First, anybody who boos Andrew Luck for retiring is an idiot. That guy is all tore up physically. He's 29 going on 50.
Good...err...luck to him.
Barry Shuck lists 5 Browns he thinks are on the bubble. I don't have enough data on Barry to know if his opinions (such as "this guy looks unnatural at this position" or this other guy isn't blocking well) are well-founded, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for now.
Barry describes Tight End Demetrius Harris as a "huge disappointment", and thinks the Browns might prefer to keep Pharoah Brown instead.
I have heard that Brown is a good blocker, and he has real upside as a receiver too. He's younger and cheaper too.
Then DE Anthony Zettel and Kicker Greg Joseph. Check on those guys too, as other players appear to have pulled ahead of them at their respective positions.
Austin Seibert has been a little behind Greg Joseph, but was perfect throughout the dress rehearsal in Tampa Bay, including a dead-center 54 yarder.
You shouldn't have to make decisions like these based on one preseason game, but they don't have a choice. But the 5th round pick thing? Get real: If Joseph is better, Seibert is waived (and ideally makes it to the practice squad.)
It's a F I F T H round pick come on, man!
And Chad Thomas is really shining this year. I don't care if Sheldon Richardson threw Winston to him for a cheap sack--Thomas was all over him all game long.
Barry also lists Austin Corbett, who he says looks bad at center, on top of failing to grab the starting Right Guard spot.
This is where I can't judge Barry's statements. If he's basing them on Corbett's screwups in preseason games, he may well be wrong. If he knows how he's looked in practice, he's probably right.
A couple weeks ago I'd be calling Barry a dumbass, but it is quite possible that Austin Corbett is indeed circling the drain.
Antonio Callaway!?! My first reaction to that was also to call Barry a dumbass, but then I read his explanation. It was very very smart:
No, Dorsey won't cut him. He'll trade him!
Callaway is suspended for the first 4 games, so the Browns get to keep a Wide Receiver they'd otherwise have to cut until then.
This could be Willies, Strong, or Ratley.
Barry got into the "knucklehead" thing and brought up Josh Gordon; and the kid showed up out of shape too.
I can add the DePodesta angle: Callaway is a first round pick, and all these other guys are significantly cheaper. Callaway has already impressed NFL GMs in real games; he's a known quantity with astronomical upside. He has 2 years left on his base contract with another club option year.
He's coming off a suspension, so you won't see any of that "stick 'em up!" bullcrap either.
On NFL Radio, Pat Kirwan would probably predict a conditional 5th round pick (like he thought Dorsey would get for Duke Johnson. It goes to show you that even ex-GMs can be dumber than my humble self).
Anyway Dorsey can't get a first round pick for the kid, but easily a 4th, maybe a 3rd, and conceivably a 2nd. Or a player. Like maybe a Right Guard...
Anyway Barry Shuck gets a conditional A-minus for this article.
I will add another "bubble" player to this list: Punter Britton Colquitt.
Colquitt is an elite talent, but the "Scottish Hammer" (Jamie Gillan) has caught up to him, and proved it in Tampa Bay.
He is younger and cheaper, with massive upside (as an NFL punter, he's still just a baby--but he has an awesome leg. Awesome hang-time. Improving placement.)
And once that ball is off Gillan's foot, he still belongs on that field, because he was a pro rugby player, and he can actually tackle people in space.
People tend to ignore this, but they shouldn't. The punter is the last line of defense on a punt return, and most of them are jokes. Gillan's atypical instincts and athleticism could turn a loss or two into a win.
And here again I have to address more silliness: Holding for kickers is not rocket science, ok? Please for the love of God stop it!
Randy Gurzi offers us some hope for Right Guard and the Offensive Line.
Randy names second round Chargers T/G Forest Lamp and Cowboy La 'el Collins as guys who Dorsey could potentially trade for.
The Chargers and Cowboys are both up to their eyeballs in Offensive Linemen, and need to free up cap space.
Per Randy, both of these young players would be upgrades over Hubbard or Kush.
It looks to me like niether team would waive these guys, but Randy is right: Dorsey needs to "go shopping" and make offers for guys like these.
They're Offensive Linemen, so Kirwan's standard "conditional 5th round pick" standard might actually work in this case (although it could be a 4th rounder).
In my last post, I told you how Freddie Kitchens has and will "protect" his Offensive Linemen with personnel and schemes, but this is a weakness which DePodesta and Dorsey need to fix.
Thanks to John Dorsey, the 2019 Browns are ahead of schedule: They are Superbowl contenders now.
You'll have to trust me on this one: DePodesta was aiming for the playoffs in 2019, and crossing his fingers about how far they'd get after that.
NOW, John Dorsey screwed everything up, and suddenly the 2019 Browns are favored to win the AFC North, and serious Superbowl contenders.
NOW, it's urgent that every weakness needs to be fixed; the stakes are much higher than DePodesta planned for.
How can I explain this to Earthings?
AH! This roster can't have exploitable weaknesses. The Patriots, Steelers, Texans, Chiefs, Chargers, Broncos etc can exploit in the playoffs.
I doubt that Trent Williams is in the Browns immediate future, but am pretty sure that new and better Offensive Linemen are.
Average won't cut it at these stakes.
Okbye
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