DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Thee Cody Kessler Thread

JMHO, and I've never played football above HS, don't know in-depth analysis of any position, just a fan with opinions-
facts- CK was third stringer who got few snaps with first string, if any, before being up into REAL games- he was a ROOKIE. There were O-line problems. He was 0-7 bottom line.
For a rookie, who had little experience with guys he played with AND no experience against the best-NFL regular games were everyone is trying hurt you- he was pretty good. Lastly, not saying he is this guy, but STATS are STATS- rookie season Troy Aikman- 9TD, 19INTs, 53%COMP, 6ydsPASS, 55.7 and 0-11 season as starter. CK was better STAT wise by miles...and didn't lose as many games. GO Browns!!!!

I respect your opinion on whether to bring Kizer in or not, but don't necessarily agree. I will say that it should (and will likely) depend on how Kizer progresses and whether Kessler proves to be effective at all. He will have to score TDs and win games or he'll be on the bench.

Doesn't matter, really. CK has a chance to prove himself, and if he doesn't, then it's hello someone else!

I think we will draft a 1st Rd QB next year regardless of how any of our QBs look this year.

That would mean that our coaching staff didn't like any of our QB's. Cause if 1 of them breaks out then I think we use both firsts on other positions.

I think it's possible that our coaches will like one or two of our existing QBs at the end of 2017 but still see potential upgrades in the 2018 draft.

I wouldn't be surprised OR upset if they draft a QB in Rd 1...maybe disappointed...but I don't see how CK, BO, or DK can possibly have such a great season this year as to lock down the QB position...especially with the reported talent coming out next year.

If they draft a QB Rd 1, I will NOT view the DK pick as wasted. The FO and coaches have said that until you have a FQB on the roster, you continue to look for one.

Kessler, Kizer, and a Rd 1 QB in the 2018 training camp would be a great problem to have for a change.
Of course, I'd prefer that an existing QB lock down the position...I just don't think it's possible - just yet - for any of the candidates at this time and with this team.

These are more my thoughts aswell. To clarify what I have said earlier I just don't want to head into next years draft with 5 picks in the first two rounds only to use a majority of them to take a QB if we don't have to. Your scenerio seems to be perfect to my feelings on how we should approach it. I just hope we get some life from our current QB's to allow us to allow the draft and QB's play to us and not have to give up so much is all.

I would expect next year with so many picks our QB's whomever they are will get a shiney new toy

With all that said let's go Kessler/Kizer show enough not to be desperate next draft!!

The (hypothetical) question becomes. (One of them anyways)

If Kessler is playing "well" but we still aren't winning. And while he's not terrible, he's also not showing us "franchise QB" type stuff.

But he keeps playing.

And somehow plays the whole season.

Then what?

You have an average starter and a rookie with no experience.

Where do you go from there?

In that situation as you describe I wouldn't be suprised to be in the top 5 of the draft lol. Then I think it makes it easier both in regards to what it would take to move up if we needed to or just sit in the top 5 and allow a QB we are excited about to land right on us. There are just so many angles in that though to answer today. What teams are ahead of us? How does the whole class shape up into the draft? What teams behind us need a QB? We could spend days trying to create avenues of thinking based on all those scenerios and then we'd still be wrong haha.


If we end up in the mid first round then that means would had a 5-7 win season in which case I am hoping if there is a guy they can't live without that we can just use our 2 1's and a 2 to move up and get.....I at the very least want to have at least two 2's at the end of the day but that is just my personal preference.

If history is any indication, the chance of Kessler playing the whole season is practically nil.

It depends, If Kiser looks good in practice and Kessler is just holding down the fort, then you go with Kiser in 2018. BUT I don't think you draft a QB unless one falls to you in the draft.
What good does it do to have drafted Kiser and then turn around and use all that draft ammo to draft someone else? Unless he looks really bad in pre-season and practice you have to give the kid a chance.

Because if he (Kizer) never actually plays. You can probably turn around and trade him for more than you drafted him for in a couple years.

I agree, plus if Kizer doesn't turn out to be "the guy" (Which I hope he is) we will not hesitate IMO to go after another QB we think will be "the guy" in 2018, but if he does turn out to be our Franchise QB look at all that draft capital we have to build this team ...

There lays the problem, the 64k dollar question. The only way we know how he is, is if he plays. Now if Kessler plays just alright but we are still losing then I think they give Kiser a chance if he looks good in practice. I doubt we could get much for him, were not like New England who have shown over all these years that they can develop players. We need to learn to start developing our own and quit changing everything around.

Edit: How many players have (including QB's) gone on to other Teams and have shown to be good? 2 or 3 out of all the FA and Trades? I think NE has proved over and over, "it's the system" Which is why some Teams don't want to trade with them anymore IMO

I just wonder how many more concussions Cody has in him. That can pile up and stick on you. Question is if Kizer is going to be just O-Kizer or Special K(izer).

No choice but to buy more bait if nothing pans gold. Wait and see.

I hope that one guy grabs hold of the starting job and doesn't let go.

I agree. I believe that we have 3 potential QB's on this team that have displayed some type of potential as well as some weaknesses. I'm not a fan of BO so I will leave him out of it, but coaching is supposed to fix the deficiencies that each player has. While you cannot fix arm strength, you can coach timing and leading receivers. That is what will fix Kessler. Kizer has all the tools, but lacks accuracy at times, that can be fixed as well with solidifying fundamentals.

I don't want to waste picks to trade up next year, develop what we have. This coaching staff was assembled to identify talent and develop it. Make it happen.

I hope the Browns are able to acquire Jimmy G next year.

I think NE will keep him.

Oh, I thought we were "wishing?"

I hope not. It'll mean Browns totally failed drafting a QB.

I do like Garoppolo. I also think draft picks are gold. More we buy better our team. Buying a QB from another team means we help someone else.

He might be a FA next year.

Yeah, but if you can buy a good one you spend the money. My best bet for a good QB with the guys we have now is Kizer. In 2018. CK is stepping into a 'prove it' year if he's gonna be a long-term starter.
I'm not going to worry about Jimmy G until next January. That ship hasn't sailed, but...

Excellent Point! Thanks for the reminder.

Why would NE turn down all the offers of draft pics only to let him go as a FA?

They're shooting for another Super Bowl and he's good insurance in case Brady goes down/diminishes quickly. This year he's getting paid 1.1 million, and they only have ~3 million in cap space. So, affording a different quality backup is practically impossible.
Spotrac Link


Next season Jimmy G won't be so affordable. They could probably make some hard cuts and keep him, but it's hard to pay 2 guys big money when only 1 can play at a time.

Brady could end up being the one to go, but it's hard to see them both being there next season.

LOL Yeah He might. The Brown's won't be on his short list tho.

Ooops Nevermind

It's funny. The only thing we know is that Kessler will be "going into training camp as the #1". That is pretty much meaningless. All that means is he was the starter at the end of last season so until someone proves differently, he's the starter.

That could all change very quickly. So far there is no clear cut answer as to who will be starting the season and the one old adage still holds true. You keep looking a QB until you have one.

If Belichick thinks as much of Jimmy G as some folks do, you can bet he'll find a way to keep him..

I didn't say he would reach free agency. I just don't think NE can afford both him and Brady after next season. Thus, they may trade him next year.

Then again, I thought they might trade him this year. There is a possibility they move on from Brady, but man, the dude maybe had his best year ever this past season. I'm not talking about stats. I'm talking about how he played after coming back from the 4 game suspension.

Oh...........and I did say something like: As long as we are wishing.... LOL

j/c funny article

Kevin Love an intriguing Browns quarterback option

By Dan Hanzus
End Around Writer

I know the Browns believe in Cody Kessler, and I'm aware they have a developmental prospect in second-round pick DeShone Kizer. They even have Brock Osweiler, though that feels like the most doomed quarterback/team pairing since the Jets caught a case of Tebowmania.

Cleveland has options at quarterback, no one denies that. But what they really need is a solution. And I have an idea.

Sign Kevin Love.


The Cavs power forward throws easily the most accurate deep ball among professional athletes in Cleveland. Be serious now, how many of the 26 starting quarterbacks since the Browns' '99 reboot make that pass? Six of them? Three? Osweiler might injure a kid sitting in the 10th row.

Love made poor Marcus Smart look like Rahim Moore in the 2012 AFC Divisional Playoffs.

And I know what you're thinking: "Dan, you total moron, how can Kevin Love pilot the Cleveland Browns next season when the Cavs' season starts in late October?"

A tricky situation, but not an impossible one if you understand how little top-flight NBA teams care about the regular season. Just look at the Cavs. They cared so little about the 82-game schedule that they let the Celtics take the No. 1 seed in the East. Then they beat the Celtics in Boston by a combined 312 points in the first two games of the conference finals. I'm almost certain the Cavs lost last night just for fun.

The Browns and Cavs can work out an arrangement that allows Love to play with the Browns as long as their season lasts. Then -- after a month or so of rest/recuperation time (quarterback is a physically demanding position, obviously) -- Love can join the Cavs for the second-half of the season and the inevitable playoff run that follows.

Believeland.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000...rterback-option

I would also want LeBron at WR if Love were at QB .. grins

I'll take Lebron at WR, Love at TE, and Kyrie at Slot

Put Love at QB, he's been throwing long balls and dropping it right into the bed baskets of people down court.

J/C

Brady is toast next year.......diminishing skills

Browns star Joe Thomas talks Cody Kessler, quarterbacks -- Terry Pluto


AURORA, Ohio -- Who was the Cleveland Browns starting quarterback in the first game of the career of Joe Thomas?

The year was 2007. The left tackle was the Browns first-round pick.

The quarterback?

Charlie Frye.

He lasted one half, then was replaced by Derek Anderson in what became a 34-7 loss to Pittsburgh.

The Browns actually finished that season with a 10-6 record, the only winning mark in the 10-year career of Thomas.

A future Hall of Famer, Thomas has never missed a snap.

And by my count, he has played with 20 different starting quarterbacks.

That's right ... 20 ... as in 20 starters in 10 years.

So Thomas can be considered some type of quarterback expert, at least when it comes to those who have worn an orange helmet.

That's why I went to Barrington Golf Club in Aurora, where the Browns held their charity golf outing Monday.

I wanted to know what he thought of Cody Kessler, who will open OTAs this week as the team's starting quarterback.

LOOKING UP?

"I think Cody is going to make a huge improvement in his second year," said Thomas.

Kessler started eight games last season. He completed 66 percent of his passes, six TDs compared to two interceptions. His quarterback rating was 92.3. The Browns lost all eight of his starts. Then again, the Browns were 1-15, so no one won much of anything at quarterback.

I asked Thomas why he thought Kessler would be better.

"He was a rookie, a third-round pick (in 2016)," said Thomas. "He was the third quarterback going into the season. He didn't have a whole off-season to study NFL defenses ... he wasn't taking any reps with the first unit."

The Browns opened last season with Robert Griffin III at quarterback. He was injured late in the first game.

Josh McCown played the second game. And then he was injured.

Kessler started the third game of the season, a 30-24 overtime loss to Miami.

"He was able to spend January, February and March thinking about all the things that happened in his first year," said Thomas. "He can make those changes and adjustments to prepare for his second season."

Thomas discussed how Kessler will now be "comfortable" with coach Hue Jackson's offense.

"He'll take the majority of reps with the first team," said Thomas.

HE'S SMART, BUT IS HIS ARM STRONGER?

Thomas praised the "intangibles that you need as a quarterback, from decision making to intelligence to the desire and drive."

No one has ever questioned Kessler's character or work ethic. It's part of the reason the Browns surprised many in the NFL by taking him in the third round. They also loved his passing accuracy.

The area of doubt was arm strength.

"He spent a lot of time in the off-season working on that," said Thomas. "It looks like he has improved his zip on the ball. I'm not a quarterback guru or expert, but to the naked eye it seems stronger than last season."

Opposing defenses loaded up the line of scrimmage, almost daring Kessler to throw deep.

He sometimes struggled in that area. So if he can develop more arm strength, it will be a major asset.

STAYING HEALTHY?

Kessler suffered two concussions last season. He was knocked out of three of his eight starts because of injuries.

Kessler is listed at 6-foot-1, 215 pounds.

Thomas doesn't think Kessler's size is behind the injuries. Thomas is excited the Browns added veteran guard Kevin Zeitler and center J.C. Tretter via free agency.

"The offensive line last year obviously was not very good," said Thomas. "Adding the guys we did will help."

The Browns led the NFL by allowing 66 sacks last season.

"Protecting yourself is done mostly with decision-making," said Thomas. "It's not necessarily how big and strong you are ... no matter how big you are, those hits are going to hurt."

Thomas talk about the need to get rid of the ball quicker, to avoid taking snaps.

"I really believe his comfort in decision making will really help him in his second year," said Thomas.
http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/index.ssf/2017/05/cleveland_browns_joe_thomas_ta.html#incart_m-rpt-1

LOL...........Joe doesn't seem to be too enthused.

Pluto's video definitely does not say what you said. He said that Joe would give a sentence or 2 in the past, to be a good teammate .... but that he has really talked up Cody quite a bit. That's Pluto, who I think knows the team pretty well.

For what it's worth, all of the beat writers seem to have seen improved arm strength from Kessler. Now this is very early, and we haven't even hit training camp yet ... but if he has improved his arm, it will be interesting to see how he does.

Browns quarterback Cody Kessler says improved arm strength frees him to be more aggressive, focus on other aspects of game - Browns - Ohio
http://www.ohio.com/sports/browns/browns...f-game-1.769525

BEREA: Cody Kessler fancies himself as a lean, mean, throwing machine.

A grueling workout regimen and an ultra-strict diet allowed Kessler to gain a few pounds of muscle, lower his body-fat percentage and augment his arm strength this offseason.

Those physical gains have combined with polished mechanics to make Kessler more confident about his mission to become the starting quarterback of the Browns and ultimately lead them to wins a year after he went 0-8 as a rookie for a team that finished 1-15.

“Being able to push the ball down the field and having that confidence and knowing that you can get it there and put a little more on it is something that definitely helps you,” Kessler said Wednesday after the second practice of organized team activities, the first one open to media.

Kessler is working as the first-team quarterback during OTAs in an open competition with Brock Osweiler, rookie DeShone Kizer and Kevin Hogan.
And even though Kessler is the early favorite to start the Sept. 10 regular-season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, arm strength will be a crucial factor in his bid.

Browns coach Hue Jackson wants his quarterback to trigger a consistently successful deep-passing attack, but Kessler failed to adequately meet the request this past season. Jackson publicly lamented the shortcoming and thereby foreshadowed his decision to bench Kessler in the third quarter of a Thursday night game with the Browns trailing the Baltimore Ravens by six points.

This spring, his passes appear to be a bit more powerful.

“I think Cody is stronger and the ball has more zip on it,” Jackson said. “He has worked extremely hard. What he is working at now is maintaining it and being able to do it week in and week out and day in and day out. That is his challenge, and we will keep staying after it with him.”

To progress to this point, Kessler became a fixture in the weight room.

“A lot of core work,” he said. “A lot of upper-body work.”

He also ate the same healthy meals and snacks every day for two-and-a-half to three months as recommended by Browns performance dietitian Katy Meassick.

“It worked for me,” Kessler said. “I really stuck to it. It was boring, but it was something I was committed to and decided to do in the offseason because I’d never really committed myself to a meal plan that strictly and stuck to it. It was tough, but it was worth it.”
In Kessler’s mind, though, the most important steps he took stemmed from fine-tuning his mechanics while training with throwing guru Tom House in Los Angeles.

“A lot of my throws last year were completely upper body,” said Kessler, a third-round pick from the University of Southern California. “I was throwing a ton of upper body and not being able to get my legs into my throw. Just being able to stay back on your weight and push off your back plant foot is something that’s huge.”

Kessler insisted those adjustments have made a glaring difference from his perspective.

“It feels like I’m throwing it harder but with a little bit less effort,” he said. “It doesn’t feel like I’m putting as much strain on my shoulder or my arm and just trying to throw it as hard as I can every time.

“It just feels a little bit more fluid, and instead of trying to strain and get everything you have into it, you can get that transition from your legs to your upper body, and it makes it a little bit more easier.”

Kessler admitted it’s also easier to focus on the play call, defense and reads when he’s not worried about whether his arm is strong enough to complete an imminent pass.

“It helps out knowing that you can make all the throws and you feel comfortable making all the throws [because] it allows you to be more mentally focused on game plan, scheme,” he said. “... Which I think helped me out a lot being able to play a lot faster.
“The way that I worked this offseason kind of helped me out not only physically, but mentally as well.”

Jackson’s vote of confidence has been good for Kessler’s mindset. Jackson has said Kessler deserved to enter OTAs as the No. 1 quarterback and predicted he’ll do everything in his power to maintain the spot atop the depth chart.

“For your coach to say that obviously gives you some confidence,” Kessler said. “But at the same time, I just look at that as another opportunity.

“The other three guys are great quarterbacks, Brock and DeShone and Kevin. It’s going to be a really good competition.”

Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.

I didn't need the shill Pluto to interpret Joe's comments. I read them for myself. And they were blase at best.