Flugel

History has a way of repeating itself with guys like this. Right Josh? Josh? Oh wait, he got saved in NE. Ooooppps, a chorus of Budweiser Frogs want to correct me with YEAH BUT. They are correct. Josh got suspended again even in Camelot last year; but NE welcomed him right back for the 2019 season. Previously suspended for PEDS but later Pedestaled for his Superbowl Heroics - Julian Lancelot-Edelman would like to Coyote Ugly off his "Thank You Cleveland" comment for adding Josh Gordon; but receiving the new millennial Tommy Chong. Now Seattle gets to pretend he's a great teammate for a little while. Meanwhile, Callaway went from Gator Done to getting cut by the only team on draft day willing to say "we believe in you." Don't worry, the same NE Patriots that saved Ochocinco and Josh Gordon will successfully install a 2nd brain cell and a very 1st football heart in Callaway. Stay tuned? Why not????

Last year's Baker would have had the confidence to exploit the WR breaking free Harris on the perimeter for the game winning points. This year's Baker threw a bad pass to a double covered Jarvis Landry. Game over! In high school back in 1980 and 1981, the team I played on in Western NY (Fairport High School) made it to the sectional finals in both seasons I played Varsity. We did this with a HC that said you WIN and LOSE games during the practices before the games. If we fail to prepare we should prepare to fail. AND, we're always only as good as our last guy (which is the guy flagged for not doing his job). The teams that are fundamentally sound and know their assignments to DO THEIR JOBS - tend to get penalized less,commit less turnovers while being opportunistic with miscues and bad tackling from their opponents. They tackle, stay with their blocks and protect/secure the ball (and keep it in their arm closest to the sideline). FWIW, all throughout NE going 8-0 - Tom Brady hasn't exactly been on a record setting path for TD passes (but he does maintain a good TD to INT ratio). And, it's not like they haven't had multiple injuries to their OL and WR Corps. The 1 week NE got sloppy/forgetful of their winning formula - they got Rathoused in Ratville. As a result, they were the team turning the ball over. A 60 minute game always looks like it's the team that makes the BIG plays that wins the game. No argument with that; but when you don't turn the ball over or serial kill drives with penalties - all those little things GIVE you more opportunities to make the BIG plays. The biggest reason winning teams don't have to repeat ad nauseum "We have to stop shooting ourselves in the foot" is because they take care of that during the week of preparation. We had 2 weeks to prepare for NE on their short week. Which team repeatedly shot themselves in the foot and which one did not? The commentator said NE even practiced with soaking wet footballs, which tells me they were prepared for the weather and their ill-prepared opponent. Denver out-prepared us too (and they haven't even been a team that prepared well) until they faced a team even less prepared. As for your concern about players checking out early, has there been a players only meeting with this collection of players yet? They had one last year after the coaching change during the season which improved the leadership within and it helped the leadership on the sidelines as well. End result? We had a fun season that set our expectations higher than we usually set them for the next year. Let's hope our gut feeling is wrong here; and we get an 8 week rally this fan base totally deserves...

This feels like 1 of those Kit Kat commercials. I have a HUGE problem with that very last comment above. Go get an acre of coffee bean in you. FWIW, Robinson played a pretty good game last week with the exception of a sack that Baker had more than enough time to get rid of the ball on. While it looks like the offensive line is the biggest problem - keep in mind how much credit the OL was given last year when Baker got rid of the ball far more quickly, accurately and decisively. Baker hasn't been that guy at all so far this season (although there's 8 weeks to change that sooner than later). I wish the FO would have left the Offensive Staff in tact so we don't do what TN did to Mariota and given him a bunch of new systems he may not be compatible with all the while he has to de-program many of the concepts his previous coaches asked him to master. As we've seen in the NFL, there's a very short window in whether a QB emerges or fails out. Also, while we know Nick Chubb is #2 in yards after contact, you still gotta get a little momentum behind you to break all those tackles. I don't think we're that bad with run blocking and neither is Robin's son. I have had a cup of coffee or 2 or 3 so make sure you do the same before responding. Comprendsies?

Look Ice! Every time the Browns have a problem - Colin Cowerd gets another under wear change! You see, he really has a Wonderful Life...

With all the money dished out to gotta-have players - there's no the behind closed doors (players only) meeting that took place or is set to take place? Here's an appropriate line from a player in a football movie about bringing players and coaches from different neighborhoods and backgrounds together: "Attitude reflect leadership" I was wondering WTF is up with a guy like Higgins that helped Baker out in clutch situations when called upon in 2018. But apparently guys like Higgins and Zampese aren't worth the continuity to the #1 overall investment at QB. Yeah, just yank out the rug/foundation and start all over again. And look at all the wonderful alternatives to Higgins while OBJ draws the #1 corner with Safety help. If some of this is Dorsey's ego in the from of "I didn't draft Higgins" kind of thing: then Higgins' reaction to it on the sideline isn't the problem - it's a symptom. We're about 1-2 more disappointing game days from veteran players and their agents wanting out of here asap all over again. Then we get treated to all kinds of mysterious injuries sidelining veterans that were allegedly going to change everything. This puts us right back in the same boat, which is a safety canoe off the ship that just sunk. With the investments made at DE, they sure have a knack of losing contain and not getting to the depth of the QB dropback before clamping down and in. If they don't get to that depth and they take an inside angle instead - this allows running games to get outside easily rather than funneling everything back inside toward pursuit. When our DEs do get that depth and maintain outside leverage throughout the clampd0wn, now the ball carriers have to belly backward around our DE depth. This gives the pursuit much more time to get there for speedsters like Breida and more recently the Denver RBs that got outside early on. It's especially critical when the defensive scheme only fields 2 LBers much of the time. YES, Garrett gets his sacks and 1-2 pressures a game - but I'm not seeing a guy ready to be the reason we're winning (except for the Jets who everyone else beats). He's a #1 overall pick; but I'm not seeing a guy that dominates or takes over a game like a Reggie White or Bruce Smith (who rarely ever had to complain about being held). Garrett seems like a good kid. But all this hoopla about his fitness routines - aren't showing me the full game motor at all. All we heard all training camp and throughout the preseason was how GREAT and underrated this defense is. They're pretty amazing when there's no tackling. Having said that, when there is tackling - check out the missing fundamentals and/or how often guys aren't in position to make a tackle. The frequency of missing fundamentals and guys not doing their jobs enough to be in the right place to be helpful is why the volume of penalties persist here. Shortcuts get flagged. And, isn't it fun watching us burn a timeout because someone doesn't know how/where to line up? And how about when we don't have 11 guys on the field? Penalties are just a symptom of the bigger problem at hand - a complete lack of leadership on the field and the sidelines. That's very disappointing. NFL body by Anita Beer...

Me too! Especially 1 day after drinking depressants while watching the depressants. I know I know I'm such a bad fan wanting more than 0 playoff wins since the 94 season... This is the equivalent of someone watching the 1st Rocky Movie 16 times a year from 1977 through 2002 thinking there might be a different outcome. I never saw the different outcome btw. Gipper's cell phone lost and found - Can I help you? Can I help you?

Game day is a reflection of the practice week and preparation. If you never work on fundamentals, your QB tries to throw a pass during a backward leap or runs around in the pocket with the ball out and unsecured way too frequently for comfort. See turnover volume of Baker this year vrs last year. Is a ball carrier supposed to hold the ball in his outside arm closest to the sideline or his inside arms closest to oncoming pursuit? The answer to that is a basic fundamental that should be practiced in a 5 minute drill every day in practice so it's naturalized to instinct. See the fumble on Nick Chubb's long run vrs NE. That's a fundamental that either gets sharpened with repetition in practices or lost via lack thereof in use it or lose it. OBJ was also holding the ball out there to be swiped at yesterday but we were lucky that did not happen. If ball security was worked on - we'd give our opponents way less opportunity. That IS coaching like it or not. And not for nothing, when Freddie announced heading into the opener at "We've been preparing for TN for the last 3 weeks now" - it looked like they didn't know anything about TN. When you watched the game yesterday, what offense looked way better prepared in spite of a practice squad caliber QB getting his 1st NFL start? And what defense looked far better prepared? That IS coaching - convenient or not to your argument. If you fail to prepare - you should prepare to fail. If there's a major disconnect unfolding between the schemes and the players on the field - you see things like guys not being in position to make a tackle, defend a pass, apply a leverage or contain to reward pursuit... And when guys aren't tackling with their head up; or they arm tackle or they hit somebody too high - these are usually caused by not working on fundamentals. You can see teams that win a lot are more fundamentally sound than teams that lose a lot. Coaches SHOULD have a profound effect. There's games we have guys that don't know how to line up or we'll have to call time out because we don't have 11 guys out there. That's not a good reflection of the preparation. Bad actions get repeated especially when there's rarely ever any accountability for them. Is Freddie a likeable guy that would be fun to have a few beers with? Absolutely! But, is just being one of the guys everybody likes gonna get the job done? Like last year showed us, he can work well as an assistant. But, I'm seeing a guy on the sideline more concerned with the next play he needs to hurry up wire in to the huddle than a HC knowing when he needs to throw the challenge flag or not. He also needs to be seeing what is going wrong and coaching that up rather staying pre-occupied with being an OC concentrating exclusively on getting in the next offensive play. I'm basically describing a more likable version of Hue Jackson with far more talent to work with. I wish I saw evidence of reversing everything I mentioned but I have not seen it. The more this gets rinsed and repeated - the more he loses this team. This team doesn't look or play like it believes in the leadership. Some Head Coaches we all remember like Paul Brown, Lombardi, Landry, Walsh, Gibbs, Shula, and even Parcells who not only won a couple SBs but tutored SB winning coaches like Coughlin, Belichick and Payton. And why? They were teachers that thrived on fundamentals and made players which is referred to today as "DO YOUR JOB!" When Belichick says this - do you ever get the impression 1 NE Patriot hasn't been made aware of what he needs to do during the week of preparation? That's why their 8-1 while defending a Superbowl Championship during a dynasty.

If we're just going to hand off/pitch it to him or ask him to throw the ball in lieu of throwing it to him - it's a waste of time. Is that what the 49ers did with Rice 4-5 years into his career or did they tap the goodies he was born to showcase? That last play on offense epitomized where this team is going under Freddie and/or Monken. Meanwhile, it isn't like money well spent on our defensive line. Every week the outside contain gets sizzled, then they adjust and the shortage of LBers on the field showcases the vulnerability of the LBers. And for the of God, who in this organization thinks #35 is worthy of active roster, let alone starting job. Anyone remember the quality we used to have at the Safety positions in the 80s and 90s? Tackling has been a lost art here at the back end while all I kept hearing during training camp was how great this defensive front was making our entire defense. Was it really that or was it a sign of things to come about how disappointing this offense is being Coordinated by Dumb and Dumber. I read countless times last year how awful Jamie Collins was and he goes back to NE and playing like their Defensive MVP (with the exception of last night). There's a lot of players coming off promising football prior to this year that just woke up BAD football players in 2019? Is that what happened with OBJ or Baker? They're just bad players and they'll never play good football again? Or, are they just inevitable symptoms of a bigger problem? Talks shows don't want to bigger picture what's really wrong in Cleveland. They want it to be either Baker or OBJ so by all means feed the ratings of those hacks like the guy who started this thread always does.

Thanks for sharing that MD! Some random thoughts to add. The road before Baker was 0-16 and winless in 2018 until he entered his 1st game with a 14 point deficit and WON it. He then went on to throw 27 TD passes (an NFL record for rookie QBs) on a team that NEVER won without him. In a world where everyone wants to go from a crawl to a sprint immediately, the Browns went from 1-31 football to 7-8-1 during Baker's rookie season. They were 7-7 in the games Baker played. We could do worse. In fact, we always did... Since then, we've changed Baker's QB Coach, hired his 3rd OC (Haley, Freddie and Monken), and let the OL coach go that had this line playing well while Baker got rid of the ball quickly and accurately. My guess is we're not looking at an impossible fix unless we decide to do what TN did to Mariota (spot on analysis) by continuing to blow-up continuity with position/offensive coaches this team & QB responded well to.

The subject heading and post is TRYING to be patient? Why do I get the feeling you also really want to lead us directly into another Baker bash? Your favorite ESPN daily talk show host (and Supervisor at work?) must really appreciate all your efforts in here. Anyway, it was a GREAT move to sign him. His position coach that developed him at LSU for super-stardom is the WR Coach for the Browns. His college teammate/roommate was also here at the time heavily endorsing this franchise to his buddy. Think about that. A well respected veteran in the league )Jarvis Landry) came to Cleveland AND LOVED being here. We're not really missing Dwayne Bowe and Kenny Brat are we? Back to the college position coach being here. Find me a WR tandem in this league that blocks better on the perimeter despite their combined Pro Bowls from receiving numbers attained. I'll save you the time - there isn't one like it or not. That's not I-B4-Team that's Team-B4-I. Drawing double teams to free up others is more Team-B4-I. He's had some back shoulder drops and and a couple other drops on high passes that I could understand some frustration about. I think what's making more nervous here is the maturation unfolding without any complaints about the current situation. He's done everything that's been asked of him at a high level. He's drawn double coverage to make life easier on teammates; but I suppose you want us to blame him for Calloway's suspension and Higgins' injury preventing us from capitalizing on it. Or wait - you want us to give Baker a lot of the credit for not threading the needle in double coverage. Gee, we didn't see that one coming... 😄 There's 9 games left that don't include: the 49ers, Rams, Pa-try-its or Seahawks again. We're getting people back healthy on the perimeter and when/if they start making opponents pay for the attentions given to OBJ - that'll help. We even get our 1st round TE back for the final 5 games to improve the dynamics even more. While we're at it, Kareem Hunt catching passes out of the backfield also improves our pass game dynamics out there. Do you remember how many games this team won in 2016 and 2017? 1 out of 32 games, which conveniently gets forgotten in the ways someone has tutored you to view Baker Mayfield so you can join him in reminding Cleveland how much better Sam Darnold continues to be. The Jets passing game is absolutely slaying it this year... Both OBJ and Baker have put enough on film to show people what's possible if an Offense isn't coordinated by Hee Haw or Jeff Foxworthy punchlines... We've had 3 different Offensive Coordinators in Baker's first 14 starts, which means we might be giving the worst OC Baker has had the longest tenure of all as the beneficiary. We also lost the line coach and QB coach after 1 of the most enjoyable seasons we've had in a while.Make sense? It shouldn't. While I GET the frustration of losing in here - jumping on 1 inevitable symptom or 2 and pretending it's the entire problem is as wrong as a bird flying head first into a window (unless it's a Ratbird).

It's great to see you 2 sick bastards still going at it...

Thanks Gumbs! It's not out of the realms that ESPN has employees pretending to be fans to get/exchange information on websites of teams/players they want to target. It just seems strange anyone in here wants to turn the masses against Baker this fast unless of course their job needs them to. The alternative is a pencil neck like Coward announcing he's wrong about Baker which ends most opportunities for Jerry Springeresque like ratings. Every now and then I'll hear an ad with this voice that sounds like someone trying to drop a plop coated with razor blades announcing Cleveland is the armpit of pro sports while Baker can only beat cub scout troops. A TON of ESPN employees and other national media that were favoring Cleveland to go to the AFC Championship/Superbowl have now flipped it to "The Cleveland Browns were announcing to all who would listen they are going to the Superbowl." Not just being a homer here, but I haven't heard 1 Cleveland Brown announce in the off season this team is going to the Superbowl. That said, is there a better way for those in the National media to coyote ugly off their own predictions by projecting them off on a team that never said such a thing?

Why did you only show 1 tiny part of the presser? Look, I think we all miss the Baker that showed up here in 2018 with a mission to start and prove why he was a #1 overall talent. There was NO Heisman Banquet circuit in lieu of getting ready for the NFL draft and any/all workouts leading up to it. He was driven and not to be distracted. Then came some success in the form of the rookie QB record of 27 TD passes despite only 13 starts. To critics and hacks like Colin Cowherd, they NEVER want people reminded he did this for a team that was 0-16 the year before. They were also winless before he started in 2018 and set him up with a 14 point deficit the first time he stepped foot into a regular season game. He erased that and you know the rest. The ESPN hack with penis envy never WANTS to remind people of those realities throughout only dwelling on "Baker doesn't beat any good football teams." Not much different than your heading above and the small segment you only chose to share. Freddie and Baker busted Grossi's balls throughout OTAs and training camp; and Grossi was a damn good sport about it in my opinion (as 1 of Grossi's biggest critics). This time he busted Baker's balls and Baker didn't handle it well. I've seen Brady have tantrums and fits with media as well as reading his "everyone thinks I/we suck" throughout all the time NE cakewalks their division and the AFC. Doesn't make it right, but it does make me wonder if that happened more frequently to him - would he be any different than Baker was? What's happened with Baker since 2018? Countless Commercials, Getting Married, Bachelor parties, Honeymooning, Chugging Beer in front of the camera, etc. Sound like the 2018 version? It shouldn't. Furthermore, the organization also hired Baker's 3rd Offensive Coordinator before his 14th start and another Offensive Line Coach. Perhaps even more impactful is he lost the QB Coach (Zampese) who got him off to the great start. What endeared Baker to the fan base and teammates most was his ability to get rid of the ball quickly and accurately as well as that "feeling Dangerous" passion. Hard to feel dangerous when the offense looks unprepared for their opponents every week. Do you stop making penalties and turning over the football by saying it or by repeating repetition of fundamentals (ie securing the football in the arm closest to the sideline rather than dangling it out closest to the pursuit honing in on it?). Do the Browns play great situational football on Sundays by saying "we have to..." all week or actually practicing it? Do you say we can't false start or encroach or do you repeat stances and starts an/or firing off the ball on ball on movement? That's stuff we did every day in the 15 minute PRE-practices before practices loaded with repetition of fundamentals and preparation against the upcoming opponents. It doesn't look like this team works on fundamentals or situational football at all. It looks more like a lot of trial and error thrown into a blender wondering why the philosophy of Hue "I tell this team we have to stop the penalties and turnovers all the time - what more can I do?" How about understanding why you practice every day??? If you lead/sound like Gomer Pyle - you're gonna play like Gomer's pile... I feel bad I haven't had much time to chew the fat with y'all this year. My sister wasn't feeling well 1 day and while she was sleeping she vomited and this aspirated into her lungs. Luckily her husband came up to see why she didn't come down for dinner - and found her unresponsive while hearing a gurgling sound. They rushed her to the hospital and when she arrived - her heart stopped and then she was resuscitated. Anyway, they got her to a cardio-resp ICU with a very small change of living especially when infection was a challenge to control. They intubated/hooked her lungs up to life support (ECMO). They eventually gave her a trach to prevent further onset of infection as well as to lessen her sedation and remove some tubes. Her kidneys were also shutting down so she needed dialysis throughout the process. The 1 silver lining aside from the quality of care received was her lungs were responding surprisingly well to the treatment in spite of the hurdles. This all unfolded in early August. On Tuesday, it felt like a miracle unfolded for my family as my sister returned home to her husband and daughters. She'll still require dialysis and other ongoing care but she will deeply appreciate a quality of life nobody predicted back in August. God is great!!!!!!!!!!!

I gave him a break when this college football thread originally aired last November. Since somebody felt compelled to wake it back up this weekend for God only knows why - I showed up with caffeine and a desire to show off my speed reading skills. Unfortunately, those speed reading skills are about as impressive as that cell phone of yours telling you that November of 2018 is 2 years ago. That makes me the Ralph Kramden and you the Ed Norton of this thread. Last but not least, Alice and Trixie could have beaten Notre Dame yesterday...

There's always context that can be applied to the discussion you prefer to take out of context here. Can you point out 1 sober Ohio State fan bitching about how bad this Ohio State team is? I see some honesty about a guy that struggles in pass pro which doesn't imply the ignorance you want it to. There's been a lot of National Champions with 1 loss on their record, which implies they had a vulnerability that only 1 of 14-15 opponents was able to tap. This just in. Ohio State is undefeated! No excuses required or given. As we speak, Ohio State coming off a 38-7 win against the Wisconsin team that beat Michigan 35-14. While you're carrying on about Ohio State needing excuses for being 8-0 - let's not pretend Michigan fans don't blame Harbaugh's play-calling, key players being injured and officials for why they haven't beaten Ohio State since the onset of cell phone usage; or won any Bowl Games; and why they have a very forgettable record against high ranked opponents. You were a home crowd full of prayers away from losing to Army when they missed another place-kick as time expired. They outplayed you everywhere except placekicking. That's not exactly kicking tail against an opponent you're supposed to beat at HOME. You're prolly their only fan that was extremely proud of the day. If you think Ohio State fans are more terrified of Shea Patterson than Michigan fans, you need to put the crack pipe down...

When the NBA Officials started to have more of an impact on the game than the players - I stopped watching. If I wanted to watch fictional sports competition - I'd follow the WWWF. I'm really worried the NFL is going in that direction. Roger Goodfella really wanted the LA Market to have 2 teams. When he was constantly reminded that even the LA Rams that made the Superbowl couldn't sell out playoff games - he took his God Complex to the next level. That farce of a NFC Championship Game between the Rams and Saints had not 1, not 2, but 3 officials that live in LA on the officiating crew that just so happened to have the only humans in the country willing to claim they didn't see the blatant pass interference penalty. Roger's goal was met. There was 1 SB team and 1 playoff team now in the market. That reminded me a lot of the NBA... And what's up with multiple apology letters to the Browns about officiating blunders in games decided by those? I had to laugh about the stink people had about the 2 phantom head to the face penalties that went against Detroit which happened to be the 1st 2 times the guy got those penalties in his 6 year career (in the very same same quarter - you don't say!). BUT, the Aaron Rodgers' magic is alive and well so all is good....

You're welcome! And, you are correct about who his #1 fan was. I'll give a funny Conrad Dobler story that took place when he was allegedly winding down his career to the best of my recollection. There was a Buffalo Bill that was on a radio show after Conrad Dobler finished playing there. If memory serves me right it was OT Joe Devlin. And he was asked what it was like to be his teammate. He said "I'll give you an idea of how crazy and fun the guy was. He got me and a couple other guys to sneak out of training camp at night to the nightlife. Conrad would drink funnels with the kids at the bar, he would drink out of people's shoes and 1 cute girl got him to drink beer through her toes. He kept us out til the place closed; but he still woke ready up ready to practice early the next day." Then he was asked? Does he really bite people's fingers in piles? "That was only done to guys dumb enough to put their hands/fingers inside his helmet - where Conrad deemed it time to protect his eyes. Pretty smart when you think about it..."

What debate? I don't remember you announcing you wanted Quentin Nelson at #1 overall or #4 overall until this bout of hindsight 20/20. LT is even more important than LG in this era; and Joe Thomas played in how many Playoff Games because of our QB position? When I think of where we need to upgrade on our Offensive Line - I don't begin with LG Joel Bitonio. Our defense was also pretty talent deprived at covering people in the back end before Denzel Ward was selected at #4. FWIW, his blocked FG against the Rats was the difference between winning and losing to the Rats. Sometimes you have to wait longer than a guy's first 22 regular season games before you make conclusions about his career.

Glad I finished my beverage before I got to that last part. And who woulda thunk I'd stick up more for Trubisky in this thread than Hoorta...

I like him too Jigs! I'm hearing and reading a lot of good stuff about his leadership intangibles. Did you know the same LSU QB you speak of transferred out of Ohio State when Haskins beat him out last year? Speaking of the college QBs with limited starting experience - looks like Haskins should have stayed in school another year...

It looks like Baker had more of a Heisman Trophy-type Banquet circuit after his rookie year than he did the off-season leading up to the draft. He had to stay in shape, put football 1st in the off=season for the draft, and then he had to compete to start throughout training camp... After setting the rookie record for TD passes despite only 13 starts - Baker seemed to feel like he proved what he set out to prove. What came next? The volume of commercials NO Cleveland Brown ever has. Can we go a college football Saturday or NFL Sunday without seeing Baker in a commercial? He also got married this off-season. Last but not least, we landed OBJ which probably had him feeling Easy Street ahead. He also lost the continuity of the position coach that had him far more fundamentally sound than I've seen this year throwing off the backward hops while running around in the pocket holding onto the ball way too long (complete opposite of the guy that got rid of the ball quickly and accurately in 2018). He is NOT DeShone Kizer. Kizer's college coach said Kizer wasn't ready for the NFL Game. Baker's college coach said he was the ideal 1st round QB. As much as Colon Cowhyde's REAL Franchise QB Sam Darnold epitomized flawless passing despite watching The 13 Ghosts on every play Monday Night - Baker will find his way back to what has worked over the mental errors and evils of holding onto the ball too long. Trubisky led the Bears to what should have been the go ahead points in the playoffs before Parkey's foot parkey'd the Bears into hibernation. This year, his offensive line has been horrible while some of his favorite targets have missed games to injury. He's not a miracle worker; but I've seen evidence the Bears can win with him as recently as last year. Hey, I predicted Lamar Jackson would suck! How am I doing on that one? We can keep excusing every win they have - but once upon a time this guy won a Heisman Trophy regardless of the style of QB he played making Louisville far more relevant than you see them today. The same Seattle team that forced 4 turnovers on us - had ZERO solutions for him. Last year they were 4-5 with Joey Bottaflacco and they surged to playoffs after he took over at QB with the exact same teammates on offense and defense - hate it or not. They weren't keeping drives alive at all until the QB change, which got them all the way up to #2 in the NFL in rushing (which relieved tired tired legs on their defense to the extent both sides played better). YES, I know it wasn't passing but the change at 1 position cpr'd 4-5 football into 10-6 football. This year they're 5-2 even after the "wait til they play Seattle AT SEATTLE." While his style is high risk and reckless in every way - nobody ever gets a clean shot on him much like Russell Wilson behind a much better offensive line than Wilson usually has. If this was still the same NFL I grew up watching, I would be more inclined to agree with all those thinking he won't last - but it isn't... Good news? We kicked HIS asss into what I thought he'd be with multiple turnovers and horrible passing stats.

Sorry MD! I read your goodies after I posted a lot of the same stuff. I saw what you saw without drinking MD20/20...

BINGO! Although I didn't mind trading Duke. The interesting thing is both Hyde and Duke ended up where Fells is; and that offense is playing well utilizing all 3. Fells already has 15 rec 159 yards and 3 TDs in just 6 games. That's a much better projection than Harris is giving us with only 1 TD reception thus far... Seals-Jones is a former college WR that weighs about 240-245 lbs and he's more cut out for Njoku's role. This should get him more receptions than we expect from our 2nd TE that plays mostly in red zone and short yardage (which is where we had Fells). In fact, Seals-Jones had 34 rec 343 yds and 1 TD in 2018. That said, he already has 1 TD here with 10 games left. The question is - did we upgrade Darren Fells with Demetrius Harris in the short yardage/red zone area? He doesn't appear to be a better blocker than Fells. His first 4 years playing TE for KC he had never had more than 1 TD when/if he scored at all. The best season of his life was last year with 3 TDs to go with his 12 receptions on a playoff team in an offense the QB threw 50 TD passes. Meanwhile Fells had the same 3 TDs and 11 rec for a team that only won 7 games. In fact, Fells averaged more TDs per season than Harris during their first 5 years in similar roles. I don't remember our passing game struggling this much in the red zone last year...

Well said! And 1 comment I found interesting was that Freddie hired his staff because a couple fans I talk to always try to tell me they think Dorsey hired the OC. There's some people that are under the impression they didn't think Freddie got to hire his OC; but then again the OC we landed never got to call the plays as the OC for Dirk Koetter in Tampa last year. When Freddie also announced before the opener he will be calling the plays this year (and that he's earned that right) - that could have been why this guy was Freddie's fave. Having said all that, what's really changed drastically? QB Coach Ernie Zampese was replaced by Ryan Lindley and our Offensive line coach was replaced. Last year in here we always liked to see the refreshing sight of Baker getting rid of the football quickly; which made the line look efficient in pass pro. This year, Baker's mechanics haven't been nearly as good and is there a progressive read beyond the primary receiver? And like Bruce Arians said last week on the local radio I'm sentenced to - "Nothing good comes from a QB holding onto the ball too long (ie; unnecessary sacks and inevitable fumbles from a distracted QB as well as greater risk of injury). Our job is to fix that while we're listening to we don't know how to call plays." That's all fine and dandy unless it gets rinsed and repeated too many times... Another thing that messes with play calling (and vice-versa) is leading the NFL in penalties especially on a day you have 18 or 19 of them. When TN could only muster up a 2 point lead on us near the end of the 3rd Quarter - it felt like the Browns assured them with a "relax we'll beat ourselves for you!" Not for nothing - who was the knucklehead that kept putting Baker back out on the field in the 4th quarter when there was no longer a chance to erase the deficit? Keep in mind, we lost the LT and the first backup Tackle while we had to move Hubbard to LT and play a new OL from GB that is more cut out to be an OG. They were teeing off on Baker and we didn't have the brain cells on the coaching staff to do anything but risk injury to Baker? Scariest of all, Freddie said they had been preparing for TN for the last 3 weeks of the preseason... As for the LT position, throughout the 10 year career of Joe Thomas (w/10 consecutive Pro Bowl honors) - the volume of QBs we had that held onto the ball way too long here rarely prevented our offense from giving up large volumes of sacks throughout this duration unfortunately. Good news? 2018 has a tremendous amount of film/footage of Baker getting rid of the football quickly and accurately to the tune of 27 TD passes in spite of only 13 starts. While there was also 14 INTs, they sure felt a lot more forgivable than the sacks and fumbles in the pocket from holding onto the ball way too long. For some of our PFF pupils in here - does PFF credit an offensive lineman for the sack when the QB holds onto the ball longer than he should or does the QB get credited for the sack? My guess, is this offense should also be real good at setting up screen passes to off set some of this. Since we lack a reliable TE presence over the middle - I sure would love to see another bionic heart like that of Brain Brennan (who led our 12-4 team in 86 with 55 receptions almost exclusively on 3rd downs). No swag, no chirping,no threatening speed - just plenty of 1st downs from the grapefruits in his groin over the middle. That's what makes my football wood factor go from balsa to sequoia. So does a RB that leads the NFL in yards after contact with a 5.3 YPC average. While there's still plenty of season left, it's time to up the urgency in the level of preparation. I've been hearing excuses since 1999 so it's about time we expect more from this team and it's coaching staff on game days....

Once upon a time, I felt really bad for the city/loyal fan base of Baltimore when they lost the Colts to Indy. I thought the owner was an epic scum bag to do that to you guys. When the very next owner wired exactly like Irsay does the same thing moving his franchise from Cleveland to Baltimore - he's your hero? BTW, the Browns were 11-5 and beat the NE Patriots in a Wild Card Game just 1 season before Modell sold his soul. Modell being Modell, didn't think Belichick was a good enough Head Coach to keep. Just out of curiosity, what NFL Head Coach has the best record and most Superbowl Championships in the last 20 years? I'll give you a hint: he's not coaching in Baltimore... In their first 10 years of existence, the Cleveland Browns participated in every Pro Football Championship Game possible (winning 7 Pro Football Championships with 3 of those in the NFL). The Cleveland Browns only won 1 NFL Championship when Modell was here which increased their overall sum of Pro Football Championship Trophies to 8 up against 2 Superbowl Trophies for the Baltimore Ravens. What storied franchise would you rather be? I'll take the 8 Pro Football Championships...