DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Browns News and Notes cont.

I think he has a fairly good chance to start. Both Delpit and the other Thornhill will probably start, but if they start screwing up, you never know. There is something to be said for a coordinator to know his safety in the middle has everybody on the same page.

Safety is one of the few positions where experience trumps raw talent, at least to a reasonable degree. If nothing else, Mcleod adds something to the room. Not unlike having a Jim Leonard in the room or a Ken Dorsey in the QB room. They may not change games in to wins, but they aren't going to lose you games either.

Maybe call him a player coach. The other guys did that, and both became very good coaches after they stopped playing. It's where the guardrails can indeed expand. You don't build teams with players like that, but you can finish a team with players like that.

We are by and large built, so adding the finishing touches is the proper move.

I never understood why they don't swap out safeties or CBs to let them catch their breath like they do with DL.

Ward gassed vs Green or Emmerson at 100% can't be that much different. The bonus would be that Ward would have time to recover.

Can't do that. The threat of a big play is just too great. Also, those guys are almost always in way better shape than guys on the DL.

Why not? They do it on Offense with WRs, TEs, and RBs.

Because putting a backup corners on guys elite WRs who can run like the wind can lead to an instant 6 pts in a blink of the eye.

Ok[video:youtube][/video]

6'1" / 245 / 29 years old. Originally drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the sixth round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

This is a good time to buy as players begin to panic over not being signed.

Agreed. We picked up some decent LB's on the fly last year to fill injured guys. They played well for us. I'm sure we can get a few before TC.

There are a lot of really good players still available. Especially on the DL--both Edge and Interior.

This from a mid-March but here its PFF's reaction to the first couple of days of Browns' FA.

How much of the Browns really good ranking in pass defense in 2022 was due to teams being able to run over the Browns defensive line,
meaning that if they didn't have to pass the ball, they didn't need to,
so it inflates how your defense looked against the pass because teams were content to run instead.

I have always felt that your rankings could be a result of either poor play at one method, or even on offense successful running reducing your dependency on passing. Also passing so well you have leads late and run the ball to run clock in the 4th quarter.

June 1st, and additional cap space to play with, is just around the corner.

That is true. The pass defense numbers were inflated because the run defense was so poor. But how many more sacks would Myles Garrett have gotten if the run was stopped? If the other teams' offenses were in more predictable downs and distances? How many more turnovers would have been caused strip sacks, rushed passes being picked off, etc.... Running the ball and stopping the run. It is still the fundamentals of the game. When a team can run the ball, it forces the defense to place another defender in the box, it causes the pass rush to be a step slower reacting to the play action, etc... Opens up the passing game! On defense when a team stops the run the defense puts the offense in predictable scenarios and allows the pass rush to tee off, forces more mistakes by the offense, etc... I feel that is where the Steelers and Ravens have been better than the Browns for most of the time this team has been back in existence. They have had better QB play also but their running game and run defense has been superior most years since 1999. If the run defense is fixed, I expect to see a much-improved team. A defense that can get off the field, time of possession in the Browns favor, and winning the turnover battle.

j/c…

Thanks for the memories, Ben!

Nice move by Berry. Browns needed another veteran pass rusher and they got him.

PFF grade last year was 82.2

Woah. Could be a steal!

Wow!

This is huge!

What makes you think they don't look at film? Or that they only look at highlights?

"They" is PFF who you referenced. It's a bit hyperbole that it is taken as god's truth as many people here question it. I think disagreeing with the grades and knowing how they grade are two important distinctions.

Haha....rain on my parade? EO, that would be impossible for you to do.

On paper our DL is much improved. let’s hope it shakes out that way

I guess my question about PFF's grade is: How are they qualified to evaluate a player's performance?
How are these guys doing the PFF grades any different than a dozen of us getting together and coming up with the grades?

WHO IS DOING THE GRADING?
PFF employs over 600 full or part-time analysts, but less than 10% of analysts are trained to the level that they can grade plays. Only the top two to three percent of analysts are on the team of “senior analysts” in charge of finalizing each grade after review. Our graders have been training for months, and sometimes years, in order to learn, understand and show mastery of our process that includes our 300-page training manual and video playbook. We have analysts from all walks of life, including former players, coaches and scouts. We don’t care if you played.
https://www.pff.com/grades

Not enough qualified individuals doing the grading and the comment, "we don't care if you played"... emphasizes what a lack of professionalism PFF operates by.

j/c
Prior to Smith trade, Browns roster ranked worst in the AFC North

Browns have a lot to prove going into 2023 after Andrew Berry’s busy offseason

The Cleveland Browns were obviously unhappy with their defense last year. It started with the firing of DC Joe Woods immediately after the season ended and continued through free agency, the NFL draft and this weekend’s (reported not official yet) trade for DE Za’Darius Smith.

The defense, along with the putrid play (based on his past, expectations and trade/contract compensation) of QB Deshaun Watson led to a last-place finish, a full two games behind the Pittsburgh Steelers, in the AFC North.

Despite that, Pro Football Focus ranked the Browns No. 9 in their power rankings last week. With the Cincinnati Bengals the top-ranked team in the AFC North and the Baltimore Ravens one spot behind Cleveland, three of the four teams in the division were ranked in the top 10.

Somehow, PFF’s newest ranking, looking only at the team’s roster, has a different order with the Browns having the worst roster in the division at No. 14. Published before the Smith trade, it is interesting to note where they saw the team’s biggest weakness:

Biggest weakness in 2023: Defensive Line

Aside from Myles Garrett and Dalvin Tomlinson, there isn’t a ton of depth on the Browns’ defensive line following Jadeveon Clowney‘s departure. The Browns will look for players like Ogbonnia Okoronkwo and rookies Isaiah McGuire and Siaki Ika to step up and take some of the pressure off their star defenders.

As we shared through a FanShot, PFF is high on the Smith acquisition so maybe the Cleveland roster would be able to catch up to the Steelers (12) or Ravens (8). The Bengals are ranked as the third-best roster in the NFL.

While different authors were in charge of this ranking and the power rankings, it is interesting to see the difference between the two. For Browns fans, concern remains with HC Kevin Stefanski and Watson’s return to greatness. PFF notes Watson in their “X-Factor” section of the roster rankings and takes the under on 8.5 wins for the team this season.

Cleveland has a lot to prove on the field before respect will be earned at a national level. With talented teams in the division and conference as a whole, 2023 will be a slugfest. Many Browns fans think the roster is ready for it but PFF wasn’t buying in before the Smith deal.

https://www.dawgsbynature.com/2023/...Ych64ltP5AoeVxfMatkRWAmZ12zkGXYfJ4YB2taw

Rankings such as this are totally subjective and total BS.

Wins and Losses matter.

What I find amusing with the PFF grades is that when it's a good grade (aka Garrett, Cooper and Chubb) we have posters on this forum swearing the legitimacy of the grade yet when it's a poor grade (aka Watson, Wills and Ward) the grades suddenly become subjective and total BS.