@tiamat63 said:

Gone total Retard?

Edit note:  I had actually typed in "S-t-o-c-k-t-o-n S-h-o-r-t-s"....and it autocorrected to Retard.   Is this board funny, or what?

@tiamat63 said:

Ed Zackary!

@baconhound said:

I think they want Ward to be a lockdown corner and maybe he will be but if he was right now they wouldn’t be so reliant on zone coverage.  They are purposefully practicing man coverage because it needs so much work.

https://www.dawgsbynature.com/2018/8/28/17792672/cleveland-browns-damarious-randall-second-opinion-injured-knee

Zombo

@mld-woody said:

Our CBs are MUCH better across the board. This removed the need for a deep, deep, "angel" deep safety and allows for a closer, "traditional" deep safety. This is because Williams has more confidence in the CBs to not get beat. 

Yes, and lets hope that confidence is rewarded.

@tour2ma said:

Took the  words right off the ends of my fingers...

Restrictions on blocking... no running starts... acceleration is at a premium, bulk is not.

From Darwin, evolution or slowly die out.

@jrb12711 said:

I've mentioned it before, but the changes to the kick offs this year will warrant teams carrying the final roster spots to "speedsters" instead of the traditional

Took the  words right off the ends of my fingers...

Restrictions on blocking... no running starts... acceleration is at a premium, bulk is not.

@jrb12711 said:

I've mentioned it before, but the changes to the kick offs this year will warrant teams carrying the final roster spots to "speedsters" instead of the traditional TE, DL, etc. As it stands now I'm expecting 10 guys from the DB position to make the roster and being made up with only 3 TE's (Cajuste to PS), no FB (Vitale has been hurt),  9 DL (Orchord odd man out?) and 3 RB's with Dayes odd man out. I could also see 9 DB's on the roster with a guy like Dayes taking the final spot for the same reason.

As for the overall unit, a lot more veteran solid experience out there which aids a lot. I think E.J. Gaines is going to impress as well.

Agree on all.

Zombo

@the-gipper said:

One question to ask:   How many DBs do you think will this team carry?   I assume they will go 2 deep and carry at least 8....plus maybe 1 or 2 more?   For depth and special teams?

I've mentioned it before, but the changes to the kick offs this year will warrant teams carrying the final roster spots to "speedsters" instead of the traditional TE, DL, etc. As it stands now I'm expecting 10 guys from the DB position to make the roster and being made up with only 3 TE's (Cajuste to PS), no FB (Vitale has been hurt),  9 DL (Orchord odd man out?) and 3 RB's with Dayes odd man out. I could also see 9 DB's on the roster with a guy like Dayes taking the final spot for the same reason.

As for the overall unit, a lot more veteran solid experience out there which aids a lot. I think E.J. Gaines is going to impress as well.

https://dawgpounddaily.com/2018/08/27/cleveland-browns-surprising-way-cb-depth-chart-shaked/

If anything , our secondary depth is much better.

Zombo

@ibleedbrown said:

I noticed when Ward went down last game l saw Mike Jordan in there. I think he’s in the plans.

LeBron James would be better as a backup DB.  

@the-gipper said:

Well, one thing to know is that every starting position will have a new player there.   And the only holdover as a starter will be Peppers who will be at a new position.

Besides drafting Ward in round one, they brought in 3-4 free agents.

About the best thing I can do for you is to give you the depth chart.  There should be a link on each player here where you can get more info on each one:

The top two at each position ... those are our eight guys ... which is a hell of a lot better than last year's guys. If we keep more than 8, MJ and Derron Smith (special teams) have shots.

My observations:

Mitchell is aggressive and athletic and hungry ... fucking kudos to Dorsey for bringing him over.

If Ward stays healthy he's a lockdown corner.

Gaines is knicked up, but was the highest rated of the bunch last year.

Haven't seen too much of Carrie so far, but based on his work in Green Bay, he is a starter quality as our 3rd or 4th corner.

Safeties:

There is a whole thread on Peppers, and opinions vary ... I think Williams has himself a secret weapon there.

Randall looks like he is going to be a leader and a baller at FS.

Boddy Calhoun always impresses me and may be an even better safety than he was a corner, good call by Williams, and he gives us that versatility we need  ... defensive back positions are not as defined as they used to be, the important thing with Boddy is he can cover anybody, anywhere, anytime. He just isn't real big.

Kindred ... This is a starter coming off our bench, a luxury you get when you have quality players on cheap contracts (Real depth ... it has been sooo long). But watch for him, he will be active every Sunday on special teams and in the secondary. He can hit, he can tackle and he is never a liability in the secondary.

Zombo

@bobpound said:

Through 3 pre-season games, I didn't see any obvious long ball burns on our secondary on first teams. is this because the line is finally pressuring QB's into making short safe throws? Are they that good that no one is going long?

Anyone care to break down our secondary situation...

First the reason we aren't getting burned is the Centerfielder D that Williams loves (and folks here slam). We are still seeing our FS lined up 15-20yards deep, but now we have Centerfielders playing the position.

For one... Boddy-Calhoun has looked good in the role. His INT was as much due to the ball being under thrown, but he was there.

Peppers is in his proper role. While he hasn't shone as yet, it's a better fit and he's playing with confidence.

And our CBs are playing more aggressively with confidence that someone has their back... as in will be there for the deep throw with them playing trail tech.

The unit is still gelling, but I have to like what I've seen so far.

@unsympathetic said:

One negative to keep an eye on: Pass rating given up over the middle of the field vs Iggles was 97.7 [10/11, 82]

Was there a breakdown of the rating vs.what unit? Plus rating may not tell the whole story, e.g., a contained dump to a RB or TE on 3rd and long is of no consequence... it's just another completion contributing to an 8.2 ypc average.

Regardless... overall that's as much on our MLBs as our DBs.

@bobpound said:

I am embarrassed to say that I know NOTHING about our corner back and safety situation.. I know we made some offseason moves to get some veterans in those key areas, but outside of Ward, I've heard no one talking about it, and I know nothing about the men we have in those positions.

Through 3 pre-season games, I didn't see any obvious long ball burns on our secondary on first teams. is this because the line is finally pressuring QB's into making short safe throws? Are they that good that no one is going long?

Anyone care to break down our secondary situation other than that Ward sucks or rules?  Thank you in Advance.

BobPound!

Well, one thing to know is that every starting position will have a new player there.   And the only holdover as a starter will be Peppers who will be at a new position.

Besides drafting Ward in round one, they brought in 3-4 free agents.

About the best thing I can do for you is to give you the depth chart.  There should be a link on each player here where you can get more info on each one:

And Ward sucks, I didn't know that.