Flugel

LOL! Sorry about that! He was a real big/thick white kid that looked like a Country Strong Conan. Very impressive - so much so I couldn't remember his number...

It sure does. It's a pretty cool way of doing it because proven veterans are easier to coach, teach and fit into the roles we need them at. They're ready to go without growing pains as we saw last year. I'm learning how good Berry is at this.

Breaking trend a little - I have to agree with that. #68 is the best DT I saw last year and he's returning. He'll draw the double teams, which will ease the matchups for your other DT.

I hope it's not the same place TB took former 1st round LSU LB Devin White. He woke up one day on the scout team defense humping Baker's leg in practice.

My quicker than Cliffs Notes limited research of him - I see a very opportunistic blind side blitzer opponents didn't even try to block or account for. While I see a fast player that can fly up to the LOS - I don't see a confident 1st step instinct that would get him there quick but more under control to execute a text book hit with head up accompanied by a simultaneous wrap. I know Aggies fans would probably tell me to put the crack pipe down and I wouldn't be surprised if our buddy @TexasAg1969 does just that. 😁 I saw videos on line which are supposed to be his best highlights where he flies up to contact with a violent collision lacking a simultaneous wrap. Consequently when the ballcarrier is jolted back/bouncing off - he has to re-engage the ballcarrier with a wrap and wrestle to the ground. The collisions are impressive due to the physics but in this process he has to make 2 different attempts to bring the guy to the ground. In fairness, my limited research can't tell if this was a season long occurrence or just a few limited episodes that the highlights I watched captured. Love the kid's motor and passion jumping off the screen - just some coaching needed to fine tune it all. My thinking is some of this can be corrected with NFL coaching and film prep. Bad habits depending on how long they were reinforced can be a challenge. In the end, my research doesn't have the whole truth and nothing but the whole truth - so I appreciate your observations.

Was that George Foreman II, George Foreman III, George Foreman IV, George Foreman V or D'Onta Foreman that played with the Bears last year? All kidding aside, he doesn't have the wear and tear that took a couple steps away from Kareem Hunt IMO.

This is a good reminder about what Jameis can offer the Browns and Watson as an older vet that Fields doesn't have the experience to do yet. I took the mini bus to summer school to get to this; but I got to it and forgot my lunch. I just wish we got a better sale on the all you can consume Crablegs...

I get where you're coming from more than I allowed myself to when we first started talking about it. As you can see, there are avid Ohio State fans like Dutch and Tia that gave this far better consideration than I did. There's probably others as well. Well played on that last sentence above. We also don't want to be dotting the i if it's an interception. I feel bad for Flacco in the sense his 2 pick 6s in Houston are the final memory of him as a Cleveland Brown. Having said that, I got the feeling he pleasantly surprised most of us with his razor sharp performances near the end of the regular season when we really needed him to. Fun memories as a fan...

I could see Michigan trying to sneak him into their lineup and re-naming him Dusty Nuckinfuts.

Do you see how often I argue with Watson's critics all year round in here? Where in those actions shows me wanting a back-up to play QB instead of the QB (Watson) I was excited we went after? How many times have I typed I wanted us to DRAFT Watson when we could have. My 3 concerns that I touched on starting are as follows: #1) we have Wills protecting the blind side of Watson (which means it isn't a question of IF he lets Watson get planted on the throwing shoulder again but WHEN he allows it); 2) I don't know if the bone Watson broke behind the right shoulder ball and socket is going to be sturdy enough to withstand the trauma of any violent collisions that may plant him on it. I can only hope it is but that won't stop me from worrying. If it isn't - we're really going to hear from his critics especially if it's career ending; 3) Because of those 2 things - I complained about not even inquiring with Chicago about Fields because he's young, only costs a 6th round pick and a salary of 3.22 million in comparison to what we're paying Jameis. He's also a lot more mobile than Jameis. Your beef with me (and you're not alone with it) is if we had Fields and he had to play - you think me and others would prefer him to Watson. If given the choice of both guys at their best - I'd take Watson any day. The reason the backup QB position is getting way more attention this off-season than last off-season is because of the uncertainty of Watson's shoulder and if it'll be durable. My favorite just in case is Justin Fields for this situation. We didn't root against Flacco last year when he heated up to help the Browns finish strong enough to win 11 games. Nobody was worrying about Watson's feelings. Watson is 8-4 in games he started so that's what keeps the Browns fans happy. I'm with you - I just wanted my perceived better bang for the buck backing up Watson.

I think someone else said this; but I'd sure love to see some contract incentives in these guaranteed contracts. A guy can get a soft tissue injury that gets measured by what is your pain/discomfort on a scale of 1-5? If he's a sand-bagger - he'll milk that right out far longer than necessary IMO.

Welcome to Cleveland! Bringing up a QB controversy implies you're confident in Watson? Actions speaking louder than words shows you worrying his critics are right. Do you know how big or sturdy that surgically repaired bone behind the ball and socket is today? I'm gonna walk you through a scenario that should be a stronger protection of the investment at QB than it is. True story, Jed Wills is our blind side pass protector again just like he was SUPPOSED to be last year. We're playing bigtime pretend here that there won't be another blind side turf plant on Watson where the physics don't favor a QB landing on his rehabbed throwing shoulder again. Then what? Join you and others in hoping the backup doesn't play well enough to hurt Watson's feelings? Just 12 starts in 2 years for the size of contract up against our cap space has his critics asking "why are the Browns always counting on other QBs in lieu of Watson?" Allow me: PJ Walker, DTR, Joe Flacco, Jeff Driskel, Jacoby Brissett. So the next time everyone fusses how bad a backup stunk you want me calm them down with "Yeah, but there's no QB controversy." To answer your question Oh yeah I got it! Are we really missing 1-15 and 0-16 football seasons where there were no QB controversies because all our QBs sucked equally? It's okay for loyal fans like yourself to ask for better than this Ballpeen! I don't feel the Browns are better off with a backup that doesn't have any upside that also throws a lot of INTs and pick 6s over a young guy willing to play for less $ on a team with surrounding talent good enough to make the playoffs (with 1st round talent and upside of a 24-25 year old). All of this includes the reality that Wills remains the blind side protection plan for the Watson investment. If/when he gets hurt again - your biggest nightmare will now be a larger volume of critics wondering why this was never considered/factored into the thinking from our FO. If someone also wants to tell me 28 other teams didn't think like Pittsburgh did with Justin Fields or consider what his very affordable asking price was - you know where to find me when this plays out. I'll be here. If I'm wrong, I'll know where to find what store has a sale on glue. If I'm right, I'll just drink a bunch of depressants in a frosted mug for the next 10 years... In the meantime, here's a little summary of Winston's final season in TB in an article I found with the very last sentence below showing his pick 6 volume of 7 that season: https://www.nfl.com/news/jameis-winston-in-30-30-club-with-game-ending-pick-6-0ap3000001092681 It was somehow equal parts stunning, fitting, amazing and conclusive all in one as Jameis Winston became the first NFL player to find his way into the dubious 30-30 club. With the Buccaneers' final game of the season having found its way into overtime, Winston threw the first and only overtime play from scrimmage into the arms of Falcons linebacker Deion Jones. Jones promptly raced 27 yards the other way to give Atlanta a 28-22 win over Tampa Bay in the teams' season finale. Can't-Miss Play: Winston's desperation heave ends in INSANE TD by grab Perriman  Upon his final pass of the definition of a mercurial season, Winston became the first player in NFL history to throw 30-or-more touchdowns and 30 interceptions, finishing with 33 scores and 30 catches by the other team. He also set a new league mark with seven interceptions returned for touchdowns.

Thanks Orion. In Athlon Sports Draft Guide Mock Draft they have Beebe being drafted at #48 overall. I'll check later where they have him ranked though. Walter Football is better than Athlon Sports though.

A lesser athlete in Orlando Brown in the same frame as Jones pulled it off as a LT. Another guy a lot people said couldn't play LT (Tristan Wirfs) moved from RT to LT and exceeded a lot of expectations. Neither guy got there feeling entitled - they put the work in. This is what I'd like to see from Wills - but still remains to be seen unfortunately. Things showing up on film show me he hasn't put the work in all the way down to his inconsistency at getting into a good stance at the LOS to stopping his effort after initial contact on running plays. FWIW...

Me too! I like who he's learned about NFL Defense from. The same guy Jim Schwatz did - Billy Badass Belichick

Nice job with that! Speaking of Joel Bitonio - he played Tackle in college at Vegas; but LG in Cleveland next to Joe Thomas. This draft has a lot of offensive linemen that have backgrounds playing both Guard and Center or Guard and Tackle. Not only that, but some even have experience playing on both the right and left (in 1 world where the left and right are still work together as a cohesive team. When they don't you cut their ass!) Anyway, there's a kid from way yonder at Kansas State that caught my eye in their 2022 Big 12 Championship victory over TCU. It was OL Cooper Beebe who as played all of the following positions during his tenure at K-State: LG, LT, RG, RT in his 6-4 335lb frame. He's got 40 starts that were punctuated by a Consensus 1st Team All American Honor in 2023 as well as earning the Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year award. That type of flexibility reminds me of Bitonio coming out of college as a LT and making NFL Pro Bowls as a LG. We have 1 aging OG, 1 very expensive FA OG and 1 very suspect LT so a guy like Cooper Beebe could be a very nice pick for us. Another guy that's very intriguing as an OG or OT is Dominick Puni from Kansas at 6-5 320lbs. 2 different guys from colleges in Kansas? What can I say? There was a sale on glue... There's another guy @gumby73 likes if we want to wait until round 3 or 4 for in UConn's Christian Haynes at 6-2 313lbs. Only flaws in his game despite being a 2 star recruit are height and length. I take that to mean a lot of passion went into his game to put him on the NFL Draft map. This reminds me of the Ali Marpet story who made himself into a 2nd round draft pick at #61 overall (Tampa Bay) out of Division 3 school Hobart in Upstate NY. Tour found this needle in the haystack and wrote up some good pre-draft intrigue info about him. If memory serves me right he had a nice career for Tampa at OG. Anyway, the draft has a way of rewarding the teams that do the best research. I hope that's us!

Bob, I used to get excited to come visit Stan (Atenears) and go watch some training camp sessions with him every year. They've made that almost impossible today for out of state fans that don't already have season tix. It used to be easy to just show up and get a good spot to view the practice and/or walk around to one. That feels like a lifetime ago...

Vrabel hired Schwartz as a Senior Defensive Assistant in TN in April 2021 through the 2022 season. This was only 3 months after Schwartz though he'd step away from football as the DC in Philly (where he won a Super Bowl). I remembered hearing "Defensive Consultant" at first about his job in TN but that became Senior Defensive Assistant as soon as they hired him. Long story short, it looks like they have a good history working together. If the Browns have another successful season with their 2023 Defensive Assistant Coach of the Year - Schwartz could be in ideal position for a Head Coaching job. If we lose him to that, Mike Vrabel is the ideal solution. He's a great guy to have on board for this Defense. Our LBs in particular, could benefit from his wealth of knowledge as well as the entire front 7.

Yeah, I like the thinking about trying Jones at LT we've had some threads and more and more of us are starting to like giving this a shot at least. We'll see if the new OL Coach agrees with us. We still have have an extremely well paid, oft injured RT Jack Conklin coming off injury that could compete with others inclusive of Wills for the RT job. All 3 guys (Jones, Wills and Conklin) are coming off season ending injuries in 2023. It'll be interesting to see what happens. Like you said, you don't know without trying.

My turn. Ohio State has such a huge Monopoly on your brain that you'll never convince yourself you're happy that Michigan's only Championship this millennium needed to be dirty. Ohio State fans get to celebrate 2 really clean National Championships. There's nothing like it Woody! I understand why so you're so resentful. Cheers!

I hear ya CD! To be honest, I don't think putting him back to the RT position he played at Bama would make him any more efficient. He's definitely not what we want facing TJ Watt. I will say this - I liked that he let Berry defer a nice chunk of million$ to a later date so we could sign people.

Jimmy Johnson, I mean Jimmy Harbaugh, couldn't wait to get out of there. It's hard to keep the cheaters straight but they both did the same sprint to the NFL. All that and he only gave you 1 National Championship. Ohio State has 2 in the new millennium.

Welcome to the National Championship level for the 1st time in the new millennium. Ohio State has won 2 to your 1 which equates to twice as many as your team. And your dream year needed asterisks to get it done. Would you like to tell our audience what Jim Harbaugh's record was against Urban Meyer? We understand why you're still angry and envious of Ohio State! Ohio State is taking up a lot of occupancy in your little brain rent-free. How cool is that?

While you're changing your tampon - JJ McCarthy in a hurry to be the 4th or 5th or 6th QB drafted instead of the 1st next year tells me what it needs to. Did you want to tell the rest of our audience your Annie's Arbor Asterisks also have a defensive coach in trouble? 😁