Since we're talking about player rankings... thought it might be appropriate to list them all. Offense DeShone Kizer - 32nd Isaiah Crowell - 47th Duke Johnson Jr. - 15th Danny Vitale - 4th Kenny Britt - 106th Rashard Higgins - 102nd Ricardo Louis - 100th Corey Coleman - 45th Seth DeValve - 35th David Njoku - 42nd Joe Thomas - 1st Joel Bitonio - 5th J.C. Tretter - 23rd Kevin Zeitler - 17th Shon Coleman - 28th Defense Myles Garrett - NOT GRADED YET Danny Shelton - 70th Larry Ogunjobi - 30th Emmanuel Ogbah - 71st Jamie Collins - 76th Joe Schobert - 66th Chris Kirksey - 74th Jamar Taylor - 92nd Derrick Kindred - 33rd Jabrill Peppers - 82nd Jason McCourty - 2nd Briean Boddy-Calhoun - 11th
I take as much stock in those preseason rankings as I do the rankings you just posted above...Vitale #4? What has that guy done? The Browns pass defense is atrocious yet they have the #2 and #11 best players in the NFL? Those people doing those rankings have no clue what coverage their in or what the guys responsibility is on that play...what if a guy was suppose to switch and he doesnt and the WR is wide open....who gets the negative mark?
lol! Who? I'm talkin about in the big boy seat... Ryan Grigson- known best for letting the Indianapolis Colts roster fall apart, and being taken advantage of by the Browns in the Trent Richardson trade.lol! I'm pretty sure, the only exec ever to be bamboozled by the Browns....You really counting him as a "football mind"? I guess technically, Ray Farmer is a football guy....
I would direct your attention back to Exhibit A: Phil Savage, Tom Heckert, Ray Farmer and the countless other F/O executive GMs who have failed in that role at not only our franchise, but others. Just because someone's a football guy doesn't make them a slam-dunk exec. or a whiz at identifying talent. I would go back to the fact that the Browns have repeatedly been given very high marks for their recent draft classes. Likewise, they've spent correctly in free agency. Everyone has misses, and certainly Kenny Britt has been one, but he was the TOP free agency wide receiver at the time of signing. In his three seasons in St. Louis/Los Angeles, he posted 152 receptions, 2,431 yards, and 11 touchdowns - three of his best four years in his career. Kevin Hogan to Kenny Britt may be a different story, too. We'll have to wait and see. I still maintain Grigson is there as a counter-adviser. Grigson: "Guys... I think we should sign Player X." Sashi: "Noted... thanks, Ryan! Here's a cookie for you." G: "Yay!!"
I like the trade. Have no clue why the Saints signed him in the first place. As long as Brees is there slinging it downfield, AP was never going to see the rock much, if at all. At least he's now with a team that values the running game to complement the pass game. Unfortunately the Cardinals' O line sucks, so he might not make much impact. Rok
Reporter: "We now go live to Kevin Hogan to get his reaction to hearing he's the starter. Kevin?" Reporter: "Back to you, guys."
I might voluntarily go with you Lym...honestly, I simply cannot understand why EVERYONE knew this was a long build, didn't expect much from this team...but NOW are calling for everyone's head to roll. It gets old reading the same tired stuff...
I won't stop you if you want to take a voluntary leave of absence, but here's the deal. We were on board with the rebuild in 2016. Tear it down and start over, we get that. Statistically, it's incredibly difficult to lose every game and we nearly did. That wears on a fan base. However, there were definitely things you felt good about going into the next season. What they did starting Kizer was hitting the reset button and going back to 2016 - arguably, worse, since Kizer performed worse than Bob Griffin, Josh McCown, Cody Kessler, Kevin Hogan, Charlie Whitehurst, and Terrelle Pryor. That is/was tough to stomach. NOW, they're going with Hogan because they screwed up the QB eval. And we're in a limbo. Is Kevin Hogan the future franchise QB for this team? Is DeShone Kizer? Is he done? Is Cody Kessler ever going to see the field? You can't have all those questions and no answers mid-way through the second season of a rebuild. Lastly, we agreed with a long rebuild, but it's not five years to competitive. It's five years to Super Bowl contender. In a league build around parity, you simply do not get five years to see if you're "heading in the right direction". Year 1: tear down, identify some core competencies Year 2: build on Y1 core competencies, be directionally correct Year 3: compete in every game, have a winning record Year 4: playoffs or bust Year 5: Super Bowl or bust
And while I don't want to drag an open wound through a bath of salty, lemon juice, here's what they've done: 2016 Draft Cody Kessler as the guy of the future Sign Bob Griffin as the guy right now Proceed to start: Griffin, Josh McCown, Cody Kessler, Charlie Whitehurst, Kevin Hogan Go 1-15 Fire the defensive coordinator Replace DL, LB, DB position coaches Hire a QB coach Replace the offensive line coach 2017 Draft DeShone Kizer as the guy of the future Demote Cody Kessler for Brock Osweiler Demote Brock Osweiler for DeShone Kizer Cut Brock Osweiler Start DeShone Kizer Bench DeShone Kizer Start DeShone Kizer Bench DeShone KIzer Start Kevin Hogan That is not the direction in which a successfully-aligned organization goes.
You don't think going: From 2016 Defense ranked #31 and Offense ranked #30 To 2017 Defense ranked #9 and Offense ranked #16 is directionally correct? Turnovers and penalties are what is costing the youngest team in the NFL wins, not the direction the roster is heading....That comes with experience.
I hate to break it to you, but the QB position is a revolving door until it isn't...There isn't a single position that comes close to competing on the bust meter with QB. It really shouldn't surprise anyone, especially you that they haven't found the one yet. For the record, I don't believe for a second that Carson Wentz or Deshaun Watson would be on the same level of success story had they been the pick of the Browns...But, go ahead and make your own assumptions...
On the contrary, I do think they're correct defensively. I praised the Gregg Williams hire. I think they dropped the ball on building up Year 1 core competencies. I get tired of using his name, but Cody Kessler was a great building block for this team. Instead, Hue went with a QB who could launch the football, to hell with the accuracy or turnover rate, and it wasn't until he played a more conservative game than Kessler ever did that Hue determined he played "lights out". Then he benched him the fourth quarter of that "lights out" game. Then he benched him at halftime of the following game. It's high time we admit Hue Jackson is no QB guru/whisperer/whatever and doesn't have the faintest clue what he's doing (1) identifying a QB, (2) calling a successful game plan for said QB, (3) and coordinating a winning offense.