Browns trade for Za'darius Smith
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Browns get smith 2025 6th and 7th
vikings get 2024 5th round and 2025 5th round
seems oddly similar, to what AB paid to get Deion Jones traded out of Atlanta... this years 6th & a 2024 7th..
Berry gets those picks back, along w/Smith..w/ a real cost of two 5th round picks in reality.. saving close to 4M while letting Deion Jones walk into FA..
gotta love media hot takes.... "Smith's agent was told to get him out of Minnesota"
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Definitely an on paper upgrade, but I'd be lying if I wasn't worried they are dealing with Clowney 2.0. Smith has had some less than ideal breakups with both the Vikings and Packers over the last two years, doing petty stuff on social media and the like. I get this is a one year "win now' move, but so was Clowney last year.
Maybe it's not as bad as Clowney, but IDK. Kinda feels like a "fool me once" scenario
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Definitely an on paper upgrade, but I'd be lying if I wasn't worried they are dealing with Clowney 2.0. Smith has had some less than ideal breakups with both the Vikings and Packers over the last two years, doing petty stuff on social media and the like. I get this is a one year "win now' move, but so was Clowney last year.
Maybe it's not as bad as Clowney, but IDK. Kinda feels like a "fool me once" scenario
Definitely an on paper upgrade, but I'd be lying if I wasn't worried they are dealing with Clowney 2.0. Smith has had some less than ideal breakups with both the Vikings and Packers over the last two years, doing petty stuff on social media and the like. I get this is a one year "win now' move, but so was Clowney last year.
Maybe it's not as bad as Clowney, but IDK. Kinda feels like a "fool me once" scenario
I hear ya. You mention one year deal which I think is key. He‘ll be 31 signing what he hopes is a multi year year deal 10 months from now. He’s probably motivated to prove something. I don’t see him as a workhorse though and with a 17 game schedule plus hopeful playoff rounds…I think we need to pitch count him. I think we have enough dudes now to throw some quality snaps at as well. Hoping of course we stay relatively healthy
I don’t want excuse Clowneys behavior but Was anyone on that defense last season happy? Newsome too. And Johnson…and others (including fans) all were seemingly disgruntled. Maybe a new chief and a better scheme changes feelings and attitudes.
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Definitely an on paper upgrade, but I'd be lying if I wasn't worried they are dealing with Clowney 2.0. Smith has had some less than ideal breakups with both the Vikings and Packers over the last two years, doing petty stuff on social media and the like. I get this is a one year "win now' move, but so was Clowney last year.
Maybe it's not as bad as Clowney, but IDK. Kinda feels like a "fool me once" scenario
I hear ya. You mention one year deal which I think is key. He‘ll be 31 signing what he hopes is a multi year year deal 10 months from now. He’s probably motivated to prove something. I don’t see him as a workhorse though and with a 17 game schedule plus hopeful playoff rounds…I think we need to pitch count him. I think we have enough dudes now to throw some quality snaps at as well. Hoping of course we stay relatively healthy
I don’t want excuse Clowneys behavior but Was anyone on that defense last season happy? Newsome too. And Johnson…and others (including fans) all were seemingly disgruntled. Maybe a new chief and a better scheme changes feelings and attitudes.
I hear ya. You mention one year deal which I think is key. He‘ll be 31 signing what he hopes is a multi year year deal 10 months from now. He’s probably motivated to prove something. I don’t see him as a workhorse though and with a 17 game schedule plus hopeful playoff rounds…I think we need to pitch count him. I think we have enough dudes now to throw some quality snaps at as well. Hoping of course we stay relatively healthy
I don’t want excuse Clowneys behavior but Was anyone on that defense last season happy? Newsome too. And Johnson…and others (including fans) all were seemingly disgruntled. Maybe a new chief and a better scheme changes feelings and attitudes.
I trust Jim Schwartz to put this unit in better situations to make plays.. Whereas in Joe Woods system.. It looked like failed lab experiments week in and week out....
Nickers...."There are no old running QB's in the NFL "~Sam Rutigliano~ -
You stole the echo in my head. Finally an all-in attempt to right this ship from top to bottom without losing our MVPs both sides of the ball.?
The sad thing is I still think Stefanski can sabatoge what seems like a good offseason by making some head-scratching decisions in-game.
That and as far as I know the offense Watson seems to thrive in doesn't really resemble the offenses Kevin has coached in Minnesota and Cleveland so far. Can he evolve to take advantage of Watson's tools?
The sad thing is I still think Stefanski can sabatoge what seems like a good offseason by making some head-scratching decisions in-game.
That and as far as I know the offense Watson seems to thrive in doesn't really resemble the offenses Kevin has coached in Minnesota and Cleveland so far. Can he evolve to take advantage of Watson's tools?
I agree; and I think a lot of it had to do with his playbook. I think pass routes tree was limited at best. The run offense was fine IMO. 1 thing I think we all agree on is that he made it so Brissett exceeded a lot of our expectations in the sense our offense was averaging over 24 points a game most of the time he started.
The problem was we would have a long sustained scoring drive of 5 or more minutes all forgotten when the opponent could get the 7 points right back from us scoring in half that amount of time.
I'm looking forward to seeing what all the changes we've made can do to improve that in 2023. More specifically, THIS YEAR. I like that phrase a lot.
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The sad thing is I still think Stefanski can sabatoge what seems like a good offseason by making some head-scratching decisions in-game.
That and as far as I know the offense Watson seems to thrive in doesn't really resemble the offenses Kevin has coached in Minnesota and Cleveland so far. Can he evolve to take advantage of Watson's tools?
I agree; and I think a lot of it had to do with his playbook. I think pass routes tree was limited at best. The run offense was fine IMO. 1 thing I think we all agree on is that he made it so Brissett exceeded a lot of our expectations in the sense our offense was averaging over 24 points a game most of the time he started.
The problem was we would have a long sustained scoring drive of 5 or more minutes all forgotten when the opponent could get the 7 points right back from us scoring in half that amount of time.
I'm looking forward to seeing what all the changes we've made can do to improve that in 2023. More specifically, THIS YEAR. I like that phrase a lot.
I agree; and I think a lot of it had to do with his playbook. I think pass routes tree was limited at best. The run offense was fine IMO. 1 thing I think we all agree on is that he made it so Brissett exceeded a lot of our expectations in the sense our offense was averaging over 24 points a game more most of the time he started.
The problem was we would have a long sustained scoring drive of 5 or more minutes all forgotten when the opponent could get the 7 points right back from us scoring in half that amount of time.
I'm looking forward to seeing what all the changes we've made can do to improve that in 2023. More specifically, THIS YEAR. I like that phrase a lot.
I love his aggressiveness at times. I’m the last guy on this forum to complain about going for it on 4th and short and not taking the points or doing so in your own territory. By your own admission and our reality last year our defense gave up points - we had to score. I was usually dumbfounded by the play call…Remember 4th and 1 and we have Chubb on the sideline and Jacoby is throwing a 40 yard pass?
I don’t like the way he panics in close games in the second half. And forgets/loses our identity…we have Chubb and maulers and we do a pass to Schwartz on a crosser 20 yards downfield and we need 3 yards…on a key third down. I felt like the whole year we were spinning our wheels in key moments.
He got way too cute last year and it cost us some games.
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I agree; and I think a lot of it had to do with his playbook. I think pass routes tree was limited at best. The run offense was fine IMO. 1 thing I think we all agree on is that he made it so Brissett exceeded a lot of our expectations in the sense our offense was averaging over 24 points a game more most of the time he started.
The problem was we would have a long sustained scoring drive of 5 or more minutes all forgotten when the opponent could get the 7 points right back from us scoring in half that amount of time.
I'm looking forward to seeing what all the changes we've made can do to improve that in 2023. More specifically, THIS YEAR. I like that phrase a lot.
I love his aggressiveness at times. I’m the last guy on this forum to complain about going for it on 4th and short and not taking the points or doing so in your own territory. By your own admission and our reality last year our defense gave up points - we had to score. I was usually dumbfounded by the play call…Remember 4th and 1 and we have Chubb on the sideline and Jacoby is throwing a 40 yard pass?
I don’t like the way he panics in close games in the second half. And forgets/loses our identity…we have Chubb and maulers and we do a pass to Schwartz on a crosser 20 yards downfield and we need 3 yards…on a key third down. I felt like the whole year we were spinning our wheels in key moments.
He got way too cute last year and it cost us some games.
I love his aggressiveness at times. I’m the last guy on this forum to complain about going for it on 4th and short and not taking the points or doing so in your own territory. By your own admission and our reality last year our defense gave up points - we had to score. I was usually dumbfounded by the play call…Remember 4th and 1 and we have Chubb on the sideline and Jacoby is throwing a 40 yard pass?
I don’t like the way he panics in close games in the second half. And forgets/loses our identity…we have Chubb and maulers and we do a pass to Schwartz on a crosser 20 yards downfield and we need 3 yards…on a key third down. I felt like the whole year we were spinning our wheels in key moments.
He got way too cute last year and it cost us some games.
This is where Kevvy fails as a gameday coach... He over thinks it...
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I agree; and I think a lot of it had to do with his playbook. I think pass routes tree was limited at best. The run offense was fine IMO. 1 thing I think we all agree on is that he made it so Brissett exceeded a lot of our expectations in the sense our offense was averaging over 24 points a game more most of the time he started.
The problem was we would have a long sustained scoring drive of 5 or more minutes all forgotten when the opponent could get the 7 points right back from us scoring in half that amount of time.
I'm looking forward to seeing what all the changes we've made can do to improve that in 2023. More specifically, THIS YEAR. I like that phrase a lot.
I love his aggressiveness at times. I’m the last guy on this forum to complain about going for it on 4th and short and not taking the points or doing so in your own territory. By your own admission and our reality last year our defense gave up points - we had to score. I was usually dumbfounded by the play call…Remember 4th and 1 and we have Chubb on the sideline and Jacoby is throwing a 40 yard pass?
I don’t like the way he panics in close games in the second half. And forgets/loses our identity…we have Chubb and maulers and we do a pass to Schwartz on a crosser 20 yards downfield and we need 3 yards…on a key third down. I felt like the whole year we were spinning our wheels in key moments.
He got way too cute last year and it cost us some games.
I love his aggressiveness at times. I’m the last guy on this forum to complain about going for it on 4th and short and not taking the points or doing so in your own territory. By your own admission and our reality last year our defense gave up points - we had to score. I was usually dumbfounded by the play call…Remember 4th and 1 and we have Chubb on the sideline and Jacoby is throwing a 40 yard pass?
I don’t like the way he panics in close games in the second half. And forgets/loses our identity…we have Chubb and maulers and we do a pass to Schwartz on a crosser 20 yards downfield and we need 3 yards…on a key third down. I felt like the whole year we were spinning our wheels in key moments.
He got way too cute last year and it cost us some games.
Very well said. Keep in mind, the 1st year he worked with Baker - he helped Baker finish with a TD:INT ratio of 26:8. While that's not anywhere near the elites with TD passes per say - there wasn't a carelessness that would have prevented this team from going 11-5 . That worked pretty good with the running game IMO. Stefanski also got some of the best football Brissett has played out of him; so I think he CAN do it. If we shored up some of what was missing personnel wise and we add the mind of Musgrave to the brain trust to improve some of the pass game design - he may not have to make the occasional desperate calls you alluded. I'm also hoping somebody picked the mind of Dabo Swinney to find out what he excelled at against teams like Ohio State and Alabama (with a lot of NFL prospects on them).
Best of all, Watson will be there from the onset of training camp without the time off he was sentenced to last year. This will get everyone on the same page and build on it.
I welcome the only Defensive Coordinator to earn a Superbowl Ring in New Orleans while understanding Revenge of the Nerds is a sequel. "Come get some!" -
Definitely an on paper upgrade, but I'd be lying if I wasn't worried they are dealing with Clowney 2.0. Smith has had some less than ideal breakups with both the Vikings and Packers over the last two years, doing petty stuff on social media and the like. I get this is a one year "win now' move, but so was Clowney last year.
Maybe it's not as bad as Clowney, but IDK. Kinda feels like a "fool me once" scenario
-
I love his aggressiveness at times. I’m the last guy on this forum to complain about going for it on 4th and short and not taking the points or doing so in your own territory. By your own admission and our reality last year our defense gave up points - we had to score. I was usually dumbfounded by the play call…Remember 4th and 1 and we have Chubb on the sideline and Jacoby is throwing a 40 yard pass?
I don’t like the way he panics in close games in the second half. And forgets/loses our identity…we have Chubb and maulers and we do a pass to Schwartz on a crosser 20 yards downfield and we need 3 yards…on a key third down. I felt like the whole year we were spinning our wheels in key moments.
He got way too cute last year and it cost us some games.
Very well said. Keep in mind, the 1st year he worked with Baker - he helped Baker finish with a TD:INT ratio of 26:8. While that's not anywhere near the elites with TD passes per say - there wasn't a carelessness that would have prevented this team from going 11-5 . That worked pretty good with the running game IMO. Stefanski also got some of the best football Brissett has played out of him; so I think he CAN do it. If we shored up some of what was missing personnel wise and we add the mind of Musgrave to the brain trust to improve some of the pass game design - he may not have to make the occasional desperate calls you alluded. I'm also hoping somebody picked the mind of Dabo Swinney to find out what he excelled at against teams like Ohio State and Alabama (with a lot of NFL prospects on them).
Best of all, Watson will be there from the onset of training camp without the time off he was sentenced to last year. This will get everyone on the same page and build on it.
I'm also hoping somebody picked the mind of Dabo Swinney to find out what he excelled at against teams like Ohio State and Alabama
The name was Brent Venables on D. Dabo's O fell apart the last 2-3 yrs bc he wasn't good at ID'ing appropriate replacements for the coaches that won the 16 and 18 titles. Swinney just hired Garrett Riley who is good enough to bring them back. To be clear he fired the guys he had internally promoted who were at lower-level jobs during 16 and 18.. this is pretty bad because he really should have known their capabilities better -- he'd already worked with them for years.
The most important skill of HC's both in college and pros is the identification [and hiring] of a good next staffer.. Bama's O was terrible last season because they employed Josh Gattis; if Tommy Rees isn't very good [and I don't think he is] then we may be seeing the "end" of the Bama dynasty because that would mean 2 pretty bad hires in consecutive years.
I happen to think Day will be just fine the next 3-4 years.. his most recent hire of Little Animal as a grad assistant is already paying recruiting dividends but the bigger question is if he can actually coach.
"When you win, say nothing. When you lose, say less." Paul Brown -
I hear ya. You mention one year deal which I think is key. He‘ll be 31 signing what he hopes is a multi year year deal 10 months from now. He’s probably motivated to prove something. I don’t see him as a workhorse though and with a 17 game schedule plus hopeful playoff rounds…I think we need to pitch count him. I think we have enough dudes now to throw some quality snaps at as well. Hoping of course we stay relatively healthy
I don’t want excuse Clowneys behavior but Was anyone on that defense last season happy? Newsome too. And Johnson…and others (including fans) all were seemingly disgruntled. Maybe a new chief and a better scheme changes feelings and attitudes.
I trust Jim Schwartz to put this unit in better situations to make plays.. Whereas in Joe Woods system.. It looked like failed lab experiments week in and week out....
I trust Jim Schwartz to put this unit in better situations to make plays.. Whereas in Joe Woods system.. It looked like failed lab experiments week in and week out....
While I like your point Nicks; it's a wonderful coincidence that the FO has made a lot of effort to upgrade talent/depth on the defensive line.
I welcome the only Defensive Coordinator to earn a Superbowl Ring in New Orleans while understanding Revenge of the Nerds is a sequel. "Come get some!" -
I love his aggressiveness at times. I’m the last guy on this forum to complain about going for it on 4th and short and not taking the points or doing so in your own territory. By your own admission and our reality last year our defense gave up points - we had to score. I was usually dumbfounded by the play call…Remember 4th and 1 and we have Chubb on the sideline and Jacoby is throwing a 40 yard pass?
I don’t like the way he panics in close games in the second half. And forgets/loses our identity…we have Chubb and maulers and we do a pass to Schwartz on a crosser 20 yards downfield and we need 3 yards…on a key third down. I felt like the whole year we were spinning our wheels in key moments.
He got way too cute last year and it cost us some games.
Very well said. Keep in mind, the 1st year he worked with Baker - he helped Baker finish with a TD:INT ratio of 26:8. While that's not anywhere near the elites with TD passes per say - there wasn't a carelessness that would have prevented this team from going 11-5 . That worked pretty good with the running game IMO. Stefanski also got some of the best football Brissett has played out of him; so I think he CAN do it. If we shored up some of what was missing personnel wise and we add the mind of Musgrave to the brain trust to improve some of the pass game design - he may not have to make the occasional desperate calls you alluded. I'm also hoping somebody picked the mind of Dabo Swinney to find out what he excelled at against teams like Ohio State and Alabama (with a lot of NFL prospects on them).
Best of all, Watson will be there from the onset of training camp without the time off he was sentenced to last year. This will get everyone on the same page and build on it.
Very well said. Keep in mind, the 1st year he worked with Baker - he helped Baker finish with a TD:INT ratio of 26:8. While that's not anywhere near the elites with TD passes per say - there wasn't a carelessness that would have prevented this team from going 11-5 . That worked pretty good with the running game IMO. Stefanski also got some of the best football Brissett has played out of him; so I think he CAN do it. If we shored up some of what was missing personnel wise and we add the mind of Musgrave to the brain trust to improve some of the pass game design - he may not have to make the occasional desperate calls you alluded. I'm also hoping somebody picked the mind of Dabo Swinney to find out what he excelled at against teams like Ohio State and Alabama (with a lot of NFL prospects on them).
Best of all, Watson will be there from the onset of training camp without the time off he was sentenced to last year. This will get everyone on the same page and build on it.
I forget the influence he had on Baker and that’s a good point…you hope/think that same influence takes hold on a more finished product like Watson. I have to dig in on this Musgrave guy…I was so excited about Schwartz (well anyone not named Woods) bubba and Musgrave went under the radar.
This is where Kevvy fails as a gameday coach... He over thinks it...
You can see him trying to set defenses up and doing well at times with it. I just wish the situational awareness was there at times.
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I'm also hoping somebody picked the mind of Dabo Swinney to find out what he excelled at against teams like Ohio State and Alabama
The name was Brent Venables on D. Dabo's O fell apart the last 2-3 yrs bc he wasn't good at ID'ing appropriate replacements for the coaches that won the 16 and 18 titles. Swinney just hired Garrett Riley who is good enough to bring them back. To be clear he fired the guys he had internally promoted who were at lower-level jobs during 16 and 18.. this is pretty bad because he really should have known their capabilities better -- he'd already worked with them for years.
The most important skill of HC's both in college and pros is the identification [and hiring] of a good next staffer.. Bama's O was terrible last season because they employed Josh Gattis; if Tommy Rees isn't very good [and I don't think he is] then we may be seeing the "end" of the Bama dynasty because that would mean 2 pretty bad hires in consecutive years.
I happen to think Day will be just fine the next 3-4 years.. his most recent hire of Little Animal as a grad assistant is already paying recruiting dividends but the bigger question is if he can actually coach.
The name was Brent Venables on D. Dabo's O fell apart the last 2-3 yrs bc he wasn't good at ID'ing appropriate replacements for the coaches that won the 16 and 18 titles. Swinney just hired Garrett Riley who is good enough to bring them back. To be clear he fired the guys he had internally promoted who were at lower-level jobs during 16 and 18.. this is pretty bad because he really should have known their capabilities better -- he'd already worked with them for years.
The most important skill of HC's both in college and pros is the identification [and hiring] of a good next staffer.. Bama's O was terrible last season because they employed Josh Gattis; if Tommy Rees isn't very good [and I don't think he is] then we may be seeing the "end" of the Bama dynasty because that would mean 2 pretty bad hires in consecutive years.
All very good points by you. However, that wasn't why I brought up consulting with Dabo Swinney about the things Watson did extremely well at Clemson (and in particular against defensive/BCS playoff rosters like Ohio State and Alabama that were loaded with NFL draft picks).
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I trust Jim Schwartz to put this unit in better situations to make plays.. Whereas in Joe Woods system.. It looked like failed lab experiments week in and week out....
While I like your point Nicks; it's a wonderful coincidence that the FO has made a lot of effort to upgrade talent/depth on the defensive line.
While I like your point Nicks; it's a wonderful coincidence that the FO has made a lot of effort to upgrade talent/depth on the defensive line.
Schwartz likes to play man coverage(unlike woods who for some reason loved zone) and with the improvements made up front.yes i can see a top 10 defense
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I'm also hoping somebody picked the mind of Dabo Swinney to find out what he excelled at against teams like Ohio State and Alabama
The name was Brent Venables on D. Dabo's O fell apart the last 2-3 yrs bc he wasn't good at ID'ing appropriate replacements for the coaches that won the 16 and 18 titles. Swinney just hired Garrett Riley who is good enough to bring them back. To be clear he fired the guys he had internally promoted who were at lower-level jobs during 16 and 18.. this is pretty bad because he really should have known their capabilities better -- he'd already worked with them for years.
The most important skill of HC's both in college and pros is the identification [and hiring] of a good next staffer.. Bama's O was terrible last season because they employed Josh Gattis; if Tommy Rees isn't very good [and I don't think he is] then we may be seeing the "end" of the Bama dynasty because that would mean 2 pretty bad hires in consecutive years.
I happen to think Day will be just fine the next 3-4 years.. his most recent hire of Little Animal as a grad assistant is already paying recruiting dividends but the bigger question is if he can actually coach.
I happen to think Day will be just fine the next 3-4 years.. his most recent hire of Little Animal as a grad assistant is already paying recruiting dividends but the bigger question is if he can actually coach.
I hope you are right, because I have this nagging feeling that Ryan Day is Ohio State's Lloyd Carr.
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While I like your point Nicks; it's a wonderful coincidence that the FO has made a lot of effort to upgrade talent/depth on the defensive line.
Schwartz likes to play man coverage(unlike woods who for some reason loved zone) and with the improvements made up front.yes i can see a top 10 defense
Schwartz likes to play man coverage(unlike woods who for some reason loved zone) and with the improvements made up front.yes i can see a top 10 defense
Let's get our minds off Woods. There's been an experienced DC hired that probably has a lot to do with the personnel overhaul on the Dline and 2 veteran Safeties being added. Seems like a much better way to play gridiron chess to me. It should be refreshing to see the top 4 LBers on the depth chart aren't all on IR by midseason now that we have an IDL/DTs that can keep offensive linemen off the Backers. Not only that, but stopping the run for a refreshing change won't suck either. There's a lot to this and personnel matters. Last year, the FO blew off the IDL/DTs while they wanted to go with lighter LBers. This year, the Browns added a DC with a philosophy that the foundation of his defense starts in the middle of the field upfront and goes back as far as the 2 veteran Safeties recently added. Ideally, it's nice to have the personnel that allows your defense to vary and disguise its coverages - while it also enables Schwartz to blitz on our terms (as he put it).
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I happen to think Day will be just fine the next 3-4 years.. his most recent hire of Little Animal as a grad assistant is already paying recruiting dividends but the bigger question is if he can actually coach.
I hope you are right, because I have this nagging feeling that Ryan Day is Ohio State's Lloyd Carr.
I hope you are right, because I have this nagging feeling that Ryan Day is Ohio State's Lloyd Carr.
That nagging feeling is getting contagious Dutch. Meanwhile, the last 2 DCs at the school up north came over from the Ratbirds. That's become quite a recruiting tool there and some their previous recruits have even been drafted by the Rats (OLB David Ojabo).
I'd like to see Ohio State's defense get back to the level it was at. For a while, they were getting corners and edge rushers drafted in the 1st round fairly consistently. It seems like Ohio State has been losing some very good defensive recruits/players to the University of Cincinnati (ie; Sauce Gardner and Ivan Pace Jr who 1st attended Miami of Ohio).
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While I like your point Nicks; it's a wonderful coincidence that the FO has made a lot of effort to upgrade talent/depth on the defensive line.
Schwartz likes to play man coverage(unlike woods who for some reason loved zone) and with the improvements made up front.yes i can see a top 10 defense
Schwartz likes to play man coverage(unlike woods who for some reason loved zone) and with the improvements made up front.yes i can see a top 10 defense
Having gone back to study a good bit of the eagles under his watch, I can tell you this is a very narrow take. And the coverage rate differences might actually surprise you.
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I'm also hoping somebody picked the mind of Dabo Swinney to find out what he excelled at against teams like Ohio State and Alabama
The name was Brent Venables on D. Dabo's O fell apart the last 2-3 yrs bc he wasn't good at ID'ing appropriate replacements for the coaches that won the 16 and 18 titles. Swinney just hired Garrett Riley who is good enough to bring them back. To be clear he fired the guys he had internally promoted who were at lower-level jobs during 16 and 18.. this is pretty bad because he really should have known their capabilities better -- he'd already worked with them for years.
The most important skill of HC's both in college and pros is the identification [and hiring] of a good next staffer.. Bama's O was terrible last season because they employed Josh Gattis; if Tommy Rees isn't very good [and I don't think he is] then we may be seeing the "end" of the Bama dynasty because that would mean 2 pretty bad hires in consecutive years.
I happen to think Day will be just fine the next 3-4 years.. his most recent hire of Little Animal as a grad assistant is already paying recruiting dividends but the bigger question is if he can actually coach.
The name was Brent Venables on D. Dabo's O fell apart the last 2-3 yrs bc he wasn't good at ID'ing appropriate replacements for the coaches that won the 16 and 18 titles. Swinney just hired Garrett Riley who is good enough to bring them back. To be clear he fired the guys he had internally promoted who were at lower-level jobs during 16 and 18.. this is pretty bad because he really should have known their capabilities better -- he'd already worked with them for years.
The most important skill of HC's both in college and pros is the identification [and hiring] of a good next staffer.. Bama's O was terrible last season because they employed Josh Gattis; if Tommy Rees isn't very good [and I don't think he is] then we may be seeing the "end" of the Bama dynasty because that would mean 2 pretty bad hires in consecutive years.
I happen to think Day will be just fine the next 3-4 years.. his most recent hire of Little Animal as a grad assistant is already paying recruiting dividends but the bigger question is if he can actually coach.
As I said, I agree with a lot of your points. That said, when you have a Coordinator like Venables - you get spoiled to the point of complacency. Your Coordinators are pretty much the ones training the coaches under them for their promotions on that side of the ball. Venables was offered a very generous raise that couldn't compete with the opportunity to be a Head Coach at a football program like Oklahoma. If anyone can overcome this kind of obstacle, it would be Swinney IMO.
I think another major pot hole that program hit was the drop off at the QB position the last 2 years. They were fine with Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence. Having said that, they have one of the top recruits in the country out of Texas ready to take over at QB. He was a drastic improvement when he replaced the current starter during the game I watched them play against Syracuse as a true freshman.
The ACC has a very difficult challenge in competing with the SEC Schools for top recruits. Swinney won that challenge consistently up against coaches like Steve Spurrier and Lou Holtz for the South Carolina Gamecocks in the same state as his program. He was also doing as well as/better than the Head Coaches at UGA until Kirby changed that the last 2-3 years or more.
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