1: Hue, Hue, Hue: Todd Haley is running the offense now. Why do you have to keep marking your territory? It's as if you think Jimmy Haslam still has your back or something!
Why did you declare Josh Gordon a non-starter? "Nobody will be given a starting job here"?
Josh has had over a week to prepare, came in in great shape, and is a proven veteran stud--why do you think you have to "send messages" even when they don't make any sense?
If you implicitly (or explicitly) "order" Todd Haley to do something he thinks is stupid, he's not going to do it!
And quit saying things like "we've discussed" that, because everybody who watched Hard Knocks knows your definition of a "discussion" is you "discussing" and everybody else listening.
If you would LISTEN, Todd Haley no doubt would have offered you good reasons why (right now) Josh Gordan is a better option than the ROOKIE Antonio Callaway (one of which was that he wanted to beat the team that fired him last season).
As it is, he didn't bother trying, because before he could complete his first sentence he'd get the "I get to drive the bus" lecture.
That's what you get for being a dictator! Haley made SURE to put Gordan on the field on the first offensive play! You like messages? Haley can send messages too!
Go ahead! Look to Dorsey or Haslam to back you up! Good luck with that!
What Drew Brees said about Baker Mayfield wasn't hyperbole or politics. Pay attention to him, Hue:
Drew Brees revealed here that he thinks with his brain. He is emotionally mature and secure, so he readily and publicly acknowleges his own limitations, right down to Mayfield having a stronger arm, and better mobility than he himself does.
Hue: This has a lot to do with why this guy is a future Hall of Famer! He's honest with himself, as well as with the world.
Drew Brees knew exactly what was wrong with him early on, and because he did, he found ways to overcome those deficiencies.
He himself was inspired by a guy he backed up: Doug Flutie. Flutie was two inches shorter than Brees himself!!!
Anyway Hue, RIGHT NOW you need to step outside of yourself and put yourself in Haley's shoes, for example, and see what you gotta look and sound like to him.
Start there, and work outward. Because if you keep strutting around like the Emperor, you're gonna get what Julius Ceasar got "Et tu, Jimmae?"
Back to Brees saying he thinks Baker Mayfield can be better than he is (already being dismissed as "hyperbole" by one clown on NFL Radio).
The problem here is that Brees speaks english. Luckily, you have me here to translate what he said:
Lost to most of you in this sentence are two often misinterpreted words: "can", and "be".
For some reason, a lot of you misconstrue "can be" with "is".
"Can" implies potential, capacity, or ability. "Is" (which I remind you Drew never said) means "is" (unless you're Bill Clinton).
Now then, what Brees said was that Baker Mayfield can be better than he is, because he's a little more athletic and has a stronger arm...eventually...maybe.
Drew remembers being roughly where Mayfield is now (with the crystal clarity of emotionally-detatched objectivity), and is comparing his younger self to Mayfield.
His comments are both sincere and accurate (but what does he know?)
I'm watching the Ravens vs Steelers on Thursday Night Football and feeling discouraged. The Bengals look awesome on both sides of the ball.
The guys on NFL Radio are already thinking that three teams from the AFC North (everybody except the Browns) might make the 2018 playoffs.
I get it. The Browns are still in transition (and Hue Jackson is still nominally in charge--and causing internal conflict). Despite all the veterans Dorsey brought in, they're also the youngest team in the Division, with a new quarterback and offensive scheme.
Then there's the fact that the offensive line which tied the Steelers featured an undrafted starting left tackle, an overall offensive line which had never existed before...
Oh I'm getting into the GOOD news stuff here!
1: Desmond Harrison is conceivably the most phyically gifted left tackle in the NFL. He's also absolutely the least experienced (including with his line-mates).
His first half vs the Steelers was really bad. His second half was better. I wish I could break the third and fourth quarter stats apart, but I can tell you that he's learning fast.
He won't catch a break vs the Saints this sunday, but he should already be at least mediocre (yay!), and his arrow is vertical, okay? You'll have to TRUST ME on this one: If Harrison doesn't fail a piss test or get injured, he'll be an elite NFL left tackle by mid-season.
2: If you think Josh Gordon can't do for Tyrod what he did for Hoyer, Campbell, and whatshisname, you're delusional.
Upon further review, Joe Haden blatently interfered with him in the end zone, and he should have had two interceptions.
Josh laughed about it, because he and Joe are freinds, but the Browns got hosed by that non-call.
It was slick, too: Joe actually used Josh's shoulderpad to simultaneously elevate himself and prevent Josh from leaping himself (note Joe was chasing him and hadn't looked back--he read Josh's eyes to read the ball on the way).
Still--the interference was blatent, and should have been flagged.
Tyrod only targeted him 3 times. Big deal. He'll be the first read vs the Saints most of the time, and thereafter.
3: Njoku has some kinda mental malfunction with his concentration, but I'm confident that he will overcome it. He already proved himself in 2017.
Famous last words: I said the same thing about Edwards Scissorhands--but I think Njoku is different. I hope.
4: Genard Avery (maybe the steal of this draft): He's a shorter (but faster) Myles Garrett (*just as strong). PFF ranked Avery higher than Garrett for the Steelers' game at "edge".
Avery is strictly a linebacker (only 6' tall), so Ogbah is a whole different animal). Avery is faster (and more "manueverable") than Garrett/Ogbah, but can't (or shouldn't) ever put his hand in the dirt.
But vs the Steelers, he was the "yang" to Garrett's "ying" edge-rush wise.
PFF was less than complimentary of Christian Kirksey vs the Steelers, and Avery IS a true linebacker...well it's too early to tell you I told you so (not that I ever would)...
But I can remind you that when the Browns drafted Avery, I said he was not a threat to Schobert, but was a threat to Kirksey.
Avery is NOT just an "edge" guy: He's a true linebacker who can mirror and cover and do all that linebacker stuff. He's bigger, quicker, and faster than Kirksey, with comparable instincts, so......
5: Jamie Collins is BACK. He wasn't as noticeable, because he was in coverage a lot. How many passes did the Steelers' tight ends catch? But 6(?) tackles is cool too.
6: I need to remind you that Larry Ogunjobi is just entering his second NFL season. He's only just begun blowing up plays in opposing backfields!
7: Demarius Randall is matching his projections at free safety (as you know, I wasn't sure he would).
You guys are mostly oblivious to this, but Randall has functioned as intended in the "angel" slot, and also outperformed Briean Boddy-Calhoun in over the slot.
Vs the run, as well as the pass.
8: The "holding the ball" bashing on Tyrod is 50% valid, but the "taking off to run prematurely" is almost total bullshit.
Some of those runs were by design, and on most of the others, you guys need to look up "premature" in your dictionaries.
Try to grasp this abstract concept: If you are an extremely athletic quarterback, RUNNING with the ball beats the hell out of EATING it.
When you are 6' tall, and inside the tackle box, you have to put the ball somewhere near an eligable receiver to "throw it away" without getting flagged for intentional grounding.
If you can't SEE the field because you are short, you can't do that safely, so you get tf out of the pocket (you know--to avoid a certain sack?)...you get outside the tackle box so you can see the field, and, find a receiver, run, or LEGALLY throw it away DUH.
Todd Haley is obviously making the most of Tyrod Taylor's unique skill-set. Tyrod is a proven "pocket passer" now, but he's also habitually conservative, and tends to hesitate and hold the ball too long.
Rather than try to "fix" that, Haley gives Tyrod the green light to run (while encouraging him to "throw it deep" to Gordon...to GORDON only...even when he looks (single)-"covered".
Ruthlessly-speaking, Todd Haley isn't sweating a Taylor injury, because he knows Mayfield is ready.
But I digress:
The Bengals beat the Ravens in Cinci, but both teams make me nervous.
I posted earlier that the perennially-overrated Ravens were dead meat, and that the Marvin Lewis-coached Bengals had lost too much talent.
I was wrong.
I STILL regard the 2018 Browns as the most talented team in the AFC North, but (dammit) both the Bengals and Ravens (not to mention the Steelers) look like top contenders for the AFC title, and I have to back off here:
Dorsey did a great job of making the 2018 Browns instant competitors, but probably us fans will have to "wait til next year" one more time.
My revised estimate is that the Bengals will overtake the and win the division, and...
Ok there is some hope here: The Browns just tied the Steelers, and will duke it out with everybody else. I insist that they have the most talent, and compable or superior coaching (forget Hue Jackson here).
I still expect the Browns to beat the Steelers in Heinz Stadium, but can't project more than a split vs the Bengals or Ravens.
The Bengals look like the best team in the Division (if not the AFC) right now.
The Browns look a lot better than we're used to seeing, but they're young and transitional...
Dorsey did his best to take over the AFC North in 2018, but he probably fell short.
All the same, 8-7-1 is almost predictable, and at least a wild card slot isn't off the table.
If the Browns don't make the playoffs in 2018, should they fire Hue Jackson?
YES. (Scroll back).
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