Cleveland Browns

[Bengals1181]

let's not annoint them just yet. While they've beefed up the D-line, the key to a 3-4 is your LB's. Wimbley is pretty good, but what after that? McGinist will be lucky if he's on the team come the start of the season, Jackson is decent, but most browns fans will tell you he's underachieved. Andra Davis isn't anything special either. Antwan Peek could emerge as a starter.

Plus they just lost their best corner, and have pretty much no draft picks to fill holes this year.



IMO, Stallworth has been the best move they've made.

[akiliMVP]

The Redskins, I mean Browns, have "won" in free agency the last 3 seasons. They still haven't had a better record than us up until last season and that's because half of our team was on the IR. They have no draft this year, and now have no corners. The two lineman they traded for, Rogers and Williams, have NEVER played in a 3-4, and to me don't really seem to fit the scheme. Stallworth could be the most overrated receiver in the NFL. This is his 4th team in the last 4 years, I wonder why that is? Anyone who has watched Anderson play know he is a product of the system. Two great receivers and all day to throw, but he still manages to look like crap more often than not. Lewis was very ineffective last season except for 2 or 3 games, most notably against us.

[cincity]

[quote name='DanvilleBengal' post='638849' date='Mar 3 2008, 05:43 AM']So that's it then. We're giving up on the season before it started.


In the words of Dacow.......how pathetic.


Zimmer's rep is that he doesn't need the best ofthe best to work his magic, just a bunch of hungry players that are willing to listen to the coach. For the most part, with the exception of maybe Deltha, we have a vast majority of players that are willing to work hard and listen to the coach. Zimmer seems like the guy that will play the scrawny kid over the stud simply because he has the want-to to get his hands dirty.

There is not a single player on the defense that has name recognition. In spurts we has seen shades of brilliance from them. Hell, we actually succeeded in getting a shutout against the very same Browns that so many people are singing the praises of. And then we followed that up with almost getting another and winning a game that we had to have against the division champs at that time. The skill is there. Talent....ehh, I'm not so sure of. But I do have a feeling that we will be pleasantly surprised this year, whether we actaually get help or not.

Look at it this way. Everyone on the defense for the most part is RAW. That means that they can be molded. And in the case of a few like Brooks and maybe Thurman, they can be refined. We do see what type of work ethic that Brooks has in the offseason. Hell, the coaches raved about it. And in the season opener, it certainly did look like he had put it all together. Regardless of how long Odell's been away, he still has that playmakers knack. That is something that just doesn't go away. Thurman showed what he was capable of, and he didn't even know what in the hell he was doing. You don't just lose that.

Leon and JonJo look to be the real deal at the corners. Both's strengths are in man-to-man and bump and run. They both are sound tacklers. Leon really grew into his spot as a rookie, and JonJo finally showed the playmaking flair and the hands that he showed as a GameCock. It really does look like White and Chinny are the real deal as well. Both are physical, and seem to be developing that bond that creates a solid saftey duo.

Our LBs do look like the strength of the group on D, and we do have a pretty good coach to get them straight in Fitz, and judging by the way he ran the drills at the combine, I would say that he isn't gonna let shit slide. If we do go 3-4, we have potentially 4 solid OLB that all have the ability to rush and drop in Jeanty, Pollack, Henderson, and Geathers if we make that move. In the middle, you would have Brooks and Thurman, as well as Dhani, Corey Mays (I think he could be a player, Belichick does know LBs pretty good and the guy does have 3-4 experience), and quite possibly, Landon. Not to even mention a possible draft pick or two in this area.

Now to the defesive line. We do look pretty rough here, I will admit that. But I think we are gonna see more from Fanane and Rucker than we expected. For all we know, Rucker could be our Justin Tuck (I'm not proclaiming that, BTW). Peko does look like he can handle the point over the center, JT would possibly be better served as a 3-4 end than a tackle. Robinson possibly won't be here. And we ain't even counting that our potential OLBs in a 3-4 can all attack from a 3 point stance in a 4-3. Plus I do believe that we are gonna get an end and a tackle in this draft, not one or the other, but both. I personnally think that Justin leaving allows us to tinker with a 3 man line simply because everyone is game to try it but Justin's too stubborn to try something new. (Everyone knows about when Marvin wanted Justin to add other rush moves to his arsenal, but Justin wouldn't do it. And he's said himself that he's not a 3-4 guy. Kind of ironic that he's going to a team that uses a 3-4 base).

Call me naive, but I do think that some of the skills to run a sucessful defense, regardless of the front, are already here, and just need to be coaxed out. The main reason that we took our time and got Zim and Fitz. Do we need more talent over there? Obviously yes. But I do believe that we have the pieces already, and that it's the scheme that wrong.

I'm been on here with not liking to switch to a 3-4 base, but based on the fact that our LBs are huge, swift, and much better moving forward and being aggressive, and that our D-Line may just be better suited for holding the point as opposed to creating pressure, I am starting to warm up to the idea of a 3-4 defense, even if it a hybrid of what we are playing now with new shit added. In the end, isn't a 3-4 just a 4-3 with a DE just standing up instead of a 3-point?[/quote]


Ahhhhh.... Bengals fans are on this board!

[gatorclaws]

You want to crown them, go ahead and crown their asses

[ccartman2]

I kind of think Savage and Crennel are doing what it takes to save their ass. If they lost last year, at least Crennel was a goner, and possibly savage too. So they are mortgaging the future for now. It might work, it might not. All I know is if they have a corner go down on day one of trianing camp, they are screwed. They have zero depth at any position but DL and QB (and no one knows how good of depth Quinn is). I'm also not sold on their "probowler" Anderson, who only went because Brady was stilling crying about choking on perfection. His second half of the season was pretty sorry, including the game against our scrubs on defense. Another problem with their lack of depth would be is if they get hit with 1/2 the injuries we did last year, and they are at best 3rd in the division.

Yes, they won't be a cake walk team, and may be the team to beat for the division, but they still have to play the games. We need to focus on what it is going to take for us to win games. Adding Robertson and replacing Justin are big. Adding another linebacker and getting Brooks back healthy are also needed. We could use a veteran safety to replace Dexter Jackson. Icing on the cake could be the return of Pollack and Odell. We weren't that far away, and I still don't think we are that far away.

AND FOR GODSAKE, REMEMBER OUR D HAS NO MORE CHUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[PakMan]

Derek Anderson is mediocre.

Jamal Lewis is still a question mark.

They lost their best CB.

They overpaid for Rogers.

They made big moves, not necessarily effective ones.

Steelers are still the best team, then the Browns, Us, and the Ravens. The only reason we arenot better than the Browns is because we are putting in a new defense (at least partially), and that could take some time to adjust.

[akiliMVP]

[quote name='PakMan' post='639140' date='Mar 3 2008, 11:55 AM']Derek Anderson is mediocre.

Jamal Lewis is still a question mark.

They lost their best CB.

They overpaid for Rogers.

They made big moves, not necessarily effective ones.

Steelers are still the best team, then the Browns, Us, and the Ravens. The only reason we arenot better than the Browns is because we are putting in a new defense (at least partially), and that could take some time to adjust.[/quote]
Who says we are putting in a new defense?

[Cricket]

[quote name='akiliMVP' post='639144' date='Mar 3 2008, 12:03 PM']Who says we are putting in a new defense?[/quote]


I think he means we won't be playing Chuck's defense.

[akiliMVP]

[quote name='Cricket' post='639159' date='Mar 3 2008, 12:33 PM']I think he means we won't be playing Chuck's defense.[/quote]
I didn't know he had a defense?