Every Peter Smith article is a treat for me. He just published this one, no doubt because he's been actually looking at the game-tape from Thursday's Preseason win over the Saints.
But even Peter isn't perfect:
1: Level of competition is almost irrelevant for a quarterback. If he's playing against truck drivers and accountants, he's playing with phys ed teachers and cabbies. What Kizer did meant every bit as much as what Osweiler did in this vanilla game.
2: Nobody will be surprised if Coley makes the final cut.
I get it. Peter is looking at two defensive tackles just drafted and Jamie Meder (with Shelton)...and (oh yeah) X Cooper, which, along with Coley, makes six guys fighting over (we think) four roster spots.
But Coley is not a rookie. He's been through two training camps and been trained for two seasons--most recently by the Ravens (which matters).
As I pointed out in an earlier post (blush-blush) Brantley and Ogunjobi are not at this point very good one-tech prospects (they're right dt penetrators), whereas Coley can play both positions (or nose tackle, for that matter).
I don't expect him to "disappear" like other preseason wonders have, either. I'm guessing X is a gmf, and...I can't say it...
Pete is correct: Jamie Meder will play a lot somewhere in the NFL this season.
That's all for the nit-picky corrections (I never catch Pete for anything worse dammit).
I can add to some of the other stuff he said, however:
Hell yes on both Vitale and Telfer. If Vitale keeps growing as a lead-blocker, his abilities as a receiver and a runner will be valuable, and if Telfer keeps doing what he's doing as a receiver, he's a viable weapon in a two-tight end offenses.
I've repeated this for years. A "blocking tight end" is a skinny offensive lineman, and you might as well just use a spare lineman. If a tight end can't make at least underneath catches, why bother?
Telfer has, throughout this preseason, demonstrated not only that he can catch the chain-moving wall-off short passes, but actually get upfield and do more damage. He FITS.
Mayes did show nice vision on his touchdown, but also patience. I studied that one:
Vitale got stood up, and Mayes confronted a solid wall. Most smaller backs would run laterally and try to sneak around the edge, but Mayes did a Laveon Belle:
He just kinda "hovered", watching the blockers and defenders struggling, waiting for some little seam to appear. (By the way, as he shifted and danced, every defender who saw him reacted to him. Laveon Belle deliberately does this stuff to help his blockers get the upper hand--sorry Black Cloud);*
Some people don't get this: Once everybody is standing still, and it's all leverage and brute force, offensive linemen are winning. At least one of them will push one defender backward; maybe only a couple feet.
Moreover, when a back doesn't race for the edge, the defensive player assigned to hold it attacks around the blockers nevermind too deep.
Mayes waited for that. It was impressive (and unusual).
Understand Vitale's role as a lead-blocker: He's supposed to target off-the-ball linebackers and safeties trying to fill holes or seal edges. When he can, he's supposed to "chip" bigger guys who are already locked up with his own bigger guys to knock them off-balance so the blocker gets the upper hand and leverage.
On that play (I didn't check it out well enough to be sure of this), the Saints front seven did a great job stonewalling the Browns offensive linemen, and the gap Vitale was supposed to go through to blast the safety didn't exist.
He did the right thing. He just hit the wall as hard as he could and joined the melee. Mayes went outside of him, but Vitale might have stifled penetration and bought Mayes and the other blockers time.
I say this not even knowing whether or not Vitale makes the team. I CAN predict that Mayes has, already.
More recently, Jabrill Peppers has joined the first team defense and already impressed everybody. I don't know where they played him yet...none of the reporters seemed to care.
Fortunately it's not important. He is hitting people, deflecting and intercepting passes, stripping people and all that good stuff. I guess I don't care either.
Osweiler is hitting both DeValve and Njoku, which might indicate the two tight end base I predicted (because it was obvious) is being worked on (and is working out. No drops for Njoku! That makes one day in a row!)
Peter thinks Cam Erving can be salvaged. I don't think the Browns will undertake that project. Not now. Not again.
Hue is still buying Gregg's beers on the goal line, but the offense is getting in the end zone anyway. The offense is catching up.
Keep watching for WR Rodney Lesliefield. If Britt doesn't get his head out, Louis will take his job, and Leslie will knock him off the team.
...then the Browns would have to find two vederrunn wide receiverzz...
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