I like the weekly thread idea Shep started.
To recap the weekend...
CoVid false-positive scare is over, and the light Sunday practice is in the books. Sunday was supposed to be a ramp up day, in pads, full-go. Oh well. At least all of the falsely positive players return today. Schefter tweeting all 77 positive around the league were false positives.
Myles back at practice and aggressively doing agility drills on the Insta. Zegura saying he looked amazing.
Chubb at full go, and was not eased back into it, they ran the crap out of him
Saturday's practice felt to be the most balanced between O and D. Nice back and forth
Phillips, maybe the least talked about rook, might be elbowing his way into starter territory. Pete Smith saying he's been the most impressive rookie in his eyes. His diagnosing of plays is very quick. Called out an Hoop target at the line "before Baker even set his feet to take the snap". Also went on to project in a 4-2-5, the 2 LB's may be BJG and JP.
Liver lac must have been grade 1, mild, for K-Jo. Huge news. He did finish that practice after all, so couldn't have been a high grade tear.
Higgs, brother, you're not being mentioned at all. You better get it in gear this week. He did have some plays on Saturday.
Also on Saturday, Myles and OV switching sides a lot. Good luck young Jed.
Money-Mitch and MJ Stewart continue to impress. It's crazy how good the reports are on our DB's.
BJG has looked better than expected, and is a leader.
Thanks, bud! I don't have half your info so makes way more sense. Great stuff. A few things I'm thinking about already:
- Bradham getting cut continues the bad reviews for signing high-dollar or, in this case, high-profile LBs. Niners trying to get out from under Kwon, high-dollar Raven dude (it's early and yesterday was basically an impressively long two-person pool party so cut me slack, damnit!) who will have played two games in two seasons for his new team (opted out).
Browns went penny stock, homed in on Malcolm Smith as their clear choice, betting that he's healthy and can be the guy he was before. Word is he is indeed 100% and in terrific shape.
- BJ Goodson is another no-regrets version of signing veteran LBs. He was seen as a middle-class guy who might need to come off the field on 3rds, but he didn't get that memo. He's been more than we bargained for, reading it over and over.
Locked himself in fast as the full-time MLB and a vocal leader.
- If it is Goodson and Phillips, I can get really optimistic about that. Two elite tacklers, and that's way more than physical talent/technique, as Pete Smith pointed out. It's what Delpit needs to learn because he's got the spirit for it, no doubt.
Certainly makes sense against Lamar. Joseph will help a lot, too. It really does add up and I keep feeling it: We're not gonna be "stung" by our linebackers.
- If Smith is truly right, I can see him in a lot of those packages.
- At some point, we'll stop getting concerned about the offense needing to catch up to the defense (!). It's an every year gnashing. I know this one's a little different with a new offense in the age of COVID... but same principle.
Jake Burns saying that's how it's worked in the past installing this offense... calmed me quite a bit. And for Grimm, he backed it up with stats. Grimm, I love your refusal to accept any tropes, even the ones that sound smart. Still kind of an issue for football in a way it isn't in basketball or baseball.
They're ahead on the deep-dive numbers stuff.
Truth. Because where we are now in football is... 1990s? Ish? In baseball? In that the analysis is kind of rudimentary, and most of the people who make football analytics arguments are (a) correct, usually (b) needlessly mean, usually.
But things have progressed rapidly in the last 3-4 years. While there are chemistry concerns (which I think are what you're alluding to - and which, by the way, I'm willing to accept as an explanation for the first month or so of the regular season), things have started getting pretty robust.
Personally, I think PFF is the missing link here, and I think there's still a lot that can be done with PFF alone, let alone the player skill set interactions. So much of football is qualitative, and trying to quantify based on box score numbers was really drawing blood from a stone. But PFF is a really, really major step to letting us use data analysis tools on qualitative things.
Also - however fair the explanation is, my concern is still definitely more an instinctual fear than a data-driven conclusion. Just so happens I can mask it as the latter. Sometimes.
The Athletic with a nice risers and fallers list today.
Risers: Porter Gustin, MJ Stewart, Harrison Bryant, Kareen Hunt and the entire D-line.
Fallers: Ratley, Higgins, Montgomery, Chad Thomas and the O-line as a unit.
On the O-line, no Tretter and it's becoming clear Jed's growing pains are going to have to be a regular season thing. He could have used some preseason games.
We are all going to have to accept that the first four games will be preseason-esque. The good news? Same pile of shit for everyone (thanks for that classic image, Phil, LOL). Better news for Browns? Real chance to go 3-1 in those first four if our offense finds itself quickly.
That back seven took a major hit today guys... who is going to cover the TE now? Maybe time to call Logan Ryan as Sobo suggested?
Browns are concerned that rookie S Grant Delpit suffered an Achilles injury and he’s undergoing testing now. https://twitter.com/adamschefter/status/1297973662470017024
Nickelback M.J. Stewart had ice wrap on back of leg earlier, then watched first-team D from sideline in 11 on 11. With Greedy Williams leaving practice and Stewart watching, CBs Donovan Olumba and Donnie Lewis join Denzel Ward with the ones.
https://twitter.com/ByNateUlrich/status/1297985871472402437
The Grant Delpit injury does not sound good. Damn it.
He's done. Shefter says we're "in" on Thomas and I'm like, "Duh." You have to at least get serious about it. We have the need and the money and a star looking to bounce back is suddenly available.
And Dallas is apparently out.
He sounds like a malcontent from how the Ratbirds are portraying him but I think he would LOVE to spill all their defensive calls and dish a little payback to them. And we're a little in need at the moment.
Logan Ryan would be the huge move but it would mean AB was willing to step away from his plan a bit. He knows both other veteran safeties come off the books after one season, so maybe he looks at 2021, sees a Super Bowl, and loves the idea of a stacked safety room.
Four years makes him 33 for the last one.
Baker still looking rusty man. Lots of overthrows.
Harrison Bryant continues to, frankly, amaze.
We might trade Njoku after all, and roll with Carlson and Brown as TE3 and TE4.
T-MItch seen doing calisthenics today, and then a day off tomorrow.
Kevin Johnson seen doing mild activity as well.
Olombo continues to impress
MJ Stewart is hopefully is a mild hammy.
Wills still struggling.
Harris still impressing.
Higgs coming back to life.
Wills, Baker’s throwing, Njoku and the injuries are bothering me...
A lot.
I’m surprised our offense‘s struggles haven’t made headlines nationally. People love to pick on Baker and the Browns.
Was AVP right that Baker needed to be fixed? I’m not sure messing with his footwork was the right thing to do. He’s 6’1“ and yet his mechanics produced an accurate cannon. So you mess with that?
Although, we saw more overthrows in 2019 than we did in 2018, so who knows.
I think it was pretty unanimous that his footwork got wonky last year, which is what usually happens to young QBs who don't trust their lines and have no clue where their WRs are going (!).
"Learning bad habits" is real for QBs, and based on his high school and college rampage, he hasn't seen that kind of adversity before. True of most elite QBs, including Peyton Manning.
I'm holding off on getting worried. It's yet another new offense, his fourth in two calendar years, and the layoff was really long. Jake's talk about how timing oriented this offense is, that's soothed me.
I'll wait until I watch him Sep. 13.
The Chief
Ratley
Money Mitch
Tae Davis
... are all back practicing today.
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Hubbard is at LG2, Taylor is at RG2.
Keenum to DJP for a bomb TD.
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Baker much sharper today.
DJP to the lockeroom early.
Couple pretty dimes for TDs between Baker and Hollywood, I read. Sweet!
@JSS It probably seems like I was pessimistic about Baker - but I promise there is no limit to how much you can get me to overreact to good Baker practice rumors.
https://twitter.com/ScottPetrak/status/1299098603630350338
WR Donovan Peoples-Jones not included in team's injury report after he left practice early. Was told he's fine.
Gets really soapy if Baker and Higgins are dialed in and he leans on him early.
Due to weather, today's Browns practice outside was moved inside it's 50 yard facility at 11:30am and there will be NO BrownsLive show today.
Gracias, Dan.
So you're in Lauderdale? I remember loving Lauderdale by the Sea (your Tweet) for the really cool privately owned beach hotels. There's a stretch of Santa Monica (heading for Venice) like that.
I met my ladies (mom and sisters) at one of the Marriott properties there because that's my favorite side (the whole Lauderdale, Miami, Keys run).
@JSS I like it here, I sell real estate here so it's a good location for earning. I will eventually move back to Arizona one day providing that 2020 doesn't get me first! 🤣😮
Injuries:
Greedy Williams - upgraded to day-to-day
Adrian Clayborn (groin) - no update
Money-Mitch - full practice
Khadarel Hodge - came back and KS with some nice comments
Kevin Johnson (lacerated liver) - week to week
MJ Stewart (hammy) - no update
JC Tretter (knee) - still hoping to be Ravens ready
Mack Wilson (knee) - no update
Jarvis Landry (hip) - planned rehab day off
Karl Joseph (foot) - planned rehab day off
... not too shabby
Would love to get JC back before the Ravens game, but I'm not sweating Nick Harris. Sounds like a lot of positives for a guy who is supposed to be a development guy. We have a potential out in JC's contract next year, and I wonder if we've seen enough from Harris to make it tempting.
It's a shame we've got no update on Mack Wilson. I feel like the longer it goes on, the worse the news is going to be.
@BDU Mack has so far avoided surgery which at least keeps open the potential for a return this season but likely not soon
I go the other way, Trent: The longer he goes without announcing surgery, the more I think he won't have it. Clock's always ticking, you don't really wanna lose six weeks and still have to do it.
I know the early returns, several days out, were good. So I think the swelling went down or something? Doc?
Related: Tidy little article in the PD posits that if you're looking for the biggest pleasant surprise of the first two weeks, it's definitely the LBs. Goodson has really soothed nerves, expected to be a captain.
Good. Let's not throw this fish back like Demario!