Thanks to Mary Kay (and the Strongsville PD) we now know that Antonio Callaway wasn't smoking weed, or otherwise being an idiot.
Roger Goodell will try to find some excuse to rub another player's nose in who's boss, but I doubt he can. The kid should be fine (although we should keep out fingers crossed).
I can't watch TV much, so I haven't seen Hard Knocks yet. But I heard that Jarvis Landry's f-ing rant in the wr's room was f-ing pretty cool s-t.
But this (and another scene with the coaches) brings up another debate:
I'm with Hue Jackson on the "veteran off days" stuff, mostly.
This policy might well have extended Joe Thomas's carreer by a couple seasons. A seasoned veteran has taken a beating to get that experience, and is older. He doesn't need to practice as much as younger, less experienced players.
Jarvis Landry is obsessive and hyper-driven, and you have to respect that. But if I were his physician or agent, I'd tell him to take time off whenever he could. (He might f-ing tell me to f-k off with that s-t, but I'd still give him that f-ing advice).
I kind of assume that Jarvis was aiming at the younger players, probably including Callaway, who didn't practice for an extended period due to...I guess a hamstring thing.
Looks like it worked.
And I get Haley and the running backs coach kinda too: Haley's offense is new, as are the quarterbacks, so even the veteran skill players need reps so that they can "mesh" with the rest of the unit.
But I think they're wrong and Hue is right about the Dukester. It's one day, here and there, to let his 205 lb body heal a little.
"Old school" sometimes lacks common sense, and goes overboard.
The young guys need more reps, and it's frankly just plain stupid to deny them those reps in favor of a proven commodity who delivers absolutely predictable results on sundays.
It's not so great for Tyrod or Baker either, as they need to be ready for the backups when the trusty veterans go down (honestly isn't all this just obvious?)
Obviously, Carlos Hyde is partly here because he dropped a bunch of passes last season, and Nick Chubb is a rookie who needs to get up to speed as a blocker and receiver.
I have a hard time with irrationality, and a lot of this "old school" stuff is irrational:
Once a Browns starting offensive lineman missed a game with the flu, and there was a big ruckus over it.
But this guy was barely better than his (young, emerging) backup, and would have infected the offense with that bug. In his condition, his backup was the better player that sunday--cut the macho crap, okay?
Jeff Hoestetler was a super-tough Raiders quarterback. In one game vs the Browns, he was hurt bad, so he's heroicly limping severely and getting sacked and heroicly costing his team a game, see?
Everybody around me is saying "Wow that's one tough SOB", and I said the only guy on that team who is dumber than that quarterback is his Head Coach.
This is a team sport, and a lot of people don't get that. If a boxer breaks a finger or a rib and keeps fighting yeah okay, he's a badass. But if a football player's illness or injury makes him worse than his backup, and he won't come out, he's utterly selfish and egotistical, because he is hurting his T E A M.
Well that was "Introduction to Common Sense" for any new readers.
Brent Sobleski wrote an excellent piece on the Browns' 2018 wide receivers. You'll find a lot of it "familiar", of course, from 6-10 weeks ago in this Blog...
Anyway, Brent's article is pretty perfect, but I can "develop" it a little more because I'm not on a word-count:
CJ Board gets no respect here for various reasons, starting with the fact that this link was the closest I could get to an actual draft profile on him.
He didn't have much experience in college, and was a shade over 181 lbs when he came out in 2016. He was a longshot, and has already been with two other teams since entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent last season.
I was made aware of his existance early in camp this season as he and Rashard Higgins immediately became two of Baker Mayfield's favorite targets with the second team.
CJ has been getting open (and catching) a lot vs the likes of Gaines, Mitchell, Rice, and Carrie.
I deduce that CJ wasn't even invited to his combine, but noticed that 4.41 40 time at his Pro Day. His real height is probably a shade over 6', and I figure Hans and Franz have pumped him up to near 190 lbs by now.
Board now has a year under his belt, and I always double check these guys. While the majority of them either hang on as special teamers or don't hang on at all, diamonds show up among the briquettes occasionally.
Briean Boddy-Calhoun is just one example of these exceptions.
Right now, throw Board's history out the window, as he has made a move, and already proven he belongs in the NFL as a wide receiver.
I'm not even predicting that CJ will make the final roster here (don't get me wrong), but don't just dismiss this guy.
Brent didn't say much about Damion Ratley (6th round) either. I covered CJ Board first because he's the underdog that everybody ignoring, but Ratley is a sure keeper.
You can't coach height or speed, and Ratley has both in abundance. Unlike Board, Ratley is unmistakeably "X"- receiver material; a deep threat with a huge catch radius.
Ratley is currently in need of Hans and Franz (skinny), has little experience (or production) in college, and (prior to his senior season) dropped too many passes.
However, Ratley tests off the charts physically, with freakish balance and agility to go with his 4.36 40 time. This guy explodes out of breaks better than most short little slot receivers do, and he runs like a running back after the catch too.
Ratley does have some questions to answer and things to prove, but his upside is off the charts.
He's already "flashed" in camp--enough that he should get a lot of chances this thursday to prove he belongs on the final active roster in 2018.
The ONLY real concerns about the rookie Ratley are his ability to beat NFL press/man coverage (something he should grow into and learn) and his hands.
I'm glad that Jarvis Landry has taken over the wide receiver room, and that Todd Haley runs this offense.
Remember: Landry is Mister juggs machine.
The first episode of Hard Knocks also spells out why Corey Coleman was dumped, so Ratley already has his "Don't do this" role model.
Count on Landry to keep Ratley late after practice for juggs work if he drops anything...
I'll be damned this is partly why Dorsey overpaid Landry!!!
The CBA won't let coaches keep players "after school", but that doesn't apply to Jarvis Landry!
I can't believe I didn't see this before! Jeez I was a Corrections Officer and did this stuff myself!
I GET it now! All this "experienced veteran mentor" stuff makes sense now! The coaches aren't allowed to make players stay after practice for extra work; Landry is an "enforcer"!
I'm (now) overjoyed that Coach Landry is here, and John Dorsey suddenly looks a lot smarter for some reason...
Oops last call. More later okbye
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