Isaiah Crowell credits his 2016 success to being allowed to get in a rhythm. Given at least 15 carries each of the past three weeks, Crowell's 6.45 yards per carry lead the league. "I feel like I could?ve been doing this if I had opportunities like I have now," Crowell said. "It gave me a lot of confidence to know that my coach believes in me and that he trusts me." Crowell also believes Hue Jackson's blocking scheme is better than Cleveland's from the past two years. Crowell keeps staring down bad game scripts and coming out with productive fantasy days. Sunday against the Patriots will be his toughest test yet
BEREA, Ohio -- Rookie defensive end Carl Nassib saw his fast start to the 2016 season hit a speed bump against Baltimore, but he's ready to hit the ground running this Sunday if he's able to play against New England. "He has practiced well," head coach Hue Jackson said on Thursday. "He is going 100 miles an hour. You know Carl." The third-round pick broke his hand against the Ravens in Week 2 and hasn't played the past two weeks. The hand required surgery but Jackson called him week-to-week after the injury occurred and he returned to practice this week on a limited basis. "We will see where we are at the end of the week and see if we can get him out there," Jackson said. If Nassib is able to play, he'll do so with a club on his hand to protect it. He said that it's not something he's had to do before. "It's a little challenging but I think I'll handle it pretty well," Nassib said. That he's coming back to an 0-4 team doesn't seem to concern him. "You gotta love the effing game, right?" he said. "So everybody in here loves the game and our motivation is not lacking here at all. We're very motivated. We're going to improve every week and and I'm excited for this team." Off the bench: Offensive lineman Alvin Bailey was granted another continuance today for a court appearance related to his OVI arrest. His new court date is November 3rd. Bailey also appears to have been granted a chance from Jackson to continue playing right guard. He said on Thursday he's hoping to return to the position he would have played last week were it not for his benching as a result of the arrest in the early hours of the Monday morning after the Browns lost to Miami. "I'm very grateful," Bailey said. "It means a lot for the organization to stick by me through this unfortunate situation, but I can't run from it. I can make a million excuses to you, but that's not going to change the fact that I did it." "I don't hold grudges," Jackson said on Monday when asked if Bailey's punishment was over. "Once we make a decision and talk, we move on from things." Bailey said it was tough knowing that he let his teammates down, but was excited to get back to blocking for Isaiah Crowell and the Browns top-ranked rushing attack, one he said is exciting because of how physical Crowell has been running. "I think you definitely get some energy off of that, knowing that you're banging, hitting guys in the head, too and you've got a running back come in there doing the same," Bailey said. Injuries: Safety Ibraheim Campbell (hamstring) and cornerback Tramon Williams (shoulder) were limited in practice today along with Nassib. Cornerback Joe Haden (groin/thigh) was a full participant after being limited on Wednesday. Wide receiver Corey Coleman (hand), tight ends Randall Telfer (ankle) and Seth DeValve (knee), centers Cameron Erving (chest/lung) and Austin Reiter (knee) and quarterback Josh McCown (left shoudler) all did not practice and none are expected to play on Sunday.
Quote...I think we are talking semantics here beach...but your view of reasonable deal is what skews your evaluation of compensation... Let's look at the position... OT, many HOF OTs have played effectively into their mid 30's QB, many HOF QBs have played effectively into their late 30's Let's look at the players... Joe Thomas, hands down HOF, most likely first ballot and still playing as arguably the top LT in the NFL at the age of 31, should easily outplay his current contract that has 2.5 years remaining on it and will receive yet another contract in 2019 at the age of 34 if he decides to keep playing. Ben Roethlisberger, I think Steelers fans believe he is a first ballot player, but reality is that ballot is stuffed by his two Super Bowl wins. He has never been the best at his position in any of his seasons..in fact his best season in 2014 he was 4th in yards passing...HIS BEST...In fact out of his 12 years, he's only been top 10 twice, the other time he was 9th...AS of today, he is 9th in the NFL in passing yards. at the age of 34, he has 3.5 years left on his contract and will be 37 when he signs his last contract...with his injury history...realistically, this could be his last big contract unless he is still with the Steelers and they throw him a lifer contract. Now the numbers... This is where your glasses are skewed quite a bit...what exactly is your idea of reasonable? Joe Thomas, ave. remaining $8.7M(the top LTs are $11.5M, Joe's contract is 7th in terms of overall) remaining as of today for the remainder of his contract. Would give a team that is currently in Super Bowl form the rest of this season and 2 more for good measure. The average first rounder is out of the league in 4 years...So this contract is actually VERY REASONABLE for a LT, especially one that can be argued the top in the entire league. Ben, ave. about $15M per year which is OBVIOUSLY really good money for a starting QB...except when you look at the actual contract, the Steelers aren't paying $15M ave, which is 6th highest in the league for a QB that has only finished 6th in league in yards once in his entire career...they are paying $23M average due to bonus money... Which brings me to that final point...In order to trade Joe Thomas, the Browns receive a first round draft pick and have to pay $0 dollars to do it... the Steelers on the other hand, for your 3 first round drafts picks(laughable), would also need to pony up $18.6M to pay off their bonus debt. So for teams needs to trade a player...I would agree it would take (3) first rounders to do that deal, which would be terrible... It would also take a first rounder to deal for Joe, but the Browns would be making a good financial decision at the same time... That's a reasonable explanation of this...
We've got a special on Tribe Kool-Aid today after last night's 5-4 win. Tribe up 1-0. Only 10 more wins 'til they hand 'em a trophy. *DRINK*
Cheers! That was a great game last night. Terry Francona made all the right moves. Can't count the Tribe out as long as he's calling the shots....Let's get another one today and put the Red Sox on the ropes heading back to Boston...GO TRIBE!!!
Pro Bowl tackle Joe Thomas voiced his frustrations over losing talented, young players in free agency Fred Greetham Tuesday at 8:54 PM Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas voiced his frustrations of seeing talented young players leave via free agency such as Jabaal Sheard, who will face the Browns and Thomas this week BEREA, Ohio--Joe Thomas rarely shows or airs his frustrations. But the perennial Pro Bowl left tackle has earned the chance to voice his opinion and he did so on Wednesday when asked about former Browns defensive end Jabaal Sheard, who is the Patriots' starting right end. ?Jabaal?s playing great,? Thomas said. ?From the first game that he got to New England he?s played exceptionally well. I think he?s got (three) sacks, he?s a force in the run game and I?m sure New England?s very happy that they got him.? Sheard will likely square off with Thomas on the field Sunday for a good portion of the day. The Browns allowed the former second-round draft choice to leave via free agency after the 2014 season after leading the Browns in sacks from 2011-13. Thomas makes a valid point when asked why would the Browns let a player of Sheard's caliber leave. "Any time a new staff comes in basically they wipe out the middle class,? Thomas said. Sheard has become one of the top defensive players and leads the Patriots with 11 tackles, three sacks and two passes defensed. Thomas said one of he by products of changing regimes as often as the Browns have in recent years is the loss of quality, young players. ?Certainly that?s one of the frustrations that I?ve had over the years and that?s the problem when you constantly are hitting the reset button is guys that are really good players like that end up falling through the cracks or going to other teams,? Thomas said. ?(The new front offices) keep a couple of your superstars and then they want everyone else being a rookie so that they can try to develop them. And when you keep doing that over and over again, you really lose all your middle class on your team. ?And so guys like Buster Skrine, Jabaal Sheard, D?Qwell Jackson, Jordan Cameron, Travis Benjamin, those are the guys that disappeared," he said. "Even though those were the guys that you drafted them, spent the time developing them and right when they?re hitting stride in the peaks of their career, they end up going somewhere else and having great success for somebody else.? Some of the other players that Thomas didn't mention were T.J. Ward, Tashaun Gipson and his good friends and fellow offensive linemen Alex Mack and Mitchell Schwartz. Thomas has been selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his first nine NFL seasons and is tied with Hall of Famers Jim Brown and Lou Groza for the most ?Pro Bowl selections in team history. Thomas said he's been able to stay focused on his tasks, despite the roster upheaval through the years.? "It's always my job to do whatever I can to try to help my team win,'' Thomas said. "I've always kind of been focused on doing my job to the best of my ability, because that's the best thing that I can do to help my team win. That's kind of what you have to focus on when you lose great players like that.'' Extra Points Gabe's Back: DL Gabe Wright was re-signed to the practice squad and WR Darius Jennings was released.Wright (6-2, 284) is in his second NFL season out of Auburn. Originally selected by Detroit in the fourth round of the 2015 draft, he has appeared in nine career games. Wright spent the first two weeks of this season on the Browns? practice squad and appeared in the past two games.? Injury Update: DL Carl Nassib (hand), DB Tramon Williams (shoulder) and DB Ibraheim Campbell (hamstring) practiced again Thursday. Those not?practicing Thursday were: OL Cameron Erving (chest/lung), QB Robert Griffin III (shoulder), QB Josh McCown (shoulder), OL Austin Reiter (knee), WR Corey Coleman (hand), TE Randall Telfer (ankle) and TE Seth DeValve (knee). Nassib, Williams and Campbell are listed as limited.? Crow Donates Check to Police Foundation: RB Isaiah Crowell ?fulfilled a promise he made by donating his first game check to the?Dallas Fallen Officer Foundation reported by Cleveland.com. Crowell promised to make the contribution after visiting Dallas for a fallen?police officer after posting a?disparaging picture of a police officer getting his throat slashed and drawing widespread criticism and outrage. The game check amounted to about $35,300.? Phil Dawson's Catches Groza: Browns long time kicker Phil Dawson will tie Lou Groza for 268 NFL games this Sunday. ?Dawson, who plays for the 49ers, posted this tweet on his Twitter account:"Very humbled & appreciative to play in my 268th game this week. The same # of games all time great & Mr Cleveland Brown, Lou the toe Groza" Bailey Continuance: OL Alvin Bailey had his hearing for his OVI postponed until Nov. 3. It is the second time that Bailey has had a continuance in his court date.
Tribe up 4-0 middle of the 3rd. Drinks all around, Blues. *DRINK* *DRINK* *DRINK* (Put it on Crex's tab. He'll never know since he doesn't drop in much anymore )
6-0 Tribe. Now up 2-0 over Boston. 9 more wins to go. Drinks for everyone Bluez. (On Crex's tab again) *DRINK* *DANCE* *YAHOO* *BRAVO*
That Tribe game yesterday was awesome. 1 of the best games I've ever seen. Miller, Miller, Miller Time! Yes ladies and gentleman thats why we traded the cows, the pigs and the corn with the whole damn farm,lol Simply outstanding. WHAT A COACH! That was masterful the way he used the bullpen. If I was the Indians I would walk across the street to Peterson's Peanuts and ask them if they would except Shaw for a bag of salted peanut's. That cat makes my ARSE tight when he comes in. LBJ was in the house today. Bringing some of that Cleveland championship KARMA to the Prog. I heard that Tito and James are close friends. Maybe Haslam should become friends with the King. The Browns need all the help they can get.
Analytics Love Browns More Than Others Jared Mueller Thursday at 8:54 AM The analytic site Pro Football Focus likes the Browns far more than any other site. Are the Browns on track? (The above picture/chart has nothing to do with this article but wanted something that looked data, statistics, analytical and that was the one I found quickly.) The?Cleveland Browns?are 0 - 4.? They are the only team in the NFL not to win a game so far this season. They got rid of most of their veterans, drafted and signed a lot of rookies and have had to deal with injuries aleady in the young season. So it makes sense that these are their rankings in some of the national publications: CBS Sports?- #32 ESPN?- #32 SI?- #31 NFL.com?- #32 SI decided that the 49ers were worse even though they have gotten a victory. No one should be surprised by those rankings but Pro Football Focus, a very analytics type site, has some that should shock you: Overall - 23rd Offense -?17 Defense -?21 From 32nd to 23rd is a huge jump. PFF has the Browns ranked higher than the Chargers, Titans, Jaguars, Lions, Colts, Texans, Buccaneers, 49ers and Jets. Of that group, only the Texans have more than 1 win, 3-1 so far. That tells us a couple things: PFF Doesn't Value Record As Much As Others Not surprising but PFF, and analytics in general, don't tend to value team's records as much as they do the who and why of those records. The Texans are not given a ton of credit for their wins over the Bears, Chiefs and Titans even though all 3 of those teams are ranked ahead of Houston in their overall rankings.? Obviously, the Browns with zero wins ranked higher than a bunch of teams with 1, and one with 3, says a ton as well. The Browns were competitive and "could" have won 3 of their first 4 games. It seems PFF gives credit for that. PFF Analyzes Plays Not Outcome I love what PFF does while others hate it. Based on that, your feelings toward their rankings will be greatly impacted. Overall, PFF looks at each play to grade how individual players and then the team does on that play. A simple example: If a running back gets 2 yards on an all out blitz on short yardage, PFF is likely to give a higher grade than a 12 yard run on 3rd and 20 where the defense is playing prevent. One of the reasons some do not like PFF is their way of rating. If a defense is terrible, not covering well and gives a QB easy windows to throw the ball, that QBs rating won't be that high even if they throw for 400 yards, 3 TDs and 0 INTs. Comparably, if a QB is facing a tough defense, makes plays when it matters but only ends up with 200 yards passing 1 TD and 1 INT, they may rate them higher. That makes sense to those who value analytics not so much to those who do not. Analytics Say Browns On Track When the?Cleveland Browns?finished up their draft, not only did they have a ton of draft picks but they had a ton of draft picks that PFF loved. It is not surprising, then, that PFF likes where the Browns are at this point compared to the other sites and fans in general. For many fans, only the record matters. For those fans, they don't care how they win (even if it is with smoke and mirrors) as long as they win. For the Browns, analytics and PFF, the "how" of the game is almost as important as the record.? PFF's Power Rankings tell us that the Browns are on track, the offense is ahead of the defense and that hope is just around the corner. The Browns record, and most other Power Rankings, tell us the Browns are terrible and the "same old Browns." Who you choose to believe is up to you!
Hey Crex yesterday wasn't happy hour soooo $$$$$$$$$$$$ ROLL TRIBE !!! Hangs sign on door ..gone racing for the last time this year All Star , BOSS & NRA Sprints
