Long story short, he lists several guys over thirty (one is thirty four)!
Okay look: The geezer here for a cup of coffee on his way to the nursing home should actually be better than the younger player he is going to knock off the roster!
The Browns aren't realistic Superbowl contenders yet; they're coming up from rock bottom. Why the hell do these writers think renting an old geezer and dumping a developing player is a good idea!?!
Lord Insideous is the smart one. I believe he planned to trade Saint Thomas and keep Garropolo, and don't doubt that more recently, he tried to trade Gronk. Unthinkable, right? That's why he keeps going to the Superbowl, and you don't.
However, the blind squirrel found one acorn: Defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson, who is only 27.
Even this guy I find questionable, since the guy he'd kick to the curb would probably be Jamie Meder, and he'd cost a lot. But at least Richardson is a terrific player in his prime. I'll give this writer an F instead of an F-minus for this
I sometimes review comments on various Browns articles, and lately have been feeling better about the majority of Browns fans being Homo Sapiens, but I still read some idiocy:
On Josh Gordon's assertion that the Browns have the best wide receiver crew in the NFL:
"He must be on drugs again".
"Would Belichick trade Edelman for the lot of them? Hell no!"
........................wow.
Check THIS out. This is Gordon putting his feet and hands where his mouth is. Brady/Belichick would trade Edelman and Gronk for summa dis!
Opinions are divided on players making statements like this, and I respect both sides of that. But you people need to quit saying "shut up and do it", okay? They don't have to shut up in order to do it.
Mohammud Ali "ran his mouth" a lot, but as he himself wrote, when he made these predictions, he was psyching himself up, and giving himself specific goals. He was sticking his neck out deliberately, so that he had to deliver to avoid humiliation.
None of the other wide receivers in the NFL took any offense when Jarvis Landry said he felt he was the best wide receiver in the NFL. They just made plans to prove him wrong.
The people who want these guys to "just shut up" are kinda silly to me. Big deal, ya know?
And I like that Hue Jackson doesn't censor or "silence" his players, as Lord Insideous does.
I've been among Hue Jackson's harshest critics, but he has the PR and people skills part of this down pat. These guys are all having fun, and sharing optimism.
Oh, please don't...sigh. Yes, everybody is optimistic at this time of year, but don't regurgitate that tired old crap here. The 2018 Browns have tangible, concrete, and irrefutable reasons for their optimism (one of which is the best WR corps in the NFL).
The Ravens are no doubt optimistic because they have Lamar Jackson, and can do all sorts of insideously diabolical stuff with him right away. They have the best wide receivers they've had in several years. They believe Flacco can stay healthy (but they'll live with Jackson if not).
They actually have one pretty good running back, too.
But all the guys I just listed aren't as good as their Browns' counterparts, and it's not even close.
The Steelers have earned their optimism already.
The Bengals have a lot to be optimistic about, but here again...
Let's compare:
Taylor is better than Dalton. Yes he is. Ask PFF. He is better. And Mayfield will become better than both of them. AJ Green wants to be Josh Gordon when he grows up. The running backs are close, and the Bengals have just upgraded their offensive line to near parity with the Browns unit.
But Njoku and DeValve will BOTH pass up Tyler Eiffert, even if he can stay healthy for once.
The Bengals have a very good defensive line, but the Browns' is better. I call your Geno Atkins and raise you Myles Garrett. The rest aren't as good as the Browns guys.
Vontez Burfict is a great player, but a psychopath who does almost as much harm as good, and now with Kendricks on board, the Browns linebackers are better too.
And of course the new Browns secondary is better as well. To top it off, Marvin Lewis remains their Head Coach.
Yeah, be optimistic all you want, kitties. You might come in third.
It's okay to be optimistic when your optimism is based on real facts and probabilites. That's rational, so spare me the cliches in 2018.
I need you guys to help me communicate with the Browns. Please tell them they need to fix the glitch which returns all my emails to them as undeliverable.
Anyway, I was trying to reach Todd Haley, so I could advise him on how to set up his offense (so this is obviously important).
Feel free to forward this to him, in case it takes them awhile to fix this technical glitch:
1: Obviously run the ball at least 45% of the time, even though you'll be using lots of dumpoffs and dink-passes which are really kinda runs anyhow. The defense can't be allowed not to respect the run.
1a: Mix in (or even preponderate *invented word cool huh?* zone-blocking. All your running backs have the vision and one-cut ability to exploit it, and it blends right in with the passing offense I'll describe later.
1b: retain power/man inside runs to set up play-action and keep the defense honest and hesitant. A 50-50 zone/man mix would be good.
2: Mix under center, pistol, and shotgun evenly.
3: Run read-option plays and run/pass options at least 25% of the time each, and have Tyrod actually run the ball on called plays at least 2-4 times per game.
This will help your not-Joe-Thomas left tackle out a whole lot in pass-pro, and blend seamlessly with zone-blocking on runs.
4: Your best offensive weapons are Gordon, Landry, Johnson, and Njoku, so keep them on the field at the same time as often as you can.
You can do this with two-back personnel, since Duke can line up at WR anyway for a spread, and Njoku can also line up outside.
With Hyde or (more likely) Chubb as the other running back, and Njoku (quietly shh) improving as an in-line blocker, out of this personnel group, you could go smashmouth or spread, once the huddle breaks.
The defense has to honor the run. Even though they know that Duke is as much a WR as a running back, using a nickel package would invite a smashmouth set when the offensive huddle breaks.
Another way to do this is with Duke as the single back, and Coleman or Callaway outside...or else instead of the wide receiver, DeValve or Fells...
This gets deep: DeValve could line up wide, in the slot, in-line, or at fullback. Fells is an in-line blocker, but could line up in a slot.
The extra wide receiver forces nickel, but the extra "tight end" forces a base defense. Haley can dictate defensive personnel (and mismatches) depending on who huddles up on offense.
The aforementioned 3-wide could deploy as an empty backfield five-wide. The two tight end set I described could be anything from an elephant set to the same empty backfield five-wide.
I think Todd Haley already gets this, and it's why Dorsey paid big bucks to extend Duke Johnson.
5: This is kind of a summary: Adapt. Just as Gregg Williams can now, Todd Haley can rely on four key skill-players, and pick a running back, tight end, or wide receiver to dictate defensive personnel (and mismatches).
Naturally, it's not that simple, as you get to third and one, or third and sixteen, or you're up or down by ten with the clock ticking, or (for that matter) you're up against a big but slow or small but fast defense (generally speaking); a soft secondary, an aggressive front---you know what I mean (I hope).
But at this moment, Duke Johnson is actually the best running back (and one of the best players) on this offense.
How high they drafted Nick Chubb, or how much they overpaid Carlos Hyde, or how much Duke weighs are all irrelevant:
There will be no "workhorse" running back on this offense in 2018, and Duke Johnson is Haley's Ebineezer Bell.
More on that: Duke has never been injured. He's run up the gut a LOT. He stiff-arms and breaks tackles. Everybody is stuck on his comparatively small stature, and have universally decided that he can't be an "every down" running back.
That's bullcrap. That's as ignorant as deciding that Baker Mayfield will bust out because he's one inch shorter than Rodgers and less than one inch taller than Brees.
Poor Todd Haley. Like Gregg Williams, he's stuck with too much talent. No matter what he does, he can't use it all. I feel bad for him.
Seriously though, talk about competition! Every player on this roster knows they're in deep waters here. 0-16 is irrelevant to them.
Coleman knows he's hanging on by his fingernails. Carlos Hyde knows he needs to be better than he was. Joe Schobert made the Pro Bowl last season, and HE has Kendricks in his face!
0-16? All these individuals know is that they're up against the toughest competition they've ever faced, and that regardless of who wins, this is one of the most talented rosters in the NFL.
Please, curb your pessimism.
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