Friday, August 31, 2018

Browns Trading for Mack: You People Need to Grow Up. STOPITSTOPITSTOPIT

You can't hear about a high-profile player in a contract dispute without hearing rumors (usually based on rank speculation) that the Browns are trying to trade for him.

I think it would be awesome to have Khalil Mack in the same defense with Myles Garrett, and I would even cough up a first round pick for him, but No.

One guy speculated that it would take two first round picks (for starters).  That's usually crap, as the longer a holdout goes, the more pressure the team is to come down from their understandably rediculous asking price, so eventually, a deal could become possible.

But I won't even go further with this: Mack is trying to become the highest paid defensive player in the NFL.  Unlike Ebineezer Bell, these demands align with the market:  Mack is WORTH close to that much.

But that much burned up cap space AND the trade compensation?  This is getting silly!

Sure, Mack is better than anybody here except for Garrett, but don't let this get all out of proportion:

You will see that Ogbah is pretty good in real games, and Avery (take this to the bank) will kick butt even as a rookie.

If Mack can get 16 sacks, Avery can get 10 or 12.  You want to pay around 16 mil/year and multiple draft picks for 4-6 sacks/year?

Get a grip (and that goes for you too Dorsey--are you still chasing Dez Bryant by the way?)

Yeah, Mack would be an upgrade and a difference-maker, but he's a want, not a need.  Elementary logic:  the return could never offset the price.

The trade and then the contract would do this team more harm than good. Long-term goes without saying, but short-term he's a "bust" if the Browns don't win the 2018 Superbowl GET A GRIP ok?

JC commodity A is worth 50 and commodity B is worth 40.  You want to pay 110 for 50, and kick 40 to the curb--that's irrational, even before you get into the trade compensation nevermind this concludes arithmatic 101 dammit.

They got a 2019 7th rounder from the Niners for Shon Coleman.  Good deal!  They were going to have to cut him anyway.  I wish the guy luck.  I don't know what his problems were, but he really seemed to be trying.

It's okay to pick on people who screw up or are lazy or whatever (like Johnny Manswell), but when you start bashing guys who bust ass and come up short, you're an asshole.

It's assenine that these guys get paid millions for playing a kid's game, but if you had that chance, you'd be fighting for a roster spot too.

Hue Jackson is keeping his options open as to the left side of the offensive line!!!

People will automatically call him an idiot for even thinking about this this close to the opener vs the Steelers, but I'm not one of them, and niether is Bob Wylie.

I remember Doug Dieken talking about Desmond Harrison in glowing terms (but what does he know?), and Harrison has to be the reason they're considering moving Bitonio back inside.

If you guys read this Blog, you know that less than three posts ago, I said it was probably too late for Harrison this season, since it would disrupt the chemistry.

But upon further reflection, Bitonio played next to Tretter for all of 2017 (with Zeitler as well).  Zero disruption.  He could play left guard in his sleep (and prefers it).

Des Harrison (what an amazing story) is a left tackle, responsible for a corner.  It's a little different for left tackles.

As a rookie (with very little college experience, and that at the lowest level), you can pretty much count on Harrison getting outsmarted and faked out sometimes, and successfully bull-rushed sometimes too until he learns the ropes, but Wylie and the Browns (like Doug Dieken did) need to think hard about putting this physical freak in the ring early.  Risk/reward.

Things that matter:

1: Both the top quarterbacks are mobile.

1a: Todd Haley has already factored weaknesses at left tackle, along with this, into the scheme he designed for this offense.

There will be more runs.  A lot of the passes will be zone/reads, read-options, play-fakes, screens, and often quick-hitters.  Haley has the personnel here to make that work, so a non-Joe Thomas can be protected (until he stops screwing up).

2: Bitonio himself is a key here: He played left tackle for four years in college, and has now been working at left tackle in this offense.

He'd be right next to this kid, all day long, giving him hints and coaching him up.

3: Harrison doesn't need help (ie a chipping tight end) to protect the edge.  You won't see passrushers getting around him, because they'd have to go into orbit to do it (and that takes too long).

Defenses would twist and stunt on him, attacking his inexperience/hesitation.

But putting that tight end to his left eliminates the outside speed rush as an option for the edge guy, plus makes a blitze from farther outside problematic.

That tight end would allow Harrison to bias his protection inside...jeez how do I say this...

Well if he doesn't have that tight end to his left, he has the edge, and has to be ready to step to his left and get his hands on that guy, right?

Well, this is exactly where veteran edge-rushers screw up inexperienced (and tall) left tackles.  They get them to take that step and lean that way, then they plant their outside foot and drive in under their pads, or simply across their face to sneak around them inside (as the tackle tries to regain his high center of balance on his extra-long legs).

The tight end neutralizes this, because he's there outside the edge-rusher, and a decent chip-block knocks him off-balance and "delivers him into the left tackle's clutches".

Harrison knows this.  Now all that edge-rusher can do is come right at him, or cross his face, or stunt, so Des doesn't have to take that fatal step to his left, see?

In essence, just lining that tight end to Harrison's left eliminates like 33% of that edge-rushers options, so Des only sweats the 67% that's left.  Pieca cake!

This would happen most obviously in obvious passing situations in which Haley has no choice but to give his quarterback time to shop around and throw deeper.

If you have a Joe Thomas, you can run a four-wide here, but if you don't, you line a tight end security-blanket outside your raw or slow left tackle to limit the defense's options.

You're not actually trading a receiver for a blocker here, since the instant the tight end sees that the edge-rusher is under control (or beyond his reach), he's a receiver again, and this happens a split second after the snap.

Every Browns tight end can do this.

A true "max protect" package would include Darren Fells as a de facto left tackle...but I'm far enough into the weeds here as-is nevermind.

Anyway it is not unthinkable, idiotic, or insane for Hue (and Rob) to consider returning Joel Bitonio to his comfort zone and start a rookie left tackle in game one vs the Steelers, okay?

I concur with you that Hue Jackson is a bad Head Coach, but don't go listing this among his screwups.  When you start "piling on" like that, your cerebral cortex is shut down, and you are part of a lynch-mob.

Lynch-mobs are jam-packed with sheep and cowards.  They're led by clowns like...oddly enough...guys like Colon Cowherd JFC you're buying what that ass-clown is selling!?! (but I digress):

None of these cuts surprise me.  I guess they need to cut 17 more.  The arguments will start then.

As Pat Kirwan, Gil Brandt, and my other peeps on NFL Radio taught me, 2-5 guys at the bottom of most rosters will change even after the final cut.

There are a lot of guys floating around in limbo at this point, and guys you were rooting for will still hit the curb, while guys you never heard of will show up.

Braxton Miller is floating around out there.  I don't understand what went wrong with him.  He is a legit "freak" wide receiver, and an ex-quarterback...anyway Braxton probably shows up on somebody's roster in 2018.  

Watch Bill Belichick snatch him up and turn him into a safety.

I respect Jeff Risdon, but have a couple minor differences with his Browns final roster prediction:

I like that Jeff included Dayes and listed four running backs and zero fullbacks.  He is correct: This team doesn't need a blocking fullback, and you can't kick a Matt Dayes to the curb.

I like that he keeps Cajuste and puts DeValve on PUP or IR.  (I should have thought of that myself.)

Jeff retains five wide receivers, and reserves a sixth slot for a guy he thinks they'll get off waivers.  

Sigh: Duke Johnson is as much a wide receiver as he is a running back, and Haley is eyeball deep in "move" tight ends.  Ignore the labels.  Todd Haley doesn't need more than five "official" wide receivers.

Jeff projects five defensive tackles, and thinks Jamie Meder is on a bubble.

Sigh: The majority of 4-3 'vanilla" defenses carry four defensive tackles-not five. Gregg Williams adapts to his talent, and runs whatever scheme suits what he has.

Jamie Meder is a nose tackle/2-gap defensive tackle human traffic jam/run-stuffer (ask his biggest fan: Gregg Williams).

Williams has been standing up Myles Garrett, and no doubt was behind both the Avery and Kendricks acquisitions.  He drafted a DT/DE hybrid (classic 3-4 DE), and signed another one.

Schobert, Kirksey, Burgess, and Bello are collectively better suited to play inside in a 3-4 than in a 4-3. (Schobert is different, though).

Collins is a prototype 3-4 outside linebacker.

Nate Orchard was drafted as a defensive end, but (when not on IR) mutated into a good linebacker in every scheme, and based on what he did to Detriot, he's a LINEBACKER now!  Jeff, like everybody else except me, labels him a "defensive end", and figures he's a cut.

As he did with Duke and the tight ends, Jeff here is treating these defensive players per their "labels".  Gregg Williams only cares about talent; the best 25 or so football players he can get.  He sorts his scheme out based on this...DUH.

Is any of this sinking in yet?

Jeff has the Browns retaining Micheal Jordan at cornerback, and kicking 
both Simeon Thomas and Jeremiah McKinnon to the curb.

Screw pedigree, draft status, reputation, etc.

Rodney McKinnonfield has kicked ass throughout this preseason, and I can't fathom why you people still think he's an asterisk.

I like Micheal Jordan myself (see previous posts), but McKinnon has out-performed him.  And T J Carrie.  

I can see how you want to cut EJ Gaines some slack since he's injured now, but is a proven commodity, but dammit why are you just ignoring everything McKinnon has done here and now?

Based on performance alone, I guess you could cut Simeon Thomas, but JFC he's SIX FOOT THREE and a rookie!

I can't cut Risdon any slack here on his cornerback evaluation (especially after he says the Browns need six wide receivers and nine offensive linemen).  

Maybe he's reserving that 6th wide receiver "to be named"slot for Dez Bryant?  If he thought Simeon Thomas could make the practice squad, he would have at least mentioned his name.

I'm being too hard on Jeff here.  He's almost certainly a lot younger than me, and certainly doesn't suffer Browns OCD like I do.  I think back on some of the crap I wrote...long story short, Jeff Risdon might eventually become almost as smart as my humble self!








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