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Transcript of Cleveland Browns General Manager Tom Heckert's media conference call on Sunday
Published: Sunday, September 04, 2011, 7:55 PM Updated: Sunday, September 04, 2011, 8:01 PM
By Plain Dealer staff


Transcript of media conference call with Browns General Manager Tom Heckert on Sunday

(On if the roster is set now or if more moves will be made)- "I think we'll probably make one or two more."


(On Armond Smith and if they plan on using him)- "Yeah, he'll be active for the game so we'll see how it goes. I don't know how many touches he'll get, but he showed a lot in the preseason."

(On Smith's preseason fumbles)- "Obviously we don't want him fumbling the ball, but it wasn't a problem in college. We don't think it's a problem, just something that happened so we're not overly concerned about it."

(On Thaddeus Lewis and if they plane on keeping three quarterbacks all year)- "Yeah, that's the plan now. We probably weren't going to do that, but when Thad came available we just decided to go in that direction. We kind of had it change a little bit as of last night."

(On his thoughts about Quinton Spears)- "He's guy who obviously came from a very small program, but we think he's a very, very talented kid. He's almost 6-5, he's 240-something and he can run. He can also put his hand down on the ground and rush the passer. We thought he was very productive in the preseason and he was in college so we just decided to bring him in and see what we have. We're excited to have him."

(On Titus Brown's injury and if he's worried about depth at linebacker)- "Obviously that's one of the reasons why we claimed this kid (Spears). We think Titus is going to be back here relatively soon, I don't know exactly when, but I don't think it's going to be a long term thing. Obviously we have to wait and see if Chris (Gocong) is going to be able to play, but we are a little thin there."

(On the overall roster now compared to last years and how they're moving along in the program)- "I don't know if I can compare it a whole lot from last year, but obviously and I think everyone can tell we're a lot younger. I'm not saying that's better or worse, but we are. That's a fact. We're younger and that was kind of a goal for us and we'll see how it pans out this year. We knew we needed to get younger and I think we've made strides in that direction."

(On what they learned about Colt McCoy from preseason)- "I don't know if we learned anything more than what we already knew. We know the intangible aspect that Colt brings to the team as a leader. All that stuff we obviously know that and we knew that even when we drafted him. I think he's getting more comfortable. Obviously, with the whole lockout situation, it's a new offense for him, but he's picked it up very well. I think you're going to see him grow within the offense through the course of the season. I'm not saying he's going to be 100% perfect all the time, but I do think he's getting better and better and we'll have to wait and see how it works out. I think he's going to be good in this offense."

(On if he has any new developments on Gocong's return)- "Not really, he's coming along and it's just a matter of time. We're hoping for this week and we probably won't know for a couple more days. We think he's going to be back this week, but like I said, we don't know that for sure."

(On not being able to see much of Carlton Mitchell due to injury and what makes him think that Mitchell can be a factor in the rotation)- "Obviously that's still a little bit of a guessing game. He's a very, very talented guy and we thought he was having a tremendous camp before he got injured. He looked good and unfortunately he had kind of a freak injury. It's unfortunate for everybody, but we do think he's a very talented guy and we're willing to take the chance that he's going to be what we thought he was. We'll have to see how many plays this year, but we're willing to keep him on the roster."

(With Titus Brown's injury, how close was he to keeping Brian Smith on the roster)- "There were a few guys that we liked, him and obviously (Benjamin) Jacobs. We had guys that we liked and it's just we wanted to see this Spears kid and bring him and in and see how that goes. There are a lot of close calls in this whole thing and they were one of them."

(On keeping four tight ends and why they kept a heavy load with six wide receivers)- "Everywhere I've been we've kept six wide receivers so it's not too many for us. We're planning on throwing the ball a little bit. We like all those guys and it's the same with the tight ends, in this offense the tight ends are a big part of it. We like all four of those guys. I don't know if it's a number thing, it's more of a we like the players there and we think they're the best 53 guys."

(On how much of a leap of faith it is to think that Montario Hardesty can be the guy they thought he was when they drafted him)- "I really don't really think it's that big of a leap of faith. We like him, we think he's turned the corner with coming off the injury. Obviously, we're going to find out here in a week. We fully expect him to be what he was when we drafted him. That's the plan and we'll see how that works out."

(On deciding to put Brandon Jackson on injured reserve and if eight weeks was too long to wait)- "That was really tough. He's a great kid and we think he's a really good player. It's just at that position, it's tough to do. You just can't find a roster spot to keep him. You're going to have three running backs most of the time, so really you'd end up keeping four running backs with him. We're thinking more long term with Brandon. We like him, we have him under contract for a few more years. We didn't want to get into a situation where we had to force the issue. If one of our two guys got hurt or nicked up we'd have to do something else then we would probably had to shelve him anyways. It's going to be a little bit of time, there's no surgery involved, but it's going to be a while before he's able to do anything."

(On Phil Taylor playing well in the Philadelphia game but not having stats and what was encouraging about his preseason)- "Phil, he played well in the Philly game and I think with Phil you're looking for the consistency. Obviously, he's a rookie playing in the NFL. That's not the easiest thing to do, to throw him in as a starter, and I think he performed well in the preseason, but he's got to continue to improve and show us that's the reason why we drafted him in the first round was to come in here and play and he's got to do it. We're encouraged by what we've seen so far."

(On Eric Hagg's return)- "We think he can be back fairly soon. I really don't have an exact timetable on him. He's doing well, he's doing stuff in the pool and rehabbing. It wasn't a major, major deal so hopefully he's back here fairly soon."

(On if Auston English and James Dockery can be more involved than just special teams)- "English we actually released today, but Dockery yeah, he's going to make his deal on special teams to begin with. We think he can do that and really help us out. That's the plan and if he has to play we think he's shown enough that we could stick him in there and be okay. We think he's going to be a good special teams player and if he has to play, he can play."

(On splitting time between Marcus Benard and Jabaal Sheard at first or if Sheard is ready for a normal starters workload)- "I think he's ready for the normal starter workload, but I don't think we're going to play these guys 100% of the time. The ideal situation is to get enough guys to rotate them and hopefully I think in a normal year you want your guys playing 60% for the starters and the other guys play the 40%. We'll see how that goes. Hopefully, the (Emmanuel) Stephens kid can come in here and help us and obviously with Marcus here that should be able to take some reps away from these guys. The ideal situation is to be able to rotate all eight of those guys."

(On Marcus Benard development as a defensive end)- "Me, personally, I think Marcus is a defensive end. You can talk about the 3-4, 4-3 all that stuff, but he's definitely not a 4-3 linebacker, I don't think. He can do it in a pinch, but I think he's a defensive end. People talk about his size, but he's a 260-265 pounds and that's plenty big enough. It's all leverage and I think he does a good job with that. Obviously, we all know he can rush the passer, but if he's going to be rotating in there, he has to be able to play the run too and I think he can do that."

(On what area he believes he improved in the most from last season)- "That's a good question. I don't know if I can answer that yet, we'll have to wait and see. Obviously, there are some guys that we like, some young guys that we drafted, but, we'll have to wait and see. I think the secondary is a position where I think we've helped ourselves and I think we have really good players there. But, everybody's got to see what happens during the season."

(On what this process was like with coach Shurmur)- "It was fine, it worked well. We spent a lot of time, obviously, we had a group of guys that we watched over the whole preseason, guys that were possible cut guys. Our scouting staff did a phenomenal job and we watched 800-some guys I think. It was hectic there for a while, there were a lot of long hours watching tape, but we targeted a bunch of guys and we got almost everybody we wanted in the claim period. There were a couple guys we didn't get. It went really well and Pat was involved the entire time and it worked out really well."

(On if he is on the same page with coach Shurmur)- "Oh yeah, that was never an issue. We're all striving for the same thing. We're trying to get the best possible players in there for these guys to coach and I think our coaching staff knows that. It's no different where every coach I've ever been with it's been the same where we all get together and we decide what's best for the team and we just go from there."

(On what he likes in Thaddeus Lewis and why he felt they needed a third quarterback)- "I think it's more the fact that we really like this kid. Like I said before, I think we probably weren't going to go in that direction. We were probably just going to stick with two, but this kid, we really liked him. Obviously, Pat coached him, but we talked about him last year when he was available. He was on their practice squad all last year and we talked about possibly trying to get him. He's a guy we loved in the draft when he came out and he's just a very talented kid. He's very accurate, I think he was 70 some percent in the preseason. I think he was 70-something last year. He's got a strong arm, he's a good athlete. We just like everything about the kid and we're really excited to have him."

(On how well defined the receiving core is)- "Whoever can score touchdowns, we'll get him the ball. I think it's going to be a combination. If you look throughout the West Coast systems, we had the same thing in Philadelphia, where we would like to have the ball distributed all over the place between the tight ends, the backs and the wide receivers. It's an offense that I've been around where we haven't had a guy, we had T.O. (Terrell Owens) an he was the one guy who had way more catches than anybody else. That was one year out of all the years I was in Philadelphia, it was spread around. They can all have 60 catches or however you want to talk about it, but it's not necessary to have one guy catch 100 balls. I don't think that's going to be the case here either."

(On what he sees in Jason Pinkston and if Eric Steinbach's injury really affects the offensive line)- "It's kind of a two-parter where I don't know if we're going to be done doing things on our roster and that may happen here in the next day or two. But, we do like Pinkston a lot and we think he's going to be a really good player. We'll see how it shakes out this week and who's going to be starting at left guard. We think he can do it, we think (John) Greco can do it. We're in pretty good shape, we think, but that's not to say we're not going to add anybody here in the next couple days."

(On not being able to evaluate Carlton Mitchell and deciding to keep him on the roster)- "Like I said, the times when he was out there I thought he improved from last year, I really do. He came in in phenomenal shape, he's hands were good and unfortunately he got hurt. Obviously, we're sticking with him and we think he's got very big upside, but like you said, it's a little bit of a guessing game because we didn't get to see a ton of him. We're still on board with him and we'll see how it goes."

(On how much discussion he had about lowering the age of the roster and following their 'over 30' rule this weekend)- "It's kind of funny Tony (Grossi), I don't know if we ever actually ever talked about it that much. We knew we were an older team last year and it wasn't necessarily just the age, we wanted to improve at certain positions. That 30-year old thing, that's kind of a myth. It worked out that way in a lot of areas, but we don't go in and say, 'We're not going to sign a 30-year old guy.' We just wanted to get younger from a team perspective just because the fact we want guys that are going to practice every day, we want guys that are going to be out there all the time and it's tough when you get older. That's just the way it is. We all know there's going to be injuries and that's part of the game, but I just think the younger you are the less chance you have to have injuries. It wasn't really a statement where we are going to get younger, but we know building through the draft that you're going to get younger anyway. That's kind of been our plan."

(On how ready Greg Little is for an important role right away)- "That's probably still a wait and see thing. I think he showed what he can do. He's a big bodied guy that can catch the ball and do the things we thought he could. Does he have to improve? Heck yeah. We think we have some guys that he's going to compete with for playing time. Whether he's the third, fourth, second or whatever he's going to be, he's going to play and he's going to catch the ball. It's really going to be up to him and how he improves to see how much playing time he gets. We expect him to play and be productive for us."

(On what Owen Marecic showed him this preseason)- "That he can block and that's what a fullback does. I think he's a very good blocker and we know he can catch the football. Obviously, if he has to run the ball, but a fullbacks not going to run the ball much anyway. We think he's a true all-around fullback and we thought he was very productive. He's super smart and he picked up the offense well and he can block."

(On if Sheldon Brown will play opposite Joe Haden or if he will he see some time at safety)- "No, he's a corner. He's our starting corner and we think he's fine there."

(On Scott Paxson making the team after being cut his previous six attempts)- "He played very well, he really did, obviously, well enough to make our team. He a very strong kid and he's a very good run player. He was productive for us, he did a good job and I think he earned a spot. We're very happy with Scott." web page

thank you for putting that up.

but it looks to me heckert didn't really care that the LB depth was an issue. a little bit arrogant.

I'm also not sold on Marecic.

Lewis is why Brown is not on the roster.

Simple enough... and logical... Shumer liked him better even though he was not in camp.

I really like the way H/H/S are thinking, The season may or may not go well, but I the continuity in the front office and coaching staff is apparent. I like the way Shurmer is approaching the game, and now understand the selection. Gone is the myth about the OC.

Never liked the Mangini hire, and thought it was silly to bring him in without a H/H in the fold.

I didn't like the Shurmur hire, but he did a nice job keeping camp organized, and appeared to be an effective teacher under far less than nominal conditions. He seems to have a level head .... but we have yet to see him with figurative bullets flying. Hopefully he'll continue to grow into a great head coach. I would be more than happy to be wrong.

OK, this is what I got out of this interview


Heckert: we don't know anymore than anyone else, we are playing the percentages and we think we've done it right..'

now,, get off our backs while we build a winner..

LB just isn't a premium position for Heckert...the value for this D is in DL, DL and some DB...he hasn't taken a LB the last 2 drafts

Look at Philly, they're waiving 2nd and 3rd round DL talent left and right because they have too many of those by now but go into the season starting 2 7th rounders at OLB and a rookie 4th rounder (C.Matthews)...their backups are 6th and 7th round rooks

you can get pretty good undersized LBs for this D in the late rounds and even UDFA...and that's Heckert's philosophy and I agree with it

He has also said that he feels that you can find excellent 4-3 DE outside of the 1st round. That's not a 1st round position for him.

I would guess that his 1st round positions are what he has shown so far ..... plus the standard offensive positions. He''l take a DT, CB, and maybe even a S if he's late enough in the 1st ....... DE starting in the 2nd ....... and LB 3rd round and later.

Just my guess ..... but I would guess that it's fairly accurate.

I would guess that anyone hoping for a 1st round DE or LB next season will be disappointed.

I think a linebacker or even two will be picked next year. Heckert is not only smart but also patient. From what I'm hearing from the draft gurus on here is that next years draft is deep at linebacker. I don't expect a 1st round backer but something has to be done to replace Gocong and Fujita before the end of their respective careers are upon us.

I honestly think that we need 3 new LB .... but that's me. I don't think that DQ will be the answer ... Fujita's getting older at a position with a premium on speed ... and Gocong didn't fit the 4-3 in Philly. We really lack speed and quickness at the position. Jackson's got decent speed ... but we don't really have much else.

Quote:

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I would guess that anyone hoping for a 1st round DE or LB next season will be disappointed.

---

Nah...Can't say that...It's always based on who's available at said slot...

If Coples (DE) is there and we're in the Top 5ish......Highly consider him...

If Burfict (LB) is there at 20ish...Highly consider him...

I got "do you really expect me to say to the media that anyone on the team isn't very good?" You can't do that to a player as a GM or coach.

Cleveland Browns
Transcript from news conference with Browns coach Pat Shurmur

by Nate Ulrich on September 7, 2011

in Cleveland Browns,NFL,Pat Shurmur

Browns coach Pat Shurmur met with reporters this morning before practice. Here is a transcript of the news conference:

(Opening statement)- “It is game week and we just had our first walk-through of the week, although we’ve basically had two other practices where we’ve had a chance to work on things somewhat specific to the Bengals. I don’t think we are any different than most teams in terms of the time we’ve spent since we’ve finalized our team. We’ve had one last change, Tyler Clutts went to the Chicago Bears on their 53-man roster and we signed a fullback, Eddie Williams, to replace him on the practice squad.”

(On how Colt McCoy has come along and how he has grasped this offense)- “Where it began was obviously in the offseason, him being curious about what things were going to look like. We watched in his offseason how he tried to lead the team with very little information, which I thought was terrific. He took the initiative to go see Brett Favre. What you saw was a guy eager to learn. It continued and really started once we started training camp where I felt like he met us more than half way. He was trying to gobble it all up the best he could. Each little stage then, you saw him in practice, a little bit rusty and then he’d fix some errors. Then he got an opportunity to go in be pretty efficient in the first preseason game and then he went through the process of training camp and basically did what we wanted. Now, the next step is to do it for 60 minutes in a regular season game. He’s kind of been passing the tests in my mind as we’ve gone along and so Sunday will be the next test.”

(On what kind of progress he expects McCoy to make in his second year)- “For me it’s his first year. I know he got some experience a year ago and he was kind of thrown into the fire playing for guys that were injured and he battled and found a way to win some games. That’s the way he is. If you track his career all the way back to grade school, he’s won a whole bunch of games. He doesn’t do it alone, but I think when you have a guy who has that innate ability to be involved with winning then you hope it continues to transfer.”

(On if he’s learned anything new about McCoy as a coach compared to just scouting him a year ago)- “You think you know when you’re scouting him, but I think what I’ve learned the most being around him in the last six weeks is that he wants to do everything right and he puts a lot of pressure on himself to make sure he’s right. If he makes an error, he’s quick to recognize it and it’s very rare he’ll make the same mistake twice. Those are the things you need to be around the player to see and I think I’ve seen that.”

(On if McCoy put too much on his shoulders in the offseason)- “I don’t know about too much, but you’re curious about how things are going to be so you grab little bit of information and run with it. You think you know, but you don’t know. I don’t know, I was a student once. I can remember, you get ready for a test and you just know a little bit and that’s dangerous. That’s really dangerous because you get in and you don’t know what direction to go as opposed to when you’ve had an opportunity to go through the system, go through the process. Now you can anticipate what’s really important and what’s not. I think that’s probably where in his mind in the offseason there was some anxiety. There was always that conversation about we’re going to be behind, does he know enough and I’m sure he challenged himself mentally through the offseason, but, I think he’s handled it well.”

(On how long it will take for Joshua Cribbs to get used to the rest of the guys on the return team since he hasn’t been out there with them)- “Well he hasn’t done it games. He’s fielded a heck of a lot of punts in practice and I think that’s the important part and he’s worked the returns full speed. He’s got a lot of experience returning kicks and from that stand point, I don’t anticipate there’ll be any drop off in his return game.”

(On how many new guys there are on the kickoff return team compared to last year)- “They’re all new for me. Every year your primary backup role players are on special teams. There’s a chance we could have six rookies playing a major role so there’s a lot of newness and that would kind of carry over into special teams as well.”

(On if there’s a cutoff point for how deep into the end zone they will return kicks)- “Yeah, we’ll have that conversation with him.”

(On if there could be 109 yard returns)- “You know, it’s like a homerun hitter, are you going to make him take on a 3-0 count? I don’t know. He’s a competitor, he’s a play maker and the one thing about Josh that I appreciate is when he gets in the ball games, he loves to play the game. He doesn’t mind it thick which means he doesn’t mind blocking, he doesn’t mind catching the ball in the middle of the field. It takes a great amount of courage to return those kicks. It would be like catching the ball up here and running through you folks (joking). There’s a lot going on. I’ve got a lot of respect for him for those reasons.”

(On getting the ball in Cribbs’ hands more often on offense because of his ability to make plays)- “Yeah, we’re going to play him at receiver. He’s going to lineup and play receiver quite a bit and then he’s going to return punts and he’s going to return kicks. We’re going to do what we can to try and get him the football. I’m anticipating that every kick won’t be a touchback so he’ll get his shots.”

(On McCoy’s ability to extend plays with his mobility and if he has done that at the right times)- “He’s learning and there’s a learning curve to extending a play or knowing the timing in the pocket and going through your progression, after your second or third hitch now you’re into a scramble. Once you scramble, then there’s decision making to be done while you’re scrambling. If you’re out around the boundary and there’s nobody open and you can’t get yards you throw it away. If you push up in the pocket and start to scramble and then you start getting running amongst you folks then before you get hit you go down. There are a lot of things that happen and that takes practice as well. To know when time is running out and I’ve pushed up through the pocket and I’ve got to get going. We drill that quite a bit. I know he and Mark (Whipple) spend a lot of time talking about it. When we watch the tape, if there’s a certain coverage where guys are running around covering man to man and he can push up into the pocket. There’s a strategy, technique and fundamental to that as well.”

(On how much the organization liked A.J. Green)- “We liked him quite a bit. We felt like he was going to be like a top flight receiver. We liked him a lot.”

(On what makes Green standout) – “He was pretty refined as a receiver coming out of college. He’s got size, he can run and he can catch. He had, in our opinion, what you need to have skill and ability wise to have success. He’s already showing up as a guy that’s going to be a playmaker for Cincinnati.”

(On people being nervous about how they will balance being a pass-first offense and have a power running game)- “First, I’ll say this, in the NFL it’s about scoring points whether its pass first, run first. I think we’ll do what we have to do to try to score points. I think it’s important you establish a physical run game regardless of how much you throw the football. I don’t know who’s nervous, but I’m just looking forward to playing the game. We’re going to try to do what we have to do to win this game. That really starts by, offensively within the scheme and the system, by getting the ball to the guys that can make plays, whether you hand it to them or throw it to them, those guys have to touch it.”

(On Steven Jackson having more carries than Peyton Hillis last year)- “You have to look at the situation of the team as well. When we went to St. Louis we were, I wouldn’t call it rebuilding, but there was work to be done. When you look at your roster and the players that you have available and you have a guy like Steven Jackson, who has been a tremendous player for them for a long time and still is, it makes sense to get him the ball.”

(On Andy Dalton)- “We liked him as well on tape. We had a chance to fully evaluate most players that we’ll talk about all year. He’s very accurate, I think he’s a tough guy, I think he works well from the pocket, I think he’s mobile enough to make plays outside the pocket and extend the play and we liked him a great deal. He was a guy, much like A.J. Green, once he learns the system and gets up and running, I think he’s going to be a good quarterback in this league.”

(On if they have decided who will start at left guard)- “We haven’t finished deciding, but right now we have Jason (Pinkston) in there working. We also have Artis Hicks and John Greco so we have a little bit of a rotation there.”

(On going into a game having not seen his full offense together as a unit during the preseason)- “I don’t know what to say about that, you like to see them all working together. I feel like I’ve seen a lot of them in practice. Unfortunately through the training camp, it’s very rare you have all 11 of them out there all at one time for whatever reason. I think we’ve got a lot of good players on this team. I think we’ve got a lot of players that work well together and so I’m looking forward to that Sunday.”

(On his expectations for Mohamed Massaquoi)- “I think he has done a terrific job of staying mentally into it, in terms of his route conversions depending on the coverage, the depth of his routes and understanding when we are going to be taking a gimmie or an easy one. He is a natural route runner in my opinion. I think I have seen him get up to speed here pretty quickly. I don’t have any concern there.”

(On Tony Pashos’ foot)- “He is still in the boot. They are trying to get that foot to settle down a little bit. We will kind of diagnose where he is at probably tomorrow and see where we go.”

(On who else will miss practice today)- “(Chris) Gocong will be out there. That’s probably one you were asking about. Ben Watson will be out there and Usama Young will be out there. Right now, probably Tony. I might be missing somebody, but I think that’s it.”

(On if Gocong will be able to play)- “He is practicing today and that’s the first step, so we will see how he responds to today’s practice as we go through tomorrow and then Friday.”

(On guy’s gravitating towards McCoy as a leader)- “I think I see that. When you watch the interaction, the play starts in the huddle. When he gets in the huddle and he is terrific at calling the play, mixes up the cadence. The things we have asked him to do at the line a scrimmage he has handled well. I think the players have responded to him pretty well. That’s a natural part of his personality to take charge, but you can’t take charge unless you know what you are doing. I think he has displayed to his teammates that he knows what he is doing and I think that’s where the confidence continues to build.”

(On if he needed to take a refresher course to what the AFC North is like after being in the NFC for so many years)- “We spent a lot of time in the offseason looking at the teams in the division. We obviously studied the players, schemes and the coaches. We have some guys on this staff that have played them so I leaned on their intimate knowledge of the players. I’ve played against this division a few times in the past. It’s a gritty division. You have some teams that are top notch. Really every team in this league has a chance to win games, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Cincinnati. I think if you look at a team like Cincinnati, they are a very talented team. They have made the statement that they want to get back to running the football and being physical. You can see that in the preseason. I have always been impressed with them defensively. We played them was in the preseason when I was at St. Louis, but when I was with Philadelphia we played them in 2008. They have the same style, they are very physical on defense. They have a defensive coordinator that keeps the pressure on you and they have guys that can cover. I think that’s kind of the team we are going to face this week. I think it’s probably a good initial look at what this division is all about.”

(On if he has a a team meeting and got the sense of what the mood is like)- “We have had team meetings every day that we’ve practice. I had one this morning. My first one this week was this morning at 9:00 and I just pretty much set the table of what to expect. I told the players that the opponent is very important that we are playing, but it’s also important that we try to eliminate mistakes and take care of the football, and really all the other things that are important when you play winning football. I thought the mood was good. I think there is anticipation. They did a nice job at the first walk-through. I didn’t see many mistakes. They have a specific game plan for first and second down now on offense, defense and special teams. We are just moving forward and then we will add to it here as we go through the week and tie it all together on Saturday and go play.”

(On coming into a new team and implementing new rules to make it positive for the players)- “I don’t know about rules. I do know this though, I believe in a professional approach, which means when you talk about the coaches and the players, they are professional men working together to put a team on the field that has a chance to win football games. That’s the underline theme. I believe in human dignity, which means everybody’s job is important whether you are talking to the media or you might be on two phases of special teams. Everybody’s job is important and you do your job, and that’s the other part of it. The rules, in terms of whether they like them or not, what we demand of the players has been thought out. We just don’t have rules to have rules, and every time I do mention that, ‘We are going to do it this way or I am used to doing it this and I want you guys to do it this way,’ I will tell them and here’s why. We tuck our jerseys in and our undershirts in at practice because first of all it looks good. Second of all, it’s a safety concern. Nobody that is trying to tackle you will grab the back of your jersey even if they want to, they can’t get it. That’s pretty much the approach and we take it from there. The rules I do I have I stick by them. If you have a rule you have to be willing to enforce it.”

(On Greg Little being named the most outstanding rookie in camp by the media)- “I think he has developed too. Greg is a fun guy to be around, he really is. I say that because he is a guy I look for every day. He really has been doing a good job. We talked earlier in camp how he would drop a few balls one day or the next, but he is working at it and he’s got a lot of talent. He is another guy and he is much like Josh in a lot of ways as a receiver. I think he loves to play the game and Sunday’s are probably his favorite days.” web page

I could understand them keeping Clutts, as he did a nice job in training camp. I think that liked him as a football player first, and a FB second.

What I don't understand is replacing Clutts with another FB as a trade in/trade out in the FB position. If Marecic is our FB, then why do we need to have spared lying around? I could see LB, RB, and OL as spots of far greater potential need.

It just seemed kinda odd to me.

Best place for your backup fb is on the PS. replaced one practice squad fullback with another. Clutts just happened to show enough to get picked up by the Bears and making their roster.

I just don't see it as a huge value position.

I would have signed another LB, which is a position of great need, and multiple injuries. I know that we signed 2 already ... but I could see far more value with another young LB. Ditto for RB.

I see your point about an extra FB not being needed on the main roster, so the practice squad could be a good spot for a "backup" ..... but I just wonder how often a backup FB is needed.

damn, does that man enjoy the word "obviously"

~Lyuokdea

Quote:

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I just don't see it as a huge value position.

I would have signed another LB, which is a position of great need, and multiple injuries

---

Maybe they would have signed a LB if they saw one they wanted. it could be as simple as, they didn't like the options available to them.

(On his expectations for Mohamed Massaquoi)- “I think he has done a terrific job of staying mentally into it, in terms of his route conversions depending on the coverage, the depth of his routes and understanding when we are going to be taking a gimmie or an easy one. He is a natural route runner in my opinion. I think I have seen him get up to speed here pretty quickly. I don’t have any concern there.”

I think this is why Mo is listed at the top of the depth chart at receiver. Shurmur is really impressed with the young man and his skill set.

Cleveland Browns
Transcript from news conference with Browns coach Pat Shurmur

by Nate Ulrich on September 8, 2011

in Cleveland Browns,NFL,Pat Shurmur

Browns coach Pat Shurmur met with reporters this morning before practice. Here is a transcript from the news conference:

(Opening statement)- “Today is goal line, short yardage, third down day and then review of the base. We’re just adding to the plan here getting ready to play. There’s nothing really new to add. I think everything injury wise is made official and so there’s nothing there. I answer specific questions if you have them.”

(On Tony Pashos’ status and if he is out of the boot)- “He’s actually out of the boot and he competed in the walk-through today. They made something for his shoe so hopefully that’ll help him settle that foot down. He was actually out at the walk-through and we intend to practice him today and see how he’s doing.”

(On if he’s made a decision on who will start at left guard)- “I don’t want to say definitively, but right now Jason Pinkston’s taking most of if not all of the reps there. The way we practice now, the one’s basically take all the reps when we’re working the Browns’ stuff and then really a lot of the reps that the backups get are when they’re working the cards against our defense and vice versa.”

(On Artis Hicks playing at left guard)- “Artis is working there as well. As I mentioned yesterday, we’ve got three guys working at left guard and three guys working at right tackle. We feel like we’re going to need that flexibility. You’ve got Jason, you’ve got Artis and you’ve got (John) Greco working at left guard. Then at right tackle you’ve got Oniel Cousins, Artis Hicks and then you’ve got Greco. We’ll work them there and see what happens.”

(On how fast Cousins is picking up the offense)- “He’s picked it up fine. He actually came in here with about two days notice and played in the last preseason game. Again, he’s got experience in this league starting, he’s not a rookie and I think we’ve kind of gone down this road a few times – offensive line come in and if you’re playing those positions you’ve practiced at other spots. I think that’s part of the training camp experience, unless you’re Joe Thomas and you’re playing left tackle or you’re Alex Mack and you’re playing center, those couple of guys or right now for us Shawn Lauvao who’s playing right guard. Those other guys behind it, those three in this case, play a lot of different spots.”

(On Pashos shaking off the rust and his progression this far)- “I thought he was doing a good job. I wasn’t with him the last couple years so I guess I didn’t see the rust. I felt like he was competing and doing well, playing like a right tackle in this league plays. Then he developed that foot soreness.”

(On if Montario Hardesty’s workload will be limited)- “There’s no pitch counts on anybody Sunday. We’re out there to win the game. He will play, he will get some carries but as you know Peyton Hillis is our starting tailback.”

(On how Hillis affects the defense and his play calling)- “I think he’s a fine runner. What I’ve seen in the preseason is that he does a good job of catching the football as well. The key when you have a halfback that you want to get the ball to, it really doesn’t matter if you hand it to him or throw it to him as long as he gets it and that’s kind of the way I look at it. I think of those as when they get their touches.”

(On if running the West Coast offense will affect how teams try to defend against Hillis)- “I don’t know, that’s probably not a fair question for me. I think we see ourselves one way and then the teams that defend us may see us another. They really determine which playmakers they’re going to try to take away. Hopefully we’ll create enough balance where we can play football and spread the ball around. That’s the little game that we all play. At the end of the day I think if all the skill players that are out there get their touches, we find a way to run the ball efficiently and then find a way to put points on the board then that’s what you’re looking for.”

(On how the transition to the 4-3 defense is going)- “Again, I don’t have anything to compare it to because I wasn’t here coaching when we were lined up in a 3-4. It’s the front that I’m use to seeing, it’s the front that we played 10 years in Philadelphia and then two years in St. Louis. I’m use to seeing it. If you just want to talk about our team, the 2011 Browns, I’ve seen the guys improve in the last six weeks.”

(On if he remembers what he was doing on September 11, 2001)- “Absolutely, it’s one of those event in life, it’s such a devastating tragedy and I do remember it. I was actually in Philadelphia. I was sitting at my desk and we we’re getting ready at the time to play Tampa Bay in Tampa Bay. At the time I was a tight end coach so I had to do a lot of computer work and I was actually drawing up runs for the scouting report. I had a little TV on the end of my counter and our secretary, Carol Wilson, walked in and she said, ‘Turn on the TV.’ She had thought at the time, and I think it was first reported, that a small airplane had crashed into the tower. I’ll never forget it because when she walked into my office to tell me, we turned on the TV and then Carol Wilson and I actually saw the second plane on TV hit the second tower. It was very real for us in Philadelphia being so close to New York City. We had people in the organization that had loved ones in the tower working in New York City. It was just a very tough day for all of us, especially for those of us who were not only in New York City, but on the east coast. Then I think what happened there was, as the information started to trickle out, that it was a very devastating attack, then our thoughts kind of drifted away from game planning for Tampa Bay, the players were coming around and then the information spread that the game was going to be canceled that week. I’ll never forget it.”

(On if it’s hard to believe that some players were only in grade school at the time of the attacks)- “I think as we get older, if we were able to experience it, I have children that probably don’t know much about it as well. I know they’re being educated on it now I’m sure this week in school. But, it’s one of those events in life that you’ll never forget and it’ll be something that we’ll educate the people that come after us about.”

(On if he can put into words what this game means to him as a first time head coach)- “I don’t know about words. I’m excited. I feel like the players have been kind of jumping over the hurdles that they need to jump over. I think organizationally we’re doing the same thing. You go through the process of the offseason, the draft and getting ready for the season. It was a little bit non-traditional. I shouldn’t say a little bit, it was a lot non-traditional. What started to feel normal to me was when training camp started. I think then you get about six weeks of work here where you get yourself refocused on what you think it should look like. I got a good vision of what practice today should look like and I know what tomorrow should look like and how Saturday should feel. I think it’s just general excitement, I’m looking forward to seeing our guys compete.”

(On if he knows how he would the game look like)- “I know how I’d like to see it look. I don’t know what the games going to come out like, but I like to be able to visualize the scoreboard at the end of course.”

(On what sets him off because so many players yesterday talked about how composed he is)- “Oh there’s a lot of things (joking), there really is and kudos to those players that you talked to for keeping our secrets. I guess I have a low tolerance for guys that don’t try to do the right thing. I have low tolerance for guys who don’t compete hard, those types of things. I probably have a low tolerance for guys who repeat mistakes. Disrespect, at least I know in our house you respect your elders and you never lie, just some of those primary things.”

(On what his captain situation is)- “We’re going to have game captains which means we’ll have three new captains that’ll go for the coins toss each week. Typically when we’re playing scrimmage downs and we’re on offense of course Colt (McCoy) will handle it on the field and on defense typically D’Qwell (Jackson) in terms of the penalties. In the special team situations, Phil’s (Dawson) out there. We’ll have game captains and this week its Colt McCoy, Scott Fujita and Phil Dawson. I do have this though, I have what I consider a group of guys that I would consider to be the leaders on this team. We’re constantly talking about things like you would if you had two or three set captains.”

(On how many guys are in this leadership group)- “We have a group of 15 guys.”

(On how he thinks the 4-3 will be against the run)- “If we play it well, I think it should work. I don’t have any concerns there.”

(On what it is in this system that’ll work against the run)- “I just think if we play sound in our gaps, if we attack the line of scrimmage. Defending the run is a team thing. Typically, teams will run zone plays and they’ll run it to the right and the thing can cut back to the left or it can spill out. I think there needs to be discipline, you need to have guys on the line of scrimmage defeating their blocks and you need linebackers that are filling in the right spots as well as the third level, the safeties. Stopping the run is a team thing and we cover the gaps a little bit different than you do in the 3-4, but if executed properly we should be able to do the same thing.”

(On adjusting his play calling without Eric Steinbach in the lineup)- “You typically don’t change you’re play calls based on the replacement of a left guard. We look each week at if it’s better to run right or left, in the middle or outside. We’re always evaluating that. Again, the one thing I feel good about if it ends up being Jason, which it probably will be, is he’s surrounded there by Alex Mack and Joe Thomas. Good centers are usually getting help or giving help and I think that’s something I know Jason can count on.”

(On if he expects Chris Gocong to start)- “I expect him to. He practiced yesterday and did well so he’ll be out there again today. That’s kind of the litmus test for guys being in the game.”

(On if Pashos is expect to start)- “If practice goes well and the reports are that he’ll be ready to go then absolutely he’ll be the starter.”

(On Usama Young being caught up mentally in terms of this defense)- “He did a good job when he was out with his hamstring learning. He’s gotten many more reps here in the last few days because he’s practicing. I think he’s caught up. He’s ready to go.”

(On how much he is depending on his group of leaders to take the young guys through a new offense and a new defense)- “That was one of the first things we talked about was these guys that have established themselves as leaders, you could probably make up the list yourself if you want, but I’ll keep that between the players and the coach here. I basically told them that we’re going to have some young ones in there and part of being a young one is this first time out even though they may have done a good job, their emotions are going to go a little bit. Just keep it calm, settle them down and do what guys have been through it before do. I think they’re aware of that.”

(On if Usama Young will start at safety)- “We haven’t determined that at this point.”

(On if he would play Mike Adams and Usama Young at the same time)- “Sure, I think there’s a chance they could both play.”

(On if he, Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert were all on the same page during the roster cuts)- “I would say this, there were no knock down drag out arguments about who we cut or keep if that’s what you’re alluding to. Yes, I would say we’re on the same page, absolutely.”

(On how it has been to work with Holmgren and Heckert)- “In terms of working together, I think it’s been terrific. I think there’s a natural interaction. Tom Heckert’s office is just one door down from mine and I can travel behind the scenes and not out in the hallway. We bounce back and forth all the time. When I’m going from meetings I’ll bounce through the training room and go see Tom. It’s very rare I don’t see Tom about every couple hours. I see coach Holmgren quite frequently during the day as well. If things come up, we talk about them and if I have something that we need to discuss, we bring it up, we discuss, we execute it and move on. Again, maybe it’s a better question for Mike and Tom, I feel as though it’s been natural. In fact, I’ve kind of enjoyed the process so far.”

(On if his relationship with Holmgren is similar to his relationship with Andy Reid was)- “I think it’s similar in a lot of ways. The structure of how I was an assistant coach working for a head coach so that’s probably a little bit different. As the head coach and the president we probably talk about things that are a little bit different. That probably makes that relationship the same, but different. I don’t know if I’m saying that the right way.”

(On if Holmgren and Reid have the same type of knowledge set)- “My interaction with Andy was mostly football and relating it to the quarterback. My interaction with Mike is some football, but then there are other things from an organizational now sitting here as the head coach. That’s why I say it’s the same and different. I wouldn’t have normally talked to Andy Reid about how we’re going to schedule a training camp, these are my thoughts. I just executed what he said. They’re different types on conversations, but very similar.”

(On the importance of starting the season 1-0 because teams that start 1-0 are more likely to have a good season)- “I think it’s important. It’s important if you’re going to string some victories together that you get the first one. I do know a loss in the first game is only fatal if you let it be because it’s a long season, but I do get your statement about it’s much easier to have a good season if you win the first one. I’m aware of all that and we’re doing what we can to put a team out there that can compete and give ourselves a chance to win that game.” web page

Cleveland Browns
Transcript from news conference with Browns defensive coordinator Dick Jauron

by Nate Ulrich on September 8, 2011

in Cleveland Browns,Dick Jauron,NFL

Browns defensive coordinator Dick Jauron met with reporters today. Here is a transcript from the news conference:

(On the rookies’ progression on the defensive line)- “They are obviously further along than they were about five and a half six weeks ago. It’s hard to play in there and I think it’s a little bit easier maybe for Jabaal (Sheard) to play outside, not that it’s ever easy, but inside Phil’s (Taylor) got people on both sides of him. A lot of things are going on in there, but they are both doing fine. We are really happy with both of their progress. They have a lot to learn obviously. I think they are quick studies, I believe that they are. They work at it, they like it and they are serious about it. So here we go, it will be a great learning experience for them and I believe they will do a good job.”

(On if Taylor can be a third down player)- “At times, maybe not all the time, but at times.”

(On if they have a small personnel package in the sub defense)- “We can rush with defensive ends inside if that’s what you are referring to, yes.”

(On if Ahtyba Rubin would be a part of the small package)- “We believe Rubin will be part of most everything we do. We really like Rub. Obviously for the big guys, it’s hard to play every snap of the football game. We are going to need to have a rotation to play at our best. Rub is a part of all the packages whether if he will be in their all the time, I would say no hopefully nobody will be in there every snap off the line.”

(On if Marcus Benard made a push in camp towards competing with Sheard)- “I would say that Benard because of his injury, his physical situation, really in camp never got to make a push because he was very seldom out there completely healthy. At this point, he appears to have regained what he had in the past. He is moving pretty well. He is moving well, but in training camp he just wasn’t. He didn’t have the opportunity to let it go and compete.”

(On what kind of coach Pat Shurmur is)- “Coach Shurmur has been really great for us. In every way he is organized. He is an offensive coach, but he is certainly concerned about us. I feel like he has given us all the opportunities in terms of personnel. I think our organization has done a good job kind of retooling because of the difference in the 3-4 and the 4-3 and certainly Coach Pat has been a huge part of that.”

(On Shurmur bouncing ideas off of him and if it is nice having that open line of communication)- “It definitely is for me and I certainly appreciate it.”

(On Sheard being a little too aggressive and over pursuing and if they need to temper his attacking style)- “I don’t think we want to temper his attacking style. They are going to make errors and what Peewee (Dwaine Board) and I tell them is that you are assigned a certain gap or responsibility on a play and just because you’re there it doesn’t mean that you have accomplished your job. At times a guy may get out of his gap and he may get beat. Somebody may get behind him, but he can’t be so cautious that he just stays in his gap and the play goes away and he feels like it’s done. Occasionally a guy will get out of that gap or believes he sees something and not be right. I tend to believe that you have to live with some of that stuff. It’s going to happen on the field unless you want to slow him down and we don’t want to do that. We don’t want him to let him go and he is a rookie also, so he is learning a lot of things about the game at this level and the speed people play at. He hasn’t seen it yet at top speed yet, he has not. It’s a lot different when you start this Sunday so he may not be perfect all the time but as long as he keeps playing hard like he does and like he has through college and there is no reason to believe he won’t do that. I think he will be fine and we will be fine.”

(On Jayme Mitchell is what he hoped and how important it is for him to be a consistent pass rusher)- “Going through the whole sort of offseason thing that occurred, Jayme was a guy we identified in our scheme and with our personnel as a guy we need to get back here just to be able to have enough qualified people up to play. He is a serious player. I like Jayme’s attitude. He wants to do it right and will ask questions about it a lot. If he doesn’t feel like he is exactly where he wants to be with it, he wants to know and that’s a good thing. It’s important to us. Obviously it’s important to us to have everyone perform at a high level, but our defensive ends we are going to need pass rush from them. We are kind of leaning on Jayme and hoping he comes through and produces and I believe he will.”

(On his scouting report on Andy Dalton)- “He is smart and steady. He’s a guy that has a proven track record in the highest level at the college ranks. He looks like he doesn’t rattle. They have a formidable team around him. They can do things to help him and they look like they have and are doing things to help him. He’s been fairly impressive.”

(On the rational for playing the cornerbacks left and right instead of putting their best corner on the best receiver)- “You can match corners at times. I have been in a number of situations where what you would consider your best corner does not want to go over to the other side. He’s very, very comfortable on one side or the other and not that comfortable on the other side whether it’s in press or off, they just aren’t. Then you find the opposite, there are guys that will travel all over the field and it doesn’t bother them. That’s really the only rational for not matching because you can match in all phases of the game. You could match in pressure. You can match in pure man. You can match in zone, so the offense wouldn’t have any idea. It would be hard to disguise certain things if a certain receiver you were matching went inside. It would depend on coverage then what you wanted to do with that. Usually it’s a comfort level of the defender as opposed to the scheme.”

(On if Joe Haden will matchup or just play one side)- “I wouldn’t think there is a good reason to answer that today (joking).”

(On if Haden and T.J. Ward and playing like veterans or still make young mistakes)- “There are some young mistakes, but I am really happy with them. We believe they are both really good players and just going to develop further. Again, playing inside is a little bit more demanding, a little more difficult. I shouldn’t say difficult because obviously the challenges outside can be as difficult as you can get. There’s maybe a little more thinking involved inside and adjustments involved inside. T.J. and Joe I think are outstanding picks and they have great futures for us.”

(On if this system is similar to the one with the Bears)- “Not similar, so I would say no.”

(On who has been a pleasant surprise so far)- “I would say there are a number of them, I would hate to leave somebody out. In terms of draft picks, take a guy like Buster Skrine, he wasn’t drafted awfully high. He doesn’t come from I what people I would say is the highest level of college football, but Buster has had a really good camp and I believe in the long run, he is going to be an outstanding addition to this football team. Is it a surprise? You would say no because you drafted him, if you drafted him you clearly saw anything in him. He has done an outstanding job. I think Scott Paxson, you don’t really here a lot about him. He is just a tough guy, a conscientious guy. He does his job all the time, all the time. There are a number of them, but like I said I fear I have left a lot of them out, but there are two examples. We obviously didn’t know anything about any of the guys that were not on tape a year ago and only what we saw on tape from those guys a year ago. It’s been a really interesting five or six week period here.”

(On how he continues to relate to young players)- “I suspect you will probably have to ask them because I think I relate to them, but they may not think that (joking). I never felt like it was very different ever. I don’t know if that answer makes any sense. I guess I don’t try to, I try not to, I just love being around a team. I have been around a team all my life and I like it. I feel pretty comfortable with it and I like most of the guys. I guess I like most people. I don’t know the answer to the young people thing. I’d like to think I’m one of them, but we’re not that close in age. I do know that.”

(On how the defense can defend better against the run)- “We favor a bigger front than most people do. I’ve always like to be big inside. You’d like to be big everywhere if your athletes could do it obviously. It’s kind of a big man’s game to a certain degree and certainly in that part of the game. We have pretty good size inside and now we have to develop their feel for it and Phil’s got to start experiencing the game. Once again, even though he’s played in the preseason, it’s not going to be anything like what’s going to happen.”

(On D’Qwell Jackson)- “There are certain things you can do to take advantage of his skills too and we’ll try and do them. The more we learn about our players, the more I think we can help them. Primarily, you have to have size, be disciplined and tough up front.”

(On if he would describe himself as aggressive or conservative with blitzing)- “I wouldn’t describe myself, I’ve never seen a reason to do that (joking). We’ll blitz. We’d like to think we’re going to be varied enough to keep people off balance. If people would say, ‘What ideally would you like to do?’ I would say most people in the league they would say about 33-40 percent pressure depending on what you’re doing, how good you are at it and who your people are. The better your people the more you’re going to pressure, the better the combination of people. You’d like to be varied enough to keep people off balance.”

(On if you automatically try to pressure a rookie quarterback more)- “I would say no. I don’t know that anything automatically happens anytime in the league. You have plans, you see what’s happening, see where the game is going, what direction its taking, what’s working and what’s not. You certainly have plans going in, but it all kind of takes on its own life every game. Maybe that’s one of the best things about it all, you can do all the planning, all the research, look all the stats and then the game starts. Then you see what’s happening and the game kind of takes on its own life.”

(On his linebackers)- “I really feel good about them. I wish they were all healthy, that’s our issue now. D’Qwell, Scott (Fujita), Chris (Gocong), Kaluka (Maiava) and then Titus (Brown), that’s a pretty solid group. If we can just keep them healthy, but we haven’t been able to do that in training camp and obviously in the past they’ve struggled to. They are very smart, very aware guys and they have experience. They know how to play in the league. They appear to be and I’ve been around them enough now to be able to say they’re very team oriented guys. They care about this team. They think it’s more important to them that the team succeeds than it is for their own personal stuff and that’s a good thing. We have a good group, we just have to get them all healthy and practicing enough to feel comfortable with the deal.”

(On Joe Haden becoming more of a pro and if he got that from working with a coach or/or other players such as Sheldon Brown)- “I really have a lot of respect and confidence in Jerome (Henderson) and with the addition to Ray (Rhodes) in the secondary, you have a great combination of guys there in terms of coaches to help Joe advance. Then on the squad, as you mentioned, Sheldon is a great resource for Joe. Sheldon is a pro. He knows how to play and it is important to him. He’s not a real loud guy, but he doesn’t tolerate a lot of foolishness and I think that’s to of had a positive effect of Joe as a young player.” web page

Should I say it? the D should be much better vs the run this year barring injuries..

I am very intrigued by what I see on the defensive side of the ball. Top 2 picks last year devoted to the defensive backfield. Top 2 picks this year, upfront to the defensive line. We have some talent on defense.

We are very stout in the middle with Taylor and Rubin, and DQ is really playing well behind them. For the first time since DQ has been here, I see him hunting and moving forward with that stalkers mentality, as he looks for the opening the back is going to take. I just do not see teams having a great deal of success up the gut.

If teams are going to run, they will look to run at or around our defensive ends. Jauron apparently has given his DE's green lights to the backfield so it is up to those outside backers to make the play. In this case however, TJ Ward welcome to your first probowl. He is gonna own in this scheme because everytime those linebackers get tied up WArd is gonna be the guy asked to make the tackle.

I do like our additions to the DL but agree that epth could hurt us... I think our LBers worry me the most on defense right now... just don't see a lot of depth/talent there... I'm hoping I'm wrong. I really like this Spears kid and hope he turns out to be a solid player for us.

I agree. I am actually glad to see the failed experiment that was the 3-4 gone. I expect to see a Defense that is more consistent through the whole game. I am glad to get away from trying to be like The Ravens or Steelers and now we are creating our own identity. I can see little moves such as getting a guy like Quentin Spears as a way to stop TE over the middle. At 6-4 235 he is big enough and athletic enough to cover them. There is a plan in place and we are playing to our guys strengths across the board and that is refreshing to see. Granted we have a ways to go, but with our youth and the Steelers and Ravens getting older we should be peaking when those guys are retooling..

This offense will make MoMass as a receiver moreso than MoMass will make this offense's rep. He seems like a good fit. Want to see him score!

When it comes to Heckert , it will be about the Line backing corp / Hardesty / the right tackle position !

Not at all ... I like what Heckert is trying to accomplish here ( Ain't easy )

But as a fan I reserve the right to question some of this moves or non moves . If we where in the position of NE. or Pit. or another playoff team ; I have no problem with taking a flyer on a Potential Home Run hitter ( Hardesey ) .. You don't do that when starting from scratch like we are .

Heckert made the ridiculous co,ment about how super our Line Backing corp was before the season started .. Blew me away .

Had a glaring need for a RT before last season , during thee season and going into this season ..

He looks to have hit several Home Runs .. Also some very questionable moves / or non moves ..

End of transmission

I think a lot of what Heckert wast hinking was that Pashos healthy is better than most of the FA crop and in the draft we had other more pressing needs...

Now he shouldve gotten a reliable backup, but thats something we now have in Hicks...

I don't know enough about Hicks or Cousins to make that call .. I'll be a Monday Morning coach ///// on Monday

PS: When was the last time Pathos was healthy ?

Considering the home run he hit on Hillis and what i believe to be another home run on Armond Smith (kid is special), I'll take a swing and miss on Hardesty.

Linebacker corps was a bold statement but let's be fair to Heckert, we haven't' seen these 3 linebackers together in this defense with those big bodies up front clogging the middle.

RT is an issue but at least St. Claire isn't over there. Hicks isn't to bad, he isn't to good either. lol