I can't find any new news on the Browns, and nobody except mindless permabashers have said anything idiotic about the team.
It's very cool that Baker Mayfield has collected Higgins, Landry, and OBJ in Cali (with their new playbook) to practice on their own.
Antonio Callaway had a death in his family, but should join them there soon.
These are the top four wide receivers, and they'll get a real jump start on Training Camp. Mayfield already knows everybody except OBJ, but Callaway was a work in progress in 2018, and is no doubt refining his routes.
No doubt, this goes beyond the timing routes. I can almost guarantee you that Mayfield is taking this opportunity to tell these guys how they can best help him when he scrambles (left, right, shallow, back, etc).
As I mentioned, unlike many other Quarterbacks, Mayfield tries to exploit broken plays to make big plays (instead of dump it off).
I wonder what's up with Ratley and the other wide-outs. There's like 8 guys fighting for maybe 2 roster spots...if I were one of them, being in Cali with Mayfield would be a no-brainer.
Possibly it's "by invitation" and Baker wants to focus on these top 4 guys for practical reasons.
Speaking of Damion Ratley, I'm trying to find a way to bet on him to make the final roster.
This guy averaged over 23 YPC in his final college season, and tested off the charts. He's a home-run hitter with elite speed and good length.
As I've said, he was a bit of a beanpole (6'1" and change, 190 lbs) when drafted, but Hans and Franz have had nearly 2 years to pump him up since then.
He was also almost as much of a raw project as Antonio Callaway, but there again, has now had NFL coaching for about that long.
Other WRs like Willies and Strong have proven they belong, and no doubt have nice upsides. I'm certainly not counting any of those guys out. But none of them have Ratley's explosiveness or speed.
I also bet Austin Corbett will win the Right Guard Derby.
Incredibly, when Corbett failed to immediately start at Left Tackle, then to beat out Tretter or Zeitler, some permabashers were already calling Corbett a "bust".
This irrational perception "clung" to this second round pick, and when Corbett wasn't the first team Right Guard in the 1 in 5 sessions open to the public, Chicken Little came out of the woodwork.
Revisionist history aside, most of the shock about Dorsey drafting Corbett atop the second round was local. The guys on NFL Radio had some mixed feelings about fit or need, but almost universally agreed that he rated being drafted there.
Once again, he took over for Joel Bitonio in college, and pretty much mirrored Joel's own college carreer. He is comparable to Bitonio physically as well.
Why on Earth do so many of you think Corbett 2.0 can't play Right Guard?
And I repeat again: Switching from the left to the right side is like a right-handed hitter learning to bat left-handed. Bitonio got to remain left of center. His own transition was comparatively easy.
The Browns' Quarterback room behind Mayfield has been badly analyzed:
Once again, MKC and most of you people need to stop envisioning Drew Stanton holding a 3' tall Baker Mayfield's hand on a beach somewhere, and fkng delete "mentor" from your vocabulary (and by the way grow tf up).
I'm so SICK of this!!! Mayfield started a ton of games (including playoff games) at the highest level in college, and was the most pro-ready QB to come along in awhile.
Mary Kay what's this Stanton "did a great job of mentoring" Baker Mayfield? Objection! Assuming facts not in evidence! (-Bang-sustained!)
No! The ONLY question about Drew Stanton as a number 2 is can he win games?
Well, he has won, but he still sucks. His teams won in spite of him (sorry Drew but it is what it is).
Drew might be a good mentor for Garrett Gilbert or David Blough...either of which might well be the real number two Quarterback instead of him.
I can't find the excellent article anymore, but somebody went in-depth into the Ravens running game (including Lamar Jackson).
The upgraded Ravens Offense will unquestionably be dangerous in 2019, mainly because of Jackson...mainly as a runner.
I don't think even Micheal Vick was a match for this guy as a runner. He has great instincts to go with his speed and suddeness.
Defenses have to passrush in (predictable) "lanes" to keep him inside...then he'll fake a handoff to Ingram (who you HAVE to take seriously) and take it himself one gap over.
It's a different version of the Little Dutch Boy offense. While this quarterback isn't very accurate, he is competent and has a great arm. If you stack the box, he can launch one on you.
But also, even knowing that the Ravens offense will run 60+% of the time, you can't predict who will run it.
Freddie Kitchens might even have stolen some concepts from the Ravens, as they use 2 and 3 Tight Ends, and multiple running backs a lot too.
I'm not sure yet about how I will advise Steve Wilks to attack the Ravens offense (I mean once their IT people get around to clearing up my communications issues with them).
I'm sure that "attack" is the key word, however; ie try to eliminate any intermediate or long pass entirely through pressure on Jackson; a 5 or even 6-man rush, with both extra guys coming between the tackles ("run-blitzes") so they have a chance to blow up a handoff or catch Jackson trying to get cute.
Lamar Jackson is a lethal runner from anywhere on the field, but isn't like Mayfield (as a passer) without his feet planted. If he's chased to his right or left, he's looking to run or get "bailed out".
Harbaugh and co are doing an awesome job of maxing out what they have on offense, and it's so different that they should win a lot of games again (dammit).
Fortunately, the 2019 Browns can neutralize both outside receivers, insure that Jackson never has time, and SCORE POINTS on their depleted Defense, so...
Compare the 2 rosters to the 2018 versions.
The Ravens needed a huge assist by the referees to negate a TD on a fumble-return to win in the season finale, and the great linebacker who in...
Nevermind. You'll see. Okbye.
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