The Browns are never satisfied. That's a good thing. They just signed offensive lineman Chris Barker (waived by Lord Insideous), and waived DT Gave Wright.
Interesting! The Browns have now signed FIVE new offensive linemen, and four of them are inside guys. What does this mean?
Well, I'm not sure. Center was obviously a problem last season, and they kind of went nuts making sure they got it covered by adding Tretter and another journeyman to go with the two young guys already on the roster.
The lower-end and free agent signings don't mean as much as most people think. They are experiments who can be released at any time without consequence.
It definitely means something to John Greco, however, because he is over 30 and has now suffered a bad injury.
No, they don't want to get rid of him--he's still a really solid, versatile player (ahem: with trade value), but he is not a part of the future.
Sashi is just churning the roster here. He's nabbing every player he can who could develop into something.
Chris Barker is quick and athletic, like both the rookies who played center last season. He is an ideal zone player. Damn I keep seeing a pattern here...
Barker is only 6'2", which is good for leverage and quickness, but bad for reach. I used his pre-draft scouting report, which is now obsolete.
He was signed undrafted by the Fins, and then released. I suspect that they wanted to stash him on their practice squad, but Lord Insideous headed them off at the pass.
Chris Barker survived on the Patriots roster until now, and no doubt learned and grew somewhat.
I believe he could play center. He has played both left and right guard. It's unlikely that the Browns could stash him on the practice squad now, because somebody else would nab him.
If you check that scouting report, Chris Barker was expected to be drafted in the middle rounds. He's now been groomed by the Patriots, who held onto him for awhile, so he's no joke, and has a good shot at making the final roster.
The pattern I mentioned is clear: every one of the five offensive linemen the Browns signed this off season, is well-suited to a zone-blocking scheme. So were both of last season's rookie centers.
Sorry to redundate here, but Isaiah Crowell was never more productive than he was under Kyle Shanahan, who ran his father's zone-blocking scheme.
Zone blockers can be smaller than road-graders, which makes them "cheaper" overall. This, in turn, makes it "analytically" smart to run this scheme.
You can have a strong run-blocking offensive line at a 20% or so discount by running it.
For all this gossip-mongering over a geek vs coach "divide", Hue Jackson has a working brain. I now expect the 2017 Browns to run a lot of zone blocking.
It's way past critical mass, because Tretter is better in zone than in man, and the second tier of the roster is overloaded with zone blockers.
However, the beauty of this is that with Zeitler, Bitonio, Coleman, and (per PFF) Thomas, the expected starters can run man just as well.
Both guards can pull, or can drive defensive linemen back with leverage and power.
I've got to say, this looks brilliant.
I must redundate here again: The offensive coordinator, let alone Head Coach, isn't all that interested in the nuts and bolts of the running game. This is why the best offensive line coaches get fired less often than any other assistant coaches.
People like Tony Grossi et al expected Hue Jackson to man-block because he had in the past, but it most likely wasn't even his preference or decision.
Running the ball is pretty basic, ok? The diabolical insidious stuff is all in the passing game. If a Head Coach micromanages his line coach, he is a dumbass who will get fired.
Hue has probably already told his assistants, "Get me 4.4 yards per carry. Get me tough third down conversions", period.
The 2017 Browns should run a zone/power mix. More of one or the other, depending on the specific defense.
These assistant coaches aren't drones, by the way. They'll mix it up deliberately, to prevent defenses from predicting them.
Note: Hue is calling the plays, but is as likely as his assistants to choose plays that work. (Down the road apiece, Rhona LaCanfora will be reporting on a "civil war" between Hue and his assistants wait and see.)
But this time, if both starting guards go down, they can run more zone to help the backups who will replace them.
That's why this looks brilliant to me: Zone-blocking is the fallback position, and should work just fine!
I hope Greco hangs on. Really like that guy.
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