Cleveland Browns Film Room: Scripting the Opening Offensive Series
October 5, 2012Tweet: Buckeye QB Cardale Jones Doesn’t Like Class
October 5, 2012While the coachspeak could be overflowing with hyperbole, Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Brad Childress went on the record to say that rookie wide receiver Josh Gordon is entering the weekend coming off of his best practice as a professional.
Potentially sensing more of an opportunity given the injuries to fellow receivers Mohamed Massaquoi and Travis Benjamin, the 6-foot-3-inch Gordon is slowly becoming more comfortable in his role, playing quicker and thinking less.
“I didn’t see any hesitation, I didn’t see him thinking about anything,” Childress said regarding the 21-year-old Baylor product. “He’s doing all of thing things that you expect to see from a professional receiver.”
On the young season, Gordon has a mere seven receptions for 93 yards — his lone 16-yard reception against the Balitmore Ravens last Thursday came by mere fluke as it went through the hands of Greg Little and progressed down field where Gordon happened to be coming out of a come-back route. That said, Gordon, the team’s second-round selection for the 2013 Draft due to the rules attached to his supplemental selection, has rarely been one of quarterback Brandon Weeden’s first two progressions, limiting his targets to happenstance. The injuries to Massaquoi and Benjamin would not only serve to move the athletic rookie up the depth chart, but if his work this week in any indication, he could be a key part of the team’s offensive attack as the team travels to the Meadowlands to take on the New York Giants.
The Browns will undoubtedly continue to stretch the field at times, allowing rookie running back Trent Richardson to face more-favorable defenses. Tony Grossi, this week, pointed out that the team needs to abaondon the fullback sets as they are simply brining more men into the box, all gunning to take down the third-overall pick. While losing Benjamin obviously stunts the field-stretching, Gordon is not exactly heavy-footed; he was the target on a fly pattern on Thursday night, one that was simply well defended by Baltimore’s Ladarius Webb.
In recent availability, Gordon admits that his four-week-long career is starting to provide some progress, stating that he’s finally feeling more comfortable, more consistent.
“When I look to the sidelines, there’s nobody going to come in for you,” Gordon said. “No rest. You pretty much have to man up to it and hold up to your responsibilities. At this point, there’s really nothing holding me back.”
Unfortunately for Gordon, Tom Coughlin and Perry Fewell will be creating defensive schemes with the goal of holding every member of the Browns back. It’ll be up to the young and raw Gordon to show that his work this week was in fact bold improvement and it was not just his offensive coordinator blowing smoke up his wide receiver’s tailbone pad.
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Photo via Jon Cole/WFNY
12 Comments
Have at it, youngster.
Anyone know how Josh Cooper is doing on the practice squad? Any chance we see him activated this year? I’d love to see if any of the Ok. State chemistry has survived.
There is a strong contingent of media members who feel that Cooper will be activated at some point before Sunday
Would be nice if Childress’s words are true but suspect he’s just pumping up the young fella before he’s thrown out there as option 1. Maybe they’ll target him with a few early and if he grabs them he can fake it til he makes it and try not turn a botched route into a pick 6.
Hell, no comeback routes, split him way out and throw some jump balls to him and see if he can use his speed and height to go get ’em without thinking too much. We’ll need a couple of big plays to have any chance in this game anyway. And if he’s getting jammed at the line again make something else up. Worst that can happen is we lose to the defending champs on the road.
if all he does is catch the balls that Greg Little drops, then he’ll be a pro-bowler
Thanks!
I would love to see it. Maybe we have diamond in the rough.
It will still be Schirmar’s fault, though, right?
I have this funny image of Gordon just running shadow routes to Little’s, waiting to catch the caroms off of Little’s hands, Sanzenbacher-style.
Schmurer is the Cleveland fan’s old bulldog; anytime there’s a fart in the air we know from whence it came. Even if it didn’t.
Quick, insert Bob Delmonte joke here before someone else does..
Del LaBonte?
put it in the playbook. that way you never know if Little meant to do it or not. foolproof.
Reading Chilly’s statements here and elswhere it seems,to me anyway,that he is trying to take the blame for playcalling and protect Shurmer,even though Shurmer has before said he calls the plays and when you watch him when the O is on the field he is calling the plays,yet when they show pics of Chilly up in the box when the O is on the field Chilly is only watching the game. So this is what the second or third guy that Shurmer is throwing under the bus? Chilly may have a hand at scripting the game plan,and maybe even writing the plays on Shurmers laminated script,he is not calling the plays,I mean seriously WTF. Does anyone in the world think anybody but Shurmer is calling plays on O? Please I will live with dealing about Weedon but Shurmer HAS TO GO…as in NOW.
as far as Grossi’s comments go,we need to abandon the fullback sets because we have a useless fullback starting,if we had a good one it wouldn’t matter if he brought more men in the box when on the field,(no I am not gonna re-visit the fiasco Vickers),but our fullback,hell,any fullback can’t be a lead blocker 2-3 seconds behind the back he is supposed to be lead blocking for..just saying. There are a few really quick backs out there that don’t need a lead blocker,but bruisers, need a head of steam to shed tacklers much like Hillis TR needs to get up to speed without being touched by the D. Who does that for a runner,a good fullback does,which if only by rewatching plays you see we don’t have, almost never is Mareicic ahead of TR,you often don’t see him come into the picture until after the play is over and TR is tackeld, in fact you will most often see him come in behind the pile up of tacklers.