2017 Season The Good, Bad and Ugly

Quick recap...

Eagles get:
Carson Wentz - below-average starter

Brown get:
Corey Coleman - starter
Shon Coleman - starter
Cody Kessler - backup QB
Ricardo Louis - backup WR
Derrick Kindred - starter
Jordan Payton - cut
Spencer Drango - backup OG
Jabrill Peppers - starter
DeShone Kizer - starter
2018 first round pick - Connor Williams, OT Texas
2018 second round pick - Derrius Guice, RB Louisiana State

Could go down as the most lop-sided trade in NFL history.

 

Other than the fact I want a legitimate wide receiver(which can be had with one of the OTHER 3 picks the Browns own in the first two rounds)...How could you be disappointed with drafted the potential player that could start a 10,000 snap marathon of his own to replace Joe Thomas in a couple of years. All I want is to get Joe a playoff win before he retires..Super Bowl would be GREAT, but a playoff win for that guy is almost a necessity for me!

Now, as for the pick...For my money, I am bias in the fact that I see more Notre Dame players than any other school, but I also give my fair assessment. Mike McGlinchey will emerge as the best OT prospect from this draft and he will be looked at as a top 5 talent, when this college football season closes. I've liked the kid for the last couple of years, but watching him this year, his footwork and "hand fighting" has improved immensely over last year. He was always able to get in front of the defender, but this year he is ahead of the defender, much like Joe does in his technique. I would LOVE to see him in a Browns uni to learn a couple years from Joe and move into the blind protector role in the coming years. Hell, Joe's good enough, if he wants to continue playing into our Super Bowl runs, he could slide over to the right side when McGlinchey is ready.

I'm fine with Guice there in the second...except, I'm not sure he will still be around

 

Kindred has really surprised me out of this bunch. So far the trade looks like a solid move, I was a huge fan of the move when we made it

 

There's absolutely no doubt about it....That trade, though unpopular with many at the time, really got the whole thing started. And then they follow that with a similar trade, while still netting three first rounders and a future #1....It's truly a pleasure to watch these guys operate. 36 picks in three years. It's an impressive strategy, and I truly believe our front office is putting out the blueprint on building a football team in the modern era. They patiently waited for 2 years to nab a "real" potential NFL QB. And they waited for him to fall right into their lap, all while picking up futures right and left....They may wind up making another movie about the genius of Paul DePodesta...This is going to be a really solid year for the Browns. I trust what my eyes see...The light at the end of our tunnel, that I've talked about forever it seems, is a big glaring fireball right now....believe it.

Go ahead. Tell me to hold my horses. I'm too quick to go all in on anything the Browns do...I know. Where's Buzz Killington?

 

Week 2

Yikes.

Good
Rashard Higgins had an interesting couple of days. Cut by the team and unclaimed by the other 31, the Browns signed him to their practice squad 9/15. He was promoted to the active roster 9/16. Targeted 11 times (7 receptions, 95 yards) on 9/17. He had 77 yards receiving in 16 games last season.

Jabrill Peppers is a pretty solid tackler.

Not Browns related, but...



@showstopper

Lastly, and amazingly somehow after one of the worst Browns games I've seen in memory, we're opening as road favorites (-2.5) next week against the Colts.

Bad
Gregg Williams' defense did their best impression of Ray Horton Jr.'s defense. They surrendered 136 yards on the ground (4.2 YPC) and lost the time of possession battle 33:24 to 26:36.

Tackling was poor, leading to some huge gains and big let downs on third and long situations.

An absurd amount of penalties on the Browns doomed several drives before they even really began.

We lost. Browns are 0-2. Jamie Collins got a concussion. Corey Coleman broke his hand. DeShone Kizer has a history of migraines.



Ugly
DeShone Kizer. Since 1999, that's the fourth-worst game by a Browns QB. Only Brandon Weeden (a colossal bust) was worse in his first-ever start as a rookie, notching a 5.1 QB rating. Derek Anderson (2006) logged 12.3 throwing four interceptions. Colt McCoy (2010) posted 27.0 (0.3 worse than Kizer) tossing three interceptions. It's not that he didn't make the right reads, or made the wrong throws, but he did both. And did so with consistency. I knew after watching Weeden's first game as a pro he was a bust. I saw waaaay too much of the same thing today out of Kizer.

DeShone Kizer. Much like the first game, he held the ball too long - sometimes upwards of six seconds - which is simply inexcusable. Cody Kessler is third string for taking "too many sacks". Kizer has nine sacks in 61 dropbacks (14.8%). Kessler's rate was 9.7%.

DeShone Kizer. Turns out, he has a history of migraines.

Hue Jackson. Inexcusable clock management (again). Lost a challenge (again). Abandoned the run (again).

I had hopes of stealing a win this week and running a momentum train into a bad segment of our schedule, leading to a solid 5-1 record. This Colts game is going to tell us a LOT of about who this team is. If they can course-correct and get the win against one of the worst rosters in the sport, that's a positive step. If they can go 3-2 through this next stretch of schedule, I'll be relieved. I feel anything less than that is not only unacceptable, but of very real concern moving forward.

 

Wow Kizer went from savior to Weeden in a week....he has been known for having accuracy issues...it will only get harder in the NFL...also I'm sure he is seeing way more coverages and disguises than he saw in preseason hence the holding of the ball....preseason doesn't tell all

 

uhm ...yeah...I agree with all that. I was gonna rant but, the hell with it...Sorry for the horrific gambling advice fellas. I promise not to do that again.

I knew there was going to be flashes of great, and flashes of terrible....Home opener in B-more is a tough chore. Lick the wounds and move on...That was fuckin nightmare.

 

I think the fact that Buzz Killington jumped in before I could get that posted, sums up my day....

 

BTW...How the hell does our star receiver keep breaking his hands??? Has anybody ever even heard of this happening to a wideout?

 

Buzz Killington tries to keep normalcy in here so 2day doesn't hurt so much...I guess I failed or people just refuse to listen

 

Listen to what? Are you trying to say that you were the only one who saw bumps in the road coming for the rookie QB? smh...

So Kizer has rough day in his first road game, in Baltimore's home opener, and you are here step in with the "I told ya so's"..??? lol!

Rookie QB's struggle sometimes Buzz. We are all aware of that. No need for you to police us with your keen football intellect.... Went from "savior to Weeden" ? lol! Sorry, I didn't see him get stuck under any giant flags. It was a tough day against one of the NFL's best defenses. They had Kizer confused. They had Hue confused. The red zone interception was a back breaker. I expect Kiser to learn from it, and play better next week in Indy. Pretty sure nobody thought this season was just going to be a joyride...

 

Not on Kizer the Browns in general....people were claiming 5-1 and this great defense after 1 week...Pitt did nothing all preseason w their guys...Bell and Big ben played 5-10 snaps total, Bryant wasnt even cleared yet etc

 

Must be congenital. Crystal Digititus.

 

I haven't had a good rant for a while so I figure I'm due.

When Jessie James does what he did in week 1, you chalk it up to an effective game plan and/or adjustments by the Steelers. When Ben Methuselah Watson does the same exact thing in week 2, one has to wonder if its talent or scheme. Stealing a phrase from Steeler brethern . . . Williams deployed the "Cover Zero" defense.

Okay, so it turns out that Hue's shiny new QB gets migrane headaches. That's something a coach can't plan for. But when that shiny new QB takes himself out of a game because of it, his development stops for the rest of that game and you go to plan B. In this case, plan A was stinking up the joint. That will happen with shiny new QB's some times. But when plan B goes in and actually starts to make a game out of it, you don't go back to plan A simply because he says he's okay. At some point in time, actually winning a game should take precedence over developing a shiny new QB.

 

stopper, all I'm saying is, wasn't it in the back of every Browns fans mind, that things could get ugly in Baltimore? Yes. Of course it was...

 

Gotta agree. I posted as such in the DPL during the game. Hogan wasn't perfect, but he wasn't killing the team with his play.

Hue assured us Kizer gave us the best chance to win this season. I said 3-13 if he started all 16. I'm NOT okay with 3-13, so those two need to figure it out and get it going.

 

I agree 100% Lyman...Hogan looked more than capable. He was playing better. Why go back. I didn't like that either. If Hogan was struggling, I could understand it, but it really felt like a total rhythm buster, and a completely wrong decision to turn back to the struggling rookie at that point...

 

I don't think anyone said he was a savior after Week 1. The Weeden comp is based on that game, sure. Weeden is the worst QB to ever suit up for this team. All the arm talent in the world and not a clue what to do with it. That's what Kizer looked like today.

Weeden never improved. I hope Kizer does. And more importantly, ceases to make the same mistakes. I believe he will, but if he doesn't, that is a back breaker.

Not sure why preseason keeps coming up.

 

lol! Ah yes...When your hands just turn to glass. Got to be an issue for a WR, one would think.

 

So what is the deal with Corey Coleman? Are we looking at another 6 week injury? This is gonna hurt Kizer's development as much as anything. We are already paper thin at receiver...