72 hours before veterans are due to report to camp, Josh Gordon revealed he would not be present for the start of training camp. Silly me. How could I ever think he would be present for the start of camp? Stupid of me. Now Josh and the Browns are saying, “All good! Just keeping up with treatment! No suspension!”
Browns’ WR Josh Gordon did not have any slip ups or failed tests, per sources. His leave is a pro-active, defensive gesture to get extra counseling to try to ensure he does not have any of the setbacks that have marked his past. Those who know him say he has “worked his a— off.”
WHAT THE FUCK?!?!?! There is absolutely no way of knowing what is going on? There is a high probability what is being reported is exactly what is going on. Josh is taking a few weeks off to gain some extra counseling, prior to starting a full season in the NFL. He wants to make sure he is sticking to his program, so he’s stepping away for some extra counseling. I don’t necessarily believe that one bit. In fact, it’s the first Adam Schefter story that I feel is complete bull shit. But hey, it’s Schefty. I guess it’s true? Even the NFL is claiming that Josh’s absence is not suspension related, and he didn’t fail any tests.
On #Browns WR Josh Gordon, GM John Dorsey: “We will continue to support Josh as he receives the care needed to maintain his progress. We are going to respect his privacy while he is away from the team. Josh will be placed on the (NFI) reserve list until he is ready to return.”
What we know about Josh Gordon situation: 1. Josh announced he won't be at camp on time this week. 2. #Browns GM Joh Dorsey pledges full support, puts him on non-football illness reserve list 3. NFL says he hasn't been suspended.
I hope to Christ Josh hasn’t had any setbacks, for his own sake. It had appeared he was working very hard to maintain his clean lifestyle, and return to the Football field. Now the Schefter tweets are reassuring, but widely confusing. I am glad he hasn’t been suspended YET, but camp starts in 2 days. He had a full month to get the extra treatment/counseling he is referring to. John Dorsey confirmed the team fully supports Josh, his decision, and hopes he gets the help he needs. So whats the big deal? Sounds like a man taking some initiative in recovery, right? Well another wrench was thrown by Brian McCarthy, NFL Spokesman:
“No timetable for return…We’ll address the matter at the appropriate time”
All of the tweets from Beat guys, the statement from the Browns, and Gordon are supposed to reassure me that everything is a-ok. That tiny quote scares the absolute shit out of me. Just sounds like there was a fuck up along the line here. Josh is in stage 3 of the NFL substance abuse program. He can be tested up to 10 fucking times a month. I feel like a failed test is not likely, due the sheer amount of times he can get tested. If he failed one, we’d probably know by now. I can see missing tests as an issue. Knowing you’ve slipped up, so you skip the tests. To the NFL that’s as good as failing. Raiders Wideout, Martavis Bryant has plenty of experience with this.
Who knows, as of now, I guess he’s good? But we’ll have to wait to see Josh Gordon in 2018. Some things never change.
Some new faces in Cleveland, but they are still the same old shitstains at heart.
I can’t wait anymore. I just can’t. We are exactly 6 days away from the Cleveland Browns reporting to Training Camp. I for one, am counting down the very seconds down until they hit the field. This season is a lot like the others. Optimism is through the roof, and I am telling others I’ve never felt better about them going into the season. Obviously, that is a lie. It’s the same every year. Every year is FINALLY the year where it appears the Cleveland Browns will be fielding a competitive roster. However, this time saying it doesn’t seem so crazy.
A lot of the Browns Off-season activity has been discussed ad nauseam, but lets take a look at some of the pro-level acquisitions (Free Agents/Trades):
Tyrod Taylor-QB
Jarvis Landry-WR
E.J. Gaines-CB
Mychal Kendricks-LB
Donald Stephenson-OL* (he already retired ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )
Darren Fells-TE
TJ Carrie-CB
Carlos Hyde-RB
Terrence Mitchel-CB
Chris Hubbard-OL
Chris Smith-DE
A nice haul of experienced players to fill in where JAGS had started previously. FINALLY the Browns added proven NFL talent, and got rid of the absolute stiffs that inhabited starting spots previously. After adding talent at the Pro level, the Browns turned to the NFL draft to strengthen even further:
Baker Mayfield-QB
Denzel Ward-CB
Austin Corbett-OL
Nick Chubb-RB
Chad Thomas-DE
Antonio Callaway-WR
Genard Avery-LB
Damion Rantley-WR
Simeon Thomas-CB
All in all there will be 20 brand spanking new faces in Berea next week. Think about that, the Browns added 20 brand new players to the roster, just 6 players away from exactly half of the 53 man roster. This doesn’t include un-drafted Free Agents, or camp invites. John Dorsey, Eliot Wolf, and Alonzo Highsmith have done some serious work to get this thing going. Will it work this time? We are about to find out.
Who am I most excited for at each position group, and who will I be watching closely during preseason?
QB: Tyrod Taylor
No, not Baker Mayfield. Despite picking Mayfield number 1 overall, I am still excited to see what my man, Tyrod can do. We are all well aware Taylor lead the lowly Buffalo Bills to the playoffs for the first time in nearly 20 years this past season, is a first in last out hard working SOB, and he simply doesn’t turn the football over. Tyrod’s got unanimously blown by teammates, coaches, and media members since his arrival in March.
#Browns Hue Jackson pumped the brakes on Baker Mayfield after his 1st rookie minicamp practice: 'Tyrod Taylor's the starting QB and that's not going to change' https://t.co/dbyuVfkhlS
It's June, everyone's optimistic. But I have never heard this much genuine praise/respect/appreciation for a QB than I've hear the least 3 days about Tyrod Taylor from players, coaches & his coordinator #Browns
It’s nice to see praise for a Quarterback on the Cleveland Browns Roster. It’s a rare phenomena. So no, I am not most excited to see Baker. Tyrod is a competent Quarterback, something the team was lacking. It was obvious to the vast majority of beat writers that OTA’s and Minicamp were the most crisp practices from a QB they had seen (that’s not saying much I know). Looking forward to seeing him sling the rock to a multitude of weapons, weapons he has not had in previous seasons. Team T-Mobile, baby.
OL: Austin Corbett (Guard, Tackle)
Picked at the top of the second round, Austin Corbett comes in from the University of Nevada. Current Browns guard, Joel Bitonio’s alma mater. The two played together for a brief spell, until Bitonio was drafted. If any of Joel rubbed off on this kid, than we got a gem.
The most intriguing aspect of Corbett is we don’t really have any idea where he will ply. He is seen more as interior lineman, but hasn’t been ruled out as Joe Thomas’ replacement at left tackle. He is one of many options to fill that void, and it will be interesting to see where he plays week 1.
RB: Nick Chubb
Nick Chubb was selected at the top of the second round after the Browns already selected Corbett. Nick Chubb was an absolute monster in College until significant knee and leg injuries sidelined him. He still managed a stellar college career, finishing second, and passing Todd Gurley on Georgia’s all-time rushing list. He also surpassed Kevin Faulk and Darren McFadden for second on the SEC’s all time rushing list.
This kid can do it all, and I am chomping at the bit to see how he is utilized by Todd Haley’s offense. At 5’7 227, Chubb has a frame that suits running inside the tackles. 227 lbs is massive for a dude who’s only 5’7. Early on I expect to see Chubb in short yardage situations. Over time I can see Chubb being the head honcho, but to start the year expect Carols Hyde to be the top back.
WR: Josh Gordon
Since being drafted in 2013 Josh Gordon has failed to participate in a full Off-Season program with the Browns. It’s 2018, and just over a month ago Josh Gordon completed his first full Minicamp with the team. That is just absurd.
Everybody knows what Josh Gordon can do on the football field. Last year, he came back with 5 games to go, and contributed in every one. Josh finished the season with 18 catches, 335 yards, and 1 score. Those look mundane, but for a guy who hadn’t played an NFL snap in 2 years, that’s fucking good.
This year (knock on wood) we will get to experience a Josh Gordon, who completed the full Off-Season program prior to Training Camp. I can’t even imagine what a fully prepared Josh Gordon will be like. The dude dominated stoned to the high heavens, I fear for opposition corners.
Chief David Njoku is coming into his second season, after the Browns traded back into the first round to select him in 2017. He had an average rookie campaign posting, 32 catches, 386 yards, and 4 scores. Not bad, but not lighting up the joint. With how inept the Browns were offensively last season, it’s a goddam miracle he did that well.
This dude is a physical freak of nature. Coming out of college, Njoku was seen primarily as a supremely athletic pass-catcher, but extremely raw. Dude can’t block for shit, and I could give less of a shit. Chief flashed his ability at times last year, but poor game planning, and shit Quarterback play lead to inconsistent performances.
This season, defenses are going to have to shift the bulk of their coverage to Jarvis Landry, Josh Gordon, Duke Johnson, and many others. In turn, this should leave Chief with favorable matchups. I hope Todd Haley utilizes him like the Patriots utilize Rob Gronkowski. Get this absolute specimen up the seam for chunks of yardage, utilize his overall size and reach in Red Zone, and draw up crafty Tight End screens. Hopefully 2018 will free up the beast in David Njoku.
DL: Emmanuel Ogbah
How could the Browns be so stupid, and pass on drafting Bradley Chubb? Emmanuel Ogbah that’s why. Ogbah is coming into his third season, after being drafted in the second round in 2016. Playing opposite Myles Garrett Ogbah was developing into an absolute force. An injury halfway through 2017 shortened his campaign. Until he went down, he was playing at a Pro-Bowl pace. He played in 10 total games registering 4 sacks. In 2016 he played a full 16 game slate, and recorded 5.5 sacks. He was on pace for double digit sacks, and lead the team in Tackles for Loss until he went down.
Looking forward to seeing how Gregg Williams unleashes Ogbah in 2018. Myles Garrett and Emmanuel Ogbah should be a lethal pass rushing combo.
Linebacker: Mychal Kendricks
Released by the Eagles in May, Kendrick’s signed with the Browns in June. Kendrick’s had requested a trade from the Super Bowl champions, due to a lack of playing time. Welcome aboard my man, we suck you’ll play an ass ton.
In all seriousness, Kendrick’s will be an interesting addition to the Browns defense. He played primarily Outside Linebacker in Philly, but the Browns are trying him out as a Middle Linebacker. Gregg Williams had this to say about the signing,
“Kendricks fits into that role. He is a multiple-position player. He is able to play inside and outside. He is able to play on the line of scrimmage, off of the line of scrimmage, and he will fit in with the packaging that we do.”
Linebacker quickly became an extremely deep position for the Browns. It will be interesting to see who loses playing time with his addition. In the middle Christian Kirksey and Joe Schoebert recorded the bulk of snaps. Schoebert was the Browns lone Pro-Bowl representative last season, and it was only his second season. Kirksey has been a staple in the middle for the past 4 years. He hasn’t made any Pro-Bowl’s but he is a team Captain, and one of few more established Browns. It’ll be interesting to see how Kendrick’s play impacts this group. It never hurts to have depth, but who knows, maybe one has to be dealt down the line?
Secondary: Denzel Ward
Denzel Ward was the Browns second top 5 selection this year, as he was selected 4th overall. Primarily a man-cover corner, Denzel looks to be a future Number 1 shut-down corner. Generally, at least in my opinion, corner is the second hardest position to develop in Football. Quarterbacks are faster in every aspect of the game, and the Receivers are as well. All of this doesn’t seem to phase the kid, as he turned quite a few heads in Minicamp:
#Browns Denzel Ward still working with the ones in minicamp
#Browns defensive coordinator Gregg Williams effusive in praise for Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward both on & off the field. Impressed how both were accepted by teammates so quickly. Mentioned Garrett is such physical specimen he ran w/ WRs & DBs during conditioning
The dude was playing with the One’s by the time camp ended. I doubt he is ready to be playing full-time with the starters, but it’s good to see coaches noticed his efforts, and gave him some reps with the One’s for it. I still think E.J. Gaines and TJ Carrie will still get first crack at first team reps, but who knows? A good Training Camp could see Denzel a day 1 starter.
With so many exciting players coming in the door from March until June, HBO picked the Browns to be featured on, Hard Knocks. An inside/unfiltered look into NFL Training Camp.
With a cast of characters like Gordon, Landry, Garrett, Peppers, Chief Njoku, and many more, this series should be very good. Not to mention we’ve got that shit for brains, Hue Jackson running the show. He’s bound to do something stupid, say something stupid, or both. Looking forward to the meme’s and gif’s that come from these 5 hour long episodes.
So, on July 26th, all Veterans will report to Berea for the first practice of Training Camp. We will finally begin to get some answers as to whether or not this is a mirage or not. I certainly hope it is. I mean, there are so many good football players on the team now, I can’t help but think they should be half-decent. Not predicting win totals, but with this roster, they should be drafting in the teens in 2019. That would be a fair and modest goal. Some of the players are calling playoffs, but yeah I don’t think that’ll happen. Sure hope I’m wrong. I hope that 2018 Football season will have at least a few good moments. All I really ask is for it to not completely suck. I don’t think I’m out of bounds asking for that.
Go Browns!
Woke up this morning letting yal know Browns will be in the playoffs this year! Remember this tweet #Cleveland
After the month’s and month’s of crap spewing every which way regarding the Browns draft, we finally got some answers. With the 1st overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, The Cleveland Browns Selected, Baker Mayfield.
The whole lead up to the draft almost all of the pundits had the Browns selecting Darnold first overall. Darnold was my preferred option, and the more I look back, the more I believe that had to do with him being the cardboard cutout of an NFL Starting Quarterback. Despite everything, Baker was always in the back of my mind to be picked. He intrigued me the most. This kid is a winner. He’s not putting up a front like, Johnny Manziel. He will come in and work his ass off to beat Tyrod Taylor. That has always been what Baker Mayfield does. Naturally, the Browns got absolutely ripped for taking him. Fans were upset that the golden boy from USC was not selected, and the national perception is that the Browns just picked Johnny Manziel again. It is simply not true. There is 1 similarity between the two, and that is their both dicks on the field. Other than that, they are two completely different football players.
Baker comes into the NFL having been one of College Football’s most productive players ever. The above PFF scores don’t mean dick really, but it helps us compare him to everyone else. A recent article on SB Nation really highlights the main differences between all of this years top QB prospects,
“In college:
Josh Allen was a tall mediocrity.
Sam Darnold coughed up gobs and gobs of turnovers.
Lamar Jackson had a slight physique and got hit (and sacked) a lot.
Josh Rosen got crushed a lot and never had a chance to shine because of iffy line play and a bad running game, not that he can’t become a great NFL QB himself.
The knock on Mayfield is he’s … a little short, I guess? He’s 6’1, which is on the smaller side for a quarterback, but he still had fewer passes swatted at the line than the 6’5 Allen did.” ( Alex Kirshner-SB Nation)
I knew all of this going in with Mayfield. I knew how dominant he was in college, and I still didn’t think the Browns would even consider him. Public opinion of the team is pretty poor obviously, and I just thought the Haslam’s would not have drafted Mayfield after what happened with Johnny Football. That public perception is wrong, and I am glad the team is ignoring it.
On field, Baker Mayfield is more than capable of being the Cleveland Browns franchise quarterback. He’s deadly accurate. In his three years at Oklahoma Mayfield had finished with 68.1, 70.9, and 70.5 completion percentage. That is at 69% on average. That is insanely good for a 6 ft. 1 Quarterback. In terms of play style, Mayfield excels within the pocket. He is going go through his progressions, and fire the ball downfield. The scrambling you see is mostly a fail safe, not his first instinct. He would be decent in designed runs, as he is used to the Run-Pass Option offense. It is not something you will catch him doing a lot of, as he is a gunslinger.
So, Browns fans quit bitching about Baker Mayfield being picked over Darnold. This guy is money, and is going own being QB one of the Cleveland Browns. He is going to put his balls on the line for his teammates, and when we eventually see him on the field it will be because he earned it. Baker’s always earned it.
Fourth overall was also a pick the Browns got unanimously ripped for. I on the other hand was doing cartwheels. With Bradley Chubb on the board, the Browns opted to pick the highest ranked corner in the draft. It woulda sent me up a fucking wall if the Browns pissed away a draft pick on another edge rusher. Currently our two edge guys are Myles Garrett, and Emmanuel Ogbah. Ogbah is less known, but is only entering his third season. Last season Ogbah played in only 10 games due to injury, and was tied for the team lead in sacks with 4. He played in 16 games in 2016, and finished with 5.5 total sacks. What exactly is wrong with Emmanuel Ogbah? He is super young, on a team friendly deal, and has prior success in oh I don’t know….THE NFL.
The Browns may have reached with Denzel Ward, but he was the best Corner in the draft per many outlets. I haven’t watched this kid play much, but multiple reports say that Ward is one of very few College corners who plays man-to-man. That is 100% exactly what the Browns need. The past few years the Browns have trotted out nothing but JAGS in the secondary, and people are still going to bitch? Would you prefer Tramon Williams? No? Johnson Bademosi anyone? Nah, you’d rather have Buster Skrine. Give me a break. I’ll leave you with Defensive Coordinator, Gregg Williams statement on the pick. This comes in Josh Edwards Orange and Brown Report Article explaining the pick.
“Ward. The reason is our need for a press cover cornerback. Denzel probably plays that position as well as anyone I’ve seen in college football in some time. We probably play the most press of any team in the league. There’s another reason. I’ve got a video of 28 snaps of Myles Garrett pass-rushes last year where he gets within two steps or less of the quarterback when the ball comes out. Basically, we aren’t covering long enough to let him get to the quarterback. Myles and others—especially [defensive end] Emmanuel Ogbah—will get more chances because of Denzel.” Ogbah, Williams said, was a major reason why the Browns went Ward over Chubb. “Ogbah’s a rising star in this league,” Williams said. “He’s got a chance to be Chubb.” High praise”
Couldn’t have said it better myself, Gregg. Come get some baby!
A full breakdown of the rest of the picks can be found here. I frankly don’t care about the picks outside of 1 and 4. I wanted the Browns to identify their guy, and select him at 1. They did that with Baker. Now we wait for the new shitheads to arrive, and hit the field. Go Browns!
It’s not a lot but it is something. The Cleveland Browns have started up Organized Team Activities (OTA’s). For the first time this new look Browns team will be together in one place. It is their first chance to wipe off the stink of 2017.
This wasn’t the biggest news of the day regarding our beloved Shit Stains:
Josh Gordon officially signed his Exclusive Rights Tender, putting him on the books for 1 year at roughly $790,000. This is actually pretty significant to me in terms of Josh staying on the field. Now, Josh Gordon is on the last of all last chances. Should single little nugget of Mary Juana enter his body, he is fucked. No if’s, and’s, or but’s. With this extension, and the Browns publicly backing him earlier this year, I feel like the Sobriety is going well? I don’t want to speculate, but I feel like the Browns are comfortable with tagging him. Hopefully this means no more fuck ups? Tyrod Taylor spoke to the media today, and stated that Josh was participating in workouts and looked good.
The #Browns and WR Jarvis Landry are going to agree to terms on a 5-year, $75.5M extension, sources say. He gets $47M guaranteed… crazy for those who considered him a slot receiver.
Holy shit! That is some serious dough being forked over by the Browns. As soon as the trade went down the belief was that a deal would be done at some point. It finally happened this morning, and Landry’s payoff is massive.
Jarvis Landry is 1 of 3 players w/at least 400 receptions over the last 4 season.
The top 2 guys, Antonio Brown & Julio Jones, have taken home at least $40M in that time, while Landry has been paid just under $3.5M throughout the time of his 4-yr rookie deal he signed in 2014. pic.twitter.com/OeusSP3A9q
A lot of chirping about this being an over payment, blah blah blah. I don’t agree with that statement, but I also don’t disagree. The guaranteed money, and term is a bit much in my opinion. $47 million is the most guaranteed money any active receiver is making, but there is no debating the fact that he produces. What do the Browns suck at ( I know everything! HAHA)? They suck at throwing, catching, and completing first downs to sustain drives. Those drives eventually lead to points. Jarvis is one of three receivers in the to have at least 400 catches since 2014. Not bad!
Jarvis lead the league in catches last year, and had 60 first down catches. He catches the ball, and gets first downs at an exceptionally high rate. That is something that sounds really fucking simple, but the Browns did not have a reliable guy in Landry’s mold pretty much ever.
Overall I like this move and have zero issue with overpaying. The $15 million per year the Browns just shelled will drop their available cap to around $70 million. Boy that Landry contract is really putting us in cap hell! Fuck outta here with that.
So far so good with Landry since coming over from Miami. At first you feel bad for the guy, going from South Beach to Cleveland. From 6-10 to 0-16 I figured he wouldn’t be too pleased, but he seems excited, and thrilled to be in Cleveland (Now I know the $75.5 million reasons why). He’s even got the skill position players together to work out in the offseason. Something we never see from the lowly Browns:
Kind of a lame video, but at least we have some decent Football players, who appear to be excited to work together. Team Chemistry gets overblown in terms of impact, but with these Browns anything is positive. That video is a tease. I need these guys on the field, and I need these guys on the field now.
Towards the end of last week, the Patriots announced the signing of Jordan Matthews — the former Eagles & Bills WR. Take a quick look at his stats and you may think this is not a bad signing.
If you’ve actually watched Jordan Matthews — you’d know he drops the ball A LOT. He cleaned up his act in Buffalo a bit but posted very low numbers for the minimum amount of games that he played. I do not like this signing but the contract details came out today:
Detail in Patriots' deal with WR Jordan Matthews shows the bargain: one-year, $1 million, plus $700K in incentives. Only $170K is guaranteed.
I really can’t hate on that. This is the ultimate low-risk, low-reward that we have come to see in the Belichick era. Essentially getting a decent WR for 1/6 the cost Amendola was. Sure, ‘Dola was loved here and has 100x the chemistry with Brady but he was going to get paid way more anywhere else. This is essentially the minimum for a guy who’s only going on his 5th season in the NFL, a couple removed from a near 1000 yard season. I’m not expecting big things out of Matthews but he has shown some bright spots and was a stud at Vanderbilt. That being said, signings of Jeremy Hill & Jordan Matthews aren’t exactly the thrilling offseason moves we were hoping for.
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Trevor Davis was arrested at LAX on Sunday morning after cops say he joked about smuggling a bomb into the airport … TMZ Sports has learned. Yeah, they DON’T PLAY about that at LAX!!!
Law enforcement sources tell us the 24-year-old — a 5th round draft pick out of Cal in 2016 — was at the Hawaiian Airlines ticket counter with a female companion to check into a flight when the attendant asked the usual security questions about their luggage.
Instead of playing it straight — we’re told Davis turned to the other woman and said, “Did you remember to pack the explosives?”
She apparently said, “No” and tried to get him to stop. He then said, “Just kidding” — but it was too late.
We’re told cops were called and Davis was immediately taken into custody for misdemeanor criminal threats. He was booked — mug shot and all — and then released.
Trevor Davis — take a bow for being the biggest moron of the day. Has a bomb joke ever been funny? Probably not — so let’s give it a try at the airport! I’ve never heard of Trevor Davis, so I’m gonna take a quick assumption and say he isn’t worth too much to the Packers.
Obviously, he doesn’t have a bomb but to make that joke going through TSA and at LAX no less? Bro — be better. So much for your Hawaii trip. Gotta be a Top 5 embarrassing moment getting arrested trying to make a bomb joke in an airport. Way to go buddy.
Patriots are trading WR Brandin Cooks and a fourth-round pick to LA Rams for the 23rd overall pick in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft and a sixth-round pick, league sources told ESPN.
Nice little bombshell dropped by Schefty on a fine Tuesday night — The Patriots’ trade their #1 (maybe?) WR for the Rams’ first round pick.
My first reaction was of course why the hell would the Patriots do that? Cooks was that deep threat that the Patriots always seemed to lack since the Randy Moss days and had a pretty solid season. But then on a closer look, Cooks was still on his rookie contract. If there’s anything I’ve learned from Bill Belichick, it’s that players will rarely get that big second contract with him unless they absolutely deserve it. Was Cooks good? Absolutely. Good enough for 14 million a year potentially? Hell no.
The Patriots shipped him off to LA for a higher draft pick than they traded for him essentially making him a rental and an upgrade in the next draft. Not a bad piece of business. Though after dealing Amendola, the Pats look to be heavily relying upon Edelman returning from an ACL tear and Gronk — who god knows what is going through his head these days.
The real question is if Cooks has even woke up from this yet. All jokes aside, Cooks was a fun addition to the 2017 Patriots team and a guy you wanted to pair up with Brady to win a Super Bowl. I’m sure he’ll slot in right as that DeSean Jackson type mold that McVay was looking for and it’ll be interesting to see if the Rams can take that next step into winning a playoff game. Thanks for the ride Cooks.
Well this morning I got some unfortunate news regarding the Browns choice of Quarterback.
Draft rumor alert! A friend of Cleveland GM John Dorsey believes that Cleveland will pick Josh Allen and Saquon Barkley with the first and fourth picks. @SI_PeterKing's MMQB: https://t.co/yiGwdz7oM1
Oh boy! A guy who knows a guy says the Browns are going to pick Josh Allen and Saquon Barkley in round one of the 2018 NFL draft. I guess I am not surprised rumors of this nature are spreading like wildfire. With there being 4-5 Quarterback Options, and the Browns picking 1st overall it was bound to happen. While I don’t love this news, because I hate the player, I am not too surprised to be hearing it. From now until draft day I am sure there will be a tweet, story, or media clip that has the Browns leaning on picking the Browns with each of the top 5 QB’s (Mayfield, Rosen, Darnold, Allen, Jackson).
Honestly, I do not even really care who they pick. After years and years of trading down, settling for the 4th or 5th guy, or picking project guys in the middle rounds, I just want them to identify a guy and pick him #1 overall. If that is Josh Allen then so be it. I do not love the player overall, but he does have positive qualities.
Obviously, you have the large frame and a rocket arm. Those things make any fan, coach, and wide receiver droll. The problem is, he has issues with his feet within the pocket, and he has horrid accuracy. At the 2:27 mark of the video Allen misses his a wide receiver deep down the field in single coverage. Josh slings it so far he couldn’t put it within 5 yards of his target. With his arm he should be throwing guys open, especially when they are in single coverage. Good example of positive footwork however. Allen avoided pressure in the pocket, and stepped up to give himself more time to hurl it. Not good, but not great.
The throw at the 2:31 mark is more alarming. Allen couldn’t hit his Wideout on a simple swing pass. Not only was his ball inaccurate, but he threw the poor kid right into the Linebacker. Put that ball on his back shoulder, the Receiver should be able make that linebacker miss for a big gain, or at the very least a first down.
1:36 Mark, Allen has two receivers bunched to his right, the outside receiver on the hash mark runs a 5 yard out. The receiver has the corner beat, but Allen throws a jump pass off his back foot. The ball was picked off easily by the Iowa Corner. You’d think a guy who can supposedly throw the ball 90 yards from his knee’s would try setting his feet? If he sets his feet, squares the shoulder, and fires the fucking thing his receiver probably has a catch there. Sometimes with this kid, it looks like he has absolutely no clue with his feet sometimes, and sometimes he looks like a tap dancer moving throughout the pocket. The first throw I highlighted is an example of Allen using his feet to buy time within the pocket, stepping up, and hurling it deep. Problem was he overthrew his receiver. Still, it was a good example of his footwork looking good.
The great part of being a Browns fan is, I can talk myself into ANY QB at ANY time. Problem is, I can talk myself out of them as well. None of the Quarterbacks this year are slam dunks, but Allen has the most questions. That scares me. The good news is Baker Mayfield has his visit in Cleveland today, and would bet that there will be a report of Baker Mayfield being the leading QB in the Clubhouse by my morning shit. While I don’t take this report 100% seriously, it was written by as credible source as they come (MMQB/Peter King). Josh Allen will get a serious look from Dorsey and Co. It’s a matter of whether or not he can pass Darnold and Mayfield. We’ll see where that rocket arm takes him.
The Browns made a bit of surprising news here on Sunday, by signing long-time Backup Quarterback, Drew Stanton. What this move tells you is: 1-Quarterback taken at #1 is almost guaranteed, and 2-Dorsey is making it damn clear that guy will not play for at least 1-2 seasons. I don’t necessarily have an issue with this signing, as the Browns go through QB’s like…………well I don”t know, they go through a lot.
As you can see, Stanton will come in handy next season. The Browns aren’t known for keeping Quarterback’s healthy, so adding a guy with experience is never a bad thing. Stanton will provide that insurance in case Tyrod goes down, and mentor whichever guy is picked at #1. This free’s up Tyrod to focus on solely on improving the actual team on the field, and focus on winning each week. I am not saying Tyrod should ignore the Rookie coming in, but I’d rather him focus on producing a few wins than mentoring a Rookie. A few interesting notes about Drew:
1-In 2009 Drew was the Backup for number 1 overall pick, Matt Stafford.
2-In 2012 Drew was the Backup for number 1 overall pick, Andrew Luck
3-Since 2013 Drew was the Backup for former number 1 overall pick, Carson Palmer.
That makes this signing a little more clear to me. This guy has a history of working with rookie QB’s, and more specifically rookie QB’s that went first overall. That seems like it will be valuable experience. The only issue I really have with this deal is the fact that we committed to a Backup Quarterback for over 1 season. I just think that is unnecessary to commit to any Backup for more than one year. I guess a two years would mean that Drew Stanton is considered a strong Backup? That’s great and all, why not just go year to year with him? Weird move going for two years.
One thing is for certain, this man is a fucking GIF machine, and I absolutely love it.
Hopefully we won’t have to see this guy play, but if we do I am sure there will be entertaining moments. Also, to be fair to Drew he is 4-1 in his last 5 starts, and that’s about as much as you can ask out of your Backup.
Office Chatter 