Browns Pass Rush, Quarterbacks

Nothing is happening.  Nothing to write about.  Still, I've got to try.

Ray Horton talked about using Barkevious Mingo and Paul Kruger differently.  He spoke more of Kruger, basically saying that he would blitze more and cover less.  Hallelujah!

Coaches have a kind of code which prevents them from criticizing other coaches.  There's only so much Ray can openly say about how he'll use players without sounding like a Pettine basher.

While using Kruger so much in coverage was downright dumb, using Mingo that way wasn't so much.  As I've explained here several times, Mingo has freakish speed and flexibility, and can be very effective in that role.

Still, this is Ray Horton, so you've got to expect more blitzing out of Mingo, as well.  The real most likely Robin to Kruger's Batman, however, is Nate Orchard.

Ray moves people around to get favorable matchups.  Kruger and Orchard are similar players.  Mingo is much different from these two, and a blocker who can handle them might not be able to handle him.  

Unlike most other fans, I remember a guy named Scott Solomon, too.  Ray Horton will have a nice rotation of outside linebackers to use.

As Mary Kay pointed out, Tennessee was sixth in sacks per pass attempt last season without a superstar passrusher.  As I pointed out in one of my own entries, the bulk of these sacks were evenly distributed among four players.

Up until now, I myself have listed "passrusher" as a priority, but think I was wrong now.  In addition to these four passrushers, this team also includes the Bryants and Xavier Cooper.

(Yet another entry: Horton's defense has two or three down linemen one-gapping on every down).

Consensus has the Browns targeting Goff at quarterback.  But I've now heard from some of his fans, who question his leadership.

Look, I always take this stuff with a grain of salt.  A lot of people don't comprehend leadership.  For them, if a guy isn't yelling at people or hopping up and down like a cheerleader, he's not a leader.

And everybody these days is an expert on body language.  Chuh!

However, Hue Jackson listed "leadership" as one of his top three priorities in a quarterback, so he'll be looking hard at this.

I don't know if those fans knew what they were talking about, but I do know that Wentz is a strong leader.

Once again, the single most attractive attribute Goff has is his brain.  Wentz had the chance to answer some questions about that at the Senior Bowl, and closed that gap.

We've got a long way to go before the draft, so who knows what Hue will do?  But I do know that he will choose his quarterback based on the interviews.

I like them both, but physically Wentz is all that.  The guy hasn't even finished growing yet, and he's already big.  He can do a lot of things Goff can't, including throw on the run (all-arm).

It's a close race, but if I was forced to bet on somebody, I'd have to use Mike Mayock as my tie-breaker and go with Wentz.

To use "pro-ready" as a factor is just plain dumb.

The Browns have McCown and Davis, and won't be ready to unseat the Steelers and Bengals for another year.

Hue will choose the quarterback with the most upside, period.  He plans to be here awhile.