Cleveland Browns' Social Justice Scores, Alex Van Pelt, Poor and Great Analysis, and Stuff

There is no conspiracy against black coaches, and it's just coincidental that Bieniemy and Saleh...who are not available until after this weekend...weren't hired as Head Coaches Y E T.

Paul DePodesta wanted Kevin Stefanski last season, despite the fact that at that time, he'd only been an interim OC for a few games.

Stefanski did a great job in 2019, and was heavily influenced by Gary Kubiak---he only became more attractive.

And they didn't care what color he was.  

I've actually heard people talking about what Saleh's defense did to Stefanski's offense in the playoffs as if that should have determined the Browns' next Head Coach (winner take all or something).

It wasn't a cage match.  These guys will get their chances, probably in 2021.  Them and a couple more minority guys.

Then maybe I'll say "wait a minute there were only seven slots and non whites got four of them no fair!"  Quit manufacturing these controversies.  It's just plain silly.

Frank Teriaca wonders if Alex Van Pelt is the best fit as Stefanski's Offensive Coordinator, and seems to doubt it himself.

But listen: Kyle Shanahan is a genius, but that doesn't guarantee that his offensive assistants can match him (see the Belichick coaching tree).

Certainly, they're more familiar with the system Stefanski plans to run than Van Pelt is, but Frank---didn't you notice that a week ago, Stefanski wasn't even sure he would hire an Offensive Coordinator?

He's obviously going to focus on that side of the ball himself initially, and all Van Pelt needs to do is execute it.  (The foundations of the Shanahan offense aren't that complex, Frank.  Van Pelt and everybody else are familiar with them.  RPOs, play action, zone blocking, West Coast come on, man!)

And Gary Kubiak's son was probably a non-starter, as he's the heir apparent to his aging father in Minnesota...and far less experienced than Van Pelt anyway.

In 11 NFL seasons as a backup Quarterback, Van Pelt learned to run a lot of systems, Frank, and that counts, ok?

Alex Van Pelt is probably here to work closely with Baker Mayfield and immerse himself in Stefanski's version of the Shanahan Offense.

The two certainly talked, and hit it off.  This is Stefanski's offense, Frank.  Don't make a big deal out of who he brings in to execute it.

Callie Brownson should make you social justice crusaders happy as Stefanski's new Chief of Staff.  She checks a couple boxes for you!

Not that it matters, but she's also qualified.

Steve Patsko gets deep on recently signed FA Fullback Johnny Stanton, finding some similarities between Stanton and the Saints Taysom Hill.

I had no idea.  Stanton wasn't just a Quarterback, but a good one, who actually completed passes and stuff (while running a lot.)

He reminds me of a much bigger Josh Cribbs.  

Kevin Stefanski, like Kyle Shanahan, likes and leans on fullbacks, and at 6'2", 240, Stanton fits the profile.

He's a lock for special teams, as Patsko says he worked at long-snapper, QB, TE, and linebacker at his pro day.

Stanton enters his 4th NFL season, and is the only true fullback on the roster.  He has his big chance with a Fullback-freindly Coach and nobody in his way.

He has to catch passes and lead-block.  I'm rooting for the kid.

If the Browns intend to trade OBJ, they're not going to tell Rappaport or anybody else.  In fact, they'll tell everybody they look forward to having him back at 100% and stuff.

I GUARANTEE you that Paul DePodesta (and Andrew Berry) want to "cash OBJ in" to set the Browns up for years to come.

...how many different ways can I say this?  OBJ and Jarvis Landry are redundant in this offense!  

Certainly, OBJ is faster and more explosive, but in reality, Rashard Higgins was a better "fit" opposite Landry.

Sigh...OBJ costs 15 mil and Higgins might cost 3.5 million.  Is OBJ over 4 times as good as Higgins opposite Jarvis Landry with Baker Mayfield?

...ok imagine a mentally healthy Josh Gordon opposite Landry.  No contest!!!

Or a healthy Alshon Jefferies at 75% of OBJ's salary.

...sigh...if you pay a guy 15 mil, he needs to approximate oh, I don't know...Jarvis Landry's stats (by the way Landry averaged nearly 15 yards per-catch in 2019).

CONTEXT, you people!  Get the stars out of your eyes, and get back to arithmatic. 

Look at the Vikings and the 49ers, ok? Where does the 5'11", 200 lb OBJ fit?  Maybe in the Thielen role (like Landry)?

Here are the current 49ers Wide Receivers.  A healthy OBJ is better than all of them, but somehow, they scrape by...oh yeah and all but one is bigger and taller.

And who is Patrick Mahomes' "go-to" guy, while I'm at it?  Who, exactly, can a defense "take away" from him?

See how they collapsed when Hill got hurt?  (oops sorry they just kept kicking ass).

And by the way Sammy Watkins (6'1", 211 lbs) fizzled until Andy Reid put him opposite Tyreek Hill (and Mecole Hardman).

These 2 Superbowl teams have elite Tight Ends in common.  Tyreek Hill is the only superstar wide receiver.

The 49ers, win or lose, are the team you people should pay attention to, because the Brown are going to run a similar offense, and will almost certainly hire Joe Woods as their Defensive Coordinator.

I hear you: Njoku vs Kittle?  Nah! But don't write Njoku off just yet.  He's still very early in his carreer, and getting benched (fairly or unfairly) by Freddie Kitchens might piss him off almost as much as it pissed ME off.

The 49ers Offensive Line is better than the Browns', except for Bitonio and Tretter...

And this is debatable: the Browns haven't run that Shanahan system as much, so we're not yet sure how crappy the other 3 guys really are (*replace both tackles no matter what anyway*)

The Browns have much better running backs.

They should still approximate the 49ers talent at WR even after the OBJ trade.

I personally think Baker Mayfield will prove better than Jimmy G, as well.

I kind of barely suspect that the Chiefs will beat the 49ers, mainly due to Patrick Mahomes.

I expect a high scoring game...so maybe Joe Woods is disqualified, you cretins?  Because the defense he was part of failed to hold Mahomes and the to under 28 points?

Sorry I got silly imitating a lot of YOU people there...

Bud Shaw got serious momentarily, and made some good points.  You should actually click that link, because I've rarely seen that much objectivity in media in my 63 years.

Bud Shaw is hystericly funny, but until now I never thought he was brilliant.  This is one of the best articles I've ever read.

Okbye.

Andrew Berry is Like John Dorsey, Minus the EGO.

Elliott Kennel wrote a very bright article on how new Browns' GM Andrew Berry can pile up more draft picks.

Elliott agrees with me that Berry/DePodesta will want to add draft picks, and actually not spend all their money, so that they can actually retain their best free agents in the future.

He brings up the Brock Osweiler trade, in which the Browns took Brock Osweiler and his inflated salary off the Texans' hands, and got a second round draft pick for their trouble.

A lot of clueless people sqwawked about the cap hit, but at the time the Browns were flush with cap space, and they could dump Brock the next season with a negligable dead money hit.

This was a brilliant move by the then-analytical Browns (including/especially Berry), and they wound up getting Nick Chubb because of it.

Trading current draft picks for higher future picks is another good tactic (see 20 or so previous posts, and the Patriots draft history).

With Berry on-board, the Browns moved down several times, sometimes collecting higher-value future picks as part of the deal.

Elliott mentions the Duke Johnson trade, which was smart if you have a brain, and the Giants-Browns' 2019 blockbuster.

He's too kind to Dorsey, who got hosed.  Mayfield didn't need OBJ, and both he and Olivier Vernon were among the most injury-prone players in the NFL.

Elliott says that if the Browns had made the playoffs in 2019, it would have been a good trade for Dorsey, but Vernon missing most of the season and OBJ playing hurt were key reasons why the Browns failed, and this was utterly predictable.

In short, the Browns should do to some other team what Geddelman did to Dorsey.

Compensatory draft picks is another way to pile up draft picks, and Elliott explains how that works quite well.

The Browns might reel in 1-2 of those this season, but I would prefer that they re-sign Randall and Schobert, and even if they don't, signing 2 high profile free agents would wipe the comensatory picks out.

Now, Elliott talks about Sashi Brown as if he, and not DePodesta/Berry, was making these decisions.  He was not.  He will tell you this, if you ask him.  Sashi was a lawyer and negotiator.  He had the final say, but knew his limitations, and wouldn't override these guys.

The "Village Elliott" rightly doubts that Andrew Berry will make any Dorsey-like moves ("splash-plays"), as the Browns aren't on the verge of a Superbowl (yet).

He might trade down here and there, but is unlikely to trade draft picks for injury-prone, expensive star veterans...

But Elliott, like everybody else except me, seems to think that an OBJ trade is inconceivable, as he failed to list it as an option for Andrew Berry to pile up more draft picks.

I'm repeating myself here, but since nobody gets it yet, here we go again:

1: Vernon and OBJ represent 30 million against the cap, and are chonicly injured.

2: OBJ isn't a true deep threat.  He makes big plays off short and intermediate passes (like Jarvis Landry).  Defenses didn't fear him as a vertical threat; they gave him a cushion, and trusted their corners to close and contest anything vertical--often without help.

Yes, he was playing hurt, and will be more like himself in 2020 after his surgery, but he still won't be a true deep threat.  He has to cut to separate, and Landry was already here.

If you don't have a vertical threat, defenses can "consolidate" on the short and intermediate routes (and the run) with one deep safety and off-man nevermind.  Pearls before swine.

3: Baker Mayfield kicked ass as a rookie with Jarvis Landry and guys named Joe.  He did the same for 4 seasons in college.  He fell on his face with Rashard Higgins and Njoku collecting splinters and OBJ, so....

4: Everybody still wants OBJ.  His record with the Giants was awesome, and everybody knows he played hurt--plus they think Freddie Kitchens is mentally impaired.

Prior to the Olivier Vernon add-in, Leonardo De Dorsey traded Jabrill Peppers and 17 overall for OBJ, and somebody else might well approximate that in 2020.

That was so...Jabrill Peppers was a veteran 1st round pick with 3 years left on his rookie contract!!!  Dodesta must have been raising hell (well his version of raising hell anyway).

...Anyway analytical guys do this stuff to "foodball guyz" all the time.  What we need is a new GM who is egotistical and wants to get rid of players the guys before him drafted (you know: "not real football players"?) so he can put his "stamp" on the team.

Foodball guyz!  Analytics guys love to exploit those egos.

Andrew Berry might be able to hose somebody else on an OBJ trade almost as bad as Geddelman hosed Dorsey.

Andrew Berry is a "football guy" (an ex-player and scout) sans the EGO.

See, Berry thinks with his BRAIN.

That's why he gets along with (and listens to) Paul DePodesta.  

Andrew Berry would NEVER have traded #17 overall, Jabrill Peppers, Zeitler, and a 3rd round pick for OBJ and Vernon.

He won't want to get rid of Wilson, Williams, Takitaki, Redwine or Forbes simply because HE didn't help draft them, see?  Nor will he say they're "not real football players"...

BUT maybe he can get Carl Nassib, Ogbah, Orchard, or other talented young players Dorsey kicked to the curb back.

My peeps were bored when I told them Berry was the new GM.  I'm excited.  They'll get why pretty soon.

How I Will Fix the Cleveland Browns (when Jimmy Haslam Finds My Lost Resume and Hires Me)

I'm glad some of what I've been posting here for weeks and months is just now beginning to dawn on other writers, like Steve Patsko, who advises us not to expect a Srefanski offense to use a third wide receiver very often.

In fact, he only went that way 18% of the time in 2019, as (see last post) he often fielded 2 backs and/or 2 te's.

Dalvin Cook is as good a pass-receiver as any running back can be, which is why he was the Vikings 3rd leading receiver.

Kyle Rudolph wasn't targeted a lot, but that's partly because he did a lot of pass-blocking in "max protect" alignments.

2nd round pick TE Irv Smith Jr is a Seth DeValve type; a terrific receiver, but lacking sufficient stature to be a very good in-line blocker...which sucked for Rudolph.

I didn't read the article which suggested that re-signing Kareem Hunt should not be a priority, but suppose I can deduce some of that writer's reasoning:

The off-the-field stuff is a concern, but the other side of that is that it will undermine his market value, making him more affordable for the Browns.  He is not disruptive, and is a great teammate.

The fact that he is officially a running back, and we already have a "bellcow" in Nick Chubb, is...shallow.

And this brings me back to that third wide receiver thing that Mr. Patsko wrote about:

With the Vikings, Dalvin Cook lined up in the slot quite a bit.  I'm not certain, but believe that because he has a "RB" in front of his name, the statisticians didn't list him as a third wide receiver on those plays.

Instead of 18%, the real (DePodestian) number of 3-wides might have been more like 30% (still much lower than the NFL average, I think).

Back to Kareem Hunt:  Kareem Hunt is a deluxe option in the slot, or even wide (*some defenses will keep a ss or lb on him out there.  It's still a mismatch in his favor, and pulls a run defender out of the box*).

I know that Paul DePodesta and Kevin Stefanski will agree that keeping Kareem Hunt should be a priority, because he's both a starter and an amazing utility guy and (oh yeah) a proven bellcow, should Chubb get hurt.

For DePodesta and I, signing Hunt for 3-4 years (with front-loaded guarantees of course) would make him highly tradeable.

Non-analysts tend to overlook this stuff, but for us, it's "do we let this guy go for nothing, or invest in him so if we need to we can turn him into a first round draft pick and then some in 2 or 3 years?"

Another writer expects Stefanski to carry a true fullback, and said that Kareem Hunt can't do what the bigger, slower guys can do.

Yes he can, like the much smaller Earnest Byner did: Lead-blocking fullbacks (especially in any Shanahan system) target safeties more often than linebackers, but Hunt has superior speed and maneuverability compared to the big slow guy.  He can set up better angles, and hit guys sooner and with more momentum.

Kevin Stefanski will love the idea of starting Chubb, Hunt, Landry, and (in my opinion) Rodney Njokufield (*snap-snap wake up!  Freddie Kitchens took his dog house with him---what tf do YOU have against the guy!?!*)

While you were dozing off, David Njoku actually became a decent in-line blocker, as well as a "move" tight end, and his "inconsistency" has something to do with the fact that tight ends in general were hardly targeted in 2019.

They were trying to force the ball to OBJ and run it; the tight ends were pulling run-stoppers outside or blocking!!!

I can't believe some of these clowns saying OBJ got "ignored" and stuff!  I mean nothing is too idiotic:  If it can be said, somebody will say it...another OJ juror heard from.

But I digress: Apparently my resume got misplaced, but if Jimmy finds it again and makes me the new GM, here is what I will do:

1: Nothing immediately, and keep my mouth shut...but make plans to

2: Release Hubbard, Kirksey, and Vernon to add over 26 mil to my salary cap.

3: Trade OBJ (I linked an article and listed a bunch of not unlikely options 3-4 posts ago: Some included tall, fast, proven plug-and-play veteran x-receivers and 2nd or 3rd round picks, and the rest all included 1st and 2nd or 3rd round picks.  All the veteran receivers were on their first contracts too, so add at least another 10 mil (36 or so) to my cap-space).

4:  Plan to extend Kareem Hunt.  Start out by offering him as the 8th-highest RB salary, and be prepared to go 15% higher.

5: Re-sign Joe Schobert, if he will accept less than top 6 Inside linebacker money.

6: (Unless there's something I don't know about) offer Damarius Randall number 10 safety money.

*It's unlikely that I keep all these guys.  If they want out, they can take less from a contender, and then I can't let other GMs force me to overpay*

*Let's assume here that by the 2020 draft, OBJ is now (throwing a dart) a lower third 1st and 3rd round pick, and no young veteran X-receivers.  I now have over 80 million in cap-space.*

7: Be very careful in the first wave of free agency.  The top players all get overpaid.  Lord Insideous in New England rarely signs any of these guys, as the bidding gets insane.

...now, there are exceptions to this rule:  This draft is stacked with offensive tackles, for example, see?  Well, the veteran OTs and their agents get this, and know that the draft will undermine their salaries and prospects, so the smartest ones will take a few sheckles less to make sure they have a job.

8: Draft a LEFT Tackle 10th overall (*but be ready to trade down if my top guys slide and I can still land one however many slots lower I move*)

...ok you need to understand this:  You have 3 guys you like at 10th.  After the 9th pick, 2 of them are still there.  Now, in a vacuum, you can move down one slot and still get one of these guys, see?

But you can move down more if you know for sure that your trade partner is going for a quarterback or something...it's not gambling, ok?

You can take a LEFT Tackle in this draft at that spot, because there are several of them, and also because in the offensive system you're going to run, you don't need a Joe Thomas.

9: Go more "best available" after that (*as Pat Kirwan explains, "best available" includes context: In most cases, your draft board lists a group of players you like at your given draft slot.  You grade all these players about the same.)

So you take the one you need the most (unless some guy you don't need has slid so far you have to draft him).

Randall or no, safety is one position.  EDGE is certainly another.  OT remains another, but then guard too, and (now) WR. Or DT.  

(*my premise has my OBJ trade yielding another first round pick.  Well, that means that under the current CBA, that player is essentially locked up for 5 years instead of 4, at the team's discretion, see?  And this matters.)

10: Post-draft, go after those veteran free agents who suddenly feel insecure and aren't as greedy anymore.

Lord Insideous is still the best example here:  He plugs all his remaining roster holes.  Jared Cook, Danny Amendola, Ben Watson, and lots of offensive and defensive linemen, for example (ps he later TRADES some of these guys...is any of this sinking in yet?)

11: Go bargain-hunting in the third wave flea market: You can find some dirt-cheap older guys here for depth and leadership, along with some younger specialists

*One of Belichick's biggest advantages is that he finds cheap young role-players, like a pass-rush specialist, or a pure run-stuffing DT, or a slot receiver or pass-catching RB, and says "do your job", right?

Edelman, White, and others started out with these niche roles, playing 4-12 snaps per-game in specific packages--as raw, unrefined, inexperienced players.*

If Jimmy Haslam finds my resume and hires me, I would emulate the "worst Head Coach ever" and find these "niche" players on day 3, among the undrafteds, and among the young veteran free agents to plug holes and spell my starters.

For example: A pure passrusher who sucks vs the run, or a run-stuffer period.

Danny Shelton is sorta one of these guys for Bill now.  (He traded a 2019 3rd rounder for him, which was almost a 4th-rounder.  Shelton was a 1st round pick with that extra year on his rookie contract.)

He's a 2-down player (run-stuffer) for Bill, but has significantly upgraded his defense vs the run; he does his job, and earns every penny.

Don't start this "aha! We got hosed!" BS, either:

Danny is now a free agent (hmmm....).

I'm not sure what the Browns did with the Patriots 3rd round pick they got for him, but know it was part of a trade-up.  Possibly for Greedy Williams or Takitaki or Redwine or somebody, but check your snark and reflexive bashing ok?

...Danny Shelton is going to be very cheap, and if Jimmy hires me I will see if I can bring him back for the DT rotation (at least 30% of the snaps).

12 (overview): In general, as GM I would (privately) accept that the Ravens+new offensive and defensive systems here don't make 2020 a good year to mortgage our future on a Superbowl.

I would plan for 2021 (and beyond).

I'm not conceding 2020 here at all, as this team is very talented, and the Offensive system Stefanski brings in should be the Shanahan system.

But us analytical guys have this thing about reality, you see?  We're not "rah-rah" types.  We're pragmatic.  

John Dorsey screwed up, ok?  OBJ and Vernon were both injury-prone, Mayfield needed OBJ like he needed a hole in his head, why on Earth do you flush Genard Avery down the terlet, and where were Ogbah and Nassib when we needed them?  Oh yeah and how bout what that Hubbard contract?

There's your "fudball guy"...

...Anyway as the Browns' GM I would be both sane and rational, and (above all) listen to Paul DePodesta.

You people: blaming Sashi Brown for 1-31 as if he ever had anything to do with picking players? Blaming "analytics" for Schobert, Ogunjobi, Garrett, Njoku, Peppers, Tretter, Zeitler, Higgins, DeValve, Hue Jackson...?

Watch the Superbowl.  Compare each team to the Browns.

I know that sounds like a joke, but I'm serious.  Mayfield in 2018 vs Garropolo now.  Chubb/Hunt vs anybody in this game.  Landry, Garrett, Ward, Tretter, Bitonio (Randall/Schobert etc) belong on this field.

Verily, the Browns have a "ways to go" to get there, but...

Hell with it they suck they're doomed game over we're all gonna die okbye

Baker Mayfield in the Shanahan System; Garropolo, Mahomes...

I haven't checked out what John Kosko had to say about Mayfield, Mahomes, Garropolo, and the Chiefs and 49ers offensive systems, but I don't have to:

1: Baker Mayfield is more like Patrick Mahomes than he is like Jimmy Garropolo.

Mahomes excels at throwing off-platform and on the move--and is a real dual threat.

Baker Mayfield has the same traits, except Mahomes is like a shortstop, and a bigger dude.  No quarterback in the NFL can match Mahomes throwing off-platform and all-arm, but Mayfield at least comes close.

2: Garropolo isn't really as physically talented as these two, but is snug as a bug in a rug with the 49ers Defense and ball-control offensive system.

Mahomes and Mayfield can rally a team.  Jimmy G gets into more trouble.

*In 2018 Mayfield came from behind repeatedly.  He sputtered badly in 2019, but in year 3 it is rational to project a comeback; this is a common pattern with quarterbacks.  So shut up, bashers*

3: The 49ers Offensive system is better for Mayfield duh.  It's better for any quarterback...well sorta:

Jimmy G will never post gaudy numbers (be a top fantasy QB) in the Shanahan system, but he'll win a lot, and not get pounded into paste.

There are competing philosophies about this.  Most real experts say that if you have an exceptional quarterback with deep accuracy, you need to build around and use that.

These guys would put Baker Mayfield in the KC system.

It's a valid point.  I doubt that he would have matched Mahomes, but he would have had great success behind that Offensive Line and with those weapons.

Others (including most analytics guys and my humble DaVinci-like self) find the Shanahan system the most reliable and predictable (in terms of success) in football.

For us, the system trumps any one superstar player, and even if you have a stud Quarterback, you don't change the system.

Mayfield (in 2018) had great success with slants, crosses, dumpoffs, and seam throws to Tight ends.  I don't know where tf his touch went in 2019, but he can excel in this offensive system, like Kirk Cousins did under Stefanski (and Kubiak) in 2019.

Indeed, he can be better, as he's more athletic and can extend and salvage broken plays.

And that Vikings offense (vs the 49ers) is worth another look:  Kirk Cousins did go deep sometimes (mainly to Diggs, Rudolph, or their other young Tight End).

Cousins also came from behind a few times, including (emphatically) when he beat the Saints in overtime.

Looking back, John Elway racked up nice stats under Mike Shanahan (with Gary Kubiak backing him up).

If your Quarterback can do more, the system is easily "tweaked" to let him.

But it still protects him:

1: The zone run-blocking scheme takes a full second or longer for defenses to "read" between pass or run.  Nobody pulls.  The line never surges forward vertically.  It forces passrushers to either hesitate or gamble.

Defenses try to blow it up by shooting inside gaps on neutral downs, but that's dangerous as hell with a Mayfield or a Chubb/Hunt.

2: 21, 22, and 12 personnel are common.  That means that (except on 2nd or 3rd and very longs) there are rarely more than 2 WRs, and defenses have to match up with their bigger-but-slower packages.

In the modern NFL, the nickel cornerback is a super-fast/quick coverage guy who can blitze, and these sets keep that guy off the field.

The above are all "run" sets with extra running backs, tight ends, or both.  Each of these extra guys is both an extra pass-protector, blocker, or outlet receiver.

You need at least one deep threat outside wide receiver (and to actually go deep to him sonetimes) to keep the defense from collapsing down on you, jumping your routes, and...well you get the idea right?

This also influences the roster.  There is often a fullback or extra tight end, and one less wide receiver.  It saves money.

3: Well I won't repeat myself yet again.  I've done this to death: Play-fakes, RPOs, pitch-outs, rollouts blahblah: If you average over about 4.6 yards per carry, play-fakes are about as foolproof as it gets.  ALL quarterbacks love play-action.

...It's how offensive line-challenged quarterbacks get 3.5+ seconds to go deep.

Kevin Stefanski has to be excited about this roster. Rodney Njokufield is cautiously sneaking out of his dawg-house, wondering if the new guy will mistreat him like the old one did.

Kareem Hunt knows he'll be on the field a lot--all over the place.  Jarvis Landry can't wait to see if he can out-do Thielen.  All the offensive linemen can't wait.

Yeah I left out OBJ because I think they'll trade him (but some of you people..."cancer"!?! You are IDIOTS!).

Somebody made a bold prediction that the Browns might trade OBJ to the Iggles for Alshon Jeffery and their 2nd or 3rd round pick.

That's interesting, as Jeffery's 2020 cap hit approximates OBJ's, but he is much bigger and taller (a reliable deep threat) than OBJ.

The downside is that he is 30 years old and there are questions about his recovery from lis franc surgery...nevermind DePodesta wouldn't let this trade happen.

But I digress: I'm watching the Senior Bowl now and Left Tackle Josh Brown looked good (he shined all week in practice), and if the Browns have to "settle" for him at 10th overall I will stifle my tears.

The Browns can significantly upgrade their offensive line with their 10th overall pick in 2020.

Most mock drafts are well-named at this point, as those picking players pick based on positions/needs, rather than talent.  

Because you picked an OT first doesn't mean you have to ignore the offensive line until the 5th round, ok?  You can draft another offensive lineman in the second round (and/or with the first rounder you got for OBJ).

Paul DePodesta isn't a "foodball guy", but gets that all dynasties have strong offensive lines.  I'm not sure, but I suspect that this is the single most common ingredient of all Superbowl participants.

Yeah, if I'm right about an OBJ trade they'll need a deep threat WR, and even if I'm wrong about Vernon's release they need more help at EDGE, and (even if Randall is re-signed) an upgrade at safety, and more DT depth, and stuff, but the offensive line needs to come first.

REMEMBER: In 2018 after Jackson and Haley were fired, Baker Mayfield kicked ass WITHOUT OBJ (and with Njoku and Higgins) and no true deep threat, ok?

Trading OBJ, cutting Vernon, and releasing Hubbard and Kirksey would add around FOURTY FIVE MILLION DOLLARS to the Browns' war-chest, and restore them to pre-Dorsey draft-pick and cap-levels.

Whoever they can't draft, they can sign, ok?

Well (try to stay with me here I'm getting analytical), stud offensive linemen (especially left tackles) are extremely expensive in free agency.

Safeties, fullbacks, tight ends, and 4-3 linebackers are much cheaper, ok?

You can even find affordable situational edge-rushers and defensive tackles in free agency.

So (duh) you DRAFT your offensive linemen, real DEs and DTs and stud WRs and CBs, and fill in the blanks via free agency as a policy, see?

A lot of Browns fans have been brainwashed by permabashers, so they see Paul DePodesta and "analytics" as the problem, and not the solution.  Some have even labelled potential GM Berry as "Sashi Brown's puppet".  I can't...the idiocy is just unfathomable!!!

But I digress again: 

The Browns are not rebuilding anymore, but are still building.  The Ravens are irrefutably the team to beat.  The Bengals will have a generational QB and be scary.  The Steelers...

Under Kitchens, the Browns beat all of them in 2019.

1: Baker Mayfield enters his third season in a souped-up Shanahan offensive system.

2: Nobody in any Shanahan system has ever had anything like a Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt combo at RB.

3: David Njoku is massively underrated (I suspect.  There might be issues I don't know about, but it's NOT about his hands or blocking, ok?)

4: The defense doesn't suck.  IMO Dorsey mistake Vernon goes, but Chad Thomas is coming into his own, Ward and Williams are exceptional corners who can play in any system, Garrett will be back, Ogunjobi will too, Sheldon Richardson is earning his money, Mack Wilson shows great upside...

Obviously there are holes and question marks on defense, but the releases and trades I presupposed earlier make the retentions of Schobert and Randall more likely, along with the potential theft of real, young, full-spectrum DE talent from cap-strapped (usually elite) teams.

Some coaching candidate who interviewed with the Browns allegedly characterized Jimmy Hadlam's statement that "we're close" as "delusional".

I'm still working on this.  

Did this guy say this in the first place, or did a bad and opinionated writer just make it up?

What if it's true?  Is that because of the Ravens, who the Browns beat?  Is he assuming Haslam means winning the Superbowl, and that he means in 2020?

Are Bitonio, Tretter, Landry, Hunt, Chubb, Richardson, Garrett, Ward, Williams hallucinations?  The Pro Bowl kicker and punter?

I get it, you guys: Over 2 decades of hope and collapse.  What will go wrong this time?

I'm glad that the Browns didn't hire a coach who called "We're close" "delusional", because he was a moron.

Jeez everybody except me thinks Freddie Kitchens was an idiot, but he beat all 3 Division rivals!

Stefanski made Kirk Cousins earn his rediculous contract.  Now HE was Kubiak's "puppet"!?!  

What now the Harvard grad goes brain-dead or something!?!

The idiocy and bullshit I've heard lately shocks me, including all this "meddling" crap aimed at Haslam.

What "meddling"?  He OWNS THE TEAM.  He hires and fires people.  He might be impatient, or whatever, but Jimmy Haslam does NOT interfere with his Front Office or Coaches.

He just FIRES them too often!  (I am confiscating the word "meddling".  It will be returned to you when I think you can use it responsibly.)

You people are piling on, ok?  I have been the victim of this, and you need to pay attention:

Apes hunt and kill, just like wolves.  See their fangs? We still have those same instincts.

Beneath the surface, we're also hardwired to fight for and find our status in the pecking-order of the pack (and stuff).

Also hardwired into...well not me but the rest of YOU is the instinct to join any 2 or more of your pack in attacking whoever they are attacking.

It's mindless.  It's more HERD than pack.

Anyway, Jimmy Haslam isn't perfect, but  doesn't deserve this level of hatred any more than Art Modell or Bill Bellichick did.

Check yourselves out: You're already calling Stefanski a "puppet".  Already calling Mayfield a bust. Treating Myles Garrett like Vontez Burfict, and OBJ like Antonio Brown ("cancer", really?)

T H I N K!

While I'm here, Freddie Kitchens did NOT suck, and should have been retained.  Gregg Williams after 2018 as Head Coach maybe too.

See? I disagree with DePodesta sometimes my own self!

-snap-snap- T H I N K.  

*I know that DePodesta knows more than I do...but remember Mitchell Schwartze and what he said about Wentz too, but Paul DePodesta didn't make either decision*

The trade-down from Wentz was smart at the time.  Drafting Corey Coleman was not.  The former might have been on DePodesta, but how the picks the trade yielded were used was not.

Paul DePodesta was not picking Corey Coleman (or whoever).  He just advised the trade-down(s) as the Browns were beginning to rebuild.

R E B U I L D DO YOU U N D E R S T A N D!?!

PS I'm not sure that letting Mitchell Schwartze go was on DePodesta.  It could have been Brown (who had the authority).

But I digress again:

Andrew Berry...NOT Sashi Brown or Paul DePodesta...drafted Myles Garrett, Larry Ogunjobi, David Njoku, Rashard Higgins, Seth DeValve, Joe Schobert, Ogbah and Nassib.  He also signed Zeitler and Tretter (oh yeah and Darren Fells).

You people piss me off.  How can one of you find a way to call Berry a Sashi Brown puppet?  You think SASHI BROWN made those picks!?!

We're doomed!  These people are allowed to VOTE!!!

Kill me.  Please.

The Conspiracy Against George Paton Exposed! Andrew Berry Complicit!

I like Dan Justik a lot, but I think he had a couple coffees too many before he wrote the linked article on how George Paton's withdrawal from GM consideration is concerning:

It is concerning, because George had reasons for turning down this opportunity to be the top guy with a Head Coach he'd worked with for 13 years.

But Dan started over-analyzing everything with "what if's".  

Look: The Browns weren't firing anybody here.  If a team decides not to hire somebody, they simply don't say anything.

Paton withdrew his name, period.  But Dan quotes Mary Kay Cabbot as saying that Stefanski wanted Paton "in the worst way", and proceeds to suspect that the Browns wanted Andrew Berry all along and were just pretending to court Stefanski's favorite.

Well for one thing, Mary Kay is prone to hyperbole, and I strongly suspect that "in the worst way" came from "I really like him!  He knows his stuff.  I hope we can get this done."  Kevin Stefanski isn't a "in the worst way!" kinda guy, if you know what I mean.

Did Paton not like the fact that Paul DePodesta wouldn't "answer to" him?  Quite possible, but John Dorsey accepted this arrangement, and simply won every argument (unfortunately).

Paton has turned down numerous offers from other teams, and a good analyst sees that this guy is patient and emotionally secure.  He's not as ambitous, greedy, or power-hungry as most others are.

By the way, these are compliments.

It is quite possible that Andrew Berry was Paul DePodesta's favorite all along, but I don't believe that George Paton withdrew his hat from the ring because he sensed this and was offended (or whatever), as Dan Justik seems to.

"Concerning" is the fact that now Berry is it, and what if he turns the gig down?

I don't think he will.  He comprehends and believes in analytics, and seemed to work well with Paul DePodesta.  Now, Berry has more leverage, and might extract the same concessions that Paton wanted but couldn't get.

...Uh...this is called "business analytics", by the way...

MKC walked back from "in the worst way", and says that Stefanski likes Andrew Berry almost as much as he likes George Paton.

She theorizes that Paton had some concerns about the organizational structure, but you people need to understand that, despite the fact that Mary tends to say these things as if they are confirmed facts, they are much more often her educated guesses.

She's often proven correct in these educated guesses, but guys like Dan Justik should know better than to treat her like the Oracle of Delphi.

I don't care about marijuana in Hunt's car.  It's 2020 and most of us are sick of this hysteria over something more benign than beer.  A lot of my own peeps seem to have short and convenient memories, too.

The 49ers are reportedly going to make a "late push" to retain Joe Woods despite the Browns' efforts to hire him as their new Defensive Coordinator.

His boss, San Fran DC Robert Saleh, is almost certain to become a Head Coach after the 2020 season, and the 49ers reportedly want to replace him with DB Coach Joe Woods.

This was a rather nebulous (almost "fluffy") article:

The Niners can't block another team from hiring a coach to a higher position than the one he holds.

They can try to bribe the guy to stick around, but would the 49ers ownership match what Jimmy Haslam would offer his next Defensive Coordinator?

They could promise to make him their Defensive Coordinator in 2021...but not guarantee it in writing...and if you were Woods, what would you do?

Oh stop it with the snark and negativity, ok?  

Woods worked with Stefanski forever, and the notion of working with him again is probably as appealing to him as it is to Stefanski.

The Browns' defense is less talented than the 49ers D, but doesn't suck.  Woods will love Garrett, Ward, Williams, Richardson, and Mack Wilson, for starters.

The Defense is built to run the scheme he is most familiar with, and used to most of what he'll want to do.

He can trust Stefanski to make sure his voice is heard in talent acquisition and roster moves, and:

Well it gets deep: Woods will look at tthe 2019 Browns' offensive films, and guesstimate how the Shanahan offensive scheme will work---and if it will help his defense by eating up clock-time, building leads, giving him field position, etc...

Yeah...very deep...but fortunately Woods will ignore YOUR snarky negative comments.

I predict that Andrew Berry and Joe Woods will join the Browns, despite how they dysfuntionally are dysfuntional and the owner meddles and all the dysfunctionality and meddling and doom and stuff.

Screw it.  Okbye.

Wait: They can re-sign Kareem Hunt cheaper now!  Keep that up Jim Donovan!

Okbye again.