I like Ogunjobi a lot, so I'm not as irked as I usually am when I read ill-researched and presumptive opinions. The fact that I included the link says it doesn't suck.
What did kinda suck was an article on how Jabrill Peppers will be used in the Browns defense. Here I found a whole s-load of assumptions and propaganda.
No doubt, Hue wanted
It's much more likely that the 2018 first round pick they got for the trade-down meant as much sense to Jackson as it did to the Geek Squad. And we shouldn't gloss over defensive coordinator Gregg Williams' huge grin, and assertion that Peppers was the guy he wanted.
That is a half-truth, of course, but not a lie: He had to want Hooker more himself, but he also needs a hybrid nickel player, and this is exactly what Peppers is.
Hue and Gregg are adults, and they think with their brains too:
Jabrill Peppers is still raw in coverage, and needs more "polishing" than Hooker does. Moreover, the writer was correct in pointing out that Hooker (as a center-fielding interception machine) will make a much bigger impact as a rookie.
...Maybe. He could be injury-prone, and Peppers will blow up runs in the backfield and pulverize receivers right out of the gate, even if he does get burned sometimes.
The book on Peppers is that he has as much upside as any player in this draft. He could actually be the next Polumalu.
Pick one: Troy Polumalu or Ed Reed? Tough call, aint it?
Ok I'll help: Troy Polumalu and a first round pick or Ed Reed?
Yup. Is any of this sinking in yet?
Another (pretty good) article projected the defensive starters. This writer did his home-work and didn't send anybody to the cornfield. In particular, he lists an undrafted free agent and an ex-Seahawk as contenders at free safety.
That was great! And he pretty much nailed all the other positions: Garrett, Shelton, Hayden, Clayborn, Ogbah, Collins, Peppers (are you counting?), Calhoun, Kirksey, Brantley/Cooper/Ogunjobi). That's TEN, right?
Ok so he closes out the article stipulating GLARING needs.
Jeez...is he assuming that none of the four potential free safety candidates he listed will even be average? What's the plural "s" suffix for?
Here is a really smart guy who is politicly correct. He just has to build that damn disclaimer into every article, lest somebody call him a "homer" or something, and he just loves that word.
I have to confiscate the word "glaring" again. It will be returned to you when you can use it responsibly.
I also felt the writer was rough around the linebackers. He's got Demario Davis as one of the outside starters, but Davis frankly did not play very well at ILB in 2016. He's a decent player overall, I guess, but putting him outside in a 4-3...
He puts Kirksey at MLB. That could happen. He could do it. But so could Collins. And what about Joe Shobert?
Look, Shobert really didn't belong at outside linebacker in a 3-4, but he most certainly DOES belong there in a 4-3. This writer just ignored him! He has a great chance at playing a lot (whether or not he starts) under Gregg Williams. He has great instincts vs the run, and is a great blitzer. He's also disciplined, and can be trusted to do his job, and not open up gaps by freelancing. He's really smart.
The writer also defaulted Nate Orchard to defensive end.
I get that. Orchard, Holmes, and Johnson are 3-4 OLB's or 4-3 DE's. But as I mentioned earlier, Nate Orchard was surprisingly effective at linebacker, and could remain at that position (on the strong side or even in the middle) under Gregg Williams!
In this article by Thomas Moore, we get a look at the undrafted free agents invited, which include three of PFF's top fifty. As Tom notes, 9 of the 11 are defensive players.
That makes sense, as the offense is stacked. Yes it is. No, yes it is. Look at it. Think. Is too.
Linebacker Kenneth Olugbode has a good chance here with Gregg Williams. He has a nose for the ball (great instincts) and has nice range in coverage. He's a little like Shobert, except PFF actually said he'd fit well in sub-packages for his coverage.
I would not bet on Demario Davis making the final roster here. Nate Orchard is a better defensive end than a linebacker, Olugbode is a true 4-3 linebacker, and at this point I see Alexander, Shobert, Collins, Davis, and Kirksey there.
Nothing personal, but I want to replace Davis.
Then there's two little shrimp cornerbacks who are really good.
And that free safety...ah found him Kai Nacua (BYU). I bet he makes the final roster. I will need odds to bet on him starting at free safety, but it wouldn't surprise me. There's nothing really wrong with him.
As a sophomore, he was involved in a brawl at a night club or something and faced expulsion. I didn't follow that up, but obviously he wasn't expelled.
With all due respect to Buzz Kill Bill, Nacua has nice range and gets interceptions. He could be a sleeper.
Nacua had a second round grade on him by...somebody or other, but it makes sense, because he's 6'2", 205 lbs., and clocked 4.5. Hanz and Franz should pump him up to at least 212-215 lbs at that height (maybe 220) eventually.
His coverage doesn't seem to be an issue, but I don't know about his run support. I think he could win the starting job because coverage is the critical thing, and Gregg Williams won't LET him not tackle.
The tackling stuff is partly mental. You hear the phrase "takes bad angles" a lot, and that's about instincts. But for a true center fielder, it's something that can be taught.
I never understood how a last-line defender could take a bad angle, because we are social hunters like wolves, and without thinking the last wolf should automaticly know where the prey has to go, and move to cut it off.
I'm pretty sure that most of these "bad angle" guys just don't like head-on collisions with large individuals. Gregg Williams, psychopath or not, can't tolerate that in his free safety. If his center-fielder lacks balls, his aggressive defense gives up too many points.
I remember Felix Wright. Amazing free safety. He was cornerback-sized, but absolutely a lethal tackler; a human missile. He was super-intelligent. He never went helmet-to-helmet. He came up running full speed, and at the last instant went for the legs.
What a football player Felix Wright was! He got gobs of interceptions, and de-cleated lots of wide receivers, but he also read runs and dink-passes quickly, and came up instantly, and at full speed.
He didn't "tackle". He just took your legs out from under you. He'd end up 3 yards behind you on his face, and you'd wind up the same way, and not neccessarily with the rock either.
That's Gregg Williams' ideal free safety. I'm pretty sure everything Felix Wright did is still legal, too.
Nacua, undrafted, will "cooperate". He might not become Felix Wright, but he has all the tools, and Gregg will "insist".
Tyvis Powell is the Ohio State free safety who kept Hooker on the bench until last season. The Seahawks signed him as an undrafted free agent, then lost him to Sashi on his way to their practice squad.
You need to understand a couple things here: First, Seattle might just have the best secondary in the NFL. Second, the Browns were first in line for all waives (ok third: all players are waived before they make it to practice squads).
To sum this up, it looks like the Browns should have an adequate free safety in 2017. He probably won't be as good as Malik Hooker, but probably won't SUCK GDAMMIT, as in presenting a "GLARING NEED"...JFC stop it...
I will keep searching for other glaring needs, but am not optimistic.
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