I wasn't able to watch the Steelers beat the Browns by 3 points in the opener, but had Jim, Doug, and three text buddies helping me out.
I already know what the narrative will be: The Steelers were uninspired, took the Browns too lightly blah blah. Next time they'll be serious and crush them like they rightfully should have today blah blah.
Well dammit Antonio Brown was the guy that terrified me, and sure enough he killed us. Pluto said he was targetted eleven times and caught all eleven! I don't know how he does it!
Well (sorry G) give the devil his due: Big Ben's accuracy to that guy is otherworldly! As I heard it, Brown was tightly covered on all the vertical routes, but the passes were just perfect.
Join the club. Nobody else can stop those two either. Damn them to hell.
In reality yes, the Steelers helped a lot by committing penalties, but the Browns made them feel they had to hold and interfere and stuff, and Mike Tomlin tomorrow will deny that there was anything wrong with all those (at least three) helmet-to-helmet hits.
In re that, isn't there a pattern here? Yeah I know we got the "Bountygate" guy (Gregg Williams), but his defenses were never anywhere near as vicious and dirty as Mike Tomlin's defenses always are.
Miraculously, none of Tomlin's intended targets were kayoed, but one of his own thugs was! I thought that was a tinga beooty! Corey Coleman and Ricardo Louis both showed physical and mental toughness in abundance.
The physical part is mostly just genes; some people have "thicker skulls" than others. But Coleman held onto the ball through the typical Steeler helmet-to-helmet hit, and Ricardo Louis came back off the first typical Steeler helmet-to-helmet to make a tough, critical catch knowing he was about to get blasted again.
That separates the men from the boys.
Conversely, what's up with Kenny Britt? The Browns might well have won if he'd caught that one perfect pass while he was wide open. I wonder if the Steelers just stopped covering him so they could focus on guys who could catch.
It's just the first game, but I'm already done with this clown. I dubbed him Dwayne Bowe II. My text Buddy said Kenny S--t was a better fit.
There's your vedderrunn reseeverr! Let the children play. Ricardo Louis is already better than Britt is. The THREE new wide receivers the Browns just signed are second year players too--If I were Hue, I'd be thinking hard about cutting Britt loose, vedderrunn or no.
They cut Jordan Leslie and kept THIS guy!?!
Kizer keeps overthrowing Duke Johnson! Donovan said on the first overthrow, Duke's body language said he wanted Kizer to put more air under it to give him a chance to run under it.
I'm sure they'll work it out. Duke Johnson does not have great long speed. He's just quick and strong with great hands and instincts...do not confuse him with Gregg Pruitt.
Kizer seemed in synch with the other guys (especially DeValve). He was effective with short passes and (correct me if I'm wrong) showed good touch except with Duke.
Yeah he screwed up, and got sacked seven times, but he never "lost it". And (listen to me here) he's just a baby!
He demonstrated a LOT of mental toughness himself. The offense is actually not "together" yet. Kizer is raw, and if you think he'll be substantially better in week two, you are delusional.
The Ravens (to my amazement) just blanked the Bengals at home. At least I was right about that defense. It's significantly better than the Steelers defense that just intercepted Kizer and sacked him seven or more times and stuffed the run.
Right now, you need to know that Andy Dalton is better than Kizer, because he knows what he's doing. He had great weapons out the yinyang but the Ravens ate his lunch.
...fortunately, Hue Jackson is not Marvin Lewis, has all that on tape, and has a defense capable of pulverizing an offense which is vastly inferior to the one they just gave up 14 points to.
The Browns offensive line is better than the Bengals'. The embryonic Kizer can not have the judgement of a Dalton, but he's bigger, faster, and has a better arm.
The Ravens off--nevermind I'm getting ahead of myself here:
The Pittsburgh Steelers might just be the top AFC Superbowl contenders, and they won this game by the skin of their teeth.
For all the "Belle was rusty" etc hype, this is what really happened:
The Steelers first touchdown was off a blocked punt. The Browns defense allowed 14 points (including extra points) to this offense. The Steelers are the dirtiest team in the NFL, but the Browns emerged with no concussions. Myles Garrett and Danny Shelton (remember him dammit?) did not play. Kizer is a rookie. He scored a td on the ground and another by air, and completed 66.7% of his passes.
The Browns are rebuilding. The Steelers are top Superbowl contenders.
Honestly, I was surprised that this game was as close as it was.
...but I was shocked by the Ratbirds 20-0 whupping of the Bungles in Cinci too.
I'm sorry I'm really not scared, and think the Browns will beat the perennially-overrated Ravens in week two.
Kizer might take awhile to master his trade, but the rest of the team is on a faster track.
Wide receivers Kasen Williams and Sammy Coates mainly need to learn the new language, and get some reps with Kizer. They're real veterans; still near the bottom of their growth-curves-- but NFL, rather than college players...with proven production at the NFL level.
Kizer is "synching" with Corey Coleman and Seth DeValve, with Njoku coming on strong as well.
While Kizer will still get outsmarted for awhile, he'll "synch up" with these guys fairly quickly.
He has clearly synched with Kenny Britt...finally...but...
Dammit let the best players play, and screw the eggzzbeereeunzzz bullcrap! Accept what your eyes tell you, without regard to Sashi's "rep", or salary, or any other bullshit and promote or retain players based on performance dammit!
I mean, I can see exceptions for upside, but for veterans, there should be no exceptions. Kenny Britt has had plenty of time to learn how not to drop passes.
If you're going to screw up anyway, screw up with young guys who mean business and have upside.
And dammit I have to say this for the fifth or sixth time: Britt instead of Pryor?
Well nobody (except me) is perfect, and the Browns are looking real good ahead of schedule. We can nitpick if we want, but Sashi and Berry brought us Schobert, Coley, Calhoun, DeValve, Dayes, Kindred, Taylor, etc., and they just did what they did.
Dayes is being used to the max--he's impressive for an almost undrafted guy. Hue used him on every third and long, but also on third and short...and generally just a lot.
I like the initial 3-back sets which include tight ends...well I need to do more research okbye
Sunday, September 10, 2017
Saturday, September 9, 2017
Personnel Moves, Edge-Rushers, Steelers-Browns
Psst! The Browns have re-signed Tyrone Holmes to the active roster. Don't tell anybody!
A bunch of people are talking about Joe Haden as if he's as good as ever. Forget the players who are his peeps and got his back--they don't count.
Joe was NOT PLAYING WELL this preseason.
Nobody pays any attention to this. Phil Simms blabbered about the Browns letting their best cornerback go, the coaches and front office fighting, a "toxic environment"...
In other words he has completely ignored this team and is faking it. Like Rich Gannon, he'll stop spewing LaCanfora after somebody forces him to watch a game.
Wow the Browns cut Pryor only three weeks after the blockbuster trade that brought him here what a buncha dopes!
They traded a player they were going to cut to give a flawed player a test drive. He survived as the fifth safety. He refused to quit going after Ricardo Louis when Hue told him to. That's why he's gone.
It worked out. Kai Nacua is now on the active roster. He can cover. Schobert is a semi-safety and they've got thumpers. Big deal!
Back to Holmes: He's very similar to Nate Orchard. You know, an edge-rusher? An guy who does not exist on the Browns roster? No...I checked. He's there. Right near Orchard. It says "DE" right there! Hey look! Ogbah's there too! Honest!
Can't wait for this game. A Pitt writer said they wouldn't get within 20 points. You could hear the snorts and smirks behind the words, like that Hensly dirtbag in Baltimore.
I like Mary Kay's Steeler counterpart, Ed Bouchet. That's an objective writer.
I don't know what he wrote this time, but assume he predicted the Steelers by a comfortable margin. Can't blame him, with that offense of theirs and all those Browns rookies.
I hear him on NFL Radio sometimes. He's said the Browns should be much tougher this season (which isn't saying much, actually), but talks about specific players not named Garrett or Kizer.
I hereby predict that the Browns will win if they return a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns and block a field goal for another touchdown and Ebeneezer Belle gets carted off in the first quarter, and you can take that to the bank.
A bunch of people are talking about Joe Haden as if he's as good as ever. Forget the players who are his peeps and got his back--they don't count.
Joe was NOT PLAYING WELL this preseason.
Nobody pays any attention to this. Phil Simms blabbered about the Browns letting their best cornerback go, the coaches and front office fighting, a "toxic environment"...
In other words he has completely ignored this team and is faking it. Like Rich Gannon, he'll stop spewing LaCanfora after somebody forces him to watch a game.
Wow the Browns cut Pryor only three weeks after the blockbuster trade that brought him here what a buncha dopes!
They traded a player they were going to cut to give a flawed player a test drive. He survived as the fifth safety. He refused to quit going after Ricardo Louis when Hue told him to. That's why he's gone.
It worked out. Kai Nacua is now on the active roster. He can cover. Schobert is a semi-safety and they've got thumpers. Big deal!
Back to Holmes: He's very similar to Nate Orchard. You know, an edge-rusher? An guy who does not exist on the Browns roster? No...I checked. He's there. Right near Orchard. It says "DE" right there! Hey look! Ogbah's there too! Honest!
Can't wait for this game. A Pitt writer said they wouldn't get within 20 points. You could hear the snorts and smirks behind the words, like that Hensly dirtbag in Baltimore.
I like Mary Kay's Steeler counterpart, Ed Bouchet. That's an objective writer.
I don't know what he wrote this time, but assume he predicted the Steelers by a comfortable margin. Can't blame him, with that offense of theirs and all those Browns rookies.
I hear him on NFL Radio sometimes. He's said the Browns should be much tougher this season (which isn't saying much, actually), but talks about specific players not named Garrett or Kizer.
I hereby predict that the Browns will win if they return a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns and block a field goal for another touchdown and Ebeneezer Belle gets carted off in the first quarter, and you can take that to the bank.
Thursday, September 7, 2017
Cleveland Browns Curse Persists: There Goes Garrett.
I'm surprised that any Browns fan is surprised by Myles Garrett's injury on the eve of the regular season. This is Cleveland, isn't it? At least we've got the staph infection problem licked, so we got that goin for us...
There is a silver lining: All you goobers who said that Garrett filled a "desperate need" for an edge rusher are going to get embarrassed by Nate Orchard, or whoever replaces Myles.
All those 3-4 outside linebackers were former defensive ends who were edge-rushers in college, and the personnel Gregg Williams inherited pretty much dictated a 4-3, even if he hadn't preferred it.
We already know what Myles can do. While he's better than anybody else, at least Rodney Orchardfield, and maybe Rodney Nassibfield will now have an opportunity to further develop and stick a thumb in everybody's eye who pretty much said they sucked.
It's going to be tougher vs the Steelers, though. Maurice Pouncey and David DeCastro are the center and right guard, and Danny Shelton is also out (yeah it's Cleveland alright!)
To my surprise, our lunchbox home boy Jamie Meder is listed unofficially as the starter in his stead (at left DT). DeCastro can probably handle him, leaving Pouncey to help out with Coley.
Some people don't know this: While the 3-tech is shaded to the left guard's outside shoulder, he will sometimes come across his face inside, and when he doesn't, the center will sometimes step back to head him off at the pass in the backfield.
Ogbah might accomplish something, but with those two defenders (almost predictably) missing, Gregg will need to blitze.
...oh yeah he blitzes anyway.
They'll probably come inside to keep Clowney out of Coley's way and isolate Villanueva on the defensive end (if the linebacker or safety doesn't get through himself).
Delayed blitzes are good too. Let Clowney commit and open something up, then shoot in there. Probably an outside linebacker, since Clowney will have one eye on Schobert.
That's unmistakeably a really good offensive line, dammit...ok let's do corner blitzes too.
Well, the front seven should hold up against the run as well as anybody else's could. We can hope Ebeneezer Belle is rusty, and statisticly, players who hold out until game one get injured a lot, and it couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
Shelton, Garrett...who's next do you think? I mean it's only thursday, and the linebackers and secondary are still intact!
The Steelers are going to do some damage on offense, no matter what.
The Browns offense needs to carry this one, and the run is critical.
Hue wants to go vertical more than he has in the past, and that's partly to clear out the box for the run, and thin out the middle for the tight ends and fast crossers.
It's really not that complicated: Just force the defense to defend every blade of grass so they can't shut down any particular mode of attack.
But they'll make it tough on Kizer. They'll show eight guys in the box, crowding up, up until he's done calling the play, then pull two guys back and roll one towards Coleman. Or do the reverse.
That's going to be a problem for Kizer, as it is for any rookie quarterback. A well-coached veteran defense can often "tell him what to do" so than they can bushwack him when he does it.
There are some answers to this. A simple one is a code-word.
I'm not sure how Hue Jackson does it, but it's common for offensive coordinators to package plays in sets of two or three. When the quarterback calls the pass play based on the stacked box, and then they pull that back off and roll crap, he yells "BLUE!" or something, and everybody knows he just switched to "plan b" of that two or three-play package.
A faster pace is better. If a defense sees the quarterback screwing around too much, they'll double-shift to blow that up too.
My guess would be Kizer gets two-play pass/run packages to keep it simple, and uses fairly quick snap-counts (and some instant snaps to catch them screwing around and out of position).
Then there will be the play-actions, which Kizer excels at, and read-options. In either case, the defense has to honor multiple threats, and the quarterback has post-snap discretion.
Then again, Isaiah Crowell did quite well vs stacked fronts last season, and this offense is all muscled up and able to mix power with zone-blocking, so Hue is libel to just say "run it anyway" as often as not.
That's the Martonian approach. Just keep battering the wall til some bricks start falling out, then lob some passes over it, then knock a hole in it. Hue might just do a little of that.
Running the ball is more attitude than technique. It's pushing the other guys around, and refusing to go down. Crowell was one of the best in the league in yards-after-contact.
The Browns have the personnel to batter down walls. The question is, do they know it?
Anyway, a Browns win looks like more of a longshot today, but the operative word is "shot".
There is a silver lining: All you goobers who said that Garrett filled a "desperate need" for an edge rusher are going to get embarrassed by Nate Orchard, or whoever replaces Myles.
All those 3-4 outside linebackers were former defensive ends who were edge-rushers in college, and the personnel Gregg Williams inherited pretty much dictated a 4-3, even if he hadn't preferred it.
We already know what Myles can do. While he's better than anybody else, at least Rodney Orchardfield, and maybe Rodney Nassibfield will now have an opportunity to further develop and stick a thumb in everybody's eye who pretty much said they sucked.
It's going to be tougher vs the Steelers, though. Maurice Pouncey and David DeCastro are the center and right guard, and Danny Shelton is also out (yeah it's Cleveland alright!)
To my surprise, our lunchbox home boy Jamie Meder is listed unofficially as the starter in his stead (at left DT). DeCastro can probably handle him, leaving Pouncey to help out with Coley.
Some people don't know this: While the 3-tech is shaded to the left guard's outside shoulder, he will sometimes come across his face inside, and when he doesn't, the center will sometimes step back to head him off at the pass in the backfield.
Ogbah might accomplish something, but with those two defenders (almost predictably) missing, Gregg will need to blitze.
...oh yeah he blitzes anyway.
They'll probably come inside to keep Clowney out of Coley's way and isolate Villanueva on the defensive end (if the linebacker or safety doesn't get through himself).
Delayed blitzes are good too. Let Clowney commit and open something up, then shoot in there. Probably an outside linebacker, since Clowney will have one eye on Schobert.
That's unmistakeably a really good offensive line, dammit...ok let's do corner blitzes too.
Well, the front seven should hold up against the run as well as anybody else's could. We can hope Ebeneezer Belle is rusty, and statisticly, players who hold out until game one get injured a lot, and it couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
Shelton, Garrett...who's next do you think? I mean it's only thursday, and the linebackers and secondary are still intact!
The Steelers are going to do some damage on offense, no matter what.
The Browns offense needs to carry this one, and the run is critical.
Hue wants to go vertical more than he has in the past, and that's partly to clear out the box for the run, and thin out the middle for the tight ends and fast crossers.
It's really not that complicated: Just force the defense to defend every blade of grass so they can't shut down any particular mode of attack.
But they'll make it tough on Kizer. They'll show eight guys in the box, crowding up, up until he's done calling the play, then pull two guys back and roll one towards Coleman. Or do the reverse.
That's going to be a problem for Kizer, as it is for any rookie quarterback. A well-coached veteran defense can often "tell him what to do" so than they can bushwack him when he does it.
There are some answers to this. A simple one is a code-word.
I'm not sure how Hue Jackson does it, but it's common for offensive coordinators to package plays in sets of two or three. When the quarterback calls the pass play based on the stacked box, and then they pull that back off and roll crap, he yells "BLUE!" or something, and everybody knows he just switched to "plan b" of that two or three-play package.
A faster pace is better. If a defense sees the quarterback screwing around too much, they'll double-shift to blow that up too.
My guess would be Kizer gets two-play pass/run packages to keep it simple, and uses fairly quick snap-counts (and some instant snaps to catch them screwing around and out of position).
Then there will be the play-actions, which Kizer excels at, and read-options. In either case, the defense has to honor multiple threats, and the quarterback has post-snap discretion.
Then again, Isaiah Crowell did quite well vs stacked fronts last season, and this offense is all muscled up and able to mix power with zone-blocking, so Hue is libel to just say "run it anyway" as often as not.
That's the Martonian approach. Just keep battering the wall til some bricks start falling out, then lob some passes over it, then knock a hole in it. Hue might just do a little of that.
Running the ball is more attitude than technique. It's pushing the other guys around, and refusing to go down. Crowell was one of the best in the league in yards-after-contact.
The Browns have the personnel to batter down walls. The question is, do they know it?
Anyway, a Browns win looks like more of a longshot today, but the operative word is "shot".
Monday, September 4, 2017
Sammy Coates, Arrogance, Browns vs Steelers
I've checked out Sammy Coates some more, and have to upgrade my opinion of him somewhat.
It turns out that after a white-hot start last season, he broke his middle finger. The next week, he broke another finger. I don't know if you know this, but two broken fingers are not conducive to catching footballs.
The fact that he remained active and still played commands some respect.
Now, his college scouting reports were what they were, and he did have bad hands (and other problems). But during the first five games last season, he was as good as any receiver in the NFL.
There still may be issues: Can he run the short and intermediate routes? For sure he's a deep threat, but if that's all you can do, a defense can shut you down.
I think Coates the Pro may have softer hands than the college version. A preponderance of deep routes will undermine a catch rate, just as it undermines a quarterback's completion percentage. Two broken fingers don't help much either.
So conceivably, this was a good move. Kenny Britt, you feel the heat?
Do not assume Coates can't play against his old team this sunday. NFL patterns are standardized, and so are reads.
I heard the rumors of a Josh Gordon reinstatement in week three. Alex Marvez said well gee, he hasn't taken a snap and wasn't in training camp or anything, so what are they going to do with him?
I'm so tired of this: It's not rocket science!!! Josh might need a couple weeks of practice and some hitting before he can start again, but that's all. Come on, you think he forgot how to play wide receiver?
I feel optimistic about all three units of the 2017 Browns. I think the consensus on the defense and special teams agrees with me.
Defensively, everybody sees Garrett, Shelton, Collins, Kirksey, and Peppers. But not so many actually recognize Brien Boddy-Calhoun, Trevon Coley, Jamar Taylor, Ogbah, Schobert, or Derrick Kindred...YET.
ALL of these guys, I promise you, will rank in the top third at their respective positions by the end of 2017. Gregg Williams doesn't have to mess with a sow's ear. He is making a silk purse out of silk.
The three biggest "surprises" here will be Schobert, Coley, and Calhoun.
Coley looks like Warren Sapp, which is why (at least til Shelton returns) he's become a nominal starter. He's not going to fade away. He's going to keep blowing things up in opposing backfields. It's really not a mirage. He really is that good.
Schobert is an elite talent. If anybody can stop Ebeneezer Belle this sunday, it's Schobert. Belle hangs back and lets his blockers create gaps. Schobert is his evil twin. He will see that gap, and fill it.
He makes all the calls when he's on the field. He covers a lot. He's a nominal MIKE, but he's really all over the place. He's actually kind of Gregg Williams hybrid player AND defensive playcaller.
While I'm on the Browns vs Steelers, I wonder if the team will have to drag Myles Garrett out of the locker room for the game. He must be terrified, now that he screwed up by saying he would like to sack Big Ben.
Naturally, Ben and Clowney treated this as the childish fantasy it was, showing admirable restraint in view of the severity of this insult, but I know that Myles must still be terrified of the inevitable humiliation he will suffer.
It goes without saying that Garrett will never get anywhere near Big Ben against Alejandro Villinueva, who is now a cagey veteran who will anticipate and easily neutralize every pitiful move the rookie will attempt.
Most likely, Clowney will block Coley and the right DT simultaneously, and if all else fails, Ben can slap passrushers aside with his left hand.
But I digress: The Browns offense is being sold short. To be clear, it's not like the defense or special teams.
Kizer is not truly "ready", and did kinda win the starting job by default. He's going to screw up.
This just in: Several players have been signed to the practice squad, including Kai Nacua (yay). Tyrone Holmes and Rashard Higgins are expected to sign as well, but Rodney Lesliefield is not.
Well, this was just a writer stating opinions, but I cannot fathom this. Did Jordan Leslie incur some gypsy curse or something? Is there some algae in Lake Erie or something making everybody blind?
I don't get it.
Anyway the offense: They never tried to run in preseason like they intend to in real games. The Steelers are always tough on the run, and Bitonio is injured, so that's going to be tough, but the 2017 Browns should be able to get at least 3.2 ypc even against the Steelers.
Hue also mixed everything up in preseason. Now that it counts, he'll use more 2-back and 2-tight end sets; these are power sets, and partly why the run will work better this year.
Vs the Steelers specificly, I'm not sure this is ideal. Hue might actually run more spreads, because the Steelers secondary is still comparatively weak, and Shazir can run with the Browns tight ends.
...Well maybe not...this is tough...
Ok ok the 2017 Browns can run a spread even with two tight ends AND two running backs (that's one true wide receiver--default Coleman there).
This is Hue Jackson, so do not doubt that even Randall Telfer will line up outside from time to time. Certainly, Njoku and DeValve will. Everybody knows by now that Duke will be the slot guy, but he will also set up outside too sometimes as well. Crowell sets up in the slot sometimes, and has become pretty damn good at it too.
Dan Vitale is injured right now, but even he can go to the slot, or stay in the backfield and take handoffs. In his absence, you should sometimes see all three tight ends on the field at the same time, with DeValve maybe at fullback.
Any such set mandates a base defense for the Steelers...ok maybe a big nickel, except if you do that, you weaken yourself vs the run, and (no research yet) I don't think the Steelers have a reserve safety or linebacker who could make that work better than their default front seven.
Shazir is a freak, so out of the base-set he can do strong safety stuff...
Anyway, Hue has all the tools here to run the offense of his dreams:
Three actual wide receivers aside, literally any 12 or 22 set can deploy as anything from an "elephant" blunt force trauma power run set to an empty backfield 5-wide.
It's irrelevant if there's only one real deep burner when you have linebackers trying to cover DeValve or Njoku or even Duke. It's almost as irrelevant how they line up, since if they set up outside they pull run-stoppers out there with them, and they can all block in space too.
In other words, even if they spread out, you still don't know if it's a pass or a run.
It will be hard to put any extra heat on Kizer, as you pull guys out of coverage to blitze. He's big, strong, quick, and fast, and if you miss, you're usually dead meat.
You can't jailbreak on him either. He's a serious run-threat, and you have to contain him, and mind your gaps, and by the way his blockers know this.
Oh yeah, and you never know when you'll see a read-option, rollout, qb run...whatever, so you can't count on...anything.
Naturally, the Steelers will attack. They have the people to stifle the run, but the 2017 Browns offensive line and protection packages, combined with exotic plays, should actually give Kizer time to strike deep, often.
The Steelers have his college tapes, but those and his preseason tapes aren't very useful. Knowing that Hue has hidden a lot, and that he is a sneaky bastard, they can only guess at what he and Kizer will try against them.
To be sure, they will expect everything I've described, but will have a hard time using it, because they won't know when Hue will call what.
I am NOT predicting a Browns victory against a Superbowl contender second only to the Patriots in the AFC in their own back yard here. I am just predicting a much closer game than most of you expect.
Looking ahead to the perennially overrated Ravens in game 2, I can already predict a Browns win, but more on that later.
Nobody can really cover Antonio Brown. I'm not sure how Gregg will try to muffle him. He's not actually a vertical guy so much as a YAC guy, so off-man and zone maybe, so the DBs can beat him up where he catches it.
Gregg's first answer to the Brown problem is his solution to everything: Get to the quarterback before he can throw it.
Too bad his defensive line is so badly overmatched, now that the intemperate Myles Garrett has insulted the Steelers offensive line. Thanks Myles. Now you've awakened the sleeping giant!
Yeah right.
It turns out that after a white-hot start last season, he broke his middle finger. The next week, he broke another finger. I don't know if you know this, but two broken fingers are not conducive to catching footballs.
The fact that he remained active and still played commands some respect.
Now, his college scouting reports were what they were, and he did have bad hands (and other problems). But during the first five games last season, he was as good as any receiver in the NFL.
There still may be issues: Can he run the short and intermediate routes? For sure he's a deep threat, but if that's all you can do, a defense can shut you down.
I think Coates the Pro may have softer hands than the college version. A preponderance of deep routes will undermine a catch rate, just as it undermines a quarterback's completion percentage. Two broken fingers don't help much either.
So conceivably, this was a good move. Kenny Britt, you feel the heat?
Do not assume Coates can't play against his old team this sunday. NFL patterns are standardized, and so are reads.
I heard the rumors of a Josh Gordon reinstatement in week three. Alex Marvez said well gee, he hasn't taken a snap and wasn't in training camp or anything, so what are they going to do with him?
I'm so tired of this: It's not rocket science!!! Josh might need a couple weeks of practice and some hitting before he can start again, but that's all. Come on, you think he forgot how to play wide receiver?
I feel optimistic about all three units of the 2017 Browns. I think the consensus on the defense and special teams agrees with me.
Defensively, everybody sees Garrett, Shelton, Collins, Kirksey, and Peppers. But not so many actually recognize Brien Boddy-Calhoun, Trevon Coley, Jamar Taylor, Ogbah, Schobert, or Derrick Kindred...YET.
ALL of these guys, I promise you, will rank in the top third at their respective positions by the end of 2017. Gregg Williams doesn't have to mess with a sow's ear. He is making a silk purse out of silk.
The three biggest "surprises" here will be Schobert, Coley, and Calhoun.
Coley looks like Warren Sapp, which is why (at least til Shelton returns) he's become a nominal starter. He's not going to fade away. He's going to keep blowing things up in opposing backfields. It's really not a mirage. He really is that good.
Schobert is an elite talent. If anybody can stop Ebeneezer Belle this sunday, it's Schobert. Belle hangs back and lets his blockers create gaps. Schobert is his evil twin. He will see that gap, and fill it.
He makes all the calls when he's on the field. He covers a lot. He's a nominal MIKE, but he's really all over the place. He's actually kind of Gregg Williams hybrid player AND defensive playcaller.
While I'm on the Browns vs Steelers, I wonder if the team will have to drag Myles Garrett out of the locker room for the game. He must be terrified, now that he screwed up by saying he would like to sack Big Ben.
Naturally, Ben and Clowney treated this as the childish fantasy it was, showing admirable restraint in view of the severity of this insult, but I know that Myles must still be terrified of the inevitable humiliation he will suffer.
It goes without saying that Garrett will never get anywhere near Big Ben against Alejandro Villinueva, who is now a cagey veteran who will anticipate and easily neutralize every pitiful move the rookie will attempt.
Most likely, Clowney will block Coley and the right DT simultaneously, and if all else fails, Ben can slap passrushers aside with his left hand.
But I digress: The Browns offense is being sold short. To be clear, it's not like the defense or special teams.
Kizer is not truly "ready", and did kinda win the starting job by default. He's going to screw up.
This just in: Several players have been signed to the practice squad, including Kai Nacua (yay). Tyrone Holmes and Rashard Higgins are expected to sign as well, but Rodney Lesliefield is not.
Well, this was just a writer stating opinions, but I cannot fathom this. Did Jordan Leslie incur some gypsy curse or something? Is there some algae in Lake Erie or something making everybody blind?
I don't get it.
Anyway the offense: They never tried to run in preseason like they intend to in real games. The Steelers are always tough on the run, and Bitonio is injured, so that's going to be tough, but the 2017 Browns should be able to get at least 3.2 ypc even against the Steelers.
Hue also mixed everything up in preseason. Now that it counts, he'll use more 2-back and 2-tight end sets; these are power sets, and partly why the run will work better this year.
Vs the Steelers specificly, I'm not sure this is ideal. Hue might actually run more spreads, because the Steelers secondary is still comparatively weak, and Shazir can run with the Browns tight ends.
...Well maybe not...this is tough...
Ok ok the 2017 Browns can run a spread even with two tight ends AND two running backs (that's one true wide receiver--default Coleman there).
This is Hue Jackson, so do not doubt that even Randall Telfer will line up outside from time to time. Certainly, Njoku and DeValve will. Everybody knows by now that Duke will be the slot guy, but he will also set up outside too sometimes as well. Crowell sets up in the slot sometimes, and has become pretty damn good at it too.
Dan Vitale is injured right now, but even he can go to the slot, or stay in the backfield and take handoffs. In his absence, you should sometimes see all three tight ends on the field at the same time, with DeValve maybe at fullback.
Any such set mandates a base defense for the Steelers...ok maybe a big nickel, except if you do that, you weaken yourself vs the run, and (no research yet) I don't think the Steelers have a reserve safety or linebacker who could make that work better than their default front seven.
Shazir is a freak, so out of the base-set he can do strong safety stuff...
Anyway, Hue has all the tools here to run the offense of his dreams:
Three actual wide receivers aside, literally any 12 or 22 set can deploy as anything from an "elephant" blunt force trauma power run set to an empty backfield 5-wide.
It's irrelevant if there's only one real deep burner when you have linebackers trying to cover DeValve or Njoku or even Duke. It's almost as irrelevant how they line up, since if they set up outside they pull run-stoppers out there with them, and they can all block in space too.
In other words, even if they spread out, you still don't know if it's a pass or a run.
It will be hard to put any extra heat on Kizer, as you pull guys out of coverage to blitze. He's big, strong, quick, and fast, and if you miss, you're usually dead meat.
You can't jailbreak on him either. He's a serious run-threat, and you have to contain him, and mind your gaps, and by the way his blockers know this.
Oh yeah, and you never know when you'll see a read-option, rollout, qb run...whatever, so you can't count on...anything.
Naturally, the Steelers will attack. They have the people to stifle the run, but the 2017 Browns offensive line and protection packages, combined with exotic plays, should actually give Kizer time to strike deep, often.
The Steelers have his college tapes, but those and his preseason tapes aren't very useful. Knowing that Hue has hidden a lot, and that he is a sneaky bastard, they can only guess at what he and Kizer will try against them.
To be sure, they will expect everything I've described, but will have a hard time using it, because they won't know when Hue will call what.
I am NOT predicting a Browns victory against a Superbowl contender second only to the Patriots in the AFC in their own back yard here. I am just predicting a much closer game than most of you expect.
Looking ahead to the perennially overrated Ravens in game 2, I can already predict a Browns win, but more on that later.
Nobody can really cover Antonio Brown. I'm not sure how Gregg will try to muffle him. He's not actually a vertical guy so much as a YAC guy, so off-man and zone maybe, so the DBs can beat him up where he catches it.
Gregg's first answer to the Brown problem is his solution to everything: Get to the quarterback before he can throw it.
Too bad his defensive line is so badly overmatched, now that the intemperate Myles Garrett has insulted the Steelers offensive line. Thanks Myles. Now you've awakened the sleeping giant!
Yeah right.
Sunday, September 3, 2017
Cleveland Browns Roster-Churning, Opener in Pitt
First to correct Terry Pluto: The Browns are not "desperate for wide receivers". If you read this Blog, you know why.
However, they sure are loading up in them (now that they've rid themselves of that bumb Rodney Lesliefield).
Rashard Higgins is now gone, but the Browns added two more second-year wide-outs.
Kasen Williams is a big, strong guy who had lisfranc and other injuries in college, and was deemed "undraftable" by some scouts in 2016. His combine numbers were pedestrian, but I suspect that these same injuries undermined them.
He averaged over 20 yards per catch with the Hawks this preseason, so he's certainly worth a look.
Reggie Davis is a 4.31 burner. I can't believe I'm reading this right, but as of the 2016 draft he is listed at 5'11.5", 158 lbs.
Reggie has accomplished nothing so far, but I guess Sashi is reaching for deep speed again here. I also assume that Reggie no longer weighs 158 lbs., even if he has a fast metabolism.
Quarterback Josh Woodrum lit it up for the Ravens this preseason, despite his predraft scouting reports being downright brutal. I don't see him as a threat to Kevin Hogan, but Kessler? Could be.
I can't find much on new DB Micheal Jordon. I just know that he's played some in the NFL for Gregg Williams, and they know exactly who they're getting.
Sadly, Tyrone Holmes was released to make room for T Y McGill. To pre-empt the ignorance, this is an athletic one-gapping 3-technique defensive tackle ok?
He's entering his third season, which is prime-time for guys who start at the bottom of depth charts to emerge.
I'm tempted to second-guess a lot of these moves, since they're stacked at 3-tech, and Holmes was really good, but I know better.
When the dust settles, we'll see who ends up on the practice squad and stuff, and I get the general logic, and this is more a DePodesta thing than a Sashi Brown thing:
There's a lot of competition for preferred undrafted players every season, and many of those the Browns want will opt for other teams. They are tracked, and via waivers, the Browns can scoop some of these up later.
Andrew Berry is watching every roster closely, and targeting players too. Often, even guys you hadn't liked before surprise you, so you put them on your target list.
Then you grab everybody you think has a chance of being better than the guys you have, and give them that chance.
Now, with Jordan Leslie, releasing him was almost as dumb as taking Mitchell Schwartze's offer off the table, and Sammy Coates is as likely to get cut himself as to accomplish anything, but I'm still on the "right direction" train overall.
The last ten or so active roster spots are for special teamers and developmental players, and the practice squad is exclusively developmental. Here is where DePodesta says you gamble a little.
If 10 of 15 guys don't become at least top backups, the five who do justify the "reaching".
At this early stage, "churning" the bottom of the roster is logical.
Here, Hue Jackson will get a bead on Woodrum early. He could be a practice squad guy, an outright release, OR kick Kessler to the curb.
Kasen Williams has a good shot here. Reggie Davis might get released quickly if he doesn't prove himself; he's a lottery ticket (well ok he might be a great special teamer, so he's got that goin' for him. Oh! So does Williams!)
As we've seen, Sashi Brown has just released two of the three wide receivers he drafted in 2016. That's rare. Most GMs sink or swim with their draft picks--refusing to give up on them.
I can't call this irrational, since many dumbass owners judge GMs more on the success or failure of day 2/3 draft picks than they should.
NOBODY bats over .500 in the lower rounds.
Sashi is sticking to his script. He's trying to build a contender. Only wins and losses will matter in the end. Clearly, Jimmy Haslam gets this too.
Chris Pokorney deserves a lot of credit for identifying every free agent the Browns ended up signing, before they signed them. This was a great article! He included tons of guys, but those he emphasized wound up as Browns. WOW, Chris!
I'm pumping my inner-fan brakes hard right now. I'm dreaming of an upset in Pittsburgh in the opener. My inner analyst says it's highly unlikely.
Look, the Giants blew out the Pats in preseason, right? Ok?
But...damn this defense is for REAL. The Browns special teams will also be superior. The Steelers defense will be good, but not THAT good (btw I heard Joe Thomas will play and Corey Coleman will stick around into the second half and the whole "Kizer package" will deploy and Hue will be trying to WIN instead of developing the passing game (ie he'll RUN the ball more than half the time for once)...
I'm conflicted here, because my inner-analyst is finding a bunch of logical, rational reasons why the Browns can beat the Steelers in their house...
I (the analyst) can cite time in-system, experience, quarterback, and overall offensive talent as reasons why the Steelers will win. I can even tell you, Antonio Brown and Ebeneezer Belle are going to stick it to this defense, like they stick it to every defense, but still...
The Browns should win on special teams, and the Browns offense is highly underrated, while the Steelers defense is overrated.
This "home team" crap is overrated in intra-division games, and Big Ben's record vs the Browns is all but irrelevant vs this Coach and these players. Most of that is mystical bullcrap.
Still...I have to admit that the Browns aren't ready yet, and will probably lose.
But that point spread? THAT is irrational!
Late Correction: Thank me for sparing you the link, but Woodrum being here because "niether Hogan nor Kessler has exactly lit it up this preseason" kind of speaks for itself.
When you can look right at something, and say it's not there, you should not be allowed out of your straight jacket, let alone anywhere near a keyboard God I'm sick of this
However, they sure are loading up in them (now that they've rid themselves of that bumb Rodney Lesliefield).
Rashard Higgins is now gone, but the Browns added two more second-year wide-outs.
Kasen Williams is a big, strong guy who had lisfranc and other injuries in college, and was deemed "undraftable" by some scouts in 2016. His combine numbers were pedestrian, but I suspect that these same injuries undermined them.
He averaged over 20 yards per catch with the Hawks this preseason, so he's certainly worth a look.
Reggie Davis is a 4.31 burner. I can't believe I'm reading this right, but as of the 2016 draft he is listed at 5'11.5", 158 lbs.
Reggie has accomplished nothing so far, but I guess Sashi is reaching for deep speed again here. I also assume that Reggie no longer weighs 158 lbs., even if he has a fast metabolism.
Quarterback Josh Woodrum lit it up for the Ravens this preseason, despite his predraft scouting reports being downright brutal. I don't see him as a threat to Kevin Hogan, but Kessler? Could be.
I can't find much on new DB Micheal Jordon. I just know that he's played some in the NFL for Gregg Williams, and they know exactly who they're getting.
Sadly, Tyrone Holmes was released to make room for T Y McGill. To pre-empt the ignorance, this is an athletic one-gapping 3-technique defensive tackle ok?
He's entering his third season, which is prime-time for guys who start at the bottom of depth charts to emerge.
I'm tempted to second-guess a lot of these moves, since they're stacked at 3-tech, and Holmes was really good, but I know better.
When the dust settles, we'll see who ends up on the practice squad and stuff, and I get the general logic, and this is more a DePodesta thing than a Sashi Brown thing:
There's a lot of competition for preferred undrafted players every season, and many of those the Browns want will opt for other teams. They are tracked, and via waivers, the Browns can scoop some of these up later.
Andrew Berry is watching every roster closely, and targeting players too. Often, even guys you hadn't liked before surprise you, so you put them on your target list.
Then you grab everybody you think has a chance of being better than the guys you have, and give them that chance.
Now, with Jordan Leslie, releasing him was almost as dumb as taking Mitchell Schwartze's offer off the table, and Sammy Coates is as likely to get cut himself as to accomplish anything, but I'm still on the "right direction" train overall.
The last ten or so active roster spots are for special teamers and developmental players, and the practice squad is exclusively developmental. Here is where DePodesta says you gamble a little.
If 10 of 15 guys don't become at least top backups, the five who do justify the "reaching".
At this early stage, "churning" the bottom of the roster is logical.
Here, Hue Jackson will get a bead on Woodrum early. He could be a practice squad guy, an outright release, OR kick Kessler to the curb.
Kasen Williams has a good shot here. Reggie Davis might get released quickly if he doesn't prove himself; he's a lottery ticket (well ok he might be a great special teamer, so he's got that goin' for him. Oh! So does Williams!)
As we've seen, Sashi Brown has just released two of the three wide receivers he drafted in 2016. That's rare. Most GMs sink or swim with their draft picks--refusing to give up on them.
I can't call this irrational, since many dumbass owners judge GMs more on the success or failure of day 2/3 draft picks than they should.
NOBODY bats over .500 in the lower rounds.
Sashi is sticking to his script. He's trying to build a contender. Only wins and losses will matter in the end. Clearly, Jimmy Haslam gets this too.
Chris Pokorney deserves a lot of credit for identifying every free agent the Browns ended up signing, before they signed them. This was a great article! He included tons of guys, but those he emphasized wound up as Browns. WOW, Chris!
I'm pumping my inner-fan brakes hard right now. I'm dreaming of an upset in Pittsburgh in the opener. My inner analyst says it's highly unlikely.
Look, the Giants blew out the Pats in preseason, right? Ok?
But...damn this defense is for REAL. The Browns special teams will also be superior. The Steelers defense will be good, but not THAT good (btw I heard Joe Thomas will play and Corey Coleman will stick around into the second half and the whole "Kizer package" will deploy and Hue will be trying to WIN instead of developing the passing game (ie he'll RUN the ball more than half the time for once)...
I'm conflicted here, because my inner-analyst is finding a bunch of logical, rational reasons why the Browns can beat the Steelers in their house...
I (the analyst) can cite time in-system, experience, quarterback, and overall offensive talent as reasons why the Steelers will win. I can even tell you, Antonio Brown and Ebeneezer Belle are going to stick it to this defense, like they stick it to every defense, but still...
The Browns should win on special teams, and the Browns offense is highly underrated, while the Steelers defense is overrated.
This "home team" crap is overrated in intra-division games, and Big Ben's record vs the Browns is all but irrelevant vs this Coach and these players. Most of that is mystical bullcrap.
Still...I have to admit that the Browns aren't ready yet, and will probably lose.
But that point spread? THAT is irrational!
Late Correction: Thank me for sparing you the link, but Woodrum being here because "niether Hogan nor Kessler has exactly lit it up this preseason" kind of speaks for itself.
When you can look right at something, and say it's not there, you should not be allowed out of your straight jacket, let alone anywhere near a keyboard God I'm sick of this
Saturday, September 2, 2017
Coates Over Leslie: Genius at Work.
First thanks to the Cleveland cops and medics for refusing to bear the flag for a bunch of brats who used it as a prop to protest a manufactured "problem" which does not exist.
Next thanks to the New York Jets for trading for Jevon Kearse. For a minute, I was thinking the Browns would be dumb enough to give up more than a fifth rounder to resolve another imaginary problem which does not exist.
No knock on Kearse, who is a fine player. But he's not better than Coleman, and isn't a big target like Britt. He wouldn't displace Duke in the slot, and (oh yeah) isn't a tight end.
Oh wow they just traded for Sammy Coates. They got a 7th rounder along with him, and gave up a sixth rounder, so he was kinda free really. And he's not an old geezer either. And he's big.
I was ready to lose my mind until I found out the price they paid.
Based on his scouting report...and his performance thus far as a pro, here we have the next Edwards Scissorhands.
This dude can burn, but has LITERALLY failed to catch more than half of the passes thrown his way.
I really hope this is a "flier" based on Coates' irrefutable talent, and that the Browns will release him if he doesn't become massively less unreliable quickly.
Meanwhile, however, a wide receiver who is better than Coates was as a Steeler will now be lost. I don't like this move, but can probably figure out why it was made:
Coates is a lethal deep receiver...err, half the time...
Now that this is Kizer's team, Hue will want to take advantage of his superb arm talent, and go deep often.
As it stands, Coleman has that kind of speed, but doesn't have the ideal catch radius, and is more useful turning short and intermediate routes into big plays.
Britt can burn, but himself has underperformed thus far. Coates is competition for Kenny Britt--not for Corey Coleman, as one misguided pundit suggested. Most likely, the potential reward if this is the season that Coates gets his head out outweighed the negligable cost and risk.
I don't like it. Just remember I said that.
The final cuts are in, and now I HATE this move, because sure enough, they cut Jordan Leslie. Sammy Coates, Jordan Leslie hmmm...I guess he never had a chance no matter what he did, and that sucks, Hue Jackson. That sucks.
Greco was released. I'm not too surprised because of his age, and won't knock it, but it's still sad. Good luck, John!
I'm not surprised that they retained only five wide receivers, but am surprised they only kept three tight ends. No doubt, they can stash one or even two on the practice squad, and activate him at any time.
Nice to see Telfer make it. I personally underrated that guy, but he proved himself.
Payton got cut too, so at least Sashi Brown isn't afraid to cut his own draft picks. Higgins survived. While Leslie is obviously better than he is, I don't hate that. Higgins is a big possession guy who blocks well, and you need those guys. Except Leslie is better at that too how do you paint lipstick in this pig dammit?
Keeping ten offensive and defensive linemen is really unusual. This is a philosophical statement by this regime: They intend to win "up front", in the trenches. That spells "physical", which is a really good idea in the AFC North.
I kinda like it, because they kept Tye Holmes AND Nate Orchard, along with both drafted defensive tackles and Nassib, and I didn't want to see any of those guys cut.
...We might see them TRADED down the road, but that's a different story. This was partly why they didn't cut them. You don't give anything up for free if you can sell it--analytics, see?
Burgess made it at linebacker! Alexander and Olugbode didn't! That's surprising. They retained five linebackers. That's low for a 4-3, but evidently if Schobert gets hurt they'll revert to a 4-2 again. Somebody else they cut might make the practice squad.
Whoa FIVE safeties? They kept Pryor and Nacua too.
Hillary and Burley are the fourth and fifth of five cornerbacks (remember Wilson is injured--he'll be back).
Hillary has been fairly quiet, but I guess in his case that's a good thing.
Congrats to Zane Gonzalez for winning over Cody Parkey. Parkey was/is actually an excellent kicker who won't be unemployed long. Gonzalez must be...what comes after excellent?
Martin and Sterup both made it on the offensive line.
Zach Sterup is a second year player from Nebraska (which matters) who mostly played tackle but played inside too. His Pro Day numbers were actually pretty good; he's a real athlete!
I kind of ignored him myself and, as you can see if you clicked that link, people were not impressed enough by him coming out of college to bother analyzing him.
For this reason, I'm glad he made it.
Rod Johnson was Big Joe's backup, and when he went down it "exposed a lack of depth at tackle" right?
Gimme a break! Left tackles don't grow on trees, and nearly every team in the NFL is in a jam if their starter goes down (or even if he doesn't, for that matter).
Shon Coleman would have been Joe's backup had he not been competing for (and ultimately winning) the right tackle job. Until Johnson returns, it's possible that he would move over to replace Big Joe, and Martin or Sterup (or Rango) would replace him at right tackle.
Naturally, you don't want to play musical positions like this unless you have to, which is why Roderick Johnson focussed exclusively on left tackle since he was drafted, and why he was THE backup there.
The Browns have average or above depth at offensive tackle, with or without Rod Johnson.
They have outstanding depth at guard and center. Fabiano didn't make the cut, but Reiter did, Rango is still here, and Martin/Sterup can play guard (Martin was a starting center btw).
I'll go over Pokorney's final roster again here:
Quarterback check running back check wide receiver...
Rashard Higgins is the only guy who isn't a deep threat. Coleman is the smallest, and he's by no means a shrimp. Everybody else is at least 6'1.5" and over 212 lbs.
Let me tell you (and I'm not guessing): Once it became clear that DeShone Kizer and Kevin Hogan were the best quarterbacks on this team, Hue Jackson shuffled his playbook around.
Instead of West Coast crossers and slanters, he wanted deep threats. He's still got Duke Johnson, Higgins, Crowell, and yes Coleman too (and the tight ends of course) for the crosses and slants, but this is not going to be a West Coast scheme anymore.
NFL analyst Brady Quinn grew up as (and remains) an open Browns fan, and actually watches every game like the rest of us do, ok?
HE says that picking on Kizer for holding the ball too long is off-base. Per Quinn, DeShone was running a different offense than Osweiler and Kessler were. He was not supposed to hit crossers and slanters "on time" to get the ball out of his hands nearly as often.
Quinn is impressed by Kizer's "pocket awareness" after watching him avoid sacks with a step here and a step there (like Tom Brady btw though Quinn didn't say it), and said (I paraquote because I don't remember exactly) "His job was to buy time for his receivers to get open, and throw it deep."
Prior to Don Coryall, this was how all NFL offenses operated. The quarterback did have progressive reads and knew the patterns and stuff, but it was line-of-sight and the deeper the better. Those quarterbacks used their instincts more, and thrived or perished based on that.
This is not obsolete, and never will be. Most of Ben Roethsenberger's carreer has been doing exactly this. Cam Newton still does this.
Brady Quinn thinks that Kizer will improve on the timing patterns as soon as he feels he can trust his receivers to be where they're supposed to be, but says he already has the instincts and arm to "play it by ear" and strike deep.
Anyway, that's why 4 of the 5 wide receivers are deep threats, and partly why Sashi just bought Sammy Scissorhands for a nickel, and released a much better wide receiver to make room for him dammit.
The five safeties and five linebackers (with five corners) is interesting too.
I think that Gregg Williams considers strong safeties and weakside linebackers almost interchangeable. He runs more zone coverage than most, as well (more accurately he "mixes in" more zone but disguises it).
The guy Gregg Williams most resembles is Bud Carson. He is willing to risk "burns" to play in the offense's backfield, and wants his zone coverage guys to hammer people.
Five corners is light, and five safeties heavy for most teams, but that's because most teams run man coverage more.
We here in Cleveland think "man" means press/man, but another thing Williams uses is off-man, like the Seattle Seahawks do.
It's really hard for receivers and quarterbacks to read accurately...I will defer further explanation for a future post, but it really cuts down on the "burns", assuming the quarterback is in trouble, which is a logical assumption on every. Single. Down.
Forget 2016's defensive stats. Everybody (including my man Ross Tucker) who blamed that historicly bad performance on "lack of talent" is fulla crap.
Many feel that Shelton belonged in the Pro Bowl, Collins arrived late, Kindred was injured, Ogbah, Calhoun, Schobert etc were rookies, Haden played with TWO groin injuries, Bryant was out for the season; my God Ray Hortan was playing Meder and Cooper at defensive END...
...Ok Ross had a point after all in a way.
Still, 2016's talented rookies are still here, along with Garrett, Peppers, three more draft picks, Coley, McCourtey etc. Even if Ross was right about last year's defense, this year's defense is stacked!
This just might be a Superbowl caliber defense, right tf now.
Can't predict that. The quarterback is a rookie and the offense is inexperienced. They will screw up.
They need to upset the Steelers in game one. If they manage that, the sky's the limit.
...but I doubt it.
Next thanks to the New York Jets for trading for Jevon Kearse. For a minute, I was thinking the Browns would be dumb enough to give up more than a fifth rounder to resolve another imaginary problem which does not exist.
No knock on Kearse, who is a fine player. But he's not better than Coleman, and isn't a big target like Britt. He wouldn't displace Duke in the slot, and (oh yeah) isn't a tight end.
Oh wow they just traded for Sammy Coates. They got a 7th rounder along with him, and gave up a sixth rounder, so he was kinda free really. And he's not an old geezer either. And he's big.
I was ready to lose my mind until I found out the price they paid.
Based on his scouting report...and his performance thus far as a pro, here we have the next Edwards Scissorhands.
This dude can burn, but has LITERALLY failed to catch more than half of the passes thrown his way.
I really hope this is a "flier" based on Coates' irrefutable talent, and that the Browns will release him if he doesn't become massively less unreliable quickly.
Meanwhile, however, a wide receiver who is better than Coates was as a Steeler will now be lost. I don't like this move, but can probably figure out why it was made:
Coates is a lethal deep receiver...err, half the time...
Now that this is Kizer's team, Hue will want to take advantage of his superb arm talent, and go deep often.
As it stands, Coleman has that kind of speed, but doesn't have the ideal catch radius, and is more useful turning short and intermediate routes into big plays.
Britt can burn, but himself has underperformed thus far. Coates is competition for Kenny Britt--not for Corey Coleman, as one misguided pundit suggested. Most likely, the potential reward if this is the season that Coates gets his head out outweighed the negligable cost and risk.
I don't like it. Just remember I said that.
The final cuts are in, and now I HATE this move, because sure enough, they cut Jordan Leslie. Sammy Coates, Jordan Leslie hmmm...I guess he never had a chance no matter what he did, and that sucks, Hue Jackson. That sucks.
Greco was released. I'm not too surprised because of his age, and won't knock it, but it's still sad. Good luck, John!
I'm not surprised that they retained only five wide receivers, but am surprised they only kept three tight ends. No doubt, they can stash one or even two on the practice squad, and activate him at any time.
Nice to see Telfer make it. I personally underrated that guy, but he proved himself.
Payton got cut too, so at least Sashi Brown isn't afraid to cut his own draft picks. Higgins survived. While Leslie is obviously better than he is, I don't hate that. Higgins is a big possession guy who blocks well, and you need those guys. Except Leslie is better at that too how do you paint lipstick in this pig dammit?
Keeping ten offensive and defensive linemen is really unusual. This is a philosophical statement by this regime: They intend to win "up front", in the trenches. That spells "physical", which is a really good idea in the AFC North.
I kinda like it, because they kept Tye Holmes AND Nate Orchard, along with both drafted defensive tackles and Nassib, and I didn't want to see any of those guys cut.
...We might see them TRADED down the road, but that's a different story. This was partly why they didn't cut them. You don't give anything up for free if you can sell it--analytics, see?
Burgess made it at linebacker! Alexander and Olugbode didn't! That's surprising. They retained five linebackers. That's low for a 4-3, but evidently if Schobert gets hurt they'll revert to a 4-2 again. Somebody else they cut might make the practice squad.
Whoa FIVE safeties? They kept Pryor and Nacua too.
Hillary and Burley are the fourth and fifth of five cornerbacks (remember Wilson is injured--he'll be back).
Hillary has been fairly quiet, but I guess in his case that's a good thing.
Congrats to Zane Gonzalez for winning over Cody Parkey. Parkey was/is actually an excellent kicker who won't be unemployed long. Gonzalez must be...what comes after excellent?
Martin and Sterup both made it on the offensive line.
Zach Sterup is a second year player from Nebraska (which matters) who mostly played tackle but played inside too. His Pro Day numbers were actually pretty good; he's a real athlete!
I kind of ignored him myself and, as you can see if you clicked that link, people were not impressed enough by him coming out of college to bother analyzing him.
For this reason, I'm glad he made it.
Rod Johnson was Big Joe's backup, and when he went down it "exposed a lack of depth at tackle" right?
Gimme a break! Left tackles don't grow on trees, and nearly every team in the NFL is in a jam if their starter goes down (or even if he doesn't, for that matter).
Shon Coleman would have been Joe's backup had he not been competing for (and ultimately winning) the right tackle job. Until Johnson returns, it's possible that he would move over to replace Big Joe, and Martin or Sterup (or Rango) would replace him at right tackle.
Naturally, you don't want to play musical positions like this unless you have to, which is why Roderick Johnson focussed exclusively on left tackle since he was drafted, and why he was THE backup there.
The Browns have average or above depth at offensive tackle, with or without Rod Johnson.
They have outstanding depth at guard and center. Fabiano didn't make the cut, but Reiter did, Rango is still here, and Martin/Sterup can play guard (Martin was a starting center btw).
I'll go over Pokorney's final roster again here:
Quarterback check running back check wide receiver...
Rashard Higgins is the only guy who isn't a deep threat. Coleman is the smallest, and he's by no means a shrimp. Everybody else is at least 6'1.5" and over 212 lbs.
Let me tell you (and I'm not guessing): Once it became clear that DeShone Kizer and Kevin Hogan were the best quarterbacks on this team, Hue Jackson shuffled his playbook around.
Instead of West Coast crossers and slanters, he wanted deep threats. He's still got Duke Johnson, Higgins, Crowell, and yes Coleman too (and the tight ends of course) for the crosses and slants, but this is not going to be a West Coast scheme anymore.
NFL analyst Brady Quinn grew up as (and remains) an open Browns fan, and actually watches every game like the rest of us do, ok?
HE says that picking on Kizer for holding the ball too long is off-base. Per Quinn, DeShone was running a different offense than Osweiler and Kessler were. He was not supposed to hit crossers and slanters "on time" to get the ball out of his hands nearly as often.
Quinn is impressed by Kizer's "pocket awareness" after watching him avoid sacks with a step here and a step there (like Tom Brady btw though Quinn didn't say it), and said (I paraquote because I don't remember exactly) "His job was to buy time for his receivers to get open, and throw it deep."
Prior to Don Coryall, this was how all NFL offenses operated. The quarterback did have progressive reads and knew the patterns and stuff, but it was line-of-sight and the deeper the better. Those quarterbacks used their instincts more, and thrived or perished based on that.
This is not obsolete, and never will be. Most of Ben Roethsenberger's carreer has been doing exactly this. Cam Newton still does this.
Brady Quinn thinks that Kizer will improve on the timing patterns as soon as he feels he can trust his receivers to be where they're supposed to be, but says he already has the instincts and arm to "play it by ear" and strike deep.
Anyway, that's why 4 of the 5 wide receivers are deep threats, and partly why Sashi just bought Sammy Scissorhands for a nickel, and released a much better wide receiver to make room for him dammit.
The five safeties and five linebackers (with five corners) is interesting too.
I think that Gregg Williams considers strong safeties and weakside linebackers almost interchangeable. He runs more zone coverage than most, as well (more accurately he "mixes in" more zone but disguises it).
The guy Gregg Williams most resembles is Bud Carson. He is willing to risk "burns" to play in the offense's backfield, and wants his zone coverage guys to hammer people.
Five corners is light, and five safeties heavy for most teams, but that's because most teams run man coverage more.
We here in Cleveland think "man" means press/man, but another thing Williams uses is off-man, like the Seattle Seahawks do.
It's really hard for receivers and quarterbacks to read accurately...I will defer further explanation for a future post, but it really cuts down on the "burns", assuming the quarterback is in trouble, which is a logical assumption on every. Single. Down.
Forget 2016's defensive stats. Everybody (including my man Ross Tucker) who blamed that historicly bad performance on "lack of talent" is fulla crap.
Many feel that Shelton belonged in the Pro Bowl, Collins arrived late, Kindred was injured, Ogbah, Calhoun, Schobert etc were rookies, Haden played with TWO groin injuries, Bryant was out for the season; my God Ray Hortan was playing Meder and Cooper at defensive END...
...Ok Ross had a point after all in a way.
Still, 2016's talented rookies are still here, along with Garrett, Peppers, three more draft picks, Coley, McCourtey etc. Even if Ross was right about last year's defense, this year's defense is stacked!
This just might be a Superbowl caliber defense, right tf now.
Can't predict that. The quarterback is a rookie and the offense is inexperienced. They will screw up.
They need to upset the Steelers in game one. If they manage that, the sky's the limit.
...but I doubt it.
Friday, September 1, 2017
Rodney Hoganfield and Rodney Lesliefield Still Here for Now
As I write this, I know that Brock Osweiler has joined the dearly departed, and just now Parkey and X Cooper.
Damn, these guys don't screw around! I'm losing track, but I think they're already within 7 players of the final roster!
The only cut that surprised me so far was CB Stribling, but I bet you they want him on the practice squad.
Indeed, the fact that the Browns moved so massively and early may well have been calculated to increase their chances of getting certain of their own players to their practice squad, and of positioning themselves to raid other teams' waiver wires for even more Calhounses and Coleyses.
I now know that Sashi Brown is an excellent liar. Obviously, the Browns will keep three quarterbacks, and I'm now cautiously optimistic that Kevin Hogan will be one of them.
Whew!
Terry Pluto gets it now. Better late than never, but I can't pick on him much. I was also intrigued by Brockytop, and (until this preseason) almost as dismissive of Hogan as Terry and everybody else was.
But Terry is right: Hogan should not only be here, but has to be seriously considered at number two (ahead of Kessler).
Terry is also right about Kessler doing okay last week; Cody Kessler might be kinda like Colt McCoy, but does not suck, ok?
I was surprised by the called qb runs with Kessler, along with how well he executed them. My first impression was that the Brain crust was promoting him as trade-bait.
Given more time to ruminationalize, I now think that, while this was true, Kessler carried the ball so often because Hue Jackson wanted to see whether or not Cody could execute an offense built around DeShone Kizer (and to show future opponents that if Kessler takes over, you can't ignore his legs).
Also, Hue deliberately put him in harm's way. Kessler proved that he's a real football player; he's tough. He needed to prove that, including to my humble self.
I was again unable to watch this game, but it sounded to me like Kessler was aggressive, and went downfield more. Like to oh, I don't know...RODNEY LESLIEFIELD?
Terry is sticking with his size/arm/Jackson "type" crap in re Kessler...I'm sorry but he's still just plain about 66% fulla beans.
Enough defending Kessler: Rodney Hoganfield is better than Kessler is right now.
Jordon Leslie survived the initial cuts, but I can't believe I'm still sweating the survival of the second-best wide receiver on this roster.
Chris Pokorney (ahead of the recent cuts) really came around with his final roster projections!
He finally included a fourth tight end J P Holtz, only because the starting fullback (Danny Vitale) was injured, and Holtz filled in there. While JP may have made the roster based on his performance at fullback here, Chris still doesn't grok that this is a BASE two-tight end offense, and four tight ends will probably be retained.
He lists Rodney Lesliefield as the sixth wide receiver, but it's quite possible that only five will be retained, because of a two-tight end and often two running back base with Duke Johnson as the slot receiver why TF does nobody else get this? They've been running this from day one it's OBVIOUS gimme a break!!
And why should...oh excuse the hell outta me Chris only lists FIVE wide receivers, and lists Leslie fifth.
But he ranks Rannell Hall ahead of him! He ranks Britt ahead of Coleman! Britt has not earned that! We can argue about Ricardo Lewis; he's been with the first and second teams, so we can't say that Jordan Leslie is ahead of him merely based on his vastly superior production, but...
Anyway I shouldn't be bashing Chris, since he cuts both Higgins and Payton (giving credit to Sashi Brown for being an objective adult with a rational agenda). I'm nitpicking the guy here--he's better than almost everybody else. Sorry Chris.
...Ok but two tight ends, two running backs (one as the primary slot guy) so just stick with five wide receivers and four tight ends---you accidentally got it right this time!
Many laugh at the Browns 4-0 preseason, and certainly...well the Giants just blew out the Patriots so...
But they also assume that the Steelers will blow them out.
That's irrational. While I do think the Browns are overmatched (for now--because they're veterans running memorized systems, and will exploit every mistake, and don't screw up themselves), they won't win by much, and could even lose.
Concievably. A Peppers return TD? A Kizer bomb? Johnson or Crowell running loose? Coleman not quite contained? The defense not caving in? Peppers, Garrett, Coley, Schobert? Kizer running a Kizer offense?
Note on that: Brady Quinn begs to differ with some Kizer critics: Brady says Kizer was running his own offense late in preseason. He "held the ball" because he was supposed to.
I'll get into that in my next post.
Damn, these guys don't screw around! I'm losing track, but I think they're already within 7 players of the final roster!
The only cut that surprised me so far was CB Stribling, but I bet you they want him on the practice squad.
Indeed, the fact that the Browns moved so massively and early may well have been calculated to increase their chances of getting certain of their own players to their practice squad, and of positioning themselves to raid other teams' waiver wires for even more Calhounses and Coleyses.
I now know that Sashi Brown is an excellent liar. Obviously, the Browns will keep three quarterbacks, and I'm now cautiously optimistic that Kevin Hogan will be one of them.
Whew!
Terry Pluto gets it now. Better late than never, but I can't pick on him much. I was also intrigued by Brockytop, and (until this preseason) almost as dismissive of Hogan as Terry and everybody else was.
But Terry is right: Hogan should not only be here, but has to be seriously considered at number two (ahead of Kessler).
Terry is also right about Kessler doing okay last week; Cody Kessler might be kinda like Colt McCoy, but does not suck, ok?
I was surprised by the called qb runs with Kessler, along with how well he executed them. My first impression was that the Brain crust was promoting him as trade-bait.
Given more time to ruminationalize, I now think that, while this was true, Kessler carried the ball so often because Hue Jackson wanted to see whether or not Cody could execute an offense built around DeShone Kizer (and to show future opponents that if Kessler takes over, you can't ignore his legs).
Also, Hue deliberately put him in harm's way. Kessler proved that he's a real football player; he's tough. He needed to prove that, including to my humble self.
I was again unable to watch this game, but it sounded to me like Kessler was aggressive, and went downfield more. Like to oh, I don't know...RODNEY LESLIEFIELD?
Terry is sticking with his size/arm/Jackson "type" crap in re Kessler...I'm sorry but he's still just plain about 66% fulla beans.
Enough defending Kessler: Rodney Hoganfield is better than Kessler is right now.
Jordon Leslie survived the initial cuts, but I can't believe I'm still sweating the survival of the second-best wide receiver on this roster.
Chris Pokorney (ahead of the recent cuts) really came around with his final roster projections!
He finally included a fourth tight end J P Holtz, only because the starting fullback (Danny Vitale) was injured, and Holtz filled in there. While JP may have made the roster based on his performance at fullback here, Chris still doesn't grok that this is a BASE two-tight end offense, and four tight ends will probably be retained.
He lists Rodney Lesliefield as the sixth wide receiver, but it's quite possible that only five will be retained, because of a two-tight end and often two running back base with Duke Johnson as the slot receiver why TF does nobody else get this? They've been running this from day one it's OBVIOUS gimme a break!!
And why should...oh excuse the hell outta me Chris only lists FIVE wide receivers, and lists Leslie fifth.
But he ranks Rannell Hall ahead of him! He ranks Britt ahead of Coleman! Britt has not earned that! We can argue about Ricardo Lewis; he's been with the first and second teams, so we can't say that Jordan Leslie is ahead of him merely based on his vastly superior production, but...
Anyway I shouldn't be bashing Chris, since he cuts both Higgins and Payton (giving credit to Sashi Brown for being an objective adult with a rational agenda). I'm nitpicking the guy here--he's better than almost everybody else. Sorry Chris.
...Ok but two tight ends, two running backs (one as the primary slot guy) so just stick with five wide receivers and four tight ends---you accidentally got it right this time!
Many laugh at the Browns 4-0 preseason, and certainly...well the Giants just blew out the Patriots so...
But they also assume that the Steelers will blow them out.
That's irrational. While I do think the Browns are overmatched (for now--because they're veterans running memorized systems, and will exploit every mistake, and don't screw up themselves), they won't win by much, and could even lose.
Concievably. A Peppers return TD? A Kizer bomb? Johnson or Crowell running loose? Coleman not quite contained? The defense not caving in? Peppers, Garrett, Coley, Schobert? Kizer running a Kizer offense?
Note on that: Brady Quinn begs to differ with some Kizer critics: Brady says Kizer was running his own offense late in preseason. He "held the ball" because he was supposed to.
I'll get into that in my next post.
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