What I saw in preseason game one

[Guest Masters]

Well I thought I'd chime in and give my take on what I saw in last nights preseason game. I was sure to keep a few things in mind while watching this game a.) It was against a team CLE will play in the regular season. b.) This is game one under the new system on O and D c.) It was quite obvious and should have been expected that CLE was going to focus on situations and recognitions over scheming.

 

The D:

As a whole, it is hard to judge or draw any true conclusion of what they will look like as a whole unit come regular season. The D looked pretty scripted. It seemed to me they were working on basic package/sets, along with recognitions of run/pass and O blocking schemes. There was a lot of guys moving, showing of blitz (while not actually blitzing), and then drop backs into zones. CLE did blitz a couple of times and it was good to see it wasn't always coming from the edge. The few times they actually blitzed, I saw Jackson used, and safties used. Rogers played only on the first series, so that also changes things dramatically up front. Now I am only really talking first half D. The second half was a D filled with guys fighting for roster spots. But I will say that if that whole unit or large chunks had to play, CLE won't stop any running game.

 

Some individual defenders I noticed:

 

Eric Wright - He is obviously a year more seasoned and showing it. On the play where GB tried to go deep to Jennings, Wright had man coverage and played it perfectly. He didn't try to peak back and look at the ball. Instead he now stayed running with Jennings and waited for him to look before he did. That allowed him to be right in Jennings lap to knock the ball away, while avoiding any chance of pass interference being called. Additionally he used the savy vet play of actually using the sideline as a defender. The whole way down the field Wright slowly drifted forcing Jennings to move closer and closer to the sidelines. This to me is a really good sign of growth in Wrights game.

 

Wimbley - So I see mixed reviews here today on him. I saw mostly good from Wimbley and think he will play a big part in CLE's D success, should they have it. He was moved around and sent from multiple areas. So none of the old line him up over the LT and TE then send him. He is obviously working on a bull rush and using it in the game. While he didn't have success in sacks, he used another way to get there. His hand work on the bull might need some work still, but he was moving the LT back and toward the QB. I don't see him being the same one dimensional player this year.

 

Rubin - Looked like he is developing into a good back up NT. He showed power and quickness multiple times.

 

Cory Ivy - I shall say this now, if he makes the team and playing time, we have our token Cousin/Ralph Brown DB. The guy was just terrible. He cost the D yards two times with just dumb play. He should be the first DB on the cutting block.

 

Francies - This kid looked pretty promising. He plays physical, can finish a tackle, and always has his eyes on the ball.

 

Mosely - Around the ball a lot. Not sure why he was having to play with other guys so far down the depth chart. He will be a regular rotation player this year.

 

The Offense:

They showed a little more than the D, as far as what they are trying to do. This was a different approach to preseason than we saw under RAC. Rather than looking scripted as far as plays/formations they were trying to work on, it looked more like work at recognizing the D and adjusting properly. You can see under the new offensive plan they are giving the QB full freadom to read the D pre-snap and audible plays based on what they saw. They couldn't have picked a better opponent for this, as GB showed and brought the blitz a good amount of the time. I'll elaborate when I talk each QB. The offense is very much geared toward ball control, with taking what the D is showing/giving. They are going to rely on quick strike passes and hot reads. This O will require a QB who is able to effectively read the D.

 

The running game still has issues. Lewis did a good job of fighting and bullying his was for yards. The line is not opening any holes. There is a lot of work to be done here. The pass blocking and blitz pick up was actually quite good for the first team offense.

 

Some Offensive players I noticed:

 

Lewis - We complain a lot about his stutter stepping behind the line, but when there are no holes, he doesn't mave much choice. How much he has in the tank is in question, but he can still run through a tackle and turn 1 yard into 4 yards.

 

Edwards - Unfortunately he didn't get a lot of looks until that redzone visit in the last minute of the first half. I am not going to get all over BE for the dropped TD catch. If he is a #1 and wants to be an elite NFL WR, he has to make that catch. But, that's not an easy catch for anyone so I am letting it slide today. Now if that was a real game....

 

Furrey - This guy is going to be the slot WR. He has all the skills and looked very good last night. He can get just enough seperate and isn't afraid to go through the middle of the field.

 

Harrison - The question of him being able to pick up the blitz looks silly now to me. The kid did a great job of picking it up and had no problem doing it. I would have liked to see him get touches with the first team. It's hard to judge him rushing behind the even worse run blocking second team Oline. He showed good cuts and recognition.

 

Davis - Do we have another Gay practice player ledgend? For all the hype I keep hearing of how he looked in practice, it didn't show up under the lights. He has some serious issues picking up the blitz and I saw no run recognition. Maybe it was first game jitters, maybe just a sum of what else was round him. But color me unimpressed.

 

Cribbs - I love the ball in his hands and he showed what can happen when you give him the damn ball. But, he is not ready for prime time at WR. He doesn't seem to read/recognize coverage well as a WR (probably didnt' as a QB and that's why he ran so much at KSU). A prime example of this is the first CLE drive. On the 3rd down play that ended the drive, Cribbs has to recognize that defense as man. If I can read it from the snap, he should. Quinn read it perfectly and tried to lead Josh on an out. Josh instead turned and setup in zone whole that didn't exist because it wasn't zone.

 

And now the QBs:

 

Quinn - We only had two series to look at, and if I saw right, this was a test of the QBs ability to run the O, not certain plays. Quinn showed what many have talked about with him. He is a smart kid and understands how to read a D and adjust to it. He showed good presnap recognition and the ability to audible to the correct play, and correct pass protection. He new where his hot reads were and hit them. I think he also again should have silences some questions on his arm strength. He had one throw where he fit the ball between defenders. He had another to Furrey in tight man coverage on a slant. It was where only Furrey could get it. Quinn did a nice job of moving the O on the first drive and in the two minute offense. He has obvious control of the O, understands the O, and how to apply that against what he sees the opposing D doing. He also showed great feet and presence in the pocket. He also kept the chains moving on 3rd down. Something the O doesn't do a lot under DA.

 

Quinn did have two gaffs. The first was the throw when the blitz got to him. That throw away could have been picked easily. You can't do that. He has to remember to eat that ball and play another down. The second was the pick in the endzone. Aside from the obvious "you don't give away points", the real issue I saw on that play was bad habits creaping in. While his foot work and throwing mechanics looked good in the limited time, he fell into the bad jump throw habit. That pick was a direct result of him doing that. He hopped up on one leg for that throw and it took the power off the throw. That allowed the DB to get that ball. Quinn needs to set his feet and fire that throw in there if he is going to even try that pass. The coverage was tight, but a good throw gets to the WR.

 

Anderson - Well, its a little hard to outright judge since he didn't have many opportunities. Though some of that is on him. You got to move the chains and he didn't. DA did not look comfortable reading the D or changing plays. While he seems to recognize blitz, he doesn't seem to under stand the right reactions to it. He still stares down his primary target and likes to force the play. An example would be the swing pass to the back. You could see from presnap to after the snap that play wasn't going to work and their was man to the outside. DA or who ever is the QB has to recognize this and adjust accordingly. While a play has a primary receiver, you are allowed to check to one of the other guys. The pick on DA, while one can say he got hit, it was still a bad play by DA for two reasons. One, he completely failed to read the blitz and adjust to it. He didn't adjust his blocking for it, or adjust the routes for it. You got that many guys coming, you don't stay with a slow developing fade down the sideline to Cribbs. Secondly, even if DA doesn't get hit on that play, it still has a good shot of being a pick. He through into double coverage. You got a blitz coming from the left size, there is man coverage some where over there. Go to that. Not the WR with a DB and a saftey over the top of him.

 

So that's about it. Just one mans take on a pre-season game.

[damajuki]

Mik, great post. Thanks for taking the time.

 

I watched only the first half so far. I watched the offensive series and the D in fast forward. Watching in fast forward actually does show you some things that you don't see as clearly at regular speed, like, for example, where the balance of action is in a set of plays (backfield, line, downfield). No surprise, things were mostly moving downfield on us. That was all I was interested in for this game.

 

I was most interested in the O and the QBs and WRs especially.

 

The line was just okay in the running game but pass pro looked pretty good, I thought. DA made them look bad, BQ made them look better.

 

Furrey looked GREAT with BQ out there. He will be our Welker if and when BQ is named the starter. He will be Mike Furrey just running around if DA is named the starter.

 

Cribbs looked good and I liked how often he was out there and how they were using him. He is a beast in the open field. That stiff arm at the end of the end-around was beautiful. DBs will NOT like tackling him out there.

 

BE was dreadful. Nuff said.

 

As for the QBs, it was obvious who the better player was and will be in this offense. If there was ever any question -- not to by me, since I can't stand DA -- about DA's ability to be THE QUARTERBACK (as opposed to just the gunslinger), his offensive series answered them.

 

The guy was just awful. AWFUL. Any kind of deception or pressure totally flummoxes him. Hell, just hearing the word "flummox" flummoxes him.

I truly don't understand how a supposed professional quarterback could look that bad in a preseason game.

 

BQ, on the other hand, looked like he knew what he was about. There is no denying the offense MOVES when he's out there. I honestly could care less at this point about the downfield thing. Move the damn chains and D's will have to start creeping up to stop you. Quinn will make them pay eventually but he will do so at the RIGHT time, as opposed to looking downfield constantly.

 

I loved the first first down pass to Royal (I think) in the middle of the field and that slant to Furrey was outstanding. Those kind of throws should win him the job.

 

The INT in the endzone was awful, without a doubt. But I think those kinds of things are borne out of this ridiculous "competition". BQ is trying to make plays instead of just making them. For example, anyone else think the middle of the field was there for the scrambling right there? I sure did.

 

This competition should end immediately after the Lions game, if not before. It's just goofiness, at this point.

 

DA showed he was DA, BQ showed he was BQ. What else is there to say anymore?

 

One guy has played and shown who he is. The other hasn't. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

[Gips]

Nice read and an accurate take masters...

[Gips]

Mik, great post. Thanks for taking the time.

 

I watched only the first half so far. I watched the offensive series and the D in fast forward. Watching in fast forward actually does show you some things that you don't see as clearly at regular speed, like, for example, where the balance of action is in a set of plays (backfield, line, downfield). No surprise, things were mostly moving downfield on us. That was all I was interested in for this game.

 

I was most interested in the O and the QBs and WRs especially.

 

The line was just okay in the running game but pass pro looked pretty good, I thought. DA made them look bad, BQ made them look better.

 

Furrey looked GREAT with BQ out there. He will be our Welker if and when BQ is named the starter. He will be Mike Furrey just running around if DA is named the starter.

 

Cribbs looked good and I liked how often he was out there and how they were using him. He is a beast in the open field. That stiff arm at the end of the end-around was beautiful. DBs will NOT like tackling him out there.

 

BE was dreadful. Nuff said.

 

As for the QBs, it was obvious who the better player was and will be in this offense. If there was ever any question -- not to by me, since I can't stand DA -- about DA's ability to be THE QUARTERBACK (as opposed to just the gunslinger), his offensive series answered them.

 

The guy was just awful. AWFUL. Any kind of deception or pressure totally flummoxes him. Hell, just hearing the word "flummox" flummoxes him.

I truly don't understand how a supposed professional quarterback could look that bad in a preseason game.

 

BQ, on the other hand, looked like he knew what he was about. There is no denying the offense MOVES when he's out there. I honestly could care less at this point about the downfield thing. Move the damn chains and D's will have to start creeping up to stop you. Quinn will make them pay eventually but he will do so at the RIGHT time, as opposed to looking downfield constantly.

 

I loved the first first down pass to Royal (I think) in the middle of the field and that slant to Furrey was outstanding. Those kind of throws should win him the job.

 

The INT in the endzone was awful, without a doubt. But I think those kinds of things are borne out of this ridiculous "competition". BQ is trying to make plays instead of just making them. For example, anyone else think the middle of the field was there for the scrambling right there? I sure did.

 

This competition should end immediately after the Lions game, if not before. It's just goofiness, at this point.

 

DA showed he was DA, BQ showed he was BQ. What else is there to say anymore?

 

One guy has played and shown who he is. The other hasn't. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

 

Mangini is still hopeful that DA will outperform BQ next week and he will give him the reps to do it and then name DA the starter and all of cleveland will sing gleefully as one united under an 0-16 team..hehehehehe

 

Seriously this competition is over if mangina keeps it fair..BQ looks like a balanced focused nfl quarterback with only 3 starts under his belt he will get much better and DA looks like DA...

[Legacy Fan]

Nice write-ups fellas.

[Earl34]

Nice post. If the QB competition is truly fair then there should be no doubt that each guy got a fair chance to show what he could do. At the end of the day, you have to have shown equivocally on the field that you deserve it...otherwise the coaches will just choose a guy because you guys are the same.

[Guest Aloysius]

Davis - Do we have another Gay practice player ledgend? For all the hype I keep hearing of how he looked in practice, it didn't show up under the lights. He has some serious issues picking up the blitz and I saw no run recognition. Maybe it was first game jitters, maybe just a sum of what else was round him. But color me unimpressed.

It's interesting: for all the talk about Davis being a 6th round steal, he was outplayed last week by all of the other 6th round backs:

• Aaron Brown (Lions): 6 carries, 47 yards, TD; 2 catches, 51 yards, TD

• Bernard Scott (Bengals): 6 carries, 30 yards; 1 catch, 12 yards

• Cedric Peerman (Ravens): 4 carries, 9 yards, TD; 2 catches, 19 yards

• James Davis (Browns): 2 carries, 5 yards; 1 catch, 6 yards

I watched the Bengals and Lions games: Brown and Scott look like pretty nifty change of pace backs. Brown's kind of like Leon Washington with a more elongated build. Scott plays much bigger than his 5'10", 200 lbs. size. Were he not such a headcase, he easily could have been a 3rd round pick.

 

Hopefully, Davis will get more opportunities this week and prove to be better than both of those guys.

[Fooleeze]

Regarding Wimbley, I remember watching one play specifically where he was working on the "Bull Rush" off the left side. In that play Wimbley got the better of the O-Lineman, and he got held. Then when the QB felt the pressure and rolled out, Wimbley broke away to pursue, but the O-lineman ended up pushing Wimbley in the back (block in the back) and got him off balance.

 

Now of course neither of those penalties were called, but. . . my point, really. . . is that Wimbley is creating enough havoc with that rush to force the O-lineman to take 'drastic' measures to stop him. That's going to pay off in the long run, either by causing more penalties, or those times that Wimbley does get through.

 

In my opinion that's a really good sign!

 

 

[Guest Masters]

Regarding Wimbley, I remember watching one play specifically where he was working on the "Bull Rush" off the left side. In that play Wimbley got the better of the O-Lineman, and he got held. Then when the QB felt the pressure and rolled out, Wimbley broke away to pursue, but the O-lineman ended up pushing Wimbley in the back (block in the back) and got him off balance.

 

Now of course neither of those penalties were called, but. . . my point, really. . . is that Wimbley is creating enough havoc with that rush to force the O-lineman to take 'drastic' measures to stop him. That's going to pay off in the long run, either by causing more penalties, or those times that Wimbley does get through.

 

In my opinion that's a really good sign!

 

I saw that play as well. We'll see how it shapes out when they play real games.

[ballpeen]

Ok...watching the game right now....so a few comments on players.

 

Francics....he makes the team....he is NFL quality

 

Bernard....he makes plays and will start one day.

 

Walker...a former Gator...he will be our starting TE in time.

[Riffer X]

Ok...watching the game right now....so a few comments on players.

 

Francics....he makes the team....he is NFL quality

 

Bernard....he makes plays and will start one day.

 

Walker...a former Gator...he will be our starting TE in time.

 

Every year there is a white TE in camp that tears it up and then gets cut, but I do like the Gator boy.

[ballpeen]

Also....Ratliff didn't look like garbage as some said....he has some po

[ballpeen]

Every year there is a white TE in camp that tears it up and then gets cut, but I do like the Gator boy.

 

No reason not to like like him. He is 270 lns, runs well, and catches the ball. He may not be overly athelitic, but he is going to catch the balls he should....he beats out Rucker.

 

Think Milt Morin.

[Guest Masters]

Also....Ratliff didn't look like garbage as some said....he has some po

 

He certainly didn't look like garbage. But he also didn't look ready for prime time either.

[ballpeen]

He certainly didn't look like garbage. But he also didn't look ready for prime time either.

 

No doubt.

 

[daddybull1]

For what it's worth, I saw the same players of last year making the same mistakes again this year....

 

I saw a very slow football team, no speed on both sides of the ball....

 

I saw players thinking rather than playing, maybe they are just not ready yet....

 

I saw no sense of urgency, no intensity, no attitude, a very stoic team...

 

I saw too many cuddly teddy bear tackles rather than in your face, knock you on your ass encounters....

 

As Bernie said, there are no playmakers, somebody needs to step it up.....

 

Peace

 

T.Dawg

[Flugel]

As Bernie said, there are no playmakers, somebody needs to step it up.....

 

Peace

 

T.Dawg

 

He must have been sound asleep when Cribbs was out there. If I wanted the definition of playmaker that night it was Cribbs.

 

Speaking of Cribbs, remember when everyone said we had nobody to replace Northcutt in the return game? Somebody worked with him daily on the return game and BINGO. I think the same thing can happen if we ever decide to make him a WR fulltime.

 

If you want an elsuive athlete in the open fields when teams are zone blitzing us - he's intriguing.

- Tom F.

[AZBrowns]

He must have been sound asleep when Cribbs was out there. If I wanted the definition of playmaker that night it was Cribbs.

 

Speaking of Cribbs, remember when everyone said we had nobody to replace Northcutt in the return game? Somebody worked with him daily on the return game and BINGO. I think the same thing can happen if we ever decide to make him a WR fulltime.

 

If you want an elsuive athlete in the open fields when teams are zone blitzing us - he's intriguing.

- Tom F.

 

 

Who knows? Eric MEtcalf was more of a RB/PR/KR in Cleveland, then moved to WR in ATL perminantly and caught over 100 balls that year. If Cribbs could just hold on to passes, he could be dangerous.

[Riffer X]

He must have been sound asleep when Cribbs was out there. If I wanted the definition of playmaker that night it was Cribbs.

 

Speaking of Cribbs, remember when everyone said we had nobody to replace Northcutt in the return game? Somebody worked with him daily on the return game and BINGO. I think the same thing can happen if we ever decide to make him a WR fulltime.

 

If you want an elsuive athlete in the open fields when teams are zone blitzing us - he's intriguing.

- Tom F.

 

I'm going to come out and say it: THEY SHOULD START JOSH CRIBBS OPPOSITE BRAYLONS.

 

While they're at it, they should give him a new contract if they do. I just saw him on the STO Camp Show and I had an epiphany---he is now officially my favorite Brown. He went ahead of Joe Thomas.

 

Like Flugs says, it's time to recognize the guys who want to be here and can make plays. With Furrey in the slot and Cribbs and Braylons, there's a little fear factor there for opposing D's. Next step would be to give Harrison the bulk of the backfield action to really spread defenses out.

 

Queen can get guys the ball, especially in space with room to run, so why not Cribbs? He's come a long way in one year at WR, especially given that RAC 'n ROLLS didn't give him many reps even in practice. I want to see the team start being proactive and utilizing the talent they do have.

 

Teams are still going to double Braylons regardless if he is in head up ass mode, thereby leaving Cribbs in one on one matchups where he can break tackles. As we saw in the exhibition game, it took a facemask to even get him down after a seam route slant. He may have a boo boo here and there, but no more than one of the rookies will.

 

I say go for it.

[ballpeen]

I say go for it.

 

Me too.

 

Anytime we crossed our 40 and had 4th and 2 or less....go for it unless protecting a lead.

 

Anytime you cross the 50, it becomes 3 yards.

 

Teams give up a offensive play way too often IMO.

 

If you don't think you can make 2 yards more often than not, you must not think much of your teams players.

[Timugen]

Me too.

 

Anytime we crossed our 40 and had 4th and 2 or less....go for it unless protecting a lead.

 

Anytime you cross the 50, it becomes 3 yards.

 

Teams give up a offensive play way too often IMO.

 

If you don't think you can make 2 yards more often than not, you must not think much of your teams players.

 

 

I strongly agree with this in principle, but would generally want to be in plus territory before going on those d/d's.