10 hours ago, Orion said:

 

 

 

Tillman is out.  It's someone's chance to step in and show that he should keep the job throughout the playoffs.  

 

Seems like my guy David Bell is finally going to get his chance to shine!

4 hours ago, hoorta said:

Where in the Sam Heck did you get that from Orion? It's not anywhere close to accurate... From the Brown's website... https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/team/injury-report/

Texans are getting all of their D-line guys back

I'm man enough to admit this made me choke up a little bit:

Slight downer: I could have done without the branding at the end. 

Well I'll be damned

The Browns Are Good, REALLY Good, and We Football Experts Owe Them an Apology

Nick Harris is a Full Back?

12 hours ago, Flugel said:

Prior to today Bell and Flacco had some chemistry.  We can't really hold it against Bell when Cooper and Flacco had something unstoppable going in other outings.  I think Bell is going to turn out just fine.   The 1st part of this year couldn't have been easy for the 2nd year WR to get any chemistry going when they went from Watson to DTR to PJ Walker back to Watson back to DTR.  All that wasn't easy for Cooper either.  If I had to guess, our coaching staff is keenly aware of this and they've limited his reps because of it. Key word in that sentence is guess.

You can't compare Bell to Coop. Certainly not yet.

You can however compare him to DPJ, which a good portion of the board still pines for. DPJ got lucky, because he played for the Browns at a time when we had a shit WR corps (yes, that includes you Odell). The lack of other options meant he got the ball more. 

David didn't get targeted so often. Heck, he only got to play about half the snaps in his rookie season. In those snaps, he did show IMO two of the best qualities a WR can have: he is very good at creating separation, and he holds onto the ball. 

Quote

Bell showed just how he makes up for his lack of straight-line speed with an average target separation of 2.5 yards and an average cushion of 4.75 yards (for context, Amari Cooper — who's touted as an elite route runner — had a 1.72-yard target separation and a 4.51-yard average cushion). Combine Bell's ability to create separation with his low drop rate (just 2 drops on 35 targets) and the Browns might just have a very reliable under-the-radar receiver in their midst. 

https://dawgpounddaily.com/posts/david-bell-browns-sleeper-2023

Yesterday, against the Bengals starters who most definitely wanted to win, he showed what he can do if he gets the ball more often. I hope the FO do not renew Goodwin. Maybe draft another WR who can mature behind Bell and Tillman. 

Any update on Tillman? 

6 minutes ago, Flugel said:

Bell scored both of them believe it or not.

The former. Bell is underrated by both the coaching staff and here on the board!

Seeing more starter-level players (Ogbo, Harris) take the field so far. 

The ONLY thing I care about this game, is not getting more injuries. To the point I'd prefer the personnel in charge of Gatorade distribution not get ingrown toenails!

3 hours ago, bbedward said:

I actually don’t really care that much who we play, but I’d like tougher low seeds who can potentially upset the higher seeds. Houston is up and coming, but still has too many holes to contend this year.

With stroud they probably wouldn’t be held to 0 points like they were the first time around (7 special teams, 15 against backups in garbage time) - but we can still handle em.

I really wouldn’t wanna lose to the Texans just so we don’t have to see the headlines about how Houston fleeced the browns and are so much better without Watson.

Baltimore and Buffalo are the actual two teams that I think pose the biggest threat (unless Buffalo screws it up today). As long as they just focus on winning the wild card so we can actually make it to a game against Baltimore.

 

 

Agree on the upset teams, but definitely count Texans among them.

Heck, barring the TJ Watt injury, I think you are wrong about the Stoolers. With their ability to get to the QB and the resulting turnover diff, coupled to two very capable RBs, you have a recipe for play-off game management. While Rudolph is no Flacco, many of us here said: all we need is a serviceable QB. I believe Rudolph is capable of not losing a game for Pburg.

Texans already clinched with the win, right? Only Stoolers are on the bubble, needing either Jags or Bills to lose. 

Edit: if Jags lose, we play Texans and agree with @tiamat63 they should not be underestimated. Hope @bbedward is right about the Jags winning. 

Congrats to CJ Stroud for making the play-offs as a rookie QB! Preformed well above anyone's reasonable expectation. 

13 hours ago, syd said:

what about Emerson ?

Why stop there?

I suppose it depends on what you look at. The below seems a very important metric to me. If you look at tackles, FF, Ints and Pick-6s, they rank nowhere near the top, because they cover so well that the ball isn't thrown their way much to begin with.

5 hours ago, hoorta said:

It's the way the Pro Bowl works....

It is also what makes me even more disinterested in the game than I otherwise would be. The final nail in the coffin.

IMO the selection should be about players' performances THIS season. Look at the kicking stats below. Both Aubrey and Hopkins should have been no-brainers! 3 kickers in the AFC have better stats than Tucker this season. He has no business even being an alternate!

Hopkins is an absolute travesty! JOK irks me too!

@Orion look at the snap counts on PFR. Both Tillman and Bell's increased significantly in the 2nd half of the season, which obviously skews their stats for the whole season. I have been kind of meh about both Moore and Goodwin since their acquisition, but you know how much Stef and Berry love their speed guys and I suppose you have to have at least one of those. Anything beats the 'Schwartz that shall not be named further!' 

So with Tillman and Bell behind Coop, along with Goodwin, on top of 3 TEs and a couple of backs to throw to, I am happy with the targets Joe has at his disposal.

The running game is a far greater concern, which is probably largely due to our degraded Line due to all the injuries. That's why I have been beating the dead horse about the possible signing of an addition. 

Quote

I would like to see Stef stay in that Old School / Anti Analytics play calling mode in the playoffs.  Take any points that presents itself.  Don't try to stretch a FG into a TD by going for it if it's over QB sneak length.  Value the points.  The FG is not minus 4.  It's plus 3.

You and me both!

20 hours ago, Flugel said:

Me too KD!  The trouble is - what OL worthy of helping a playoff team are unemployed right now?  On the other hand, there may be some promising practice squad guys we could give this type of opportunity to.

It's not like most of us saw Cook's release coming. Maybe another team cuts a O-lineman to save cap space? If that doesn't happen, we are better off saving ours for the post-season.

10 hours ago, syd said:

if Moore can;t go I would bring cook to play in the slot (and yes over Landry )

Landry is retired. He is just in denial about that. 

@Orion I think the stats are a bit misleading. Tillman and Bell were used hardly at all in the beginning of the season. It was Moore and Goodwin behind Coop. It was not until Flacco came that Tillman started to shine. Bell, who is clearly behind Cedric in the order, only got some reps when Goodwin was injured. If those stats could be filtered to the last 5 or so games, it paints a different picture. I am fairly comfortable with Tillman as our WR2, with Bell and Goodwin behind him depending on the play. 

Much of the above also goes for Akins. I think we might consider running more 2TE sets, which could both help with rushing and fits with our tendency to run play action. 

12 hours ago, Bob806 said:

I don't want to fan any flames, but holy crap if Tampa Bay & Baker lose to Carolina, yikes.

By all means do. I do not mind in the slightest

I'd much, MUCH prefer adding an O-lineman for the play-offs. That helps all our current backs, including Joe!

@Flugel I think this year prove our depth beyond a reasonable doubt. Mare than anything, I would love to see Chubb back!

13 minutes ago, Flugel said:

Can't wait to see what this team looks like when there's only a reasonable volume of injuries... 

The start of next season has every potential to be epic indeed, irrespective whether it is Watson (likely) or Joe (wouldn't mind at all, maybe even prefer) under center!

11 hours ago, hoorta said:

Steelers still have a mathematical chance, but must beat the Ravens first. It involves a lot of other losses or ties... 

EDIT (from @gumby73 what it takes for Stoolers to get to the play-offs

Quote

If the Steelers win, they need Buffalo to lose at Miami or Jacksonville to lose at Tennessee. If those teams each win, the Steelers could advance in the unlikely chance that the Houston-Indianapolis game ends in a tie. 

And you know what, as much as I hate to say it, they could even advance a round. Fins were unimpressive yesterday. Most of KC's wins have been close. And Bills have a tendency to choke in the play-offs. 

The main questions in the AFC seem to be: who can stop the Rats, and who can stop the Browns? The answer to one probably also answers the other. 

1 hour ago, nickers said:

Whose "sawft" again?... Miami is.. They're a fucking finesse team... Not physical... Rats are kickin their asses...

On Miami's opening drive, the Rats did not so much as resist. Looked vulnerable to both the pass and the (outside) run. Their D is not all that, despite the sack numbers. I sang the praises of their O shortly thereafter, more than is to my own liking. 

Dear lawd, that Rats offense. Line gives Lamar so much time, with lethal weapons at his disposal. Only (our?) elite D will be able to stop them

3 minutes ago, bbedward said:

Baltimore forgot to put their defense out for that first drive.

Rats looked SAWFT