A general post for you to post your ramblings about the current thoughts or feelings you have about our squad at the given moment.
Here's my current thoughts for the day:
Landry is a tone-setter and has the ability to truly lead this WR corps for the entirety of his contract. He is hungry and no amount of money will ever replace his desire for success. I love that about him.
We have a true workhorse RB with Nick Chubb -- the type of running back that Cleveland will fall in love with. Physical, shifty, fast... he does it all on the ground. How do we get more pass-catching involvement from this position brought back into our offense? Duke fell off a cliff last year and Chubb should get more opportunities next year. That said, Duke is a weapon -- one that should be implemented in the "Cole Beasley role" you envision.
David Njoku seems to have a nice nose for the end zone; I was very excited about Njoku but have come to terms with the fact that he may always be the "unicorn" type that is an athletic freak that just never truly becomes more than a situational piece. Is this position being phased out of the NFL?
Baker Mayfield is THE TRUTH and there is nothing more to be said about that.
MBGA - good post. Here is my .02 worth (that and .98 more cents will get you a dollar!)
The Browns did a wonderful job in 2018 extricating themselves for the position of league laughingstocks to the precipice of the playoffs. I think it is only us fans that will continue to think that once we began winning - all is well now and we will easily continue to win. The front office and players know better - there will be no sneaking up on anyone one in 2019. All efforts to get better reset to zero - last year was last year; we must prove ourselves all over again.
Offensively - it all begins with #6. I do expect to see improvement from Baker in year 2. but not necessarily because the game is slowing for him. Hell, the first time he stepped onto a NFL field, he was already playing like a veteran. Pump faking to freeze the safety on your first NFL throw??? Yeah, everyone does that.......
No, I expect the improvement you will see out of Baker is because of those around him - particularly out of the horses up front, and the wide receivers.
The interior of the OL is rock solid. Bitonio-Tretter-Zeitler is about as solid of a group as they come. Not only in talent, but leadership. JC Tretter knew that rookie Austin Corbett was breathing down his neck - and yet week after week, he willed his way onto the field. It was an amazing performance as he fought through the pain of of the dreaded high ankle sprain. That is a leader my friends.
The exterior of the OL or the tackles (Robinson, Harrison and Hubbard) grew as the season went along.The change from Bob Wylie to James Campen is a clear upgrade, given Campen's resume. This group is in good shape. If they decide to upgrade, I think it would be at tackle - and I would prefer the veteran route.
Quarterback room could use an upgrade. Whaaat?? Brooksie's gone and done it - he's lost the last marble he had......
No guys, what I meant by that is - I fully expect Tyrod to be elsewhere in 2019. Drew Stanton probably remains, but I think he is more of an emergency option. His value is mentorship. With Todd Monken on board as the offensive coordinator, the obvious connection to the backup spot is Ryan Fitzpatrick. Conveniently - he is a free agent, and his former team is undergoing a coaching change. At 36, Ryan could still play in the short term. To me, this is the safest option, and it makes way too much sense.
If they go the college route, McSorley of Penn State is a Baker clone, We'll see.
I could see a potential issue if Chubb goes down for any length of time. I think a solid veteran RB that doesn't have 200,000 miles on the tires would be a nice insurance policy.
Receivers will be okay as is - but you would be nuts not to consider adding a piece here too. MBGA, you are spot on that Jarvis is the unquestioned alpha dog of the group. Higgins blossomed nicely to be Baker's go to guy. We need a bonafide deep threat. Can Perriman or Callaway fill that role? Well, they certainly were trending in that direction. But the forgotten piece to this puzzle was Derrick Willies. When Baker was foolishly relegated to the backup position (thanks Hue - you dolt) in training camp, a bond was formed between him and the back up WRs. Willies was one of them - and that showed up in the Ravens victory. But if a stud WR is available in the draft or FA, you must consider it.
Last piece of the offense is PK. No sugar coating it - that position and the whole special teams group cost us at least two games and were not strong in several others. Hence - Anus Jones is outta here. The PK position simply MUST be upgraded. Robbie Gould is a terrific option as a veteran FA, and Matt Gay of Utah could fill that need too.
Now to the biggest problem area on the team - and the most critical need - the defensive line. Myles Garrett and Larry Ogunjobi (on one arm sometimes) were the only ones that consistently had big games. Two guys taking on the workload of four. That simply cannot continue. Can Emmanuel Ogbah be successful as a 3 tech DT? If the answer to that is judged to be a yes, then permanently move him there and draft a hell raising DE. But my choice would be to directly shore up the interior DL. After hearing what Terry Pluto had to say last Tuesday night, this is the path I think the Browns will take. I think they will opt for the athletic tackle vs the space eater.
Linebackers will get switched out as well. I get the feeling from what Pluto said about his dealings with Dorsey that the only "safe" LBs are Shobert and Avery. Yes - Kirksey may be out of here. The reason - Shobert is elite in coverage, but he led the league in missed tackles last year. The tackling by the front seven was horrid last year and MUST be improved.
One of the best decisions by the front office last year was the trade of DeShone Kizer for Damarious Randall. Once Randall arrived and returned to his natural free safety position, everyone else's role became defined and flourished. Specifically, Jabrill. Who knew we had such a baller when he plays closer to the LOS other than Lake County? Ward was a godsend - but another stud CB would be welcome.
Lastly, I think EVERYONE will play better because of the coaching upgrades.