Is it time to start considering Justin Gilbert as a viable corner?
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Recently the media has gone out of their way to print as many stories about Justin Gilbert as humanly possible AND the coaches have made every effort to make sure he knows that he has a "clean slate". Many of the stories mention the previous regime's method of "tough love" and how it didn't work, and how some of the departed veteran players practiced a similar style of trying to whip him into shape.
But here's the thing, where there's smoke there's fire. I've read multiple reports of Gilbert adjusting his stance to help with his back-peddling skill, and Gilbert appears to be taking to his new coaches like he never did with the others. Perhaps the only good thing to come out of Joe Haden's unforeseen ankle surgery is the fact Gilbert gets to take virtually ALL of the first team reps and gets to work against the best WR's we have (which isn't saying much at the moment). It's safe to say that our new GM and coaching staff isn't keeping players that they don't think help our team in the long run, so if they REALLY didn't feel Gilbert had potential, you have to think they would have cut him long ago. They have made multiple mentions of Gilbert's attitude and work ethic, and said that he has done "everything that we have asked him to do." No reports of being late, nothing about a bad attitude, and virtually nothing negative at all.
Gilbert isn't our new regime's boy, and they have no reason to pump him up. I'm starting to think the reports are true, and the kid actually has a chance. Nobody ever doubted his physical skill set, and the popular opinion is that Gilbert now feels loved and part of the team. Just think about what Gilbert could actually mean to our team for a moment. The #8 pick of the draft that basically provided nothing last year, but could potentially START this season. It would be like getting another first round pick this year because let's face it...most if not ALL of us wrote him off after last year...and why wouldn't we?
We still have much to prove at the safety position, but if Gilbert can progress, we start to get some depth at a VERY important position (CB). All of the sudden we have K'Waun Williams, Joe Haden, Tramon Williams, Justin Gilbert, Pierre Desir, Gaines, and a free agent that escapes my memory. We obviously need Haden to make a strong comeback, but it's not like that is impossible.
Listen, we've all heard this rhetoric before, and we Browns fans are rightfully in a place of "show me before I believe". But this feels different. I'm reading too many articles, too many quotes, and hearing too many good things about Gilbert for it just to be "preseason bluster". He must really be showing something, and lord knows we need a boost. This kind of thing is how bad teams start to make the turn. They have several things go their way at once, and different aspect of the team begin to come together. For us, it could be the triumphant return of Joe Haden coupled with the emergence of Justin Gilbert and K'Waun Williams able to avoid concussions. That has the potential to be one helluva corner trio.
I know we're all sick of hearing things like "potential" and "there's a new attitude in Cleveland". I am too, but I just don't feel like being negative right now. We need an astounding amount of different team dynamics to change and go our way before we're competitive this year, and we all realize that. What I don't think people realize is, those dynamics CAN GO OUR WAY. Gilbert CAN turn into the corner we need, Pryor CAN develop into a red zone target that we sorely lack, Orchard, Ogbah, Kruger, Nassib, and Dez Bryant CAN GET TO THE QB, and RG III or McCown CAN get us enough points.
A new coach can go a long way in terms of reaching players, and Gilbert appears to be a guy who needed someone like Hue Jackson. Our team getting a new talented cornerback basically out of thin air would go a LONG way in helping a defense with a ton of needs. We won't know a damn thing until the pads come on, and we have a LONG time to wait for that. But I have a feeling that Gilbert has a new lease on life, and while I admit to being skeptical, I have to admit that my feelings are changing. Do not be surprised to see Gilbert play well in training camp. I'm NOT saying the guy will be picking off every pass and turn into Deion Sanders, but I'm fairly certain Gilbert will be a guy we can count on this year.
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Honestly, I'm 99% certain it's all puff pieces to get his confidence up. They saw it was shattered last year, and want to see if he can contribute.
Sorry to burst your bubble
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Also, Charles Gaines from Louisville.
The one person I wish they'd just cut and stop talking about is FB Malcolm Johnson.. if he executed a single correct block last year, I didn't see it.
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This is his final year to prove he belongs on the team. I kmow its not fair to hold him personally responsible for this....but he is the guy we took instead of staying put and drafting khalil mack. <sigh>
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This coaching staff has the smarts to reach out to players and work with them. Maybe
Gilbert takes certain medication for ..something... and this coaching staff has worked
with players who were in the same boat before.
Or, they care enough to consult with an expert and help a player overcome a problem.
Like, maybe a ADHD meds can make a person sleepy/hard to get up early in the morning...
depending on when they took it.
This coaching staff will work with players, teach players, solve problems. and if players
care about it, they'll respond. Everybody on the same page. You aren't on the same page,
then you will be gone. Build the team.
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This coaching staff has the smarts to reach out to players and work with them. Maybe
Gilbert takes certain medication for ..something... and this coaching staff has worked
with players who were in the same boat before.
Or, they care enough to consult with an expert and help a player overcome a problem.
Like, maybe a ADHD meds can make a person sleepy/hard to get up early in the morning...
depending on when they took it.
This coaching staff will work with players, teach players, solve problems. and if players
care about it, they'll respond. Everybody on the same page. You aren't on the same page,
then you will be gone. Build the team.
This coaching staff has the smarts to reach out to players and work with them.
Or, they care enough to consult with an expert and help a player overcome a problem.
This coaching staff will work with players, teach players,
Hue walked in the door day 1 stated he was hired here to win games. He's right & he's not wavered from that statement one bit. Now Hue must sell that to his might be players. Each player got a clean slate but Hue is not stupid. He's doing what good coaches do. Finds each players weakness, coach & player agree on a better techniques to hopefully solves each weakness. Good Coaches will always praise players (thru media included) on their weakness improvements. We our in shorts with no contact. Hue selling on a positive nature right now. Coaches can only Coach better techniques than it's up to the players. When Training Camp starts the closest thing to actual football. That's when i really think HUE's real believes will have to take action..
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He wasn't too bad. Obviously out there for a limited time. But tramon Williams wasn't way better
GO BROWNS!!! -
All I've heard is how much physical talent this guy has. Now, the world is FULL of unfulfilled potential, but you just never know what it takes to ignite a fire in a person. I was the most pessimistic person on the planet when it came to Gilbert, but then I realized that the coaching staff and GM don't have much invested in this guy. Sure, he was a previous HIGH pick, but Gilbert isn't "their" guy, not by a long shot. We've gotten rid of several other veterans that produced FAR more than Gilbert ever did, and we let multiple other veterans sign with other teams.
I just have the feeling that Gilbert possesses too many natural gifts to give up on, but like a previous poster said, this is only minicamp and OTA's...which don't mean SQUAT. I'm assuming that Gilbert looks incredible in shorts, and his speed and fluidity probably stand out like crazy. Maybe the guy is only football eye candy, and he'll never contribute towards our secondary, but maybe he needed a new coach to really extract his potential. Any of you guys ever play a sport with a coach you didn't like, and then get another coach that brought the best out?
All I'm saying is that maybe he's got a chance. I'm not saying I'd bet the farm on this guy or anything, but it's safe to say we need a few things to go our way if we're going to be better than the world thinks, and why not catch a break from a guy drafted a #8? We need a few guys to really turn it on, and who is to say that he and somebody like Mingo can't live up to their lofty draft status? That's what we need. We need guys to make the turn. It happens to other teams, and maybe it's time it happen for us.
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the thing i don't understand is how a kid can look good in college, good enough to have all the draft nudniks drooling over him as the #1 or 2 db in the draft, comes to the nfl and suddenly doesn't look the same. what do half these guys just wait to get paid and then lay down?
wtf?
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some of em get by with bad habits, etc, because they don't face the top talent everyday.
So often, players get into the NFL and they are humbled by "everybody in the NFL was a great college player".
In the NFL, so they say - it's serious business, serious study of game film, etc.
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the thing i don't understand is how a kid can look good in college, good enough to have all the draft nudniks drooling over him as the #1 or 2 db in the draft, comes to the nfl and suddenly doesn't look the same. what do half these guys just wait to get paid and then lay down?
wtf?
the thing i don't understand is how a kid can look good in college, good enough to have all the draft nudniks drooling over him as the #1 or 2 db in the draft, comes to the nfl and suddenly doesn't look the same. what do half these guys just wait to get paid and then lay down?
wtf?
We need the good Gilbert more than he knows. If anybody needed a clean slate it's this guy. Gilbert was a total loss when 2 veterans called him out for being late, out with family issues & could not come out of his shell when confronted by Veterans. Those 2 Vets I speak of Dansby & Whitner. Where are they now? These 20ish year old rookies find a bumpy road when a 30ish year old Vet & his family is counting on him also. Every NFL locker room has a jail mate named Buba and they show up when your messing with his next check. Gilbert needs to man up & stay out of his shell. Oversleep phobia my ass..
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the thing i don't understand is how a kid can look good in college, good enough to have all the draft nudniks drooling over him as the #1 or 2 db in the draft, comes to the nfl and suddenly doesn't look the same. what do half these guys just wait to get paid and then lay down?
wtf?
We need the good Gilbert more than he knows. If anybody needed a clean slate it's this guy. Gilbert was a total loss when 2 veterans called him out for being late, out with family issues & could not come out of his shell when confronted by Veterans. Those 2 Vets I speak of Dansby & Whitner. Where are they now? These 20ish year old rookies find a bumpy road when a 30ish year old Vet & his family is counting on him also. Every NFL locker room has a jail mate named Buba and they show up when your messing with his next check. Gilbert needs to man up & stay out of his shell. Oversleep phobia my ass..
We need the good Gilbert more than he knows. If anybody needed a clean slate it's this guy. Gilbert was a total loss when 2 veterans called him out for being late, out with family issues & could not come out of his shell when confronted by Veterans. Those 2 Vets I speak of Dansby & Whitner. Where are they now? These 20ish year old rookies find a bumpy road when a 30ish year old Vet & his family is counting on him also. Every NFL locker room has a jail mate named Buba and they show up when your messing with his next check. Gilbert needs to man up & stay out of his shell. Oversleep phobia my ass..
that and we need a FO that can sift through the bullshit, have scouts that actually know what they're doing and some good fortune to finally shine down on this org and cleveland as a city.
we'll see at the end of the year if any of these things were accomplished with all the new hires. i have a feeling a lot here will be changing their tune when we finish with 3 or 4 wins and no rookie is a standout............
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We need the good Gilbert more than he knows. If anybody needed a clean slate it's this guy. Gilbert was a total loss when 2 veterans called him out for being late, out with family issues & could not come out of his shell when confronted by Veterans. Those 2 Vets I speak of Dansby & Whitner. Where are they now? These 20ish year old rookies find a bumpy road when a 30ish year old Vet & his family is counting on him also. Every NFL locker room has a jail mate named Buba and they show up when your messing with his next check. Gilbert needs to man up & stay out of his shell. Oversleep phobia my ass..
that and we need a FO that can sift through the bullshit, have scouts that actually know what they're doing and some good fortune to finally shine down on this org and cleveland as a city.
we'll see at the end of the year if any of these things were accomplished with all the new hires. i have a feeling a lot here will be changing their tune when we finish with 3 or 4 wins and no rookie is a standout............
that and we need a FO that can sift through the bullshit, have scouts that actually know what they're doing and some good fortune to finally shine down on this org and cleveland as a city.
we'll see at the end of the year if any of these things were accomplished with all the new hires. i have a feeling a lot here will be changing their tune when we finish with 3 or 4 wins and no rookie is a standout............
Mik, Believeland baby.. Pet had no FO as a backbone with Gilbert nor ManHell. Even when the shots start firing. This FO won't even be close to what Pet faced on a daily bases. Our new scouting additions got attention from people in the business that never have anything good to say about us. We have 3 rookies rated in top 100. 22-Ogbah, 50-Coleman & 80-Nassib.. Now it's just time for Cleveland to make their own good fortune. Indians may not have best talent in any League but anything is possible when you count on your own fortune..53 years & they ain't killed me yet..
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Ah........................No.
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I gave on on Gilbert when he put his Dodge Charger in a ditch about a mile from my house.
The guy is a head case.
Two things that will define you: Your determination when you have nothing. Your attitude when you have everything. - Mike McCartney -
It wasn't like Gilbert was some kind of reach at #8 spot. The guy was highly desired by other teams, including the Steelers. Cornerbacks with his size, speed, and talent are the dreams of defensive coordinators, and it appeared that Gilbert could cruise on talent alone in the NFL. Only we all know that's not the case, and the be great (or even just GOOD) in the NFL generally requires a ton of hard work and some luck staying healthy.
Gilbert APPEARS to have the hard work aspect down (for now), and now he needs his confidence. That won't come all the way back until the pads come on, but it has to make him feel pretty good that everywhere he looks he can find a story about how the coaches are happy with him and want to give him every opportunity to succeed. If the pads come on and he can start putting together multiple days in a row of solid work, the guy has a chance. He needs to stay healthy, and he needs to maintain his positive momentum ALL THE WAY into the preseason. He can't have an injury, and he CAN'T have any screw ups (late to meetings, fights with team, etc).
I root for the guy, and I never thought I'd say that.
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I gave on on Gilbert when he put his Dodge Charger in a ditch about a mile from my house.
The guy is a head case.
I gave on on Gilbert when he put his Dodge Charger in a ditch about a mile from my house.
The guy is a head case.
Was it at least an SRT8 version?
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the thing i don't understand is how a kid can look good in college, good enough to have all the draft nudniks drooling over him as the #1 or 2 db in the draft, comes to the nfl and suddenly doesn't look the same. what do half these guys just wait to get paid and then lay down?
wtf?
the thing i don't understand is how a kid can look good in college, good enough to have all the draft nudniks drooling over him as the #1 or 2 db in the draft, comes to the nfl and suddenly doesn't look the same. what do half these guys just wait to get paid and then lay down?
wtf?
I would say it's kind of like the popular kid in middle school who then disappears in high school, or the stud in high school who disappears in life....... Some just can't make the transition to the next level - Hopefully Justin can figure it out.
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