May 21, 2013

Ray Horton on Barkevious Mingo: “I want him to be a dominating player.”

May 16, 2013 by 5 Comments

Following mini-camp on Thursday, defensive coordinator Ray Horton met with the media. When asked about first round pick Barkevious Mingo’s weight (a popular topic for discussion lately) Horton talked about what he wants from the linebacker.

“I want him to be a dominating player,” he said. “Weight? Some guys are too big, some guys are too small. Some guys aren’t fast enough, some guys aren’t slow enough, but they learn how to play. We want athletic players. He is an athletic football player and that’s what we want him to be.”

It was clear from Horton’s comments that the Browns are focusing on the very basics of the defense during the mini-camp and aren’t going to rush Mingo’s progress.

“It’s a totally different defense so there is a lot of adjustments – terminology, drops, the way I call games, the way I ask them to learn the defense,” Horton said. “Right now I am just asking them to trust me and trust the defense and they are doing that. We are pleased with where we are at day three of OTAs.”

Not only are Mingo and Jabaal Sheard learning a new defensive system, but a new position as well.

[Related: Browns betting on defense and hoping for offense]

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The Browns and the First Round: Dion Jordan

April 22, 2013 by 9 Comments

We are less than a week from the NFL Draft, also known as the most important day of the year for your Cleveland Browns. With (another) new regime taking over the reigns and new schemes in place on both sides of the ball, it is crucial that Joe Banner, Mike Lombardi, Ray Farmer, Rob Chudzinski and the crew nail these three days. It all starts Thursday night with the primetime First Round. 

The Browns currently hold the sixth pick. Will they go with a defensive back? Could they turn to a pass rusher? Would they possible fortify the offensive line? Could they shock everyone and take an additional offensive weapon? Or maybe, just maybe, would they trade the pick to a team that wants to move up and snag one of those top offensive tackles?

From now until Thursday’s first round, a different member of the WFNY staff will take their look at one player in particular and tell you why the Browns, should they choose to, would go in this direction. 


Dion-JordanThe Player: 

Name: Dion Jordan
Position: Linebacker
School: Oregon
Height: 6-6
Weight: 248 lbs.
40-yard dash: 4.60 seconds

Whom he would replace: 

Jabaal Sheard?

[Read more...]

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NFL Draft Rumors: Browns could deal Sheard, Rubin on draft day

April 15, 2013 by 20 Comments

ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Grossi speculates that the Cleveland Browns could deal either converted linebacker Jabaal Sheard or converted defensive end Athyba Rubin on the day of the NFL Draft.

Sheard, a 6-foot-3-inch, 264-pound defensive end, was the 37th pick in the 2011 NFL draft for the Browns. He has 15 1/2 sacks in two seasons, leading the team in sacks the past two years. There is some concern as to whether or not Sheard will be able to transition to an outside linebacker in Ray Horton’s 3-4 scheme. Sheard is reportedly confident in his ability to make the switch, stating that, at the end of the day, he is an “athlete.”

Rubin has played five years in the NFL, all with Cleveland, after a college career at Iowa State. The 6-foot-2-inch, 321-pound nose tackle started 13 games last season after starting each game for Cleveland from 2009 through 2011. He had 30 tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles in 2012. In Horton’s 3-4, he is expected to slot over to a three- or five-technique defensive end. He is currently the second-highest paid player on the Browns.

The Browns have added multiple linebackers as well as a defensive lineman via free agency. Thinking is that the team would be dealing from a position of strength in order to add additional draft picks to address key areas of concern.

[Related: As the highest-paid player on the Browns, is Joe Thomas’ value diminishing?]

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NFL Free Agency News: Browns to host Victor Butler

March 22, 2013 by 5 Comments

The New Orleans Times-Picayune first reported and Mary Kay Cabot confirmed that the Browns would host former Cowboys linebacker Victor Butler on a free agency visit. Butler is a former 4th round draft pick in 2009. Butler is an outside linebacker and if signed would be the third linebacker the Browns have signed this off-season as they move toward the 3-4 from the 4-3.

Victor Butler has visited the Steelers and Saints as well. As many publications have pointed out, the Saints were one of the teams the Browns reportedly outbid when they signed Paul Kruger away from the Baltimore Ravens.

Victor Butler was a defensive end at Oregon State before coming to the NFL and playing last season for Rob Ryan in Dallas. Football Outsiders’ Aaron Schatz named Butler a 2012 candidate to be a breakout year.

Butler is a young, developing player that will turn 26-years-old in July. He’s a perfect candidate for what the Browns have talked about wanting to do in free agency, finding younger players who can have a multi-year tenure with the team. If he does get sign it will likely ramp up the pressure on Jabaal Sheard in the pass-rusher spot.

[Related: NFL News: Trent Richardson named in lawsuit]

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Brendan Leister talks Browns pickups – WFNY Podcast – 2013-03-13

March 13, 2013 by 2 Comments

WFNY Podcast LogoI’ve known about Brendan Leister and his work analyzing the Browns for a long time. He’s been active in various capacities for years, in fact. 70,000+ tweets if you need him. Anyway, he doesn’t approach the Browns like a fan, preferring to stick to the technical scouting approach. With that in mind, I wanted to talk to him about the Browns’ signings so far, what it means right now and what it means down the road into the draft.

You can find Brendan and his crew doing their excellent work over at DraftBrowns.com and you can find him on Twitter @BrendanLeister. I implore you to check out their site. Ryan is a good writer and Mikey is another Excel nerd 1 who actually understands roster construction and salary cap issues.

Here’s what we talked about.

  • Paul Kruger and the level of excitement for him
  • Did the Browns overpay for Kruger?
  • Desmond Bryant should excite Browns fans more than Kruger
  • Five technique player?
  • Ray Horton’s nickel as the 2-4-5
  • Desmond Bryant’s ability against the run
  • Will Ahtyba Rubin get moved or cut next offseason?
  • Quentin Groves and is it a depth signing?
  • The Browns linebacking corps and fitting them all together
  • Craig Robertson as a cover linebacker
  • Draft plans should include another pass rusher?
  • Should the Browns take a chance on Geno Smith?
  • Do the Browns already know their opinion on Geno Smith?
  • Mike Wallace and $$$ vs. Travis Benjamin
  • Cornerback and who the Browns are going to get
  • Sheldon Brown and how well he played this season
  • Keenan Lewis and his ability to play opposite Joe Haden
  • Josh Gordon and his ceiling as the third youngest player in the NFL

 

[Read more...]

___________________________________

  1. Compliment [back]

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Banner Report: Defensive Line

March 8, 2013 by 18 Comments

Banner Report LowYou may remember back in 2010 (you know the last time there was a complete overhaul in Berea) we wanted to give incoming President Mike Holmgren a hand evaluating the roster. We are nothing if not equal opportunity. The Browns have a completely new group in charge this year. Joe Banner, Mike Lombardi, Rob Chudzinski, Norv Turner and Ray Horton take over a 5-11 team. They have plenty of important decisions to make about the roster between now and the 2013 NFL Draft. WFNY wants to offer our assistance with The Banner Position Reports. Previous reports:LB, QB, RB, DBs

Let me just crack my knuckles a little bit as I take on the position group that might need the smallest amount of work for the Browns this off-season. If there is any debate at all about Tom Heckert’s ability to acquire talent, I don’t think we should look at this position as proof that he needs to improve. Heckert inherited the premier player on the defensive line in Ahtyba Rubin, but other than that it was all Tom Heckert’s work.

Tom Heckert acquired Phil Taylor with the 21st pick in the 2011 draft after trading with Atlanta, who picked wide receiver Julio Jones. Regardless of whether you like that trade or not, Phil Taylor has done his part to make it look better. Despite being injured last season and only appearing in eight games, the talented mix of size and speed in Taylor is unmistakable. Watching a 6’3″ monster at 335 pounds chase plays down from behind is astonishing. Beyond that, Heckert found really good value in the draft with John Hughes (3rd round) Billy Winn (6th round,)  and undrafted Ishmaa’ily Kitchen. Even with the departures of 4-3 scheme players like Frostee Rucker and Juqua Parker, the Browns’ defensive line appears to be in pretty good shape going into 2013. [Read more...]

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NFL Rumor: Ray Horton expected to be named Browns defensive coordinator

January 18, 2013 by 33 Comments

The off-season drum continues to beat on for the Browns. Adam Schefter of ESPN is reporting that the Cleveland Browns might have gotten Ray Horton as their new defensive coordinator.

And so ends the saga of Dick Jauron and if he would be retained in Cleveland. But another saga that many Browns fans had been fearing starts again. According to Jeff Schudel Ray Horton coaches the 3-4.

So who knows what that means for the Cleveland Browns and their abundance of defensive linemen. The biggest question of all is for someone like Jabaal Sheard who might soon have us bemoaning the miscasting of Kamerion Wimbley in the 3-4 as a linebacker as opposed to a 4-3 defensive end.

[Related: A new coaching staff could mean a change to a 3-4 defense. Are the Browns ready for that?]

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A new coaching staff could mean a change to a 3-4 defense. Are the Browns ready for that?

January 4, 2013 by 54 Comments

While Joe Banner and Jimmy Haslam conduct interviews in Arizona for a new head coach, the one person I’ve been interested to hear from or about is defensive coordinator Dick Jaruon.

On Monday, Banner and Haslam made it clear that all coaches were free to interview elsewhere if they wished and that they could be brought back if the new coach wanted them. What we really don’t know is if Jauron wants to come back to the Browns without Shurmur and Holmgren here. We reached out through the Browns, but have received no statement or answer. (Not surprisingly.)

I hope that Jauron wants to finish what he has started here in Cleveland and will be welcomed by the new head coach, whoever that happens to be. I would put the odds of that happening at fifty-fifty or less unfortunately.

If there is a change of defensive coordinators, we could be staring at another transition between the 4-3 and 3-4 defense. As Browns fans will remember, that transition is sometimes a slow painful one. [Read more...]

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Shurmur: Billy Winn could see time at defensive end

November 13, 2012 by 7 Comments

The bye week is over and Browns fans dreams of seeing Phil Taylor and Ahtyba Rubin together have never seemed more real. That news doesn’t exist in a vacuum though. What about the young guys who filled in so admirably in Taylor and Rubin’s stead? At least for Billy Winn, it could mean some time at defensive end for the Browns.

(On the possibility of Billy Winn playing defensive tackle and end with Taylor’s return) – “Yeah, that’s a good point. When you have more defensive tackles that’ll allow Billy, if we choose to, play him at end more. Which gives us a little flexibility there.”

(On if Winn’s quickness would work at the end position) – “I think he has the body type to play end and he has quickness. Yeah, I think he could do it.”

If there’s any chance at the Browns making any kind of run in the second half of the season, you have to think one of the keys would be on the defensive line. Jabaal Sheard has struggled in his sophomore effort, and we’ll soon find out if that has had more to do with missing pieces in the middle of the line. Now it also could mean a game-tested tryout for Billy Winn to see if he can be a 4-3 defensive end.

[Related: Safe to say Haslam meant what he said regarding changes]

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Comparing the Cavaliers and Browns rebuilding processes

April 2, 2012 by 35 Comments

The Browns and Cavs are both almost in the same exact place in the standings at the moment. Jason Lloyd pointed this out in a long, but good article mostly about the Cavaliers’ rebuilding. Take this stat, for example.

The Browns under Heckert even have a slightly higher winning percentage (.281) than the Cavs have under Grant (.273). Yet fans continue to implore the Cavs to lose while eviscerating the Browns for doing the same.

There are obvious differences between the Browns and the Cavaliers. The Cavaliers were coming off the most successful years in team history with LeBron James. The Cavaliers’ woes were never thought to be self-inflicted the way all of the wounds in Berea are viewed. The Cavaliers have a brash, communicative owner who tweets displeasure with big losses and seems to fight for his team and fans whenever possible. The Browns have a recluse who is threatening to come out of his shell a bit more. But other than an annual talk with Mike Trivisonno or a Scene profile, Randy Lerner is still more likely to skip the owners’ meetings than he is to start a twitter account or sit at the negotiating table during collective bargaining. [Read more...]

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NFL Free Agency: Wimbley signs with Titans for five years up to $35 million

March 20, 2012 by 3 Comments

Kamerion Wimbley is headed to Tennessee to do what he should have been doing all along. Presumably, that means he will finally be an all-time defensive end. Adam Caplan reports by way of PFT…

Adam Caplan reports that the Titans and Wimbley have agreed to terms on a five-year, $35 million deal with $13.5 million guaranteed and $11.5 million in the first season.

I know Browns fans dreamed of bringing Wimbley back to play opposite Sheard now that the Browns are playing a 4-3. It was my instinct all along that Wimbley was going to get paid. It isn’t a superstar deal, but it is a decent deal. In the end, not unmanageably high though.

Assuming Wimbley got a decent signing bonus, call it at least $8 million, that means his cap number for the first year of the deal is somewhere in the ballpark of $3 – $5 million or roughly what the Browns ponied up to bring in Frostee Rucker and Juqua Parker combined.

Maybe Wimbley had no interest in coming back to the team that mishandled the earlier part of his career even if none of those same coaches are here anymore. With the Browns having $20-some million under the cap, it is hard to believe that Wimbley’s cap number was a big problem.

[Time Machine: Wimbley was "shocked" by his trade to Oakland]

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NFL Free Agency: Colts’ Robert Mathis might hit the open market

March 4, 2012 by 6 Comments

According to PFT the talks between Robert Mathis and the Indianapolis Colts aren’t going anywhere. In fact, they might not be going hardly at all. Mathis is one of the most talented defensive players that could hit free agency this season and is probably second among defensive ends only to Mario Williams in Houston. Mathis will be seeking a big pay-day and at age 31 he doesn’t fit the Browns’ stated free agency goals at least as of last year when they targeted younger players.

The situation in Indy is complicated too, as they figure out what they are doing with Peyton Manning, let alone free agent Reggie Wayne.

Complicating matters in Indy is that Chuck Pagano has a history of running 3-4 defenses while Mathis has only played defensive end in a 4-3 front. He might be athletic enough to make a switch, but how much money are the Colts really willing to risk on that?

So we’ll see if Mathis actually makes it to free agency and if the Browns are willing to go a little older and sign a 31 year-old to start opposite Jabaal Sheard next season.

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The Best Browns Since 1999 – Defensive Ends

February 20, 2012 by 6 Comments

It says an awful lot about the season that Jabaal Sheard had as a rookie that he dominated the competition here.  Granted the competition was a bit skewed because the Browns played 3-4 so long and especially during Kamerion Wimbley’s time in Cleveland.  Still, there are a lot of years of defensive ends that Sheard had to compete against for the honor of being number one in Browns fans’ minds. [Read more...]

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What I Expect From Holmgren and Heckert’s Press Conference – (Not Much)

January 4, 2012 by 22 Comments

Yesterday Pat Shurmur seemed relieved in giving his review of the tumultuous first season with the Cleveland Browns.  He talked about how it wasn’t good enough.  He talked about hiring an offensive coordinator.  He talked about cherishing the opportunity for a real off-season this year with a roster of players he now knows pretty intimately.  As far as looking toward the future though, he wasn’t able to shed a lot of light other than the fact that there will be changes and everyone is intent on doing much better next year.  I wasn’t overly bothered by the message or the content, but I imagine a lot of people were left unfulfilled by it.  I think it put an extra emphasis on Thursday when Tom Heckert and Mike Holmgren are scheduled to speak.  I am just not expecting much more than what we got from Shurmur.

On the staffing situation, I am guessing Holmgren and Heckert will re-affirm what Shurmur said about hiring a coordinator and not talk specifically about candidates other than to say, “Yes. I’ve worked with him and I have great respect for him.” [Read more...]

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Cleveland Browns Play Hard to the End, Drop Season-Ender to Steelers

January 1, 2012 by 83 Comments

In all too familiar fashion, the Cleveland Browns wrapped up their season with the stands filled with black and urine-colored clothing.  I wasn’t there, so I can’t comment on the smell, but I have some suspicions.  Ultimately those kinds of verbal barbs are all we as a city can muster because the Steelers won the game 13-9 despite a chance to win it with a hail mary as time expired.  Seneca Wallace put it up and it hit Greg Little in the hands, but with all the activity in the end zone it rolled harmlessly to the turf.  The ball dropping harmlessly to the turf is probably the proper way for a season like this one to end to keep in the stylistic theme and tones set all year. [Read more...]

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Projecting the Browns Pass Rush

December 19, 2011 by 17 Comments

Yesterday in the loss to the Cardinals, Jabaal Sheard scored two sacks to bring his total for the year up to 7.5.  That’s a great start to a Browns career.  He passed Michael Dean Perry to stand alone as the second most prolific rookie sacker behind only Kamerion Wimbley who had 11 in 2006.  Sheard has had some growing pains at times this year, but it appears that he is getting more and more comfortable.  Early on in the season Sheard seemed to get caught running too far upfield or was pretty easily corralled to wherever opposing offensive tackles wanted him to be.  As the season has progressed, he’s mixed in some moves to impose his will.  On one play in particular yesterday, Sheard didn’t get to the QB, but I was impressed as he carried the tackle upfield and spun back inside where he had a lane to the QB from an angle that he was likely to be able to surprise him.  That should mean good things for the Browns’ pass rush heading into Sheard’s second season.

Interestingly enough, 7.5 sacks also gave Sheard enough to match last season’s team leader.  That was none other than Marcus Benard.  Benard is one of the tough luck situations for Browns fans this season.  Probably due to the lockout and a lack of communication between players and their new coaching staff, Benard put on weight for the switch to the 4-3 from Mangini and Rob Ryan’s 3-4 defense.  Benard must have thought that the switch from linebacker to defensive end would require some additional mass, much to the dismay of the Browns’ coaching staff.  That slow start was amplified to eleven when Benard shortened his season with a crash of his three wheeled vehicle on the freeway. [Read more...]

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Beanie Wells Praises Browns’ Front Four

December 15, 2011 by 21 Comments

Cleveland fans can add Chris “Beanie” Wells’ name to the laundry list of quality running backs their team has to face during the 2011 slate.

Wells in in the midst of a season that rivals his last two years combined, totaling 943 rushing yards and nine touchdowns through 12 games.  Assuming Wells has seen tape of other bruising backs like Maurice Jones-Drew and Ray Rice doing a number on Dick Jauron’s defense, one would assume he would be salivating at the thought of the holes he’ll have to run through this Sunday when the Browns come to Arizona.  Wells, instead, opted to play the diplomat when discussing his hometown team, specifically the front four who will serve as the first line of defense against the Cardinals’ run game. [Read more...]

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Browns D is Good, But Ravens D is Great

December 1, 2011 by 6 Comments

While certainly far from perfect,  (A.J. Green can attest) the Browns defense is pretty good.  In total defense Cleveland is sixth in yards.  They are sixth in passing yards allowed per game.  They are 29th in rushing yards allowed per game, which stinks.  The Browns also don’t take the ball away enough to be considered anything better than just good.  They’ve only converted six interceptions and six fumbles into possession changes.  But they are ninth in points allowed at just 19.6 per game.

As a defense, when you allow fewer than three touchdowns per game, you should be giving your team a chance to win more times than not.  We all know the Browns have played a pretty weak schedule.  They’ve been fortunate a few times as well.  I’m thinking most specifically about getting to miss Marshawn Lynch in the Seattle game.  So, I will grant you that.  The good news is that the Browns defense is extremely young, so you hope that this year is kind of a baseline.  They’re good, not great.  This Sunday, unfortunately, the Browns will have a chance to see a Ravens defense which is still truly great. [Read more...]

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Browns Fumble Their Way to a Loss to 49ers 20-10

October 30, 2011 by 51 Comments

Imagine that?  The Browns were 9.5 point underdogs and they lost by 10 points to the San Francisco 49ers.  The Browns were their own worst enemy all game long fumbling the ball and generally not having any kind of tempo on offense.  So the Browns fall to 3-4 and will need to lick their wounds quickly before heading to Houston to face the 5-3 Texans.

Injuries were again a big part of the story for the Browns.  Peyton Hillis didn’t play as pretty much everyone expected by the end of last week.  That would have been bad enough, except Montario Hardesty went down with a calf injury after just two carries.  The Browns were forced to overload Chris Ogbonnaya for the rest of the game as he was the only active runner left on the active roster for the Browns.  How far we’ve come since we thought the Browns were coming into this season with Peyton Hillis, Brandon Jackson and the oft-injured prospect, Montario Hardesty. [Read more...]

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Browns’ Rookies Holding Their Own

October 24, 2011 by 19 Comments

The Browns used their first two picks in this year’s draft on defensive linemen Phil Taylor and Jabaal Sheard. So far the Browns are getting just what they wanted from the pair.

Starters from game 1, the rookie duo have been disruptive to opposing offenses. Sheard is second among NFL d-line rookies in sacks with 2.5, and Taylor is tied for third with 2. They are 1st and 2nd in tackles when measured against other d-line rookies. Measured against all defensive linemen, Taylor and Sheard stack up as well. Taylor’s 23 tackles ties him for 9th while Sheard is 16th. (By the way, Rubin is 4th.)

Jabaal has been very effective pressuring the QB using the speed rush, but did have some success yesterday with the bull rush as well. He has forced a pair of fumbles this year already. Both look like keepers as the Browns evaluate talent and move forward. [Read more...]

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