"...and let's face it. DeShone Kizer will be the opening day starter."
Pure, concentrated idiocy. I can understand skepticism about Brock Osweiler, but this ongoing dismissal of Rodney Kesslerfield is just bizarre.
Kessler is a little bigger, his arm is stronger, and Hue says he's tightened up his mechanics, and appears much improved. I won't belabor what Kessler did last season in probably the toughest quarterback situation in the whole NFL, but he was surprisingly good.
Pat Kirwan rightfully points to the infrequency of his touchdown passes. That's a legitimate point, but we're talking about a rookie here.
What do Kenny Britt and Njoku have in common? They are big and tall and definite red zone threats. What do these two and Corey Coleman have in common? RAC yards. They can score from anywhere on the field. Njoku, in fact, averaged TWO YARDS more after the catch than any other tight end!
Add in Seth DeValve; really an overized wide receiver. Cody should get some touchdown passes this season, because he sorta can't help it ok?
Cody Kessler earned some respect last season, but these clowns keep stiffing him out of it. It's stunning.
And Kizer should have stayed in college for another season, per his Head Coach. He's a raw prospect with a lot of stuff to fix. He emphaticly does NOT give the Browns a better chance to win than Kessler does.
Kessler is almost certainly the opening day starter. O B V I O U S L Y.
"Well, whoever the quarterback is, he's not gonna have much help".
Wowzers!!! This is a Memorex Moron. Memorex Morons don't think. They just remember. 1-15. Sacks.
I named 4 little "helpers" earlier, but let me add Josh Gordon now. Because he should be re-instated, and Sashi Brown is too smart to cut him.
Rodney Crowellfield and Duke Johnson count as help too. Not only as runners and bodyguards, but also as receivers. Not just outlet receivers, but out of the slot.
One insightful writer figured the running back picked in the seventh round could mean that Jackson intends to throw to the running backs more, and wanted a backup Duke Johnson.
Remember Lindy Infante? The "long handoff"? I just love this stuff!
Anyway, this offense looks like a veritable juggernaut on paper: Elite players at nine of eleven positions, and I insist right tackle will be fine, and Kessler will kick ass.
This statement was so idiotic, I'm going to need to invent a new word to describe it.
The Browns are ranked 31st in talent. This one...ok let me test this new word out: Insaniocy. I combine insane and idiot.
Anyway, I just adressed the offensive side. Well, the defense just added Myles Garrett, Jabrill Peppers, a pretty good cornerback, and two really good defensive tackles.
Joe Haden, Jamie Collins, Kirksey, Shelton, and Ogbah were already here.
What happened last season does matter, but so do the circumstances:
This was the youngest team in the NFL, learning a new system, and making rookie mistakes. Haden just had surgery on BOTH sides of his groin; he played hurt all season long. Collins wasn't here til late, and they wound up starting Jamie Meder and X Cooper at defensive end, for crying out loud!
The fact that it was (and will remain, by the way) the youngest roster in the NFL also matters.
Listen carefully; this is important: These are well-proven and universally acknowleged realities:
1: Rookies screw up.
2: The biggest jump in performance comes between years one and two.
3: The second biggest jump is between years two and three.
4: At most positions, players don't hit their strides until their fourth seasons, and don't "peak" until a year or two later.
Do I really need to spell this out? The youngest team in the NFL should be the most improved team in the NFL from year to year, including this year!
And this cretin ranks the Browns behind the 49ers? 31st?
"The Browns need to sign a veteran quarterback"/ "Jay Cutler could win them a couple more games".
This isn't idiotic, but is still pretty ignorant, and wrong. I loved having Josh McCown here to help Cody Kessler out, and do understand how a guy like that can help a fledgling quarterback out.
But here again, they're trying to blink Cody Kessler into the cornfield. Kessler II is probably going to be better than Jay Cutler, and he doesn't need a big brother any more, either.
And Brock Osweiler IS a veteran quarterback. And by the way, while I do like Kessler better, I expect Osweiler to be pretty good in this offense under Hue Jackson.
Niether of these guys are going to go out of their ways to help DeShone Kizer take their jobs, but really, give me a break with this "mentor" crap!
Hue Jackson was a college quarterback. The Browns have a quarterback coach. Let them earn their damn pay good grief.
Good for Sashi Brown for just coming out and saying he doesn't expect to waste a roster spot on some geezer who isn't better than Kessler and might be a good babysitter or something.
"Kizer at 52nd was a wasted pick". This was said by a freind of mine who is not an idiot, but it's still wrong. Hue Jackson almost certainly did want Pat Mahomes, but likes Kizer just fine as a consolation prize.
We need to trust Hue's judgement. I obviously like Kessler a lot, but the concussions are alarming, and the Browns had to take this swing at a guy with franchise potential.
Most ex-GMs say the same thing: You have to keep drafting quarterbacks until one of them comes through for you. You won't be drafting in the top three all the time, and you can't "reach" or overdraft a guy you don't feel good about, but you have to draft one, somewhere, in every draft, until you get lucky.
DeShone Kizer, per consensus, and evidently per Hue Jackson, was the quarterback with the second highest cieling in this draft. At 52nd overall? It was worth it.
Now, the Browns cornerbacks do not suck. The Browns do not need 30 year old mediocre coverage cornerbacks who tackles well, or in general any player over 30.
The only position of real concern on defense is free safety, and there are two players who have the physical tools to solve it to Gregg Williams' satisfaction. Well...at least for now.
I expect Nate Orchard to contend at linebacker on the strong side. He changes directions surprisingly well for a big man.
It's not as important as most pundits think though, since the SAM is deleted in nickels and dimes anyway.
Really, today's "base" defense is a nickel, ok? That's most commonly a 4-2-5, technically. Sashi is drafting with this in mind, and that's exactly why Jabrill Peppers was a great pick.
In a 4-2-5, Jamie Collins and Chris Kirksey are the linebackers. Peppers will be a "defensive back".
What exactly he does, or where he lines up, will vary. He will be on the slot guy if the slot guy is big, or on a dangerous tight end. But he will blitze around 30% of the time from wherever he is, and will blow up runs in the backfield too.
The Browns are now committed to a 4-man defensive line. Myles Garrett could play linebacker, but would be wasted there. Ogbah could have developed into a terrific 3-4 OLB in time, but right now is best served as a 4-3 DE.
Shelton is 6'5". He could be a great nose tackle, but will be a better over-tackle in a 4-3. So is Jamie Meder.
X Cooper is made for the "3 technique" under tackle role in a 4-3. Rodney Nassibfield is first and foremost a 4-3 defensive end (and if you sent him to the cornfield off his rookie season, you need a brain transplant. He could crowd Ogbah out in this scheme!)
Clearly, Sashi Brown drafted TWO under-tackles. If you are still projecting 3-4 depth charts, you are beyond help. You simply don't think.
I don't care that the Browns sucked at rushing the passer in 2016. It is stupid and ignorant to expect more of the same now that Myles Garrett is 25% of the defensive line, Ogbah and Nassib are entering their second seasons, two tough customers are all up in Xavier Cooper's face, and everybody else can (and will) blitze.
In 2016, enemy quarterbacks had all day to throw. In 2017, that aint happening. I need to research this and get back to you, but I have a theory that quarterbacks screw up more when they are getting the snot knocked out of them, and that this makes secondaries look better.
I'm telling you now, (mark this): The 2017 Browns probably don't make the playoffs, but should win at least 6 games.
The 2017 Browns are LOADED with talent, do you hear me? And yes, that includes Cody Kessler!
Stop the dumbassitude!
This article by Mike Kubutza was pretty good, except too cautious. He thinks Kessler (and perhaps Osweiler) should be fine, but just had to question the skill players on this offense.
Mike, you know damn well Crowell is a 5 ypc running back, Coleman is primed to go apeshit in season 2, Britt is a top 10 WR, and Njoku will hit the ground running. Quit being a sissy!
And here is a film room look at DeShone Kizer which I lacked the time and bandwidth to check out thoroughly. If you have the time and a good connection, this is an extremely thorough and insightful article.
The writer found a lot of great stuff, and a lot of crap. I'm reminded of Derrick Anderson: "Good Kizer", and "Bad Kizer".
I'll repeat now what I wrote back then: If Kizer eliminates the bad stuff, he'll be awesome. Of course, we all know how the Anderson thing went, and how wrong I was about him.
That's why I'm nervous about Kizer. I just don't know...
Well DA was 3" taller and much less athletic. Kizer seems smarter. Like DA, he sucked on short passes, but unlike DA he oknevermind: Because it's Hue Jackson, Kizer did his brutal self-analysis, is unusually intelligent, and more athletic than DA, I feel a little more optimistic about him, even with the DA egg still on my face.
Pack a lunch, and click on the last link. You won't find a better read on DeShone Kizer anywhere, ever.
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