement by the league office is preposterous in the first place.
2: Danny Shelton is very slow. Gil Brandt and several other real pros I've heard from see him as a good NFL nose tackle--not worthy of a top 15 pick.
Phil Taylor is the forgotten man in all this. Taylor is as massive as Shelton, and much more athletic. He shouldn't be kicked to the curb due to his injuries, and any past lack of discipline is correctable.
It's true that the Browns sucked against the run after Taylor went down, but nose tackle is not a position of great need.
Ishmaa'ily Kitchen is listed as a DE, but is more of a nose tackle. The recent acquisition of Randy Starks, who takes great pride in stuffing the run, will help too.
John Hughes was just extended. He missed time to injury as well, and his main role is stopping the run.
The real net change here is Hughes and Taylor healthy, plus Randy Starks. Improvement against the run is already here, so there's no need to overdraft a ponderous nose tackle.
3: Edge rusher may not be as "desperate" a need as we'd thought. Unlike many others, I believe that Barkevious Mingo played most of last season hurt. He was used more in coverage, and not even "sent" after quarterbacks.
I absolutely love what Blunt Force Trauma said about using Armonty Bryant at OLB. It's hard to find a place for this guy as a down lineman in this kind of defense.
Bryant is ideally a 4-3 defensive end, but was just too talented for Mike Pettine to throw away when he came here.
Prior to his own draft, Armonty was worked out at OLB by a number of teams, and many (including me) thought he'd be used that way here in the first place. I'm still not sure why Ray Horton did that.
Pettine left it alone in his first season, as Bryant was still developing at the pro level, and can be used as a passrusher in any defense.
But with all the depth on this defensive line, including Desmond Bryant, Billy Winn, Starks, Hughes, Solomon, etc., Mike wants to find ways to get Armonty on the field more often, while also filling a real need.
I still don't know how the healthy, more experienced Mingo will look in his third season. His biggest problem could be his metabolism. Some guys (who the rest of us just hate) have a hard time getting bigger, and he is one of those.
But he's aging, and there's a good chance he'll come in at a cut-up, stronger 242 or something with all his speed intact, and accomplish something as a passrusher.
Between the bigger, stronger Armonty Bryant and him, one or both could go a long way towards counterbalancing Paul Kruger.
3: Stopping the run is not as important as rushing the passer. Statistics prove this. This is why the Browns defense last season ranked among the better ones in the league, despite being almost the very worst against the run.
As I keep repeating over and over again (to no effect), Pettine doesn't run a traditional 3-4 defense, and the need for a human fire hydrant nose tackle is overblown.
Ideally, you definitely want guys who can do that--like Kitchen and Taylor. But this is just one of the "looks" he uses, as it's just as often a 4-3.
Pettine's priority will remain pressure and penetration. This is why sometimes his linemen will two-gap, and other times they'll attack. He tries to mask their intentions prior to the snap, and send one-gappers from different spots.
A conventional 3-4 uses three down linemen to eat up blocks period.
Pettine is willing to risk cut-back runs and guards on linebackers in exchange for tackles for losses, forced fumbles, and rushed throws. By design, his defenses may never rank in the top 10 against the run.
But that's okay if they rank high in turnovers and scoring. That's what it's all about.
I'm seeing Marcus Mariota sliding down the draft boards, and can already see this coming if Farmer trades up to grab him:
He'll be burned in effigy for giving up more than he had to.
Look, most of the draft pundits were never General Managers, or even scouts. I follow Brandt, Kirwan, Mayock, and guys like that, and take most of the rest with a pound of salt.
Mariota is one of only two quarterbacks in this draft who project as franchise guys. It's possible Mariota could slide to the Jets, but doubtful. If Ray doesn't make a move, somebody else will.
This article by Jared Mueller on the possibility of the Raiders trading out of their third spot is a well-reasoned reason for optimism, should Marcus slide to that spot. This could only cost the Browns their second rounder and 12.
I'm not even predicting that Farmer will try it. He loved the guy prior to last year's draft, but his ardor may have cooled somewhat. In fact, the problems he's had with Johnny Selfie may have iced it.
Physically, there's no comparison between the two. Nor even psychologically. However, Mariota never had a playbook or took snaps from under center either.
There's no doubt at all that Mariota can do all the mechanical stuff easily. There's high confidence that unlike Johnny, he loves the game and will study hard. Nobody questions the guys intelligence.
But the information-processing part is something other than intelligence, and some guys are simply incapable of it. That's not even fixable, and it's a huge risk with a guy like this.
Ray is damned if he doesn't, and may be damned if he does. We'll see.
One mock draft saw the Browns trading away their second rounder to nab Kevin White. Chuh. I really like both Cooper and White, but can safely predict that Ray Farmer won't trade up for any wide reciever. Some guys just throw it against the wall and hope some of it sticks.
I kind of hope the league forces "Hard Knocks" on the Browns. Johnny will show up early and leave late. Mike Pettine would no doubt point out the cameras installed in the film room first.
I can kind of see part of an episode in week 3.
Scene: Mike Pettine's office. Johnny is sitting in front of Mike's desk.
Mike: So far so good, Johnny. But I'd like you to stop smiling at the cameras. Just try to forget they're there like everybody else, ok?
Johnny: Sorry.
Mike: Ok. Now, the IT guys brought me this. Yes, we see you in the film room and all, and the cameras don't see what you're watching, but IT does. This is a report they gave me on how you're killing time in there.
Looks like you're Grand Warrior Wizard Throg, and you've made some serious inroads into the Grog Empire...
Johnny: Uh--
Mike: We really need you to take this seriously, Johnny. Hey! (snaps fingers) I'm over here. Quit looking at the damn camera!
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Roger Goodell: Gimme a Break
Ray Farmer texting the sidelines apparently warrants "severe" punishment.
Roger needs to be consistent. We need to penalize holding the same as we penalize helmet-to-helmet hits.
Maybe school principals should pay attention. Expel kids for throwing spitballs. (Bad example, I guess. They expel kids for making gun-signs with their fingers so...oh! Maybe Roger is learning from THEM!)
Are you kidding me with this? Admit it: It's because it's the Browns, isn't it?
Rules are rules, huh? Let him off light on this and before you know it they'll be taking photos of their middle fingers and sending them to offensive coordinators! After that, the end of civilization as we know it!
Just how SILLY can you GET, man?
Roger needs to be consistent. We need to penalize holding the same as we penalize helmet-to-helmet hits.
Maybe school principals should pay attention. Expel kids for throwing spitballs. (Bad example, I guess. They expel kids for making gun-signs with their fingers so...oh! Maybe Roger is learning from THEM!)
Are you kidding me with this? Admit it: It's because it's the Browns, isn't it?
Rules are rules, huh? Let him off light on this and before you know it they'll be taking photos of their middle fingers and sending them to offensive coordinators! After that, the end of civilization as we know it!
Just how SILLY can you GET, man?
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Panicking Permabashers Paradise
Wow. The Browns can't possibly win more than two or three games this season! Therefore they should forget about Mariota and just draft for all their urgently critical needs, like offensive line, tight end, wide reciever, third down back, defensive line, outside linebacker, and everything else!
Then next year just draft a franchise quarterback, since surely they'll be so terrible that they will have a pick in the top five.
Don't worry, because all the players Ray Farmer has signed or will draft will be lousy too!
Holy loony-bin, batman!
Here are a few fun facts for you:
1: The only free agent Ray Farmer overpaid was Tramon Williams. He's also the only one over 31.
2: Buster Skrine and other unresticted guys were under no obligation to come back the the Browns to see if they would offer more than they'd been offered by other teams.
In point of fact, those other teams usually tell them "If you walk out of here today, we can't guarantee it. We might fill your slot, or have other guys competing with you."
3: Jordan Cameron does have a scary concussion history, and for that matter a history of other injuries. A second year linebacker just retired out of concern for what concussions would do to him.
It doesn't matter how late in the game they made their highest offer to him. It was a sensible and valid strategy to try to replace him with a more durable, reliable player.
4: There are two sides to every negotiation or non-negotiation. Many free agents refused to even consider the Browns. Some who did only did so to leverage more rediculous offers elsewhere.
Some of the same people who've bashed Ray Farmer for not overpaying big-name free agents are now bashing him for overpaying the last remaining cornerback.
5: Bryce Petty is still the Bryce Petty they see in the film room. So are the other quarterbacks. Their Pro Days and workouts are much less meaningful.
If Ray Farmer can't engineer a trade for Bradford, trade up for Mariota, or pull off some other miracle, he might take a shot at another quarterback at 19 despite his misgivings, and it could be Petty.
That would be called a panicked disaster, of course, since there's no way any of the guys behind Mariota and Winston rate as first rounders.
But every other quarterback-needy team will be overdrafting all these other guys, and if Ray wants to roll the dice on any of them, he'll have to pay the price himself.
The Browns can't count on Manziel, and need a quarterback in the worst way. In reality, they have too much overall talent NOT to win at least six or seven games, and planning to nab their franchise guy next season is idiocy.
In fact, it's more likely that the strong running game and defense, along with the two new wide recievers already on board, will make Josh McCown look like the guy who made Jay Cutler look like a boob.
In which case, they draft LOWER than 12, with no ammo for a trade-up.
Speaking of Jay Cutler, everything else aside, he's not a WEST COAST quarterback, so please cut that stuff out.
Terry Pluto addressed a lot of this, and I'd like to add this: What HE said!
I was at first ticked off that the Browns were even talking to Dwayne Bowe, but then I found out that he's really only 30.
Bigger, stronger wide recievers last longer, because they rely more on position and reach than on explosion or speed. An Andrew Hawkins needs daylight between himself and his defender to have a good chance for a catch, but a Dwayne Bowe can have the guy right on him and still make the catch.
No, he's not a true number one speed merchant, and you need to stop pitching temper-tantrums over that, and start living in reality. Nobody else wanted to come here.
Averaging around 13 yards per-catch should be adequate. He doesn't outrun guys. He just runs them over.
The defense now has five seasoned veterans (including Joe H) sprinkled across each position group to help the young guys round into mental shape much sooner in the second year of Pettine's system, and that is very good.
The offense now has two tall, reliable recievers that it didn't have before. The net loss with Cameron could well be around half a season, because he'll probably get hurt again.
All the young guys will naturally be better, and this remains a young team. How you think that Josh McCown, all by himself and despite all the talent around him, can somehow manage to single-handedly lose more than nine games is beyond understanding.
And that's the worst-case. Manziel is the joker in this deck.
Then next year just draft a franchise quarterback, since surely they'll be so terrible that they will have a pick in the top five.
Don't worry, because all the players Ray Farmer has signed or will draft will be lousy too!
Holy loony-bin, batman!
Here are a few fun facts for you:
1: The only free agent Ray Farmer overpaid was Tramon Williams. He's also the only one over 31.
2: Buster Skrine and other unresticted guys were under no obligation to come back the the Browns to see if they would offer more than they'd been offered by other teams.
In point of fact, those other teams usually tell them "If you walk out of here today, we can't guarantee it. We might fill your slot, or have other guys competing with you."
3: Jordan Cameron does have a scary concussion history, and for that matter a history of other injuries. A second year linebacker just retired out of concern for what concussions would do to him.
It doesn't matter how late in the game they made their highest offer to him. It was a sensible and valid strategy to try to replace him with a more durable, reliable player.
4: There are two sides to every negotiation or non-negotiation. Many free agents refused to even consider the Browns. Some who did only did so to leverage more rediculous offers elsewhere.
Some of the same people who've bashed Ray Farmer for not overpaying big-name free agents are now bashing him for overpaying the last remaining cornerback.
5: Bryce Petty is still the Bryce Petty they see in the film room. So are the other quarterbacks. Their Pro Days and workouts are much less meaningful.
If Ray Farmer can't engineer a trade for Bradford, trade up for Mariota, or pull off some other miracle, he might take a shot at another quarterback at 19 despite his misgivings, and it could be Petty.
That would be called a panicked disaster, of course, since there's no way any of the guys behind Mariota and Winston rate as first rounders.
But every other quarterback-needy team will be overdrafting all these other guys, and if Ray wants to roll the dice on any of them, he'll have to pay the price himself.
The Browns can't count on Manziel, and need a quarterback in the worst way. In reality, they have too much overall talent NOT to win at least six or seven games, and planning to nab their franchise guy next season is idiocy.
In fact, it's more likely that the strong running game and defense, along with the two new wide recievers already on board, will make Josh McCown look like the guy who made Jay Cutler look like a boob.
In which case, they draft LOWER than 12, with no ammo for a trade-up.
Speaking of Jay Cutler, everything else aside, he's not a WEST COAST quarterback, so please cut that stuff out.
Terry Pluto addressed a lot of this, and I'd like to add this: What HE said!
I was at first ticked off that the Browns were even talking to Dwayne Bowe, but then I found out that he's really only 30.
Bigger, stronger wide recievers last longer, because they rely more on position and reach than on explosion or speed. An Andrew Hawkins needs daylight between himself and his defender to have a good chance for a catch, but a Dwayne Bowe can have the guy right on him and still make the catch.
No, he's not a true number one speed merchant, and you need to stop pitching temper-tantrums over that, and start living in reality. Nobody else wanted to come here.
Averaging around 13 yards per-catch should be adequate. He doesn't outrun guys. He just runs them over.
The defense now has five seasoned veterans (including Joe H) sprinkled across each position group to help the young guys round into mental shape much sooner in the second year of Pettine's system, and that is very good.
The offense now has two tall, reliable recievers that it didn't have before. The net loss with Cameron could well be around half a season, because he'll probably get hurt again.
All the young guys will naturally be better, and this remains a young team. How you think that Josh McCown, all by himself and despite all the talent around him, can somehow manage to single-handedly lose more than nine games is beyond understanding.
And that's the worst-case. Manziel is the joker in this deck.
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Ray Signs Williams and Starks. Well, ok. I Guess.
As I'd feared, Ray Farmer has waited for some bargains and is now raiding the retirement home. But these two players--well it's not as bad as I'd feared.
Niether is going to kick a young, talented player to the curb, as Mike Pettine will be holding onto a lot of players in both these position groups. Both players played well last season.
Tramon Williams is the most troublesome to me. A (press/man) cornerback relies heavily on recovery speed and explosive changes of direction. 32 is very old for one of these guys, and the erosion of these traits happens fast.
But for sure, Tramon has enough left to force Gilbert to fight like hell for playing time. He will offer leadership, and be a good example. He does have the size to play safety, and move around in situational defenses. He should be fine in zone and off-man coverages.
I'd feel differently had the Browns retained Buster Skrine, but with the current roster, this particular geezer makes sense.
By the way, Buster: Now that the Jets signed Cromartie and you're going to the slot again...how does that make you feel?
Randy Starks was a good signing. He is over 30, but will be rotated in and out, and can still definitely play really well for at least another year.
Starks is a pro's pro who will likewise be a good example and offer leadership. I said before that he was solid, but he's more than that. In the Browns' scheme, he can play any position.
I'm not sure what happened to Rubin, but something sure did, and Starks is a definite upgrade to what the Browns had.
More on the quarterbacks:
In this article by Jonathan Webb, a lot of guessing and assuming went on. Fotunately, you have me here to make the corrections:
First off, the Browns haven't "decided to move on" from Johnny Manziel. What they've seen so far was discouraging, and they know they can't count on him.
I have almost zero doubt that the Browns did offer a first round pick for Sam Bradford, and that book may not be closed. They may well make a push for Mariota as well.
But this is just common sense. This is just trying to make sure. How one can take these efforts as a sign that they have no hope for Manziel, I don't understand.
And with all due respect to Terry Pluto, there is little concern about Manziel's physical ability to play quarterback in the NFL. Not with Wilson and Brees around. The only concerns with Johnny are mental.
In one over-the-top, atrocious Bleacher Report article, this Freeman person declared Manziel DOA based on zero talent among the recievers.
This clown actually lists the whole TE and WR corps, and implies that it's the worst in the NFL. Hawkins, Gabriel, and Hartline all suck now? Really?
He goes on to cite Ray Farmer's refusal to draft a wide reciever last year as conclusive proof that he NEVER WILL!
For that matter, even Barnidge and Dray, far from sucking, are pretty good chain-movers--I guess for this guy anybody who doesn't make annual trips to Hawaii can't play.
The current corps has a very good possession reciever, excellent slot recievers, and average pass-catching tight ends, and obviously Ray Farmer will soon add to that.
If this goober had called the current recievers below average, I wouldn't have bothered with this steaming pile of LaCanfora. Why do you have to go overboard like this? There has to be something wrong with you when you dump Gabriel/Hawkins/Hartline out with the bathwater oh puh-leez!
I was gone for awhile but I'm back now:
While I'm at it, it is irrational to want to cut Josh Gordon. In what concievable way could you benefit? Retainng him is zero risk, high reward, and free. So just stop it.
I see Travis Benjamin as low man on the wide reciever totem pole, and rather expect his departure after the draft. But to pro-actively cut him...I swear I just don't get the logic here.
Listen to me: Travis Benjamin, if not injured, will be in the NFL for a long time, and play a lot of football. The only reason his days are numbered here is the fact that the Browns have two superior slot recievers ahead of him.
This is one slot the Browns have no need to fill. You shouldn't lump slot recievers and X/Y recievers together the way a lot of people do. They're different types of player.
The Browns need an X (number one) wide reciever, and I suppose more depth. Not another smurf DO YOU UNDERSTAND?
I wouldn't mind taking a risk on Sam Bradford (for number nineteen, should that come up), but it IS a risk with his injury history.
I also hate the fact that he has refused to renegotiate his way-too-fat contract. I hope Ray doesn't do this without a new contract already in place.
I can just see this guy sure enough staying healthy all season and kicking butt...then LEAVING in 2016. If, after missing about half his games since he was drafted, he refused to renegotiate--this guy seems to have zero loyalty to anything but the dollar.
Oh, you can't sign or retain players because of me? Tough. GIMME.
Terry Pluto points out that the one year remaining in his current contract is a kind of insurance. Should he once again get hurt and crap out, the cap-hit is limited to the 2015 season.
I suppose, but we want this quarterback thing fixed long-term, don't we?
Between Bradford and Mariota, I'd prefer the much cheaper, signed for five years Mariota.
Niether is going to kick a young, talented player to the curb, as Mike Pettine will be holding onto a lot of players in both these position groups. Both players played well last season.
Tramon Williams is the most troublesome to me. A (press/man) cornerback relies heavily on recovery speed and explosive changes of direction. 32 is very old for one of these guys, and the erosion of these traits happens fast.
But for sure, Tramon has enough left to force Gilbert to fight like hell for playing time. He will offer leadership, and be a good example. He does have the size to play safety, and move around in situational defenses. He should be fine in zone and off-man coverages.
I'd feel differently had the Browns retained Buster Skrine, but with the current roster, this particular geezer makes sense.
By the way, Buster: Now that the Jets signed Cromartie and you're going to the slot again...how does that make you feel?
Randy Starks was a good signing. He is over 30, but will be rotated in and out, and can still definitely play really well for at least another year.
Starks is a pro's pro who will likewise be a good example and offer leadership. I said before that he was solid, but he's more than that. In the Browns' scheme, he can play any position.
I'm not sure what happened to Rubin, but something sure did, and Starks is a definite upgrade to what the Browns had.
More on the quarterbacks:
In this article by Jonathan Webb, a lot of guessing and assuming went on. Fotunately, you have me here to make the corrections:
First off, the Browns haven't "decided to move on" from Johnny Manziel. What they've seen so far was discouraging, and they know they can't count on him.
I have almost zero doubt that the Browns did offer a first round pick for Sam Bradford, and that book may not be closed. They may well make a push for Mariota as well.
But this is just common sense. This is just trying to make sure. How one can take these efforts as a sign that they have no hope for Manziel, I don't understand.
And with all due respect to Terry Pluto, there is little concern about Manziel's physical ability to play quarterback in the NFL. Not with Wilson and Brees around. The only concerns with Johnny are mental.
In one over-the-top, atrocious Bleacher Report article, this Freeman person declared Manziel DOA based on zero talent among the recievers.
This clown actually lists the whole TE and WR corps, and implies that it's the worst in the NFL. Hawkins, Gabriel, and Hartline all suck now? Really?
He goes on to cite Ray Farmer's refusal to draft a wide reciever last year as conclusive proof that he NEVER WILL!
For that matter, even Barnidge and Dray, far from sucking, are pretty good chain-movers--I guess for this guy anybody who doesn't make annual trips to Hawaii can't play.
The current corps has a very good possession reciever, excellent slot recievers, and average pass-catching tight ends, and obviously Ray Farmer will soon add to that.
If this goober had called the current recievers below average, I wouldn't have bothered with this steaming pile of LaCanfora. Why do you have to go overboard like this? There has to be something wrong with you when you dump Gabriel/Hawkins/Hartline out with the bathwater oh puh-leez!
I was gone for awhile but I'm back now:
While I'm at it, it is irrational to want to cut Josh Gordon. In what concievable way could you benefit? Retainng him is zero risk, high reward, and free. So just stop it.
I see Travis Benjamin as low man on the wide reciever totem pole, and rather expect his departure after the draft. But to pro-actively cut him...I swear I just don't get the logic here.
Listen to me: Travis Benjamin, if not injured, will be in the NFL for a long time, and play a lot of football. The only reason his days are numbered here is the fact that the Browns have two superior slot recievers ahead of him.
This is one slot the Browns have no need to fill. You shouldn't lump slot recievers and X/Y recievers together the way a lot of people do. They're different types of player.
The Browns need an X (number one) wide reciever, and I suppose more depth. Not another smurf DO YOU UNDERSTAND?
I wouldn't mind taking a risk on Sam Bradford (for number nineteen, should that come up), but it IS a risk with his injury history.
I also hate the fact that he has refused to renegotiate his way-too-fat contract. I hope Ray doesn't do this without a new contract already in place.
I can just see this guy sure enough staying healthy all season and kicking butt...then LEAVING in 2016. If, after missing about half his games since he was drafted, he refused to renegotiate--this guy seems to have zero loyalty to anything but the dollar.
Oh, you can't sign or retain players because of me? Tough. GIMME.
Terry Pluto points out that the one year remaining in his current contract is a kind of insurance. Should he once again get hurt and crap out, the cap-hit is limited to the 2015 season.
I suppose, but we want this quarterback thing fixed long-term, don't we?
Between Bradford and Mariota, I'd prefer the much cheaper, signed for five years Mariota.
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Ray Farmer has to See More Needs
I'm glad the Browns didn't get the elderly outside linebacker or ancient nose tackle. Maybe I've been too hard on Ray. Maybe he's offering them one year deals for what they're really worth.
Did you see what Miami paid Psycho Suh? I'm sorry, but that was downright stupid.
Everybody is overpaying everybody!
Not knocking the Colts, though. They're a young playoff team. For THEM, signing an older player makes sense, because it could buy them a Superbowl. It would just be dumb for this Browns' team this season.
My real topic here is age-related. Among the Browns' needs, safety or inside linebacker are never mentioned. But Ray Farmer has to watch the clock.
Whitner is NOT the player he used to be. He's still pretty good, but his decline is perceptable, and won't stop. Ditto Dansby.
Kirksey should become a top-notch player, and Roberts has made great progress. But that's about it.
Moreover, it's hard to say whether or not any younger ILB on this roster can ever play MIDDLE linebacker like Dansby does.
Dansby might well be gone in 2016.
Gipson is a rising star, but who else is there at safety?
Desir has potential there, but who knows? The Browns are talking to extremely big, tall cornerback Brandon Browner. He's 30, but corners can often move to safety and stretch their careers out two or even three seasons.
Press/man corners lose their recovery speed first as they age, but safeties play off coverage or zone, and their brains are more important than their quickness.
Fortunately for Ray, inside backers and safeties go low (or even undrafted) in every draft, and possibly even a majority of elite safeties are converted corners. Ray might have whiffed on Manziel, but he should be better at judging those two positions.
Oh yeah. And center. I think if the Browns show real progress this season, Alex Mack will give the Browns a fair shot, but if they don't--and don't have a franchise quarterback yet, he's a GMF.
I found two really good articles defending Ray. Based on my last few blogs, they could have been aiming at me, and I think I have been too hard on Ray. I stand corrected.
This one, by Daryl Ruiter, quotes Bernie Kosar. In general, he points out that championship teams are never built through free agency.
I just need to mention his old coach, Bill Belichick. Bill is fond of nabbing one or two older stars early in free agency. But everybody wants to play for him and with Brady, so he doesn't have to overpay them.
He rents them to fill a need for a year or two, then lets them wheel off into the sunset. But he also does what Ray might well be doing: He waits til the first wave of players are signed (and overpaid).
The remaining players, with the draft looming and their positions with their old teams filled by other free agents, start to feel desperate. Their greed and expectations diminish, and panic dawns.
That's when Bill throws them a lifeline and nabs them cheap.
This article, by Jared Mueller, defends Ray (and Jimmy) quite well. In fact it really put me in MY place.
Jared reminded me of one fact that I guess is so obvious that we forget it: Players don't WANT to come here!
Do we want Ray to overpay even more than the other GMs are overpaying everybody? I don't!
I don't want sissies who don't think snow is part of football. I don't want hyper-greedy mercenaries like Revis or Suh. Don't want glory-hogs or night-life men-about-town in search of tabloid photographers.
I like intelligent players with imaginations. Who like Mike Pettine and his defense. Who comprehend that a journeyman quarterback with a great running game and defense can look like a stud. Who can count to twelve, nineteen, and two.
Who have the guts to make an educated bet.
By the way, Jordan Cameron might be one of those second wave guys. I can tell you: Everywhere he goes, they bring up his concussions and injuries, and base a lot of their offers on performance incentives. He thought he'd be the top tight end, but he's not seen that way.
He probably didn't like that and kept shopping. If Gresham signs, he'll like it better, and might start missing Cleveland.
I personally would prefer Gresham, because of that glass jaw of Jordan's.
The best veteran quarterbacks appear to be off the table. If you believe Chip Kelly (you shouldn't but if you do), he's out of the Mariota sweepstakes.
Well, maybe.
But Bradford ran a wide-open offense in college, and was all-world. Chip knows he can't run his whole Oregon offense in the pros, or he'll lose quarterbacks. But Bradford can do and has done most of what he wants a quarterback to do, and in Philly he'll have more protection.
I believe his preference for Bradford over Foles was genuine. Foles isn't as effective on short and intermediate routes. Bradford is exceptionally accurate, with great touch.
If that's the case, the Browns do still have a shot at Mariota, and I do believe Ray still wants him.
Mariota is not only a freak athlete, but is dedicated, mature, and intelligent. He might indeed need a lot more "seasoning" than Winston, but more and more, a consensus among real scouts is emerging that he's a good bet.
I harken back to a few entries ago: Ray may never have two first round draft picks again. He may not even be in the top 15 again (permabashers shut up--I swear it's like a reflex with you isn't it?).
Two years from now, Ray might get fired, and it might be just in time to watch Marcus Mariota play in the Superbowl.
If he thinks this guy can be all that, he MUST take his shot, right now. Mariota or bust.
Or maybe Mariota AND bust, but hey--no franchise quarterback, no JOB so...
Did you see what Miami paid Psycho Suh? I'm sorry, but that was downright stupid.
Everybody is overpaying everybody!
Not knocking the Colts, though. They're a young playoff team. For THEM, signing an older player makes sense, because it could buy them a Superbowl. It would just be dumb for this Browns' team this season.
My real topic here is age-related. Among the Browns' needs, safety or inside linebacker are never mentioned. But Ray Farmer has to watch the clock.
Whitner is NOT the player he used to be. He's still pretty good, but his decline is perceptable, and won't stop. Ditto Dansby.
Kirksey should become a top-notch player, and Roberts has made great progress. But that's about it.
Moreover, it's hard to say whether or not any younger ILB on this roster can ever play MIDDLE linebacker like Dansby does.
Dansby might well be gone in 2016.
Gipson is a rising star, but who else is there at safety?
Desir has potential there, but who knows? The Browns are talking to extremely big, tall cornerback Brandon Browner. He's 30, but corners can often move to safety and stretch their careers out two or even three seasons.
Press/man corners lose their recovery speed first as they age, but safeties play off coverage or zone, and their brains are more important than their quickness.
Fortunately for Ray, inside backers and safeties go low (or even undrafted) in every draft, and possibly even a majority of elite safeties are converted corners. Ray might have whiffed on Manziel, but he should be better at judging those two positions.
Oh yeah. And center. I think if the Browns show real progress this season, Alex Mack will give the Browns a fair shot, but if they don't--and don't have a franchise quarterback yet, he's a GMF.
I found two really good articles defending Ray. Based on my last few blogs, they could have been aiming at me, and I think I have been too hard on Ray. I stand corrected.
This one, by Daryl Ruiter, quotes Bernie Kosar. In general, he points out that championship teams are never built through free agency.
I just need to mention his old coach, Bill Belichick. Bill is fond of nabbing one or two older stars early in free agency. But everybody wants to play for him and with Brady, so he doesn't have to overpay them.
He rents them to fill a need for a year or two, then lets them wheel off into the sunset. But he also does what Ray might well be doing: He waits til the first wave of players are signed (and overpaid).
The remaining players, with the draft looming and their positions with their old teams filled by other free agents, start to feel desperate. Their greed and expectations diminish, and panic dawns.
That's when Bill throws them a lifeline and nabs them cheap.
This article, by Jared Mueller, defends Ray (and Jimmy) quite well. In fact it really put me in MY place.
Jared reminded me of one fact that I guess is so obvious that we forget it: Players don't WANT to come here!
Do we want Ray to overpay even more than the other GMs are overpaying everybody? I don't!
I don't want sissies who don't think snow is part of football. I don't want hyper-greedy mercenaries like Revis or Suh. Don't want glory-hogs or night-life men-about-town in search of tabloid photographers.
I like intelligent players with imaginations. Who like Mike Pettine and his defense. Who comprehend that a journeyman quarterback with a great running game and defense can look like a stud. Who can count to twelve, nineteen, and two.
Who have the guts to make an educated bet.
By the way, Jordan Cameron might be one of those second wave guys. I can tell you: Everywhere he goes, they bring up his concussions and injuries, and base a lot of their offers on performance incentives. He thought he'd be the top tight end, but he's not seen that way.
He probably didn't like that and kept shopping. If Gresham signs, he'll like it better, and might start missing Cleveland.
I personally would prefer Gresham, because of that glass jaw of Jordan's.
The best veteran quarterbacks appear to be off the table. If you believe Chip Kelly (you shouldn't but if you do), he's out of the Mariota sweepstakes.
Well, maybe.
But Bradford ran a wide-open offense in college, and was all-world. Chip knows he can't run his whole Oregon offense in the pros, or he'll lose quarterbacks. But Bradford can do and has done most of what he wants a quarterback to do, and in Philly he'll have more protection.
I believe his preference for Bradford over Foles was genuine. Foles isn't as effective on short and intermediate routes. Bradford is exceptionally accurate, with great touch.
If that's the case, the Browns do still have a shot at Mariota, and I do believe Ray still wants him.
Mariota is not only a freak athlete, but is dedicated, mature, and intelligent. He might indeed need a lot more "seasoning" than Winston, but more and more, a consensus among real scouts is emerging that he's a good bet.
I harken back to a few entries ago: Ray may never have two first round draft picks again. He may not even be in the top 15 again (permabashers shut up--I swear it's like a reflex with you isn't it?).
Two years from now, Ray might get fired, and it might be just in time to watch Marcus Mariota play in the Superbowl.
If he thinks this guy can be all that, he MUST take his shot, right now. Mariota or bust.
Or maybe Mariota AND bust, but hey--no franchise quarterback, no JOB so...
Monday, March 9, 2015
OKAY That's BETTER!
Ray really just did something right in signing Brian Hartline, especially as cheap as he did!
I need to tell certain local writers about this guy:
He's not only a number two reciever, but might be the best number two in the NFL. Don't you understand football? A number two is (ideally) a taller outside reciever who runs intermediate routes, gets open, and catches everything he can touch.
A number two is an outside possession reciever. What is all this downgrading this guy about?
The smurfs can play outside, but not like Hartline. They can's use their bodies to muscle, screen out, and outreach defenders. Hartline is hard to bump off his route so he's out of position or late to his spot. They can all catch passes over their back shoulders, but only Hartline can when he's covered.
That's a number two. Say...do you know what the "slot" is? Just wondering. Number two isn't the slot reciever...just in case you don't get that.
Okay! Let's hope this takes the injured guy who can't catch off the table so I can leave my rope in the garage for now.
The number one the Browns still need (you know, since Ray let Charles Johnson go, so he could keep the great Miles Austin and Travis Benjamin dammit) will probably have to come out of this draft.
Fortunately, there are several candidates.
But here's another thing about that: Most teams actually don't have a true number one reciever. It's TRUE! Real number ones who can consistently beat double coverage are about as common as franchise quarterbacks.
Ideally you have a real number one, yes. It's legit to call it a "need". But if there's a trade, or guys get taken too early or whatever, and Ray comes away with just a pretty good reciever with some speed and size, that's not a failure.
In this entire draft, only two, and possibly three, wide recievers can be number ones anytime soon. There are a whole bunch who are pretty good, but number ones are really rare.
So don't go bashing Ray if he can't bring down a big one.
Hartline will catch a lot of passes for first downs in the clutch, number one or no. He'll do enough damage to take heat off a number 0.75 across from him, and let him get his catches too.
This was a big, big catch. With a number one and a running game, it can be real scary. With just a pretty good bigger guy on the other side, it can still work well. Hartline is IMPORTANT.
Update: Just read Terry Pluto's Scribbles. Usually Terry is incredibly good, but on the wide recievers, he seems to be over the top.
Terry thinks they should still sign Cecil Shorts, and expects them to re-sign Miles Austin. Including Hartline, that makes three. You've got to keep Hawkins, and if you're not nuts Taylor Gabriel--who has all the traits of a Steve Smith.
That's five. In my own estimation, that kicks Travis Benjamin to the curb. Right here, there's a debate waiting to happen:
Can Gramps Austin contribute as much as Benjamin?
I hear Terry's logical mind: Austin is cheap, and now you've got depth at number two. Austin is the only other taller reciever. Austin was reasonably productive last season, and his type tends to last longer than the burner-type.
The other debate is the one I've already repeated several times: Is Cecil Shorts better than Benjamin? After you factor in drops and injuries?
Then, the Browns will almost certainly draft at least one first or second-tier wide reciever in this draft.
Now do you cut Gabriel, or Austin? Obviously if Ray has signed Shorts (and I guess I could live with it if he's dirt-cheap), he stays.
I suppose, if Shorts comes with a cheap incentive-laden contract, I could live with losing Austin, but Shorts is still a bad idea.
Terry himself wasn't sure why his yards-per-catch declined from around 16 to 10.5, but I'm pretty sure I know:
He never had much straight-line speed in the first place (4.59...but maybe he was hurt then too), and then here comes the ankles, and hamstrings, and all that. He probably hasn't been 100% for the last two seasons. (I give him props for playing hurt).
He has never played in more than thirteen games.
After doing additional homework on Shorts, I guess he's ok, but nothing special. He would look better outside than Benjamin, so I retract that part of it.
But he's injury-prone and drops passes. Last season in 13 games, he caught 53 passes for a 10.5 average. That's decent production for a number two, or above average for a tight end.
Terry projects him as a number one. Well, he might play to the quarterback's left side, but that's about as close as he'll ever get. If Ray lowballs him, and the newly drafted wide-out splits time with him, I guess that would be just barely sensible. In a way.
Well, he's a homie and he plays hurt, so if they sign him I'll root for him. I'll tell myself that the drops were concentration-lapses or injury-related, and that maybe he just had a bad stretch and he can stay healthy now.
Assuming facts not in evidence, but what the hell.
I need to tell certain local writers about this guy:
He's not only a number two reciever, but might be the best number two in the NFL. Don't you understand football? A number two is (ideally) a taller outside reciever who runs intermediate routes, gets open, and catches everything he can touch.
A number two is an outside possession reciever. What is all this downgrading this guy about?
The smurfs can play outside, but not like Hartline. They can's use their bodies to muscle, screen out, and outreach defenders. Hartline is hard to bump off his route so he's out of position or late to his spot. They can all catch passes over their back shoulders, but only Hartline can when he's covered.
That's a number two. Say...do you know what the "slot" is? Just wondering. Number two isn't the slot reciever...just in case you don't get that.
Okay! Let's hope this takes the injured guy who can't catch off the table so I can leave my rope in the garage for now.
The number one the Browns still need (you know, since Ray let Charles Johnson go, so he could keep the great Miles Austin and Travis Benjamin dammit) will probably have to come out of this draft.
Fortunately, there are several candidates.
But here's another thing about that: Most teams actually don't have a true number one reciever. It's TRUE! Real number ones who can consistently beat double coverage are about as common as franchise quarterbacks.
Ideally you have a real number one, yes. It's legit to call it a "need". But if there's a trade, or guys get taken too early or whatever, and Ray comes away with just a pretty good reciever with some speed and size, that's not a failure.
In this entire draft, only two, and possibly three, wide recievers can be number ones anytime soon. There are a whole bunch who are pretty good, but number ones are really rare.
So don't go bashing Ray if he can't bring down a big one.
Hartline will catch a lot of passes for first downs in the clutch, number one or no. He'll do enough damage to take heat off a number 0.75 across from him, and let him get his catches too.
This was a big, big catch. With a number one and a running game, it can be real scary. With just a pretty good bigger guy on the other side, it can still work well. Hartline is IMPORTANT.
Update: Just read Terry Pluto's Scribbles. Usually Terry is incredibly good, but on the wide recievers, he seems to be over the top.
Terry thinks they should still sign Cecil Shorts, and expects them to re-sign Miles Austin. Including Hartline, that makes three. You've got to keep Hawkins, and if you're not nuts Taylor Gabriel--who has all the traits of a Steve Smith.
That's five. In my own estimation, that kicks Travis Benjamin to the curb. Right here, there's a debate waiting to happen:
Can Gramps Austin contribute as much as Benjamin?
I hear Terry's logical mind: Austin is cheap, and now you've got depth at number two. Austin is the only other taller reciever. Austin was reasonably productive last season, and his type tends to last longer than the burner-type.
The other debate is the one I've already repeated several times: Is Cecil Shorts better than Benjamin? After you factor in drops and injuries?
Then, the Browns will almost certainly draft at least one first or second-tier wide reciever in this draft.
Now do you cut Gabriel, or Austin? Obviously if Ray has signed Shorts (and I guess I could live with it if he's dirt-cheap), he stays.
I suppose, if Shorts comes with a cheap incentive-laden contract, I could live with losing Austin, but Shorts is still a bad idea.
Terry himself wasn't sure why his yards-per-catch declined from around 16 to 10.5, but I'm pretty sure I know:
He never had much straight-line speed in the first place (4.59...but maybe he was hurt then too), and then here comes the ankles, and hamstrings, and all that. He probably hasn't been 100% for the last two seasons. (I give him props for playing hurt).
He has never played in more than thirteen games.
After doing additional homework on Shorts, I guess he's ok, but nothing special. He would look better outside than Benjamin, so I retract that part of it.
But he's injury-prone and drops passes. Last season in 13 games, he caught 53 passes for a 10.5 average. That's decent production for a number two, or above average for a tight end.
Terry projects him as a number one. Well, he might play to the quarterback's left side, but that's about as close as he'll ever get. If Ray lowballs him, and the newly drafted wide-out splits time with him, I guess that would be just barely sensible. In a way.
Well, he's a homie and he plays hurt, so if they sign him I'll root for him. I'll tell myself that the drops were concentration-lapses or injury-related, and that maybe he just had a bad stretch and he can stay healthy now.
Assuming facts not in evidence, but what the hell.
Ray Farmer: Are You Nuts?
I tend to ignore most rumors, as a lot of guys like/unlike me often add 2 and 2 together and come up with 5. Then a bunch of other guys including Rhona LaCanfora repeat is as gospel.
But I do pay attention to the OBR's Lane Adkins, who has proven comparatively reliable, and does seem to have actual sources.
This is why right now I'm kind of upset.
He says interest in Jerry Hughes continues, which is good. Hughes is still young, and since he played (and had his best seasons) with Mike Pettine, there's a decent chance he could come to Cleveland if the Bills don't re-sign him.
But then he says they're in the bidding for and feeling optimistic about Trent Gramps Cole of the Eagles, who is 32.
Ray didn't read my last blog. See Willie McGinnest. No knock on Willie, who was solid (when he wasn't hurt) for the Browns, was a strong leader, and taught the youngsters a lot. But he wasn't the same Willie who kicked butt with the Patriots, because he got old.
Nor am I bashing Trent Cole. I'm just saying that he is already declining, and the decline will inevitably accelerate, as it did with McGinnest. He won't be as good as he was last season.
This is how Ray builds a perennial contender? Really?
Per Lane, he's checking out Brandon Graham and Pernel McPhee. Graham is a young guy threatening to take snaps away from Gramps Cole in Philadelphia.
Pernell McPhee is listed as a linebacker with the Ravens despite his 280 lbs., and had 7.5 sacks last season. He's fast and strong, but not explosive. Really, he's more of a 4-3 defensive end who you don't want in coverage.
Both these guys are 26, and Pettine knows McPhea.
Lane says Brian Hartline appears to be off the board, and this is just infuriating. Unlike other wide recievers, Hartline seems genuinely open to playing for the Browns, and his salary demands can't be unrealistic. Ray, what are you doing?
Oh yeah Cecil Shorts is in the running! I forgot whew! Thought Ray was passing up a tall, glue-fingered, super-reliable, durable...say, waitaminnit Ray, what the hell?
Gramps Marshall? Just traded to the Jets.
Andre Holmes of the Raiders is kind of interesting. He's a 6'4" skyscraper I mentioned in a previous blog, but I doubt that his drops were Derrick Carr's fault, as many pundits claim.
What's missing from Lane's list is every really good free agent there is (except Hartline--maybe the best number two in the NFL).
This is terribly frustrating--they've got 50 million on cap space and are mandated to spend the bulk of it. Ray seems to be bottom-fishing for depth players and high-risk bargains.
Ray does say the Browns are being secretive, implying that there may be talks he doesn't know about. I hope that's the case.
I know Browns' fans, and expect the pundits to shortly start suggesting that Haslam has told Ray not to pay anybody any money. I'll just say in advance that this makes zero sense. There is no logical reason for it. He has to spend the money, and...
I guess it's possible that a lot of players refuse to talk to the Browns. If that's the case, I can sort of understand it. Everybody wants to go to a contender with an elite quarterback. Secondarily, some want to stay warm in the winter and are flaky about night life and stuff.
If their greed costs them gigs and the cushy slots start getting taken, they'll come around.
But the REAL football players ought to like the idea of playing on Mike Pettine's defense, or Thomas/Mack/Bitonio's offensive line, and are adults about snow and night life.
This just in! If the Ravens release Gramps Ngata, a bunch of writers are spasticly assuming that the Browns will want to pay him ten million a year to not be as good as he was last season!
Hope not. He's still a stud, but not a ten million dollar stud.
Now for another possible strategy I got from Tony Grossi:
Compensatory draft picks. These picks are awarded to a team one season after they have lost players to free agency, so the Browns would get theirs ahead of the 2016 draft.
The formula is based on the performance of the players lost with their new teams. There are up to four picks awarded, and the better ones come near the end of the third round, which aint bad.
In order to collect these picks, a team needs to show a net loss. The Browns could lose Buster Skrine, seem willing to let Sheard and Rubin go, and it's doubtful that Glassjaw Cameron will be back. And then of course there's Brian Hoyer.
These are all players who could perform quite well with new teams. Sheard and Rubin especially, if Sheard can return to 4-3 DE and Rubin to DT.
I get that, but don't get why Ray would deliberately sign washed-up or inferior players this season to accomplish it.
Cecil Shorts? I guess Greg Little wasn't available. What's Braylon Edwards doing now? What about all the guys that retired a couple seasons ago? Maybe we can coax some of them back!
Ray? Anybody home?
But I do pay attention to the OBR's Lane Adkins, who has proven comparatively reliable, and does seem to have actual sources.
This is why right now I'm kind of upset.
He says interest in Jerry Hughes continues, which is good. Hughes is still young, and since he played (and had his best seasons) with Mike Pettine, there's a decent chance he could come to Cleveland if the Bills don't re-sign him.
But then he says they're in the bidding for and feeling optimistic about Trent Gramps Cole of the Eagles, who is 32.
Ray didn't read my last blog. See Willie McGinnest. No knock on Willie, who was solid (when he wasn't hurt) for the Browns, was a strong leader, and taught the youngsters a lot. But he wasn't the same Willie who kicked butt with the Patriots, because he got old.
Nor am I bashing Trent Cole. I'm just saying that he is already declining, and the decline will inevitably accelerate, as it did with McGinnest. He won't be as good as he was last season.
This is how Ray builds a perennial contender? Really?
Per Lane, he's checking out Brandon Graham and Pernel McPhee. Graham is a young guy threatening to take snaps away from Gramps Cole in Philadelphia.
Pernell McPhee is listed as a linebacker with the Ravens despite his 280 lbs., and had 7.5 sacks last season. He's fast and strong, but not explosive. Really, he's more of a 4-3 defensive end who you don't want in coverage.
Both these guys are 26, and Pettine knows McPhea.
Lane says Brian Hartline appears to be off the board, and this is just infuriating. Unlike other wide recievers, Hartline seems genuinely open to playing for the Browns, and his salary demands can't be unrealistic. Ray, what are you doing?
Oh yeah Cecil Shorts is in the running! I forgot whew! Thought Ray was passing up a tall, glue-fingered, super-reliable, durable...say, waitaminnit Ray, what the hell?
Gramps Marshall? Just traded to the Jets.
Andre Holmes of the Raiders is kind of interesting. He's a 6'4" skyscraper I mentioned in a previous blog, but I doubt that his drops were Derrick Carr's fault, as many pundits claim.
What's missing from Lane's list is every really good free agent there is (except Hartline--maybe the best number two in the NFL).
This is terribly frustrating--they've got 50 million on cap space and are mandated to spend the bulk of it. Ray seems to be bottom-fishing for depth players and high-risk bargains.
Ray does say the Browns are being secretive, implying that there may be talks he doesn't know about. I hope that's the case.
I know Browns' fans, and expect the pundits to shortly start suggesting that Haslam has told Ray not to pay anybody any money. I'll just say in advance that this makes zero sense. There is no logical reason for it. He has to spend the money, and...
I guess it's possible that a lot of players refuse to talk to the Browns. If that's the case, I can sort of understand it. Everybody wants to go to a contender with an elite quarterback. Secondarily, some want to stay warm in the winter and are flaky about night life and stuff.
If their greed costs them gigs and the cushy slots start getting taken, they'll come around.
But the REAL football players ought to like the idea of playing on Mike Pettine's defense, or Thomas/Mack/Bitonio's offensive line, and are adults about snow and night life.
This just in! If the Ravens release Gramps Ngata, a bunch of writers are spasticly assuming that the Browns will want to pay him ten million a year to not be as good as he was last season!
Hope not. He's still a stud, but not a ten million dollar stud.
Now for another possible strategy I got from Tony Grossi:
Compensatory draft picks. These picks are awarded to a team one season after they have lost players to free agency, so the Browns would get theirs ahead of the 2016 draft.
The formula is based on the performance of the players lost with their new teams. There are up to four picks awarded, and the better ones come near the end of the third round, which aint bad.
In order to collect these picks, a team needs to show a net loss. The Browns could lose Buster Skrine, seem willing to let Sheard and Rubin go, and it's doubtful that Glassjaw Cameron will be back. And then of course there's Brian Hoyer.
These are all players who could perform quite well with new teams. Sheard and Rubin especially, if Sheard can return to 4-3 DE and Rubin to DT.
I get that, but don't get why Ray would deliberately sign washed-up or inferior players this season to accomplish it.
Cecil Shorts? I guess Greg Little wasn't available. What's Braylon Edwards doing now? What about all the guys that retired a couple seasons ago? Maybe we can coax some of them back!
Ray? Anybody home?
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Some Browns Fans and Writers Never Learn
Previous Cleveland Browns' regimes (that is to say people who have nothing whatsoever to do with the people in charge today) mismanaged free agency.
A chronic issue with the new Browns is the fact that their lack of success, and of a franchise quarterback, makes the best veteran free agents reluctant to sign here.
What the other guys (who are gone now) did too often was to sign former star players who were clearly past their primes. Usually, the team and pundits said things like "Well yes, he's 34 years old and has been injured a lot, but he had a pretty good year last year."
1: As the human body ages and the knees and ankles are subjected to extreme high impacts, the joints erode and cartilage tears loose.
2: The body heals from these and other injuries at a slower rate. This is why older players miss more playing time...duh.
3: Any player who had a decent year last season (not as good as in previous seasons, by the way) will return one year older.
He WILL be slower. He WILL NOT be as quick, or as durable, and he is DECLINING.
Now, the Browns are not contenders. It sometimes makes sense for a contender to "rent" some older veterans who can still play for one season, as they could make the difference in the playoffs.
It makes ZERO sense for the Browns, who are trying to build themselves into a contender.
Here's what happens when you sign, say, a Reggie Wayne:
To the amazement of many, he seems to have more trouble getting separation for some strange reason. Still, he catches 4 passes for 45 yards, then Lordy 5 for 60, then he...gets hurt. He's day-to-day and...
Yeah but he's great in the meeting rooms, mentoring the younger recievers. Teaching them how to run correct routes and look the ball into their hands and rocket science like that so...
Except for that guy that's starting for the Vikings now, who got stolen from the practice squad when Ray had to make room for this big-name veteran and this really fast shrimp veteran.
And oh, puh-leez just stop it with the vedderrrunn running back crap! A running back isn't a cornerback, quarterback, or passrusher! Where do you get this running back is rocket science stuff? It's NOT THE SAME THING.
About all a veteran running back can teach a young running back is...uhh...well not a damn thing so STOP IT.
No! See, you build a team with younger players under longer-term contracts. You keep the most talented and promising players and allow them to grow into a (hopefully for once) stable system.
If you sign a veteran free agent, you pay the price to get one in his prime, and keep him around for awhile.
If Cecil Shorts isn't better than your worst wide reciever, you don't sign him either. Especially not when Shorts is another little guy just like them, and the real need is for bigger, taller guys (Like Charles Johnson. Remember him? You will shortly, dammit).
By the way, I would have released Travis Benjamin and kept Johnson active. But what do I know?
In this article by Joe Gilbert on waitingfornextyear.com, Joe goes over some of the "realistic" Browns free agent targets at various positions. He brings up several guys that I hadn't considered.
I encourage you to read the article itself, as it's thoughtful and well-researched. In general, Joe gets it: Most of his players are in their primes or ascending, but for depth chart and scheme reasons haven't had a lot of opportunities (yet).
Except he thinks Cecil Shorts would be better than somebody on the current roster, which kind of stuns me.
I can't say this enough: This team is likely to field three tight ends and three running backs. The base offense is hard to define, but it looks like a lot of two-tight end and possibly two-back sets.
This probably means that FIVE wide recievers will be kept active. Everybody has these ideas about who the Browns should sign, but nobody is talking about who would get cut.
To me, Travis Benjamin is low man on this totem pole. He is better than Cecil Shorts. So why would you sign Cecil Shorts? Why why why?
Here is another decent article by Zack Jackson on Foxsportsohio.com. Zack isn't trying to be conservative like Joe, and lists guys like Torrey Smith and Randall Cobb.
I'm a little more with Zack myself. Despite what Jimmy Haslam said, and despite wide recievers' understandable reluctance to come to a (so far) Josh McCown-led offense, the Browns have the MONEY to compete with anybody in a bidding war.
Still, Cobb might be too much to hope for, and Smith is kind of doubtful. Both players would be great additions, however.
In this article, he mentions "Name to Know" at the end of each position, and here he reminded me of Micheal Bowie, the guard/tackle from the Seahawks.
Thanks, Zack! I'd fallen into the trap of ignoring talented, promising players already on the roster in the free agent/draft frenzy.
Yes, Micheal Bowie has at least a 50/50 chance of displacing either Mitchell Schwartze or John Greco as a starter. He is young and improving (look those two words up, by the way) and was a starter for a Superbowl winning team.
(I'd still love to get Mike Lupati, though).
On the draft, this article by Jared Mueller of Fansided.com came out of left field, and certainly out-of-the-box.
Jared talks about The Browns possibly trading DOWN in this draft!
Stop that! It's Jared Mueller, not Rhona LaCanfora, so you need to hear this out, dammit.
The idea is to build up more ammo for the next draft in order to make a move on a stud quarterback.
If the Browns don't land one this season, and Manziel doesn't pan out, where are they then? It's a talented team, and even with McCown at the helm it could once again finish at around the middle of the first round.
Mueller didn't go into any detail, but there are a lot of ways this could be done--most of it convoluted.
Personally, I don't see it with number twelve as their highest pick. Any team willing to surrender future first and second rounders would have to be so low in the first round that they're top contenders, and those picks are libel to be low again next season.
Now that Chip Kelly has traded LeShaun McCoy, Pat Kirwan's hypothetical trade to move to number four for Marcus Mariota isn't there any more.
In lieu of McCoy, is it now going to be next year's second and third rounders as well? At some point, Chip has to give up, since of all the teams being talked about as Mariota suitors, the Browns have the most ammunition...or...
make a deal with the Browns by trading Nick Foles to them for number nineteen, then using that to trade up for Mariota.
Either Foles or Mariota in brown and orange this spring is more likely than any trade down. I think Jared Mueller gave up too early.
Ray Farmer really can't pussy-foot around here, and the very fact that he signed McCown instead of Hoyer signals his intentions to at least try to make some move here and now.
Foles is still young and comaratively inexperienced, and would benefit from McCown's guidance as a starter. Mariota has a lot to prove at the pro level, and would more likely not start immediately.
Manziel is really just the joker in this deck, and we'll all just have to see how he plays out. However, there is NO WAY that Ray is staking his career on this kid (and without an immediate move of some sort, this is what he'd be doing.)
Anyway, to summarize the main point of this article, say no to overpriced geezer rentafreeagents, and no guts, no glory Ray.
A chronic issue with the new Browns is the fact that their lack of success, and of a franchise quarterback, makes the best veteran free agents reluctant to sign here.
What the other guys (who are gone now) did too often was to sign former star players who were clearly past their primes. Usually, the team and pundits said things like "Well yes, he's 34 years old and has been injured a lot, but he had a pretty good year last year."
1: As the human body ages and the knees and ankles are subjected to extreme high impacts, the joints erode and cartilage tears loose.
2: The body heals from these and other injuries at a slower rate. This is why older players miss more playing time...duh.
3: Any player who had a decent year last season (not as good as in previous seasons, by the way) will return one year older.
He WILL be slower. He WILL NOT be as quick, or as durable, and he is DECLINING.
Now, the Browns are not contenders. It sometimes makes sense for a contender to "rent" some older veterans who can still play for one season, as they could make the difference in the playoffs.
It makes ZERO sense for the Browns, who are trying to build themselves into a contender.
Here's what happens when you sign, say, a Reggie Wayne:
To the amazement of many, he seems to have more trouble getting separation for some strange reason. Still, he catches 4 passes for 45 yards, then Lordy 5 for 60, then he...gets hurt. He's day-to-day and...
Yeah but he's great in the meeting rooms, mentoring the younger recievers. Teaching them how to run correct routes and look the ball into their hands and rocket science like that so...
Except for that guy that's starting for the Vikings now, who got stolen from the practice squad when Ray had to make room for this big-name veteran and this really fast shrimp veteran.
And oh, puh-leez just stop it with the vedderrrunn running back crap! A running back isn't a cornerback, quarterback, or passrusher! Where do you get this running back is rocket science stuff? It's NOT THE SAME THING.
About all a veteran running back can teach a young running back is...uhh...well not a damn thing so STOP IT.
No! See, you build a team with younger players under longer-term contracts. You keep the most talented and promising players and allow them to grow into a (hopefully for once) stable system.
If you sign a veteran free agent, you pay the price to get one in his prime, and keep him around for awhile.
If Cecil Shorts isn't better than your worst wide reciever, you don't sign him either. Especially not when Shorts is another little guy just like them, and the real need is for bigger, taller guys (Like Charles Johnson. Remember him? You will shortly, dammit).
By the way, I would have released Travis Benjamin and kept Johnson active. But what do I know?
In this article by Joe Gilbert on waitingfornextyear.com, Joe goes over some of the "realistic" Browns free agent targets at various positions. He brings up several guys that I hadn't considered.
I encourage you to read the article itself, as it's thoughtful and well-researched. In general, Joe gets it: Most of his players are in their primes or ascending, but for depth chart and scheme reasons haven't had a lot of opportunities (yet).
Except he thinks Cecil Shorts would be better than somebody on the current roster, which kind of stuns me.
I can't say this enough: This team is likely to field three tight ends and three running backs. The base offense is hard to define, but it looks like a lot of two-tight end and possibly two-back sets.
This probably means that FIVE wide recievers will be kept active. Everybody has these ideas about who the Browns should sign, but nobody is talking about who would get cut.
To me, Travis Benjamin is low man on this totem pole. He is better than Cecil Shorts. So why would you sign Cecil Shorts? Why why why?
Here is another decent article by Zack Jackson on Foxsportsohio.com. Zack isn't trying to be conservative like Joe, and lists guys like Torrey Smith and Randall Cobb.
I'm a little more with Zack myself. Despite what Jimmy Haslam said, and despite wide recievers' understandable reluctance to come to a (so far) Josh McCown-led offense, the Browns have the MONEY to compete with anybody in a bidding war.
Still, Cobb might be too much to hope for, and Smith is kind of doubtful. Both players would be great additions, however.
In this article, he mentions "Name to Know" at the end of each position, and here he reminded me of Micheal Bowie, the guard/tackle from the Seahawks.
Thanks, Zack! I'd fallen into the trap of ignoring talented, promising players already on the roster in the free agent/draft frenzy.
Yes, Micheal Bowie has at least a 50/50 chance of displacing either Mitchell Schwartze or John Greco as a starter. He is young and improving (look those two words up, by the way) and was a starter for a Superbowl winning team.
(I'd still love to get Mike Lupati, though).
On the draft, this article by Jared Mueller of Fansided.com came out of left field, and certainly out-of-the-box.
Jared talks about The Browns possibly trading DOWN in this draft!
Stop that! It's Jared Mueller, not Rhona LaCanfora, so you need to hear this out, dammit.
The idea is to build up more ammo for the next draft in order to make a move on a stud quarterback.
If the Browns don't land one this season, and Manziel doesn't pan out, where are they then? It's a talented team, and even with McCown at the helm it could once again finish at around the middle of the first round.
Mueller didn't go into any detail, but there are a lot of ways this could be done--most of it convoluted.
Personally, I don't see it with number twelve as their highest pick. Any team willing to surrender future first and second rounders would have to be so low in the first round that they're top contenders, and those picks are libel to be low again next season.
Now that Chip Kelly has traded LeShaun McCoy, Pat Kirwan's hypothetical trade to move to number four for Marcus Mariota isn't there any more.
In lieu of McCoy, is it now going to be next year's second and third rounders as well? At some point, Chip has to give up, since of all the teams being talked about as Mariota suitors, the Browns have the most ammunition...or...
make a deal with the Browns by trading Nick Foles to them for number nineteen, then using that to trade up for Mariota.
Either Foles or Mariota in brown and orange this spring is more likely than any trade down. I think Jared Mueller gave up too early.
Ray Farmer really can't pussy-foot around here, and the very fact that he signed McCown instead of Hoyer signals his intentions to at least try to make some move here and now.
Foles is still young and comaratively inexperienced, and would benefit from McCown's guidance as a starter. Mariota has a lot to prove at the pro level, and would more likely not start immediately.
Manziel is really just the joker in this deck, and we'll all just have to see how he plays out. However, there is NO WAY that Ray is staking his career on this kid (and without an immediate move of some sort, this is what he'd be doing.)
Anyway, to summarize the main point of this article, say no to overpriced geezer rentafreeagents, and no guts, no glory Ray.
Thursday, March 5, 2015
The "Rest" of the Browns' '15 Draft
I'm skipping the first round entirely. All sorts of things could happen as targets are taken early, players slide, and trades are made.
Many evaluations of team "needs" I've heard and read are bogus. For example, Mitchell Schwartze isn't a great right tackle, but isn't a bad one either. You don't call this a "need".
Again, the wheels came off for the whole line, seemingly, when Alex Mack went down. Some kind of ripple effect seemed to make all the survivors worse. I can't explain why, aside from the possibility that Mack was exceptionally smart with his line-calls.
John Greco lost a few pounds and really surprised me at right guard. He's pretty damn good! Well...with Alex Mack he is, anyway.
However, Greco is 30, and that position could still be upgraded. In my previous blog, I gushed about how Mike Lupati would be a big upgrade (and make Greco maybe the best and most versatile backup in the NFL).
Even if the Browns landed Lupati, however, here's a guy who could possibly be there when the Browns pick in the second round:
Cameron Erving. What position does he play? Defensive tackle, left tackle, and center.
That's right. He came into college as a defensive tackle--and he was a pretty damn good one, too! He went straight from there to left tackle, and was All-American there, too. Then they moved him to center last season, and he was great there, too!
He played for Florida State in a pro-style offense. Although he's 6'5", 315, he's a genuine athlete with light feet and quickness (fits a zone/trap scheme).
He could play center, guard, or even tackle in the NFL, and that's rare. He has some rough edges, but nevertheless could be a day one starter.
He would immediately challenge Greco at right guard, or possibly even Schwartze at right tackle.
Ray Farmer has to look down the road apiece to the possibility that next time Alex Mack's contract comes up, he'll leave. He also has to cover for another disasterous injury (live and learn).
In Erving, at the very least, he adds depth all across the line, and is a probable starter somewhere in 2016. Five birds with one stone.
He's a riser, though, and might be gone. I'd spend a fourth rounder to make sure.
Tyler Croft is a "move" tight end/h-back who is ranked fifth at the position and projected to the third or fourth round. With Jordan Cameron probably destined to leave, and DeFelippo stressing the importance of that type of player, Croft could be a bargain.
He's 6'5", 246 and not at this point a good in-line blocker. This is the biggest scouting knock on him, because he's a natural reciever who finds soft spots, gets open, and doesn't drop anything.
He could go lower than he should go for three reasons: 1: I can find no combine numbers on him, and think that for some reason he didn't do the drills. (Unfortunately, he probably will at a Pro Day).
2: In 2013 he led Rutgers in recieving with 43 catches for 573 yards and four touchdowns. In 2014 there was a change at quarterback (for the worse) and he only caught 24 for 269 yards.
3: Again, he's not a good in-line blocker. Some teams won't want him for this reason, but we know that DeFelippo and the Browns are not on that list. They already have two blocking tight ends (who can catch), and just need another Cameron-type.
I was pleased to hear DeFelippo talk about using the running backs more as pass-recievers. As blocking fullbacks are to Tony Grossi, pass-catching running backs are to me.
Whenever a running back has no one to block--or by design sometimes when he does--he should go out for a pass. A defense can try to mirror a back, or else send passrushers to keep him in the backfield, but it's just about impossible to pick him up in coverage as he crosses the line at full speed.
You can't jam that. He'll run you over or go around you. You can't let him get behind you, so you've got to give him a cushion.
If the huddle breaks and he goes to the slot, you have to take somebody out of the box to try to cover him--spreading the run-stoppers out for the other back.
A running back can also be a blitze-burner. Rather than block the blitzer, he "chips" him to slow him down, but keeps going into the empty zone the blitzer left.
While I have the impression that DeFelippo wants to run a base two-tight ("12") set, pass-catching running backs give an offense the option to run a two-back 21, or even occasionally an elephant "22" set with two backs and two tight ends.
The Browns might be able to land a "scat-back" in this draft, but that's not a need in this offense. Nor is a blocking fullback who can't catch.
Croft would do fine.
Many evaluations of team "needs" I've heard and read are bogus. For example, Mitchell Schwartze isn't a great right tackle, but isn't a bad one either. You don't call this a "need".
Again, the wheels came off for the whole line, seemingly, when Alex Mack went down. Some kind of ripple effect seemed to make all the survivors worse. I can't explain why, aside from the possibility that Mack was exceptionally smart with his line-calls.
John Greco lost a few pounds and really surprised me at right guard. He's pretty damn good! Well...with Alex Mack he is, anyway.
However, Greco is 30, and that position could still be upgraded. In my previous blog, I gushed about how Mike Lupati would be a big upgrade (and make Greco maybe the best and most versatile backup in the NFL).
Even if the Browns landed Lupati, however, here's a guy who could possibly be there when the Browns pick in the second round:
Cameron Erving. What position does he play? Defensive tackle, left tackle, and center.
That's right. He came into college as a defensive tackle--and he was a pretty damn good one, too! He went straight from there to left tackle, and was All-American there, too. Then they moved him to center last season, and he was great there, too!
He played for Florida State in a pro-style offense. Although he's 6'5", 315, he's a genuine athlete with light feet and quickness (fits a zone/trap scheme).
He could play center, guard, or even tackle in the NFL, and that's rare. He has some rough edges, but nevertheless could be a day one starter.
He would immediately challenge Greco at right guard, or possibly even Schwartze at right tackle.
Ray Farmer has to look down the road apiece to the possibility that next time Alex Mack's contract comes up, he'll leave. He also has to cover for another disasterous injury (live and learn).
In Erving, at the very least, he adds depth all across the line, and is a probable starter somewhere in 2016. Five birds with one stone.
He's a riser, though, and might be gone. I'd spend a fourth rounder to make sure.
Tyler Croft is a "move" tight end/h-back who is ranked fifth at the position and projected to the third or fourth round. With Jordan Cameron probably destined to leave, and DeFelippo stressing the importance of that type of player, Croft could be a bargain.
He's 6'5", 246 and not at this point a good in-line blocker. This is the biggest scouting knock on him, because he's a natural reciever who finds soft spots, gets open, and doesn't drop anything.
He could go lower than he should go for three reasons: 1: I can find no combine numbers on him, and think that for some reason he didn't do the drills. (Unfortunately, he probably will at a Pro Day).
2: In 2013 he led Rutgers in recieving with 43 catches for 573 yards and four touchdowns. In 2014 there was a change at quarterback (for the worse) and he only caught 24 for 269 yards.
3: Again, he's not a good in-line blocker. Some teams won't want him for this reason, but we know that DeFelippo and the Browns are not on that list. They already have two blocking tight ends (who can catch), and just need another Cameron-type.
I was pleased to hear DeFelippo talk about using the running backs more as pass-recievers. As blocking fullbacks are to Tony Grossi, pass-catching running backs are to me.
Whenever a running back has no one to block--or by design sometimes when he does--he should go out for a pass. A defense can try to mirror a back, or else send passrushers to keep him in the backfield, but it's just about impossible to pick him up in coverage as he crosses the line at full speed.
You can't jam that. He'll run you over or go around you. You can't let him get behind you, so you've got to give him a cushion.
If the huddle breaks and he goes to the slot, you have to take somebody out of the box to try to cover him--spreading the run-stoppers out for the other back.
A running back can also be a blitze-burner. Rather than block the blitzer, he "chips" him to slow him down, but keeps going into the empty zone the blitzer left.
While I have the impression that DeFelippo wants to run a base two-tight ("12") set, pass-catching running backs give an offense the option to run a two-back 21, or even occasionally an elephant "22" set with two backs and two tight ends.
The Browns might be able to land a "scat-back" in this draft, but that's not a need in this offense. Nor is a blocking fullback who can't catch.
Croft would do fine.
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