Joe Thomas, You da Man!

I love Big Joe.  Read this.

Browns vs. Bills: What Little We Learned

Neither of these teams used much of their playbooks, and both were missing a bunch of key players.

But the trenches were substantially intact, so we can definitely figure some things out there.  This is where it gets physical, and the better players tend to win, period.

Joe Thomas was out again, and Cam Erving learned some more left tackle the hard way.  Buffalo's defensive front is as scary as any in the NFL, and as aggressive as Pettine's.

The Browns were able to run the ball, sort of...but if you've read my earlier blogs you should know that that's not all that telling vs. a Ryan defense.  The encouraging part of this was that not many runs were blown up in the backfield.

McCown was under a lot of pressure, and you'd have to give the first-team Bills the nod vs. the pass.

We can point out the Joe Thomas thing, but the rest of the first-team line was intact, and they couldn't keep the Bills off their quarterback.

Fair enough, but this defensive front will do that te every team they face.

The Browns defensive line vs. the Bills offensive line did fine, but the Bills were using running backs from off the street.

On the other hand, Tyrod Taylor might be a whole lot better than many realize.  Aaron Rodgers and Kelly Holcomb languished on benches for years too.

As Jim Miller said, a quarterback running scout teams in practice learns and develops a great deal.  He's imitating the opponent's starting quarterback, running a cut-down version of the opposing offense, with second-stringers, against his team's starting defense.

Taylor backed up Joe Flacco, and no doubt learned a lot in the Ravens' system.  I doubt that what we saw him do to our defense in Buffalo was a fluke or a mirage, and I'll bet you right now that Cassel will be the backup come game one.

After this game, the Browns wide receiver and defensive line situations are muddier than ever.

Bold prediction: Kitchen is on my GMF list.  He's a good player, but the Browns now have two real nose tackles, and Wynn and Meder (not to mention X Cooper) just keep making plays.

Further, Kitchen is a much better fit in a conventional 2-gap 3-4.  He's powerful and uses leverage well, but isn't very athletic.

Draft pick or no, Mayle is in big trouble.  The thumb isn't going to work any more.  He could yet come on strong in the last two preseason games, but for right now he's on my practice squad (or poached off waivers) list.

I don't believe it's at all true that Pryor is running out of time because of his hamstring.  They could stash him on IR, I suppose.  Teams are quietly waiting under the tree, hoping the biggest, fastest wide receiver in the NFL will fall out of it.

No way they cut him.  No freaking way.  Nice try, Mike.

I simply can't guess which receivers they'll release.  I know that Bowe, Hartline, and Hawkins are locks (unless they trade Hawk).  Travis Benjamin has made a fool of me, and looks like he's made himself uncuttable too.  

What a mess.  Gabriel, Wynn, Lenz, Moore, Pryor wow.  Moore is a core special teamer, and Pryor could excel in special teams, plus H-back, plus wildcat/emergency quarterback, so the strict roster-count on this position is mitigated somewhat.

But no matter how you cut it (pun intended), even with the practice squad, at least one, and more likely two, of this last group are GMFs.

Never thought you'd see it, did you?  The Browns throwing away perfectly good wide receivers (I mean since Charles Johnson RAY).

If I were Dwayne Bowe, I wouldn't have predicted a high-powered offense, but it's not a bad thing that he did.  I think he might have overshot the mark a little, but it's not as laughable a notion as some think it is.

With the smurfs and Duke Johnson, there is a lot of speed on this team.  Even Brian Hartline can be expected to average around 13 yards per catch.  Bowe seems to think that Pryor will be a factor this season.  He's an old wide receiver, and we should listen to him on that.

Of course, he also believes that he himself can do what Josh Gordon did, and I doubt that.  Still, he can do a lot--if he hangs onto the ball.  I choose the half-full glass: Braylon Edwards caught everything thrown to him for one season, after all.  Maybe Bowe can too.

The biggest doubts about Bowe's prediction are about the quarterback.  People doubt that Josh McCown can hold up his end of that deal.

Here, I have logical reasons to think he can.  Chicago had a good offensive line, and Tampa did not.  I forsee the Chicago version of McCown here.  Clearly, so does Bowe.

If not, then Johnny.  That works too.

Cleveland Browns: The Sky is Falling Again

There was good stuff and bad stuff in the preseason game vs. the REDSKINS.  I've found most of the coverage pretty good, and have no dumbass analysis to take apart this time.

The worst stuff was, of course, the running game on both sides of the ball overall.

One of the offensive linemen pointed out that for the vast majority of the practices, the team had focused almost exclusively on installing DeFellippo's new passing scheme, so the run-blocking wasn't tuned up yet.

No, I'm not making excuses.  I'm explaining what's wrong.  You are not Vince Lombardi.  You really need to accept that, ok?

Joe Thomas didn't play at all, and I assume that Alex Mack was yanked early as well.  In the first two series, Crowell looked ok, and only disappeared later.

Last season with this same offensive line, West, and Crowell, this team had one of the best running attacks in the NFL through the first half.  That means a lot more than this first preseason game.

Defensively, there's no such history to reassure us.  They sucked against the run last season and sucked again in this game.

However once again, the first team did much better than the scrubs.  Here again, the dam leaked a little here and there, but held--until the starters left the field.  Then it collapsed and flooded the valley and everybody drowned and stuff.

I know that Kruger, Solomon, and Orchard overpursued and were burned by cutbacks.  That's uncharacteristic for Solomon, and at any rate the coaches won't put up with it.

For the fifth or sixth time, I need to restate this: Mike Pettine's attacking scheme can never be rendered run-proof, and if they rank in the top half of the league vs. the run this season, that will be pretty good.

In some short yardage situations, he has the people to shut a run down, but in neutral situations, at least four or five guys will penetrate and attack, and holes will form.

They can't be as bad as they were vs. the REDSKINS and win even one game, of course.  But the talent is here, and the coaches will coach (and bench or fine or whatever), and they'll get better.  Not dominating better--but good enough vs. the run.

Those of you who got to hear Doug Dieken on the radio comprehend that on the one bomb which was fortunately dropped, Gilbert released the receiver, who he thought would be picked up by the safety.

That's not a "burn".  It's a blown coverage.  Gipson subsequently reamed him out for it.  It was a screw-up by an inexperienced player.  Put the shovel down and back away.  This isn't over.

Gilbert shouldn't have said that the rest of his day was "flawless", of course.  But he was feeling defensive, and in reality he didn't suck, other than on that play.

In the words of Brandt, Cosell, Miller and others, Johnny Manziel "looked like an NFL quarterback", and carried his growth from practice to scrimmage to game.  The fits and starts were all very early, and he settled in.

But McCown did more than just manage the offense, and remains firmly ahead of the young whipper-snapper.  In fact, he looks very good so far!

Comparing second-stringers, Cousins vs Manziel isn't even fair.  Cousins is far more advanced than Manziel, in a well-established system.  And then here comes Colt McCoy!  The REDSKINS won.  No surprises here.

Guys that made a move:

1: Travis Benjamin.  I guess he's read my blog and got mad or something.  He's off my GMF list.  He was impressive.

2: Darius Jennings.  Wow another smurf?  Who gets the axe?  No playmakers?  Really?

3: Xavier Cooper.  Told ya.

Brian Hartline didn't make a move.  He just played like he always plays.  Told ya that too.

Guys in question: Vincent Mayle.  The coaches are right to cut him some slack, since his thumb is probably still sore.  The way things are stacking up, he could end up on the practice squad anyway.

Duke Johnson and Terrelle Pryor (among others) will be back for Buffalo (no playmakers? Really?)

Speaking of playmakers, E J Bibbs is yet another UFA that Ray Farmer dug up (see earlier blogs I was on it).  

As I mentioned, Malcolm Johnson was drafted as a fullback/H-Back hybrid who fits this scheme, but due to minor injuries, Bibbs may have passed him up.

Bibbs is a little different than the shorter, lighter Johnson, as he can play tight end--in line or move.  That is, Bibbs can actually block 3-4 OLBs and 4-3 DEs in-line.

Give Johnson his chance, of course.  I also predicted that he would do well.  But now he's got some catching up to do, and he can't play in-line tight end.

Another article I read said that Bibbs could make the team as a backup for current number two tight end Jim Dray.  In reality, he could make Dray expendable.

Housler is dropping passes in practice, whereas "blocking" tight end Gary Barnidge has gone apeshit and looked like Jordan Cameron (when not concussed).

I told you guys he was a good receiver, but I never expected this out of the guy!  Well, good for him, and good for Pettine for running a genuine meritocracy.  Because of that, an undrafted newcomer like Bibbs has a real chance here.  Draft pick Johnson and Housler aren't playing, because they haven't earned it.

Johnny Manziel is being brought along slowly while Josh McCown starts.  

And Terrelle Pryor has a good chance.  Pettine is very very honest: He'll have to "show us", but I "wouldn't bet against him".

Good advice.  He should get some targets vs. the Bills.  Stand by.

Cleveland Browns Post-Scrimmage Comments on Comments

1: Barkevious Mingo has already proven himself not to be a bust.  His R O O K I E season was unimpressive, but even then, a different coaching staff recognized his unique ability to cover tight ends and H-backs and used him a lot in that role.

There's an undeniable correlation between sacks and victories, but some of the sacks, throwaways, and interceptions that did happen last season happened because Mingo deprived quarterbacks of their security blankets.

Last season, he may or may not have been "sent" after the quarterback more often, but played almost the whole season with one arm.

Possibly, Mingo will never emerge as a truly elite passrusher, and I suppose in that case you could say that he was drafted too high.  But a bust?  Take a pill.

2: Mary Kay could probably have worked for the Romney campaign, as she implies that nothing Manziel has done has made a dent in the coach's commitments to start Josh McCown.

So far, that's certainly true.  McCown himself has done nothing to cede his position to the kid.  All the articles were about how great Johnny is doing, but in reality, Josh McCown is really good himself.

Joe Thomas having his back says a lot to me, as well.

However, this is the third of three practices in which Manziel has excelled.  It's like the day before the first practice, he went to bed as Clark Kent, and woke up as Superman.

It has little to do with practicing with and against second-team players.  Defensive depth overall is better on this team than offensive depth, and the same defensive coordinator is throwing the same monkey-wrenches at him.

There are four preseason games and plenty of practices to go between now and game one.  McCown's vast experience and more advanced starting place with DeFellipo's offense for now give him a big advantage.

But it's hard to even say "if Johnny keeps progressing" here, because he really can't get much better, ok?  If Johnny keeps playing as well as he has been playing, then there's an excellent chance that he will start in game one.

I do need to correct Mary Kay on one point: McCown is NOT just as athletic as Manziel.  I can't believe she said that.

This article in Vavel also pushes for Manziel to start for many of the same reasons as mine and the coach's: The more experience he gets, the better.  McCown is what McCown is, and we can certainly hope for the Chicago Bears version.  

But Johnny is the guy with all the upside, who has the chance to "fix" the longstanding lack of quarterbacking this team has suffered for what seems like decades.  Can Josh McCown even still play after taking another beating this season?

If the two quarterbacks are deadlocked, and niether offers the team a better chance to win, then absolutely the pick will be Manziel!

This Browns roster is loaded with talent, and the coaches are widely regarded as excellent.  With McCown, most of us are hoping for .500 or better, and a little respect for a change.  With Manziel, we can hope to knock the crap out of the rest of the North and take the Division this year.

McCown is a big boy with a subdued ego, and is happy to carry a clip-board and help coach his latest adopted son.  Most likely, he will become a coach when he retires anyway.

He's had the snot beat out of him for half his life, and might add a year or two to his active career if he goes to backup status now, and if Johnny gets hurt?  Well allrighty, then!

3: Josh Lenz, Wynn, and Pryor are going to make it hard on the Turk this season.  Pryor has showed them the only thing he needed to show them:  Hands.  In fact, he has great hands.  He's a keeper.  Mark my words.

Because he can also run H-back and tight end routes (after awhile), it's possible that they can keep five wide receivers in addition to him.

Now it gets tough.  I still feel that Travis Benjamin is low man, and will not list him.  But now you have Bowe, Hartline, Lenz, Gabriel, Hawk, Wynn, and Mayle.  That's seven.

Well, let me make an outlandish suggestion here: Is Dwayne Bowe's contact guaranteed?

Look, almost every Kansas City fan I've heard from say he's Gregg Little.  He drops easy passes.  This situation has changed:

Lenz could fall off the board in real games, I suppose, but so far he looks like a bigger, taller Brian Brennan who is super-reliable and can even make some big plays.

All this "experience" talk about wide receivers galls me.  Hartline and Hawk have plenty of experience, and a receiver's main job is to get open and catch footballs.  Sure, you need to make the right read and go to the right spot, but it's not rocket science.

Is Bowe a number one?  Not quite.  Pryor is a future number one.  And the number one thing gets overblown, as well.  Who is Seattle's number one?  New England's?

I'd rather have a super-reliable guy than a Braylon Edwards or a Gregg Little, and so far that's Josh Lenz.

4: Tony Grossi has misread some statements by Mike Pettine, and suggested that Manziel wouldn't start because he doesn't fit Pettine's offensive philosphy.

Pettine has said that you can win with an average quarterback with a strong running game and short passes.

But Mike would never have said that of this team if he had a Brady or a Rodgers.  He's merely turning lemons into lemonade here, and was rightfully assuming that Johnny--if he was even capable of becoming a franchise quarterback--wouldn't be ready this year.  He was rightfully planning for Josh McCown to start.

Tony: He wants a franchise quarterback, just like every other coach.  If it's Manziel, he'll just have to live with it.

Jeez.  Anyway, Manziel has been doing what he's been doing running the same offense!  They'd tweak it some to make better use of Johnny's unique assets, but no major changes are required!

By game 8, Pryor and Manziel could turn this thing into a juggernaut.  For sure I think maybe.  Take that to the bank.

John-nee! John-nee!

Blah blah just one day blah blah just some drills blah blah blah it's still early blah blah long way to go blah blah blahdeeblah-blah:  Ok I've got the disclaimers covered.

Now: The light seems to have switched on for the kid.  (Insert more canned sage disclaimers here.)

Dumbasses aside, the biggest questions about Manziel were about his abilities to make pro reads and throw with anticipation.  His height is an issue, but several other really good NFL short guys have coped with that.

Manziel has looked terrible from under center, but looks better in the shotgun.  No surprises here.  But on day 6, he was night-and-day better.

One day of drills by itself doesn't normally mean that much, but in this case it means a lot.  It was sudden and consistent.  It was his best day so far, and it was all day.

It means that he can do it.  If he just remains focused and dedicated, he will do it.  

How long this takes, I don't know.  It could well be that as of day one, McCown will indeed give this team the best chance to win.  

Johnny will no doubt have some more bad days.  It's not like this is second nature to him already, or that he's mastered the whole playbook.  Yeah, he'll screw up and stumble around some more.

But he's just taken his first big step.  He has proven to himself that he can do this now, and he has a foundation for the first time.

Up til now, I didn't know what to expect out of Johnny Manziel.  Now, I know he's going to make it (unless he falls off the wagon).

Oh no you di-en! "What about when the bullets are flying?"

For crying out loud--it's Johnny Manziel.  He'll get better under real pressure!

Cleveland Browns Analysis Corrections

Most of what I've read recently makes me a lot less ashamed to be a Browns fan.  One of the best new guys is Vincent Rapisardi of Dawg Pound Daily, but in this article, he overlooked a few things:

He did a great job on the running backs, up until he said "This team will rely almost solely on the run game".

Vince forgot DeFellipo and the Infantyan scheme.  There will not only be a lot of short quick passes to crossers and slanters, but also a lot of passes to the running (and full) backs.

Yes, it's kind of cheating.  Most quarterbacks with any touch at all will complete about 90% of these, and they really should be called extra-long handoffs, but they're passes.

Vince wasn't wrong to doubt that McCown could look as good as he did in Chicago, because there's no such crew of stud receivers here.

He understands as well as I do that it's the offensive line that makes the big difference for McCown, but you do have to compare the receivers.  He just went a little overboard.

The key with the receivers is the missing deep threat.  (Three of them--and Terrelle Pryor--have that kind of speed, but Pryor is a work in progress, and the others are so short that they get less open the deeper they get).

But again, Duke Johnson, Gabriel, and Hawkins are among his receivers in this scheme.  These are weapons.  So Ray Farmer has provided McCown excellent body armor (the line), some hand grenades (the backs), and a pretty decent gun.

He might not be the Chicago McCown, but he should be average or above.

Finally, by the time the dumpoffs and screens are added up, this offense will probably pass more than it runs.

Before I go, I looked into the inside zone blocking scheme recently, and it's really interesting--and, uh...not exactly what I thought it was.

At it's most basic, if there is a guy in front of you, you drive him back--so it's physical.  No scoops or fancy angles: You just plow into him and drive.

BUT if you are "uncovered", meaning that there isn't a guy right in front of you, you fire out at an angle to hit the nearest bad guy (ie you double-team the nearest bad guy--helping out the nearest "covered" team mate.)

You "move the man" (ie you make him take a balancing step away from you so that your team mate has him off-balance--this is a solid "chip"-block, see?).  Then you go vertical to attack a linebacker.

This assumes a two-gap defensive line.  When it's one-gap, and the defensive linemen are avoiding contact, it gets much different.  Three to all five linemen will fire out at an angle to drive the defenders in the same direction.  This is the zone-blocking that I was familiar with.  

This is really entry-level stuff, and I got a headache trying to get more detail.  There were around forty different diagrams.

Another common element is backside protection.  Somebody is always watching the back door to make sure a fast blitzer or defensive end doesn't sneak in from behind the direction of the run to blow it up.  But this is sometimes a back or a tight end.

The basic principle in both cases is not to create a specific hole, but rather to move the entire front seven backwards, and allow gaps to naturally develop.  

But this is part of the reason that the Browns will have a strong running game.  The Browns three interior offensive linemen all fit this scheme perfectly.  They can get a vertical push AND not get embarrassed by safeties and linebackers in space.  They can execute this stuff before the running back either has to wait too long, or else overruns them.

Just passing that along.  

Comments on Browns Comments After Day Four

Today I listened to Pat Kirwan and Jim Miller (NFL Radio) in Berea.  Jim was genuinely excited by a lot of things he saw, and said "this team is loaded with talent".

Pat kept himself awake by ranting about Danny Shelton and Terrelle Pryor.  He was otherwise subdued in the face of his partner's optimism.

Pat tried hard not to tick anybody off, but he blew it when he said "Is this a Ravens' defense that can get the ball back and save the offense?  No."

Because the correct answer is yes.  They've revamped the defensive line, might have the best secondary in football (top three for sure), and show great promise with the linebackers.

Gipson probably would have topped the league in interceptions if he hadn't been injured.  Everybody had multiple interceptions, including the backups.  

Pat will believe it when he sees it.  Fair enough, I guess. They're not the Steelers, after all.  But Pat said "No", rather than "maybe not" because he had his mind made up before he came here.

I heard Ray Farmer interviewed.  Fortunately, he had obviously read my blog or texts or emails, because he said of Pryor: "If player x is a five, and player y is a six or even a seven--but you know that player x can become a seven or eight, then you have to think about what's best for the long term."

Pat was wide-awake when talking about Pryor's immense potential, and feels he has a good chance.  (Not that it will matter since well...it's still just the Browns.)

For Pat, it's only partly his worship of the Steelers and probably the fact that Bernie Kosar knocked his team out of the playoffs.  It's about the quarterback.

As he stated emphatically, this will be a good defense, but is it the Ravens haha?  Chuh!  So because of McCown, the offense will stall and the defense will rank low again because it will wear down.

Damn--this is an ex-GM talking here, and I can't figure it out.  Farmer had just told him: "If you can force a defense to put that eighth man in the box, you make things really easy for your quarterback".  And Pat himself is impressed by the offensive line and the running back stable.  

He hammered on the tight ends.  If you're going to run a quick-hitting short passing offense, you need that stud pass-catching tight end.  And Pat said he didn't see one.

Because Housler isn't practicing with the first team yet.  Barnidge and Dray were here last season, see?

Desir played with the ones over Gilbert because "he earned it".  More experienced veterans played ahead of Erving and Orchard.  They will get there.  So will Housler.  Pat thinks Dray and Barnidge are it!

Much was made of the intermix of wide receivers.  Pettine himself said that balance mattered, and they wanted both the big guys and the little guys, because some defenses are built to stop one or the other.

And as usual, the defensive backs interviewed, when asked who was the hardest guy to cover, said it was Gabriel.  Haden went further.  He said most little guys are quick, but Gabriel is fast.

By the way, Jim Miller thinks McCown should do fine with the team surrounding him.  Pat didn't say anything.  Probably afraid he'd get empty plastic beerbottles thrown at him (oh, the humanity...)

After hearing Ray's comments, and reading those of Joker Phillips, I'm now confident that when the dust settles, Pryor will remain a Cleveland Brown.  He is a five.  He will become a ten.

Phillips kept repeating: He knows the offense, and what he's supposed to do already.  Phillips is just teaching him the subtleties, nuances, and techniques required for him to excel at his specific position.

The mental part is already there, and so are the size, speed, and hands.  He's been up-and down, according to Pettine: One play he executes perfectly, "like he's been doing it all his life", and the next he completely blows it.  

But it's technique: He's supposed to take a step this way at the line, and steps that way instead and loses leverage--stuff like that.  Joker is saying that his having played quarterback for DeFellipo has him understanding where he's supposed to go as well as any receiver on the roster.  What Phillips is teaching him is how to beat the guy across from him, period.

If you want to bet against Pryor learning that quickly, I have some swampland in the Rockies available cheap.

Bright spot: Manziel looked really good in the shotgun.  Pettine explained that they were just installing the spread stuff that uses it, and not trying to help Johnny.  He's looked pretty bad from under center so far, but that's not over, ok?

Part of it is the fact that the defense is in it's second year, and Jim O'Neil isn't screwing around.  They're installing Pettine's exotic blitzes and stunts, and it screwed the offensive line up badly at first.  BOTH the quarterbacks got massacred.

Kirwan kinda laughed at that.  The defense always starts out ahead of the offense.  It's worse when the offensive system is new, and installing it's very foundation.

But there is hope, because the offense is already starting to get even.