The good news keeps rolling in, and Freddie Kitchens will be having even more expectations to manage.
Mike Preifer said last week that Freddie Kitchens is giving him access to the whole roster (including the starters).
Hue Jackson, understandably wanting to protect his top line players' health, kept some of those players off the special teams' table.
While most of you will jump all over this as another excuse to burn Hue in effigy, this is actually pretty common. I mean, imagine your third wide receiver or cornerback, or your starting linebacker busted up on a special teams play, or collapsing in the fourth quarter.
Anyway, for good or ill, Preifer has a better set of tools to work with than Amos Jones had (so maybe we should stop burning him in effigy too).
I'm not too worried about it, as the bottom third of this roster is jam-packed with gunners, returners, fast blockers, etc., and Preifer won't have to raid the top shelf too much.
If Duke Johnson isn't traded, he's an obvious option as a returner now (along with Hilliard and Callaway). Seth DeValve and the other Tight Ends should be part of the punt units, but probably not Njoku.
I'm personally rooting for Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi, not just to give Doug Dieken a hard time, but because he's a little microbe that nobody ever heard of. And because being a returner is probably his only chance at making this roster. And because I'd rather get somebody other than Callaway beat up.
Preifer said that DSG would need to cover as well, if he is to be a returner. Good luck, man!
Jake Burns did another film study I can't seem to find again. He checked out Myles Garrett and Olivier Vernon on the left (strong) side, trying to figure out which one would play on which side.
Niether has played on that side much at all, but Jake found both of them pretty effective there.
Garrett was actually significantly better as a passrusher from that side, but Vernon was no slouch, and excelled at setting the edge and blowing up runs.
Jake sees the two of them kind of rotating to make sure offensive tackles have to study and prepare for two guys instead of one, and of course to max out on ideal situations and individual matchups.
In Jake's opinion, Garrett will command all the "slides" and double-teams, regardless of where he is. Vernon is under 6'2" but his arms belong on a 6'6" frame, so he can combine superior leverage with reach.
But Garrett is a freak of a different color, as he's a rocked-up 278 lbs and faster than Vernon as well.
As Jake says, opposing offenses will focus on Garrett, and it won't work anyway. Meanwhile, Olivier Vernon vs any Offensive Lineman is a mismatch...and they can't do a damn thing about it haaaahahaha!
Garrett and Mayfield ranked #3 and #5 on CBS Sports list of top 25 players under 25 years old, per Nick Snook.
This is more significant than some people realize, as Quarterback and (at least until recently) Edge-rusher were the two most critical positions in football (Left Tackle was third).
The teams that won the most had these players in common.
Now, today I think this might be changing somewhat, as RPOs, more athletic Quarterbacks, and a resurgance of West Coast concepts are making both Left Tackles and Edge-rushers less critical, but this is still great news.
Quarterback obviously still tops this list, and pass-rusher remains number two.
Some of you people don't know that Myles Garrett is perfectly comfortable lining up and attacking inside, between a guard and a tackle---or stunting into the B-gap from the edge.
He doesn't have to be on the edge to ruin the other team's day, and he can go up the same gap that DT Aaron Donald uses...he is much taller and faster than Donald btw.
I was a little surprised that only two Browns under 25 made this top 25 list, so I'm checking the roster now (please wait)....
Njoku, Callaway, Nick Chubb, Schobert, Ogunjobi and Ward were all contenders.
Wow this is a new paradigm, aint it? I'm so used to my team getting dissed, my impulse is to feel like (as usual) all the players listed got screwed off the list because they were Browns.
Well, Nick Snook didn't include the whole list of 25 players, and there must be a thousand or more NFL players under 25, including 180-200 first and second round picks, so I get it.
Oh we're managing expectations here right?
Pump the brakes! Oh no oh no don't get cocky! "We haven't done anything yet" is great Coach-speak--and well-intended---but it's kind of a joke.
Freddie and company are trying to make sure these players practice hard and study hard, and don't assume that their opponents will cave in for them.
It's silly because Baker Mayfield is the Quarterback. He won't tolerate complacency, and he won't let his offense or defense screw up more than once.
In reality, the 2019 Browns are a 50 gallon drum of whupass featuring a BUNCH of Pro Bowlers, and you know what?
Who cares what the Ravens or Steelers post on their bulletin boards!?! Who cares how pist off they get!?!
It's OKAY to feel confident, and not mandatory to be...fearful.
Genie back in the bottle. Managing expectations. It's just so predictable and boring...
Mayfield and Garrett aint listening.
GOOD!
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