Ummm......Mack, but he doesn't meet the "in Cleveland" requirement since the FO wasn't gonna pay him....andhe left. Josh Cribbs???? Same as Mack.......and he left. Or are you wanting an actually really good player who stayed? If so, I may have trouble getting the long-term memory cells to kick back in gear to recall that....... *CRAZY*
Hey fellow Lounge Houndz *HI* Training camp is almost here*YAHOO* Football season is upon us once again. Soon all the chatter is going to revolve around who will start at QB for the Browns. Much of it will be around Kizer :! Honestly I just can't get excited about this kid. The last few QB's that played college ball for the fighting Irish, well... let's just say they aren't in the league anymore and leave it at that. What I'm most interested in seeing is how much better the offense looks with a solid O-line. And I have a feeling that the defense is going to start to be fun to watch. The secondary might still cause us all to have heart failure, but I really like how the front seven are shaping up. Eagerly anticipating the first snap. Stay safe and pray for rain... We're burning up around here....
Are you really going to address your feelings on a player, based on what PAST players from a certain school achieved? That's like saying every QB from this day forward will fail in Cleveland, simply because the enormous pattern of QBs that have failed before them. What's the point if it is inevitable, based on other players performances? I'm a Domer, I admit it...and I didn't want DeShone Kizer on this Browns roster if it meant using either of the first round draft picks..I have said it many times..That was true of EVERY QB in this draft class. Low and behold, we didn't use a first round pick on one and, imho, the second best QB in this class behind Watson fell in our laps at #52. I love Kizer's potential. It really is the highest of any other prospect in this class..I don't think anyone would be able to argue against that. The black eye is the team's performance in 2016..A truly remarkable QB should be able to elevate that team to greater things, even when you lose 75% of your offensive starters to the draft...He didn't, they scored, on average, a TD less per game. That said, his skillset is awesome. Playing with the same group year in and year out, should allow him to grow into a very high caliber QB...I truly believe he could be at Matt Ryan's level in 4 years.
Oh Shtuff... Here I am getting sucked into this horred QB debate once again... *WALL* *WALL* *WALL* *WALL* A. I don't want any Browns player to fail! I wish for them ALL to succeed and bring this team back to the championship conversation. B. True, I am in my own way putting down players from a certain school, :rolleyes: , yet given the regression that Kizer displayed last year doesn't lead me to have much confidence in his chances of succeeding as a starting QB in the NFL for at least 2-3 years. HE NEEDS TIME TO GROW AND DEVELOP. (The success of Quinn and Klausen haven't inspired much confidence. In this department) C. My real point being that regardless of whatever athletic intangibles the guy may have he is still light years away from being ready to play at the next level. I get that Kizer has the potential, I just don't want to see him rushed into action because every tom, dick, and harry with a keyboard and opinion think that the Browns need to keep going to the next guy in line. I for one am willing to wait 2+-years to let Kizer learn and develop and go through the growing pains around the rest of the roster. D. I DO NOT WANT A ROOKIE QB UNDER CENTER THIS YEAR!!!!!!! In the end I am tired of everybody trying to make me feel like this team has to keep throwing darts at the QB board Praying that they hit a bullseye. I get that we don't have that supposed "franchise" guy. I have also seen that teams can win games/SUPER BOWLS even without franchise guy. Shit Mangini won his last four games by running the ball behind a stellar o-line, and all the QB did was call plays and hand the ball off. I honestly like the way this roster is starting to shape up and want to see more consistency under center. These players are young and they all have a lot of growing to do. I am TIRED of the endless QB debate. Make Kessler the starter and establish constancy under center and see what we really have beyond the QB.
Whichever quarterback truly gives us the best chance to WIN, should start. Period....Who cares if it's a rookie? Can he move the offense, and put points on the board? If Kizer has difficulty taking the job from Kessler, then I assume we will be back in the QB hunt in next years draft...Kessler is a gamer, and I know some of you guys just love him, but he's the same caliber of QB as Brian Hoyer and Colt McCoy. The pop-gun arm isn't going to work in Cleveland...It just isn't. Couple that with his ultra-conservative nature, and we will have defenses licking their chops, once again... Defensive backs dream about facing QB's like Cody Kessler. That's the truth. He's a conservative game manager, that we can really only open about half the playbook for, because of his limited physical abilities. Defensively, You can load the box against Kessler, and still not worry about getting burnt deep...You really want to watch another long season of that? It would be really nice to have a QB that can put the DB's on their heels a little bit. When virtually zero threat of actually throwing the football over their heads, Kessler makes it too easy for the defensive coordinators of this league... My prediction: Kizer wins the job in preseason...
All in all, it was a really good offseason for the Cleveland Browns. Garrett, Peppers, Njoku, Kizer and Ogunjobi are all going to be big stars in this league. I can't wait to see this thing come together....This will someday be looked at as the real turning point. The 2016 Browns draft will not only be recognized as one of the greatest drafts in Browns history, but it will go down as one of the best drafts in NFL history... Ya gotta believe. The one terrible move: Letting Terrelle Pryor get away.....We WILL regret that. It's not often that a star player gives you an opportunity to match a free agent deal. That was just stupid... People don't like Pryor, so I'm sure I'll get bashed for saying it, but it was....Yes, I know all the specifics about how that deal went down....I don't care. We should have matched his deal. What would be SO awful about having him on another relatively inexpensive one year "prove it" deal??? Sometimes players get their way.....Letting him walk, was absurd.
The reason I'm so adamant about Pryor should be obvious.... We were the team that resurrected his career....The Cleveland Browns pulled a big diamond out of the rough, and then just let him go..(sigh)..Presumably it was because he offended the team business practices by trying to leverage and find his true worth. And yes, TP did try to muscle the Browns. But in the end, he still wanted to be a Brown, and he gave us the opportunity to have him for another year at a bargain price. Dumb mistake by the Browns not to grant him another 1 year "prove it" deal.... Plain and simple...I don't give a shit that it's not our "team policy" to conduct business in that manner....The Browns made him an offer that he probably should have taken, but I can't speak to the level of confidence TP has in himself. I wouldn't bet against him lighting it up for the Redskins, I damn sure know that... TP was awesome last year, playing within a trainwreck of a team, with no less than 6 different QB's....He was doubled every week, and it didn't matter. Pryor was fantastic...Maybe he is much better than what our 4 yr offer was going to pay him. Either way. He's a Redskin, and he shouldn't be.....
IT takes 22 players in case you forgot. Games are won or lost in the trenches. Defense WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS!
I would have to agree with Stopper with a correction...Offenses start and ends with the QB... Then I also agree 100% with Crex...Games are won and lost in the trenches on both sides of the ball. But, they are symbiotic, if you have a great offensive line and a mediocre QB, they will never be able to sustain drives because the QB in unable to process the correct decisions. If a good QB has a mediocre offensive line, he may never have enough time to showcase his decision making skills constantly on the run, and if the line can't allow a running game to be productive, the QB will only be able to use a portion of his repertoire. It is EXTREMELY rare that a QB comes along that can circumvent mediocre players around him and simply will a team to be a winning offense. Peyton Manning did it for years with less than average offensive lines. As long as he had a good center and at least one other above average lineman, he could make it work. That isn't the case for 99% of all QBs and a bad line will make a good QB retire early. In order to win a championship, the offense MUST be capable of scoring points, but a team with a middling defense..in most cases...will lose that championship more times because of the lackluster defense, than a good offense wins one.
Actually Crex, this is where you may be making the wrong choice...if you in all actuality want consistency at the QB position. Making Kessler the starter may in fact be the worst choice on the roster to establish consistency. I love the kid, honestly I have championed him throughout the off season based on what I saw of him. BUT...with two concussions in his rookie season, the word consistent most likely will never be added to the team that counts on him to play 16 games a regular season. That is another aspect that comes with getting Kizer reps sooner than later. The kid is built for the weather and AFC North division defenses. With a budding offensive line, one can hope he will stay healthier with the way he is built. He is a pocket passer and will not have to rely on running as much as Kelly ran him at ND...but he has the capability when needed. I know everyone basis everything on the fact that ND lost games last year. Some of that falls on his shoulders. But, I also feel like he will give this team the best chance to win a Super Bowl of any other QB currently on the roster. As such, I want him developed as quickly as his mind and body will allow. If that is 2 years, I'm fine with that, but if it's 2 months I have no problem playing him as soon as he reaches beyond the level of all other QBs on the roster. I want to win now...if he gives us the best opportunity to do that, I want him in there.
How's this for a novel idea . . . ? We just let these guys go through training camp, show their stuff and let the people who actually know what they're seeing (ie: the coaching staff) decide which QB offers the best chance at success?
I think he was underutilized last year and it would be a positive move to have him and Crow on the field at the same time. There are more shifts that we could do with this move.
I would like to see them lined up in the backfield together in a pro or flex set from time to time. You can create mismatches with movement (Johnson in motion or formation reset presnap) and make it easier for the younger quarterbacks to identify one on one match-ups. Plus, there are still advantages to having multiple rushing threats, especially with an offensive line that can create holes on either side.
The important thing is, what does this mean for Duke Johnson as it pertains to fantasy football. This move should help his value tremendously, especially if they reclassify him as a RB/WR..... Seriously though, I don't think this will hurt the Browns. Duke has always had good hands. Whether or not he can separate from the slot remains to be seen, but might be worth a shot. The more flexible the player, the more value he brings to the team...IMO, the best replacement for Andrew Hawkins was truly Taylor Gabriel. Releasing him last year, in favor of all those unproven rookies, was a mistake. But as Browns fans, we've seen moves like that over and over. It just comes with the territory when you are constantly changing coaches and execs... Hopefully, with some consistency in the front office and coaching staff, we won't see much more of that.
Not a fan. 1. Doesn't speak much our bevvy of 2016 picks at the position that none can fill the spot, to say nothing of James Wright or Mario Alford who were slot receivers with Cincy that we picked up off waviers. 2. Isaiah Crowell is a pending free agent (not likely to be re-signed, if I had to guess) who's never been a 1,000 yard back and who's very much a "boom or bust" runner. Johnson has not shown himself to be a consistent runner, but he's also never really been given the chance. 3. The only other reasonable guesses at other RBs on the final roster are some combination of Matt Dayes, George Atkinson, and Darius Jackson who've notched a total of 0 rushes for 0 yards and 0 touchdowns combined. 4. Still not sure what the F/O and coaches have seen through two seasons now to completely abandon the position until the last pick of the most recent draft - No. 252 the second-to-last pick overall.
We'll see I guess. With the way our QB's have played, it's tough for any RB to find room...I think you are selling Crowell a bit short however. He has done a nice job, and certainly has some "feature RB' characteristics. Crow easily goes over 1000 yards last year if they hadn't been forced to abandon the run in so many games, and let's not forget, that was behind a makeshift O-line for most of the season and practically zero QB production to keep the defense honest. They were stacking the box, and Crow's straight-line, one cut bursts, were still pretty effective....On paper, we now have one of the top offensive lines in the NFL, and if they perform as advertized, sky is the limit for Isaiah Crowell. He's on a contract season, and he just hired Drew Rosenhaus to represent him. Crowell means business, and if he has an "All-Pro type season, I won't be surprised. They need to incorporate him more in the passing game. He's dangerous in the open field. DB's don't like tackling Crowell....
