@gumby73 said:

why not us... ?.. because Big Hank's age 30 & Dan Quinn will not care      

The Dallas Cowboys acquired defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins and a 2024 seventh-round pick from the Las Vegas Raiders for a 2023 sixth-round pick on Tuesday.

Maybe we can get John Bosa or Tim Goad out of retirement...

@tiamat63 said:

That Cowboys defense is nasty, and they just added big Hank to their IDL.

why not us... ?.. because Big Hank's age 30 & Dan Quinn will not care      

The Dallas Cowboys acquired defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins and a 2024 seventh-round pick from the Las Vegas Raiders for a 2023 sixth-round pick on Tuesday.

@nero said:

Oh man, I avoided a bullet there. Someone had a higher waiver priority so I went for Dallas defense which killed it. In fact I'm thinking of keeping it the whole way. 

Dallas against DET? Damn, should have said something sooner, I would have told you that you're an idiot to have done otherwise. 

That Cowboys defense is nasty, and they just added big Hank to their IDL.

@tiamat63 said:

That Pats letdown happened a week earlier than expected, and on the offensive side of the ball.  

 Their defense struggled at times with the DET running game. With Barmore out and against a run heavy/dependent team like the Bears though?  Pats -9 was a bait for anybody who put $ on it.   

Oh man, I avoided a bullet there. Someone had a higher waiver priority so I went for Dallas defense which killed it. In fact I'm thinking of keeping it the whole way. 

@nero said:

Yeah, I go week to week for defenses. We are 8 friends in my FFL. 

That Pats letdown happened a week earlier than expected, and on the offensive side of the ball.  

 Their defense struggled at times with the DET running game. With Barmore out and against a run heavy/dependent team like the Bears though?  Pats -9 was a bait for anybody who put $ on it.   

@sdbacker80 said:

The Bills secondary is out (my point I’m making) but it is next man up.  They have rookies and street free agents 

Got it!  Thanks for reminding me not to speed read. 

@korsou-dawg said:

Kurt Warner knows more than me about football. Heck, he could probably still tear us a new one to this day.

https://brownswire.usatoday.com/2022/10/19/browns-kurt-warner-comments-7-22/

Unless Stefanski does something, he could end up being Mike Pettine 2.0

https://brownswire.usatoday.com/2022/10/19/browns-kurt-warner-comments-7-22/

@gumby73 said:

Cloud? is this a when a corner drops to play like a 3rd deep safety? 

 Not so much bubs.  Cloud is any given flavor of cover 2 to a side of the field it's called. 

 The Jets TD bomb where Denzel said he was expecting safety help because he was playing the underneath in a cloud...?   yeah, that's what it is.

Edit: this 2 high shift also might help explain the front offices targeting of taller, heavier corners who can get physical being involved against the perimeter running game.  They want taller guys with wingspan harder to throw over - Newsome, Emerson. 6'1, 200lbs. 6'2, 200lbs.  Definitely a theme there. 

@tiamat63 said:

 Between the advent of 2 high now being the predominant coverage base, the priority on having a dominant single high safety and a pair of outstanding perimeter corners isn't quite as great when you're playing cloud.       

Cloud? is this a when a corner drops to play like a 3rd deep safety? 

@sdbacker80 said:

The Bills secondary is out (my point I’m making) but it is next man up.  They have rookies and street free agents 

 There was something I mentioned around week... 2? maybe 3?   I was noticing A LOT of teams playing more 2 high shell.   But I noticed that Woods' calls we're overwhelmingly also out of cover 4, cover 2, cover 6, etc etc.      Even on early downs that are naturally more "running" downs.  

 Then the stats starting coming out from 2021, reduced blitz rates and more 2 high shells than ever.     The Bills in 2020 and started making sure their defensive front, the entirety of it, could rush the passer and limit the run.  The former a bit more than the latter, but let's be real, they're worried about KC and LAC who aren't strong running teams.

 Between the advent of 2 high now being the predominant coverage base, the priority on having a dominant single high safety and a pair of outstanding perimeter corners isn't quite as great when you're playing cloud.      So I mentioned that I'm expecting the focus, league wide honestly, to start shifting back to the defensive line being a priority the next 5 or so years.   Can't run light box counts and not be punished for it.     

 The Bills were just ahead of the curve.   I mean, they've invested some insane draft capital  and money there last few years.

- Oliver

- Basham

- Rousseau

- Epenesa

- Daquan Jones

- Jordan Phillips

- Shaq Lawson

- Von Miller

 Those boys get it done, left to right, edge to interior.  

 So if you're wondering why the Bills have been able to help minimize their injuries on the back end, they've got a great stable of dogs up front on top of the natural progression to defensive designs that don't place exaggeration on exposing their corners.   Instead of loading up on DB's and fighting fire with fire, the BUF front office said they're bringing a water truck instead.   And that philosophy is reaping early positive results.  

@flugel said:

The Bills secondary had Safety Jordan Poyer earning 1st Team All Pro honors and Safety Micha Hyde earning 2nd Team All Pro honors last year. Tra'Davious White was regarded as one of the top cover corners in the NFL before he blew out his ACL in week 11 last year.  They were a very good secondary believe it or not.  Unfortunately, they're only going to be remembered for the 13 second surgery Mahomes did on them before he pretty much rinsed and repeated the surgery in overtime.  This year Buffalo had Von Miller pressuring Mahomes into an INT to preserve their lead in the final minute or so.

The Bills secondary is out (my point I’m making) but it is next man up.  They have rookies and street free agents 

@flugel said:

The Bills secondary had Safety Jordan Poyer earning 1st Team All Pro honors and Safety Micha Hyde earning 2nd Team All Pro honors last year. Tra'Davious White was regarded as one of the top cover corners in the NFL before he blew out his ACL in week 11 last year.  They were a very good secondary believe it or not.  Unfortunately, they're only going to be remembered for the 13 second surgery Mahomes did on them before he pretty much rinsed and repeated the surgery in overtime.  This year Buffalo had Von Miller pressuring Mahomes into an INT to preserve their lead in the final minute or so.

Yes!... That same Jordan Poyer that was drafted by.... You guessed it!... And let's not forget Pierre Desir.. Who I desperately wanted to keep. He carved out a nice career for himself... BAH!

@canton-dawg said:

Have some pizza Dutch.

Judging by the box... Seems like my kind of place... I grew up on the real deal...

@sdbacker80 said:

Yes!!!!  Bills secondary. 49ers Oline. Chargers multiple groups…list goes on and on.

Go back and look at unit rankings right around preseason time. The secondary could be the most underachieving unit in the entire NFL. 

The Bills secondary had Safety Jordan Poyer earning 1st Team All Pro honors and Safety Micha Hyde earning 2nd Team All Pro honors last year. Tra'Davious White was regarded as one of the top cover corners in the NFL before he blew out his ACL in week 11 last year.  They were a very good secondary believe it or not.  Unfortunately, they're only going to be remembered for the 13 second surgery Mahomes did on them before he pretty much rinsed and repeated the surgery in overtime.  This year Buffalo had Von Miller pressuring Mahomes into an INT to preserve their lead in the final minute or so.

@sdbacker80 said:

Fixing the D will largely be getting the talent that we have already accumulated and paid to play better.  The sound bites next training camp will be interesting. 

And stacking depth…guess what 2/3/4 starters will go down so either Woods or the next guy has to adapt and adjust. Quit complaining about the guys that aren’t there.  Every d@mn team deals with it. 

Aside from a play or two Ward has been part of the problem in the secondary.   5yr. 100M I know we don’t want to believe it…but it is true. 

Have we as fans overrated the talent in our secondary?  One of the most underrated things Joe Haden did here when he was on top of his game was consistently tackle people - a lot of that was because he was usually in ideal position to do so. That wasn't just in coverage. He was also very good in run support and in open fields.  Unfortunately, that all took an early toll on his body to the extent he'd try to play through injuries and his performance declined.  

Aside from your point about Ward, his durability can also be a concern given the salary committed to him. 

I DO like what I've seen from our rookie Emerson and he's not afraid to tackle people.  

@tiamat63 said:

I would too... against the Bears.  Beyond that? Play with fire at your own risk. 

Yeah, I go week to week for defenses. We are 8 friends in my FFL. 

@nero said:

Shit, Tia. I just put a waiver on the Pats defense vs the Bears... 

I would too... against the Bears.  Beyond that? Play with fire at your own risk. 

@tiamat63 said:

 Ultimately this is a grudge you hold because of the Baker situation. 

 I understand your mind can never be changed until it's too late. I accept that's who you are and it is what it is. 

Two things. 

First. 

- I could dive into the complexity of Stef stealing motions from the Ravens, a lot like what McVay L.A. did, and incorporated that into the pin and pull scheme along with a fake read element that would blow your mind.     So this "Stef doesnt adapt" is your feeling more-so than a reality. Had the Browns won yesterday, you wouldn't have been present today let alone saying something like that.  Again, it's who you are and it's a short coming I have to deal with should I feel the desire to uncover your posts (like I did now) 

Just know, that you're demonstrably incorrect. 

Second 

- The Pats defense isn't "back".  They've hit a great stretch of matchups against bad offensive play and personnel that has given the impression of a return to greatness. They still lack a dominant interior player for their base 2 gaps, their corners are beatable and as we saw with your boy Dugger, when he's forced into matchups on the perimeter, he is a liability.  

I'm waiting for the right time to "buy high " when the Pats become too overvauled gambling wise when Vegas goes to capitalize on betting lines based of that articles narrative.  People will read that, believe it and wager it at the wrong time - probably against Buffalo. 

 Let people believe the days of Wilfork and Seymour are back. Good way to make money. 

Shit, Tia. I just put a waiver on the Pats defense vs the Bears... 

@tiamat63 said:

 I really have to ask, what did everyone else see yesterday?   Because I'm trying to understand the minds of fans more, if I can.

 I see you have an upvote, which means there is yourself and at least one other person who believed we didn't send more pressures.    Meanwhile I saw the total opposite.  We blitz'd ourselves into trouble, or blitz'd ourselves knowing it causes trouble and were willing to live with the potential trade off.  

 So I'm curious as to what lead you to feel that we didn't actually send pressure yesterday?  Was it that it didn't get home?   Or that you just genuinely didn't see the Browns call it as much as you'd like?  Which leads to another question, what percentage would make you feel comfortable on the blitz being called?

First, my post had more than just what you're quoting, so perhaps the person "upvoting" liked the portion of my post that you chose not quote. Who upvotes is really irrelevant. It's not like everyone has to vote on every post to decide if they agree or not. There could be many more that agree and like myself rarely upvote. In the end, what you believe and feel is all that matters, not some online forum mechanism that is suppose to help you feel better about a posted opinion. 

Zeppe went what 24/34. Decent game. He was only sacked twice and only 2 QB hits, in 4 quarters, against this defense that was suppose to be top in the league. Whether it be blitzs, better pressure from front 4, the poor execution of blitzs, schemes, poor tackling, poor coverage, all of it. It stinks. I will be the first to admit that if you're seeing blitz and I'm not, perhaps it's because it look like how a blitz should look because we suck at that too.  

We got picked apart by a rookie QB. Most other teams would have welcomed him to the league in a lot worse fashion. 

@canton-dawg said:

This ^^^^
 

I’ve mentioned it before, that we have invested lots of money and draft capital in the secondary.

The results are underwhelming, and it either boils down to talent or coaching.

Remember The guy in charge didn’t have the guys back there.  We had guys like Sendejo.   I am assuming he had input on the selections and signings that were made.  

@orion said:

Many of us feared this throughout the offseason.  The IDL.  AND the LB'ers being drafted were built for speed.  Speed has pretty much been their philosophy.  But would it hold up against the run?  And when Anthony Walker went down...well, that just magnified it.  Hopefully the new guy from Atlanta that Berry traded for will be the Anthony Walker.

So, for two straight games we were getting smashed by the run.  Well, Woods is in the hot seat to do something about it.  The Patriots like to run.  Third string QB.  So, I'll commit more guys to the run and play thinner on the back end.  Yup!  Worked fairly well.  BUT, it put too much strain on the back end.  And with Ward being out, the secondary had guys wide open.  

The IDL / MLB deficiency is just too large to cover up with a comb-over from the back end.

I've defended Stefanski but have stated that I don't care for what I consider to be over aggressive 4th down decision making.  And who knows, that could be an organizational mandate.  But he's doing what he can with what he's given to work with.  Some people wanted him to run 30 times against Bill Belichick, like that was gonna work.  Bill makes you  play to your weakness...so you better not have one.   And Stef did.  It's called, the passing game.  He's got Brissett, a career backup, who shouldn't throw when he's on the run.  

Three quarters of the DL has to be addressed.  (Clowney doesn't play enough)  Is Delpit a good enough safety?  ILB?  Hospital Ward...

This thing has to be evaluated during and after next season when they'll have their QB and have another shot at fixing the D.

...and I heard on The Fan today that the organization just hired two analysts.     

Fixing the D will largely be getting the talent that we have already accumulated and paid to play better.  The sound bites next training camp will be interesting. 

And stacking depth…guess what 2/3/4 starters will go down so either Woods or the next guy has to adapt and adjust. Quit complaining about the guys that aren’t there.  Every d@mn team deals with it. 

Aside from a play or two Ward has been part of the problem in the secondary.   5yr. 100M I know we don’t want to believe it…but it is true.