The Browns are serious about Todd Haley as the new offensive coordinator of the Browns, and I officially endorse him. Nothing more needs to be said, however I have to fill up some space here, so I must continue:
Haley has kicked ass everywhere he has been.
My ONLY concern with this guy is the fact that Big Ben hasn't run a quarterback sneak in over two seasons, and in the last playoff game, one third and negligable conversion might have won that game.
Ben threw Haley under the bus, saying that he ran the plays that were called. But my ex-quarterbacks on NFL Radio all agree that in every offense they ever ran, they were all authorized to check to a sneak in those situations. They all had a few code-words to target the lane and the Mike.
This was my only concern, because Haley makes the most of what he has, everywhere he has been.
In fairness, he has been fortunate to have had excellent talent to work with, with both the Steelers and the Cardinals. Despite this, I can't see how anybody else could have maxed that talent out like Haley did.
Haley saw Ebineezer Belle's potential, and turned him into another David Johnson. He finds and exploits mismatches as well as any OC in the NFL. Even with weapons like Belle and Brown, he runs a balanced offense which takes what the defense gives him...
That is, if you zero in on Belle and/or Brown, he will use the other guys (until you back off).
With the Browns, Haley would max out Duke Johnson, Corey Coleman, Njoku, and Gordon.
Well of course he doesn't have a Big Ben here yet, and he does need a quarterback who can hit the broad side of a barn (so stipulated).
But a couple points I need to make here:
Hue Jackson is not in charge of this search, or this decision. Based on Hue's own results, the last thing John Dorsey wants is a guy who thinks like Hue. Indeed, anybody Hue likes probably scares the hell out of Dorsey.
The Browns probably are indeed serious about Haley, but for all we know, Hue doesn't want him.
Haley uses some zone-blocking (to help Belle out), for example. He does go vertical in the passing game a lot, which Hue likes, but also occasionally passes short and outside, which Hue can't tolerate. And he leaves his best skill players on the field for many consecutive plays, rather than rotating them in and out like Hue does.
And Haley was a Head Coach himself, and as a coordinator has a lot of credibility, so he's libel not to cooperate.
Maybe I'm hammering Hue more than I should again here. Maybe he's one of those extremely rare Head Coaches who isn't an egomaniac, and is ok with letting an assistant do his own thing. Maybe he is indeed a Haley fan, for all I know.
It just doesn't matter, however. John Dorsey will choose the new OC. Not Hue Jackson.
Mary Kay Cabbott had a guy hypothesize that John Dorsey might like two or even three quarterbacks equally, and wondered if, on that basis, he might not draft Saquon Barkley first and the quarterback fourth.
Ignoring the qualifier, MKC said he had to take the quarterback first, no matter what. This is irrational.
Mary clearly still thinks Barkley is being overrated by literally everybody else, as well.
I did watch highlights of Barkley and Derrius Guice, and was impressed by Guice as well. Guice hasn't proven anything as a passcatcher, however.
Guice is slightly taller and lighter too, but looks a lot like Barkley as a runner. If the Browns miss out on Barkley, Guice could make it to the second round.
But Barkley...he hurdles over guys. I mean he jumps over them. Sometimes they get a piece of him, but he still comes down running at full speed anyway. His reactions are amazing, as he sees a guy start to go for his legs and times the jump perfectly in full stride.
Guice has a very bright future. At 5'11", he should become a good receiver himself and evolve into a similar player to Barkley. But Barkley, I think, is a little quicker out of the gate, and a little harder to bring down.
I still take Barkley, and give the new quarterbacks a bellcow/swiss army back in one...
Speaking of which, wide receiver wide receiver wide receiver.
It matters that Seth DeValve is a former wide receiver, that Njoku runs like one, and that Duke Johnson can line up in any WR slot. And if you draft Barkley, now you've got two of those guys.
I would love to have Pryor back, and/or Jarvis Landry, and would be fine with drafting one as well. But some clown mocked one at fourth overall! Come ON, man!
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