Browns Power Ranking: Fair Enough.

Chris Simms ranked the Browns thirtieth based on an overall dearth of talent.  At first, I thought Chris was another guy who doesn't bother doing his homework, until I heard him talking about his Browns Power Ranking with Matt Miller.

The critical element for any team is the quarterback, and a lot of questions persist about RG3.  Other questions need to be anwered as well.  Nobody in the secondary except Joe Haden is really proven.  Ogbah, Hassan, and Orchard are unproven.  Right tackle is unsettled.

While I am irked by Chris's misuse of the word "talent", I can understand where he's coming from.

When his partner Matt Miller talked about how horribly the Browns had botched the offseason by signing RG3 instead of drafting Wentz or Goff, how Corey Coleman was impressive but would have nobody else to take the heat off him, and said some more ignorant stuff not worth repeating, Chris got quiet and looked a little sad.

Their under-over for the Browns was 4.5 wins, and Miller naturally went under.  Chris went over, projecting six wins.

He explained: Gordon, Pryor, and Coleman could be really scary.  Hue Jackson is an excellent coach.  He mentioned Hassan and Ogbah as well.

It was well said.  I think Matt Miller was oblivious to the fact that Chris had just showed everybody how stupid he was.  What Miller said about Coleman having nobody to take the pressure off him exposed his laziness.  Obviously, not only Pryor and Gordon will, but also Barnidge and Duke.

Obviously, Hue Jackson will run the ball, and actually does have the people to do it.

While Matt Miller clearly regards himself as smarter than Hue Jackson and the front office, Chris does not.  You can't win six games without talent.

Power rankings in general are mostly about quarterbacks.  That is the most important position, and for some (like Matt Miller I guess) the ONLY position.

You can't blame Chris or others for ranking the Browns so low with so many unanswered questions, especially at quarterback.

Even as Chris Simms rated them 30th, he projected six wins.  Most likely, he expects all the young players to improve, and the players to get used to the new systems, as the season unwinds.  He'll raise his ranking after they get their young feet on the ground.

I have a lot of respect for Phil and Chris Simms, and will add Matt Miller to my bad example list.  Who's going to help Corey Coleman out?  My God.

Cleveland Browns: Talent Trumps Experience.

Today was a day of surprises for me, as both Paul Kruger and Andy Lee said good bye.  I've had time to just skim over some really good articles on this by people who actually seem to comprehend what is called "analytics".

The aforelinked article and this one address that topic so well that I can zero in on the football part.

First, however, Bill Livingston is delusional.  He thinks the Browns traded Andy Lee because he wouldn't make a tackle in a preseason game.  This is insulting Hue Jackson.  He was ticked off at Andy (I'm not sure why), but smart coaches don't dump good players based on chickenshit.

As the second article says, they got a great deal for Andy, and the team is still under construction.

The Kruger thing only surprised me a little.  As I've mentioned, the Browns are eyeball deep in 3-4 outside linebackers and 4-3 defensive ends.  Orchard, Ogbah, Nassib, and even Cam Johnson are the future here.

Nassib has indeed been tested inside, and I was wrong: He looks good there.  But he still looks better outside.  Schobert is listed as an OLB, but he's more a 4-3 than 3-4 type who can play anywhere.

I still think Kruger can play, and that he was wasted in coverage last season by the "they'll never see this coming!" Pettine coaching staff.  But he did have a hefty salary, is NOT good in coverage, and had become expendable.

Here's another potential surprise for you: Contrary to popular mythos, having an old wide receiver is not mandatory, and Hawkins is on the bubble.

He has had injuries and concussions.  Taylor Gabriel and Jennings are looking really good in the slot, and even Marlon Moore has mutated into a real wide receiver.

Most guys mocking up 53 man depth charts wrote Hawkins in in ink, simply because he's experienced.  Anybody ever hear of this guy named Al Saunders?  Come on, people: They run around and catch footballs cut it out!

I LIKE Hawk, by the way.  But this is business.  

Sashi and Paul have more surprises in store for you.    Stand by.

This just in: The latest Depth chart after the cuts is out.

It shows Ogbah and Orchard as the first team OLBs.  They have Hughes (then Nassib) at one of the DE spots, and X Cooper and Armonty Bryant at the other.

That probably means that Cooper and Bryant are over the right tackle in the base, with Hughes and Nassib inside.  I'm batting around .150 with this stuff.  But I will pick up the pieces of my shattered ego and move on somehow.

Self-correction: Nassib and Hughes are at LDE, with Cooper and Bryant at RDE (really under-tackle).  Whew thought I was going insane there.  Ok this makes more sense: Cooper and Hughes are for running downs and Bryant and Nassib are passrushers.  The run guys are nominal starters.

Cooper is actually a penetrator himself, so it's being set up like I expected, and my batting average is just fine: the right defensive end will attack and the linebackers and safeties will back him up.  They're trying to stop opposing running backs in their own backfield, and force them to the other side of the field.

Hughes will engage the right tackle, but Nassib will probably also attack.  There's no way Ray Horton uses these four players the same way.

On Nassib, this guy looks really, really special.  He could be huge.  He already looks like a veteran.

Notably, Shobert is (for now) the number two weak outside linebacker, and the unheralded Cam Johnson backs up Orchard on the strong side.  Everybody except Shobert can put their hands in the dirt and are passrushers first.

Shobert is the only true linebacker, and putting him on the weak side makes sense.  The guy can get after the quarterback, but can't engage offensive linemen to do it.

This is a ball of confusion, of course, as Shobert is probably the 4-3 weakside backer to...I dunno I get a headache figuring out all the insideously diabolical stuff Ray Horton is plotting.

If you think this defense will suck, check this out:  Based on this depth chart, five of the eleven starters have one or fewer years in the NFL.  Three of the second team players are the same, and most of them should get significant playing time.

With a new system being installed on top of this, bad performances are pretty much guaranteed until they learn the ropes.  What did you expect?

Another great thing here is the Tank Carder story.  He is now a second team inside linebacker, ahead of the draft picks.  He is getting what he has earned.

All the other players see this stuff.  There is no favoritism here.  If you show these coaches that you are one of the best, you will be rewarded for it.  This is a hopeful, positive environment.

I really wish my boss was like that.

Browns Defense and Chicken Little

Can't avoid this topic.  I tried.  The Browns defense vs the Falcons was an atrocity.  An abomination.  Horrific.

Fortunately, hundreds of others have covered that, as if it didn't speak for itself.  And yes, I have a whole bunch of corrections to make.

One fan asked Mary K Cabbot: Can the Browns defense really be that bad?  MKC gave an excellent answer.  I have more to add.

No.  It won't be that bad.  The Bucs have a well-established offensive system with elite veteran skill players.  Ray Horton has come back with a new defensive system, which is still in the experimental stage: He's not certain yet what is the ideal combination of personnel and scheme.

The Bucs were fine-tuning what could be a top five offense, while the Browns are still under construction.  Note: Yes I said a potential top five offense.  Grossi please update your files.

Some pundits continue with the lack of talent mantra.  I prefer to t h i n k.

There are real issues at cornerback, aside from Joe Haden.  Even Haden was overmatched by the sheer size and height of Jackson and Evans.  They really needed Gilbert to emerge.  He played better this time, but not well enough.

Peter Smith spells the secondary issues out quite well.  He is wrong when he calls moving Desir to safety a dumb move, since Desir lacks ideal cornerback speed, and is better suited to safety.  That's also an oversimplification in a Horton defense: The fifth or sixth defensive back is often a coverage safety; really a big zone corner.  Desir may be put back at cornerback now.  Horton may run more zone than man.  This remains unsettled.

But aside from that, Peter as usual did some great analysis.

But the coverage wasn't quite as bad as it looked.  First unit pressure on Jameious Winston was non-existent, and the majority of those long completions came after Winston had a picnic lunch, refilled his cooler, and looked for an open receiver.

This was the abominably horrific part.  Every Browns passrusher was locked up and stoned on nearly every single down.

They did pretty well against the run, and may have two-gapped on early downs.  They didn't blitze a lot.  For all that, the Falcons protectors just took their lunch money.  Nobody, including Darryl Revis, can cover huge wide receivers for five-plus seconds.  Nobody.

I haven't heard much from Paul Kruger, and it may be that he didn't play much.  Horton knows who Kruger is, and Kruger knows this system.  Hassan and Ogbah are rookies.  Orchard enters his second season.  Mingo was traded, so aside from Kruger, all the outside passrushers are inexperienced.

But there is plenty of front seven talent on this defense.  The majority of them are at or near the low end of their growth curves.

The projected inside linebackers and Paul Kruger are veterans, along with Jamie Meder.  The rest of them max out at one year of experience, in a different system.

Ray Horton, as he himself said, deliberately threw everybody in the deep end by hitting them with his whole playbook on day one.  In addition to finding out who would drown, this was also in order to test the various players at different positions and in different alignments to get a comprehensive assessment.

The players' first team reps were diluted.

Terry Pluto expects Ray to simplify and stabilize the defense once he knows what he has, and what works best.

The cornerback situation isn't too great, and coverage hasn't been affected nearly as much by Horton's deep water approach as the pass rush.  

The defense WILL NOT continue to suck like it did in Tampa.  It should "improve" dramaticly vs. the Iggles in game one.

It may still be below average, or even pretty bad early on.  All I'm saying is that whoever wrote, after the third preseason game, against the Bucs offense, in a new system, with inexperienced players, that the 2016 Browns defense has a chance to be the worst in NFL history is in dire need of a brain transplant.

Hue Jackson must have read this blog.  He said "the sky isn't falling".  And it isn't.

Josh Gordon: To Trade or not To Trade

Josh Gordon Trade:  Sashi Brown attempted to explain to reporters what I said about Joe Thomas last season, and about Josh Gordon more recently:

Josh Gordon, along with almost every other player on this team, is available for the right price.  They are not calling other teams trying to sell anybody, but when somebody calls them, they don't hang up on them.  This is not complicated.

People manufacture rumors out of estimates by people like me, or "I would" suggestions by former gms, but the one that says that Sashi Brown wanted a second round pick and more for Josh Gordon makes sense.

A few people like the idea of converting Josh into draft picks, and more hate it.  Good cases are being made on both sides of this issue.  Before I  go further, I have some corrections to make:

1: Josh doesn't have the potential to be a "top five, maybe even top three" wide receiver in the NFL.  He has already been the most lethal and productive receiver in the NFL.  With three quarterbacks who rarely started in the NFL since.  In fourteen games.  He has the potential to be as good as he was.  
2: Evidence that he has a "problem" is weak.  His year long suspension came after his season was over, after he and team personnel had drinks on a plane, like everybody else.  He's not a heroine addict or alchoholic.  Stop it.  The PC Police have brainwashed you.
3: He is 26 years old.

Now, the fan in me cringes at the thought of shipping Josh elsewhere.  Probably, Hue Jackson wouldn't like it much either.  There are good reasons (some analytical):

1: The best wide receiver in the NFL is worth a high first round pick and more.  Indeed, many Coaches would call him "priceless".
2: As Joe Haden pointed out, some teams don't have one number one receiver, most don't have two, and the Browns (as of game four) will have three.  (If you don't think Pryor is one, or Coleman won't be one, you need to take off the shit-colored glasses).  This offense could make history.  In 2016!
3: Josh is the default primary.  He will keep Terrelle from setting NFL records and stuff, making him cheaper to extend.
4: If he does screw up again, the REAL risk is the fifty third roster spot.  The 2016 Browns are drowning in wide receivers.
5: In 2017, he can be offered the highest tender.  That's a lowball offer, and the Browns can match any offer; they can let other teams do their negotiating for them.  If it gets too expensive, the team who signs him must cough up their first round pick, in addition to his presumably astronomical salary.

Josh would be looking at playing for (relative) peanuts for another season, or signing a reasonable longer term contact with the Browns, light on guarantees and heavy on incentives.
6: For all my table-pounding about Terrelle Pryor, he indeed lacks the experience at his new position that most rookies show up with.  Gordon is similar to him, and Pryor could learn a lot from watching and talking to him.
Gordon is big and fast, but a defensive back asked to describe him in one word would say "deceptive", or "sneaky".  His moves are smooth and subtle.  It's like he looks right or left, and the cornerback makes the false step he needs to lose him.  It's easy to say Gordon is a dumbass, but a big part of why he's as good as he is is that he is very, very smart.

On the other hand,

1: There is only one football.  Pryor can be like Gordon, even if he never manages to become quite as good.  Coleman is different, but still an almost uncoverable lethal weapon.  While it would be really cool to have Josh as well, that's far less efficient than having a stud right tackle who could someday replace Joe Thomas, or a great cornerback, instead.
2: Josh is walking on egg shells.  He is being required to live like a monk.  He could drink one freaking beer and get suspended again.  (This is rediculous, by the way).  If he cracks an egg, the roster spot is no bigee, but the second and fifth round pick (or whatever) he might have fetched are gone as well.
3: Rodney Pryorfield WILL be a lethal weapon in his own right, and will be very expensive to re-sign.  It's entirely possible that Sashi Brown already talked to his agent about extending, and was rejected.  "Talk to us next year.  Bring your Brinks truck."

In general, the main reason why nobody else has three number ones is that nobody can afford them.  It's almost inevitable that the team will lose one, or even two, of them to higher bidders and the salary cap.

I believe Sashi Brown is doing exactly what I would do.

Most likely, there will be no trade.  Those GMs who want him rightfully question his commitment, and are fearful of another suspension.  One GM said he wouldn't offer more than a sixth round pick for him.

I think this is really pushing it (I would bid up to a fourth or conceivably third), but I get it.  The new team would need to lose his services for the first four games, and try to renegotiate to lock him up for longer than 2017.

I listened to a host on 92.3 who was certain that Gordon's performance vs the Bucs was exactly what Sashi Brown wanted, because, the host thought, Sashi wanted to trade him.

He is wrong.  Sashi Brown (and notably Paul DePodesta) are neutral on this issue.  They have a threshhold at which trading him represents more overall long-term value than retaining him.  Unless and until somebody pays that price, Josh Gordon is a Cleveland Brown.

Taking a 5th round pick for Mingo was a smart and pragmatic move.  The Browns are almost as deep at linebacker (and 4-3 DE) as they are at wide receiver.  Mingo might have been among the final cuts.

Doctor Belichickstein might turn him into a safety for all I know, and I wish Barky luck.

I do have to mention that I read one article that said Mingo was too small for a defensive end, and too slow for a linebacker.  

Well, I was that stupid once.  Still, it's too damn bad editors hire their nephews or beer buddies instead of competant analysts.  Hell, the majority of editors are pretty clueless themselves...

Some guys are pushing hard to trade Josh McCown for literally anything.  He's old, therefore he has to go.

Who would want him? A team with a young quarterback which could use his selfless mentorship, and his proven worth as a starter if need be.

Based on that, what would the Cleveland Browns be willing to give up for...oh yeah, they already have him.  Nevermind.

Who do you think getting rid of Josh would enable the Browns to retain instead?  Austin Davis?  John Doe?

No knock on Davis.  He's a solid veteran quarterback.  But the writer of one trade McCown for a bag of Fritos article pointed out that Kessler was progressing and might be a viable backup by mid season or so.

With McCown guiding him, that might be true.

Sashi Brown might trade Josh McCown, but not for corn chips.  Because frankly, that would be stupid.  He is a leader, a de facto coach (who I hope sticks around on the staff after he retires), and can prevent a not-ready-for-primetime Kessler from crashing and burning.

Josh McCown's ability to run a team is the smallest part of his value to the Cleveland Browns.  His influence will last long after he retires as a player.  If you think "analytics" ignores this, you don't get it.

Greg Cosell Didn't Get the Talent Memo Either

Greg Cosell didn't get the "can't succeed" memo on RG3.  Thanks to wise sages like Bud Shaw, I know that Greg is just being overly optimistic.  But for what it's worth, here is Greg's article.

This is a snapshot of what Greg percieves of Hue Jackson's plan to maximize Rg3's strengths, and minimize/work on his weaknesses (he's clearly overly optimistic about Hue Jackson, as well):

This passing offense is not complex.  It's heavily timed, and the quarterback makes his reads systematically.  Greg didn't say this, but the first read can actually sometimes be made as (a good) shotgun snap is on it's way to him.  Peripheral vision, plus the last presnap read, is enough for that.

If you paid attention, you know that Grif threw the two bombs to Pryor almost immediately, and long before Pryor was anywhere near where the ball went.

Greg left this out, too: You don't dare do this with a Travis Benjamin, or even a Steve Smith.  You can do it with a Pryor or a Gordon because their size, strength, and catch radius insure that they will get to their spot on time, and because few defenders can run with them.  

All RG3 needed to see was where the deep safety was before the snap.  If he isn't deep enough, or near enough to that sideline, he's not going to get there in time, period.

Notable here: Sneaky opposing safeties will set traps for him.  They'll set up in a bad spot, but sprint to that exact target zone the instant the ball is snapped.  Rg3 might not see this, as the linemen engage and stand up, and he has to imitate Kenny Lofton fielding the snap from Erving.

The quarterback will know where he is throwing presnap, as he mentally checks down based on coverage and pressure looks.  This means he doesn't have to do it on the fly.  The bombs to Pryor may, in fact, have been presnap checkdowns (or not I have no idea).

As Greg points out, we can expect this offense to gradually expand, as RG3 becomes more comfortable in the pocket.  For now, it's cut down to make the most of what RG3 brought with him.

Hue Jackson gets all excited, running out on the field to slap RG3's back, on seemingly mundane completions.  That's because he takes the beautiful deep passes for granted, but is wanting to see him take that second or third post-snap read, quickly/on time, instead of holding the ball, running, or trying to force the pass into coverage.  This is what was wrong with this guy, and Hue wants to see growth in this area first and foremost.

As Greg notes, this has started to show up.  RG3 is already better than he ever was before.  With the Redskins in that West Coast, he did sometimes hit the second read, but way too often held the ball and tried to improvise.  He is now consistently getting rid of it on time.

I didn't bother reading Yoda Shaw's obligitory annual cautionary article, but don't doubt that he sagely pointed out that this is just preseason, wait til the defenses game plan, disguise coverages, bait traps, throw exotic blitzes, etc.

All this is valid, if fluffy and mundane.  But RG3 has monopolized the first team snaps.  That's different.  Hue Jackson is different.  The rest of the coaches and around twenty of the players are different, so no, Bud.  We haven't been here before.

RG3 will no doubt fall into some traps and get screwed up sometimes (in the pocket, I mean).  But Hue and Josh are here for him, he has aleady been through hell and climbed back out of it, and he is very intelligent.  He won't just fall apart.  He will learn and continue to grow.

And Bud?  RG3 himself hasn't been here before.

I'm posting this now, ahead of the "dress rehearsal" third preseason game, because i expect the Browns first team offense to rock and roll.

As Joe Haden tells us, you just can't cover all these guys.  RG3 will tell you the same thing.

The Josh Gordon trade talk is funny to listen to.  Yes, the Browns themselves might have stirred it up, but nobody will offer them enough.

Analytics: The risk is one roster spot.  The reward is the best wide receiver in football.  I might trade Josh myself for a first round pick, but I doubt anybody will offer that.

Going just a little deeper, if he stays out of trouble, he will dilute Pryor and Coleman's statistics, and make them more affordable to re-sign.

They should get to work extending Pryor right tf now.

The elevation of former second round pick Jamar Taylor to starting cornerback over Gramps Williams isn't a big shock, but nobody else seems to get one of the key reasons for it:

Williams and Taylor may have been roughly tied, but Tramon is 33 years old.  This is extremely old for a cornerback.  Williams may still be effective, but cornerbacks spend all game every game sprinting, cutting, stopping and restarting.  

Older cornerbacks don't recover from minor nicks as quickly, and don't have the endurance they once had.

The Browns want to keep Williams, but also to preserve him.

Putting him over the slot is kind of a token.  Williams is not well-suited to cover a small slot guy.  He does match up with the bigger slot guys that teams are using more and more.

Basically, the coaches want to cut Tramon's reps to keep him fresh, so that he can step in when needed, and be used situationally.

As for Taylor, what happened last year is over.  He was a second round pick for a reason.  The Gilbert thing might be going down in flames, but the Taylor story may have a happier ending.

Browns Skill Players Didn't Get the Talent Memo

Somebody needs to tell Terrelle Pryor, Josh Gordon, Corey Coleman, Gary Barnidge, and RG3 they lack talent.  They don't seem to have got all those memos the pundits have been publishing.

They seem to think they can actually move the ball and score points on vastly more talented players.  Perhaps an intervention is in order.

No doubt when the regular season starts, opposing coverage guys will take the kid gloves off and disabuse these upstarts of their delusions of talent.

No doubt these untalented non-playmakers became delusional by practicing against the worst secondary in football.

And how could Desmond Trufant stop laughing long enough to prevent Pryor from blowing his doors off?  I mean really, could that happen in a real game?

Somebody needs to talk to these guys!  I mean, when the games count and much more talented defenses get serious, they're in for a huge let-down!

Guys!  You're the least talented team in football!  None of you are playmakers!  If you don't believe me, ask everybody else!  Accept this now, or you're going to get your hearts broken!  Stop lying to yourselves!

Robert, if you'd just pay attention you'd know you can never play from the pocket and that your knee is shot and you can't run any more!  What are you doing?  

Don't you know they only signed you to make sure they wouldn't accidentally win a game and miss out on the number one pick next season?

Even if you did have any talent, isn't it obvious you have nobody to throw to?  Hue, how can you do this to those poor naaive kids?  

Josh you're fat!  What makes you think you can catch passes?  Terrelle, it takes years to become a wide receiver!  Why are you doing this to yourself?  Corey, you played for Baylor.  You need a year to learn the route tree!  Stop it you guys!

Oh well.  They won't listen.  They'll just have to learn the hard way that they're not playmakers and are part of the worst team in football.

I'm glad I read all the expert opinions myself.  Otherwise I might be falling for it myself!

The people who wrote this article can't be paying attention, either.  In predicting the Browns' first eight games, they found three wins instead of eight blowouts!

Stop encouraging them, guys!  It will only hurt worse when they find out all the massively more talented teams have just been toying with them!

Cam Johnson and the Cleveland Browns

Apologies to Cam Johnson, who I first noticed in the second half of the Atlanta game.  Jim Donovan was mentioning him seemingly every down.  He spent most of his time in the Falcons' backfield.

I shouldn't have overlooked a guy who spends so much time in the other team's backfield, even late in a preseason game, nor will Ray Horton or Hue Jackson.

Cam is 6'3", 268 lbs., and some scouting reports didn't think he was a good OLB prospect.  The Browns don't seem to agree, as he's a linebacker here.

While Donovan noticed him for his highly disruptive play, his scouting report says he's good at engaging and then shedding blocks; holding his position and stopping the run.  He can set the edge.

Oh wait! Another scouting report says he's 6'4" and needs to work on stopping the run jeez you just can't win with these guys...

Anyway he played outside linebacker for two years before switching to defensive end.  He relies more on strength than speed.  He sounds a lot like Ogbah, although Ogbah is both quicker and faster.

But here we see a "type", which Ray Horton clearly wants to have in depth.  Again, I did not see the game, but I would guess that Johnson played from the strong side, and maybe with his hand in the dirt.

In the game, it sounded like he overshot the ball several times.  That's not always bad, or even avoidable.  You can't be hesitant or timid attacking the backfield.  You have to get past that blocker first, then worry about getting to the ball.

Getting a tackle for loss or sack is of course ideal, and Johnson may get better at stopping and starting and changing directions, but disruption is disruption.  It forces a quarterback to flee the pocket, or a running back to stop and reroute, giving other defenders time to converge.  It's distracting, unnerving, and makes a mess.  Cam at least got his paws on guys often and repeatedly.

Most likely, Ogbah, Orchard, and others will assert themselves as time goes on, but Cam Johnson has a good shot at making the team.

I still root for Mingo 2.0 as well, but if he doesn't make it, Cam Johnson could be the reason.

Tank Carder also made some great plays.  He already had a great shot as a special teamer, but may have taken a big leap as an inside linebacker this offseason.  His block on that punter was perfectly legal.  The guy has to keep his eyes open...was Carder supposed to do more than slow down and keep the hit low and angled, as he did because the knucklehead wouldnt even look right in front of him?

Of course, he's a Cleveland Brown and it looked bad, so they'll probably find him out of sheer bendoveritis.

It helps the inside linebackers to have a defensive coordinator who likes to blitze inside a lot.

That's notable, by the way: Safeties and inside linebackers blitze a lot in a Ray Horton defense.  These are called "run blitzes" because they reach the pocket sometimes before the running back does, and Ray will call it on any given down.

This is one reason why Ray is experimenting with Mingo inside.  (Another reason is that he can drop and clog up crossing routes).

Anyway, I give you Cam Johnson, my undergog of the week.  Stay tuned.

Wow! Crap! Yay! Booo!

Ray Horton is probably throwing articles and invectives at his players as i write this.  Nobody except Nassib and maybe Kirksey seems able to tackle a girl scout.

It's intolerable.  The worst part is that, more often than not, the players were where they were supposed to be, in position.  They got their hands on ballcarriers quickly...then fell off or got pushed or dragged downfield.

I didn't see the game, but I have to assume that the defensive line got pushed back, as well.  

Fortunately, it's fixable.  Tackling is a skill.  The real experts will tell you, it hasn't been taught to highschool and college kids the way it used to be, and the big hitters seem to get all the accolades.

But the bottom line is, low approach, center mass, wrap arms, drive.  It's not that hard!

In fairness, sure the ball carrier has the initiative, and can juke and jive, and force you to dive sideways and stuff.  But he cant do that if he is reached first, or if the other defenders are converging as they should.  Defenders can use eachother and the sidelines to box guys in.  One who anticipates well can get at them before they can make a cut.

There was good news here, too.  RG3 was much more effective. 

Charlie Casserly said he was getting to his second read several times; real progress for him.  Too bad his knees were ruined and he can't run any more, huh?

Terrelle Pryor (yawn) blew Trufant's doors off, which probably made Gilbert feel better about himself.

This play was identical to the one vs Green Bay.  It's the one i described last year, when Pryor first came to the team: "You just go deep to the corner".  It's not complicated (Tony).  Pryor just hits the nitrous oxide out of the gate and outruns everybody, period.  He could always do that.  He was born that way.

Hue doesn't care that now other teams have that on tape, because the only thing they can do about it is hold a safety deep and to that side so he can get in front of it.  Or else put the corner at least seven yards back and concede everything underneath.  Hue will be happy to exploit either, especially when Coleman and then Gordon are on the field too.

The Browns first unit didn't try to run that much.  I still think Hue is focusing on the passing game first.  Pass protection is the hardest thing for running backs to get really good at, and pass blocking is much harder for everybody else, too.

Passing depends on timing and integration, and a lot more can go wrong. 

I seriously think that Hue Jackson considers his running game a fete accompli.  Any offensive lineman will smile when you say the word "run", because it means they get to bash the defenders instead of getting bashed, and because it's much simpler for them.

When Kessler took over, they did go to the ground more in earnest, and we finally got to see Terrelle Watson make him some road pies.  Jim Donovan, over and over again, started to say he was down, only to sit up staighter and say he was still moving forward.  What a BEAST!

Crowell is faster and can make big plays, but he knows he's got a fight on his hands now.

Hassan is even better even sooner than I had imagined.  On his strip sack, he was a 4-3 defensive end.  I could be wrong, but it looked to me like he was lined up extra-wide (I'll have to look again).  At any rate, nobody bothered to block him.

I havent seen the many other plays he has already made, but have to assume that generally people were trying to block him on those.

That's promising.  Hassan hasn't been on the first team YET, but he seems to comprehend how to tackle people, on top of the other stuff.

The flag on Gilbert was wrong, and he actually did a decent job overall.  I don't know if anybody told you, but that Julio guy is pretty good

Just heard Deron Cherry say he missed tackles and got burned by no-name receivers.  I'm skeptical.  Donovan and Dieken pointed out that Gilbert was tackling guys he hadn't been covering, and he'd be matched up with Jones most of the time schematicly.

I can't trust even a former New England Patriot who objects to veteran days off.  That's irrational.  I'm disinclined to expect objectivity out of the guy.

This just in! Terry Pluto saw the game, and him i trust: Terry says Gilbert missed tackles and looked timid.  I stand corrected.  He's been around too long to treat like a rookie project.  This does not look promising.

Terry also said that Cam Erving actually looked pretty good this time, but the snap RG3 had to chase down was just the worst of several high snaps.  I think it's just a matter of practice.  More good news than bad here.

Pluto also pointed out that RG3 is averaging 2.5 seconds from snap to throw in preseason.  In the past, he'd hold it an average of 3 seconds.  Considering the fact that he goes deep so much, and has to be part wide receiver to handle Erving's snaps.  He's more decisive.  This arrow definitely points up.

The defense needs work, obviously, but the offense hasn't yet begun to show what it can do.  Once the twin towers, Coleman, (pick two), and Barnidge share the field with the mad bomber back there, defenses stack the box at their extreme peril, and the run will be there.

Look, if you just heard me call RG3 the greatest or predict a Superbowl in 2016, wash your ears out with soap.  It's  okay not to be gloomy all the time, really!

What I did say was that this will be a good offense, the defense won't suck as bad as it did in this game (could it? Well they didnt give up 50 points, anyway), and the longer term future looks good.

The combined practice with Tampa Bay is a great idea.  Both units should make a jump here.  This will be a fun week.

Late add: More on Terrelle Watson:

I checked out his draft scouting reports, and found a lot of different opinions.  Mike Martz was very pro-Watson, which carries a little extra weight.

I watched his highlights from Azuza Pacific, and immediately dowgraded the report which described him as an "upright runner".  Like Pat Kirwan, i think that's a joke, since most running backs lean forward into impacts, and nobody can run very fast all hunched over.  It's a dumb comment, generally.

Listen: When you are 6'1", it looks like you are running upright no matter what you do!  Terrelle in particular leans his shoulders into contact.

All I saw were his highlights (his greatest hits), but i still learned a lot.

In the whole tape, i saw him caught from behind only twice.  He did have space around him most of the time on this record, but i did catch a couple piles of defensive bodies dripping off a moving mass trucking downfield at around 3mph.

One critique said he lacks a second gear, which seems true.  But it also said he's too cute and avoids contact too much.  Well, I saw the highlights, and he does avoid contact, but always heads downhill.  Jerome Bettis avoided contact, too.

Terrelle Watson is more than a human battering ram, okay?  Unlike most big bruisers, this guy might still be playing football in four years, and get more big gains because he can and does avoid contact when he can.

Yes, this was Azuza State and he was running over little guys, but he broke all of the Nigerian Nightmare's rushing records, and was a similar prospect.

No, he won't outsprint people like he did in college, and NFL linebackers won't fly off him like water off a duck, but he belongs in the NFL and the Browns are lucky to have him.

You mark my words: Terrelle Watson will play a LOT this season.  I doubt that he will pass up Isaiah Crowell, but look for him near the goal line and in jumbo packages.

This was a good move.  So far, one of many by this new staff.

Jamie Meder, Malcomb Johnson, and the Cleveland Browns

Jamie Meder, as Nick Dudukovich writes, is indeed in competition with Danny Shelton for playing time, but not just him.

He can play right defensive end (really a tackle here) as well.  I'm thrilled that Hue Jackson and company are ignoring where guys came from, and rewarding performance.

All coaches talk that talk, but don't walk the walk.  Players see the favoritism, and become discouraged, frustrated, and resentful.

Meder has found ways to make plays ever since he's been here.

As I've written, he's not that big, or quick, or fast.  But he's kind of short, and maxes out his leverage.  He's also just plain strong as hell.

Danny Shelton is no bumb, but he's 6'5", and may not have solved his issue with playing too high.

I learned from LeCharles Bentley that a key ingredient for a player to stay low is ankle flexibility.  That makes a lot of sense, and could be hurting Shelton.  Just a theory.

Meder also has great instincts (a nose for the ball).  After the way Eddie Lacy bullied his way through the first string front seven last Friday, you know that Ray Horton will be taking a hard look at Meder, at least on neutral and running downs.

And good for the kid!  I love the underdogs.

I finally saw highlights of the Packer game.  I know that Griffin took the blame (means nothing that's his job), and Hue says he shouldn't have thrown the ball on the interception.

However, RG3 did clearly expect Gary Barnidge to pull up and turn around, and this would have walled off the bad guy and probably be caught.

Hue used the words "too early", which probably meant in the game, or on downs.  Probably, Hue wants his quarterback to be extra-careful until a point deficit or third down kicks the stakes up.  They were in field goal range, too.

Tony Gross said on NFL Radio the other day that Josh Gordon hadn't had any reps yet, and was overweight, so getting him on the field might be a year long project.

Nah!  At 25, he'll drop that weight quickly.  He's a veteran receiver familiar with every route.  He may not play against the Falcons, but he should see some snaps in the third pre-season game.

I want to see Gordon, Pryor, and Coleman all on the field at the same time.  By now it might be starting to sink in: That is scary.  That will scare Bill Belichick, let alone everybody else.

I agree with Terry Pluto that little was proven or disproven about the Browns running or passing games in Green Bay, as the starting backs only got one carry each, and RG3 had two series.

It could be that Hue Jackson simply wanted to work on the passing game first, and called passing plays for that reason alone.

I was pleased to hear Malcomb Johnson's name mentioned by Jim Donovan, as he sprang Duke loose for a big gain off a fine lead block.

That's encouraging for Malcomb, who was pretty bad as a rookie, and also offers clues to Hue Jackson's plans.

That is, he might prove me wrong and keep one true fullback (rather than an extra h-back) on the roster.

Macomb isn't really a prototype, though.  He's a bit of an H-back himself, as he has played that and even tight end.  He's a good receiver, and he's deceptively fast.

If Hue does use a true fullback, it could give Connor Hamlett a boost, as he's a true in-line tight end.  (Not to dis Randall Telfer or JP Holtz, who also fit that mold, but Hamlett seems to have taken the lead in that race).

DeValve and Bibbs are more h-backs who can also split out.  An offense running two backs has less use for H-backs.

Between DeValve and Malcomb Johnson, the guy who might be most threatened is EJ Bibbs.

Bibbs, however, could back up Malcomb, and be a general utility guy, and that could save him.

We're talking about some good players here, by the way.  None of them has proven anything yet, but contrary to popular misconception, that doesn't erase their ability or potential.

DeValve has been dinged up, and has yet to see the field.  Stand by: This guy can play (call that another prediction).

I hope Atlanta plays more of its starters this week.  

That's all I got.  Just tell Grossi wide receiver isn't rocket science.

Cleveland Browns Outrageous Predictions

I have to build up to this prediction by making my case for it first.  If I don't, you'll laugh me out of court.

Exhibit a is Rodney Pryorfield.  Exhibit B is Corey Coleman.

We will compare the two, item by item:

Pryor is six inches taller and around 25 lbs heavier.  His hands are bigger, too.

Both clocked similar 40 times.

Pryor can be compared to Calvin Johnson.  Steve Smith comparisons to Coleman are ridiculous, but he does roughly compare to Antonio Brown and Beckham Jr.

Pryor isn't a sudden cutter, and relies on his size and speed more than Coleman.  Coleman is much more explosive out of the blocks and out of his cuts.  Coleman will make you eat dirt when you miss him and land on your face.  Pryor will make you eat dirt when he runs you over.

Experience: This is what all of you are missing: 

Coleman played in the Baylor offense, where he ran only two or three routes.  He's been a receiver for a long time, so he has figured out how to get open and catch the ball...

Pryor is an ex-quarterback who knew all the NFL routes before he switched to receiver.  While it's true that intellectual knowledge isn't the same as "doing it in a game" knowledge, it's the same knowledge Coleman is learning from scratch.

Last year, Coleman was playing for Art Briles, while Pryor had been through most of a training camp as a wide receiver, running all the routes.

After his (stupid) release, he practiced those routes obsessively until he was brought back.  He didn't accomplish anything in the real NFL games he played in, but he faced real starting cornerbacks and safeties, and took this experience into the off season with him.

Coleman's season ended a few weeks earlier.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, which player has more NFL experience, and knew the NFL route tree before the start of training camp?

I can't hearr youuu!

Now, both these guys can play anywhere, but which should be the x (primary to the quarterback's left), and which the z (to the right)?

Wrong!  Pryor should be the x.  Good grief I go through all that and you're still laughing?  You don't vote, do you?  Please don't, ok?

A true number one NFL receiver forces double coverage, and can BEAT that coverage.  He's not just a decoy.

This is why number ones tend to be big skyscrapers.  They're too strong to get jammed, or bumped off their routes.  They can consistently reach their spot on time, and more importantly, use their greater size and reach to catch a well-thrown pass no matter how many defenders surround them.

Am I saying Pryor is better than Coleman? Hell no! Coleman is a freak!  Just a different kind of freak.

Imagine having Megatron and Antonio Brown on the same team.  Who would play the x?

Now, here is why: A defense can only double cover one guy, normally.  That will be the guy who goes deepest most often.  They hope to at least take down the x where he catches it, and converge on any short or intermediate receiver.

The defense's best cornerback plays where Haden plays, across from the x. 

Think about it.  Joe Haden can be on Pryor like white on rice, but if he can't reach that ball (or pry it loose) Pryor wins, period.  

Coleman is different.  He can make Joe's life hell, but Joe can jostle him, play him soft to keep him shallow, reroute him, etc., and if he's close when the ball arrives, he can break it up.  

If Pryor makes a catch, a 210 lb. safety can slam into him, but he has a good chance of hanging onto the ball.  Not so with Coleman.  In fact, he could get hurt.

Forget about rank and prestige here: Coleman vs a number two cornerback in single coverage is a good thing, right?  Can you see it?  Coleman in space?

So my prediction is that, barring injury, by the end of pre-season Pryor will be the x and Coleman the z.

It's just labels.  This would make Coleman the primary on a lot of plays, with Pryor a true decoy.

I need to do more research, but I think Antonio Brown played z a lot before his bigger, taller fellow wide receiver got himself suspended.  I know for sure that a lot of his big plays came off the right side.

If Pryor weren't here, of course Coleman would default to x, and I believe do a great job.  But putting him in a more favorable position could make him just...awesome.  

There are questions about RG3, but I don't think this explains why nobody seems to understand why Hue Jackson can't wipe the smile off his face.

If the Browns can move the ball on the ground, this offense will be a juggernaut.

Ah jeez I give up.  Everything I just said is true, and you're still laughing.

Please, for the love of God, don't vote!

Watch the Browns vs Green Bay for me.  Jordan Payton could be tried at x.  Ricardo Lewis has the tools, but has dropped passes.  Nobody else fits the profile, and none as well as Pryor.

If Pryor isn't used on the left side in this game, I assume it's because he's still got his training wheels on, and they want him to master the right side before they move him over.

I did finally find out that Pryor remained at z with Coleman out.  That's encouraging for RG3, since it means that he was sometimes hitting his second read (and doing it quickly).

I wish I knew who was even at x.  Reporters are so lazy.  Whoever it was didn't do much.

I really want to hear about Terrelle Watson too.  He could be somebody!

Will DeValve play?  I really want to hear about that guy too.  Can't wait are you ready for some footballllllll?