In this article by Ryan Rosco, the author suggests that the Browns would be smart to sign Alshon Jeffery if the numbers are right.
Since the guy isn't even 26 yet, and is a beast, I can't fault Ryan for wanting him in an orange helmet. He might even be almost as good as Josh Gordon!
Ryan forgot about him. And Terrelle Pryor. He still lists wide receiver as among the Browns' top needs, and points out that the best ones will be gone atop the second round.
I won't belabor the fact that the two big fast wide receivers already on the roster, combined with Hartline and the well-vetted microbes, will provide an overfull stable of passcatchers.
It's very hard not to repeat myself when the same dumbassitude raises it's drooling head almost daily.
At any rate, if Jeffery doesn't come to an agreement with da Bearss, it's probable that they'll franchise him. As I've illustrated in earlier entries, number one receivers don't grow on trees.
Ryan suffers two maladies. One is Memorex Moronitis (symptoms: Forgetting players exist when they don't play, and assuming players will not improve with experience), and premature expostulation.
This is common among Browns fans. Every time some prospective free agent's name comes up in the news, they write that the Browns should sign him. And because the Browns needed big receivers at the beginning of 2015, they still need them...even though they have them...
Casey Drottar somehow managed to invent a tough decision to be made with Joe Thomas. Casey is often pretty good, but then he comes up with clunkers like this.
He's way out there this time. He actually bought Jimmy Haslam's rebuilding project PR campaign (intended to lure a head coach and lower expectations).
He imagines many urgent roster needs that don't exist, and seems to agree with other loons that Hue Jackson will cut everybody and start over from scratch.
If any of this were true, of course Joe Thomas wouldn't want to hang around here.
But Hue Jackson looks forward to talking to Big Joe, and I know what he'll say: "Don't worry. We're going to keep all the best players. If Pryor and/or Gordon work out, we can contend next season."
Casey also hypothetically cited trading him for a second round pick. Wow.
All this blocking scheme and system stuff isn't new to me. When Bill Belichick signed on here as head coach, everybody expected him to blow up the 4-3 defense so that he could run his 3-4. Everybody except me, anyway.
Naturally, he didn't. He ran a 4-3 at first, until he had collected the personnel needed to run a hybrid 3-4. Because it would have been stupid to throw away perfectly good players.
Even after he'd switched to a predominant 3-4, it bore little resemblance to the defense he ran with the Giants. He put Micheal Dean Perry at nose tackle, but cocked him at an angle and had him attack the A-gap and penetrate.
Another writer thinks right guard John Greco might be in trouble because Hue Jackson, regardless of personnel, will run a man blocking scheme.
This wasn't as dumb as the articles I've cited so far, since if Hue does insist on doing this (and he might), Greco indeed won't be as effective as he was in Shanahan's zone scheme.
I still harbor hope that Hue will use what worked best. Greco's decline in efficiency matched Joel Bittonio's decline. Even Alex Mack wasn't as good last season as he was under Shanahan. If Hue can't see that, or refuses to honor it, I'll be very disappointed in him.
And when Hue has his conversation with Joe Thomas, you can bet that he'll ask Hue about that. "Are you going to adapt your blocking scheme to us?" Joe might even make it a deal-breaker.
Joe Thomas has leverage, knows what he's doing, and is painfully blunt and assertive. This is important, and I believe he'll stress it to Hue.
It is important to Greco and Bitonio, and will be more important to Cam Erving, who will be even more effective in a zone scheme, and less effective in man.
Anyway, Alshon Jeffery probably stays in Chicago, Big Joe stays here if Hue is reasonable, and Greco isn't going anywhere period.
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