Josh is back! I'm sure that some of you are shocked by this, but if you read this Blog you know it's just about time. Rodney Ratleyfield caught a couple passes against the Bills (yes, Terry! Even though he's a rookie!!!)
Rashard Higgins and Callaway were the two big beneficiaries of Gordon's absence. Higgins has really made a big move in his third year (Terry that makes him a veteran, by the way). Callaway simply got a LOT more reps than he otherwise would have, and put himself on the map.
Now we're in the "dress rehearsal" week of preseason. Dorsey placed Josh on the non-football active blah blah list or whatever, and I don't know what that means for his eligability for the upcoming game.
Gordon has kept training hard, and will be in good condition. He has already mastered all the routes, and practiced them as well, so all he needs to do is re-acclimate to the contact.
Now Terry Pluto would probably tell you that this might take several weeks, like Josh forgot everything or something, but he's wrong.
Josh might not start in week three, but should certainly get some reps with Tyrod Taylor and the first team (as well as with Mayfield).
Just a little fine-tuning. Josh Gordon is extremely "quarterback-freindly", much like Jarvis Landry is.
By the way, Gordon's child-support issue is being litigated. He has representation. He will comply with all court orders, so quit talking about his going to jail. Freakin' old lady gossips...
Anyway, as it stands now, it looks like vs the Stoolers in the opener it will be Gordon and Landry as the top two wide receivers.
How they handle the slot in 3-wides is vague, given the Browns tight ends and Duke Johnson, but Callaway or Higgins will be the third wide receiver.
Higgins is a very reliable big target with more big-play potential than most of us imagined he had, but Callaway is a potential game-breaker.
In the real world, Duke Johnson fits in here someplace. They didn't pay Duke all that money to be a "third down back".
Damion Ratley slid in the draft, but almost certainly won't make it past waivers to the practice squad, and he makes a fifth non-Duke wide receiver.
So where the hell does Dorsey expect to wedge Dez Bryant in here? Who gets kicked off the team so Dorsey can "rent" Bryant for one season?
And where does Dez rank? Go ahead, tell me 4th! Even if the fact that nobody else wants him forces him to eat crow and sign for chump-change, do you think for one freaking minute that he won't cause trouble?
I can already see him, pacing up and down the sidelines with his helmet in his hand, glaring at the field and the coach...jeez he thinks he's better than Landry and Gordon, let alone Higgins, Callaway, and Johnson!
John Dorsey, in what universe does your throwing Dez Bryant a life-preserver end well? For crying out loud you offer him a "prove it" contract, knowing you already have three or four guys who are better than he is?
Jeez you dumbass after he gives up on Haley and Jackson he'll be in YOUR face demanding more targets and opportunities! He'll tell you you're ruining his life by signing him to a "prove it" deal and then not letting him play god it's all so utterly predictable. When you cut him, he'll SUE you (and might win)!!!
-Sigh- I'm sorry people but just as Josh Gordon comes back, I hear more "close to signing" Bryant reports...it's just bizarre.
Thanks Nate Ulrich for relaying Damarius Randall's bold assertions in the wake of the Buffalo game.
Many will accuse Randall of "jumping the gun" in declaring the Browns (first team) defense "dominating" based on utterly stuffing Buffalo's first-teamers, but I'm still mostly with him.
Yeah okay it was McCarron, but Josh Allen or any other quarterback would have taken the same heat, and found his windows microscopic.
Concerns over the second team guys are valid, especially at cornerback, where the Browns have seasoned veterans, but the preponderance of the news here is positive:
Caleb Brantley and Trevin Coley were out of the DT rotation with injuries, and there were first and second year players everywhere.
With Myles Garrett (and I'm starting to think Ogunjobi, Schobert, Ogbah, and Randall) off the field, dropoffs are inevitable.
But the defensive line overall is young and emerging.
I do have to say this, however: Josh Allen did a terrific job! The Browns second team did get pressure on him, but he maneuvered around it and kept his cool. He showed some touch and accuracy in the clutch, too.
I still expect Baker Mayfield to be the better quarterback, but right now both Allen and Darnold look impressive.
Baker Mayfield has been unimpressive by comparison so far, but we've now seen his easy command and determination; his "grit":
Drew Stanton (the guy Hue Fisher pondered promoting ahead of Mayfield last week), closed out the game (badly). Mayfield probably would have won it.
Baker Mayfield's "floor" is above average, right now.
Some real experts have started comparing Mayfield to Drew Brees (finally--better late than never), and that's a TON more accurate than the Russell Wilson comparisons.
Baker is actually an inch taller and has a stronger arm, but I'll take it.
Anyway Josh is back now, and all will be well unless some idiot signs Dez Bryant.
SAY NO TO DEZ.
THIS JUST IN: Dez Bryant appears to have prevented John Dorsey from screwing up the team by rejecting his low-ball offer, and I thank him for it.
Good luck anywhere else but here, Dez!
Oops! Not done yet! Randy Gurzi lists his Browns' studs and duds from the Bills game, and (after giving Mayfield an honorable stud mention check), decried the defensive line depth as a "dud".
He's wrong, because Brantley and Coley are injured, two rookies were on the second team, and Randy seems to have raised the bar since Myles Garrett got here. These guys don't grow on trees, Randy, and your bar needs to be set against the NFL average instead:
The Browns defensive line backups were okay vs their Bills counterparts. I know that rookie running back tore them up, and the Bills "backup" quarterbacks did well/okay, but don't lay that all on this young and emerging defensive line. Get the stars out of your eyes!
Carlos Hyde stud? Check.
Randy calls the offensive line depth a "dud" as well, but I can only partly agree. Apparently Shon Coleman (back at right tackle) is disapointing (Randy nails it down more accurately), but I still think Gurzi is generalizing too much:
In Zeitler's absence, Spencer Drango has performed pretty well at right guard, and as soon as Zeitler returns from injury, Rango becomes "depth" again (and yes he can play right tackle too).
I think Austin Reiter did a nice job at center after Tretter was pulled after eight plays.
Here again, sans Joe Thomas, it looks to me like Randy has his bar set too high. The Browns' offensive line depth is better than that of the majority of the teams in the NFL.
Larry Ogunjobi a stud check, and Randy's reasoning is great. Ogunjobi was a stud as a rookie, and is downright scary now.
Randy calls Todd Haley a preseason game two "dud", and I...well I can't bother expressing an opinion here.
Randy felt that more play-fakes would have helped the passing game a lot (and he's right), but preseason isn't about winning:
The more "vanilla" it is, the better, because you're separating the men from the boys. You're trying to decide who to cut, and who to keep, so you don't bother with play-action passes (which are not complicated), because you want to find the guys who can win their one-on-one battles.
This is the foundation, you see? If your eleven can whup their eleven physically more often than not, the trickery and deceit will be exponentially more effective.
This was not one of Randy's best articles.
But he lists Nick Chubb as a stud too (check). Even Randy's worst articles are pretty good, which is why I link every one.
I HAVE SPOKEN.
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