Can This Draft Start like our 1978 Draft?
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Folks, I know I get scarier than the Exorcist and Stephen King when I start talking QBs so I'm going to contemplate a little learning from our history here. I want defense with 3 of our first 4 picks so let me set the scene before you hurry to tell me my thinking cap is cutting off all the oxygen to my brain.
We will be getting Des Bryant back with fresh legs to the D-line who's even played on the Nose at times to showcase how flexible he is for any of the techniques Williams will want him to line up in. In addition, I have a feeling Williams can tap Nate Orchard similar to the way he looked when he finally got a chance to play more at the end of 2015. I see these 2 guys as gravy to what we will add in the draft.
Okay, so the best first round in Cleveland during my lifetime tuning in as a fan was Ozzie Newsome and Clay Matthews way back in 1978 when I was only 14 years old. One guy was a WR at Alabama that Bear Bryant hailed as the best WR he ever coached prior to his NFL position change. The other guy was a LBer from USC that was talented enough to play any of the 4 LBer spots we had here in Cleveland. Both guys played for at least 14 years at a high level combining may Pro Bowls. One became a Hall of Fame player and deservedly so. In the process, they became key leaders by example on both sides of the ball as our 80s teams participated in more playoffs games than any other decade after the 60s. That's what getting 2 picks right in round 1 right in Cleveland can lead to.
2017 Round 1: Okay, so we can kick this draft off going defense 1st overall with the pick of the litter. I'm leaning toward Jonathan Allen or Reuben Foster while the mock draft consensus will most likely favor Myles Garrett after he aces the jumps and 40 time in Indy. Mayock already told us yesterday during the Senior Bowl while some of his highlights were airing that we have to take this guy. Don't overthink it. Okay. He's spent way more time on Garrett and others than me so I'll trust his studies.
And now for a guy I don't want us to gift wrap to Pittsburgh or Baltimore in a league where productive TEs have proven to be invaluable to QBs like Peyton Manning (Dallas Clark), Tom Brady (Gronk & Bennett), Drew Brees/Russell Wilson (Jimmy Graham), Philip Rivers/Drew Brees (Antonio Gates), Phil Simms (Mark Bavaro), Troy Aikman (Jay Novacek), John Elway (Shannon Sharpe), Drew Bledsoe (Ben Coates) and Trent Dilfer/Joe Flaccoseagulls (Shannon Sharpe), Cam Newton (Greg Olsen), Joe Montana/Steve Young (Brent Jones), Tony Romo/Dak Prescott (Jason Witten). This draft has another guy that appears to be destined for a great NFL career as a TE from the Alabama football program with a Head Coaching legend (Nick Saban). He's a much bigger target than Ozzie with great wheels and good hands. His name is O.J. Howard and I do not want him playing for anyone else in our division. You want to help a struggling QB? A target like this can really do so fast.
After these 2 guys, we can go right back to defense in round 2 to make 3 of our first 4 picks on that side of the ball. Then we can kick off round 3 with a Center like Pocic or whatever BPA falls on our door step.
This could be very similar to our round 1 in 1978 not only by adding a TE from Alabama in particular; but also by adding the best Defensive player available on our door step. He might even be a LBer for all we know.
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I don't follow saying our young QBs need a TE to throw to. They already have one. What we really need pretty badly though is a blocking TE, preferably one who can also catch. If OJ is that, then great, but I'm not taking him for catching ability alone. Just my .02.
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I don't follow saying our young QBs need a TE to throw to. They already have one. What we really need pretty badly though is a blocking TE, preferably one who can also catch. If OJ is that, then great, but I'm not taking him for catching ability alone. Just my .02.
I don't follow saying our young QBs need a TE to throw to. They already have one. What we really need pretty badly though is a blocking TE, preferably one who can also catch. If OJ is that, then great, but I'm not taking him for catching ability alone. Just my .02.
No problem War. I appreciate your point of view. I just have a feeling there's a bunch of FOs knowing that a true Freshman QB didn't even come close to tapping Howard's skill set like some NFL offenses can. If memory serves me right, Greg Olsen didn't have big Sexy stats at the U before he became a 1st round draft pick that made multiple Pro Bowls. In fact, he only scored 6 TDs in 3 years (2 of those seasons he only scored once) while never exceeding 40 rec with 489 yards as his personal best.
I feel like Barnidge's performance wasn't just slipping because our our QBs - he looked like he lost some quickness and dropped a lot of catchable passes (out of character). He went from 79 rec for 1043 rec yards 65.2 ypg and 9 TDs in 2015 down to 55 rec 611 rec yards 35.2 ypg and 2 TDs in 2016. The yards per catch also decreased by about 2 yards as well. He wasn't that good of a blocker either, which all caught me off guard following the only Pro Bowl season of his career. He will be 32 in September so I don't get the sense he has a lot left; but I could certainly be wrong about such a hunch.
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I don't follow saying our young QBs need a TE to throw to. They already have one. What we really need pretty badly though is a blocking TE, preferably one who can also catch. If OJ is that, then great, but I'm not taking him for catching ability alone. Just my .02.
I don't follow saying our young QBs need a TE to throw to. They already have one. What we really need pretty badly though is a blocking TE, preferably one who can also catch. If OJ is that, then great, but I'm not taking him for catching ability alone. Just my .02.
My attitude is if you want a blocker, but in another tackle or guard.
Ozzie wasn't a good blocker. Then again, who cared? I am starting to think we have to take Howard if he is there at 12. What's wrong with putting a pro-bowl player on your roster?
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Gotta love Barnidge, but he was drafted in 08, and has gotten clobbered at times.
If he is out of the lineup due to injury, the Browns offense is toast. Howard would
lengthen Barnidge's career. He fits the Browns' profile exactly as far as being
qualified on all criteria. It's a serious, interesting thought. Not a desperate need...
but I can see it.
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i remember Z & I having a conversation in the Tavern during a preseason game at GB last season. Not only the Kwan Williams benching himself was a strange ordeal. But we were questioning. Why was Nate Orchard still out there playing with 3rd & 4th's on depth chart kids late in game? Orch was not a Sashi pick, but a red flag went up saying things may not have been going well in Nate's evaluation either before injury? Feeling Better with a Gregg Williams in the house
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@ghoolie said:
Jim Brown wasn't just a bad blocker, he was lazy at it, he downright refused to do it. Perhaps Cleveland fucked up drafting him?
Yeah, blocking responsibilities of TEs and RBs is pretty much the same.
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@ghoolie said:
Jim Brown wasn't just a bad blocker, he was lazy at it, he downright refused to do it. Perhaps Cleveland fucked up drafting him?
No doubt they did. LOL.
I have said for years that if you have a play maker, screw the blocking factor. That is pretty much like saying you can't draft Joe Thomas because he can't run or catch the ball.
I am happy as hell he have Joe Thomas. I don't care if he can catch or run. We drafted him to block.
I know you don't totally value that, but it is necessary. The point being that if you are looking for a back or te, fuck the blocking
factor. Let the blockers you signed do that. Let the runners and receivers be judged on how well they run and catch.
This isn't hard. Only a Mongolian Idiot might do worse than we have, and that person has a legit excuse.
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@ghoolie said:
Jim Brown wasn't just a bad blocker, he was lazy at it, he downright refused to do it. Perhaps Cleveland fucked up drafting him?
No doubt they did. LOL.
I have said for years that if you have a play maker, screw the blocking factor. That is pretty much like saying you can't draft Joe Thomas because he can't run or catch the ball.
I am happy as hell he have Joe Thomas. I don't care if he can catch or run. We drafted him to block.
I know you don't totally value that, but it is necessary. The point being that if you are looking for a back or te, fuck the blocking
factor. Let the blockers you signed do that. Let the runners and receivers be judged on how well they run and catch.
This isn't hard. Only a Mongolian Idiot might do worse than we have, and that person has a legit excuse.
JB could block, when he wanted to...
I am happy as hell he have Joe Thomas. I don't care if he can catch or run. We drafted him to block.
Got me curious so I checked and it does not appear that Joe has a single TD... be it by fumble recovery or OT eligible.
That seems wrong. He needs at least one before he hangs it up.
The winning SB TD in his last game would be a nice parting gift.
"When you have a shared vision it is a lot easier to make unpopular decisions." - Paul DePodesta "When you win, say nothing. When you lose, say less." - Paul Brown Complete 2017 Browns Board Mock: http://thebrownsboard.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=46196 -
Is DeValve supposed to be a TE or WR for us?
We're bad.
We need the biggest, fastest and/or strongest guy available when it's our turn to pick. Even if it's a LT....cos he can play RT until it's his turn at LT.
That's how Chuck Noll turned around the steelers after he took over. After he was hired he gathered the players and told them that he watched their film and knew why the steelers kept losing...and that it was because of them (the players). He said, Ya can't run fast or jump high, you're not shifty or powerful, and quite frankly I'm going to have to replace a whole lot of you.
That's pretty much where we're at. Whoever is the biggest, fastest sumbitch available when it's our turn to pick MOST probably fits a need for us.
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JB could block, when he wanted to...
I am happy as hell he have Joe Thomas. I don't care if he can catch or run. We drafted him to block.
Got me curious so I checked and it does not appear that Joe has a single TD... be it by fumble recovery or OT eligible.
That seems wrong. He needs at least one before he hangs it up.
The winning SB TD in his last game would be a nice parting gift.
JB could block, when he wanted to...
Got me curious so I checked and it does not appear that Joe has a single TD... be it by fumble recovery or OT eligible.
That seems wrong. He needs at least one before he hangs it up.
The winning SB TD in his last game would be a nice parting gift.
Aw, Ghoolie is going to hate this but I'm easily entertained. Watched the Pro Bowl, and with 10 out of 10 Joe is in pretty exclusive company. ESPN heaped some praise on him. Hey Tom, you can cut the crap now- every one of the 10\10 club is in the HOF. Thomas can't help it if the rest of the team sucks.
"Just four other players in NFL history — Merlin Olsen, Mel Renfro, Barry Sanders and Lawrence Taylor — were named to the Pro Bowl in at least the first 10 seasons of their careers. All of those players are Hall of Famers; only Olsen, with 14, went over 10."
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JB could block, when he wanted to...
Got me curious so I checked and it does not appear that Joe has a single TD... be it by fumble recovery or OT eligible.
That seems wrong. He needs at least one before he hangs it up.
The winning SB TD in his last game would be a nice parting gift.
Aw, Ghoolie is going to hate this but I'm easily entertained. Watched the Pro Bowl, and with 10 out of 10 Joe is in pretty exclusive company. ESPN heaped some praise on him. Hey Tom, you can cut the crap now- every one of the 10\10 club is in the HOF. Thomas can't help it if the rest of the team sucks.
"Just four other players in NFL history — Merlin Olsen, Mel Renfro, Barry Sanders and Lawrence Taylor — were named to the Pro Bowl in at least the first 10 seasons of their careers. All of those players are Hall of Famers; only Olsen, with 14, went over 10."
Aw, Ghoolie is going to hate this but I'm easily entertained. Watched the Pro Bowl, and with 10 out of 10 Joe is in pretty exclusive company. ESPN heaped some praise on him. Hey Tom, you can cut the crap now- every one of the 10\10 club is in the HOF. Thomas can't help it if the rest of the team sucks.
"Just four other players in NFL history — Merlin Olsen, Mel Renfro, Barry Sanders and Lawrence Taylor — were named to the Pro Bowl in at least the first 10 seasons of their careers. All of those players are Hall of Famers; only Olsen, with 14, went over 10."
When you say Tom - I'm guessing you mean Ghoolie. I've always been a huge Joe Thomas fan.
One of these days people will figure out Ghoolie isn't here to talk football (ie; wasting time trying to convince him a 10 time Pro Bowl player doesn't suck).
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Aw, Ghoolie is going to hate this but I'm easily entertained. Watched the Pro Bowl, and with 10 out of 10 Joe is in pretty exclusive company. ESPN heaped some praise on him. Hey Tom, you can cut the crap now- every one of the 10\10 club is in the HOF. Thomas can't help it if the rest of the team sucks.
"Just four other players in NFL history — Merlin Olsen, Mel Renfro, Barry Sanders and Lawrence Taylor — were named to the Pro Bowl in at least the first 10 seasons of their careers. All of those players are Hall of Famers; only Olsen, with 14, went over 10."
When you say Tom - I'm guessing you mean Ghoolie. I've always been a huge Joe Thomas fan.
One of these days people will figure out Ghoolie isn't here to talk football (ie; wasting time trying to convince him a 10 time Pro Bowl player doesn't suck).
When you say Tom - I'm guessing you mean Ghoolie. I've always been a huge Joe Thomas fan.
One of these days people will figure out Ghoolie isn't here to talk football (ie; wasting time trying to convince him a 10 time Pro Bowl player doesn't suck).
Of course I meant the other Tom.
Joe is probably a lock first ballot HOFer when he hangs 'em up. -
When you say Tom - I'm guessing you mean Ghoolie. I've always been a huge Joe Thomas fan.
One of these days people will figure out Ghoolie isn't here to talk football (ie; wasting time trying to convince him a 10 time Pro Bowl player doesn't suck).
Of course I meant the other Tom.
Joe is probably a lock first ballot HOFer when he hangs 'em up. Of course I meant the other Tom.
Joe is probably a lock first ballot HOFer when he hangs 'em up. You mean the other, other Tom?
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You mean the other, other Tom?
The Ghoolie Tom. Sheeze, we have the Tom-Tom club.
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Our new scout has found just the player we are looking for-no more failed picks.
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Winter is getting long as the season is but a distant memory if we are now chatting about the next TE for the Cleveland Browns
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