Written by Jason Askew

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What’s up Browns fans and fellow football junkies? As the “dawg days” of summer begin, my body can’t control the fever that comes over me, and that’s how I know it’s time to get to typing again because football is back!.

Rookies report in a few days (24^th) and training camp battles will soon follow, so I thought I would ease back into writing with a Kibble and Bits to get caught up on some of the offseason action and thoughts. Let’s dive right in....

Supplemental Draft     

I am sure most people know by now that the Cleveland Browns selected ex-Baylor WR Josh Gordon in the second round of the supplemental draft. Strictly from a strategic standpoint the pick was a great idea for a couple of reasons.

The first reason this was a good move is the age of our rookie QB (29 in October) means the Browns need to speed up the process of finding him weapons. If they think Gordon is a talented player they have accelerated his NFL learning curve by an entire year by taking him now, which could prove to be invaluable if he and Weeden prove to be good players.

The second reason is our roster depth. The Browns desperately needed to add more talent to the position group. And if the scouting department believes in Gordon’s talent then I have to assume they see similar attributes that they saw when the drafted WR Greg Little in the 2^nd round after he missed an entire year of football just like Gordon did.

If Gordon, who has a skill set that reminds me of Sydnie Rice, proves to be a down field playmaker,  I think Cleveland could have a group of WRs that compliments each other really well.

Gordon can play the role of the big WR who has excellent hands and good speed to make plays down the field….. Little can be the big strong WR that works the middle of the field, picks up big yards after the catch, and does all the dirty work….. Rookie WR Travis Benjamin can be the small speedster who can get behind a defense in a blink or create 1^st downs by using his quickness to get open horizontally. Together these players, combined with a good running game and a QB with elite arm strength, should give Cleveland the most explosive offense the Browns have seen since their return.

From a scouting standpoint the attributes that stand out to me when I look at Gordon as a prospect are his size to speed ratio, his hand size (10 in.), his arm length(33 1/8 in.), and his naturally soft hands.

Gordon’s measurables are impressive individually and would have put him in the top 10 at the scouting combine in just about every category, but the extraordinary part of his testing is the fact that he tests well in every category. He is the one of those rare WRs that posses elite size, tremendous athleticism, and naturally soft hands.

If you are looking for some player comparisons from the 2012 draft I would say Gordon is a cross between Alshon Jeffery(size/playing the ball in air downfield) and A.J. Jenkins (hands/plucking the ball). I have already made the NFL comparison to Sydnie Rice, and based on the numbers Rice put up for current Browns offensive coordinator Brad Childress when he was the head coach in Minnesota you should have faith Childress will take his shots down the field if Gordon can make plays on the outside.

I expect Gordon to feel his way back into playing football again and he may start off slower than some fans will like, but the guy has great receiving skills and I anticipate he will be a big factor in Cleveland’s passing game by the second half of the season.

Film Study

As I always do during the offseason I spent a lot of time watching the season over and over again with NFL Game Rewind on NFL.com, so I wanted to share some of the things I have written in my notes.

Before I get into the notes though I wanted to go on the record thanking the NFL for finally listening to my ranting and raving about them not making coaches tape available to the public. The fact that as fans we can now have access to the coach’s cam and over head views is awesome, and although I know it wasn’t because of my complaints I thank them.

I am really excited to have access to this view now so I can more accurately write about where plays are breaking down and how others have success. Being able to see an entire coordinated defense moving together, and allowing a better look at the windows a QB is given, should open up a whole new world for the NFL fan. It will give us so much more to talk about and it will also stop the guessing when it comes to coverages and patterns.

Offense

** Before I get into specific issues I have with how the players performed, I just wanted to note that when I watched the season over again the overall theme of the offensive failures seemed to be chemistry.

The statement isn’t earth shattering to those who watched the games this season, but when I watched the season again it was even more apparent that there was no chemistry on any level of the offense.

The offensive line (especially the right side) struggled mightily to get on the same page. The RBs had almost zero chemistry with the offensive line and the running game as a whole suffered from timing issues and a lack of understanding where the available yards were to be found.

The passing game was not in sync because the QB was never able to relax and play as he faced constant pressure, and the WRs and QB never got on the same page because there always seemed to be players playing in different spots which meant they couldn’t settle into roles.

The passing game also fell victim to a QB who wasn’t always accurate and didn’t put the ball in the easiest spot for the WRs to catch, but the WRs can take their share of the blame because often when he did deliver balls in tight spots the WRs would drop the ball.

All levels of the offense lacked chemistry, including the coaching staff which failed to realize their player’s strengths, and because of that they failed to put the players in situations where they could flourish.

Some teams have the individual talent that can offset some of the chemistry and coaching issues but Cleveland did not, so the offense wasn’t a cohesive unit, they had nothing they excelled at, and therefore they never had an identity.

** As I said earlier, Colt McCoy had pressure all season long. There were games I had to watch 3 and 4 times in an attempt to track all the pressure. It was that bad. McCoy won’t be the Browns QB of the future but watching the season back a few times I really gained a respect for his toughness and resiliency. He also showed a ton of athleticism while avoiding pressure.

Unfortunately for McCoy, all the pressure forced him to form some bad habits and it also exposed his size and arm strength issues.

Two things I think Cleveland will miss this year as we move on from Colt are his competitiveness and his ability to extend plays and pick up first downs with his legs. Two things I think won’t be missed are his lack of arm strength and his habit of bailing out of the pocket too quickly.

** RG Shawn Lauvao is not that good. Based on what I saw when I watched the season over a few times,  I think it is clear that out of the two young guards (Lauvao and Jason Pinkston) Pinkston is the more consistent player. Lauvao struggles with balance way too much, maybe it is just a lack of confidence for the first year starter but he really needs to get better if he wants to remain a starter.

Everyone knows the rookie Mitchell Schwartz is going to start at the RT spot but I wouldn’t be surprised if someone beats out Lauvao for the RG spot. When I watched the season again I realized he struggles horribly when a DT has quickness, and he gets beat way too much when DTs change direction. That surprises me since he played a lot of tackle in college. If any of the offensive line starters returning from last year gets replaced my money would be on Lauvao.

** LT Joe Thomas is without a doubt a top notch player at the LT position but in 2011 I saw him make more mental errors than I have seen from him in the past. He had some costly penalties called on him, but with that being said…..he still steps up and plays his best games against the best pass rushers in the league. When I watched him against the best, he performed his best.

** This offseason I also watched the Vikings from  2009 so I could try getting a read on what Brad Childress likes to do with an offense. The first thing that jumped out at me was the fact that he used mostly a single back set with a moving H-back to lead the play. He also used a lot of double TE and 3 WR sets which is common for the WCO. I think the role of a conventional FB will be scarce this year compared to last year, and last year it wasn’t even a huge part of the offense, so it just may nearly disappear.

I also saw how much Childress pressed the ball downfield. He had no problem letting Brett Favre stretch the defense on the outside with Sydnie Rice and Bernard Berrian. He had a field day with the underneath stuff to Percy Harvin and Visanthe Shiancoe with the TE Shiancoe also stretching the seams vertically.

Childress was by no means one dimensional as Adrian Peterson still had over 1300 yards and 18 TDs. Peterson and backup RB Chester Taylor also combined for almost 90 catches. The reason why that 2009 offense for the Vikings was so good is the balance they had. As teams pushed up in the box to stop Peterson, Favre and Rice made them pay by going over the top.

If the Browns are going to have success in 2012 on offense it will be because the offense is balanced with a good running game and a passing game that capitalizes off of one on one situations. If Josh Gordon or Greg Little emerge as down field threats this offense will be much better than most imagine, and Childress is not “conservative” if he has the weapons to strike down field.

Film Study Defense

In 2011 the Browns had a good defense but watching the season over again I realized that they were a few turnovers away from being a great defense. Good defenses are fundamentally sound, tackle fairly well, they don’t make many mistakes to beat themselves, and they usually play really well in the red-zone. Great defenses do all of those things I mentioned but they also create turnovers which either directly lead to points by them scoring or sets the offense up in good situations that lead to points.

The Browns were a few plays away from being great and I really believe that will be a point of emphasis in 2012. If the Browns can capitalize a few more times when the opposing offenses make mistakes the defense will go from good to great in 2012.

** Joe Haden is a player I criticized in preseason last year for trying to make big plays on every play. I thought he was doing too much baiting and peeking in the backfield, but once the season started he really focused more on keeping WRs in front of him and breaking up passes.

I was pleased with the amount of times he got his hands on balls to break up plays but I now am complaining that he was too focused on breaking up plays and he failed to focus on catching some of the balls he got his hands on.

This year Haden needs to find the proper balance between staying disciplined and breaking up passes with being aggressive and creating turnovers. The great CBs in this league can do both. Watching the season over again I realized that there were a lot of balls that could have been intercepted and not just the ones he dropped. I am talking about some of the balls that he smacked to the ground and never attempted to intercept. If Haden begins to make some of these plays there is no doubt he will get the national exposure he deserves.

** Dimitri Patterson was outstanding in the slot. He took almost every slot WR Cleveland faced in 2011 out of the game. He did a great job of helping the defense get off the field on 3^rd downs. He performed well on the outside when he played there but he was outstanding against slot players.

** T.J. Ward on the other hand was not an impact player in 2011. Injuries aside, when he was on the field he was inconsistent. I thought Usama Young played just was well if not better than Ward did at strong safety. Ward needs to step his game back up this year and he certainly needs to find a way to stay healthy.

More than anything, the thing that jumped out at me as I was studying Ward was his tendency to leave his assignment in attempt to make a tackle. There were too many passing plays where he got nosey and lost his man resulting in a completed pass to his responsibility. I am really looking for Ward to bounce back and have a good year because the type of defense Cleveland plays is tailor made for safeties to have big impact plays, and that is what I expect out of a player with Ward’s ability.

** Weakside LB is a position this defense needs more production from. It is pretty clear on tape based on the gap responsibilities that this defense is set up for the MLB to rack up tackles, but it is also clear that the WLBs struggle to make plays when given the opportunity.

On plays that go to the strong side I understand the WLB has backside responsibilities but on running plays designed to attack the weakside, Chris Gocong and Kaiuka Maiava failed to make impact plays. Part of their responsibility is to smash the lead blocker or blow up the guard but if they use the correct shoulder they should be able to handle their responsibilities and make tackles as well. There were plenty of plays I saw that could have been negative running plays or small gains but the WLB failed to make a play. That position needs improvement and I can see why the Browns drafted two LBs.

** It was also clear after re-watching the season why Cleveland signed DE Juqua Parker. The Browns basically got zero pass rush from the RDE position. The only time the position produced sacks is when pressure came from the opposite side and flushed the QB into their laps.

A healthy Marcus Benard and savvy veteran Parker should help the defense tremendously in sub packages because both players know how to get the QB.

** Schematically I think Dick Jauron did a great job of mixing in some zone pressure schemes from time to time and he also did a good job of blitzing the secondary in nickel and dime defenses. It kept the offense thinking and it also was effective the majority of the time because it wasn’t overused.

I really like the concept Cleveland used on defense of getting really good front four players to generate pass rush instead of using a ton of gimmicks, because that way you can drop 7 in coverage. When you can cover with 7 you open the window for many more coverage combinations and you also narrow the throwing windows for QBs. Personally I prefer less complicated schemes so the players can play fast and aggressive, but in order for that to work you need playmakers and difference makers up front.

Around the League

** I agree with ex-NFL RB Derrick Ward who tweeted a message calling the NFL players who get DUIs “stupid” and pleaded for them to stop. Anyone can make a bad decision once you have had a few too many adult beverages, but they should simply not put themselves in that situation. Know what you are going to do and make arrangements beforehand or take a taxi. Sure it isn’t cool or fun but at least you won’t end up living with someone’s death on your conscience like Dante Stallworth or Leonard Little, and when you are worth millions because of your body and what you can do with it…….it is pretty dumb to constantly put that asset at risk. The window for NFL players is small and they need to sacrifice for that time period.

** As training camps around the league start to open I am excited for to see how some of the position battles around the league pan out. I am intrigued by the thought of watching the QB battle unfold during HBO Hardknocks…..I am also interested to see who wins the QB battle in Seattle…..Another thing I will have my eye on is Peyton Manning’s health. If he is even close to healthy the Broncos will be instant contenders with the way they play defense…….I will also be checking out the Cardinals camp, I know there will be a push for Kevin Kolb to start since they paid him that bonus this offseason, but watching the games last year you could clearly see John Skelton played better than Kolb…….The last thing that really interests me is the Chicago Bears offense. If they can put points on the board with their new weapons in the passing game that team could easily win the Super Bowl. They have a healthy balance of young talent and veterans that can win a championship.

** Power rankings are really a matter of opinion, especially once you get past #12, and I really like the content of the website Pro Football Talk, but I don’t understand how in the world they can rank the Minnesota Vikings ahead of the Browns on their preseason list. The Vikings had the 21^st best defense in yards allowed last year and Cleveland was 10^th. Our defense clearly played better than theirs and if Adrian Peterson isn’t healthy to start the season they won’t score any points.

The Vikings look terrible right now and the Browns should be better than last year. The only thing I can think of is that they are still mad Tony Grossi got taken off the Browns beat….eventually they will have to get over it.

O.K Browns fans this thing is long enough so be on the lookout for my division peek and my training camp primer which should be up soon..…..Until next time…….Go Browns!

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