Each of us will remember where we were this day when we heard that the Cleveland Browns had made a contested catch to beat the New York Giants to Hue Jackson.
When we heard that the Giants were after Hue, didn't we all groan "not again!"?
Then here come the pundits (except for yours truly): The Giants have Manning and Beckham (although it's hard to name anybody else except Tye). They play in the softest Division in football. Mara is patient.
The Cleveland Indians are a farm team for the Yankees. Every time the Browns go after a coach, he goes somewhere else. Same old same old.
Not this time. Jimmy Haslam didn't fool around. He went after his guy hard. Probably, he's fed up too. Do you think Jimmy Haslam likes firing head coaches every couple years?
I can dispense with several things that the clueless will be saying shortly right now:
1: It wasn't about money. Mara could compete with Haslam. Hue Jackson could have taken his offer to New York and Mara would have beat it. I also think that coaches aren't as mindlessly greedy as players.
2: It wasn't because he just likes Ohio. Most Bengals live in Kentucky anyway (lower taxes...see how that works btw?)
This will come out later, but I can give you a preview, since it was obvious to me:
1: The Giants have a GM in place. Hue would have had to try to fit in with him. Maybe the guy is great--I don't know. But neither did Hue.
Here, he can pick his own guy. And that guy can focus almost exclusively on talent, since the business side is covered.
That personnel guy will have access to the most advanced analytics dept. in the NFL (and apparently Hue likes that.)
3: Jimmy probably guaranteed most of the money on a long term deal. He has publicly talked about a "multi-year project" to openly signal to all applicants that they would have time, and to lower the always unreasonable expectations of the fan base.
Most likely in private, Jimmy Haslam made Hue Jackson some promises.
3: Hue probably preferred to pick his own quarterback and start from scratch to taking over Eli Manning. He was probably looking down the road.
4: He is daydreaming about Pryor and Gordon on the field at the same time, real wildcat offenses, and depth at quarterback.
5: He knows the "highest paid defense" is actually worth it if his defensive coordinator uses it right.
6: He sees more overall young talent on this team than in New Jersey or San Francisco.
7: He read my Blog (blush-blush)
After more research, I've discovered that Jackson isn't married to any one offensive system. Here, I would anticipate more Air Coryell than West Coast, provided Pryor evolves as I expect, and Gordon stays out of trouble.
Regardless of what he runs, he will make the most of his personnel, including Duke Johnson and Crowell.
It's also very possible that Jimmy and Hue, and Jimmy and Paul Guenther himself, have talked about poaching Guenther from the Bengals to be the Browns defensive coordinator.
I explained why this would be a good move for him in a previous entry. I'm probably the only one not named Guenther, Haslam, Jackson, or Brown that it's occurred to.
That would be a heavy blow to the Bengals.
By the way, this second-guessing of the Bengals deciding to run the ball rather than kneel on it in the playoff game is assenine, and I don't care how badly outnumbered I am.
This was the Steelers with Antonio Brown, and all they needed was a field goal. A handoff isn't a high risk call. A first down would end the game.
You want to kneel on it, then let them return a punt to around their 40 yard line down by two with time left on the clock? The Steelers? Really? A punt getting blocked is statistically not much less likely than a fumble.
Not that I'm defending Hue Jackson: This was Marvin Lewis's call. But it was the right one.
DEAR HUE JACKSON:
Welcome to Cleveland! You are the guy the majority of us wanted, and we already love you for just giving our Browns a chance!
You should just read my blog now and ignore everybody else. I'm the only one who knows what he's talking about, and I've got all sorts of free advice for you!
I know you know the defensive guys you've inherited by heart already, which is one of the reasons you came here. Just don't forget Scott Solomon like everybody else has. He's a real linebacker who can set the edge and rush the quarterback.
But you haven't studied the Browns offense in real depth yet. If you made the mistake of reading other articles and not my blog, you've probably heard that the offense lacks playmakers.
That depends on your definition of a playmaker. My definition is a guy who can go all the way from anywhere in the field. If that's your definition, you have Travis Benjamin and Duke Johnson Jr. I don't know how many playmakers they think you need. Apparently five or six.
You had AJ Green in Cincinnati and maybe Brown...does Eiffert count? If he does maybe so should Barnidge.
Anyway maybe they disqualify everybody but Big receivers, so congratulations on doing what you did with only one offensive playmaker! Dumb, huh? Well that's what they say.
Anyway you're getting Josh Gordon and Terrelle Pryor back, so you'll have two of the required five or six playmakers! That's a good start!
You should talk to Joe Thomas, Alex Mack, Mitchell Schwartze, Tashaun Gipson, and Travis Benjamin right away. Those are your key free agents or potential losses.
Gipson, as you know, is hurt a lot, but that might make him cheap. Lots of people will bash you if he leaves. Ignore them.
Mack is probably gone because some cretin will offer him 12 million a year or something, and I'm not sure but think he's utterly devoid of imagination. He might not be able to imagine the Browns winning.
Don't read anything anybody else says about Gilbert or Erving. But then you probably know Erving already, because he was the top center in the draft. He had some really bad games at left guard, but ended up okay at right guard and will get stronger in the off season.
Gilbert is a physical freak who just needs to get his head together and play more in simple man coverage. He will enter his third season under you, so just let the best man win and there's a good chance it will be him.
You've got some age to deal with. Dansby can still play as you know, but Whitner is in decline. Consider trying Desir at safety and giving Poyer and Campbell chances.
You've got a ton of good cornerbacks, but most of them are shrimps. Even Joe Haden is a borderline shrimp. Gilbert and the older guy they got from Green Bay are bigger.
Your defensive coordinator is up to you. I know you've been all over and know all sorts of guys, but if you like Guenther tell Jimmy right away so he can try to steal him.
I guess maybe you don't want to do that because you know Marvin Lewis is overrated and your friend, but business is business right?
Ok that's all for now. I need your number for texts and your private email so I can help you out. Please expedite that.
That's all for now.
Severely, Wile E Coyote
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