That's the spirit. Football fans from rival fan bases living in harmony...Won for all, and all for won!
irregardless of our football alliances we can all bee appreciative of won another poking fun at the grammar police.
Nah, 10-6. Week 1 @ CLE: Loss Week 2 KAN: Loss Week 3 @ TAM: Win Week 4 BAL: Win Week 5 ATL: Win Week 6 @ CIN: Win BYE Week 8 CLE: Win Week 9 @ BAL: Win Week 10 CAR: Loss Week 11 @ JAX: Loss Week 12 @ DEN: Win Week 13 LAC: Win Week 14 @ OAK: Win Week 15 NWE: Loss Week 16 @ NOR: Loss Week 17 CIN: Win
At this point in the off season, it appears that what you see is what you get. There will probably be a couple of aquisitions that come from training camp casualties but, the roster is pretty well set. IMHO, on paper this is probably the best roster the Browns have had in place at this point since 2002. That is not to say I think this is a playoff roster as the 2002 Browns made the playoffs in large part due to the relative weakness of the AFC that year. When I look at a roster, I tend to break it down into positional groups both with projected starters and depth players. That said, here is my take on the positional groups as it stands today; Running Backs: Carlos Hyde, Duke Johnson and Nick Chubb all have the ability to provide quality touches with little drop off from the back up roles. Its doubtfull that any of these guys will lead the league in rushing, but they should provide a consistent running game. Quarterbacks: Our historical achilles heal, this is by far the best group since the rebirth. Two veterans (one of which has been somewhat successful) along with a very talented and motivated rookie. Its going to be interesting to see how this group plays out over the course of the season. Wide Receivers: By far the group with the biggest gap between boon and bust. The addition of Landry in the slot (and I think you'll see a lot of Duke here, as well) was solid. Out wide though, everything will depend on whether Gordon and Calloway can stay away from left handed cigarettes and if Coleman can go a year without an Orthopedic doctor. Tight Ends: Njoku has the earmarks of being a solid contributor. Their success will depend on the effectiveness of the running game and the wide outs in addition to how Haley uses them. O-line: The interior could be one of the best in the league (certainly the best in the AFCN). However, both tackle spots are huge question marks. We will miss Joe Thomas. D-line: Somewhat the inverse of the O-line where the strength is the DE's and the question marks are in the middle. Still, a lot of talent and depth here so the rotations shouldn't generate a huge impact on the field. Linebackers: IMO, the weakest postional group on the roster. To be honest, I haven't seen Collins play up to the hype he came in with yet and I will take a wait and see approach with Kendricks. If a starter goes down to injury, this group is in big trouble. DB's: Here is where most of the attention was placed. If they don't show marked improvement, it won't be due to a lack of effort on Dorsey's part.
Only thing I can add is that I think the TE group was underrated last year. Devalve and Njoku were not liabilities blocking and the addition of Fells as the "blocking" tight end is a marked improvement. He is a plow with solid hands, and a massive target. Similarly, I think the DTs are also underrated. There is a lot of talent there that had their snaps decrease by the team pressing to play Shelton. Brantley, Ogunjobi, and Meder are a solid 3 man rotation, not to mention kicking some ends inside to pass rush *should* be a fun thing to watch.
I think what's interesting is when you look at Todd Haley's offenses in Pittsburgh, they were never a lead-the-league in rushing team (in fact, usually finished in the bottom half in that category) but they were extremely effective and efficient running the football. Despite their limited success on the ground in terms of scoring or total yardage, Cleveland has had the most effective offensive line in football over the past two seasons. Some of that undoubtedly is due to Hall of Famer Joe Thomas who'll be sorely missed, but 4/5ths of the line is back and with an improved backfield behind them. And while he's not a running back, Tyrod Taylor has averaged 525 yards as a starter on the ground. The running game should be a major strength of the team in 2018 - if not the largest focus. Drew Stanton went 4-1 as a starter in his last two seasons with a bad football team (Arizona). He's our third-best quarterback. That speaks to how significantly improved this position group is. So much of the individual contributors' ability is lost on the fact this was an 0-16 football team with a bad quarterback and head coach. DeValve, a converted Ivy League wide receiver, has as much potential as Jordan Cameron. David Njoku has an even higher ceiling. Neither is going to become the next Rob Gronkowski, but they certainly have the potential to be Top 5 guys at the position. Agreed. Big decisions to be made at the LT spot. May be a bit of a homer because he's my guy, but Larry Ogunjobi is a star in the making. He was the fourth-best graded defending (per PFF.com) in 2017 for the team. That's coming from UNC-Charlotte having not played the position very long working behind veterans and the number one defender on the team was first overall pick Myles Garrett. He was the second-highest graded rookie interior defender (again, per PFF.com) in the NFL. Last point: a football guy's guy (John Dorsey) saw enough out of Ogunjobi to trade away Danny Shelton, who never lived up to his draft spot, for what's basically a fourth round pick. That might be a bit unfair to the group. I'll admit they didn't play well in 2017, but that defensive scheme was so bad that no one (outside of a couple rare players) did. I forget which game it was, but Chris Spielman was doing the broadcast and talked at length about the linebackers - noting that their first step (regardless of situation) was backwards. That's the "don't give up the big play" mentality that Greggggggg Williams brought last season. It remains to be seen how he intends to coach this year and whether those bad habits can be un-learned, but there's definitely talent there. I think the inability of the linebackers to cover - especially tight ends - was the biggest problem and hope they find a way to address that. If it's Mychael Kendricks, then that's fine by me. Gregggggg Williams is officially "on notice".
I'll say this: the difference between a 9-7 season and a 3-13 one is on Gregggg Williams in 2018. That offense should be able to play on Sundays. His defense needs to make a massive step forward.
I was just about to post the bad news about Wilson, but SAS beat me to it. Nice work..That sucks though. We may never get to see him on the field. Didn't he tear his knee up lightly jogging last year? Geez... smh....
Two years in a row of no football due to leg injuries. Going to be tough for this guy to ever see the field.
Josh Gordon Says Browns Have Best WR Corps in NFL TIM DANIELSJUNE 12, 2018 Ron Schwane/Associated Press Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon said Tuesday he believes the team possesses the best group of wideouts in the National Football League. Gordon is joined by Jarvis Landry, who was acquired in a March trade with the Miami Dolphins, and Corey Coleman as the top targets for the winner of the quarterback battle between Tyrod Taylor and Baker Mayfield, the first overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft. "I think we're the best receiving corps in the league, in my opinion, already," Gordon said, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Gordon is great. I’m a big fan, but he’s back on the devil’s lettuce if he thinks the Browns have the best WR tandem (or group for that matter) in the NFL. They haven’t done shit together yet. Coleman knocks them down a few spots ... all by himself. Will never forget his dropped pass near the sideline last season against Pittsburgh. Even Mike Wallace would’ve caught that one. It’s good the team is feeling good though. I like it.
Inversely, everyone would bash him if he came out and said "man, I bet we're about 22nd best wr corps".
