Browns lose Pep in their step towards relevancy

Pep Hamilton took the job at Michigan earlier this week to become an offensive coach. When I told my wife, she just casually mentioned that Michigan has better talent then the Browns, Zing!

Pep has been a coach in the league for over 13 years working mainly as a quarterbacks coach with 5 different teams. His offenses tend to be pass heavy mainly due to his working with qb’s his whole career, leading to the most pass attempts in the league in 2014. It also helps when your team has Andrew Luck as it qb, and a bunch of no names at running back.

Pep was considered a good friend of Hue Jackson and was not seen as a coach who would need replaced this year. Since Hue took over all the play calling for the offense it was Pep’s job to work with the qb’s. Because of injury his job may have been the toughest of anyone on the team, and at the end of the year he finally got some continuity with RG3 being able to stay healthy for 4 straight games. Unfortunately those games proved the point that RG3 still has no business being a starting qb in the NFL as he continued to show his inability to read a defense and not just look at one receiver and if not open look to run with the ball. This to me reflects poorly on Pep and maybe the reason he chose to move back to college and join a coach who will let him run his offense, and who can work with guys who will listen to what he has to say, and actually improve their game with his teaching.

Pep leaving signals to me that RG3 will still be the starting qb for this team next year. It also signals to me that Hue will never relinquish his strangle hold on the offensive side of the ball. Pep looks to have wanted more control over the offense and/or he wanted assurances that RG3  would not be with the team next year. Once Hue let him know that he wouldn’t get either of those options Pep chose to go somewhere he knew he would be able to control things his way. Hopefully Hue knows what he is doing by losing the experience of a Pep Hamilton, if not he could be on the way out a lot sooner then expected.

Gregg Williams Browns savior?

As of today the great goateed one has chosen to accept the monumental task of turning around the Cleveland Browns defense next year. His task at hand will be next to impossible next year as the Browns have one of the youngest teams in the league and really have very minimal play makers on defense. Let’s take a look into what we can expect next year for Mr. Williams.

The last three years coaching  the Rams defense we have seen a drastically wild swings in the rankings.  total yards wise they have been below average to above average ranging from 9th to 23rd in total defense. Not surprising given that the offensive prowess of those Rams team was non existent at best, unfortunately coming to the Browns wont really change that as their offense is almost exactly the same.

The next aspect would be takeaways, which again has been ranked to varying degrees. his first two years they were slightly above average but last year they tanked to below average. His defenses get their takeaways from being able to recover fumbles at an above average rate. As the noted Bill Barnwell of ESPN has stated before relying on fumble recoveries is mostly variable from year to year and when recovering fumbles dries up your defense is in trouble. This is what happened to Williams this year as they ranked below average in fumble recoveries and the defense fell back. The defense fell back because his defenses don’t intercept pass at an average rate as compared to the league. to put it in perspective they intercepted the same amount of passes as the Browns last year.

Rushing and Passing defenses seem to have an odd correlation to each other from his time with the Rams. The amount of attempts for each are above average, but the total yard rankings are average to below average. To put that in numbers last year in passing they ranked 13th in attempts against, but ranked 10th in total passing yards. While rushing they ranked 12th in attempts against, and 16th in yards given up. Normally the more attempts you give up the more yardage you give up. This to me shows that most of this is due to turnovers by the offense and short fields that the defense had to defend against. 44 turnovers by their offense and 14% of their drives ending in a turnover helps defend my theory that most of the defensive short comings are actually the fault of the offense, and just watching the Rams attempt to do anything offensively will make you wish you watched the Browns instead.

Overall Williams I think wont be much of an upgrade over Horton, but he is a name that players know so maybe he helps attract veteran free agents to come to Cleveland. His teams have not really been above average in anything but recovering fumbles, and his teams rank basically the same as Horton’s have. This offense wont help him any more than the Rams did so do not go expecting great things next year from the Browns. Lets just hope this leads to drafting Leonard over Garrett.

 

Browns make correct call

News came out this weekend that Ray Horton will be fired. As of this writing it looks like Gregg(Bountygate) Williams is the top choice, followed by Wade Philips, and Gus Bradley. Although Bradley is expected to go to the Redskins.

From the beginning the hire of Ray Horton was a puzzling one since the previous 2 seasons in Tennessee were atrocious at best. His defenses ranked 30th and 31st in the league while average 2.5 sacks per game which is not ideal for any defense. The worst part about his defenses since being a coordinator is that his teams consistently rank near dead last in team takeaways. his second year in Arizona was the only time a team of his ranked inside the top 20(4th) and mix that  with his defenses inability to stop the run (18th ranked in his best years) spells doom  for any defense. To me this shows that his defenses are of the bend don’t break variety, and without the talent to go along should spell the end of his tenure as D coordinator.

Does RG3 think his Shits stink?

As I read the quotes from RG3 this afternoon my first initial thought was that RG3 lives on another planet that we can not see or hear. I don’t know if he actually believes what he says or if he actually says it just to make people laugh. Believe that he has proven the doubters wrong may be the most ass backwards thing a player like him can say. Let us go through the stats to see if he proved any of us doubters wrong.

Games Played: 5

completion %: 59.2

avg yards per pass: 6.0

QB rate 72.5

passing yards: 886

Yards p/g : 177.2

attempts p/g: 29.4

Lets take a look at each of these stats on their own just to see where he stands against all the QB’s in the league.

Game starts: 5

this is the biggest issue with RG3 through out his career. It was the main issue he did not play a game last year for the Redskins (which would have cost them 15 million if he got hurt.) He got hurt the first game of the year due to him attempting to run over a CB, costing him 10 straight games. He also was injured multiple times in his last 4 starts including a concussion in the Browns only win of the year.

Completion %: 59.2

ties him for 42nd with such a stalwart QB as Colin Kapernick, and puts him below players such as Trevor Siemian, Matt Barkley, Case Keenum, Scott Tolzien. At least he was better than Jay Cutler, Brock Osweiler, and Blake Bortles. I would consider this another fail in the department of proving the doubters wrong.

Yards per pass: 6.0

Tied for 52nd with Paxton Lynch. Ahead of guys like Blaine Gabbert, Brock Osweiler, and Jared Goff. Behind guys such as Bryce Petty, Blake Bortles, and his own teammate Josh McCown.  This list makes me sad for Browns fans just knowing the front office wanted Jared Goff who ranked 58th overall. Failed again

QB rate: 72.5

Ranked 47th overall just ahead of teammate Josh McCown, Brock Osweiler, and Ryan Fitzpatrick. Behind players such as Case Keenum, Jay Cutler, Blake Bortles, and Trevor Siemian. At least in this list he is just behind Cam Newton. SO you got that going for you.

Passing yards: 886 (prorated to 2835 yards in a full season)

Because of the injuries I prorated his stats to full season just to see who he would compare to as a starting QB. I know this is a foolish exercise, but at least it makes it fair to him, and we are all about equal opportunity at lakeisonfire. He would rank 28th just ahead of Ryan Fitzpatrick,  and Case Keenum. and just behind Brock Osweiler, Ryan Tannehill, and Tyrod Taylor. Another fail, and as you can see a significant trend with another bad QB who seems to be on all his lists.

Yards P/G: 177.2

puts him 37th with players like Paxton Lynch, Blaine Gabbert, and Jared Goff. Just behind Colin Kapernick, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Brock Osweiler (again.) Another massive fail  especially in a league where passing has become the it thing.

Attempts  P/G: 29.4

I put this in just to see what level he is being used compared to his contemporaries. I mean those QB’s who throw more on a per game basis should have higher counting stats. Here he ranks 30th on a rate basis putting him in with guys like Jared Goff, Tyrod Taylor, and Ryan Tannehill. This to me shows that Hue Jackson had little faith in RG3 being able to throw the football at an acceptable level. I would consider this another fail.

Sadly this year RG3 is eerily similar to the mega bust in Brock Osweiler. On almost every list he is comparable with Osweiler and that is a frightening future to look at if your a Browns fan. Everyone can see that RG3 can not play in the NFL as a competent starter, and hopefully the front office agrees and will not pick up his roster bonus when it comes up in March. Cody Kessler and what ever rookie QB you draft can get you another 3-13 season and get the Browns another step closer to the top of the mountain.

 

All stats and rankings are courtesy of NFL.com

 

 

Clutching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

With the stands half-filled and boos raining down upon the home team the Pittsburgh Steelers looked to be on their way to their first home loss to the Browns since Tim Couch was slinging passes. Then in typical Browns fashion the second half occurred and the Browns realized who they were.

The Browns started off the game as though they were an actual football team with real NFL caliber starters. RG3 looked the part of an accurate passer with laser like focus as he hit multiple receivers with quick passes over the middle, ending their second drive with his first touchdown pass of the year to backup Tight End Seth Devalve. Mid-way through the second quarter he even added a second touchdown pass to his starting Tight End Gary Barnidge to put the Browns up 14-0. This would essentially be the end of the highlights for the passing game.

The defense was outstanding for much of the first half, clogging running lanes and getting tremendous pressure on third downs which lead to 2 first half sacks and made Landry Jones look as much the backup quarterback as he has shown himself to be throughout his career. Ray Horton finally dialed up some great third down blitzes putting the numbers in his favor and allowing his Line Backers (Demario Davis, Kristen Kirksey) to get free looks and make some plays.

Then right before half time a bizarre sequence of events lead to the eventual downfall of the Browns on this day. After getting into the redzone for the third time, RG3 reverted back to his old self and looked his receiver down and his pass hit Ryan Shazier right in the chest on the 2 yard line. A unnecessary roughness penalty put the ball at the 1, and two straight plays it looked like the Browns were going to get a safety to go up 16 but both times Williams the Running Back was able to get the entire football outside of the endzone, and after an incompletion the Steelers punted and gave the Browns great field position. Instead of keeping the good vibes going and running out the clock with a couple of runs the Browns attempted to throw the ball but RG3 was crushed as he was throwing and fumbled the ball giving back to the Steelers with just over 2 minutes left in the half. With a little over 30 seconds left Jones found Williams with a screen and after breaking two tackles found the endzone to cut the lead to 7.

The second half was the typical Browns half with multiple mistakes and a crazy bizarre plays that only the Browns could hope to perform on a weekly basis. But we will get back to that later. The third quarter brought about a different Steelers defense which must have realized they should not ever lose to the Browns as they pressured RG3 on almost every play and caused him to lose that rhythm he had in the first half. The only moment that was memorable from the third quarter was the bizarre Brien Boddy-Calhoun intercepted a poorly underthrown ball that he was 2 yards away from scoring a pick six but tried to get fancy and dive to the Pilon only to have Derius Heyward Bey of all people strip him of the ball and Landry Jones recover it in the end zone to give the Steelers the ball at their own twenty. This seemed to wake up the Steelers offense as they moved down the field with the combo of Willams and Touissant providing a huge chunk of the yardage and Williams punching in the game tying touchdown early on the fourth from 1 yard out.

Cleveland pushed down the field on the next drive, with RG3 hitting Terrelle Pryor for a huge 19 yard gain on third down and using Crowells ability to find day light through the line, only to have a sack of RG3 push them back just far enough for Cody Parkay to miss just left and leave the game tied. Clevelands defense obliged the Steelers to take the lead when an overmatched height wise Boddy-Calhoun lost to Darius Heyward Bey and allowed a 46 yard pass play giving the Steelers a first down deep inside Browns territory. Three plays later Ayers broke a few tackles and found the endzone to give the Steelers the lead 21-14.

Fortunately these Browns have some backbone and a 67 yard run by Crowell ended with a 5 yard George Atkinson the thrid run into the endzone to tie the game. After stopping the Steelers on their next drive the Browns actually looked like they were going to win when Pryor double moved a fourth string corner and was pushed out of bounds at the 5 yard line with barely over a minute left in the game. All the Browns had to do was sit on the ball and let the Steelers waste their timeouts and they could kick a field goal shorter than an extra point and win the game. But as only the Browns know how Crowell was stripped of the football on the very next play and the Steelers were able to run out the clock and force over time.

Over time brought more pain for Browns fans as they were able to push down the field yet again with a potent running attack and RG3 hitting his receivers in stride to pick up big chunk plays only to fail again when it came scoring in the red zone. Their fear of the Crowell fumble forced RG3 to overthrow his third string TE on first and goal. Their second play netted negative 14 yards as Pryor missed a block that allowed the Steelers defender to burst through to the screen and push Hawkins back. On the third play pressure caused RG3 to run out of the pocket and just throw away the ball so as not to lose more yardage. A field goal by Parkay gave the Browns the lead which would not be held for long. The Browns defense finally let down and could not make the timely tackles when needed, and allowed a deep pass into the left hand corner of the end zone to a wide open Cobi Hamilton who sealed the fate of the hapless Browns with another loss 27-24.

The Browns played with extreme toughness, but proved once again that their talent level is that of a second string NFL team.  Hope springs eternal now that they have an offseason to try and find which players to keep and which coaches to fire.  The mountain to climb is steep for the Browns but the beginning steps have been taken, and some day down the road that mountain will be climbed and everyone will truly believe in the Browns again.

Quick recap

Expectations were met today after watching the Browns try to compete with possibly the only team that is of equal talent. The defensive ends played much better then could be expected when starting 2 rookies, but everything else was horrific at best. Danny Shelton has to be benched, the linebackers were non existent, and the defensive backs might as well have not even showed up with the way they played.

Unfortunately the offense had to take the field for the Browns and as expected they flunked with flying colors. watching Corey Coleman attempt to catch a football gave me flash backs to watching Braylon “stonehands” Edwards try to catch footballs. Besides a couple of runs by the run game, it actually pained me to watch Crowell run into his offensive lineman and just fall down repeatedly, while everytime RG3 was forced to run for his life i closed my eyes hoping he wouldn’t get hit and fall apart. Unfortunately he forgot how to slide late in the game and decided to try and run a defender over and ended up hurting his shoulder. Too bad he did not hurt his shoulder sooner as watching him play QB was like watching a small time D1 prospect playing in his first game. high and wide, too long, and thrown too late are the best things I can say about his Browns debut.

Overall this is exactly what I expected from a team devoid of talent. Their were some moments of bliss, but they were few and far between for the Browns defense. This team may not win a game this year, but that is not what this season was about to begin with. This season is about progression and making sure the rookies know the realities of NFL life. If from week to week we can see the young players start to grasp NFL concepts then call this season a win, because their may not be one on the record all season.

 

The future is bright

The season of transition starts in two days and I am sure by now as a Browns fan you know this season will be long and dark and full of terrors. But fear not Browns fans as your Jon Snow is 2 years…

Source: The future is bright

The future is bright

The season of transition starts in two days and I am sure by now as a Browns fan you know this season will be long and dark and full of terrors. But fear not Browns fans as your Jon Snow is 2 years away from saving you from the long Winter that will befall you. All is not lost though, the future does look bright if you squint hard enough and look at the individuals instead of the team. As the season progresses I will do in-depth articles on players I feel will become keys to the resurgence that the Browns will have under coach Hue Jackson.

In no particular order I will be writing articles on:

Joel Bitonio

Duke Johnson Jr.

Carl Nassib

Tyrone Holmes

Jamie Meder

Emmanuel  Ogbah

Joe Schobert

Derrick Kindred

George Atkinson

 

As you can see from this list I love the defense going forward. Let me know what you guys think about this list, and who you think has a chance to make an impact in the future for your Browns.

 

Don’t call it a TANK

“I think rebuilding says that you’re totally junking everything and starting over. That’s not what we’re doing,”

-Hue Jackson

The very words from the man who is trying to mastermind what would be the greatest turn around in football history. The Browns have been a laughing stock in the NFL since their reincarnation in 1999 with 2 winning seasons and 1 playoff appearance . Yet all I hear from the media is that the Browns are “tanking” this year from a better draft pick next year. If this is considered a TANK job then what have the last 16 years been? I think the better word to use for this season is PURGE.

The defintion of purge: an abrupt or violent removal of a group of people from an organization or place. This is exactly what the Browns have done with this season with the removal of everyone in this organization that had the Browns stink on them from seasons past. Gone are the failures from the past that have haunted the Browns for so many years. From the failed draft picks such as Barkevious Mingo, Pierre Desir, Charles Gaines, and  Justin Gilbert. To the failed free agent signings such as Paul Kreuger, Brian Hartline, Dwayne Bowe, the list seems to be endless. If signing players like that does not seem to be tanking then I don’t know what does.

When ever a new regime starts they will bring in “their” guys who have the same ideals and principles as they do. This makes life easier behind the scenes knowing that the person above you has your back if/when things go wrong. That is why this is different then in years past when the owner reversed that order and hired the coach before his general manager. The general manager group as I will call them has the same mindset as coach Hue and that is a great foundation to start. This purge is going to hurt for a few years but in the long run it will benefit the Browns in ways we  cant even imagine yet.  Going young is the way to go when you have been spinning your tires for nearly two decades. At this point the Browns need to throw as many young players against the proverbial wall and see which ones can prove to be the backbone of future success and which players they need to let go of and find replacements as soon as possible. Tomorrow I will blog about which young players I think will stick with this team and prove to be the back bone of future successes.

First blog post

Hello everybody, first blog post ever. My name is Will Laible and I have been itching to be a sports writer for a few years now. Finally got the courage to start up my own blog so that some day I can actually write for a widely read publication.

Content on this site will be Cleveland specific ( Cavs,Indians,Browns,Buckeyes) but will also touch on broader national topics that affect other aspects of life.

Hope you enjoy the posts, and even if you don’t comments are always welcome.