DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum A Calm, Collected, and Thought Out Look at This Team

This is not a knee jerk reaction post, or a place to vent. I have been closely following the progress of this team these past three games and I think I have been given a pretty good prospective of what kind of team the Cleveland Browns will be this season. This is a look at each position and what I believe needs to be done to optimize the success of the franchise.

QB- Derrick Anderson has proved he's Derrick Anderson. A big armed QB who has been streaky his entire career. He admits himself he is inconsistent. What Anderson has proved is that he does possess the ability to move and score with this offense. His performance last week was great. And while his performance this week was sub-par, he was still able to move us within field goal range in one minute with no timeouts putting us in a position to win. I think todays performance is what you can expect from Da: afew TD's, a few turnovers and between 200-250 yards a game. His decision making needs to improve if he wants to remain a starter for as long as possible. And while I have no doubt that Quinn will eventually start some point this season, I believe the longer he sits, the better. Let him adjust to the speed of the game, let Dorsey and the QB coach mentor. Put him in the best chance to succeed. With DA at least keeping us in the game and giving us a chance to win, that makes the probability of people clamoring for Quinn to die down.

RB- Jamal Lewis only had 15 carries today for 56 yards and averaged about 3.8 a carry. Not great but certainly not terrible. Lamont Jordan averaged just over 4 yards a carry but got 29 of them. Wright hardly got a look. Thus far its hard to say if Lewis is that of 2003 form or the washed up player Baltimore thought he was. Currently though he is well on pace to break over 1,000 yards. Falling behind today certainly didn't help his cause. But thus far I believe this is an area we don't need to currently address until the offseason where we could resign him or go elsewhere. I do believe we need to improve depth behind him but if Lewis can stay healthy, Wright will do for now.

FB- Vickers and Ali, I haven't seen much of Ali though. Vickers has a TD and thus far I've seen a few good blocks from him.

WR- This is an area we need to improve. Edwards is finally making plays and I believe this will be his breakout season. JJ is also having himself a fine year. That's where it ends. The reason these two may be finding a lot of balls thrown their way is because there is a serious drop in talent after them. JJ also needs to prove he can stay healthy for an entire season, if he falls then we have a serious problem. Edwards has had his share of drops but has also made some spectacular catches. Joe is Joe, solid and reliable as they come. Winslow remains the other passing threat, but we need someone else in this corps who can catch, get separation, and make plays down the field. Carter has looked bad thus far. Wilson can't catch anything it seems, and I believe Cribbs is just a great return specialist who can occasionally catch a pass, nothing more. The fact is I believe Cribbs will be the next Pro Bowler from Cleveland and for that we should be greatful. I don't see him becoming a solid WR. I've said it before but Antonio Bryant is still out there and has proven he is a good WR. I think he should be signed to a two year deal, and I think it will help this offense by leaps and bounds.

TE- Winslow is a stud catching TE, his blocking needs a little work but thats not his main objectives, its to catch the ball and move the chains. Heiden is as solid a backup there is. He is able to make the play when needed. Dinkins isn't much for catching but you couldn't ask for a better blocking TE. Overall this is a very solid unit.

OL- The first week this line looked pretty bad, but some of that can be put on the former QB. The 2nd week they looked stellar, but it was against a weak defense. This week they appeared average. They looked pretty good when it came to pass blocking, but they didn't open much for the running game. I believe when Tucker returns it will improve the line even more. Nat Dorsey was the one who let his man through on the field goal and I would have no problem if he was replaced by Tucker. Tucker will play either RT or RG but most likely he'll start out as a backup. If Bentley is able to return this line could be a strength for years to come, at the very least it will no longer be considered a weakness. Shaffer looks like hes adjusting well to RT and McKinney doesn't look bad at RG. Fraley is solid as always, Steinbach controls his man, and Joe Thomas is coming along nicely.

Offense as a whole: has looked much improved thus far. We have played a great defense, a bad defense, and an average defense. We've averaged over 27 points a game, far better than last season. I like the offense Chud has installed but we need to execute it better. I think the main weakness of this offense is still the WR corps.

DL- The worst unti on the team IMO. In fact Robaire Smith is the only legitimate starter I see. Washington looks almost completely washed up and I think the only reason he's playing is his size. Roye has not looked well either. The key to the 3-4 defense is a good NT to control the line. It doesn't appear as though we have that. Shaun Smith may get the start soon enough but this line has been getting dominated by almost every OL its faced this year. We need youth but most important, we need talent.

LB- Last season I thought our LB's were a real strength. This year they have not looked overly impressive. It doesn't help that the d-line is allowing runners into the secondary and there is almost no pass rush but this corps needs to improve overall play. Wimbley is still the best pass rush option we have, but he needs improve his cover skills, he seems out of place and he is being picked up more by blockers and not getting enough pressure. Andra Davis needs to improve his tackling or Leon Williams could take his place sooner than later. DQ looks average. He's not a bad LB but hes not overly impressive either. Peek has adjusted nicely to OLB but he still gets lost on coverages. I think when Willie comes back a few weeks on the bench will help him out even more.

CB- I don't know how much longer Eric Wright needs to adjust to the NFL level. He is being dominated. Todays touchdown where Curry got behind everyone was completely on him. The corps looks lost. Im not sure if Bodden is 100% and Holly didn't look good today either. A lack of a pass rush certainly doesn't help their cause but these guys are getting beat out right. They need to produce more turnovers, start breaking up passes, and just overall play better. I don't see much help coming in so for now Wright, Bodden, and Holly are our guys.

S- Brodeny Pool looks more interested in delivering a big hit than covering or tackling. He looks like a boy among men. Hes always out of place, lets WR's get behind him, and is late getting to the ball or receiver. Jones has looked decent in his own right but its hard when theres only one good safety on the field. Pool needs to step up fast or he will be riding the bench. If believe in time Baxter could return to start at safety and be a good one at that. He needs to heal first, but when he returns I think it should be as a safety rather than a cornerback.

Defense as a whole: Pretty Bad. We did well in the Red Zone today (1 TD in 4 trips) but we are giving up too many points. No pass rush, open lanes for the RB's, and poor play from the secondary is really costing this team. We've played a good offense, a great offense, and an average offense and all have scored on us. Not good.

K- Phil is Phil. Consistent then he'll miss one every now and then that he shoulda hit. Not a great leg but he made the game winner before the timeout, and you can't blame him for Dorsey letting his man get through.

P- I was very impressed with Scott Player, especially in his hangtime. He averaged 46.8 a kick and had a net average of 46.4. Two landed inside the 20. I wouldn't mind giving Zastudil a few weeks off for his back, Player proved he can more than handle the job. Plus I mean come on, you gotta love the 1 bar and the hogan-stache. Thats not to say Zastudil isn't a master of his craft. But I want him to return completely healthy.

K/PR- Cribbs is a beast and I believe he will be our next probowler. I still think we need a better option at PR. I don't want to wear Cribbs down from overuse.

Offensive Coordinator- I am very pleased with what Chud has done. If Romeo stays or goes, I think we need to keep Chud here to direct this offense. It keeps defenses guessing and we are actually putting up points with it.

Defensive Coordinator- The play of the defense is reflecting poorly on Todd Grantham. There seems to be no fire in them whatsoever. Whether its talent or coaching, Grantham may be a scapegoat for Romeo if his seat becomes too hot and he needs to make some changes.

Head Coach- I like Romeo and I think he is a great defensive coordinator, but I just don't think he has been that good a coach. If things keep going the way they are, I can't see him holding his job at the end of the season. This team has little fire to it. He says almost the same excuses for every game and the coin flip was just embarassing. His division record and overall play of the team is not helping his cause. He definately has the talent on this team that was not here when he took control, but he has done little with it. Unfortunately I think he will be let go at the end of the season. He may get a head coaching job at a college university or a defensive coordinator job in the NFL. Personally I would like RAC to stay with the organziation and become the DC, it is most likely the same position he will be offered elsewhere. I think he needs to coach at what he is good at. And honestly, if you had to ask which head coach I would want to see replace him, I would have to say Marty. He has worked with Chud in SD and coaches the 3-4. He would bring the most continuity to this team and I believe give it the best chance to win. Look at what has happened to San Diego since he has left, they just don't look like the same team under Norv Turner.

I figure I'd leave the most controversial outlook for the end

I agree with most of what you said.

Good post.

I just want to know when Anderson is going to learn how to throw a touch pass..

The guy has the arm, he just doesn't have the awareness and touch to elevate his game to the next level..

That is another thing that bugs me about him, the <50% completion rate..

I bet LeBron James would have better field awareness than Derek Anderson (In Football)...

The one play where he missed JJ for the TD was just inexcusable, the OL has played well above average for him. He is just way to inefficient

Excellent post dude. All of your points are right on target.

By the way, I'm a Marty pimp myself.

I'll just address the defense for now ..... because frankly it makes me so nauseuos that I can't go any further without throwing up.

RE: The secondary .....

Eric Wright needs moved to nickel back while he learns. Getting toasted several times per game does his develpment no good.

Leight Bodden is either hurt, doesn't care, or has started believing the hype about him. He has played really badly so far this year,

Brodney Pool is consistently out of position, and certainly hasn't earned his playing time. Someone said that we'd miss Russel ...... well, I think that time has arrrived ...... in triplicate. (1 for each game thus far ... and counting) Wonder if it's too late to bring back Hamilton?


RE: The run defense ......

Do we play run defense? If so, I must be missing it. We are giving up 176 yards/game. That's obscene. We have also allowed the most running plays of 20+ yards. We won't win many games that way.


RE: The pass rush .......

What happened to the promise of having Peak lined up across from Whimbley, and the 2 of them wreaking havoc on opposing offenses? Through 3 games we have 4 sacks. Not inspiring. It's not exactly scaring opposing offenses either.




One other thing that jumped out at me while I was looking up sack numbers is that we've given up 11 TDs already? In just 3 games? ELEVEN? That is just unacceptable for supposed professional football players. Oh, and we've also given up the most FGs (7) as well. Ugh! We are allowing 35 points/game. Yeah ...... 35! Unreal!

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And while his to improve if he wants to remain a starter for as long as possible. And while I have no doubt that Quinn will eventually start some point this season, I believe the longer he sits, the better. Let him adjust to the speed of the game,

The longer BQ sits the less he will know about the speed of the game !!!there is only ONE WAY to adjust to the speed PLAY !!!

How many times yesterday did we send 4 after the QB and they had 6 to block - counting the RB who waited for the non-existent blitz.

Not many DLs in the league can make something out of 4 on 6.

We are a ship without a rudder.

Presidentdawg,,, Gotta tell you, it's clear you spent a heck of a lot of time on this and I think you did a great job,,,,,

I agree on the WR corp,,, We are good with our 1 and 2 guy, but our 2 is really a 3 on most teams.. we need someone to push JJ.. and we don't have one right now. At least not as far as I can tell.

Lewis is, I think, the real deal. There really weren't a lot of holes for him yesterday. I'm still not quite sure if that was on our Oline or if the Defense was stiffer than we thought they would be. Not sure..

Our Oline is something of a work in progress I think.. The more they play together the better they will become. I love our Left side... Stieny is tough and smart and JT is learning at an accelarated pace. I couldn't help but notice that Gallery was playing LG for Oakland.. I don't think we are gonna have to worry about that with Thomas.. he's for real.

On the Right side, we are merely OK.. Shaffer does seem to be getting it somewhat and McKinney just had a bad day... But if Bentley and Tucker can come in when they are ready and allowed (respectively) we could be OUTSTANDING.. Put Bentley at RG and Tucker at RT and I wanna see someone get around them.. Again, this isn't a knock on Shaffer, I think he's learning and doing a decent job.

ON Defense,,, WOW, what a let down. I mean I guess I knew that we were going to struggle because we didn't have a dominant or even Decent Dline, but come on,, this is sad.

If I had to guess why we were having less than stellar production from our LB's, I'd say it's because of that Dline more than anything. And to me, that tends to fall all the way back to the secondary as well. Kind of a Ripple effect. The Dline can't do it's job, so the LB's have to step up, thus the safeties have to step up to help the LB's and the CB's have to step up to help the safeties.

As for Granthum, man I don't know what to think. I get the feeling that he just doesn't have the horses to play the way he wants too...

Chud,,,, I am loving this offense. I think when everyone is on the same page, it's gonna be a thing of beauty... it's probably not going to happen on a consistent basis till we see Quinn and the longer it takes for that the better I like it. And even then, we are going to have to allow for his rookie mistakes,, he's gonna make them.

RAC is, IMO, the only reason we came back and were in a position to win that game yesterday. I really got the feeling that they were doing it for him. Now I know that's rather subjective, but I listen intently to the way the players speak of RAC and I get the feeling they do alot of things for him.

And I don't think some fans on here give him credit for building that loyality with the players.

If we send 4 and they block 6, then simple logic says that we have 7 to cover 4... why then are guys running wide open?

Where Wimbley needs to improve is his run defense. Several times I saw the Raiders run right at him and he was in great position to stop the run only to be taken out by a lone blocker. Each time ot looked like the same block. I thought I was watching replys The offensive player would go down and block Wimbley by the ankles and he ended up just falling over on top the blocker and the Rb would slip right around him - untouched. Someone needs to teach him how to shed a block. He is young and still learning to play standing up but the coaches need to see this and teach him.

Red Bryant Texas A&M 6-5 324 5.15
B.J. Raji Boston College 6-1 340 5.25
Jason Shirley Fresno St. 6-5 330 5.10
Frank Morton Tulane 6-2 331 5.35

A couple of big boys coming out in the next draft. Looking forward to scouting them on upcoming saturdays.

"What happened to the promise of having Peak lined up across from Whimbley"

You might want to remember who made that promise,people on here.I don't recall anyone with a vast amount of knowledge of the NFL saying that.
Peak hasnot,and looks as tho he willnot,relieve any of the pressure that Kam faces.Kam gets chipped,or a back is held in to help out,right now he's not experienced enough to overcome that.
Opposing teams havenot concerned themselves with Peak.And that tells me what I need to know.

Eric Wright needs to be put to at least 3rd or 4th CB on the depth chart, he's looked absolutely horrible all season and i'm sick of seeing him on the field.

Brodney Pool looks about the same as Eric Wright he's almost always out of position and fails to do what a Saftey's main job is "keep the play in front of you", Pool should be benched and give Adams the start over him and see what he has to offer cuz it can't be worse then what Brodney's doing.

Andra Davis has looked like a rookie MLB pretty much all season, yes he's dinged up a little bit but if this guy is supposed to be a leader on this D then he needs to step up in a big way.

All together our Defense has "Regressed" this season, i'm very dissapointed because it was supposed to be our strength basically Wimbley and Peek have been our only defense so far this season and they are great players but 2 people can't carry the load of the "D", these guys have to start playing to there potential bottom line, if they aren't performing to that potential then they get benched, I'm not sure what Romeo must do to get these guys to play sound football but he better be lighting a fire under there butts because if he goes so do quite a few of them in the offseason.

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RE: The pass rush .......

What happened to the promise of having Peak lined up across from Whimbley, and the 2 of them wreaking havoc on opposing offenses?

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Peek hurt his foot in the first game. Since, he has only practiced on Friday's and plays in the game on Sunday. He wore a boot all week before the Bengals game.

With Peek hobbled, Wimbly gets double teamed and sometimes a RB as well. The Bengals did that to him nearly the whole game.

When Peek gets healthy, (if he even can by playing on his injury), I believe it'll get better.

Pres good thread. I've taken some time to think about it. And here's my take. I'll try to respond from a way to maybe work the plan to our advantages more so than evaluate just the talent, because I think thats been covered well by your post.

at QB: we have a QB who is very streaky. The best way to adjust to that is to react the how he looks and run plays accordingly. If he's cold, stick to screens (WR screens too, Cribbs please?), handoffs, draws(PLEASE USE THIS MORE) and if he's hot, let him run the no huddle and/or sling it all over the place. It's something that Chud needs to see and take advantage of, or mask if hes struggling.

at RB: Jamal has been what we've wanted him to be. Its not his fault that in our two losses has a combined 26 carries, which btw is less than his carries against Cincy. Chud needs to take note of that and make things happen. Give Jamal more carries. Wright hasnt warranted any more looks in his time on the field (he has blocked well though), and Vickers is a very good blocker, but I dunno about anything else.

WR: BE and JoeJ have been good. Tim Carter is a burner and DA has a cannon. We need to make things happen there. Cribbs i think is the most under-utilized player on the offense. I understand he gets a lot of work on special teams, but i think we need to give him more than 1 look a week on the O. He's gotten a first down on 2 of his 3 touches, with his 3rd still gaining 7. Who is our slot guy? I dont even know. Carter? Wilson? That should be established.

TE: Best unit on the team. more 2 TE sets? I think thatd be smart. We could run more, and playaction even more effectively, with winslow blocking and then breaking off? oh yea. please?

OL: Its been a very very good year for our OL. Anderson has been sacked a total of twice. WOW. Can you remember ever saying that? a starting QB being sacked twice in just shy of 3 games? Thats amazing. They didnt open a lot of holes this past week, but like Jamal, theyre going to be their best at the end of the game against a tired D.

Coaching of the O: To this point has been very good. He has utilized a lot of our strong points. We still false start a lil too much, and dont seem set up, but thats not completely on him. We played bad, but Chud coached us into a chance to win.

Overall play: Also, we didnt play well, but played well enough to almost win the game. I'm not concered, itll get better.


DEFENSE:

DL: Ugh. They look old. Robaire looks good. Orpheus looks invisible. and Ted looks slow. Also, I havent heard Shaun Smith's name yet. I dunno what number he is. I dunno how much I like that. Fraser, I havent seen him either. So...our DL is playing badly. My thought says, MAKE CHANGES. Chase Pittman and Melila Purcell are on the practice squad. Lets get em some minutes. The big knock is we look slow and get no push. These guys are young and strong. So.....can we play em. theyre young, they gotta at least be faster. And if what we're doing isnt working. please change things.

LBs: Underachieving. I've never said this before but Dra Davis needs to be benched. Chaun has played better, Leon has played better (not by alot but some). Kam has been pretty non-existant until yesterday, and Peek hasnt helped much to get the pressure off of Kam. and the worst part is I see him every week, and he does the same thing every time. He tries to go around the outside of the tackle and ends up 3 steps behind the QB. it really bothers me. these guys are supposed to be our strength, and I think we need to find a way to utilize them.

CBs: ugh Consistently beat. Look, we have McDonald, Holly, Bodden, Wright, and the other Wright. I dont care who we put on the field, We need to have the 2/3 on the field that are going to do the best. I dont care who they are. Holly looked the best to me on Sunday. He gave up catches too, but he's a sure handed tackler, and he made the tackles very quickly after the catch. Bodden is hobbled, so I will give him somewhat of a free pass. I dont condone the bad play, but i know why. If we can find someone to produce better, please? Eric Wright has looked like a rookie, as we've all said, and i dont like it. I know he's a rookie, but he's playing like a bad rookie right now. He's just not ready yet. is McDonald more ready? is Kenny Wright able to cover WRs? I dunno, but we need to find someone who can and soon.

S: Pool has laid some good wood, but thats only when he's in position, which isnt that much. We need him to be in position more. Sean Jones has been fine, but it looks like he is too worried about other people being out of position that its hurting his game. He is very good, but he when/if he's directing the D, he's taking away from his ability i think some. He hasnt been bad htough.

Coaching: What coaching. It seems like they say kam, peek, dl, rush, everyone else...go stand out there somewhere. Our zone is more porous than a strainer. Our D has been a sieve, it lets whatever is trying to get through get through. We cant get stops (except 2, Leigh's int, and the end of the game one, even though they gave up one 3rd down right before that). We just arent performing. we arent pressuring the qb, and we arent playing smart D. And it is the same D every week. Its not team specific. its just, ugh.

Execution: pooooooor. Too many breakdowns. wayy too many. It makes me very mad. we need help.


In all. Our O will keep us in games. Our D will be the problems.

The big thing, is that right now. We need to come out with confidence in the first quarter.

The most telling stat of our team:

First Quarter Scoring: Cleveland 6 Opponents 27. Its hard to win that way.

Another stat to compliment that: Pitt led 24-0, Cincy led 7-0, and Oaktown led 16-0.

To give up a total of 47 points in 3 games before we put a point on the board is a very very very real concern to me. We have to start better. Alot better. That is unforgivable IMHO. We cant let this keep happening.

Our 2nd half's have been way better. We need to start strong AND finish strong.

We're pretty much where I thought we'd be at this point at 1 - 2. Just not the way I thought we'd do it.

The offense is getting better, I do question our lack of depth and we are one key injury away from having some serious problems. The defense... we have to figure out some way to stop the run. We've given up 100+ a game all 3 weeks. That's not going to help us get to the playoffs... as a matter of fact, we're going to be home for the playoffs.

Special teams.. the return game looks fine, hopefully they worked on their blocking today.

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Chaun has played better

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Actually Chaun has played very well when he's been on the field. The only one who seems to be making any plays this year.

Agree with 95% of your post but wanted to emphasize this point.