As you knew would happen if you read this blog, Joe Thomas is optimistic now that the hottest Head Coach candidate shocked the world by signing on with the Cleveland Browns.
This isn't rocket science. I'm one of those rare individuals for whome English is a first language, and who listens to what people say. Joe said he wanted to see what would happen, and used the word "maybe".
The three most recent coaches were assistants with no Head Coaching experience. They were break-glass-in-case-of-emergency hires who Haslam resorted to when the guys he wanted all took themselves out of the running.
This time around, Haslam had a plan in place, and changed things before the search even began in earnest. While many felt that Sashi Brown's control over the final roster would turn off most coaches, and that hiring DePodesta and the strong leaning toward analytics could cause conflict, Hue Jackson is actually impressed by it.
Hue has been there done that. It's unclear how much control he actually had over the single draft he conducted with the Raiders, but it didn't turn out very well. He got a very good center in the second round, and not much else (he didn't have a first round pick).
As I explained, Sashi knows his limitations, and won't be overriding the personnel people. He's mainly there to prevent irresponsible or impulsive moves. Hue gets this. He worked for Al Davis. And Hue is also secure in who he is and what he does best. He is rare: a Head Coach who isn't a megalomanic control freak.
But I digress. The Browns pretty much had Joe Thomas at "Hue Jackson".
Joe was careful not to comment further until Sashi Brown reached out to him. Smart. As Sashi said, Joe wanted to know how they were going to do this thing. Sashi also mentioned Joe's depth of knowledge, and the Browns wanting to "glean from it".
These words are meaningless to most fans, and are carefully chosen and non-specific, but the underlying message is there:
They discussed the blocking scheme. Joe made his own views clear, and Sashi gave him the answers he wanted.
Naturally, Joe also wanted some reassurance that reports of a wholesale rebuild were typical Chicken Little garbage, and they probably both laughed about it.
That's the first good news. More good news is that I now suspect that Alex Mack might stay. MIGHT. NOT WILL. M I G H T.
Eight million (his current deal) should be enough, but thanks to other boneheads massively overpaying their own centers, the market has shifted, and Mack and his agent know they can extort more money.
Thanks to Grossi, I now think that the high bid might be under ten million/year, and that Sashi might find a way to manage that.
Of course, if Mack wants to leave, he will leave anyway. However, his friends are here. Players with families generally like Cleveland. Mack wants to win, but this is Hue Jackson, and he'll hear what his buddy Joe heard about the blocking scheme (probably zone-centric) and the retention of the better players.
Tony Grossi made me more nervous about RT Mitchell Schwartze, as he pointed out for me (duh) that he would be a popular free agent target.
This isn't as simple, as Schwartze isn't an ideal fit for a zone-blocking scheme. He has steadily predictably improved each year, including in 2014 under Kyle Shanahan, and can certainly function in any scheme. But this will effect how much Sashi will be willing to pay.
Others have reported that there is no one on the current roster who could replace Schwartze, but in reality both Pasztor and Micheal Bowie are candidates, and Bowie is a better fit.
Bowie had a number of starts for the Superbowl Seahawks before coming to Cleveland, but played poorly here. Still, he was young, and in Seattle was pressed into service before he was ready. He is still improving.
Pasztor is a seasoned veteran who has played well at left guard.
Mitchell Schwartze is regarded as a solid right tackle, but we're not talking about Joe Thomas or Alex Mack here. We'll just have to see how silly other teams want to get with their offers to him.
Tony was unusually blunt in calling previous regimes stupid for not retaining their own free agents, and he's right.
To be fair, sometimes the demands got ridiculous, and the decisions weren't made in a vacuum. The coaches have to make best use of the players, and sometimes they didn't.
This is how you let a Jabaal Sheard go to New England to become a key component of that defense.
Tony points out that the Browns have a lot of cap space, and he's right there too. It doesn't mean you should spend it all, or wreck your budget by paying one guy a disproportionately higher salary than his teammates, but Sheard might have been retained. (Rubin was too greedy. He wasn't that good.)
With Ray Horton here, a serious effort to re-sign Gipson is likely. Other teams are acutely aware of his injuries, so his astronomical asking price is now a joke. He should want to stay, since the people who ticked him off are all gone, and the coach who gave him his best year is back.
Sashi has a good chance of retaining Gipson.
Tony mentions several other players, including core special teamers Bademosi and Tank Carder. Bademosi has led in tackles for four years, and would seem a no-brainer.
Craig Roberts is another guy with a good chance of returning. Ray Horton started him, and likes him. He has improved dramatically in coverage since Ray was last here.
Benjamin should be back.
Tony lists Terelle Pryor. Tony compares him to the Bengals Mohammud Sanu, who sometimes runs and passes the ball, and says "why not?".
That's funny. But I'm sure that Sashi will happily make him an offer based on that!
At least Grossi thinks it would be a good idea to keep him around as a novelty. That's at least smarter than just letting him go.
As Tony says, holding onto your own free agents is a big part of how you build a team. You bring these young guys along until they're at least average NFL players in their primes. If you don't then keep them, you're perpetually playing inexperienced players and rotating in other teams' castoffs who are unfamiliar with your systems.
Continuity isn't just about coaching staffs.
Returning to the offensive line, there is an outside chance that all of last season's starters will be back. Continuity is vastly more important here than anywhere else.
As Pat Kirwan, Gil Brandt, and literally every other genuine expert will tell you, a group of average offensive linemen who have played together for two seasons can be dominating, simply because they never miscommunicate, and instinctively support each other.
If Sashi Brown can pull this off, Hue Jackson's offense is half way there.
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