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However, the PFF grade on Wills the last two-years has been spot on if not a little generous. I also agree that when your LT is average on his best day the OL is not top 5. Unfortunately, for you and others like me, when we question anything the Browns do or have done, we get accused of being not loyal, BM fans, or haters of the FO. The offensive line is in distress right now and I'm skeptical that it will pay the dividends needed this year. Center is a huge unknown right now. Conklin is coming off a very serious injury that could very well limit what he's produced in the past. The post is focused on Wills play who by all indications is struggling mightily at the LT position and has work ethic issues. These are not guesses or negative shots at the Browns, these are well documented facts about Wills play. A young man that is being forced to play a position in the NFL that he had never played before in his entire life. Maybe the plan is to let him continue to struggle, pick up his 5th year option, and then sign him to one of the biggest deals for the position even if he shows little to no improvement because he has "potential" like the Browns just did with Njoku.

The unfortunate thing about Wills is the Browns must decide by May if they are going to pick up his 5th year option. My biggest issue with this is the Browns are going to have to make that decision without ever knowing if he'd be significantly better at RT or could be moved inside to guard because they continue to invest all his time at LT with little to no improvement. That would be a shame because I do think he can be an asset at a position he knows and has played but we may never know.

I was hoping Kelly for Cain.

Maybe I missed it, but where are these work ethic issues people are mentioning? I don't think I saw that before.

With Wills, he had a surprisingly solid rookie year followed by a injury-muddled second season. I'm fine with him so far, but I also won't be surprised if by the time his second contract negotiation comes around he ends up being moved to RT for a young guy or an extremely expensive FA.
And I suppose that's the rub. This year is probably the end of the "oodles of cash to spend" era, and as of now we don't have a 1st round pick for a bit. How exactly are you upgrading on Wills?

Build Berry a statue if he can get something for John Kelly!

LOL........but it's not like Cain has a huge resume. He has 9 catches for his career w/0 last year.

No doubt. We know John Kelly will be cut. I suppose there is a reasonable chance that Cain will be cut as well.

Not to be negative, the theme on this board for the last 8 months is injuries have no bearing on performance. So, even though that should be a legitimate reason, we can't accept injury as a reason for poor play. Like I previously posted though, Wills improved his PFF grade slightly from year one to year two. Unfortunately, it was still a grade that was past the bottom of the barrel for tackles. When you look at the OT grading, Williams was #1 at 96.6 (and the Browns could of had him), Conklin was 78.8 and rated 20th while Wills was 66.1 and rated 52nd which was an improvement over 2020.

For your other part, Berry is a smart guy. He found 46 million per year to pay Watson. I guess it all depends how much weight the Browns put on having a top-notch LT protecting the blindside of their 230M investment. How he does it remains to be seen or maybe there's not that high of priority for OT like he's shown for WR and DT, time will tell.

I was thinking the same thing. Of course, the teams practiced against each other for two days and had a preseason game on the third day. Perhaps the familiarity w/each helps initiate a trade that might benefit both teams, albeit to a small degree. It probably won't happen, but it makes some sense.

God, I hope so!

The only people I've read who have made this claim are people who put words in other poster's mouths. I have not read one person say that about Baker. I know I have said that I believe people are putting too much stock in how much the injuries affected his play. I have also said that most of the bad throws were not from the injury and I provided credible video/analysis to back-up that point. However, despite a couple of people who claim that I have said that injuries were not a factor, that is a false sentiment. Of course his injuries affected his play.

It's true 20 heavier in better shape, and with the right attitude. Lets just hope that sticks all season long.

j/c:

I certainly wasn't one of them. When it pertains to myself you would be 100% incorrect. At his very best I only consider Baker a middle tier QB while I consider watson borderline elite and a very clear upgrade at the position. That's not what any of this has been about for me.

RIP

RIP Jim Mueller

RIP Jim. There were many times when I had to work on Sundays, and would listen to him, along with Nev and Diek (IIRC) on the radio.

Before that he was a partner with Gib Shanley. That was a good broadcast team. As browns fans, we have been blessed with some pretty darn good broadcast teams that continue to this day.

R.I.P. Jim.

I agree w/that. It was a rare occasion where I wasn't able to view the game on TV or attend it live, but it was always an enjoyable listening experience when I had to tune our local announcing teams. I don't know what the guy was like in real life, but Mueller always came across as a very nice human being.

RIP. Thanks for the memories, Jim.

Thanks. Nice to see a football post.

Some positive opinions about how Jed practiced against the Eagles. I know I posted how he had three penalties in a row which seemed to cause a mini outrage, which was overblown.

Yes, I think he needs to improve, but the negativity around him is overblown.

Also, hopefully Elliot will live up to the preseason hype. And I hope Newsome gets healthy quick.

Coach said Newsome is getting close.

We're going to have an O similar to what we had when we had backs like Leroy Kelley, Bo Scott, the Pruitt's, Byner and Mack etc. We passed the ball then too but I believe we will see alot of what we did years ago.

I think that's wishful thinking.
I mean, it makes complete sense, but it's not like this will be our first season with a wealth of great backs and a superior OLine... and we haven't, yet, been a fully run-oriented team. Heck, even with an injured starting QB for most of last season, we regularly seemed to abandon the run even when it was working exceptionally well. I fail to see why we'd suddenly expect them to change that now.

I think the Browns had a nice balance last year. Teams that are losing in the second half tend to throw more while teams that are leading in the second half tend to run more. The Browns were 1 game shy of .500 In 2021 and went 11 and 5 in 2020.

In 2021:

They ranked 9th in rushing attempts per game.
They ranked 28th in passing attempts per game.

In 2020:

They ranked 4th in rushing attempts per game.
They ranked 28th in passing attempts per game.

I'd guess that an increase in interceptions, being behind in more games, and shorter possessions resulted in the difference between the number of rushing attempts.

I might be wrong, but I think we're going to see Brissett throwing a lot more than any of us wants for the foreseeable future. He'll be going against a stacked box until he proves he can make the defense pay. He'll have to prove it starting game #1.

The Pruitts had Sipe, Mack/Byner had Kosar. I guess we'll see what happens.

If Brissett can surpass a back-up like Pagel when it comes to being a true threat, then maybe it'll work out.

I don't know.

I'm guessing, but I think we will still run the ball. Teams will have to stack the box to stop it because we have a great OL and backs. I think we will go w/a lot of play action and utilize the quick passing game, w/an occasional deep shot to keep the defense honest. I do not think we will try and rely on a vertical passing game that asks the qb to make a lot of tough throws. I think we will try to stay ahead of the chains and limit turnovers.

j/c...

Huh.

Wish the best for the guy, but there''ve been toys in the attic since Arizona.

All the physical gifts, but none of the mental fortitude (imo).

Familiar NFL story.

What Browns uarterback did the Browns starting uarterback outperform to get the starting job?
Aw nevermind.

I think it means he’ll be cut. But I also don’t think it means that because I thought it was pretty obvious that he was going to be cut.

Let's hope they are like that group except the way Earnest Byner was in the Denver playoff game. That play still gives me heart burn.

j/c…

Tretter retires.

Good for him. Disappointing for me.