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#798459 07/14/13 02:51 PM
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I believe this topic has been thrown around before...but with camp around the corner I would like to re-visit it.

I chose not to add this to the "Phil Taylor Potential" thread as I'm going to try and stay away from discussing the 3 projected starters: Rubin-Taylor-Bryant

I think Winn is a no-brainer as the first backup on the field. I read recently where someone thought he would also be a/the NT if Taylor got hurt. NT? Seems ridiculous to me. I think Winn is our only DL who could play ST. I think Winn could be special.

Kitchen looks like the prototypical NT. I have little belief that he could play DE...no way he could play ST.

Hughes is a wildcard to me. I think he's strictly an inside guy...I don't think he's an edge guy OR a ST guy. I think we need another DE...ideally Hughes can contribute at DE.

My guess is that we keep (6) DL...I would think the 7th guy - if we keep 7 - must be an edge guy who could contribute on ST.

I know that we will deploy a hybrid front. The above-6 make that possible and almost necessary such that Kitchen and Hughes can contribute.

I don't think Rubin will play NT unless (2) of Taylor-Hughes-Kitchen get hurt and I think Taylor could be the 5th DE in the 3-4 sets. (I doubt that it will ever come to that tho with the hybrid option of Sheard and/or Kruger playing with their hand in the dirt.)

I'm wondering if we keep a 7th DL. If so, there are (7) guys competing for a 7th spot. One of those (7) is a 330 pounder who seems like a guy with little chance to beat out Kitchen/Hughes. Another is B Sandford who has been on and off the roster if I remember correctly - I don't recall him playing ST. One of those (7) guys was drafted this year (Armonty Bryant) and might be viewed as a project OLB?

When I look at Hughes and Kitchen I catch myself wishing that one were more of a DE. Then when I think one can switch, I worry about enough depth at NT. Do 3-4 teams usually keep (3) NTs? ... and (4) DEs? Seven DL seems like a lot...or maybe not...I dunno.

7 DL; 8 LB; 9 DB?

3 ST

3 QB; 8 OL; 4 TE; 6 WR; 4 RB

I think we have a very good problem on our hands on the DL.

I'm wondering what you guys think - especially with Horton's hybrid.

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You make a good point. Usually teams tend to keep no more than 6 3-4 DL. They just don't offer enough in the ST department to warrant so many big men. Of course that depends on your own personnel too.

Ideally you have 2 strict NT's and one swing man as well as a lighter athletic ST contributer at DE. We have exactly that. Phil and Kitchen at NT with Hughes as swing man(stout 305lb last I saw?) and Wynn as the athletic ST man. There are many other roles these guys play but for sake of what your asking it doesn't get any better than what we have depth wise on the DL. Consider that Phil is athletic enough to play DE and we are pretty well off.

I think Bryant sticks to the PS for the year. He is otherworldly athletic but I don't think we need to fear anyone grabbing him if we stash him. Especially with his getting in trouble already.

As a wildcard I would not be surprised to see someone knock off Kitchen. Brain Sanford has always been a steady reserve.

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The Browns have said all along that Armonty Bryant will be a DE in their system. They have no plans of moving him to OLB.

Maybe he makes the team, and maybe he's a practice squad guy.

Your overall position numbers look pretty realistic. Maybe one less here for one more there, but overall probably pretty close to what we'll wind up with.

As far as the backup DL ..... I think that Winn is immediately the primary backup at DE. Hughes is probably the 1st backup at NT. He actually showed more penetration last year than I expected from him, so maybe he can handle being a backup DE. He's definitely a big bodied kid. If I had to guess, I would guess that Kitchen is the next one to get a spot, and then probably Bryant at this point. That can definitely change though, and I only have him penciled in there because he was a drafted player. Really, the only other guys listed as DL on the roster right now are 250# Kendrick Adams, (who?) Hall Davis, (Who?) Nicolas Jean-Baptiste, (from Baylor, huge kid) Dave Kruger, (Paul's brother, seems like a longshot) Brian Stanford, (He never impressed me, and in fact, I thought he was gone) Justin Staples, (Who?) and that's it. Lotta young players who are basically in for a look ...... but who probably don't stand much of a chance of making the team. Some 3-4 teams only keep 6 DL, while keeping an extra LB. We might do that too. Who knows? With Paul Kruger, he will likely be a 2 position player at OLB and DE in special defenses. That could cost a DL a position, while giving a young LB a shot. One thing is for sure, and that's that it seems likely that we will keep the best overall player regardless of position as we fill out those last spots on the roster. We might even only keep 5 DL active on game days. Kruger will see some time at DE, as noted above. We'll could keep only 2 additional DL to give us a 6 man rotation on game days.


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Until 30 seconds ago I had been confusing Brian Sanford with Brian Schaferring. Perhaps that is your confusion as well. When I googled him and saw a black dude I knew I was confused. Schaffering made quite a few plays for us compared to Sanford over the years.

I like our backups in Winn and Hughes as they seem like competant Nfl players so far. I cant really comment on anyone else as I dont really pay attention to Dline much. Defense is for getting snacks and complaining about usama young.

I think if we have a starter go down our backups will fill in well. I am happy we arent discussing the pros and cons of guys like Fisk and Ted Washington this season. Arguably our backups would start ahead of those guys

Kingcob #798463 07/14/13 05:17 PM
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Schaefering was cut last year in training camp. He was with Dallas for at least part of last year.

Sanford played for us for a game or 2 last year, then got hurt. I never saw much in him, even in pre-season.


Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
Kingcob #798464 07/14/13 05:22 PM
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I came to one conclusion for my opinion last year about sometime in September and I remember when I did.
We can live without Kitchen, We can live without Kitchen. He looks good in the pre-season, but he just isn't anything special during the regular season.

Now I don't know, he may beat out Brian Sanford, but When Phil was out last year, and for whatever reason, Kitchen was in the games, I was just watching and thinking, Man this is just not anything above what they could sign during the season. And I think it looked like Ishmale Kitchen had peaked. It just looked to me like Brian Sanford was playing with more Fire and desire.

And the thing was, at the time I was pre disposed to think Kitchen was the better player. But that was last year, and things can change.

And a lot of that had to do with well, Winn was playing much better than I expected, and Hughes too.
But It seemed pretty clear to me, they could live without Kitchen.
I've been wrong before.


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Honestly Willie,, I think everything we think we know, we don't! For some odd reason, Horton had a really funny smile/smirk on his face when he described his D system. Kinda like the cat that ate the canary look to him.

Seriously, Outside of Haden at one corner and Ward at Safety, Rubin at Nose and Bryant and Taylor at ends, Everything and anything is fair game.

I do think that Winn and Hughes have a place in this D. but beyond that, I'm in wait and see mode.


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Excellent post w/some good questions.

I think that we keep forgetting something that is extremely important. Both Horton and Chud have both stated numerous times that we will be using multiple fronts and that guys will be moving from one position to another. That is, we will play 3-man fronts, 4-man fronts, and even 5-man fronts. That also means that you might see Taylor as the Nose in the 3-4 on one play and at DT or DE in a 4-3 on another play, while he may even sit out when we go to a 5-man front.

Therefore, I think we will have the ability to keep 6 guys. We may go to 7, but what I sated above gives us a lot of flexibility.

I would love to discuss how we can move these guys around in the different fronts we will be running. I tried to start this conversation back when we acquired our free agents. No one was interested.

I have some thoughts on how we could use the guys, but I need to see other theories to help complete my own. Of course, if everyone wants to continue to believe that we will be running a 3-4 on every single play and will have one starting LDE and one backup LDE, one starting NT and one back-up NT, and one starting RDE and one back-up RDE, then I'm out of luck.

Seriously, I think it could be an exciting and thought provoking discussion. Thanks for bringing it up.

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I think we can keep 7 D lineman. Even as you have it listed by position I think we gain a position because I don't see a need to keep 4 te's.

Plus, with the multiple fronts we have been told we will see, we might see 4 d-linemen on the field almost as much as we see 3. If we were playing a straight 4-3 we wouldn't balk at keeping 7 lineman.


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I can't find it right now but saw an article where Horton was saying Rubin and Phil would both play both DE and NT and that he didn't want to Pigeon-toe then into one spot.

Also, for my ignorance, what does ST stand for?


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I think :

Rubin, Phil, Hughes can all play NT or DE
Desmond Bryant and Winn are strictly DE
Kitchen is strictly a NT


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I would really like to see as our DL:

LDE: Desmond Bryant, Billy Winn
NT: Athyba Rubin, Ish Kitchen
RDE: Phil Taylor, John Hughes

SOLB: Paul Kruger, Armonty Bryant
SILB: LJ Fort, JMJ
WILB: D'Qwell Jackson (nickel), Craig Robertson (nickel)
WOLB: Jabaal Sheard, Barkevious Mingo

Armonty Bryant is the same size (height and weight) as Kruger and he's already got better run-stopping instincts. He's got really long arms and can beat RTs as well.

What I think will happen is:

LDE: Desmond Bryant, Billy Winn
NT: Phil Taylor, John Hughes
RDE: Athyba Rubin, Hall Davis

SOLB: Paul Kruger, Quentin Groves
SILB: D'Qwell Jackson (nickel), Tank Carder
WILB: Craig Robertson (nickel), LJ Fort
WOLB: Jabaal Sheard, Barkevious Mingo

with Armonty Bryant (DE), Tommy Smith (ILB), and Justin Staples (OLB) on the PS.

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Quote:

I can't find it right now but saw an article where Horton was saying Rubin and Phil would both play both DE and NT and that he didn't want to Pigeon-toe then into one spot.

Also, for my ignorance, what does ST stand for?






ST=Special Teams K,P,LS



I saw the same article. Some of those guys are going to play all over the field.


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Not a big Hughes fan. I think that pick was a massive reach. Equaled out by the massive steal that Billy Wynn was.

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Thanks. I was trying to figure out how ST applied to the dline. I was thinking strongside tackle but didn't know what that would mean. I know ST is special teams but didn't think about applying it hear.


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I'm interested in what kind of lineups you think might be good to utilize, Vers.

I've been pondering it, too. I feel like I'm fair at judging players based on observations, but I'm no strategist when it comes to lining up fronts. Even so, I've been brainstorming a little bit to see what might be some good options.

One thing I've thought of was a five man front on the LoS with the following players from over the left tackle to over the right tackle.

Mingo Taylor/Rubin Winn/Bryant Sheard (3 point) Kruger (2 point)

Behind them would be Jackson and Robertson. Not sure how to arrange the secondary.

I feel like if people want to see pressure, this could be one good way to bring it.

I'm just thinking out loud, though, and I'd welcome some thoughts/ other schemes.


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At this point it shouldn't matter where he was drafted. He has played well. That is all that really matters.


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Let's do it Vers.Something I've been thinking about lately is the variety of skill we have in the front 7. Specifically on guys we can throw on the LOS.

You've got Des Bryant who to me is the best penetrator. While Phil pushes the pocket and Rubin holds his ground. Neither are perfect at either but for purpose of generalization I think that hits the nail quite well.

Say you put Phil and Des at DE one play. Their style of play compliment well here. Phil collapses one side while Rubin holds the fort and Des flies in from the other end. On top of that you add a ILB blitz on either side of Rubin and it becomes a play where you force a short throw or a mistake.

There are just so many ways to use these guys. Not one of our guys are carbon copies of each other. We have such diversity. If Horton uses them to their highest potential it could be scary.

I think we'll see a lot of Sheard on the LOS this year as well.

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Nice post.

I always struggle at trying to find a place for the blocker eaters when contemplating an attack style of defense, so I'd like to see what others have to say about it.

One obvious pass defense lineup I thought might be nice would be with Bryant and Winn with their hands on the ground, Jackson back in his normal spot, with any arrangement of Groves, Mingo, Sheard and Kruger floating up near the LoS...one of whom would drop into coverage.

Again, just scheming out loud.


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Quote:

Quote:

Not a big Hughes fan. I think that pick was a massive reach. Equaled out by the massive steal that Billy Wynn was.




At this point it shouldn't matter where he was drafted. He has played well. That is all that really matters.




It matters because I don't see what others see in him. I think Wynn outplayed him and it wasn't even close.

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Interesting...I think they're two very different players. Yeah, we saw Winn's number called more last year because he was much better at penetrating and getting to the QB than Hughes was.

As far as gap discipline, and ground-holding - especially on running plays - I thought Hughes was the superior player.


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I thought that Hughes played extremely well last year. He played mostly DT, As a backup, he had 34 tackles and 3 sacks. He also had a pass defensed, and a stuff.

Winn had 26 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT, and 3 passes defensed. He had 4 stuffs, and recovered 2 fumbles.

Winn made more big plays, and Hughes made more plays overall. Both guys played really well, especially considering that they often played together .... 2 rookies in the middle of the Browns 4 man front.

I like both of them, and am glad we drafted them both.


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Surprising that Hughes had more sacks. I remember Winn getting into the backfield more often, but I suppose it could have been when he penetrated on running plays.


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I am sure that Winn had more pressures, but he didn't get many sacks at all. He was disruptive though.


Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

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Truthfully, I am happy to have both of them. I think as rookies they both played well. I can't wait to see the final lineup and how Horton and Chud line everyone up as the final roster and etc forms.

The rotation with the linemen is going to be literally insane if Horton and company does what I think. Come late fourth quarter, our big guys will still be pushing and battling.

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I'm thinking that Phil gets a rest - a lot of the time - when we go with 4 DL...not because he can't penetrate...but because he'll need a breather at some point...probably at lots of points. I don't think Phil will spend all his time eating blocks and he is huge.

I think the coaches are going to tell ALL these guys that they expect relentless effort at all times...they will ALL get to play and get breaks...so no need to take a breather on the filed.

My guess is that Hughes and Kitchen are the DTs most of the time with 4 DL alignments. Kitchen is the first NT backup. They will both see more time as DTs in a 3-4 or 5-2 than at backup NT or DE - or so the alignment will appear.

I find myself wondering if someone had this hybrid idea in mind when we went and got Bryant. I mean we all know that Horton is the hybrid guru guy. But man o man...is this not the perfect roster for running a hybrid D? And all the DL were here last year but for Bryant. Odd.

If A Bryant is pegged as an OLB - roster-wise - I could see us going with 6 DL on the named 53. With Sheard and Kruger sometimes playing DE, how many more DE-types would we need?

Who do you guys think would/could be the 7th DL if A Bryant is an OLB? There are a bunch of guys there that I have no clue about.

Lastly, who the heck is going to be our bigger guys on ST? We will have 6 sure DL and I'd guess only Winn can play ST - and I would not do that.

I don't see Sheard, Kruger, DQ, Groves or Mingo playing ST - maybe Groves. Mingo can play as a designated punt blocker.

So our bigger ST guys are A Bryant, Fort, Carder, Robertson, a couple of TEs and whichever backup OL can run? (I wouldn't do that either...the OL on ST gig.) I guess that could work.

This roster eval thing is going to be fun.

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The Browns have said that Armonty Bryant is a DE, period, so no sense going in any other direction. They have said, numerous times, that he will be a DE, and will not play OLB.


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You don't have Armonty Bryant making the team. I think Armonty makes the team. And if he doesn't he's snatched up by somebody, just for the very reason. He's a raw, tough, young, front 7 player.


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Quote:

Truthfully, I am happy to have both of them. I think as rookies they both played well. I can't wait to see the final lineup and how Horton and Chud line everyone up as the final roster and etc forms.

The rotation with the linemen is going to be literally insane if Horton and company does what I think. Come late fourth quarter, our big guys will still be pushing and battling.




I hope so. I'm concerned with Hornton's run-stopping history, but I'm a huge fan of his aggressiveness. It seems like the window for passive defenses succeeding has long-closed.


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Quote:

You don't have Armonty Bryant making the team. I think Armonty makes the team. And if he doesn't he's snatched up by somebody, just for the very reason. He's a raw, tough, young, front 7 player.




He was widely regarded as an undrafted player and was a surprise 7th round pick. Most teams have their 7th round picks on the PS. Not so much with 5th and 6th rounds(see our stupid move a few years ago) but 7th rounders are generally safe. Consider also that he has already gotten in trouble this offseason and if somebody bothers to nab him off the PS it's their burden. He is the perfect PS prospect. Trouble, freakish and raw.

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Agreed.


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Predator, Willie, and 05: Let's see what we can come up with. I'll start here:

Quote:

Mingo Taylor/Rubin Winn/Bryant Sheard (3 point) Kruger (2 point)



That's pretty good. Plenty of pass rushing ability in that group. Good set for obvious passing downs.

Here is another 5 man front:

Mingo, Winn, Hughes, Sheard, Kruger. Gives our starters a rest and we still have 4 penatrators w/one run stuffer.

I got ahead of myself, though. Let's back-up and see which positions where we can use these guys [we are pretending we are the coaching staff---LOL] Feel free to disagree. Note: I have some guys playing DE, but that would not be a DE in a four man front. For example, Reubin and Taylor come to mind.

Reubin: NT, DT, DE.
Taylor: NT, DT, DE
D. Bryant: DE, DT
Winn: DE, DT
Hughes: NT, DT
Kitchen: NT, DT

We could keep six d-linemen and open up another roster spot. Sheard gives us more versatility, as we can plug him in at DE in our 4 and 5-man fronts.

Alright, let's chew on that awhile and then perhaps come up w/all the possible 3 man fronts. We can throw in the OLBers to each package too.

After we get finished w/the 3 man fronts, we can do the 4-man fronts. And, then finally the 5-man fronts.

We will be looking for flexibility. We want to keep our D-line fresh and we want to rotate these guys in a lot. We are going to attack, attack, attack. Gotta have guys w/fresh legs. We want to mix up our fronts and our personnel packages. Versatility, fresh legs, lot's of looks to confuse the offenses.

Let's hear your thoughts, defensive gurus.

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Quote:

He was widely regarded as an undrafted player and was a surprise 7th round pick.




Widely by who? He was invited to the combine, and the stated goal of the combine is to invite all participants who will eventually be drafted. I have him not making the team because I think his transition to a 3-4 would be better-suited to OLB, which they're not doing. He's more of a natural 4-3 DE to me, with the size and strength to play on the left but the ability to play on the right.

Quote:

Most teams have their 7th round picks on the PS. ... Consider also that he has already gotten in trouble this offseason and if somebody bothers to nab him off the PS it's their burden. He is the perfect PS prospect. Trouble, freakish and raw.




I agree and that's how I see it shaking out for us.

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I believe the depth order will be as follows.

DE: Winn n Armonty Bryant
NT: Hughes
Wildcard Inside n out...Kitchen

The Bryant kid is of course a ??? has to keep his nose clean for one.

They (coaches n GM) one time or another stated he was going to be groomed for DE not OLB.

The other players.
Kendrick Adams...has to grow into the DL as he is listed as DL but only weighs 250 (6'5"). ST, Practice Squad...or cut.

Hall Davis: Same as above but little closer 270 lbs.

Nicolas Jean-Baptiste...Big kid we'll see if he's camp fodder or not.

Dave Kruger: Listed as 280 so DE material will have a tough time making final cuts maybe practice squad...is not a pass rusher.

Brian Sanford: been with us on n off for a while. Good Motor not much talent.

Justin Staples...again listed as DL but I think he is a ST prospect w/OLB not DL future probably Adams as well.

As mentioned we will carry 6 possibly 7 The rest will have to fill a ST roster spot or possibly go on the practice squad...which is what Sanford did for a couple of seasons then when an injury would occur he would come on to the 53 roster.

JMHO


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eotab #798493 07/16/13 10:43 AM
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Lots of similar names and lots of names period, but I believe you mean Desmond Bryant as the starter.


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Quote:

Quote:

He was widely regarded as an undrafted player and was a surprise 7th round pick.




Widely by who? He was invited to the combine, and the stated goal of the combine is to invite all participants who will eventually be drafted. I have him not making the team because I think his transition to a 3-4 would be better-suited to OLB, which they're not doing. He's more of a natural 4-3 DE to me, with the size and strength to play on the left but the ability to play on the right.

Quote:

Most teams have their 7th round picks on the PS. ... Consider also that he has already gotten in trouble this offseason and if somebody bothers to nab him off the PS it's their burden. He is the perfect PS prospect. Trouble, freakish and raw.




I agree and that's how I see it shaking out for us.




Everything I ever read after we got him had him ranked as a 7th-FA(the lowest even of that group of the DE's) or not listed at all on many. I don't see this as such an issue that I really need to find 10 links. It was also said by many analysts they thought he would go undrafted. To be honest 7th round and undrafted aren't much different in handling.

I understand your idea of him being better suited at 43 DE or 34 OLB but after watching tape this kid is built to be a big man IMO. With such a low probability to make a contribution it makes sense to make him a DE. He will have zero problem adding weight to his massive frame and 34 DE is the easiest place to get a contribution from him.

34 OLB is the hardest transition for most so why make your longshot go through that when he has a much higher probability of being something for you if you put him on the DL. Just trying to think as a coach/GM would.

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Good thoughts, Vers. I'm going to have to ponder this one for a while. Does anyone see any plausibility of a 3 man front with a whole lot of uglies on it? I'm thinking Rubin/Taylor/Hughes? I guess some form of rotating a monster offensive line might help more against a team like Minnesota, but this is just speculation.


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I think Bryant makes the team as a 3rd down pass rusher from DE. If this team really didnt believe in the kids talent, he would have been cut already. The kid has long arms and a freakish first step. I have zero doubt he makes the team if he doesnt screw up off the field again. I feel he could see the field often this year.

Winn is a good solid fit for backup DE and could be a special player. I see a lot of similarities between Winn and Desmond Bryant. Fresh legs and will not be a drop off in talent he has starter talent.


I see a primary 4 man rotation with Rubin, Big Phil, Desmond Bryant and Winn. Anthony Bryant comes in on obvious pass downs.

Hughes and kitch probably earn a spot as backups/ beef for goaline and short yardage packages.

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Predator, Willie, and 05: Let's see what we can come up with.




The only thing I would add is I believe Hughes could also function as a DE. He is lighter and honestly has a game very similar to Rubin. He probably even has a higher ceiling than him as he's more athletic/stronger just less honed.

Anyways lets see what fun I can have with sub packages. I'll just do a few to start and all 3 man fronts. For extra fun I'm even including ILBs as I believe JMJ will be a weapon. He is better in downhill situations I think.

To set a start point I see the base 3-4 looking like....
LE: Bryant
NT: Taylor
RE: Rubin
LOLB: Kruger
LILB: DQ
RILB: Robertson
ROLB: Sheard

In an obvious passing down such as 3rd and long....
LE:Bryant
NT:Taylor
RE:Winn
LOLB:Kruger
ILB: Robertson
ROLB: Mingo

NOTE: 3 CB's

In an obvious running down such as 3rd and short....
LE:Hughes
NT:Taylor
RE:Rubin
LOLB:Groves/Kruger??
LILB:JMJ
RILB:DQ
ROLB:Sheard

NOTE:Kruger really struggles in run support. I'm curious to see how he is subbed for situations but I'm not sure anyone other than Sheard is better as of yet at OLB. I think eventually Kruger is our passrush specialist when Mingo and Sheard mature. Also I think DQ plays Sam with Robertson but JMJ fits Sam better than any so kicks DQ to Will when in the game.

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I actually liked the D last year, and like them even more this year. Only a db/safety/LB away from an elite squad. A few guys and it's the best unit in the NFL. The D kept the team in a lot of games last year with an impotent O.

We are now talking about depth, not starters. What a relief. I am optimistic about their ability to stop the run and prevent 3rd down conversions.

I have a lot more concerns about the offense.


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