DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Teller

Yeah, it would be kinda nice to get him back

We shouldn’t be shocked that the drop off from an all-pro level player to a rookie third stringer playing out of position is so great.

Stefanski "hopeful" that Teller will return to practice Wednesday, per Nate Ulrich, Akron Beacon-Journal.

https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/football/news/browns-wyatt-teller-could-practice-wednesday/

that along with our WRs would be a huge boost to the offense.

Browns coach Kevin Stefanski: Close contacts on track to practice Thursday in Steelers prep

Nate Ulrich
Akron Beacon Journal

Coach Kevin Stefanski is optimistic the Browns will, for the most part, have their roster restored in time for Sunday's regular-season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Starting wide receivers Jarvis Landry and Rashard Higgins and the other Browns players who were forced to sit out Sunday's 23-16 loss to the New York Jets because they were identified as high-risk close contacts of starting linebacker B.J. Goodson have continued to test negative for the virus, Stefanski said Monday on Zoom.

https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/spor...day/4059308001/

To me, Teller and Wills are MASSIVE upgrades if they’re back.

Obviously we need Landry and the WRs ... but I felt like a lot of our problem last week was our OLs inability to generate push and our coaches’ inability to game plan effectively due to the quick circumstances

I think you are correct. Being down two starters on your OL is certainly not an enviable position given you're in the first year of a new system. I think most all of us would agree that we have seen improvement and the confidence level of Baker grow as the season has progressed.

And while you did mention it, I feel that many may underestimate the loss of Hubbard as well. He's that plug and play guy who you just insert at either the G or OT position and you aren't left devastated. Teller has certainly been a major key in the success of our running game. Trying to plug a fifth round rookie draft pick in to replace him isn't going to work.

We were down to the 6th and 7th ranked players on our OL as starters. Yet some people insist on blaming everything but our personnel on the Jets loss.

If we were in year three of Stefanski's system it may have been an easier situation to deal with. By then even your depth would be more in line with the type of players you need on the OL and have enough experience in the system to execute the ZBS that Callahan is running. I'm sure that Harris was drafted with that in mind but as a fifth round rookie, people should realistically expect only so much.

I think that’s why we signed that WR from Minnesota ... Stefanski realized the importance of having dudes who can plug in, especially this year. I think we had a lot of trouble installing in such a short amount of time

By the pigskin gods, I love that kind of talk. Excited for this chance this weekend. I do not care who wins us games. If ever there has bee a week for us to go 1 - 0, then this is it. This is like the old Pogo comic strip: A character states,"We have met the enemy, and he is us." We can do plenty to hurt ourselves. Despite the refs and Stoolies,, we need to be convinced that this game, this victory, is in our huddle.

Unleash The Elf!

We certainly did. A 24 hour notice isn't enough time to actually install anything.

And that even further enforces the point I was trying to make. This FO and coaching staff only had one off season to acquire players for the new systems that would be implemented under this new coaching staff. It would be impossible to expect they could overhaul an entire roster.

This is why continuity is certainly an important piece of the puzzle into building a successful franchise. Over time you can mold your roster to fit what you're doing. But that won't all be accomplished over the course of a single off season.

And we are starting to manage to do something I had talked about previously some time ago.
We need to decide what we are or want to be. Run? Pass? Dominant D? Groundpounding runs? Example on offense inline. Are they run blockers? Pass protectors? Primarily. Every player is expected to do both, but the identity of the team comes from what you succeed in achieving. This drafting and FA shows the benefit to our team as OL has been dominant a few times. Just putting it together during a difficult season, but I am also pleased with our FO and Coach Stef and his staff overall. Reserving judgment until Sunday night.

Oh Lord I hope Teller can play this week. Harris was way past putrid in the passing game, and below average in the running game last week. If he has to start in the Pittsburgh game he is going to cost us the game.

I tend to think about that somewhat differently than you do. I like to have a team that is built on exploiting your opponent based on their weaknesses. As far as the OL goes, we run a zone blocking scheme. That can be used in both pass and run blocking. It's not an either/and/or proposition.

I don't think it's smart to go up against a top 10 run defense who rates in the bottom ten passing defenses by trying to run the ball down their throat. The smart thing to do would be to exploit their weak pass defense and put the ball in the air.

By contrast I don't think it's smart to have an opponent within the bottom ten rushing defense that has a great secondary by getting pass happy against them.

We are very lucky. When healthy we have great investment and talent in both the run game and passing game. As such we have the ability to exploit an opponents run defense or pass defense depending on which is most advantageous to us.

I understand it's a popular idea to say we need an identity or standard game plan. But from an analytic standpoint, the best way to attack an opponent is based on their weakness.

If someone were to throw out the "stats are for losers" shtick, I actually wouldn't be too harsh in response. I'd love to dig more into this little tidbit of info because I think there are a couple things going on here.

-this past game, we were also missing Wills and (as been pointing out) Hubbard which means we were kinda scraping the bottom of the barrel with Harris

-the holes at WR also probably helped bottle up our ground game a little bit

-earlier, did Teller's absence also coincide with Chubb's time off?

Wasn't Chubb also out when Teller missed some games too? That would def. skew the numbers some...I could be wrong, as I'm just going off the top of my head...Regardless, we def. need Teller back to have a chance.

You're not wrong. Chubb and Teller missed games together, Pittsburgh being one of them.

Well, I just found out something that I overlooked. Those two in the game would present more of a challenge than it did before. I hope it helps here for this one.

Thanks for connecting those dots for us. Also, a belated Merry Christmas to MG! Stuff Rudy's stocking for him. Strip sacks are in season.

Unleash the Elf!

Did Teller play at all last season ( his first with us ) or was he hurt ?

He played after we benched Kush last year, maybe it was like the last four games of the season or so...Imo Teller looked a lot like Kush last year (not good) But damn...he surely grew as a player this year into one of the top RG's in the league, well when healthy.

Thank you...I remember Chubb being hurt in Dallas, and that may have been the game when Teller was on the sidelines late in the game as well. I know our rushing game suffered when it was Hunt all alone (and he was slighted by his groin injury) And obviously losing Teller to injuries this year has haunted us too.

Teller didn't really blossom until Callahan got ahold of him.

That guy is a friggin genius. We lose Callahan and we're screwed.

No doubt. our OL has really blossomed ... it’s a shame we haven’t been at full strength a lot lately

Was he hurt when we signed him ? Or got hurt right after he came to camp ? I remember something .. I just can't remember ,lol..

I remember trading for him when he was with the Bills, and he was their back-up RG...I think Felecino from the U was their starting RG, and he was pretty solid for Buffalo...I am not sure if he was hurt or not, I was under the impression we were waiting for him to learn the system prior to playing...But I honestly didn't know a lot about him prior to some draft talk.

There was someone on this board, who was absolute gaga for Teller during draft talk that year, I can't recall who it was...but they turned out to be right lol

Everything you post is valid, and all teams will need to do all things. We have acquired players who run well and pass block better this year. That said, Stefanski throws a bunch when behind.
This is not to argue for "identity" as an end unto itself, nor to take exception to your points and argue things that change with each opponent, hence game planning. But we have had line which have been neither, meaning what do you build on as strengths when they are insufficient?

I want a Teller identity. And balanced ability blocking. Hope it is enough.

It's odd how differently OL and DL players perform in different schemes. 2020 has been a busy and confusing year for everyone. As such I haven't taken the time to break down the OL as I sometimes do. Maybe it's more so because it hasn't been an issue which is a good thing.

It may very well be that Teller has simply blossomed in a single season into the beast we see now. But if I were to venture a guess, which is all it really is at this juncture, I would say the ZBS installed by Callahan has a lot to do with the difference we see. The strengths and skill set of an OL player simply fit into certain schemes more than others. And there's no doubt that Teller has progressed. I'm simply not sure of what percentage is on his progress and what percentage of it is due to scheme. I think if it were actually broken down, it's a combination of both.

Was thinking, so you think the browns should pull teller out of the game when the Steelers pull thier starters on thier defensive line out? Why risk aggravating the injury against back ups?

Yes. As soon as we're up 28-3...

I'm not so sure. Remember 38-7?

I don’t anticipate us being up by that much .. I anticipate a close game and a ball control game. They’ll make us earn it and we’ll have to take care of the ball.

I think the score will be something like 16-13

Wyatt Teller is not only the best guard in the NFL, he is is the second best player overall (barely under Aaron Rodgers). The NFL, nor most of our fans, understand what a stud [censored] this dude is. He basically never loses a run block scenario, and his weak link, the pass block, he is still better than 90% of the league. Wyatt Teller is shattering badness records. I've seen some here call him out for the injuries but I don't think they mean anything long term. Just freaky stuff.

We have 2 of the top 5 guards in football, and a top 5 center. That is why Baker needs to learn how to hold onto a football when he sneaks. WTF???

Actually I did give Teller some of the credit. But there's really no debating that a players skill set translates better in certain schemes. I consider it a combination of both. Not an and/or situation.

I agree. He improved his mental side too. Baker mentioned once how Teller came back looking bigger and more fit. Seems like he studied the scheme well too. Shows you what dedication and a want to improve can do. Callahan is a huge factor too.

What will be nice is if we keep the scheme for more than a year or two. Then you can draft to the scheme and develop depth. I hope after all these years, we can keep the thing together for a decade or so. One can dream.

How long of a contract does Callahan have?