The first thing that springs to mind is Brian Hoyer. He's a guy that Lombardi had been very high on from his time at the NFL Network and as an assistant to Bill Belichick.
One of the biggest differences I see, which actually speaks to them *not* trying to prove they're smarter than everyone is picking a guy like Barkevious Mingo at No. 6. He was rated by most scouts/analysts as the best pure pass rusher in the class. They are obviously making the pass rush a priority. They didn't try to get cute and trade down with a coveted position available, al la Tom Heckert and Julio Jones. Regardless of the QB, this is a completely different team with Julio Jones on the roster and not Greg Little -- that's indisputable. I think they're taking a methodical approach to this, and I approve of that. They came in a little late to the game and I'll cut them some slack for the 2013 offseason. 2014 should paint a much better picture of them.
Before you go patting him on the back too much for Brian Hoyer, let's not get ahead of ourselves and crown him the next Tom Brady.... Hoyer was going against the 28th ranked passing defense in the league (they give up 315.7 yds/game) and he still threw 3 picks! A better test will be this week against a pretty darn good defense (Cin, 14th in the league against passing)... He has another good performance, then maybe we can talk about how great of a find Hoyer is for Lombardi!
I want to look at these three examples seperately: Who after only two games has 2 sacks in a limited playing capacity...luxury is in the eyes of the beholder. I actually called him a luxury pick a few weeks back, but in reflection, if a player becomes the best player on their side of the ball...is he still a luxury pick or simply the best man taken to improve your team? Again, it is yet to be determined if he becomes a stalwart sack machine...but if he does, and the rest of the team can't catch up, wasn't it really the best choice to make to improve this team long term. After all, my replacement "need" player was Dee Milliner and he is NOT acclimating well to the NFL in his early stages of his career...I was wrong in my assessment, blinded by "need". I had my doubts on draft day and draft day only. I have defended this move every day since. When given a draft in which you as a professional do not see ANY player at this point becoming a professional attribute, it really isn't a choice but to get rid of any draft pick you have at your disposal. All they did was turn two worthless draft picks into future commodities in what is considered a much better environment for finding talent worthy of the league...and in doing so also, improved those picks by a round each...Heck the way the Steelers are playing it may be an early 3rd rounder in 2014...All the while, the Steelers picked a guy who can't climb past the 3rd string SS depth chart on a team needing safety help. I would be willing to make a bet right now, the Browns will have multiple choices in the 3rd round of 2014, at the same position, that would make the Steelers choice of 5' 9" Shamarko Thomas an extremely bad one. All they did was weaken a Steelers team at the same time as strengthening the Browns...brilliantly played imho. This is one for which I have no excuse...once you reach the 3rd round, it is time to start looking for gems with a shaky past. Honey Badger was staring them square in the face and they ran from him. It is yet to be seen whether he reverts back to his ways or not, but there was really no comparison between him and Leon McFadden (although McFadden was the only worthy CB without a criminal record left to take at that point because of the lack of talent in this draft). Overly cautious? I think that is an understatement on this one!
I agree, love what he did last week in terms of a W, even after suffering 3 INTs...but we are a season away from calling this move. I would say at the very least though, he will make a very good backup...which I believe is what they brought him here for to begin with. So the move can be called a success given those parameters.
Not me *NO* NO free pass when everyone pretty much knew before the sale (August 2012) was official (October 2012) that Banner and Lombatard were going to be running the show. They had plenty of time to gather the information they needed for the draft, and FA periods. Agreed, though I'm not super hopeful at this point.
Josh Gordon says coach Rob Chudzinski told him the Browns have no intentions of trading him. Perhaps, but the Browns leaked dirt on Gordon through the media this offseason, and did not stand behind him publicly through his two-game suspension ordeal. If they don't trade him, it's not because they want to keep Gordon. It's because the offers they received weren't enough. "[Chud] texted me the other day talking about it and just reassuring me there were no trade offers or anything like that," Gordon said. "The fact that [Chud] said there wasn?t [a plan to trade me], it makes me feel a little more comfortable." I hope Chud isn't BS the kid unless of course he burns another pee test then by all means trade him to the first caller before they find out . we need Gordon .Little on the other hand can be traded . who would want him ? and why ?
By NATE ULRICH Akron Beacon Journal BEREA Cleveland Browns nose tackle Phil Taylor believes the defense made a statement by holding Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson in check, and he doesn?t appreciate anyone discounting it one bit. After the Browns upset the Vikings 31-27 on Sunday at the Metrodome, Peterson wrote the following on Twitter that night: ?So my daughter is laying here under me and just out the blue she says ... I can?t believe you lost to the Browns Daddy! Smh (Shaking my head).? Taylor retweeted the comment but apparently he didn?t think it was cute or funny. ?We knew playing against the Vikings would be a good test for us, having Adrian Peterson,? Taylor said. ?We showed what type of defense we?re about. But obviously we still don?t get the respect that we deserve, so we have to keep going out there and doing what we?ve got to do. ?He can say what he wants, but he wasn?t a factor in the game. He had less than 100 yards. The only reason they really scored, they got the ball on the 9, they got the ball on the 26, other than that, it wasn?t really a big game (for their offense).? The Browns limited Peterson to 88 yards on 25 carries (3.5 average). Peterson?s rushing total and average per carry were the lowest of this young season. The Browns (1-2) hope to continue to thrive against the run when they face the Cincinnati Bengals (2-1) in an AFC North matchup Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium. The reigning NFL Most Valuable Player, Peterson averaged less than 4 yards per carry in only three games last season. He averaged 3.8, 3.4 and 3.4 yards an attempt in Weeks 2, 3 and 16, respectively. He ran for more than 100 yards in 10 games and finished with 2,097 yards, 9 shy of breaking Eric Dickerson?s single-season rushing record. ?We know we?re a good run defense, and we pride ourselves on being a good run defense,? inside linebacker Craig Robertson said. ?A.P.?s the best back in the league. So, yeah, that?s giving us more and more confidence. We held it down. Keeping A.P. under 100 yards, that?s a goal in itself.? Peterson ran for a 2-yard touchdown to cap the opening possession, but inside linebacker D?Qwell Jackson, who led the team with 10 tackles, forced him to fumble in the third quarter, and outside linebacker Jabaal Sheard sprained his left knee as he made the recovery. It was one of three takeaways the Browns compiled - strong safety T.J. Ward intercepted a pass that Robertson deflected, and Sheard forced a fumble that Robertson recovered. ?We just knew he was an opponent that we were going to really have to take seriously and just hunker down and make plays and rally to him and get the ball out,? said left defensive end Ahtyba Rubin, who made his 2013 regular-season debut against the Vikings after missing the first two games with a strained calf. ?We did that on Sunday, and great results came from that.?
Anyone else besides me spit out their beer when they saw Little lined up to field kickoffs? I also can't see having him in there as a defender on the last couple hail marys by the Vikes. A pass hits those hands and it automatically ricochets to the closest jersey of a different color.
Jim Brown Speaks, Again: Browns special adviser and Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown appeared on Showtime's "Inside the NFL" on Wednesday night and criticized former Browns President Mike Holmgren. "They were going to clean house," Brown said. "And he had all his boys that were going to come in and take advantage of the kind of money that he could pay his guys. And never really be there. He took advantage of Randy (Lerner) and it was just a shame. "Randy's a good guy," Brown said. "Young owner. Wanted someone to take the pressure off of him. Mike came in, saw the weakness and took advantage of it." Brown was fired by Holmgren after he was hired by Lerner as team president. Brown also chimed in on the trade of RB Trent Richardson, whom he called "ordinary" when the team drafted him. Since then, Jimmy Haslam III appointed Brown as a special adviser and he was very complimentary of Richardson during training camp. "Well, I was surprised (by the trade), but then I thought it was a brilliant move?because first of all, Trent couldn't have carried the kind of load that Cleveland needed," Brown said. "But with Andrew Luck, Andrew won't need as much. And the two of them can really do a lot for their team. "(The Browns) have a young team and of course, we had a great victory utilizing the kind of imagination that made the trade," he said. "That imagination is exciting because Cleveland is really popping right now
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I'll say it...the Browns D made AD look like Trent Richardson! Been away for a few days, time to hit on a few things. I keep seeing that we gave a 4th rounder to a rival...does no one remember that we got a 3 rd rounder and they seem to have wasted a pick? They stock piled assets and have time to evaluate the pieces they do have so they can utilize those assets to fill holes when they plan to compete ( not this year ). In my previous post I wasn't trying to discount the turnovers...I was trying to point out that our defense can play better when the O can sustain more than one drive per half.
we need to get the running game going .to help out the offense & the defense .must be able to pound it !only good things happen when you can run the ball .
I have a new thread on the Bengals Forum for a little Bengals/Browns Discussion before the game for your thoughts on this weeks match up in Cleveland.
