Flugel

🤣 It sounds like we got a Bleeder. All kidding aside, thanks for your willingness to do this. I'd be happy to contribute if you or Tia took this on...

Meanwhile let's take a look at how the Asterisks up north are trying to recruit and reel in one of their top hopefuls:

LAND HO!!!!!!!!!!!!! The WR Recruiting Capital of College Football just continues on with its proud tradition. And this doesn't stink - the kid from New Jersey gets rewarded with a great lookin new jersey.

Mine either. All my players went Jim Marshall on me in the sense they were running the wrong way.

Just out of curiosity, are they still going to have onside kicks? And how far does the kickoff have to travel before the kickoff team can recover it? If they phased out the onside kick, think how that changes the ability to erase leads over 7 points late in the game. I hope they didn't do that. If that Roger Godcomplex thinks that's going to help with player safety - he could also look at shortening the volume of games rather than increasing it for greed purposes only.

I'm an old dawg that doesn't like new tricks but we're suddenly given no choice. That being the case, I really appreciate the visual and explanation above. I definitely understand Stefanski's comment. When the new idea meets reality - I imagine there's going to be a lot of "we didn't think about something like that confronting us" all over the league. Exciting? Scary? Both? Watching the new kickoff changes unfold will probably feel to us a lot like what it feels like all game long for new audiences in other countries watching an NFL game live in a nearby stadium.

That's very nice of you to share your extensive experience losing to the hated rival since 2000. Your team recently reached a milestone of 5 wins against the Buckeyes in that span. Even more impressive, you have now won half as many National Championships since Y2K but we do have to count these little fellers: ********

Smart kid!

SLIDE...

Appreciate that! Well said about Foreman! I think this RB group is underrated (if/when they get situational roles that fit what they do best); but I kinda like that. I could see Foreman getting the most carries and Ford and Hines catching a lot of passes (which both guys do well).

That's what I call planning ahead; so is an 11 win season in 2020 and another one in 2023. We've done a lot worse than this tandem for quite some time.

😆 Almost makes me wonder if sky diving is on Watson's pre-training camp bucket list too.

I hear ya. Even then, there were no guarantees he wouldn't fumble as soon as soon as he got hit. This DOES caution me to consider the level of competition guys are coming out of; because Harrison Bryant was a Mackey Award winner as the nation's best TE in D-I as well as a consensus All American. That's a decorated college football career/final season. Bryant's college Florida Atlantic plays in the AAC which has a few good teams; but not enough to question if he would have had the same productivity in the SEC or even the ACC for that matter. Ironically, the undrafted rookie TE Zaire Mitchell-Paden the Browns just signed for $2,570,000 for 3 years is also from Florida Atlantic (after transferring from the D-II Notre Dame program). This is why the draft is still a crap shoot. All that stuff I just talked about pertaining to Bryant above didn't seem to apply to Jerry Rice coming out of Mississippi Valley State or even Steve McNair coming out of Alcorn State. They weren't TEs per say but the point is - whatever great stats they had were also in conferences that didn't have enough NFL prospects in them in terms of the barometer of "he did what against who?" As much as the NFL Draft has always fascinated me as a football fan - I've never been very good at pegging guys right. That's probably because of how often I forget teams shouldn't be drafting what's in rear view mirror only. They should be drafting all the goodies they feel a prospect offers their offense or defense and/or special teams. They should also have a good idea if any of his weaknesses are coachable or if his character is even coachable. Some organizations are better than others at researching the red flags. Sometimes I get the feeling Berry knows he's better at finding proven NFL vets for the Browns than drafting unproven guys from the crapshoot. That offseason last year took us to another level. He can always change this feeling by showing me he's great at both...

Thank you! Great idea about adding Ernie Green and Bo Scott. Loved Bo Scott and heard good things about Ernie Green. I'm sure there's others I forgot so I'll keep updating this in bold in any posts that make suggestions since this is our team. I'm also going to add our previous Mr 3rd Down (in his 30s at the time) - Calvin Hill and Pruitt's underrated blocking back Cleo Miller (who reminded me of a lot of Bo Scott). Here are some names of previous Running Backs and Full Backs our fans and families have enjoyed watching over the years: Jim Brown, Marion Motley, Ernie Green, Bobby Mitchell, Leroy Kelly, Bo Scott, Greg Pruitt, Cleo Miller, Calvin Hill, Mike Pruitt, Earnest Byner, Kevin Mack, Curtis Dickey, Eric Metcalf, Leroy Hoard, and Jamal Lewis. Well said about Chubb! I agree with it. Nick Chubb is a very smart and well calculated player IMO. For example, even his hops to just change a lane and then accelerate are safe on the structure of his knees (rarely ever putting all momentum/force/torque on the outside plant leg to a drastic change of direction the other way). That's on purpose. There's too many turfs that grab just ask Saquon Barkley. Chubb isn't built like Eric Metcalf, Barry Sanders or Warrick Dunn that were lighter backs with skinnier legs. Consequently, they could all sprint in 1 direction and gracefully stop on a dime with their outside plant leg only to be sprinting in the opposite direction immediately. I still remember Eric Metcalf giving one squid from Cincy a slalom sky move on an outside run. The defender froze and Metcalf scored untouched. When I was younger, I'll never forget the game when the Browns travelled to Seattle. A very promising young RB (and former Penn State star/National Champion) named Curt Warner was giving NFL defenders fits trying to square up and open field tackle this change of direction gem. Here's part of an article explaining how Warner's season ended in the first game of the year: Early in the ’84 season opener vs. Cleveland, Warner took a pitch wide right, stretching the defense to set up his patented cut-back action. His foot planted, his knee detonated, and by the time he hit the turf, the Kingdome fell silent. That was good background info you added about Treyton Welch. Hopefully, he can bring some goodies that our 2nd TE spot was missing last year.

The Offensive Line preview we were all treated to is a tough act to follow. This is gonna sound a lot more like it's coming from Andrew Dice Clay without the cussing. Also, Tia will preview the Wide Receiver position sometime over the next weekend or the ensuing Monday. Ok, we’re going to start this off with a look at the RB position that has a very proud and storied tradition for the Cleveland Browns. Here are some names of previous Running Backs and Full Backs our fans and families have enjoyed watching over the years: Jim Brown, Marion Motley, Ernie Green, Bobby Mitchell, Leroy Kelly, Bo Scott, Greg Pruitt, Cleo Miller, Calvin Hill, Mike Pruitt, Earnest Byner, Kevin Mack, Curtis Dickey, Eric Metcalf, Leroy Hoard, and Jamal Lewis. What reeled me in was hearing about Jim Brown from my dad along with Leroy Kelly as my 1st impression. Those were appetizers that led to an insatiable appetite for watching Greg Pruitt. Today, I proudly wear him as my avatar in here. Starter: Nick Chubb. Who in this fan base would have the guts to say anyone else? I certainly don’t have the grapefruits under the acorn to do that. We have seen enough of this guy to know what he is made of mentally and physically. Our battle tested hero has already bounced back from a major knee injury and surgery in his college career at Georgia. That injury took place in the 6th game of his sophomore season midway through October of 2015; where Chubb ended the year with 92 carries for 747 yards (8.1 ypc) and 7 TDs. As early as the beginning of September of 2016 he began to share half the work load with RB Sony Michel. That year Nick had 224 carries for 1130 yards ( 5.0 ypc) and 8 TDs in 13 games. Was he safe yet? Well… Just 1 season later, he had 223 carries for 1345 yards (6.0 ypc) and 15 TDs in 15 games splitting carries with Michel again. I know that’s only college; but what do the great ones do when adversity strikes? They rise to the challenge and WIN! Unlike college, Chubb’s injury last year was much earlier in the season. It occurred in the 2nd game of the season on MNF on September 18th. The devastation of it all didn’t have many of us thinking about silver linings. On the other extreme, Nick was already thinking: “I have even more recovery and rehab time with this injury than I had with my injury at Georgia.” Nick isn’t really a cut on a dime, change of direction type of back that would frequently put the structure of his knee on trial during games. He's not wired that way. My guess is that is a big part of the reason he remains more optimistic than people on the outside looking in seem to be. Drawing on his previous experience of overcoming a serious knee injury enduring the blood, sweat and tears of rehab has him ready to meet the challenge again. All that to say, I’m very confident in WHO he is from the WILL he has. Chubb will be our starter for at least the final 8 or 9 games. Book it! In all likelihood, Nick Chubb will begin the season with a very restricted rep count even if that begins in the 2nd or 3rd game. Once the Browns see that he can safely run the ball the way that he is wired to do so – they will begin to gradually increase his work load each week. In a 60 minute game on a field that is 120 yards long and 53.3 yards wide over a 17 game season – there’s plenty of room and time for patience. Reserves: This group will be guided by the Browns’ new RB Coach Duce Staley. This is a real fiery guy that won’t hesitate to challenge the competitive juices of defensive coaches when the offense is going against the defense in practice. This was shown on Hard Knocks in Detroit last year when he and DC Aaron Glenn we’re getting after it. I saw an old school mentality that didn’t tolerate any lack of effort from the players. That should be a perfect match for the RBs that will be in Training Camp competing for playing time, active roster spots or a place on the practice squad. At the beginning of the regular season, Jerome Ford and D’Onta Foreman look to be the 2 favorites competing for the most reps. This will be dependent upon their situational role and whoever has the hot hand each week. Ford had his first experience starting in the backfield last year while sharing reps with Kareem Hunt and Pierre Strong Jr. Unfortunately, Ford’s bad habits and growing pains jumped out at viewers. If Staley ever sees him turn a 5 yard loss into a 45 yard loss – he won’t hesitate to replace Ford in the game. That said, Ford caught 63 passes and scored 5 TDs as a receiver out of the backfield. He also contributed 813 yards on 204 carries (4.0 ypc) and 4 TDs. Those aren’t horrible if we factor in how much of the season we had a 3rd string RT while the Browns signed an unemployed LT for the final 3rd of the season (who is no longer with this team). That was pretty much an advertisement that if the Browns wanted to find any consistency running the ball – they’d have to do it inside the tackles. D’Onta Foreman’s last 3 teams were the Titans in 2021 (566 yards 4.3 ypc 3 TDs), Panthers in 2022 (914 yards 4.5 ypc 5 TDs), and Bears in 2023 (425 yards 3.9 ypc 4 TDs). He’s a physical back that would be fun to watch pounding the ball behind a hopefully healthy offensive line here. Meanwhile Pierre Strong Jr could compete for a 3rd down role as well as the veteran speedster Nyheim Hines. John Kelly Jr and rookie Aidan Robbins are going to have to be able to contribute on Special Teams and grab the attention of the offensive coaches when running or catching the ball as well as pass protecting. Robbins played for 3 different college programs at Louisville, UNLV and BYU. I like his frame at 6’2”, 237 lbs. He only had a handful of carries in his first 2 years at Louisville before transferring to UNLV and rushing for 1011 yards (4.8 ypc) and 9 TDs on 209 carries to go with 23 receptions for 125 yards and 1 TD in 2022. Then he transferred to BYU and rushed for 485 yard (4.85 ypc) and 1 TD to go with 7 receptions for 33 yards in 2023. In a sport where it is more important how you finish than how you start – I give the RB position a Forecast Grade of B. Next, let’s take a look our Tight End position inclusive of the H-Back. Before doing so, one of my favorite First rounds in the NFL Draft for the Cleveland Browns was in 1978. This was the year when the Browns drafted a WR from Alabama named Ozzie Newsome and an OLB from USC named Clay Matthews. The Browns had big plans for Ozzie and they weren’t at WR. He came here and put together a Hall of Fame career as a TE that was fun to watch. Starter: David Njoku. Before we get to last year, this guy has continued to improve and progress as a blocker outside. Even better, he looks like he enjoys that art much better than he probably ever thought he would as a 1st round Diva that was more interested in showing us his abs once upon a time. It was invaluable to have him helping our 3rd string Right Tackle as well as Wills (and later his backup) on the blind side of pass protection. Having said that, Njoku became a very valuable prong of attack as he added 81 receptions for 882 yards (10.9 ypr) and 6 TDs. He had some very physical runs after his catches - that were an absolute pleasure to watch. It was nice to all his efforts rewarded when he was selected to his first Pro Bowl. Sometimes the only thing that could stop David was an occasional lapse of concentration at the worst of times. Reserves: There doesn’t appear to be a lot of depth here. Last year the Browns added TE Jordan Akins thinking his 3 years of experience catching passes from Deshaun Watson in Houston would reunite a previous chemistry. The intentions were nice but he ended with 15 receptions for 132 yards (8.8 ypr) and 0 TDs. Part of that was he wasn’t used as much as he was in Houston; and the other part is Watson was injured in the 2nd half of the season. Akins is still here while Harrison Bryant and anyone else we had competing for reps beyond Njoku are no longer competition for reps. Giovanni Ricci will see action as an H-Back and a TE. He’s 6’3”, 240 lbs that could line up at Fullback or be used as a lead blocker or a receiver out of the backfield. They could also put him in motion or simply line him up at TE. He played 3 years for Carolina where his best season was in 2022 catching 8 of 9 targets for 100 yards and 0 TDs. The other 2 years he had a combined total of 1 reception making him pretty much mystery meat at this time. His bucket list appears to be catching his first NFL TD pass. That said, if he is a special teams beast that could explain why Carolina kept him around. Another intriguing acquisition for the Browns is Zaire Mitchell-Paden or as dyslexics tend to call him Mitchell-Pardon. The frame is 6’5”, 257 lbs. He joins the Browns as an undrafted free agent from Florida Atlantic after transferring from the Division II Notre Dame program. That might look better before readers drink their coffee. All this said there’s a saying “See something? Say Something!” Apparently the Browns did; because this guy signed a 3 year $2,570,000 contract with the Browns. Perceived strengths are ideal pad height, hand placement, good down field blocker but the downfield blocking effort is also listed as a weakness. The Browns also signed undrafted rookie free agent TE Treyton Welch who brings his ambition and 6’4”, 240 lb frame to training camp. He is also listed at 6’3” so there’s already an adorable mysterious quality about him. He was an offensive captain from the same Wyoming college football program Josh Allen came out of. That may not mean anything today; but it tells you how much his teammates thought of him. In 2023, he had 31 receptions for 308 yard (9.9 ypr) and 2 TDs. He ended his college career as a First Team All Mountain West performer at TE. His college coaches rave about how well he catches the ball in traffic. Let’s see who brings the magic to training camp. My guess is nobody will unseat Njoku. However, if I was a newcomer I would see the Browns’ lack of interest in utilizing Akins in their game plans as an ideal opportunity to show the coaching staff what they’ve been missing from the 2nd TE position. That is definitely not impossible. Despite what looks like an overall lack of depth at TE – Njoku’s Pro Bowl achievement from all the hard work as a blocker and receiver with unfinished business pulls up my expectation for the group to a Forecast Grade of B – . If you made it this far, thank you! Now it’s your turn to tell us what you think of the 2024 forecast for the Running Backs and Tight Ends of this team. You can do that by answering any or all of the following questions or just give us your free style blowhard in this thread. Who do you think will emerge as a productive RB on this roster before Chubb returns to the full workload? Do you anticipate any positive surprises in the RB group? Who do you think will be disappointing in this group? Who do you think will be our best receiver out of the backfield? What would you like to see more of from the RB position on game day? Is there anything you feel our RBs did well last year that they didn’t get enough credit for from us fans? Is there anything you’d like to see more of from the RB position in the game plans? Anything you’d like to see less of from them in the game plans? Where do you predict the Browns will rank at running the ball this year? Why do you feel this way? After Jim Brown and Leroy Kelly and before Nick Chubb, what RB or RBs did you enjoy watching the most for the Browns (you can also list a FB in lieu of a RB)? What was it about the guy or guys you listed that made you feel this way? Who is the best TE you have seen on this franchise? Similar but different, who is or was your favorite TE here? Who did you feel has been the best blocking TE you’ve seen on the Browns current or past? How do you feel the TE position can be better utilized in the game plans? Or, do you like it as is? Why do you feel this way? What do you feel our TEs did well last year that they didn’t get enough credit for? How heavily do you think the TE position will be counted on to help our Tackles with setting the edge for the running game this year? In the last 2 years or so, Michael Dunn has been used on occasion (but very infrequently) as a TE lining up to the right of our RT for the sole purpose setting the edge for the running game only. Is this something you'd like to see more of in the future?