Ok you people, quit even thinking about the Browns trading away high draft picks and spending big money on each and every high-profile malcontent that demands a trade.
It's automatic! After every such news article or report "should the Browns trade for this guy?", regardless of position or need.
What a waste of time (right, Chad?)
Casey Kinnamon is great, but wasted my time this time, saying that the Browns shouldn't trade with their Division rivals for the venerable Earl Thomas.
Ya think?
Casey was jumping in ahead of the utterly predictable question some other writer will predictably ask in the wake of the trade-demand article, but still...
John Dorsey made trades like that. DePoBerry will NOT.
I still miss Jabrill Peppers and Kevin Zeitler, and wonder who he could have drafted in the first and third round in 2019, ya know?
The cap hit would be around 15 million cheaper, and we'd have that 1st and 3rd rounder entering their second seasons, ok?
I'm thrilled to hear that OBJ is tearing it up, but still will check out the prop bets in re how long it takes for him to get injured again, and ditto Olivier Vernon, who will be an expensive 2-year rental.
The Browns signed LB Malcolm Smith, despite what Porto and I felt about it, but it's interesting:
This guy has been...a carreer backup, and is here to for depth.
I do believe that Joe Woods and company have confidence in Takitaki, Goodson, Phillips and (maybe) Avery, and rented Smith cheap for insurance.
Mary Kay will never get this. She has rubber-stamped all of the above with a "P" for "project" or "B" for "backup". She's a prototype MM.
Here is what a real intelligent analyst does:
The Browns just signed XFL DT Ricky Waters too.
I was telling you guys that they needed a fourth 300 lb penetrator like they need a hole in the head.
I was obviously wrong. See? i admitted it, instead of calling Joe Woods and company a dumbass. That's part of it, see? Get your fkng EGO out of it, and roll with the changes.
Obviously, Joe Woods doesn't think he needs a big strong space-eating nose tackle, as there were a few of those on the market, and I saw zero interest from the Browns.
I am not offended or angry about this. I just try to figure out what it means:
It looks like I was wrong about some 3-man fronts being mixed in, and possibly even about the zero shade DT being part of this.
That's right: I look wrong about a LOT of stuff right now.
Anyway this is new data and I'm rational, so what does this mean?
Well, Joe Woods 2020 front 4 should ALL attack, even on running downs.
All these guys are real athletes who can penetrate, play in space, change directions and pursue.
I know this seems counterintuitive, considering how bad the Browns have sucked vs the run (it's why I assumed they'd replace Wilson with another Wilson and "upsize" the zero shade in a 4-3 under, but nooooo!)
I remember Bud Carson ("Steel Curtain"? Yeah that was him).
He was a 4-3 guy who believed in playing in the enemy's backfield. He never had or wanted a big, ponderous Defensive Lineman either.
Bud was a "you go or I go" guy for his whole carreer, and was one of the best Defensive Coordinators in NFL history. ALL his defenses kicked ass everywhere he went (including with the Browns).
Bud's defenses always got lots of turnovers, as well as being solid and stingy.
He always wanted two MAN cornerbacks and four real athletes on the Defensive Line.
He generally ran "single high" coverage with a Safety in "center field". This guy could be a bigger cornerback or whatever, but his main job was to HIT people.
Verily, that's an issue in today's cupcake NFL, but the concept is still valid.
The other guys weren't that important (except Carson wanted a Safetybacker too; mainly a run-and-hit guy short and intermediate, however you labeled him. In his stint as Browns' Head Coach, it was WIL David Grayson, who was a superstar exactly until Bud and he separated).
Anyhoo, the game has changed since then, but the "souped-up" Defensive Line Concept still works (especially vs RPOs, motion, and Read-option).
Ex-Ram Dieken Jones said (something like) "Offensive Lines didn't wear us down. We wore them down."
...but I digress: It looks like Joe Woods will attack with his front 4 all game long, seeking inside penetration at all times with his Tackles.
If successful, that's a built-in automatic passrush, which would mean that Woods wouldn't need to blitze a lot. He could have seven guys in coverage...
BJ Goodson has looked good vs the pass lately. It would be great if he turns out to have "blossomed" in coverage at this point in his carreer, since that would make him a damn good every-down linebacker.
I addressed Rodney Phillipsfield and Seoni Takitaki in my last post, but they matter here, as they, like Goodson, are good vs the run.
...is any of this sinking in yet?
Berry drafted Phillips and signed Goodson, but Takitaki was working with the first team even before Mack Wilson got hurt.
All the safeties including Delpit are good vs the run, and Woods can run one, two, or three deep with the people he has too.
Sendejo, Joseph, AND Delpit (and Hassel too IMO)!?!
(PS oh yeah let's trade a couple more 1st round picks and 22 mil for another safety right?)
I might change my mind again based on new information, but right now I think Joe Woods is throwing all that 4-3 under/over etc stuff out the window like Bud Carson (and whoever coached Dieken Jones' Rams) did.
My long-time readers will understand why I hope I'm right, because I believe that the best defense is an offensive defense.
Check out the Adrian Clayborne signing. That guy isn't here to do anything other than attack. Renegotiating with (rather than releasing) Gramps Vernon is another clue.
BJ Goodon and Jacob Phillips are 2 more pieces to this puzzle.
As inconceivable as this sounds, it looks to me like Joe Woods hopes to put 4 Defensive Linemen in the backfield to nail or reroute running backs or hurry or nail QBs and just generally screw up every single offensive play all game long.
I called Bud Carson a "you go or I go" guy, but that was an overstatement.
90% of the time, the "you go" part of that proved out.
Honestly, I can't project how well Woods' (apparently) Carsonian Defense will work out in 2020 overall, but I can tell you that quicker, faster, and more aggressive defenses are the answer for the Offenses the Browns, Ravens, Rams, 49ers, et al are running, and so do Takitaki, Phillips, and (hopefully) Goodson.
(Check back a few posts: I attempted to explain how Linebackers used to actually be the main run-stuffers. I'm serious!)
Ex-DB Joe Woods seems to think that Defensive Backs should cover and Linebackers should tackle running backs! WOW, right? I KNOW!
What an innovator this guy is!
Seriously, the 2 man corners outside and the center-fielder are important. The 4 down linemen are important. The other 4 guys are negotiable.
I believe Joe Woods is all about speed/athleticism (a "swarming" defense btw), so of course there's a Strong Safety...
...that leaves 3 slots.
Most commonly that should be 2 run-stopping Linebackers who can cover IN Z O N E, and a Safetybacker.
That's a "Big Nickel", but you can't generalize. You can't put Delpit over Edelman, for example...
But I digress the key here is a ferocious, attacking front 4 and a couple Linebackers who can stuff the run.
When the Linebackers know where the Defensive Linemen are going they can oknevermind okbye
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