If you run a lot of man coverage, young cornerbacks can prosper (see Ward, Denzel). Man cornerbacks' jobs are very simple: cover one guy. It's not very complicated, and generally, either you can do it right away, or you just plain can't.
That's why, while I agree that EJ Gaines is the most likely replacement for the injured Terrence Mitchell, I simply have to point out the existance of Jeremiah McKinnon again.
McKinnon can man-cover (and get interceptions too).
Gregg Williams mixes up his coverages, so it's not all press/man--but that is his preferred scheme, and corners can rotate in and out as easily as any other players.
McKinnon is not back on this roster to stand around on the sidelines. Don't ignore this guy.
The linked article also highlighted some alarming news: Suddenly, Brien Boddy-Calhoun has fallen down the depth-chart and performed poorly.
In 2017, this guy was one of the best slot corners in the NFL, but in 2018, he's...well, just...bad!
Boddy-Calhoun might be better at safety, but Randall is too good to take off the field.
Baker Mayfield is now the favorite (per Bovada) for NFL Rookie of the Year.
The smart money sees that Mayfield has a great supporting cast, and screwed up badly vs the Raiders, yet still engineered 42 points in a hostile environment.
Patrick Mahomes is making every other quarterback in the NFL look like a chump, but he's not a rookie. Yeah yeah the Browns could have had Mahomes (check back I wanted him! So did Dorsey (who drafted him) obviously). That was then this is now get over it.
Meanwhile, Sam Darnold and Josh Allen hit their predictable rookie walls (one of which was a Browns defense).
I think Josh Rosen or Saquon Barkley have shots at this award too. Rosen has a nice set of weapons and a good defense himself.
Don't get me wrong: I despise/revile Rosen as a person. But he is a really good quarterback.
Mayfield, though? I'm so glad he's our quarterback now, because we can really root for this guy! (So do his teammates).
I'm not one to say I told you so, but if I were, I'd tell you I told you that Nick Chubb is better than Carlos Hyde.
I predicted that Nick would be taking most of the running back snaps by game four. I was obviously wrong about that, but I'm not second-guessing Haley over it.
NFL running backs need to block in pass protection, especially in 2018. Chubb is probably already a good receiver, and obviously an accomplished runner, but picking up blitzes is more complicated than it looks, and Nick was probably still learning (plus Hyde has been pretty good).
...but Nick should be about ready to take over starting at running back now.
In my search to salvage Hue Jackson, I found a thread of hope in this article. Hue has kinda promised to fix special teams.
Since firing his pal Amos is as unthinkable to Jackson as it is to Dorsey (reminds you of the refs in Oakland, right?), this might conceivably be one thing Hue can do right for a change.
Like Hue, Amos is on life-support, and devoid of real credibility or leverage. Maybe...just maybe...Hue can make himself useful again by fixing special teams.
After all, could he make them worse?
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