Nice breakdown of the team

[ballpeen]

Sunday, January 25, 2009 1:19 AM EST

 

By JEFF SCHUDEL

jschudel@MorningJournal.com

 

FOUR weeks ago today the Browns played their final game of 2008 and, no surprise, the final game of the Phil Savage-Romeo Crennel era.

 

Enough time has elapsed to take a step back and do an objective analysis of the team Eric Mangini is inheriting, but rather than grade each player, this analysis will rank the various positions on the team from strongest to weakest with a review of 2008 and a look ahead to next season.

 

 

1.Tight end — Mangini wants to stockpile draft picks, a method that worked very well for his mentor, Bill Belichick. The Browns have a first, second, fourth and sixth round pick in April. They traded their third, fifth and seventh pick.

 

Tight end is the strongest position on the team because of Kellen Winslow Jr. He missed six games in 2008 and caught only 43 passes after totaling 171 in 2006 and '07. He butted heads with Savage and will be a challenge for Mangini. But it would be a mistake to trade Winslow unless the Browns can get a first-round pick for him, and that isn't going to happen. His right knee could go at any time, he wants a new contract and the one he is working on expires after 2010.

 

No team is going to give the Browns compensation that would equate to 80 catches. That makes Winslow more valuable than the pick they would acquire. The knee injury suffered by Steve Heiden Dec. 15 makes Winslow even less expendable. Heiden vows to be back for the opener in September, but there are no guarantees. Martin Rucker showed promise, but he needs another training camp.

 

 

2. Running back - Deciding whether Jamal Lewis should be his feature back in 2009 has to be a priority for Mangini. Lewis clearly didn't play as well as he did in 2007 when he rushed for 1,304 yards, the most by a Browns runner since 1965, but a lot went into Lewis' problems. The pass offense was a shell of what it was in 2007, so defenses could put eight men in the box. The offensive line didn't play well, so the holes were not big enough.

 

Sources say Lewis played hurt most of the year. Lewis emphasized "There is a difference between being hurt and being injured," but said he felt fine right through to the end.

 

Jerome Harrison proved a capable second back. He rushed for 245 yards on 34 carries and caught 12 passes after totaling 11 his first two seasons.

 

The Browns are deep at fullback with Lawrence Vickers and Charles Ali. Both can block. It will be interesting to see whether new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll uses Vickers as a receiver as much as Rob Chudzinski did. Let's hope not.

 

 

3. Defensive backs — There will be some argument here, but the Browns gave up 10 fewer passing touchdowns than they did in 2007 - 29 in 2007 and 19 in 2008 - and they swiped 23 passes. Eighteen of the interceptions were by defensive backs, led by Brandon McDonald with five.

 

McDonald and Eric Wright were second-year cornerbacks thrown into the fire. Wright started 13 games in 2007. He did not play well in December, and he knows it. He needs better coaching, or maybe it is more accurate to say he has to pay attention to his coaches. Evidence of that, McDonald went through a bad stretch but improved after employing the techniques Crennel taught him.

 

Strong safety Sean Jones is a free agent. He says he wants to stay with the Browns, but he'll go where the money is. He finished third on the Browns in tackles (82) despite missing four games recovering from knee surgery. The Browns will have to spend a high draft pick on a safety if they to do not re-sign him, so they might as well spend the money on Jones.

 

Free safety Brodney Poole is not an impact player, though he might be more of one if the Browns had a pass rush.

 

Depth is a major problem. Daven Holly missed all of 2008 recovering from knee surgery. His return would help, but he also is a free agent.

 

 

4. Quarterback — Crennel declared Brady Quinn the starting quarterback for 2009, but of course he no longer has a vote. Mangini was asked about Quinn and would not commit to the 2007 first-round draft pick from Notre Dame.

 

Quinn played in only three games before going on injured reserve with a fractured finger. Through no fault of his own, Quinn did not have enough time to prove himself. He was 1-2 as a starter and would have been 0-3 had Rian Lindell not missed a 47-yard field goal in Buffalo. Left unanswered were questions about his ability to throw downfield.

 

Derek Anderson's knee, injured Nov. 30 in the Indianapolis game, will heal before his confidence does. He threw 29 touchdown passes in 2007, but even then was convinced the fans preferred Quinn. He threw nine touchdown passes and eight interceptions in 2008. He was victimized by Braylon Edwards dropping passes and having no other competent receivers.

 

Ken Dorsey is a nice guy. He'd probably make a great neighbor and a good coach. But as a quarterback he is better off with a clipboard than a football in his hand.

 

 

5. Offensive line — We'll see how history plays out, but before the 2007 draft, Savage asked about 10 reporters individually who each would take with the Browns' first pick, the third overall. I piped up with Adrian Peterson, the running back taken seventh by the Vikings. About four or five others agreed. Some picked Brady Quinn and only one mentioned left tackle Joe Thomas.

 

Thomas is headed to his second Pro Bowl in two years, but he did not play as well in 2008 as he did his rookie year, and that started a chain reaction. Thomas and left guard Eric Steinbach are safe, but center Hank Fraley, right guard Rex Hadnot and right tackle Kevin Shaffer are not. It is difficult to replace three starters on the offensive line in one year, however.

 

Offensive line coach Steve Marshall said Ryan Tucker is the Browns best offensive lineman when healthy. Tucker, though, played in only one game - the 35-14 victory over the Giants. He missed the rest with injuries. Deciding whether he can count on Tucker for 2009 is another issue for Mangini to ponder.

 

6. Wide receivers — Collectively, this was this unit was the most disappointing of all in 2008 because it had so much potential. Joe Jurevicius being forced to miss the off season program because of a staph infection was a portent of things to come. He had seven operations in all on his right knee and had to miss the season while on the Physically Unable to Perform list. Jurevicius wants to play with the Browns in 2009; Mangini will be making a mistake if he decides to move on without Jurevicius. The Browns need his leadership in the locker room, and they could have used his 29 catches (50 overall) on third down in 2007.

 

I have been hard on Edwards. Running without shoes as he did in training camp was stupid. He didn't deserve to be spiked, but he caused his own problems and caused Anderson to be benched. But we all know Edwards is better than the player who caught 55 passes in 2008. He dropped 16 and still finished with 877 yards. He is entering his contract year. He put pressure on himself in 2008. With money on the line he'll be under even more pressure in 2009. He needs a chill pill instead of that energy supplement he endorses.

 

As for Donte Stallworth, he too has to write off 2008 as unlucky. He missed five games with a quadriceps injury and caught 17 passes.

 

The Browns don't have to blow up their receiving corps. If Jurevicius comes back and Edwards and Stallworth play like they're capable the sick offense can get better in a hurry.

 

 

7. Defensive line — Crennel and defensive line coach Randy Melvin deserve credit for getting nose tackle Shaun Rogers to produce consistently. New defensive line coach Bryan Cox is more of an in-your-face coach. Time will tell whether Rogers responds.

 

Left end Corey Williams battled shoulder problems all year. He had a half sack after seven sacks in 2006 and seven more in 2007 in Green Bay. He is more a 4-3 end than a 3-4 end, but Mangini will use the 3-4, so Williams will be in the same position in 2009.

 

The well is dry after that. Right end Robaire Smith is coming off a ruptured Achilles tendon. His replacement, Shaun Smith, has a big mouth, but like most trash-talking mediocre players he doesn't back up what he says with his play.

 

This area needs a serious upgrade. Savage had four years to improve the defensive line, and all he has to show for it is Rogers. Had he drafted Haloti Ngata in 2006 he would not have had to acquire Rogers.

 

8. Linebackers — The strength of a 3-4 defense is supposed to be the linebackers. The Super Bowl bound Steelers are Exhibit A. The linebackers are the weak link on the Browns and a major reason they were 4-12.

 

Not doing enough to improve linebacker was Savage's biggest failure as a general manager. The Browns have the fifth pick in the draft. Getting a starting linebacker with the pick is a must.

 

Willie McGinest and Andra Davis are free agents and in all likelihood will not be re-signed. Maybe the new coaching staff will kick Kamerion Wimbley's butt; the former regime kept saying how well he was playing, even when it was obvious he wasn't. The coddling did not work. Inside linebacker D'Qwell Jackson is better suited to be a middle linebacker in a 4-3 defense, but he is clearly the Browns best linebacker - 191 tackles in 2008.

 

Depth is a problem here, too. Leon Williams couldn't push out Davis. Rookie Beau Bell couldn't even get on the field with this sorry bunch. Rookie Alex Hall, an early flash, was invisible the last 11 games.

 

 

WE DIDN'T FORGET — Special teams: Special teams was really the best unit on the Browns, by far, but the unit has to be separated from the others because of the individual skills required by kicker Phil Dawson, punter Dave Zastudil and long snapper Ryan Pontbriand.

 

No player in the NFL is more exciting to watch than Josh Cribbs, whether he is he returning a kick, returning a punt or crashing into a returner from the opposing team.

 

If everybody on the roster played as hard as Cribbs did every game, the Browns would have been in the playoffs and Crennel would still be coaching. Unfortunately for the Browns, there is only one Josh Cribbs.

 

[Mr. T]

The 2 positions that stand out from this list is Wide Receiver and Safety

[ballpeen]

The 2 positions that stand out from this list is Wide Receiver and Safety

 

While the defensive backfield is rated as pretty good....it is thin and it stands to drop quite a bit once Jones leaves.

 

We don't have many options in that area.

 

[Sez.EJ]

He is right.. Resign Jones now and don't even let him hit free agency. We need to keep consistancy in the secondary. Those 4 starters work as a unit.. We don't have the draft picks to fill that hole.. No real free agents that would be an upgrade. We need to resign holley too. DL, LB, RB are the biggest holes to fill.

[Guest 88fingerslewy]

I agree.

 

'Cause if the QB's flat on his back or seeing a lot of pressure then the DB's won't feel like THEY'RE the ones that ALWAYS have to make the play. e.g. Romo having 8sec's to throw the ball. Both CB's going into their 3rd yr. I'm not worried about them.

[Flugel]

Mangini wants to stockpile draft picks, a method that worked very well for his mentor, Bill Belichick. The Browns have a first, second, fourth and sixth round pick in April. They traded their third, fifth and seventh pick.

 

This is WHY I thought many people continued to overrate the Hell out of Savage. Last year, we didn't draft until round 4 so when BOTH Bell and Rucker were injured - we basically only saw Alex Hall as offering value. Everytime I saw Rubin he was getting pushed around like a blocking sled. He wouldn't make any other team in our division so he's not worth the training camp cafeteria bill.

 

Now we lost 3 picks from THIS draft? That's called a GM in way over his head. That said, Savage didn't hire himself so I HOPE we hire the RIGHT guy this time.

 

I REALLY feel there has to be the right tagteam. Our previous scouts SUCKED at drafting 3-4 personnel so it explains why were so over-reliant on free agency (ie; Speegle, McMillan, Pittman, Purcell, Oshinowo, Hoffman and Rubin). Trouble with FA is that when you get an unmotivated player, injury or a guy who's upside was 10 years ago - you're screwed with cap jam (ie; Jason Fisk & Ted Washington) and you're right back to askign "who the Hell have we drafted in the last 4 years?

 

So this gets back to the tagteam - do you have the RIGHT evaluators looking at 3-4 front 7 personnel? If that doesn't improve, we're gonna be playing alot of musical coaches and reverting right back to pin the tail on the scapegoat.

- Tom F.

[Vegasdogg]

Our problems are DL and LB. Get two inpact players - a LB and DL - and we are a playoff team. Not elite, but playoff. The rest just needs a kick in the ass and some focus.

[Gips]

We need to secure jones and holly..period...and hope daven can get up to snuff after a years layoff..

We also need to see what bell has to offer and get rubin beefed up a bit to adequately back up rogers however rubin may better serve the browns if he is taught and moved to a DE position..

 

Purcells,hall.mohr and holloway may be some help to the defense under crennel these guys never really got an adequate chance to contribute so we cant be sure how they will hold up..

 

Sanders is a scorcher if he can learn to hang on to the ball..waived and waived again he rarely had a chance to turn his luck around...mangini has a lot of evaluation to do and film isnt going to help with a lot of it...

[ballpeen]

I agree on center for sure, and am beginning to think we will go that direction in round 2 and draft Caudewell of Alabama.

 

 

[Guest Aloysius]

Caldwell's an interesting option. Of the centers at the Senior Bowl, he & Eric Wood looked to be the guys most capable of taking on 3-4 NT's (then again, maybe that was because they didn't have to face B.J. Raji in practice).

 

Here's a scouting report on Caldwell:

 

Positives: Good height and plays with a wider base than his weight may signal. Excellent burst after the snap, getting up into his man very quickly to create a gap or pass protect. Strong enough to put tackles on the ground, but quick enough to get to the outside shoulder of either guard to help protect the quarterback. Strong, active hands to engage the defender and can drive defenders off the ball. Smart player who makes line calls. Adept at the shotgun snap. Durable. Four-year starter.

 

Negatives: Could be more aware and help the quarterback as plays break down. Lacks elite lateral quickness to get down the line or get to linebackers in combo or zone blocks. Lumbers a bit when trying to get downfield to block.

One other thing that showed up in the game and the practices: Caldwell struggled with quick interior rushers. Guys like Mitch King (Iowa) and Corvey Irvin (Georgia) gave him fits.

 

I think Caldwell would be more of an option if we trade down in the 2nd or somehow get a 3rd. But he'd be a decent option for us, especially because he could also play right guard.

[ballpeen]

I'd love Caldwell in round 3. Seems a little high at 36 to me.

 

I agree....he probably is.

 

Just speculating here....I think part of a trade for DA as a example...by picking up some teams 3rd rounder it might involve us swapping positions with someone in round 2....dropping down x number of picks

 

[Solon16]

I FOUND THIS ARTICLE VERY ENLIGHTNING ESPECIALLY THIS FACT.....A wow FACT IN MY BOOK CONSIDERING Edwards HAD ONLY 55 CATCHES ALL YEAR....." Joe Jurevicious(29 catches (50 overall) on third down in 2007.) 29 3rd down catches???/ I'll bet most of those were for first downs.....We missed him HUGE this year.

 

We also were Very lucky we stayed relatively healthy at corner, we have zero depth and personally think McDonald is a Nickleback in the NFL and a damn good one. Need another starting corner!

 

Linebackers? Bleegch!

 

DL is fine, Oline is fine...need a new Center but not huge need.

 

WR's are fine if we get JJ back...BE in contract year and will have a great year, cause he's about the money.

 

I Believe that after the LB position.....Running back is biggest need on this team....that and a Vet backup Qb. ( Grossman? )

 

P.S. the one two punch of Brandon Jacobs and Jerome Harrison would be a huge huge huge upgrade for the Browns...cut tippytoes loose give jacobs(low miles + lotso gas) the money, draft curry, jenkins, or maualuga or Brown Orakpo or whoever ON DEFENSE. Take Safety with second pick..... best corner avail in 4th. or (visaversa). Center or Guard with 6th. Yes I draft for need!