1: All of the Browns preseason concentration will be on this one game. After that game, they'll have 6 days (or less...they get the Bengals that thursday night).
First real game or not, I prefer that they get all offseason to prepare for the toughest opponent they will face, especially since
2: While Stefanski and the Browns will have a clear bead on what Harbaugh and the Ravens will try to do, the Ravens can't be as certain about the Browns.
Naturally, they'll study the 2019 Vikings, and what worked for the Browns in 2018 and 2019. Unlike YOU amateurs, they'll see the 21 sets (Chubb/Hunt) coming (duh)...
Naturally the wide zone, play-action, moving pocket (especially since they do all that stuff themselves), but the Browns should still have a nice edge in "intelligence", since the Ravens have well-established systems and are a veteran team.
The 2020 Ravens will evolve/adapt, of course, but would be dumb to make significant changes to how they operate.
The Browns kind of have a "free shot" at catching the Ravens flatfooted here in Game One in front of 14,000 masked Ravens fans.
3: The players will all tell you that they take every opponent seriously, and certainly the individual Ravens will do their homework on their opposite numbers (especially if their names are Garrett, Ward, Beckham Jr etc), but there's no fighting human nature:
The Ravens mentally have this game vs a rookie team with new systems and a QB who sucked last year and that they dominated in their 2019 rematch in the bag.
They KNOW Mayfield is for real and Stefanski and this staff are excellent. They'll be ready to fall behind and need to come back, but every one of those Ravens is positive that when the dust settles, the Ravens will win their home opener.
The biggest problem with his level of confidence is that nobody except Lamar Jackson is sure exactly how that will happen. That's how overconfidence can undo a TEAM. The individual players don't know who will win for them, and sometimes that mystery player doesn't show up.
This is "Let JOE do it", see? It's a natural tendancy for every tribe, gang, clan or team. There's nothing wrong with it, and it dates back to the caves and trees for us.
I've spent more time on that than it deserves, but since we're talking Browns vs Ravens in Baltimore game 1, I had to turn that card: The Ravens could lose because they're overconfident.
You get this: It's not MMA or boxing. It's a TEAM sport, with 22 starters. Hell YES the Browns could deck and stomp the Ravens if they're not all psychologically prepared for a real fight (like all 22 Browns will be.)
4: Redundancy alert: in my opinion Kevin Stefanski and all his assistants are very capable, and Harbaugh is still just human.
The Shanahan offensive scheme is player-freindly. The Browns' offense will be over 80% "ready for primetime" out of the gate.
80% is conservative, since Baker Mayfield enters his third season returning to most of the stuff that made him great in College and as an NFL rookie.
Dan Orlosky and Brady Quinn rant and rave over Mayfield's pinpoint accuracy, and want you to know that this is rare, and (barring an injury to the throwing arm) can't go away.
Furthermore, both these ex-QBs stress that Baker Mayfield is exceptionally accurate (notably DEEP) running around without his feet planted.
You people don't get how rare this is, but PFF and other geek-sites try to spell it out for you.
Pat Mahomes is "all that" cubed, but you people need to comprehend that Baker Mayfield is right there with him.
It's there in the statistics (including their historic face-to-face encounters).
Baker and Patrick are pals, despite the fact that Mahomes took Mayfield's job while Baker was injured.
(How UNFAIR! Baker should have started again once healthy no matter what!)
I digress here, but know you get it: Mahomes might be better than Mayfield, but not by much. Don't even start with Darnold or Allen.
Mahomes and Mayfield are kinda like Brees, Rodgers, and Werner combined.
Shut up stay with me here:
Mahomes is an inch taller and bigger, and throws like a shortstop (*YES he's slightly better than Mayfield*), but Baker Mayfield will probably wind up being better than Allen, Darnold, Watson, and (I bet) Joe Burrow.
I GET it! Why did they trade down FROM Pat Mahomes? Trade down to NOT draft him?
That was obviously and irrefutably idiotic (in hindsight), especially since I wanted them to draft Mahomes right tf there...
You guys know I'm not a great John Dorsey fan, but he traded up for Mahomes and then drafted Mayfield first overall......
In 2018, John Dorsey traded up with the Browns for Pat Mahomes. Dorsey was right. Berry, DePodesta etc were wrong.
But Mayfield 1st overall (over Allen and whozzit) was a no-brainer.
Good for Dorsey! He sucks on Offensive Linemen, and he traded a stud SS in his prime (cheap contract), a 17th ovsrall draft pick, Zeiter, and a 3d round pick for a 31 mil cap hit on 2 chronicly injured players...
Niether Dorsey or Berry are perfect here, but I think DePoBerry is better on balance.
On the eve of the Supreme Court's decision that anybody's tax records are fair game, I feel silly talking sports, but fortunately I don't care any more:
If you ignored me, you deserve what's coming.
Sadly, your CHILDREN do NOT.
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