More Free Agents

Another reason for a Cap guy being in charge of the final roster: The Miami Dolphins and Ndamukong Suh.

Suh was arguably the best (as well as most vicious and dirtiest) defensive tackle in football.  So the Dolphins decided to pay him 114 million over six years.  This is more than some teams pay their starting quarterback on his second contract.  One year later, they're "considering" trying to persuade Suh to restructure his contract.

It's the main reason why the Dolphins are in the hole on their salary cap.

The Dolphins free agents include Lamar Miller and Rishard Matthews.

Many will say the Browns should pursue Miller, but contrary to popular delusion, running back is not a priority here. 

The real plum here could be defensive end Olivier Vernon.  He had 7.5 sacks, 41 tackles, and 18 tackles for loss.  

Coming out for the draft, Vernon was actually expected to become a 3-4 outside linebacker in the NFL.  That's because he was 6'2" (261 lbs).  

Naturally, Vernon would do a lot of standing up for Ray Horton.  His coverage ability is a question mark, but he has all the other requisite skills.

Vernon should be a contested target, and will get pretty expensive on the open market.  The Browns will need to do some projections on him.

He's just completed his rookie deal, and had 18 sacks in his first two seasons, so as a defensive end, he's proven able to take on and defeat offensive linemen.  He can put his hand on the ground when needed.  Playing more in space could help him out.

The Dolphins could franchise tag him, but Cameron Wake is another possibility, plus they have to pay whoever they franchise.

One article I read from the Miami press must have been written by Ray O Sunshine's cousin.  It was great that Dolphins management would consider allowing Suh to restructure, and the franchise tag doesn't count against the cap right?

Ravens guard Kalechi Osemeli will probably be a priority for the Wizard, but Ozzie is short on ammo.  Here is another bulldozer not ideal for a zone scheme, but in his case an exception could be made, because he's just that good.

He was a tackle in college and is 6'5" (333).  He could play right tackle here.  At right tackle, he could handle the zone stuff more easily.  Losing him would really hurt the Ravens.

The Ravens also have Chris Givens, Courtney Upshaw, and other important younger players to think about.  I like Upshaw, but he's another Solomon sans the pass rush.  Givens is a deep threat only, and here on Earth, the Browns don't need wide receivers.

As DePodesta and company dig into the numbers, atop the problem tree from 2015 they'll find lack of pressure on opposing quarterbacks, which is related to lack of penetration/disruption (the latter contributing heavily to the running yards they coughed up).  Right up there with these are missed tackles.

Ray Horton isn't the ideal guy to fix this, as his own players have been guilty of poor tackling as well.  

The surface scan will reveal this much, and that's as far as even smart analysts like Terry Pluto will take it.  But the new Browns staff, including the coaches, will dig deeper, to see what scheme and playcalling had to do with it.

This gets into the numbers of three, four, and five man pressures at various downs and distances.  Then into individual players: 

How often did Paul Kruger cover, rather than attack?  Did any players move around and take different gaps and angles?  And much, much deeper stuff, including why a given player got to his gap late.

The Browns bosses are doing this now, in order to most accurately evaluate the players they have on the roster already.  They'll get different answers than Jimmy Johnson and most fans.  There are several passrushers and penetrators here now.

The missed tackles are an epidemic in the NFL since the new players contract.  Ray Horton's defenses are as guilty of it as anyone else's.

But look at teams like the Steelers and Patriots.  They prove it can be done.  I sure hope the Browns Front office looks at what these teams do differently, and copies them.

Maybe the Browns should hire a tackling coach!  Since teams are rarely allowed to actually tackle in practice, maybe they should make big dummies and tackle them!

Doesn't it drive you crazy?  I turned on Mike Pettine at the end, but when a player is in position, then just drips or bounces off a ball carrier, that's on the player.

This is a big reason why Ray Horton's defenses rank high in most categories, but low in scoring.  So often, it was that one player not making that one tackle.

I've tried to keep this a Johnny free zone, but Terry Pluto's latest article wasn't so hot.

He used Johnny's season long stats to compare him to Josh McCown without context.  His last three starts were vs the Steelers, Seahawks, and Chiefs.  The Chiefs game was played in a minor hurricane, and the Seahawks and Chiefs had elite defenses.  The Bengals had an elite defense.  He started three games against playoff teams.  And Terry was comparing basically a rookie to a seasoned veteran.

Ok, so he's a goner and a punk, but a talented punk.  Jeez, Terry, quit hanging out with Tom Reed.