DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Terry Pluto's Talkin' About the Browns.

I think this is a great place to post all of his snippets he gives out.

http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/index.ssf/2013/06/terry_plutos_talkin_about_the_7.html

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- So far, the June weather has been like the Indians, hot and cold. But we're talkin' ...

About the Browns...

1. If the season were to open today, Paul Kruger would start at one outside linebacker spot, Jabaal Sheard at the other. Inside would be Craig Robertson and D'Qwell Jackson. The key will be developing depth. Quinton Groves will back up Kruger. Rookie Barkevious Mingo is behind Sheard. At this point, I expect Sheard to start in front of Mingo when the season opens.

2. The Browns will stress it's not necessarily who starts, but how many snaps are played. Mingo could come off the bench most games, but still play 50 to 60 percent of the snaps as defensive coordinator Ray Horton loads up linebackers in his different formations. Sheard can easily drop into the defensive line with Mingo at outside linebacker when Horton wants to dial up the QB pressure.

3. There is more concern with the inside linebackers. This coaching staff is like every coach who has had Jackson -- they absolutely love the guy for his leadership, work ethic and love of tackling. He will run the defense, and help Robertson as the other inside linebacker. Behind them are L.J. Fort and Tank Carder.
browns-pass-rush.JPGView full sizeCraig Robertson (sacking Tony Romo) and D'Qwell Jackson (52) have emerged as the Browns' top inside linebackers in minicamp, but a lack of depth at that position is a concern, says Terry Pluto.John Kuntz, The Plain Dealer

4. James-Michael Johnson seems nowhere in the plans and is likely to be cut. He was considered a starter by the previous coaching staff. He had some injuries and missed six games. He did play 45 percent of the snaps when he was healthy. But he is lost in this system. Last season, Jackson played 98 percent of the snaps, Robertson played 53 percent. They played in every game.

5. So that leaves Fort and Carder as the primary inside backups. Fort played 98 snaps last season, Carder was on the field for 30. Remember that Robertson was a non-drafted free agent rookie in 2012. So they don't have much depth or experience inside.

6. I sense this staff is not nearly as high on Shaun Lauvao as the previous staff. My guess is they would open with Jason Pinkston and John Greco at the guards, Lauvao on the bench. That assumes Pinkston remains healthy. He had a major scare with blood clots last season. These coaches believe Greco is a solid pro who did a good job filling in for Pinkston in 2012. They have some younger players such as seventh-rounder Garrett Gilkey as guard possibilities, but it's hard to see how they would emerge as starters this season.

7. The Browns were pleased that they had 100 percent attendance at all the workouts, including the voluntary ones.

8. Johnson Bademosi will be one of the "gunners" on the coverage teams. The candidates to replace Joshua Cribbs at the other spot are Chris Owens and Buster Skrine. The Browns believe either can be effective. Bademosi led the 2012 special teams with 18 tackles, Skrine was second with 11. Then came Robertson (10), Cribbs (9), Ray Ventrone (7) and Fort (7).

9. They have been impressed with the early showing of Bademosi and Tashaun Gipson at free safety, playing next to strong safety T.J. Ward. Once he recovers from his Achilles surgery, sixth-rounder Jamoris Slaughter could be in the mix. The Browns cut Eric Hagg, who started four games last season.

10. Ward is a free agent after 2013. The Browns are trying to figure out his value. The main issue is durability. He missed five games in his final season (2009) at Oregon. He played all 16 as a rookie, but missed eight games in 2011 with a foot injury, and missed the final two games of 2012 with a knee injury. They are in no rush to sign him, waiting to see if he can stay healthy.

11. Brandon Weeden had a solid minicamp. The coaches are pleased with his work ethic and how he is learning the new offense. The big question is how he'll handle defensive pressure, something that can't be answered until the tackling starts. He has worked exclusively with the first team and is being given a shot to prove he is the starter.

12. It's hard to judge linemen in these camps because there is no tackling. Speed players such as Mingo will look good because it's touch football played by millionaires in helmets. So it's hard to draw conclusions on certain parts of the team. But watching the receivers, it's clear the Browns have real depth with Davone Bess, Greg Little, Josh Gordon and Travis Benjamin. Veteran David Nelson is still recovering from knee surgery. Benjamin has made a real impression with his speed and good hands. Obviously, depth is critical with Gordon facing a two-game suspension to open the season.



http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/index.ssf/2013/06/terry_plutos_talkin_about_the_9.html

About Brandon Weeden ...
weeden-2013-camp-horiz-jg.jpgView full sizeBrandon Weeden completed minicamp having shown plenty of positive signs to Browns coaches.Joshua Gunter, The Plain Dealer

The Browns were very pleased with how Weeden threw the ball and just seemed more confident in minicamp. The coaches were excited about his ability to get the ball downfield -- and how several receivers responded in the new up-tempo passing game.

Travis Benjamin and Greg Little were especially impressive. Josh Gordon had some very good moments, but there is caution because of the pending suspension. Davone Bess is the possession receiver this team has needed for years.

Now, the coaches are challenging Weeden to study the new playbook harder than ever before. This is his chance to establish himself as a starting quarterback. If he fails with Norv Turner and Rob Chudzinski calling the plays and drawing up the Xs and Os, that's on him.

No more excuses about learning an offense not fitted to his skills.

About the Browns' salary cap...

When Joe Banner ran the business side of the Eagles, he liked to sign players before they reached free agency. Part of the reason the Browns have about $30 million left on the salary cap is they want to sign some of their current players.

1. They will begin serious talks with center Alex Mack, a free agent at the end of the season. He will make about $5.5 million between his regular salary and a roster bonus. He is a major part of the line and has never missed a snap since being a first-round pick in 2009.

2. Joe Haden has two years left on his contract. With the Eagles, Banner often signed players to extensions with two years left. The question on Haden is the suspension from last year (four games for Adderall). The new front office and coaches may want to see how he performs this season before making a major commitment.

3. T.J. Ward is in his final contract year. The main concern with him is durability, as he ended the last two seasons on the injured list. The coaches like young safeties Johnson Bademosi and Tashaun Gipson. They drafted Notre Dame safety Jamoris Slaughter (recovering from Achilles surgery) in the sixth round. They want protection in case Ward is hurt again.

4. John Greco has impressed, and is on the final year of an $800,000 deal. The Browns may consider an extension, especially if Greco establishes himself as a starting guard in training camp.

5. Phil Taylor has two years left. The key is durability, as he missed six games last season with a torn pectoral muscle. Also, the Browns want to watch him in the 3-4 defense.

6. Like Taylor, Jabaal Sheard has two years left. The Browns really like how he is adapting from a 4-3 defensive end to 3-4 outside linebacker. They will want to see more once real football starts, but he has made an outstanding first impression and could be playing his way into the team's long-term plans.

j/c
Of course the hometown reports are mostly up-tempo, but this year there really does seem room for optimism. Amazing what a new (and quality) coaching staff will do to our spirits...

6. I sense this staff is not nearly as high on Shaun Lauvao as the previous staff. My guess is they would open with Jason Pinkston and John Greco at the guards, Lauvao on the bench. That assumes Pinkston remains healthy. He had a major scare with blood clots last season. These coaches believe Greco is a solid pro who did a good job filling in for Pinkston in 2012. They have some younger players such as seventh-rounder Garrett Gilkey as guard possibilities, but it's hard to see how they would emerge as starters this season.

I dont have a lot of confidence in Pluto's prediction. We will start the same starting five as we ended last year with unless someone just absolutely blows everyone away or someone else is just absolutely blowing chunks.

Neither will happen this year but hey competition in the trenches is a good thing. I just happen to think Lauvao is our best RG and Greco is our best LG. I like Pinky as well but right now, I gotta go with the line up that was coming together last year. Chemistry is vital and Thomas Greco Mack Lauvao and SChwartz looked very comfortable together and just kept improving.

This is a good line and a strong line. With improved chemistry, a more vertical passing attack and if Weeden can speed up his decision making, this will be an elite offensive line. Also, when you are facing a defensive line like Rubin, Big Phil, Bryant, Winn, Hughes and with rushers testing every weakness of this line, they should bring out the very best in this group.

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Part of the reason the Browns have about $30 million left on the salary cap is they want to sign some of their current players.

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Glad Banner didn't go wild in FA he stayed pretty close to the plan that was spelled out. 2 major pickups n would save cap space to add next year too.

Also the foresight that some of our guys needing 2nd contracts might be better spent Cap Space then on overpaid FAs.

Got to also give some props to Heckert in this plan as well. Obviously this was done on purpose and Banner showed restraint to not use it all but Heckert set it up to have that space available. Props to both.

JMHO

i just wish we would have gotten Grimes too. would have made me feel alot better about our secondary.

So far so good with McFadden. Grimes we would have to overpay - A LOT.

Best we stick with the youth n get our guys signed instead. Evaluations on McFadden have been good and in all this none pad stuff really one of the few things you can evaluate is Coverage. I liked what I saw from the kid in college. I think eventually he will be the #2 better that than have to commit to High Priced FA...get this kid his reps.

JMHO I think we are going to be just fine w/secondary. ILB is my only big time ??? for the Defense. Hopefully Roberson works out as a starter.

I liked him as well, but handing the reigns to a rookie for CB2 duties is an awfully tall task. And, if we have a CB injury, then what?

signing Grimes would not have precluded us from drafting McFadden. it would have been an addition. and, I'm not worried about slightly overpaying on a 1yr deal to make sure McFadden is ready for year2.

Grimes signed a 1yr $5.5mil contract. Maybe we would have had to give him $7mil to blow him out of the water and get him to move up North, but it's not like we don't have the budget for it.

We are still a nobody team regarding FA. Just a competitive team was able to sign him to 5 mil one year. For us we would have had to sign him for more than one year n probably give a bunch of guaranteed money. We are yet to be in the FA driver seat as it comes to negotiations. The only good advantage we have is the many Players who came from our region n had a dream to play for the Browns. Outside of that we have to give a pretty special deal to get them here.

And isn't Grimes coming off of an Injury or is that somebody else. So much has happened since FA time...lol Depth, every team in the NFL struggles w/CB depth. Yeah we can sign Sheldon Brown again...isn't he still available or did he retire???
JMHO

Grimes blew out his Achilles. He's got a similar injury to the one that Slaughter has. (and that people have all but said would end his career before it started)

I would think that an extra $1.5mil on the deal would have been enough, maybe not. And, it's not like Miami was much more competitive than us last season. They are just in the South, which obviously appeals to some players.

And no state income tax in Florida.

I see your point I just think we would have had to give him a 2 year contract at the least with some guarantees. Probably Banner wants all his FA money spent to sure things. Which I guess they considered Kruger n Bryant to be so. Also you probably are right on the one year thing when I think about it. He would want to show he is healthy and back to his game so that he can hit the market again in 2014 n get the big pay day. I distinctly remember Banner stating we will not go for Band Aid fixes.

DBs. Haden, McFadden, Skrine and low tier FA forgot his name. Will be there - I think Bademosi is going to surprise a bit. I was impressed with his play at CB last season as brief as it was. Young but a fast bunch. Key will be McFadden if he fits in that #2 we will be looking pretty good.

JMHO

Yes, $1.5 is greater but you don't really think a team would pay $7 mil for Grimes, do you? And that extra $1.5 is taxed as well just to get the accurate figure.

After how low the market was for CBs? He chose to go somewhere else, but just because we have the money to pay for a 30 year old CB coming off an injury doesn't mean we should get him. That's how team can sometimes burn away money. I'm glad we don't have him at that amount. JMO

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James-Michael Johnson seems nowhere in the plans and is likely to be cut. He was considered a starter by the previous coaching staff. He had some injuries and missed six games. He did play 45 percent of the snaps when he was healthy. But he is lost in this system. Last season, Jackson played 98 percent of the snaps, Robertson played 53 percent. They played in every game.

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Must not be reading enough. Had no clue whatsoever his situation was this bad....

I'm surprised they're planning on keeping Carder over him (if true), though he does have more experience with a 3-4ish like ILB role at TCU with that weird 5-2 defense they would run sometimes. Still, I like Johnson as a tackler and am surprised to hear them down on him.

In terms of impact plays on the field I had JMJ way behind Roberson and a little behind Fort. I was curious during the off season why so many people had JMJ penciled in to start. My eyeball test seems to have been confirmed.

The main positive here is I thought Roberson was genuinely an above average inside linebacker last season. Maybe we can trade away JMJ for a 7th or so.

I liked JMJ in the 4-3, though I think that injuries really helped derail his season last year. It seemed like he was hurt to start, then every time he started to get going, he got dinged again.

He's not an OLB in this 3-4 . He has to play inside, and that means that he has to have specific skills. He's not going to unseat DQ for his spot, and he doesn't fit that speed/cover profile of the other ILB spot in Horton's defense. (as Robertson does) I could see him stick as a backup to DQ's spot .... but he is definitely in competition. I have hopes for Fort as the backup/competition for Robertson ...... but I definitely think that we'll be on the lookout for depth inside. (especially if they truly do not like JMJ)

I hated the number of flags and their timing last year. Lauvao was a drivekiller with some of the hold on 3rd down, etc. By preseason's end, I think this will sort itself out, hopefully earlier than later. Gotta measure Pinky as well. Depth yeah. But we need more run production this year.

Lot's of good tidbits in this article. I typically don't agree w/Pluto's personal appraisals of players, but he usually is in the know when it comes to news about the Browns.

--I think our OLBers are going to be dynamic. I am really glad to hear that Sheard is making the conversion so nicely. They guy's build seems better suited to OLBer and I think he can be a real force at that position.

--I'm also excited about the possibility of playing Kruger, Sheard, and Mingo at the same time in certain packages.

--The guard battle should be interesting. I still contend that Greco is the best of the bunch and that it will be Lava and Pinky battling it out for the other guard spot.

--JMJ has never really impressed me. I do think we have a concern at ILBer. I like Robertson, but I see him as a better fit in pass coverage than in the running game. I was hoping we would draft an ILBer this year, but it was not to be.

--We'll see how Weeden does when he faces pressure and teams actually mix up coverages. I am back in Ohio and was out w/a bunch of guys I used to coach with and against. The feeling is that Weeds talks a good game, but hasn't shown any leadership. You don't really hear too many players defending him and you never hear about him doing the extra work w/his receivers. It would be nice to have read that Weeden was sticking around and working out w/his receivers to expedite the learning curve of playing in a new offense. Too much talk. Too little action.

--Interesting bits on the salary cap, w/the information on Haden being the most interesting. I really think the guy needs to play a lot better this year. He gets tons of accolades on the boards, but I have been mildly disappointed. His numbers of pass attempts and pass completions were almost identical to Brown's. They were okay, but nothing great. He also doesn't follow the other team's #1 WR around. He plays on the left side of the defense almost exclusively. You also never hear about him playing on an island---meaning that the Browns would roll their safeties to the other side of the field, like teams do w/top CBs. The guy has talent, but he needs to pick up his game this year.

Ok...lol well I'm in one of the highest taxed areas so stuff like that does strike a cord. Didn't mean to insult Ohio. Of course Nevada taxes should have nothing to do with Florida...lol

So you telling me if you make over 205K Ohio doesn't tax that at all? Wow that is pretty good for the rich.

Btw I already said "you're probably right" as in I gave up my argument in the discussion...lol

Again OL we'll see what happens when the hitting starts. The hitting part is not an opinion its a given as this is what every NFL COACH/GM mentions when they talk about OL n mini-camps. Got to wait till the pads come on I don't think there is much of a competition as we get closer to camp. Looking like RG is Lava n LG is Greco w/Pinkston #2 LG. Also with Pinkston at #2 playing just Left Guard now (latest camp reports) who is going to beat out Lava? Gilkey is the only one and I doubt that is going to happen at least not this rookie season. Many dawgs here waiting to get rid of Lava for some reason...lol man a couple of offsides n holds goes a long way in dawgs minds for OL play...lol

JMHO

Lauvao 4 holds 4 false starts
Joe T 4 holds 4 false starts
Mack Offensive Holding (4), False Start (3), Unsportsman (1), Illegal Block (1)
Greco False Start (5), Offensive Holding (1)
Schwartz False Start (3), Offensive Holding (2)

http://www.nflpenalties.com/all-players.php

Just for those that keep harping on Lauvao and penalties. BTW how bout Schwartz 16 games and only 5 penalties for a rookie RT!!!

One small consideration is that state and local taxes are deductible against a taxpayer's federal taxes. At least it's not a 100% loss.

Yeah, for some reason, Lava's penalties always seemed to stick out a little more. JT is lining up across from the best pass rushers, and I always seem to remember saying "THAT was a penalty?" when he got flagged.

Seems like it's bias (warranted or unwarrented) shading our perception of penalties regarding the oline. Several people have already shown the stats regarding penalties on our linemen, and Lava is not out of the ordinary.

Yes, the rate is capped, but not the tax amount. 6% is not small.

Two years ago I wanted Lava cut mainly for the penalties, but I thought he played good ball this past year. I like Greco and think he is a great deal better than Pinkston and will end up the starting LG. No way Pinkston beats out Lava at RG, just is not going to happen, best Pinkston can have is depth at LG. Gilkey is a wait and see, but doubt he beats out Lava as a rookie, maybe next year, but not this year.

The starting OL will look like this:

LT- Thomas
LG- Greco
C- Mack
RG- Lava
RT- Schwartz

Schwartz has already proven himself as a legit solid RT, he and Thomas will make the best bookends in the NFL. If RG/LG can be upgraded then I am all for it, but I like this current group for now.

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Good stats, but do you think that LT might be just a little bit harder to play than RG?

Look i just put up everyones stats, I wasnt trying to make a point with Lauvao any Thomas comparison. Greco, Lauvao and Mack however, can easily be compared. Greco had 10 starts played in I think 13 or 14 and was flagged 6 times. Lauvao 16 starts and 8 and Mack with 9 in 16. That puts all 3 right at similar numbers.

This line is not penalized very much at all. There were a couple stats that really jumped out to me. One was the rookie Schwartz being the least penalized. I would have easily expected double didgit penalties for Schwartz. Lauvao had no unnecessary roughness calls which i think surprised everyone as he is our mean guy on the line. Pinky did not have any penalties and he should have had made a few tackles when guys ran by him.

OO and a couple of Joe's holding calls were horrible calls that eliminated huge game changing plays.

I wasn't criticizing you. I am just making a point that your LT should have more penalties than anyone else.

I've been surprised at certain stats before. Curious if that is the case regarding the LT's - I'm sure mediocre Left Tackles will definitely get more than their share as they face the fastest Front 7 guys usually. You would think that would be the case...curious if that is how it is. Not a stat finding kind of guy...hopefully a dawg can break it down ???

Lauvao had no unnecessary roughness calls which i think surprised everyone as he is our mean guy on the line.

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Don't sell Mack short Mourg. It's actually why I like him so much!

LOL Sorry I just can't picture him as mean, as he is anything but that off the field.

Lava's meanness is what I like most about him, he is a RG that you know what you are getting on every play. You really can't argue his effort he plays to the whistle on every play and sometimes after

Lava is not the best RG in the league, but he is the best RG on this team and is worthy of a starting RG spot, he has also shown improvement each year.

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