Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Jimmy G, Josh G, and the Cleveland Browns

Based on Baylee Jackson's comments and several emails from within the building, Hue Jackson wanted Jimmy Garopollo, and he and his staff are furious that Sashi Brown apparently made no effort to acquire him.

Mainly on the strength of a daughter speaking up for her father, this rings true.

I addressed the Garropolo thing in my previous post.  The most important issue was the risk involved.  There is no guarantee that he is durable, or even that he will be elite.  There is no guarantee that he will re-sign at or before the end of his contract.

There may also be more to this: Jimmy G has the right to nix any trade.  Normally, the player's agent will inform the suitor that he "need not apply".

If that happened here, Sashi should have told Hue, but is otherwise innocent.  If Sashi wouldn't make the deal because of the risk, he has some legitimate business concerns which maniacal fans will never allow themselves to consider.

All the same, if this conflict is real, I'm with Hue.  He's the quarterback guy, and a spare second round pick isn't too much for the potential reward.

Still, it just can't stop there, can it?  No no no this must be just the tip of the iceburg!  Sashi Brown is deliberately undermining this future Hall of Fame coach by depriving him of players!  It's an insideous plot!

Josh Gordon may be reinstated shortly, and Adam Shefter thinks Brown might trade his rights.

That would be utterly insane.  I can not believe Brown would do that.  And if Jimmy Haslam were to let him do that, he should just sell the damn team, since he can't fire himself.

DeShone Kizer plus Josh Gordon?  Wow!  If Brown even tried to "get rid of" this awesome weapon, it would confirm that he'll do whatever it takes to get another first overall draft pick at Jackson's expense.

But I don't believe it.  Gordon is still only 26 years old, and could be very much a part of the longer-term plan.  The risk of retaining him is the last roster spot.  He's got two years left on his rookie contract.  No, I don't buy it.

Anyway, the Front Office does take a longer view than the coaching staff in every organization, and the Front Office controls the purse strings.

Wait for the whole story on the Garopollo thing before you have your necktie party.

And don't say Hue doesn't have enough talent when either Njoku or DeValve are on the bench all the time, he keeps playing Kenny Britt, and he won't zone-block to let Crowell do what he does best.

Monday, October 30, 2017

TY Hilton, DeValve, Mason Rudolph, and the Browns

After the London bombing, my inner-analyst can't help (shhh!) rooting for the Browns to lose and draft first overall again.

The "best draft class in years" has (almost predictably) become much less attractive, with big ugly warts emerging all over all but one of the future Hall of Fame prospects.  (The top guy is Mason Rudolph).

Most of these quarterbacks lost key parts of their supporting casts (don't only think "wide receiver".  This includes every offensive position, ok?).

Rudolph is the only one who kept on truckin', and that's the very definition of a franchise quarterback.  This is why Tom Brady's receivers fall off the map when they leave New England.

I'm not condemning DeShone Kizer, or even Rodney Hoganfield here.  But Front Offices need to plan ahead, and plan for worst-case scenarios.  Right now, it looks grim, and they have to make sure they have that most critical position covered.

Even if Kizer improves, and finishes well, they can't ignore that position.

I know I know, they need to fix wide receiver.  I still hope for Josh Gordon to come back, and like Williams and (especially) Treggs a lot.  Gordon's return could actually fix everything, in fact...

But the rest of the team is already there talent-wise.  It's time to nail quarterback down!

If the Browns draft first overall again, they could grab Mason Rudolph, regardless of how well Kizer finishes 2017.  Announce a competition between him and Kizer.  Then, after Rudolph wins, TRADE Kizer for at least the second round pick it cost to draft him in the first place, ok and keep Hogan on-deck).

While I'm not burying the raw rookie DeShone Kizer yet, I am bothered by his slow processing and inaccuracy, and with all due respect to Hue Jackson (who I know knows a lot more about this than I do), don't think he will ever be truly elite.

The Browns aren't going anywhere this season.  While everybody else is wallowing in despair, I remain an infernal optimist, and see a way out of this mess.  ...just not in 2017.

In view of my man-crush on Mason Rudolph, I hesitate to bring this up, but Dan Labbe polled us on what we'd give up for T.Y. Hilton.

Hilton is allegedly on the block.  I don't like that he's a little shrimp, but he's a proven little shrimp ala DeShaun Jackson.  He'll be 28 next season, and is signed through 2020.

Jacoby Brissett isn't making the most of him the way Andrew Luck did.  Brissett does not suck, but he's not elite either.  With these little smurfs, you need to be a sharpshooter, and Brissett isn't that.

I think we're safe here for 2017: Kizer is inaccurate too, and unless he gets hurt, Hogan is in the dungeon.  Unfortunately, Hilton might nix a trade because of this.

Now, you need to understand what I mean by "accurate", and why some alleged analysts are fulla crap:

Hilton is a playmaker, but not a vertical deep threat like the taller guys.  Many cornerbacks and almost all safeties are taller than he is, and he can't blow their doors off if they're already running a race with him.

He can/will exploit an error in coverage to get behind a cornerback an holler "hit me!", but he still has a dime-sized catch radius, and the quarterback has to throw a higher, slower "bucket"-pass than he would to a taller guy with a quarter-sized catch radius when he gets deep.

In fact NO little shrimp speedster is EVER a consistent vertical threat.

Hilton, Jackson, Benjamin, Ginn etc. run slants and crosses, get lateral separation, and take short and intermediate passes upfield.

In most cases, if the quarterback doesn't hit them quickly, when they're supposed to, and in-stride, it's over.  The safeties close on them, and they run out of field and have to predictably turn back inside.

Andrew Luck pulled the trigger and hit Hilton in-stride, and let him do his thing.  Brissett does not.  Brissett has a good arm, and can go deep.  That's not the issue at all.

Poor T.Y.  If he didn't nix a trade with the Browns, he'd be back where he started, because Kizer wouldn't pull the trigger or catch him in stride either.

I would still offer one of the lower second round picks for Hilton if I were Sashi.  (Well...okay I would bid that high if I had to.)  I don't think the Browns' competitors would beat that.

Kizer right now is a much, much better vertical passer than he is a West Coast guy.  Even his best passes to Duke and the tight ends are over one shoulder or the other.  When his mechanics are right, he's downright deadly on those, even at close range.

The problem is that his mechanics are still inconsistent, he is still trying to force himself to just lob it to the short crosser in under like five fkng seconds, (and I remind you that he may be incapable of that)...

Ok but Hilton is a proven lethal weapon, in his prime, so Sashi should nab him anyway.  Rodney Hoganfield could use him, and so could Mason Rudolph.  And ya never know: so might DeShone Kizer, eventually someday!

Why doesn't Hue Jackson want DeValve and Njoku on the field at the same time?  Seriously, can somebody explain this to me?  I mean, even with his man Kenny Britt unavailable?  

Strictly for the sake of continuity, I don't want Hue Jackson fired, but he aint all that, ok?  He insists on at least two official wide receivers at all times, no matter what.  When he uses more than one tight end, one (or two) has to be an in-line blocker, no matter at.

When he's down to Louis, Williams, Treggs and Coates (*Coates might be special), at wr, he has to field at least two of those on every single down.

When is the last time Seth DeValve dropped a pass?  Are you aware that DeValve can run every pattern Njoku can?  

As soon as Kenny Britt is healthy, he will start again.  Njoku and DeValve will not share the field any time soon, and if Njoku keeps dropping passes, that won't buy DeValve a break either.

This is the front office's fault?  Hue refuses to put two of his best receivers on the field and "DePodesta did it"?  Do you understand that both these guys are "seam-splitters" who do their damage making over-the-shoulder catches?

...I'm starting to think that Hue Jackson hung around Marvin Lewis too long...but don't fire him.

Yet.

THIS JUST IN: The Sith Lord just traded Jimmy Garropolo to the Niners for "a second round pick".

This means that Sashi Brown was unwilling to trade his top second round pick (presumably higher at this point) for this quarterback.

Before you fly into your kniption fit, read this:

1: Garoppolo's contract expires at the end of this season, and he has recently purchased a gun, ski mask, and Brinks truck.

2: Jimmy looks great, but is not proven.  

3: He was injured in his second-ever real game.

4: The Browns' alleged pursuit of Jimmy G was a rumor (which I believed 100%), but was never confirmed, and might be fiction (never assume).

5: Unless the Niners meet his salary demands early, the Browns have the cash to bid for him when his contact expires (no draft pick required).

6: Kyle Shanahan likes Kirk Cousins a lot too.  And so might the Browns!

7: Hue Jackson has a lot of input (Mary Kay Cabbot is wrong about this).

Ok you can have your temper tantrum now.

Friday, October 27, 2017

Hue Jackson Stays the Course: WATCH THIS!

Everson Griffin, who will go up against Spencer Drango in London this sunday, "disrespected" him by saying that he should be playing guard, and that he wishes he could go up against Joe Thomas.

Yawn.  Oh yeah no doubt Spencer read this and flew into a rage.  I know every Head Coach digs for "bulletin board material" every week, but come on, man-this "PC" crap is outta hand.

Drango gets it!  Do you think he's a mentally impaired, delusional egomaniac?  Everson, I respect your honesty.

Still, you know that Drango will pull out all the stops to stop this guy; it is motivation.  But yeah...he's overmatched.

Hue Jackson can help Spencer by running at Griffin sometimes, crowding him inside with a "chippy" tight end (he can/will stunt to force Drango to quickly relieve Bitonio, but at least if he tries to cross Spencer's face he knows it's coming)

Not going deep so much would also be helpful, if Kizer has managed to figure that out after his long sabbadical😉.

I now know that Hue Jackson is a blockhead.  He just added Matt Lengel to the active roster, so he has four tight ends now.

No knock on Lengel here: He's a terrific blocker, but not much more.

I can see this coming: He's finally decided to actually use two and three tight ends more often, and still make sure that DeValve and Njoku are rarely on the field at the same time!

You know what dogs do when you point at something?  They stare at your finger, right?  Well, that's Hue.

Anyway, don't expect to see DeValve and Njoku on the field at the same time any time soon...at least not while Kenny Britt is available...good grief...

It's all DePodesta's fault!

Duke Johnson aside, the two best receivers on this team are Njoku and DeValve.

It really is that simple, and you need to watch this game with that in mind.

Dammit.

Thursday, October 26, 2017

Cleveland Browns Pundits: You Need Therapy!

I found this article listing five moves which ostensibly led to the Browns current horrific situation.  Matthew Florjancic (wkyc) was more right than wrong, but still assumes facts not in evidence, and generalizes too much:

Move one was passing on Carson Wentz.  It's easy to see how awesome this guy is, so at first glance this looks like a huge "miss".

But I have to repeat myself yet again: 

1: Wentz would probably have earned the starting role in Cleveland, but would not have done what he did in Philly, because Philly wasn't in the first year of a down-to-the-studs rebuild.

2: Sashi and company are still using the draft picks off that trade to draft the rest of the entire team.

3: Wentz is irrefutably already good enough to take his team on his broad shoulders, but if he gets injured, they've got problems.  Paul, Sashi, and Andrew are building the supporting cast first, so that just a decent quarterback can win.

Oh good grief shut tf up with that kneejerk spazzdom THINK for a change!  I said buildING.  And wide receiver is just a position group, and Sashi Brown didn't break Coleman's hand.

The offensive line matters, and so does the defense.

Rodgers is out for the season in Green Bay, but that team should still contend in a tough division because the talent around Hundley will give him a chance. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?

Decision 2 was signing Kenny Britt.

Obviously, we got another Dwayne Bowe, but like I said, nobody thought he'd be this bad.  And Terrelle Pryor has fizzled in Washington.  No for real expert saw this coming.  NONE of them.  So now Sashi and company need to be psychic too?

Next is letting Mitchell Schwartze go. Yes, this was idiotic.  I still don't get it.

Shon Coleman is a better athlete (actually a possible left tackle now), but Mitchell was already a top-flight right tackle, still in his prime, and...well okay that was really dumb.

The "lack of veteran quarterback presence" kind of irks me.

Talent trumps experience.  You've got Hue Jackson and a quarterback coach.  In my humble and extremely unpopular opinion, Cody Kessler and Kevin Hogan have bright NFL futures, and a rebuilding team would be stupid to kick them to the curb in favor of yes--even Josh McCown.

I'm really happy that Josh is finally actually winning with the Jets.  I'm also surprised.  So are all the real experts.  Could he have done that here?  Maybe.  Does Hue Jackson miss him? Definitely!!!  Did Hue say "No I want Josh!"?

I doubt it.

Next is "not building depth", which is sheer idiocy.  

Matt cites the Joe Thomas injury--talk about low-hanging fruit!  Guess what: whoever replaces Big Joe won't be as good as he is!  You're jacking that bar up into the stratosphere now!  Get a grip!

In reality, the Browns have guys like Ibraheim Campbell, Dayes, DeValve, Burgess, Micheal Jordon, Kasen Williams (why?), Brantley, Nacua, Nassib, Meder, and Orchard in the wings!

Matt could have questioned depth at left tackle and got away with it, but even then, they took a low-round flyer on a left tackle who didn't work out, and should they have drafted a (hopeful) left tackle instead of Corey Coleman, or Njoku?

Now they're bashing Hue Jackson too.  That's okay, but they are bashing him for things he does right, like taking a bad quarterback off the field!  Going for it in enemy territory on fourth and short (judgement call--a 20/20 hindsight armchair critique).

It's hysterical.  No, I mean hysteria.  Spasms; siezures.  Let's carpet-bomb the whole middle east while we're at it!  Take a pill!

The front office isn't perfect, but Hue Jackson isn't the worst coach ever.  Everybody is going overboard!

People are already starting to demand that Haslam fire everybody and have latched onto this "eggzzbeereeunzed foodball guy" mantra.  Mary Kay said Andrew Berry wasn't experienced enough because he'd never run a team!

Look at the players on this team, and where they came from!  You...aw crap I give up just have your temper tantrum I'm ignoring you.  Just don't break anything.












Monday, October 23, 2017

Don't Blame "Moneyball" for Bad Coaching

As I've been pointing out ad nauseum, this is an extremely young, rebuilding team.  

But I read this article, and it just made sense.  Vinnie Lyer is blaming Hue Jackson.

Usually when I read this stuff, it's garbage, but Vinnie backed it up.

I won't rehash what Vinnie wrote here.  Instead, I'll make my own anti-Hue case (most of which will sound familiar):

Wait: Hue Jackson does not have Corey Coleman or a quarterback.  He just lost Joe Thomas.  Some of this is not his fault.  It's not all black and white.

1:  Not accepting that penalty was really dumb.

2: Penalties, penalties, penalties.

3: Very little zone-blocking for Isaiah Crowell.

4: Hue doesn't seem to want DeValve and Njoku on the field at the same time.  These are two huge, reliable, dangerous targets, but instead of adjusting his offense to his personnel, he insists on using two "official" wide receivers most of the time.

4a: The first of these wide receivers is Kenny Britt.  No madder wudd.

5: I knew that one week off wouldn't fix Kizer.  I knew that one game does not define Hogan.  But he just had to start Kizer, and there ya go.

*Putting Kessler in most recently wasn't a bad move.  And Cody was moving up and down the field til Big Joe went down.  Don't blame Kessler for Drango's being overmatched.  Joe Thomases don't grow on trees*

Well I think that's all I got.  Hue Jackson isn't an idiot, but he has absolutely not adapted his offense to his personnel.  Where did that reputation come from?  I bought it hook/line/sinker!

If Hue Jackson were truly innovative and adaptable, he would have demoted Kenny Britt.  And when Corey Coleman went down, he would have run more two and even three tight end sets.

I get the theory: You have to have at least one guy who can take the lid off the defense, or else the safety can come down and mess up the short stuff.

But gimme a break:  If those "other" recievers are bigger and taller than some of your linebackers, they are going to come down with well-thrown balls!  

Head Coaches tend to be blockheads.  Even some of the better ones.  Not dumb.  Just "set in their ways".  That's what Hue looks like to me.

Consider this:  Who do people call a rookie quarterback's "best friend?"  A pass-catching tight end.  A "big target".  No need to overthink this!

A truly out-of-the box thinker would have the balls to invent a new offense!  How do you stop three tight ends, when two of them can run and catch like wide receivers and the other one aint chopped liver himself?

Come ON, man, how do you cover all these always open all the time giants?  You can't!  You CAN'T, and it doesn't matter who you put on them, or how many.  Five yards, 12 yards, 22 yards who cares?  Yeah bring that deep safety up in here we got sumpin for him!

And maybe DeValve and Njoku aint ready to push defensive ends around, but isn't it nice to think about them smashing defensive backs downfield for Duke or Crow? 

Guys like this are precious, because (when lined up in-line), they can "chip" a defensive end (ie eliminate his edge-rush and let the big slow tackle get his mitts on him and defend a smaller area) and still get downfield for a pass.

Jeez, how does a defense cover all these big guys without leaving your one wide receiver single-covered, and Hue?  Why the HELL can't that guy be Kasen Williams or Ricardo Louis!?

Oh yeah.  Eggzzbeereeunzz.

Listen, Hue:  Luke Kuekles don't grow on trees either.  Williams has Jamie Collins, and look what opposing tight ends do to him!  What have you got to lose?

LET YOUR BEST PLAYERS PLAY.  BENCH THE GUYS WHO SCREW UP.  PERIOD.

Anyway, Vinnie Lyer is pointing right at the elephant in the room, and telling you the Emperor is nekkid.  The "moneyball" guys are building a talented team from the ground up.

Gregg Williams is exploiting that talent.  Hue Jackson is not.

I hope that as Hue grows more desperate for wins, he will, in his desperation, consider some of the outlandish (yet obvious) stuff like this, because I really like him, and know he's got genius stuffed in a box labelled "break glass in case of emergency" or something.

It's anybody's guess who starts at quarterback this week, but it's early and in London, so maybe for once he'll let his best players play, bench his bad players, and give the to-be-named quarterback a CHANCE for once dammit...

Hue? Please, just let your best players play, regardless of experience, reputation, or salary, or even position.  Dare to be different.

Start Kevin Hogan in London, run 2 and 3 tight end sets, zone-block, read/option, and bench Britt.  Get tf out of that fkng box.

But I digress: Everybody is trying to burn Sashi and DePodesta at the stake, but Vinnie and I think with our brains.  Hue Jackson has enough talent to win.  He hasn't used it right.

The Emperor has no clothes.  Deal with it.


Sunday, October 22, 2017

THE SKY IS FALLING! AGAIN!

The guys on NFL Radio (especially our old friend Nick Carruci) are nuts.

They're predicting another "blow-up" because "moneyball has obviously failed miserably".  Dammit, just go over the damn roster, player by player, and tell me what you see.

We must exempt Shelton, Thomas, Bitonio, and a few others who were already here, of course, except please note that Thomas was retained, and Bitonio extended.

Now, wide receiver is definitely a problem, and I can't defend that.  Score one for your side.  Well, except this Kasen Williams guy is looking like a nice find!  Too bad Hue likes Kenny Britt better.

Every other position group has been upgraded, except maybe the Mackless and Schwartzeless offensive line (which is now just as good, or even better).

That's because Tretter has remained healthy, Zeitler was a significant upgrade, and Shon Coleman is matching Schwartz's own pattern of development.

Where are we?  Offensive line a wash.  Wide receiver?  Worse.  But look at Terrelle Pryor.  Yeah, I would have paid up a little to keep him over Dwayne Bowe Kenny Britt, but PFF rates him pretty much right there with Browns draft pick Ricardo Louis.

Britt?  Look, nobody saw this train-wreck coming.  He was looking like a solid, if not elite, all-around wide receiver, still in his prime.  While many talking heads, including me, thought it was dumb to basically trade Pryor for Britt, NONE of them said Britt wouldn't be productive here.

Further, we don't know the whole story about how this went down.  Pryor might have wanted to be Kirk Cousins' prime target!  He certainly took less money than he was offered by the Browns!

With a Kasen Williams asterisk, however, yeah okay they did bad on wide receivers.  (Another asterisk: Retaining the rights to Josh Gordon.  Redemption could be right around the corner).

Running back?  Well, Matt Dayes looks like Earnest Byner to me.  That's an upgrade, even if he is buried on the depth chart for now.

Tight end?  MASSIVE upgrade!  DeValve and Njoku are both very young, and Njoku was very raw coming out of college.  Both have the size to play in-line, as well as split out or set up in the backfield.

Telfer has surprised me: He really is a good receiver, as well as blocker (oh yeah he was already here nevermind).

Quarterback?  You need to put on your thinking cap here, because the books are a long way from closed on Kizer, and Hogan, and yes, even Cody Kessler.  Kessler was a third round pick, Hogan a free agent signing initially drafted by Andy Reid in the fifth round, and Kizer drafted in the second round.

Oh no.  Round and round we go coulda had Wentz coulda had Watson.  I'm too lazy to trace the lineages decending from the Wentz trade (which include first and second round "unborn generations"), but I know that's a whole bunch of players, ok?

A whole bunch of players who would not be on this roster otherwise.

In this draft, several genuine experts called Kizer THE most talented quarterback.  They also universally agreed that he should have stayed in college for another year, because he was also the rawest and least polished of all the top five prospects.

I can't call the quarterback situation better, but you had better not call it worse, because it's still "under construction".

Offensive review:  overall marginal improvement (so far).  Offensive line a wash, running back slightly improved, wide receiver worse, tight end much, much better (remember we're talking more talent/upside here than performance; speaking of which wait til Shon Coleman and maybe Kasen Williams come back in 2018).

I forgot Corey Coleman.  His FLOOR is catching 5 of 8 targets for 36 yards, and he has no cieling! Sashi and company are being blamed for a broken hand!!!

Upon further review, wide receiver is kinda like the same.  That's a wash, like the offensive line.

Where the "moneyball guys" (I'm being sarcastic of course) really slapped in the cornerstones and sunk the posts was on defense.

We can skip Myles Garrett, because any idiot could have made that pick.  But it is significant that Sashi did NOT trade down, as I was half expecting and encouraging him to.  

Garrett isn't a quarterback, so we can take what he's doing now seriously, and count on it in the future.  Edge rusher is the second most important position, and Sashi got that covered with yes, a generational talent.

Ogbah is not only a dangerous passrusher, but ranks (I think) fourth among defensive ends vs the run.  Coley (a free agent "cast-off") and Ogunjobi are heavy in the rotation, and doing a great job.

Sashi (to my surprise) retained homie Jamie Meder (yay), and he shows up as a top five PFF defensive tackle vs the run now.

I mention Meder for a reason here.  Meder is short and light for the position he plays.  He is not explosive, or fast.  In other words, the Geek Squad can't like his "meaurables".  And yet, here he is.  Why?

Because Gregg Williams and Andrew Berry have their own opinions, and Sashi Brown listens to them!!!

Anyhow, defensive line massively upgraded under this regime.  I left out Nassib, Orchard (another holdover like Meder who was retained over guys with better "measurables").

Linebacker?  Sashi got Jamie Collins from the Sith Lord for a fourth round pick, drafted Schobert where...in the fourth? Fifth round? Extended Kirksey.  Found Burgess near the dumpster behind a 711.  BIG upgrade!

Safety?  Well, Jabrill Peppers hasn't been very impressive so far, and has predictably screwed up, because he played WIL linebacker in college mostly, and is kinda learning this position.

If you look deeper, however, you see that he has already upgraded the defense:

As PFF (and Professor Gregg Williams) points out, he's only been the single high safety around 30% of the time.  At other times, he's been half of a cover two, at nickleback, or otherwise set up shallow.

He's blitzed (something like) 16 times, and in general has been productive in all these roles; a significant part of this defense's success in stifling the run.

The safety position has been upgraded, and the sky is the limit for the surprisingly intelligent rookie Jabrill Peppers.

Cornerback (lumping in nickelback)?

UPGRADE.  In an alley near the 711, this front office met Brien Boddy-Calhoun.  I'll let PFF sing his praises.

Then they went to a junk yard and found this "McCourty" guy.  Before that, they traded a chump-change draft pick for Jamar Taylor.

They let Joe Haden go.  To this day, some of these clowns on NFL Radio cite this as an example of this front office's incompetance.  But all of the aforementioned players are better than Joe is.  (Well okay Taylor has been beaten some lately; apparently he's on the enemy's top wide-out with no help in Gregg's scheme a lot...so Haden might be slightly better...not sure...)

Cornerback is MUCH better since the new kids got here!

Every unit on this defense is significantly better since Sashi and company took over.  Hell, it has been rebuilt, in two years!

Garrett, Peppers, Ogunjobi, and Brantley are all rookies.  Injured cornerback Howard Wilson, who was pretty damn good in college, should be back to get some reps this season.

Ogbah, Nassib, Calhoun, Schobert, and Burgess are second year players.  I probably missed somebody, but if you're counting, that's five rookies and five first-graders.

Sashi and company account for eight starters on this defense, plus Calhoun, Burgess, two defensive tackles, and Nassib, who plays significant snaps.

If you are saying that this front office has failed, you need a brain transplant.  The positives vastly outweigh the negatives if you are capable of comprehending the (clearly explained, in very plain words) LONG TERM strategy.

The people who are saying "we're all gonna die" here are saying that all the players I just mentioned repeatedly suck!

This regime's "reject squad" includes Calhoun, Burgess, Coley, and Kasen Williams.

This "obviously hasn't worked" as of the sixth game of the second season of a "down to the studs" pre-announced rebuild!? On what freaking planet?

But wait! There's more! "Poor Hue Jackson.  He puts all this work in, then (after Jimmy fires him), the next Head Coach inherits a pretty good team!"

WHAT?

Somehow, these people are telling us that this front office is incompetent and doesn't know talent, but Saint Jackson will somehow manage to turn sow's ears into silk purses en masse, but the evil overlord will fire him just when he...

Screw this.  I can't tolerate this crap. It's irrational.  

Mary "and it's not even close" Cabbott is probably reading my Blog now.  A recent hit-piece article of hers on this front office felt as if it was aimed at me, as she systematicly addressed points I made in a couple previous posts.

If I'm right, I respect this, and her.  Unlike other scumbags I could mention, she has her OWN opinions, and instead of stealing my words (sometimes verbatum), she gets in my face.

At least she is thinking.  MKC is not a sheep.  

Anyway, in the aforementioned article, she systematicly tried to counter stuff I wrote in this blog--kind of treating me like an opposing lawyer in a civil suit.

I'm flattered, because I think she picked me out as her most formidable adversary.

Anyway, she failed.  

Look: Unless I qualify it, stuff I say is irrefutable.

Mary Kay made lots of good points (I won't list them, since I already have in this blog).

Her strongest arguments included Wentz, Watson, and the irrefutable "misses" at wide receiver.  She even stipulated the massive exponential proceeds from the Wentz trade-down...inadequately.

Mary Kay herself gushed over DeShone Kizer in training camp, and might have been the first to predict that he would start in game one.  She said he was the best quarterback on this roster, and "it's not even close".

That was bullshit, because Kizer was a long bomber only, and much less effective underneath.  Overall, Kevin Hogan was the best, and Osweiler and Kessler were competitive.  Mary Kay was not objective.

NOW, Mary Kay seems to think that both Kizer and Hogan are busts. She's right to bash the wide receivers, but now won't cut the quarterbacks any slack either.  

You can't inter a rookie quarterback ("it's not even close") in order to indict the people who drafted him, while simultaneously bashing his wide receivers, in order to declare a front office incompetent.

You can't (rationally) declare this project DOA before the middle of a pre-announced 3-year rebuild.

Predictably, Mary Kay exempts Saint Hue from all criticism, and implies that Kessler was "inflicted" on him, and that he was pounding the table for Watson---all bullshit, in my opinion.

Oh crap.  They just lost a squeaker to the Titans.  I had to turn my phone off.  The obcenities and doomsaying just bumb me out.

The defense did a great job on the 11th ranked offense.

Kizer just screwed up again.  Quit bashing the whole team because one guy messed up!  Did the defense suck? Duke? Njoku?  The offensive line?

Get a grip we need a quarterback and he might yet already be here give him a freaking minute will ya JEEZ!

I gotta go.  Except I gotta say this: How the hell can you line up offsides like that? Come ON, man!!!

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Jimmy and Dee: Don't Go Wobbly on us

Doug Lesmerisis wrote a great column (which should sound extremely familiar to you) defending this front office.  He did mention a couple players I left out, and was more diplomatic, but he was otherwise kinda me.

Doug does NOT steal from me, just to be clear.  It's just a case of great minds mastering the OBVIOUS.


His main point is that if Haslam were to cave into you clowns with your torches and pitchforks, and fire this crew, the new GM will be a winner because of the talent already on this roster, and the gobs of first and second round draft picks he will I N H E R I T.


And of course you nimrods will say "See what a real football guy can do in just one offseason?"


Doug is also on the money pointing out all the caterwalling over fourth round picks as if they're first rounders.  Most of you just keep raising the bar!  Bill Polian (and everybody else) keeps telling you, if you "hit" on one out of three below the third round, you're doing great!  And he defines "hit" as an outstanding special teamer or backup, or a journeyman starter...within three seasons.


Reality is vastly more complex than we want it to be.  DEAL with it.  Make yourself a "Browns that suck" list before you spazz out next time.


In other news, if you've declared Kevin Hogan "just not accurate enough to be an NFL starter" you are an ignoramus.


You can't throw out everything a guy has done based on one game.  Verily, Hogan was horriflic last week, but has been deadly accurate since the middle of preseason, and was accurate throughout his college career.


And how do you construe Hue's weekly "I'll look at the film and decide wednesday" statement as leaning towards Kizer?  Kizer has been just as bad as Hogan was last week, only a lot more consistently.


Hogan's decisions weren't bad; mentally he's there.  For whatever reason, in this one game, he just overthrew more often, and missed in general.


I don't know who Hue will start, but trust me:  DeShone Kizer is equally inaccurate, and has Hogan trumped in hesitation and bad judgement.


Therefore, Hue will start him, not use zone-blocking, start Kenny Britt, and we should fire Sashi Brown oh just bite me goober!


It's tomorrow, and nobody should be surprised that Kizer will start again.  No doubt he has learned and progressed a lot during his long sabbadical, and is a much better choice than the suddenly bad Kevin Hogan.

Nah I shouldn't get snarky.  Only an idiot thinks he's smarter than a Head Coach, unless he's at least an assistant coach himself.  Hogan did suck badly, and Hue is known for handling quarterbacks.  

So okay it's the big guy with the big arm, and conceivably his little break gets his legs back under him.  Conversely, Hogan might benefit from his own quick hook.

Amidst the pollution, here's a positive article by the PD's Dan Labbe, who wrote another really insightful one about how Jabrill Peppers is being used too.

This article lists seven positive things about the Browns.  Garrett check, Duke Johnson check, run defense...

Anybody else notice that?  Can we give this front seven and Gregg Williams some props for once here for stifling opposing running backs?

Who are these people, and where did they come from?

Well, Williams was hired by Sashi Brown.  Collins, Schobert, Garrett, Coley, Ogunjobi, and Ogbah Sashi Brown.  Sashi also scraped Burgess off the street. (*I'm in Sashi defense-mode now, but the bulk of this is really Andrew Berry, who is the real talent scout here.  If you want to give Berry a new title and tell yourself you've restructured, knock yourself out).

McCourty is making plays.  What an understatement!  Not that he could ever replace Joe Haden or anything.  I mean just compare...oh...nevermind.  Sashi and Sashi.

Njoku is emerging as a lethal weapon.  Sashi again.

Joe Thomas is a freak of nature.  Ask PFF and Numberfire.  Don't ask Buzzkill Bill Polian.  Also check out Haden vs McCourty while you're at it (but don't ask Polian!  He said Thomas was "significently worse" and Haden was as good as ever.  Bill is a "moneyball"-stalker!  Smart people can be mentally ill too!).

Sashi never traded Big Joe.   We all thought he would.  Joe is still here, and everybody is glad.  Sashi again.

We've still got all those draft picks.  

Where did they come from?  (Sigh) Sashi Brown (try to stay with me here!)

See my last post.  Don't reorganize because your quarterback sucked.  While this is the most important position, it really IS only one of 22 positions.

This front office has done a GREAT job of rebuilding a team.  This team is loaded with talent and potential! It's just not so loaded with experience, especially at quarterback.

I truly hope Jimmy Haslam sticks to his guns this time. The notion of restructuring this front office (well except for maybe kinda replacing himself with Peyton Manning) is irrational.

And Hue Jackson, as you know, is driving me nuts, but no-- don't fire him either.  Marty S drove me nuts too.  I defended Bill Belichick to the last, and look how getting rid of him turned out for you pitchfork and torches people.

Just leave it tf alone.  Just stick to the plan.

Breathe in.  Breathe out.  Ohmmm...Don't be a spazz.

Another hit-piece, and I must repeat:

1: When DePodesta says "WE", he means it.  He's not a talent evaluator, nor is Sashi Brown.  They both know their limitations.  If Hue Jackson had pounded the table for Wentz or Watson, they would have made those picks.  If you don't believe me, ask Hue.

2: Cody Kessler hasn't worked out.  That's all.  And Hue wanted him.  In the THIRD round.

3: The bounty of draft picks off Wentz, which became exponential off subsequent trades, is probably unprecedented and historic.

3a: Nor is it done yet: the oldest players off that trade just entered their second NFL seasons.  More are rookies.  A first and a second round player have yet to even be drafted, and I'm leaving stuff out.

4: Hue Jackson wanted DeShone Kizer.  All the real experts agreed on his pure talent and upside.  It's a tad early to write the rookie off, especially when Hue is defending him.

This was a National Ignoramus who felt safe appealing to the local ropes, pitchforks, and torches.  They think we're battery-throwing drunk barbarians ya know.

This will get worse.  I must pre-emptively confiscate the words "dysfunctinal", "schism", "divide", "impose", and also the expressions "civil war", "lack of talent", and "not enough playmakers".

As always, these words and phrases will be returned to you when I think you can use them responsibly.