I know you guys think I'm a Browns shill, but I'm actually a voice in the wilderness...well more like a voice telling everybody else they shouldn't burn the wilderness down.
It was never as easy for me to get "caught up" in an emotional tide (a mob mentality) than it obviously is for most of you.
Well, I shouldn't say "never", since my hormones made me a pseudo-Marxist during Viet Nam, but after my brain matured (very late), I was trained to think with my that, rather than my other organs.
Anyway, this O'Hara guy in Detroit scouted the Browns, and nailed it.
Thankfully, he didn't bother predicting that his Lions would massacre the Browns (as they almost certainly will), but he was OBJECTIVE.
He noted nine first round picks on the current roster, and (I think) seven more third rounders. YOU PEOPLE are calling them all busts, because you are spazzing out, but O'Hara seems to think they're not. How refreshing.
He said Corey Coleman was on IR, but I think he might be back. He didn't mention Njoku, so I guess he doesn't think he's a bust just yet. Is OJ Howard a bust?
No, O'Hara thinks the Browns will become a pretty good team, because of their OVERALL TALENT DO YOU U N D E R S T A N D?
This writer didn't even bash DeShone Kizer! He just listed his hideous stats and rating, along with where he was drafted, and the fact that he is a rookie. He no doubt foolishly thinks that his readers are sentient, and will infer the obvious contexts.
As a Detroit guy, he naturally mentioned former homie Jabrill Peppers, and his lack of big plays to-date as a Brown.
Here, he is wrong: As a Senior, Jabrill played more weakside linebacker than anything else. He did a great job there, but was not a "playmaker". He made big plays as a returner.
Gregg Williams has him lining up very deep a little over 30% of the time. Simpletonians declare this dumb, despite the fact that every Williams defense had a guy sometimes doing this.
But as Peppers himself says, he has been screwing up (I love this guy! He's at least as smart as Ed Reed!)
Harbaugh did not use him this way in college, and he is still learning this single-high safety position. He has taken poor angles, read things slowly, etc.
He readily fesses up, but is confident he can do it.
So am I.
YOU PEOPLE still don't comprehend that Gregg nWiliams needs some player in this position, and feels that Peppers has the right skills...but I guess he must not be as smart as all of you.
Related to that: The release of Ibraheim Campbell (and signing of Smith from the Bengals Practice Squad) probably means a promotion for Kai Nacua.
Nacua is an experienced, true free safety, arguably better-qualified for the aforementioned "Angel" center-field position. He might now actually replace Jabrill Peppers there (that is, move him closer to the line of scrimmage) on those downs where Gregg uses that set.
That's just a guess, but Nacua is almost certainly the maturing rookie who made Campbell expendable.
I can't credibly predict a Browns upset this sunday, but I feel I must point out a few things everybody else is ignoring:
Matt Stafford gets sacked a lot, and Myles Garrett is back. Shelton is healthy, and McCourtey is back.
Stafford is the problem. Monday night, Marvin Jones was covered like a blanket, but Stafford kept putting it in an almost microscopic window.
No Coach can fault a cornerback when this happens. Keep that in mind when you're calling Calhoun and McCourtey bumbs. Their only chance to stop Stafford is to sack him like ten times, and pry the ball out of his hands on a couple of those.
Could happen😟
Thursday, November 9, 2017
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
Jimmy and Dee Haslam: IGNORE the Lynch-Mob!
Until the Browns win a couple games, the gleeful, giggling stomping by all the cruel children won't stop.
Terry Pluto wrote another great column on what he thinks happened in re Jimmy G and AJ McCarron, and he has some real sources that he never mentions. Unlike Rhona LaCanfora or Mary Kay Cabbot, Terry is objective and insightful. He does his best to dig up the truth--without prejudice.
He more or less backs up my own surmizalizations: Once more: The Browns were excluded from the Garopollo negotiations by the Patriots. That is not on Sashi Brown, period.
Terry agrees with me that Sashi was probably not personally a fan of trading any significant draft assets for AJ McCarron, but tried to make the deal anyway when Hue Jackson went ballistic over it after Lord Insideous surprised everybody by trading Jimmy to the Niners behind closed doors.
Terry (and I) think Mike Brown wanted a King's ransom for his backup to Andy Dalton, and didn't back off until the last minute. (No knock on Brown here--especially since he knew he had a "live one" under intense pressure.)
Terry and I don't believe that Sashi intentionally sabotaged this incredibly bad deal on purpose, but that he is probably relieved that it fell through.
Now, if Hue Jackson was pushing this, as we believe he was, he is losing his damn mind, and validating why Jimmy Haslam put Sashi in charge of personnel.
Hue Jackson might be a quarterback "whisperer", but he's not a quarterback picker.
As I explained in my last post, and too many prior ones, Hue is desperate just to post a win or three ASAP.
It's alarming that he seems to think AJ McCarron could actually turn anything around here, given these wide receivers and the loss of Joe Thomas...especially considering his earlier enthusiastic support of the guy he's "joined at the hip" with: DeShone Kizer.
Now, Terry could be wrong here: Hue Jackson might actually never have wanted McCarron nearly as bad as Terry thinks. A whole lot of that has been assumed, based exclusively on the fact that he coached AJ in the past.
In fact, for all we know, Hue liked McCarron as a Kizer backup, and even agreed with Sashi that Mike Brown wanted too much.
Hue aint sayin, but his silence says something: He is no longer saying that he and the Front Office are "on the same page"; he has withdrawn his "support" of Brown, in a climate where everybody on the planet is bashing the Front Office (and not him).
I understand this. Hue's butt feels uncomfortably hot right now, and he's got to look out for number one. Until enough published entities steal my analyses, he's teflon. So he's letting you guys with your torches and pitchforks blame the front office instead of him.
The one thing I am pretty certain of here is that Hue Jackson is desperate to win NOW, and that the Front Office is not.
Terry thinks the Front Office is looking ahead to the 2018 draft, and it certainly is. But he overlooks some things:
1: Jared Goff was called a "bust" in his rookie season. One season later, he is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Ditto Peyton Manning and John Elway. Kizer aint done just yet.
2: The second and third round picks Sashi Brown stupidly agreed to for a backup quarterback could have been two more offensive weapons for him.
3: The potential Kizer "plan B's" include not just the 2018 draft, but Kirk Cousins, Andrew Luck, Alex Smith, and others (and Alex is smart enough to come here if the others are well...like YOU guys).
4: Help is on the way. Josh Gordon is coming back. I just hope he can be that good without being buzzed...I think so. Lawrence Taylor was.
Can't talk to you guys anymore. Quit sending me "Hindenburg" pics ok? It's passe. I mentioned Josh Gordon to a guy the other night, and got an insta-smirk.
"He was the best wide receiver in the NFL. He's only 26." Smirk-head-shake-smirk. "They thought Daunte Culpepper was a great quarterback til Randy Moss left!"
"Josh Gordon isn't Randy Moss".
YES HE IS!!! He might be better than Moss! What's with the eye-rolls and smirks and head-shakes what the hell is wrong with you people?
Why can't you just fkng look at this roster and see the talent on it? Why are you stuck on the record they're REBUILDING obviously! Now you're shrugging Josh Gordon off too what the hell is the matter with you!?!
Ohmmm...ohmmm...
Anyway, Jimmy Haslam needs to hold his fire, regardless of pubic opinion, and Hue Jackson needs to start adapting his square holes to his square pegs, and Gonzalez needs to stop missing. Take a pill!!!
Terry Pluto wrote another great column on what he thinks happened in re Jimmy G and AJ McCarron, and he has some real sources that he never mentions. Unlike Rhona LaCanfora or Mary Kay Cabbot, Terry is objective and insightful. He does his best to dig up the truth--without prejudice.
He more or less backs up my own surmizalizations: Once more: The Browns were excluded from the Garopollo negotiations by the Patriots. That is not on Sashi Brown, period.
Terry agrees with me that Sashi was probably not personally a fan of trading any significant draft assets for AJ McCarron, but tried to make the deal anyway when Hue Jackson went ballistic over it after Lord Insideous surprised everybody by trading Jimmy to the Niners behind closed doors.
Terry (and I) think Mike Brown wanted a King's ransom for his backup to Andy Dalton, and didn't back off until the last minute. (No knock on Brown here--especially since he knew he had a "live one" under intense pressure.)
Terry and I don't believe that Sashi intentionally sabotaged this incredibly bad deal on purpose, but that he is probably relieved that it fell through.
Now, if Hue Jackson was pushing this, as we believe he was, he is losing his damn mind, and validating why Jimmy Haslam put Sashi in charge of personnel.
Hue Jackson might be a quarterback "whisperer", but he's not a quarterback picker.
As I explained in my last post, and too many prior ones, Hue is desperate just to post a win or three ASAP.
It's alarming that he seems to think AJ McCarron could actually turn anything around here, given these wide receivers and the loss of Joe Thomas...especially considering his earlier enthusiastic support of the guy he's "joined at the hip" with: DeShone Kizer.
Now, Terry could be wrong here: Hue Jackson might actually never have wanted McCarron nearly as bad as Terry thinks. A whole lot of that has been assumed, based exclusively on the fact that he coached AJ in the past.
In fact, for all we know, Hue liked McCarron as a Kizer backup, and even agreed with Sashi that Mike Brown wanted too much.
Hue aint sayin, but his silence says something: He is no longer saying that he and the Front Office are "on the same page"; he has withdrawn his "support" of Brown, in a climate where everybody on the planet is bashing the Front Office (and not him).
I understand this. Hue's butt feels uncomfortably hot right now, and he's got to look out for number one. Until enough published entities steal my analyses, he's teflon. So he's letting you guys with your torches and pitchforks blame the front office instead of him.
The one thing I am pretty certain of here is that Hue Jackson is desperate to win NOW, and that the Front Office is not.
Terry thinks the Front Office is looking ahead to the 2018 draft, and it certainly is. But he overlooks some things:
1: Jared Goff was called a "bust" in his rookie season. One season later, he is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Ditto Peyton Manning and John Elway. Kizer aint done just yet.
2: The second and third round picks Sashi Brown stupidly agreed to for a backup quarterback could have been two more offensive weapons for him.
3: The potential Kizer "plan B's" include not just the 2018 draft, but Kirk Cousins, Andrew Luck, Alex Smith, and others (and Alex is smart enough to come here if the others are well...like YOU guys).
4: Help is on the way. Josh Gordon is coming back. I just hope he can be that good without being buzzed...I think so. Lawrence Taylor was.
Can't talk to you guys anymore. Quit sending me "Hindenburg" pics ok? It's passe. I mentioned Josh Gordon to a guy the other night, and got an insta-smirk.
"He was the best wide receiver in the NFL. He's only 26." Smirk-head-shake-smirk. "They thought Daunte Culpepper was a great quarterback til Randy Moss left!"
"Josh Gordon isn't Randy Moss".
YES HE IS!!! He might be better than Moss! What's with the eye-rolls and smirks and head-shakes what the hell is wrong with you people?
Why can't you just fkng look at this roster and see the talent on it? Why are you stuck on the record they're REBUILDING obviously! Now you're shrugging Josh Gordon off too what the hell is the matter with you!?!
Ohmmm...ohmmm...
Anyway, Jimmy Haslam needs to hold his fire, regardless of pubic opinion, and Hue Jackson needs to start adapting his square holes to his square pegs, and Gonzalez needs to stop missing. Take a pill!!!
Saturday, November 4, 2017
Take Your Ropes and Pitchforks and Go Home.
Terry Pluto, who is not a sheep or a spazz, hence not the lynch-mob type, figured out something like what I told you in re the Garropolo thing.
It turns out that they never stopped chasing Jimmy G. His agent did indeed tell them "no dice", but they never gave up. They didn't even know that Lord Insideous and San Francisco were negotiating.
For whatever reason (probably the Browns proscription stipulated by the player and his agent), the Browns were never "invited".
And you people need to begin to start to commence to comprehend this: All deals involve at least two parties. You pantsed Sashi Brown, locked him in his locker, and stepped on his glasses for nothing.
Terry probably has a good bead on the (fortunately) failed McCarron deal. The Bengals were reluctant to part with him, and Sashi (I bet) was forced to make the offer in the first place.
Ya can't knock Mike Brown for trying to extort all he could for a player Marvin Lewis doesn't want to let go. And if a secind and third round pick is what the Bengals settled for, I don't even want to think about the original asking price.
Like Terry, I'm glad it fell through, and would like to add this:
BIG FREAKING DEAL😨!!!
Terry also noticed that the Browns lost four games by a field goal or less, the defense has imroved a lot (fifth vs the run).
You people just can't be objective or analytical. Your roof leaks. You don't see it until it travels down some drywall and beams, and you see swelling and paint flaking off.
It never occurs to you to get up on the roof. No, instead you decide to tear the house down. "This house sucks, man! The faucet is dripping too! Where's the kerosene?"
I don't think Zane Gonzalez sucks and would not cut him. He was pretty much THE best and most reliable kicker in college over the course of several years, and it's almost the same gig in the pros as it is in college. He's been too good for two long to just fall apart now.
However, he has been the leaky roof, and the Browns should be 3-5.
Well okay it's not just him. I've listed Hue's blockheadedness and inefficiency, the lack of wide receivers, and of course the atrocious performances of every Browns' quarterback...
No wait: Cody Kessler was doing fine til Big Joe went down. Hogan has been pretty good throughout 2017 until his one start, in which he was conceivably almost as bad as Kizer...but yeah he really stank in that one...
Terry says they should be more effective running the ball. I won't say it again. The blocking scheme is the biggest part of that!
No listen! Shanahan offenses have always run the ball successfully, using committees or running backs you never heard of before or since. The Seattle Seahawks offense ran the ball really well before Beast-Mode. Lynch put them on the map.
The Seahawks never had a dominant offensive line, either, but they did what they did.
Well, that's zone-blocking dammit! Marshawn Lynch was always a really good running back, but when he got to Seattle, well..."Beast-Mode" was born!
He was in heaven! "You mean I can just pick my holes, and nobody in my way has their feet planted or is coming forward? Nobody can get more than one arm on me?"
You didn't think that was "power/man" blocking (like Hue insists on running) did you? No! The power part was all Lynch!!! Isaiah Crowell has been like that (when Shanahan ran the offense) and could be again if only...if only...
And trust me: He wants out now. And he might take less money to sign with San Fransisco and get back with the Shanahans.
If this happens, watch him do his Beast-Mode thing, and you people will blame Sashi Brown for "letting him go", when the real culprit is Hue Jackson and his cave-man blocking scheme!!!
Before you burn the house down, look a little deeper:
The New England Patriots lack "playmakers" too! They're not that talented! They've got Brady and Belichick. Yeah I know Gronk, but he's been injured a lot. Edelman is gone, and without Brady wouldn't be as effective. Their defense is pretty bad!
The Browns? Josh Gordon is back. They have Myles Garrett and Duke Johnson. Many think Njoku will be a stud (I've told you so can DeValve). Jamie Collins? You think Jabrill Peppers is done already? You people!
Burn it all down because the quarterbacks (and kicker) have sucked?
The less blatently obvious thing you don't want to see is the second-tier blue collar talent here.
Wide receivers Bryce Treggs and Kasen Williams have made some nice plays, and I think they have first dibs on Leslie Jordon. It's not all black and white like simpletonians who go fishing with hand-grenades think!
Chris Hogan is like this. Jamal White, Dion Lewis, three of their offensive linemen, every tight end not named Gronk, and every wide receiver not named Cook.
Guys like Ogbah, Rango, Treggs, Calhoun, Louis, Burgess, Vitale, Kindred, Taylor, Orchard, Dayes etc etc all fit this profile. Pick a loser off this list!
I'll try extra hard to get this across and use the Kansas City Chiefs:
Wow! Karim Hunt, Tyreek Hill, and Travis Kelce. But until this season, Alex Smith was a "game manager" who couldn't win the big games (which was bullcrap anyway). To this day, some KC fans still spew that crap!
Anyway, can Njoku re-learn how to catch the damn ball and become as good as Kelce! YES.
The Browns don't have anybody like Hill. Instead, they have somebody like a mix of Green and Jones (Josh Gordon), so I'll take it.
Crow is dead meat under Hue Jackson, so there is no Hunt analog here.
But Andy Reid is a great coach, who really does adapt his offense to his personnel, like Hue Jackson was erroneously reported to.
Hill is a microbe with a microscopic catch radius, so he's not a true deep threat, despite his world-class speed. So Reid lines him up all over the place (usually behind the line of scrimmage), and Alex hits him all over the place, usually short and intermediate. He's as quick as he is fast, so nobody can cover him.
Smith is very accurate, and hits him just right and on-time. Defenders try to off-man him so they can at least stop him where he catches it, but because the passes are so precise and quick, Hill still screws them up and gets by for huge plays.
Also, if Andy Reid had two Kelces, he would not keep one of them on the bench...
The Browns need a Tom Brady, or an Alex Smith. They HAVE EVERYTHING ELSE DO. YOU. U N D E R S T A N D?
*I'm crossing my fingers that Josh Gordon stays out of trouble this time, and assuming that Njoku stops dropping passes, and that most of the rookies and sophomores make their utterly predictable progress).
In re Josh Gordon, I was initially furious that he wouldn't be eligable to play for three more weeks, but upon further reflection, it's good for everybody. (After what Gordon himself said about Goodell, I can't hate him so much).
Josh will have three weeks to get into football shape, practice with Kizer and the other guys, master the "language", and be ready to rock, full-time, in game 11.
Ideally, the adrenaline-rush from football will mitigate his temptation, and a structured schedule will help as well. Ideally, he will now be kind of obsessed with football (like me), so he's not idle, or bored.
This kid is 26 years old, and he has Hall of Fame talent. He's broke (probably in debt). He is a smart guy (believe it or not), and I think he'll come back strong, and not backslide in the offseason. I hope.
All this doom and gloom crap is overly optimistic now. The Browns will certainly draft high, but might not draft first overall...
Ok I just checked. The Browns and Niners are tied at zero, but the Niners just got Jimmy G and have a smart offense.
The Giants have one win, but still have Eli Manning and that super-tight end they just drafted.
The teams with two wins have some actual talent as well, (for example the Colts with Brissett, who can score with his feet from anywhere).
Unfortunately, I know that Hue will put Gordon on the field ASAP, and Myles Garrett might stay healthy, and DeShone Kizer will get at least a little bit better, and bad things will happen.
I hope I'm wrong, but am afraid the Browns could win as many as four games. I didn't mention a possible sustained Zane Gonzalez cave-in, because it might not be that close.
I calculate that if Gordon and Garrett stay on the field, it's 40-60 they draft first overall now. I would upgrade that if I could assume that Hue Jackson would continue to keep one of his two pass-catching tight ends on the bench at all times, not help Kizer with zone-reads or screens, and continue not to zone-block, but I can't count on that.
Hue talks to other coaches and stuff, and even his assistants have stuff to say, not to mention Crowell, Thomas, etc. so he might actually listen to somebody and stop being a Martonian blockhead.
It's a mess: too damn much talent to keep screwing it up! McCourtey will be back, Williams won't mismanage Garrett---there's just too much talent for even bad coaching and mediocre quarterbacking to stop!
It's okay, though. You need to take the annual college quarterback-bashing with a grain of salt. Even if the Browns draft third or fourth, they might land a "big one".
Stop it! They didn't miss on Wentz! They built the rest of their team instead! Almost all the experts applauded their trading down from Watson, then snagging Kizer late! So did most of YOU!
They can pick a quarterback. Based on recent returns, it's probably a good thing Hue Jackson oknevermind I don't want to confuse you even more.
Anyway if DeShone Kizer never gets better than Daunte Culpepper, he'll do fine. If Josh Gordon makes him look good enough for somebody to offer a first round pick for him, that works too.
Alex Smith and Kirk Cousins will be...
Nevermind. Just shut up.
It turns out that they never stopped chasing Jimmy G. His agent did indeed tell them "no dice", but they never gave up. They didn't even know that Lord Insideous and San Francisco were negotiating.
For whatever reason (probably the Browns proscription stipulated by the player and his agent), the Browns were never "invited".
And you people need to begin to start to commence to comprehend this: All deals involve at least two parties. You pantsed Sashi Brown, locked him in his locker, and stepped on his glasses for nothing.
Terry probably has a good bead on the (fortunately) failed McCarron deal. The Bengals were reluctant to part with him, and Sashi (I bet) was forced to make the offer in the first place.
Ya can't knock Mike Brown for trying to extort all he could for a player Marvin Lewis doesn't want to let go. And if a secind and third round pick is what the Bengals settled for, I don't even want to think about the original asking price.
Like Terry, I'm glad it fell through, and would like to add this:
BIG FREAKING DEAL😨!!!
Terry also noticed that the Browns lost four games by a field goal or less, the defense has imroved a lot (fifth vs the run).
You people just can't be objective or analytical. Your roof leaks. You don't see it until it travels down some drywall and beams, and you see swelling and paint flaking off.
It never occurs to you to get up on the roof. No, instead you decide to tear the house down. "This house sucks, man! The faucet is dripping too! Where's the kerosene?"
I don't think Zane Gonzalez sucks and would not cut him. He was pretty much THE best and most reliable kicker in college over the course of several years, and it's almost the same gig in the pros as it is in college. He's been too good for two long to just fall apart now.
However, he has been the leaky roof, and the Browns should be 3-5.
Well okay it's not just him. I've listed Hue's blockheadedness and inefficiency, the lack of wide receivers, and of course the atrocious performances of every Browns' quarterback...
No wait: Cody Kessler was doing fine til Big Joe went down. Hogan has been pretty good throughout 2017 until his one start, in which he was conceivably almost as bad as Kizer...but yeah he really stank in that one...
Terry says they should be more effective running the ball. I won't say it again. The blocking scheme is the biggest part of that!
No listen! Shanahan offenses have always run the ball successfully, using committees or running backs you never heard of before or since. The Seattle Seahawks offense ran the ball really well before Beast-Mode. Lynch put them on the map.
The Seahawks never had a dominant offensive line, either, but they did what they did.
Well, that's zone-blocking dammit! Marshawn Lynch was always a really good running back, but when he got to Seattle, well..."Beast-Mode" was born!
He was in heaven! "You mean I can just pick my holes, and nobody in my way has their feet planted or is coming forward? Nobody can get more than one arm on me?"
You didn't think that was "power/man" blocking (like Hue insists on running) did you? No! The power part was all Lynch!!! Isaiah Crowell has been like that (when Shanahan ran the offense) and could be again if only...if only...
And trust me: He wants out now. And he might take less money to sign with San Fransisco and get back with the Shanahans.
If this happens, watch him do his Beast-Mode thing, and you people will blame Sashi Brown for "letting him go", when the real culprit is Hue Jackson and his cave-man blocking scheme!!!
Before you burn the house down, look a little deeper:
The New England Patriots lack "playmakers" too! They're not that talented! They've got Brady and Belichick. Yeah I know Gronk, but he's been injured a lot. Edelman is gone, and without Brady wouldn't be as effective. Their defense is pretty bad!
The Browns? Josh Gordon is back. They have Myles Garrett and Duke Johnson. Many think Njoku will be a stud (I've told you so can DeValve). Jamie Collins? You think Jabrill Peppers is done already? You people!
Burn it all down because the quarterbacks (and kicker) have sucked?
The less blatently obvious thing you don't want to see is the second-tier blue collar talent here.
Wide receivers Bryce Treggs and Kasen Williams have made some nice plays, and I think they have first dibs on Leslie Jordon. It's not all black and white like simpletonians who go fishing with hand-grenades think!
Chris Hogan is like this. Jamal White, Dion Lewis, three of their offensive linemen, every tight end not named Gronk, and every wide receiver not named Cook.
Guys like Ogbah, Rango, Treggs, Calhoun, Louis, Burgess, Vitale, Kindred, Taylor, Orchard, Dayes etc etc all fit this profile. Pick a loser off this list!
I'll try extra hard to get this across and use the Kansas City Chiefs:
Wow! Karim Hunt, Tyreek Hill, and Travis Kelce. But until this season, Alex Smith was a "game manager" who couldn't win the big games (which was bullcrap anyway). To this day, some KC fans still spew that crap!
Anyway, can Njoku re-learn how to catch the damn ball and become as good as Kelce! YES.
The Browns don't have anybody like Hill. Instead, they have somebody like a mix of Green and Jones (Josh Gordon), so I'll take it.
Crow is dead meat under Hue Jackson, so there is no Hunt analog here.
But Andy Reid is a great coach, who really does adapt his offense to his personnel, like Hue Jackson was erroneously reported to.
Hill is a microbe with a microscopic catch radius, so he's not a true deep threat, despite his world-class speed. So Reid lines him up all over the place (usually behind the line of scrimmage), and Alex hits him all over the place, usually short and intermediate. He's as quick as he is fast, so nobody can cover him.
Smith is very accurate, and hits him just right and on-time. Defenders try to off-man him so they can at least stop him where he catches it, but because the passes are so precise and quick, Hill still screws them up and gets by for huge plays.
Also, if Andy Reid had two Kelces, he would not keep one of them on the bench...
The Browns need a Tom Brady, or an Alex Smith. They HAVE EVERYTHING ELSE DO. YOU. U N D E R S T A N D?
*I'm crossing my fingers that Josh Gordon stays out of trouble this time, and assuming that Njoku stops dropping passes, and that most of the rookies and sophomores make their utterly predictable progress).
In re Josh Gordon, I was initially furious that he wouldn't be eligable to play for three more weeks, but upon further reflection, it's good for everybody. (After what Gordon himself said about Goodell, I can't hate him so much).
Josh will have three weeks to get into football shape, practice with Kizer and the other guys, master the "language", and be ready to rock, full-time, in game 11.
Ideally, the adrenaline-rush from football will mitigate his temptation, and a structured schedule will help as well. Ideally, he will now be kind of obsessed with football (like me), so he's not idle, or bored.
This kid is 26 years old, and he has Hall of Fame talent. He's broke (probably in debt). He is a smart guy (believe it or not), and I think he'll come back strong, and not backslide in the offseason. I hope.
All this doom and gloom crap is overly optimistic now. The Browns will certainly draft high, but might not draft first overall...
Ok I just checked. The Browns and Niners are tied at zero, but the Niners just got Jimmy G and have a smart offense.
The Giants have one win, but still have Eli Manning and that super-tight end they just drafted.
The teams with two wins have some actual talent as well, (for example the Colts with Brissett, who can score with his feet from anywhere).
Unfortunately, I know that Hue will put Gordon on the field ASAP, and Myles Garrett might stay healthy, and DeShone Kizer will get at least a little bit better, and bad things will happen.
I hope I'm wrong, but am afraid the Browns could win as many as four games. I didn't mention a possible sustained Zane Gonzalez cave-in, because it might not be that close.
I calculate that if Gordon and Garrett stay on the field, it's 40-60 they draft first overall now. I would upgrade that if I could assume that Hue Jackson would continue to keep one of his two pass-catching tight ends on the bench at all times, not help Kizer with zone-reads or screens, and continue not to zone-block, but I can't count on that.
Hue talks to other coaches and stuff, and even his assistants have stuff to say, not to mention Crowell, Thomas, etc. so he might actually listen to somebody and stop being a Martonian blockhead.
It's a mess: too damn much talent to keep screwing it up! McCourtey will be back, Williams won't mismanage Garrett---there's just too much talent for even bad coaching and mediocre quarterbacking to stop!
It's okay, though. You need to take the annual college quarterback-bashing with a grain of salt. Even if the Browns draft third or fourth, they might land a "big one".
Stop it! They didn't miss on Wentz! They built the rest of their team instead! Almost all the experts applauded their trading down from Watson, then snagging Kizer late! So did most of YOU!
They can pick a quarterback. Based on recent returns, it's probably a good thing Hue Jackson oknevermind I don't want to confuse you even more.
Anyway if DeShone Kizer never gets better than Daunte Culpepper, he'll do fine. If Josh Gordon makes him look good enough for somebody to offer a first round pick for him, that works too.
Alex Smith and Kirk Cousins will be...
Nevermind. Just shut up.
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
Sashi Brown, Josh Gordon, Lynch Mobs, and the Browns
I'll leave the gleeful Sashi Brown-bashing in your capable hands. Go ahead with the wedgies and swirleys. Make him cry, then mock his crying. Yeah, follow him all the way home--text all your friends so they can get in on it. Have fun! Knock yourselves out!
I just don't have the stomach for it. Guess I must be a spoiled sport, or maybe a sissy. Oh well.
Anyway the Garropolo thing might or might not have been a screw-up, but the attempted McCarron trade was very likely the result of angry pressure from Hue Jackson (and maybe Haslam). I doubt it was Sashi's idea at all.
I like A J McCarron, and even think that right now he'd be the best quarterback on the roster temporarily. He might be just good enough to win one or two meaningless games in 2017.
But he's not the answer, and I'm glad it fell through.
Every Head Coach needs to win right now. Especially Hue Jackson, who is watching his career flash before his eyes. (Maybe that's why he's so afraid of being unconventional).
Every Front Office wants to build a dynasty through young talent. This sort of conflict is actually quite common.
The Coaches want veterans who won't make mistakes (you know, like KENNY BRITT😨?), and don't want to give young guys a chance...well until they're forced to by injuries.
It really is way too early to give up on any of these Browns' quarterbacks...
Hue Jackson can't let himself think about possibilities or hypotheticals, but Sashi Brown and Andrew Berry do that for a living.
Right now, they're thinking about the Savior: Josh Gordon.
Preamble: The rule of thumb is that great quarterbacks make great receivers, rather than the reverse:
You can see this with Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, and (yes) Ben Rottenburgers. Check out what happens to Antonio Brown when Ben is out. Look at what happens to Tom Brady's receivers after they go somewhere else.
Ah, but there are exceptions to this rule!
For a few years, everybody except me thought Daunte Culpepper was a great quarterback. Then Randy Moss left. (In fairness, Daunte was subsequently injured badly, and may never have fully recovered. And he was a good quarterback.)
Well, in 2013, playing just 14 games, in his second NFL season, Josh Gordon's three quarterbacks were Jason Campbell, Brandon Weedon, and Brian Hoyer.
He caught 87 passes for 1,647 yards and an 18.9 average yards per-catch, with 9 touchdowns. He was not one of the best wide receivers in football, but THE best, by a respectable margin...again in 14 games.
That was historic, and Josh Gordon is a transcendental talent. Transformational, as well:
Every opposing defense's top priority was to at least slow this guy down. Nobody could. Third and long: It's going to Gordon. Bracket him.
Didn't matter. He caught it anyway, and got the first down.
He ran every pattern in the book. He slanted, crossed, came back, quick-outed, went postal. He made as many "big plays" off short and intermediate passes as he did on bombs.
This is why the athletic freak Terrelle Pryor is failing now. He has trouble separating, mainly because he's both tall and top-heavy. Josh Gordon was born to play wide receiver.
When Gordon did go deep, no cornerback could "trail" him, because he'd pull away from even the fastest one, and even if a pass was underthrown, and he had to slow down, he'd often draw an interference flag--and catch it anyway.
Every quarterback had a HUGE margin of error with Josh Gordon (except on slants and crosses--you just can't throw behind a receiver on these, and have to hit him hard and low when he has to "sit down" vs zone coverage but I digress).
It's hard to overthrow him, so every quarterback quickly learned to err on the side of aggression on vertical routes.
Brian Hoyer actually made the most of him, because he didn't have the arm to overthrow him, and just let 'er rip the instant he saw...well really just anytime he wanted (on those vertical routes).
I forgot to mention, Gordon also gained 88 yards on the ground. Just sayin.
Hue Jackson can't even think about Gordon until he is actually at his practices, but Andrew Berry can, and he is the "football guy" in the front office.
Berry played cornerback. He gets it.
Sadly, if Josh Gordon comes back and Shane Gonzalez gets a head-extraction, the Browns will win too many games to draft first overall again (assuming Josh straightens up and flies right).
Of course, Culpepper's Vikings had a nice run with Randy Moss, and by the end of the season everybody (except probably me) will have DeShone Kizer pencilled into the Hall of Fame.
You people!
You think you're Vince Lombardi too, so you won't like hearing these "excuses", but Shane Gonzalez cost this team three victories (although Hue himself helped a lot when he declined that 15-yard third down penalty).
Despite absolutely horrific quarterback play, DeValve and Njoku rarely on the same field at the same time, no Corey Coleman, no Myles Garrett half the time, no zone-blocking for Crowell, andDwayne Bowe Kenny Britt (oh yeah and tons of dumbass penalties), if not for missed (makeable) field goals, this team would be 3-5 right now.
3-5 better reflects where this team (except for Gonzalez) is at right now.
If you (in your superficial Lombardi impersonation) want to dismiss reality on one right foot, knock yourself out, but this team is improving.
Leaving out Myles Garrett, find me a below average player here:
Either Coleman, Schobert, Collins, DeValve, Njoku, Calhoun, McCourtey, Peppers, Drango, Tretter, Zeitler, Vitale, Ogbah, Nassib, Burgess, Dayes (ok well that's 17. I could mention guys like Kasen Williams, Bryce Treggs etc and remind you of an injured draft pick named Wilson. But--unlike some people I know, I can't be sadistic once my opponent has been rendered helpless.)
In view of this PR nightmare (ie lynch-mob), Jimmy is under pressure to fire Sashi Brown. But if he's smart, he'll wait for Josh Gordon.
Josh could appease you unwashed masses. You could tell yourselves that Kizer (or any quarterback) "turned a corner" and is suddenly a great draft pick or signing, and make you forget about Garropolo and the great A J McCarron.
Talk about deodorant: Suddenly guys like Treggs and Williams are wide open, and Crowell is in Beast-mode (despite Hue's cave-man blocking scheme).
Why, in the last eight games, Kizer might crack the 55% completion barrier, and miraculously pile up a bunch of touchdown passes! His third down efficiency might spike up for some strange reason!
Listen to me: If Josh Gordon comes back, and can stay healthy, he can save EVERYBODY's jobs!
Not that YOU guys will comprehend it...
UPDATE: Gordon is reinstated, but can't even practice with the team til 11/20...well ok the Browns can still draft pretty high and you can still think the quarterbacks don't suck anymore and nobody needs to get fired.
THIS JUST IN from the only other sane person in Cleveland (Thomas Moore). Click the link.
No matter how many of you there are, or how few of us, you are just as clueless.
I just don't have the stomach for it. Guess I must be a spoiled sport, or maybe a sissy. Oh well.
Anyway the Garropolo thing might or might not have been a screw-up, but the attempted McCarron trade was very likely the result of angry pressure from Hue Jackson (and maybe Haslam). I doubt it was Sashi's idea at all.
I like A J McCarron, and even think that right now he'd be the best quarterback on the roster temporarily. He might be just good enough to win one or two meaningless games in 2017.
But he's not the answer, and I'm glad it fell through.
Every Head Coach needs to win right now. Especially Hue Jackson, who is watching his career flash before his eyes. (Maybe that's why he's so afraid of being unconventional).
Every Front Office wants to build a dynasty through young talent. This sort of conflict is actually quite common.
The Coaches want veterans who won't make mistakes (you know, like KENNY BRITT😨?), and don't want to give young guys a chance...well until they're forced to by injuries.
It really is way too early to give up on any of these Browns' quarterbacks...
Hue Jackson can't let himself think about possibilities or hypotheticals, but Sashi Brown and Andrew Berry do that for a living.
Right now, they're thinking about the Savior: Josh Gordon.
Preamble: The rule of thumb is that great quarterbacks make great receivers, rather than the reverse:
You can see this with Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, and (yes) Ben Rottenburgers. Check out what happens to Antonio Brown when Ben is out. Look at what happens to Tom Brady's receivers after they go somewhere else.
Ah, but there are exceptions to this rule!
For a few years, everybody except me thought Daunte Culpepper was a great quarterback. Then Randy Moss left. (In fairness, Daunte was subsequently injured badly, and may never have fully recovered. And he was a good quarterback.)
Well, in 2013, playing just 14 games, in his second NFL season, Josh Gordon's three quarterbacks were Jason Campbell, Brandon Weedon, and Brian Hoyer.
He caught 87 passes for 1,647 yards and an 18.9 average yards per-catch, with 9 touchdowns. He was not one of the best wide receivers in football, but THE best, by a respectable margin...again in 14 games.
That was historic, and Josh Gordon is a transcendental talent. Transformational, as well:
Every opposing defense's top priority was to at least slow this guy down. Nobody could. Third and long: It's going to Gordon. Bracket him.
Didn't matter. He caught it anyway, and got the first down.
He ran every pattern in the book. He slanted, crossed, came back, quick-outed, went postal. He made as many "big plays" off short and intermediate passes as he did on bombs.
This is why the athletic freak Terrelle Pryor is failing now. He has trouble separating, mainly because he's both tall and top-heavy. Josh Gordon was born to play wide receiver.
When Gordon did go deep, no cornerback could "trail" him, because he'd pull away from even the fastest one, and even if a pass was underthrown, and he had to slow down, he'd often draw an interference flag--and catch it anyway.
Every quarterback had a HUGE margin of error with Josh Gordon (except on slants and crosses--you just can't throw behind a receiver on these, and have to hit him hard and low when he has to "sit down" vs zone coverage but I digress).
It's hard to overthrow him, so every quarterback quickly learned to err on the side of aggression on vertical routes.
Brian Hoyer actually made the most of him, because he didn't have the arm to overthrow him, and just let 'er rip the instant he saw...well really just anytime he wanted (on those vertical routes).
I forgot to mention, Gordon also gained 88 yards on the ground. Just sayin.
Hue Jackson can't even think about Gordon until he is actually at his practices, but Andrew Berry can, and he is the "football guy" in the front office.
Berry played cornerback. He gets it.
Sadly, if Josh Gordon comes back and Shane Gonzalez gets a head-extraction, the Browns will win too many games to draft first overall again (assuming Josh straightens up and flies right).
Of course, Culpepper's Vikings had a nice run with Randy Moss, and by the end of the season everybody (except probably me) will have DeShone Kizer pencilled into the Hall of Fame.
You people!
You think you're Vince Lombardi too, so you won't like hearing these "excuses", but Shane Gonzalez cost this team three victories (although Hue himself helped a lot when he declined that 15-yard third down penalty).
Despite absolutely horrific quarterback play, DeValve and Njoku rarely on the same field at the same time, no Corey Coleman, no Myles Garrett half the time, no zone-blocking for Crowell, and
3-5 better reflects where this team (except for Gonzalez) is at right now.
If you (in your superficial Lombardi impersonation) want to dismiss reality on one right foot, knock yourself out, but this team is improving.
Leaving out Myles Garrett, find me a below average player here:
Either Coleman, Schobert, Collins, DeValve, Njoku, Calhoun, McCourtey, Peppers, Drango, Tretter, Zeitler, Vitale, Ogbah, Nassib, Burgess, Dayes (ok well that's 17. I could mention guys like Kasen Williams, Bryce Treggs etc and remind you of an injured draft pick named Wilson. But--unlike some people I know, I can't be sadistic once my opponent has been rendered helpless.)
In view of this PR nightmare (ie lynch-mob), Jimmy is under pressure to fire Sashi Brown. But if he's smart, he'll wait for Josh Gordon.
Josh could appease you unwashed masses. You could tell yourselves that Kizer (or any quarterback) "turned a corner" and is suddenly a great draft pick or signing, and make you forget about Garropolo and the great A J McCarron.
Talk about deodorant: Suddenly guys like Treggs and Williams are wide open, and Crowell is in Beast-mode (despite Hue's cave-man blocking scheme).
Why, in the last eight games, Kizer might crack the 55% completion barrier, and miraculously pile up a bunch of touchdown passes! His third down efficiency might spike up for some strange reason!
Listen to me: If Josh Gordon comes back, and can stay healthy, he can save EVERYBODY's jobs!
Not that YOU guys will comprehend it...
UPDATE: Gordon is reinstated, but can't even practice with the team til 11/20...well ok the Browns can still draft pretty high and you can still think the quarterbacks don't suck anymore and nobody needs to get fired.
THIS JUST IN from the only other sane person in Cleveland (Thomas Moore). Click the link.
No matter how many of you there are, or how few of us, you are just as clueless.
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Jimmy G, Josh G, and the Cleveland Browns
Based on Baylee Jackson's comments and several emails from within the building, Hue Jackson wanted Jimmy Garopollo, and he and his staff are furious that Sashi Brown apparently made no effort to acquire him.
Mainly on the strength of a daughter speaking up for her father, this rings true.
I addressed the Garropolo thing in my previous post. The most important issue was the risk involved. There is no guarantee that he is durable, or even that he will be elite. There is no guarantee that he will re-sign at or before the end of his contract.
There may also be more to this: Jimmy G has the right to nix any trade. Normally, the player's agent will inform the suitor that he "need not apply".
If that happened here, Sashi should have told Hue, but is otherwise innocent. If Sashi wouldn't make the deal because of the risk, he has some legitimate business concerns which maniacal fans will never allow themselves to consider.
All the same, if this conflict is real, I'm with Hue. He's the quarterback guy, and a spare second round pick isn't too much for the potential reward.
Still, it just can't stop there, can it? No no no this must be just the tip of the iceburg! Sashi Brown is deliberately undermining this future Hall of Fame coach by depriving him of players! It's an insideous plot!
Josh Gordon may be reinstated shortly, and Adam Shefter thinks Brown might trade his rights.
That would be utterly insane. I can not believe Brown would do that. And if Jimmy Haslam were to let him do that, he should just sell the damn team, since he can't fire himself.
DeShone Kizer plus Josh Gordon? Wow! If Brown even tried to "get rid of" this awesome weapon, it would confirm that he'll do whatever it takes to get another first overall draft pick at Jackson's expense.
But I don't believe it. Gordon is still only 26 years old, and could be very much a part of the longer-term plan. The risk of retaining him is the last roster spot. He's got two years left on his rookie contract. No, I don't buy it.
Anyway, the Front Office does take a longer view than the coaching staff in every organization, and the Front Office controls the purse strings.
Wait for the whole story on the Garopollo thing before you have your necktie party.
And don't say Hue doesn't have enough talent when either Njoku or DeValve are on the bench all the time, he keeps playing Kenny Britt, and he won't zone-block to let Crowell do what he does best.
Mainly on the strength of a daughter speaking up for her father, this rings true.
I addressed the Garropolo thing in my previous post. The most important issue was the risk involved. There is no guarantee that he is durable, or even that he will be elite. There is no guarantee that he will re-sign at or before the end of his contract.
There may also be more to this: Jimmy G has the right to nix any trade. Normally, the player's agent will inform the suitor that he "need not apply".
If that happened here, Sashi should have told Hue, but is otherwise innocent. If Sashi wouldn't make the deal because of the risk, he has some legitimate business concerns which maniacal fans will never allow themselves to consider.
All the same, if this conflict is real, I'm with Hue. He's the quarterback guy, and a spare second round pick isn't too much for the potential reward.
Still, it just can't stop there, can it? No no no this must be just the tip of the iceburg! Sashi Brown is deliberately undermining this future Hall of Fame coach by depriving him of players! It's an insideous plot!
Josh Gordon may be reinstated shortly, and Adam Shefter thinks Brown might trade his rights.
That would be utterly insane. I can not believe Brown would do that. And if Jimmy Haslam were to let him do that, he should just sell the damn team, since he can't fire himself.
DeShone Kizer plus Josh Gordon? Wow! If Brown even tried to "get rid of" this awesome weapon, it would confirm that he'll do whatever it takes to get another first overall draft pick at Jackson's expense.
But I don't believe it. Gordon is still only 26 years old, and could be very much a part of the longer-term plan. The risk of retaining him is the last roster spot. He's got two years left on his rookie contract. No, I don't buy it.
Anyway, the Front Office does take a longer view than the coaching staff in every organization, and the Front Office controls the purse strings.
Wait for the whole story on the Garopollo thing before you have your necktie party.
And don't say Hue doesn't have enough talent when either Njoku or DeValve are on the bench all the time, he keeps playing Kenny Britt, and he won't zone-block to let Crowell do what he does best.
Monday, October 30, 2017
TY Hilton, DeValve, Mason Rudolph, and the Browns
After the London bombing, my inner-analyst can't help (shhh!) rooting for the Browns to lose and draft first overall again.
The "best draft class in years" has (almost predictably) become much less attractive, with big ugly warts emerging all over all but one of the future Hall of Fame prospects. (The top guy is Mason Rudolph).
Most of these quarterbacks lost key parts of their supporting casts (don't only think "wide receiver". This includes every offensive position, ok?).
Rudolph is the only one who kept on truckin', and that's the very definition of a franchise quarterback. This is why Tom Brady's receivers fall off the map when they leave New England.
I'm not condemning DeShone Kizer, or even Rodney Hoganfield here. But Front Offices need to plan ahead, and plan for worst-case scenarios. Right now, it looks grim, and they have to make sure they have that most critical position covered.
Even if Kizer improves, and finishes well, they can't ignore that position.
I know I know, they need to fix wide receiver. I still hope for Josh Gordon to come back, and like Williams and (especially) Treggs a lot. Gordon's return could actually fix everything, in fact...
But the rest of the team is already there talent-wise. It's time to nail quarterback down!
If the Browns draft first overall again, they could grab Mason Rudolph, regardless of how well Kizer finishes 2017. Announce a competition between him and Kizer. Then, after Rudolph wins, TRADE Kizer for at least the second round pick it cost to draft him in the first place, ok and keep Hogan on-deck).
While I'm not burying the raw rookie DeShone Kizer yet, I am bothered by his slow processing and inaccuracy, and with all due respect to Hue Jackson (who I know knows a lot more about this than I do), don't think he will ever be truly elite.
The Browns aren't going anywhere this season. While everybody else is wallowing in despair, I remain an infernal optimist, and see a way out of this mess. ...just not in 2017.
In view of my man-crush on Mason Rudolph, I hesitate to bring this up, but Dan Labbe polled us on what we'd give up for T.Y. Hilton.
Hilton is allegedly on the block. I don't like that he's a little shrimp, but he's a proven little shrimp ala DeShaun Jackson. He'll be 28 next season, and is signed through 2020.
Jacoby Brissett isn't making the most of him the way Andrew Luck did. Brissett does not suck, but he's not elite either. With these little smurfs, you need to be a sharpshooter, and Brissett isn't that.
I think we're safe here for 2017: Kizer is inaccurate too, and unless he gets hurt, Hogan is in the dungeon. Unfortunately, Hilton might nix a trade because of this.
Now, you need to understand what I mean by "accurate", and why some alleged analysts are fulla crap:
Hilton is a playmaker, but not a vertical deep threat like the taller guys. Many cornerbacks and almost all safeties are taller than he is, and he can't blow their doors off if they're already running a race with him.
He can/will exploit an error in coverage to get behind a cornerback an holler "hit me!", but he still has a dime-sized catch radius, and the quarterback has to throw a higher, slower "bucket"-pass than he would to a taller guy with a quarter-sized catch radius when he gets deep.
In fact NO little shrimp speedster is EVER a consistent vertical threat.
Hilton, Jackson, Benjamin, Ginn etc. run slants and crosses, get lateral separation, and take short and intermediate passes upfield.
In most cases, if the quarterback doesn't hit them quickly, when they're supposed to, and in-stride, it's over. The safeties close on them, and they run out of field and have to predictably turn back inside.
Andrew Luck pulled the trigger and hit Hilton in-stride, and let him do his thing. Brissett does not. Brissett has a good arm, and can go deep. That's not the issue at all.
Poor T.Y. If he didn't nix a trade with the Browns, he'd be back where he started, because Kizer wouldn't pull the trigger or catch him in stride either.
I would still offer one of the lower second round picks for Hilton if I were Sashi. (Well...okay I would bid that high if I had to.) I don't think the Browns' competitors would beat that.
Kizer right now is a much, much better vertical passer than he is a West Coast guy. Even his best passes to Duke and the tight ends are over one shoulder or the other. When his mechanics are right, he's downright deadly on those, even at close range.
The problem is that his mechanics are still inconsistent, he is still trying to force himself to just lob it to the short crosser in under like five fkng seconds, (and I remind you that he may be incapable of that)...
Ok but Hilton is a proven lethal weapon, in his prime, so Sashi should nab him anyway. Rodney Hoganfield could use him, and so could Mason Rudolph. And ya never know: so might DeShone Kizer, eventually someday!
Why doesn't Hue Jackson want DeValve and Njoku on the field at the same time? Seriously, can somebody explain this to me? I mean, even with his man Kenny Britt unavailable?
Strictly for the sake of continuity, I don't want Hue Jackson fired, but he aint all that, ok? He insists on at least two official wide receivers at all times, no matter what. When he uses more than one tight end, one (or two) has to be an in-line blocker, no matter at.
When he's down to Louis, Williams, Treggs and Coates (*Coates might be special), at wr, he has to field at least two of those on every single down.
When is the last time Seth DeValve dropped a pass? Are you aware that DeValve can run every pattern Njoku can?
As soon as Kenny Britt is healthy, he will start again. Njoku and DeValve will not share the field any time soon, and if Njoku keeps dropping passes, that won't buy DeValve a break either.
This is the front office's fault? Hue refuses to put two of his best receivers on the field and "DePodesta did it"? Do you understand that both these guys are "seam-splitters" who do their damage making over-the-shoulder catches?
...I'm starting to think that Hue Jackson hung around Marvin Lewis too long...but don't fire him.
Yet.
THIS JUST IN: The Sith Lord just traded Jimmy Garropolo to the Niners for "a second round pick".
This means that Sashi Brown was unwilling to trade his top second round pick (presumably higher at this point) for this quarterback.
Before you fly into your kniption fit, read this:
1: Garoppolo's contract expires at the end of this season, and he has recently purchased a gun, ski mask, and Brinks truck.
2: Jimmy looks great, but is not proven.
3: He was injured in his second-ever real game.
4: The Browns' alleged pursuit of Jimmy G was a rumor (which I believed 100%), but was never confirmed, and might be fiction (never assume).
5: Unless the Niners meet his salary demands early, the Browns have the cash to bid for him when his contact expires (no draft pick required).
6: Kyle Shanahan likes Kirk Cousins a lot too. And so might the Browns!
7: Hue Jackson has a lot of input (Mary Kay Cabbot is wrong about this).
Ok you can have your temper tantrum now.
The "best draft class in years" has (almost predictably) become much less attractive, with big ugly warts emerging all over all but one of the future Hall of Fame prospects. (The top guy is Mason Rudolph).
Most of these quarterbacks lost key parts of their supporting casts (don't only think "wide receiver". This includes every offensive position, ok?).
Rudolph is the only one who kept on truckin', and that's the very definition of a franchise quarterback. This is why Tom Brady's receivers fall off the map when they leave New England.
I'm not condemning DeShone Kizer, or even Rodney Hoganfield here. But Front Offices need to plan ahead, and plan for worst-case scenarios. Right now, it looks grim, and they have to make sure they have that most critical position covered.
Even if Kizer improves, and finishes well, they can't ignore that position.
I know I know, they need to fix wide receiver. I still hope for Josh Gordon to come back, and like Williams and (especially) Treggs a lot. Gordon's return could actually fix everything, in fact...
But the rest of the team is already there talent-wise. It's time to nail quarterback down!
If the Browns draft first overall again, they could grab Mason Rudolph, regardless of how well Kizer finishes 2017. Announce a competition between him and Kizer. Then, after Rudolph wins, TRADE Kizer for at least the second round pick it cost to draft him in the first place, ok and keep Hogan on-deck).
While I'm not burying the raw rookie DeShone Kizer yet, I am bothered by his slow processing and inaccuracy, and with all due respect to Hue Jackson (who I know knows a lot more about this than I do), don't think he will ever be truly elite.
The Browns aren't going anywhere this season. While everybody else is wallowing in despair, I remain an infernal optimist, and see a way out of this mess. ...just not in 2017.
In view of my man-crush on Mason Rudolph, I hesitate to bring this up, but Dan Labbe polled us on what we'd give up for T.Y. Hilton.
Hilton is allegedly on the block. I don't like that he's a little shrimp, but he's a proven little shrimp ala DeShaun Jackson. He'll be 28 next season, and is signed through 2020.
Jacoby Brissett isn't making the most of him the way Andrew Luck did. Brissett does not suck, but he's not elite either. With these little smurfs, you need to be a sharpshooter, and Brissett isn't that.
I think we're safe here for 2017: Kizer is inaccurate too, and unless he gets hurt, Hogan is in the dungeon. Unfortunately, Hilton might nix a trade because of this.
Now, you need to understand what I mean by "accurate", and why some alleged analysts are fulla crap:
Hilton is a playmaker, but not a vertical deep threat like the taller guys. Many cornerbacks and almost all safeties are taller than he is, and he can't blow their doors off if they're already running a race with him.
He can/will exploit an error in coverage to get behind a cornerback an holler "hit me!", but he still has a dime-sized catch radius, and the quarterback has to throw a higher, slower "bucket"-pass than he would to a taller guy with a quarter-sized catch radius when he gets deep.
In fact NO little shrimp speedster is EVER a consistent vertical threat.
Hilton, Jackson, Benjamin, Ginn etc. run slants and crosses, get lateral separation, and take short and intermediate passes upfield.
In most cases, if the quarterback doesn't hit them quickly, when they're supposed to, and in-stride, it's over. The safeties close on them, and they run out of field and have to predictably turn back inside.
Andrew Luck pulled the trigger and hit Hilton in-stride, and let him do his thing. Brissett does not. Brissett has a good arm, and can go deep. That's not the issue at all.
Poor T.Y. If he didn't nix a trade with the Browns, he'd be back where he started, because Kizer wouldn't pull the trigger or catch him in stride either.
I would still offer one of the lower second round picks for Hilton if I were Sashi. (Well...okay I would bid that high if I had to.) I don't think the Browns' competitors would beat that.
Kizer right now is a much, much better vertical passer than he is a West Coast guy. Even his best passes to Duke and the tight ends are over one shoulder or the other. When his mechanics are right, he's downright deadly on those, even at close range.
The problem is that his mechanics are still inconsistent, he is still trying to force himself to just lob it to the short crosser in under like five fkng seconds, (and I remind you that he may be incapable of that)...
Ok but Hilton is a proven lethal weapon, in his prime, so Sashi should nab him anyway. Rodney Hoganfield could use him, and so could Mason Rudolph. And ya never know: so might DeShone Kizer, eventually someday!
Why doesn't Hue Jackson want DeValve and Njoku on the field at the same time? Seriously, can somebody explain this to me? I mean, even with his man Kenny Britt unavailable?
Strictly for the sake of continuity, I don't want Hue Jackson fired, but he aint all that, ok? He insists on at least two official wide receivers at all times, no matter what. When he uses more than one tight end, one (or two) has to be an in-line blocker, no matter at.
When he's down to Louis, Williams, Treggs and Coates (*Coates might be special), at wr, he has to field at least two of those on every single down.
When is the last time Seth DeValve dropped a pass? Are you aware that DeValve can run every pattern Njoku can?
As soon as Kenny Britt is healthy, he will start again. Njoku and DeValve will not share the field any time soon, and if Njoku keeps dropping passes, that won't buy DeValve a break either.
This is the front office's fault? Hue refuses to put two of his best receivers on the field and "DePodesta did it"? Do you understand that both these guys are "seam-splitters" who do their damage making over-the-shoulder catches?
...I'm starting to think that Hue Jackson hung around Marvin Lewis too long...but don't fire him.
Yet.
THIS JUST IN: The Sith Lord just traded Jimmy Garropolo to the Niners for "a second round pick".
This means that Sashi Brown was unwilling to trade his top second round pick (presumably higher at this point) for this quarterback.
Before you fly into your kniption fit, read this:
1: Garoppolo's contract expires at the end of this season, and he has recently purchased a gun, ski mask, and Brinks truck.
2: Jimmy looks great, but is not proven.
3: He was injured in his second-ever real game.
4: The Browns' alleged pursuit of Jimmy G was a rumor (which I believed 100%), but was never confirmed, and might be fiction (never assume).
5: Unless the Niners meet his salary demands early, the Browns have the cash to bid for him when his contact expires (no draft pick required).
6: Kyle Shanahan likes Kirk Cousins a lot too. And so might the Browns!
7: Hue Jackson has a lot of input (Mary Kay Cabbot is wrong about this).
Ok you can have your temper tantrum now.
Friday, October 27, 2017
Hue Jackson Stays the Course: WATCH THIS!
Everson Griffin, who will go up against Spencer Drango in London this sunday, "disrespected" him by saying that he should be playing guard, and that he wishes he could go up against Joe Thomas.
Yawn. Oh yeah no doubt Spencer read this and flew into a rage. I know every Head Coach digs for "bulletin board material" every week, but come on, man-this "PC" crap is outta hand.
Drango gets it! Do you think he's a mentally impaired, delusional egomaniac? Everson, I respect your honesty.
Still, you know that Drango will pull out all the stops to stop this guy; it is motivation. But yeah...he's overmatched.
Hue Jackson can help Spencer by running at Griffin sometimes, crowding him inside with a "chippy" tight end (he can/will stunt to force Drango to quickly relieve Bitonio, but at least if he tries to cross Spencer's face he knows it's coming)
Not going deep so much would also be helpful, if Kizer has managed to figure that out after his long sabbadical😉.
I now know that Hue Jackson is a blockhead. He just added Matt Lengel to the active roster, so he has four tight ends now.
No knock on Lengel here: He's a terrific blocker, but not much more.
I can see this coming: He's finally decided to actually use two and three tight ends more often, and still make sure that DeValve and Njoku are rarely on the field at the same time!
You know what dogs do when you point at something? They stare at your finger, right? Well, that's Hue.
Anyway, don't expect to see DeValve and Njoku on the field at the same time any time soon...at least not while Kenny Britt is available...good grief...
It's all DePodesta's fault!
Duke Johnson aside, the two best receivers on this team are Njoku and DeValve.
It really is that simple, and you need to watch this game with that in mind.
Dammit.
Yawn. Oh yeah no doubt Spencer read this and flew into a rage. I know every Head Coach digs for "bulletin board material" every week, but come on, man-this "PC" crap is outta hand.
Drango gets it! Do you think he's a mentally impaired, delusional egomaniac? Everson, I respect your honesty.
Still, you know that Drango will pull out all the stops to stop this guy; it is motivation. But yeah...he's overmatched.
Hue Jackson can help Spencer by running at Griffin sometimes, crowding him inside with a "chippy" tight end (he can/will stunt to force Drango to quickly relieve Bitonio, but at least if he tries to cross Spencer's face he knows it's coming)
Not going deep so much would also be helpful, if Kizer has managed to figure that out after his long sabbadical😉.
I now know that Hue Jackson is a blockhead. He just added Matt Lengel to the active roster, so he has four tight ends now.
No knock on Lengel here: He's a terrific blocker, but not much more.
I can see this coming: He's finally decided to actually use two and three tight ends more often, and still make sure that DeValve and Njoku are rarely on the field at the same time!
You know what dogs do when you point at something? They stare at your finger, right? Well, that's Hue.
Anyway, don't expect to see DeValve and Njoku on the field at the same time any time soon...at least not while Kenny Britt is available...good grief...
It's all DePodesta's fault!
Duke Johnson aside, the two best receivers on this team are Njoku and DeValve.
It really is that simple, and you need to watch this game with that in mind.
Dammit.
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