Hillis-iz-Boss said:

Your a xxxxing idiot.

"you're" is the contraction you were looking for.

not a grammar fascist, but if you're gonna stoop to insults, at least know the difference.

If you're jonesin for more football, I suggest finding an NCAA team to follow if you haven't already.

I, for one, wish the "2 less preseason games and 2 more regular season games" point of contention in this years' CBA negotiation would have been ratified, but it wasn't.

it's possible that another round of the playoffs could be warrented if there were enough expansion teams in the future to have 5 teams per division--or maybe just more games during the WC where the bubble teams compete for a playoff birth--but if you're relying on the next CBA to expand the regular season, you're probably going to be disappointed.

if you guys don't want hillis, i'm sure coach rathman wouldn't mind taking him off your hands.

BTW, hammies are notoriously slow-healing injuries. they're like a high ankle sprain or turf toe. I doubt he's holding out with a fake injury trying to garner some sort of negotiating leverage. that doesn't make much sense.

what do you guys think of your LBs?

you have a good line and some great DBs, but I don't recognize most of your LBs.

@marcus said:

Gotta agree on this one. I said in a post a while ago that Hillis is more of a Rathman type back. The X factor is that Hardesty would have to be the Roger Craig of the system. Until he get healthy and stays healthy we'll never know.

Hardesty has gotta be able to run great routes out of the backfield and catch the ball. that's coachable to an extent. durability isn't.

the good news: RBs aren't as tough to land in the draft as some other positions. Gore was drafted in the 3rd round, Hunter in the 4th (Gore had an injury history at the U, and Hunter is 5'7" but you get my point). Both are pretty dang good backs.

@timpiker said:

Thanks for trying to be positive...........but as a 45 year fan, most of your optimism is falling on my deaf ears.

I don't think I'm stretching it too much. Look at the niners' 0-6 to 6-1 turnaround in the course of a single season. To me, it's a question of whether Holmgren gets the personnel and staff in place to run the system effectively. You already have a very decent defense.

@rich4eagle said:

You OBVIOUSLY DO NOT KNOW THE SKILL SET OF FEATURE BACK......................Hillis is not a feature back..................I quit reading after that

I know he's highly productive when healthy. I know you don't exactly have a glut of skill players and Hillis is probably the last dude on the team you should be worried about.

IMO, he'd be a fantastic WCO FB like Rathman was if you guys are confident enough to start Hardesty at RB. And no, it wouldn't be a waste--FBs can be highly productive in the WCO when they're the sort of athlete Hillis is.

@nickers said:

Paul Brown basically invented the WCO in the 50's...Walsh added more medium range passing.

If that's the case, add it to the list of similarites.

I will say, the Browns have a better secondary than the niners. But the niners compensate by having a much better pass rush.

BTW, Mike Adams used to be niner. IDK how he's been for you guys, but he wasn't very good in SF.

Ask Dan Snyder how well blindly adding high-priced, high-profile FAs works out when you don't have an effective scheme in place. Conversely, Holmgren has a plan; although, I understand as a fan what it's like to be cynical about that when the team continues to struggle on the field.

Anyhow, I've seen Hardesty play. He's a very decent runner, but his biggest shortcoming the the WCO is that he has rocks where his hands should be. 1k/1k RBs faulk/watters/craig RBs are what you're looking for.

Holmgren and Harbaugh are both from the Walsh coaching tree. I know the Browns don't have the history the 9ers have in the WCO, but so long as Holmgren is there, expect the roster to start resembling what is effective in that scheme. You have a QB who isn't going to be able to run a corell or martz-type system...but Colt can be effective in the WCO. Right now, however, you don't have anything very respectable at the skill positions. Like I said, it won't happen this season, but you are strong in the trenches and I think you have a good staff and front office. They'll get there under Holmgren.

I'm not a Browns fan, but I follow Ohio teams b/c one of my good bros played for Bowling Green and is crazy for anything Ohio (except for Toledo and Cincy, apparently). Anyhow, you look at what the niners are doing this year, and you look at what the Brown are trying to do, and I think you have reason for optimism as a Browns fan. It all looks very familiar as a niners fan. I see a lot of similarities in what Holmgren is trying to do with that roster out there in Cleveland. The Browns are going to be good.

1) Run the ball and stop the run.

Hillis is a feature back. He needs to get healthy, and the contract issue is very obviously a distraction, but both of those things are immediately resolvable. You have one of the best LTs in the game, and the rest of the online looked decent on the road against possibly the best front 7 in the league in SF. Better RB depth is needed behind Hillis. But the major take away here is short yardage rushing defense. A hard-fought goal line stand in the first half, and couple 3-and-outs in the second half can be attributed directly to an excellent rush D. The niners ran a lot of short yardage plays with SEVEN linemen on the field, and no team in the last several weeks has done as well as the Browns in stuffing that slam formation.

2) Protect the ball on offense and cause turnovers on D.

The niners are at or near the top of the league with a double-digit turnover differential going into yesterday's game. Colt was lucky to only give up 2 turnovers yesterday. He put the ball on the ground 4 times, and at least half of those were unforced. Needs to improve.

3) Win the battle for field position with outstanding special teams.

When you're built around the D and a ball-control offense, the importance of STs and field position cannot be overstated. Brad Seeley the the STs/Asst. Head Coach for the niners this year. It's too bad for the Browns that he couldn't be retained. Still, it seems like the Browns have strong STs. No reason that can't continue.

4) WCO is a great system for disguising a physically-limited QB.

Colt is not playing good football this year, so as a fan you might not believe me, but I'm telling you, he can be a very effective WCO QB. It's a timing-based system that is intended to get the ball in the hands of your playmakers and put them in the position to make plays. This requires perfect reads, decisions, timing, and accuracy--not a big arm. And it also requires playmakers at the skill positions, which to me is the glaring deficiency on the Browns' roster at the moment. I think the WCO plays into his strengths as a developing QB. While I don't expect anyone to wait around for 6 seasons like we did to see decent QB play, Colt has the benefit of growing up in a single system.

5) Effective gameplan and coaching adjustments.

This was probably the 9ers' worst offensive effort of the season, especially in the second half. Either SF's offense really fell off in the second half, or they got shut down by a determined defense and effective adjustments--my guess is the latter.

Anyhow, take it for what it's worth, just my 2 cents. I don't see it all coming together this season, not with your current roster, but this isn't a complicated formula. It's exactly what the niners are doing right this season, and it looks very familiar to me when I look at what the Browns are trying to do moving forward and what Holmgren is building toward.