BROWNS RIDING WITH KIZER ON HORIZON OF 2017 OPENER
Don't expect an overabundance of sugar coating from this corner, however, particularly in light of a deceptive 4-0 preseason record. Yes, there are legitimate reasons for optimism and enthusiasm for this team, but, there are still numerous questions that need to be answered. And, frankly, the schedule maker kinda stuck it to the Browns right off the bat with four extremely difficult games. After the opener at home v. Pittsburgh, the team plays at Baltimore, at Indianapolis, then back home for an encounter against the Bengals.
As much as I hate to say it, the Browns could very possibly start 0-4. There may be a saving grace , however. QB's Joe Flacco of the Ravens and Andrew Luck of the Colts both are experiencing injury issues. The guess here is that Luck in particular may be in jeopardy of being able to go due to a surgically repaired shoulder that's been troublesome for quite some time. To say the Browns desperately need to win at least one of the first four is a major understatement.
There's been a considerable infusion of talent to last years forgettable inept edition of this once proud winning franchise, thanks in large part to three 1st round draft picks that for once, all seem to be very athletic talented "impact" type players necessary to succeed in the ultra competitive NFL. More on those three later.
Absolutely everyone, seemingly, on this planet is aware of the Browns' utterly pathetic record with a never ending long line of QB's dating back to the franchise's rebirth in 1999. And, of course, this season introduces yet another new starter, the 27th since the NFL undid Art Modell's unforgivable sin in moving one of the league's premier franchise's out of the city that could never be whole without it's beloved Browns !
The graveyard of NFL QB's is passing that unenviable torch to none other than Notre Dame QB, De Shone Kizer, drafted by Cleveland in the 2nd rd. of the April draft of college players. As someone who's seen every Browns QB since Bill Nelson in the late 60's, admittedly, I initially thought the drafting of Kizer was a wasted pick. I also badly wanted, Mitch Trubisky, the QB the Chicago Bears coveted enough to trade into the 2nd overall slot to pluck away from other teams after the Browns opted for Texas A&M DE, Myles Garrett.
Well, I have no problem being wrong about a player and after having viewed Kizer get significant time in parts of three exhibition games, I'm honestly excited seeing this kid perform and have no issue with coach Hue Jackson's decision to start him against the Steelers. The only QB I recall seeing play for the Browns these past five decades with the arm and athleticism of Kizer would have to be Vinny Testaverde, who Bill Belichick unceremoniously picked to unseat Bernie Kosar as starter in the early 90's.
Kizer has a bazooka arm, plenty of confidence, stands in the pocket well, runs very well and throws well on the run among other attributes. Unlike Cody Kessler, he regularly is looking to throw downfield the way most of the better QB's in the league often do. He's also about 6'4", so no issues seeing over lineman there.
The Steelers will test him without question and are likely to throw the kitchen sink at him. In other words, multiple fronts, blitzes, mixed coverages and what not. Hopefully, the kid can weather the storm and hopefully the Browns' revamped offensive line can keep him upright and not flat on his back. And, here's praying the coach isn't afraid to attack and throw on 1st down, cause there's no sense starting him otherwise and they need to avoid 3rd and long situations.
That revamped OL consists of starting center JC Tretter, a key free agent pickup from the Packers, Kevin Zeitler, a high salaried free agent pickup from the Bengals, longtime stalwart, Joe Thomas at left tackle and 2nd year man, Shon Coleman at right tackle. The left guard will be Joel Bitonio, though he may not be able to go in game 1 due to yet another injury. At the moment, however, there doesn't appear to be much quality depth backing these guys up.
At the skill positions, the Browns have added three wideouts just in the past few days, namely Sammie Coates, an Auburn long ball specialist and speedster obtained in a trade with the Steelers. Clearly, however, until a couple out of this group establishes themselves as consistent quality NFL caliber receivers this is not a position of strength. The one veteran of the six is former Ram, Kenny Britt, another free agent acquisition and in essence Terrelle Pryor's replacement.
Wide receiver Corey Coleman, the Browns' speedy little 2016 #1 draft pick looks to be a prime target of the strong armed Kizer. The two connected on several passes in exhibition play and hopefully can ignite a much needed spark to the passing game. Ricardo Louis, along with Coates likely are the prime backups. Louis, as a rookie last year, another Auburn, Alabama guy showed spurts of speed and athleticism in limited action.
A "wild card" receiver so to speak is expected to be 3rd year man, Duke Johnson, who's previously been a running back often targeted as a receiver out of the backfield. Hue Jackson however, has said he will often be utilized out of the "slot" receiver position, a 3rd wideout in three receiver sets. When the Browns go to four receiver sets, I'd expect to often see TE, David Njoku, an extremely athletic fast receiver drafted as one of three 1st round picks out of U. of Miami.
If ex Brown, Joe Haden starts at cornerback for Pittsburgh, expect to see the Browns go deep often as he was burned deep for late TD's several times in his time in Cleveland. Surely, expect to see him as a 3rd corner at the least, which makes for quite a side story to this game. The Browns know his weaknesses well and of course, the NFL is a premier game of matchups as well as mismatches.
Also look for a lot of double tight end sets, featuring Njoku and 2nd year guy, Seth DeValve, who's emerged as a receiving threat. Njoku is listed 3rd on the 1st listed depth chart on the team website, but, take that with a grain of salt as Njoku is being counted on heavily to justify being one of the team's three 1st rd. selections.
Hue has said he would like to run the football more often this season. Take that observation with a grain of salt as well, as "game situations" and score are always determining factors as to play calling. Plus, coaches always say that. That said, the Browns are set with Isaiah Crowell as the featured runner out of the backfield. Frankly, he should have a great shot at a 1,000 yard season, what with experienced quality veterans at the majority of the offensive line spots. Johnson can also be used back there along with impressive looking rookie, Matt Dayes, a shifty, speedy little type.
The punting duties are in the very capable hands of, Britton Colquitt for another season, while rookie kicker, Zane Gonzalez was chosen over Cody Parkey, which is a debatable choice considering Parkey had a very good season last year and performed well in the just completed exhibition games. But, Gonzalez was a draft pick and it's well known teams always favor their draft picks when a competition is basically even.
Browns' punt returns may once again become exciting as talented rookie, Jabrill Peppers has easily stepped in to fill that role. Some guys just have an innate ability to return kicks and he's one of them. He's already had a few electrifying returns in exhibitions, so hopefully that added dimension gives the team much better critically important field position to work with.
Now for the defense.
Everyone insisted the Browns take defensive end, Myles Garrett out of Texas A&M with the 1st overall selection in April's draft. Well, they did and with it comes enormous pressure for him to produce bigtime right from the get go. No question the guy's got great "potential" with excellent speed and quickness, but, fans should temper their expectations a bit. He spouted off about sacking Steelers QB, Ben Roethlisberger, so the Steelers are gonna game plan to stuff the brash rookies' mouth.
Those thinking Garrett's gonna lead the league in sacks, or even register double digits should temper their enthusiasm. The intensity of real games will open any rookies' eyes. Consider this. At about 270 lbs., the average NFL OT blocking him will outweigh him by upwards of 50 lbs. ! He's now playing with the big boys. Hopefully, that speed and quickness gets him around the tackle straight to the QB.
2nd year DE, Emmanuelle Ogbah has comparable skills to Garrett in my view and the Browns are counting heavily on them both.
Those two bookends are expected to help anchor a considerably improved defense with an aggressive attacking blitzing style, rarely, if ever seen in Cleveland. Even the better Browns defenses of long ago were more known for a bend but not break presence. The entire defensive line is expected to be a major team strength, but, on paper don't count, production does.
New defensive coordinator, Greg Williams, with his intense, no nonsense style is a welcome site. Multiple alignments with various blitz packages designed to get to the QB have already produced positive results, though of course teams never game plan for the opposition in exhibitions, not to mention the utilization of numerous guys that have been cut from the roster.
Williams has instituted a base 4-3 defense, the old traditional NFL style defense, a switch from the 3-4 previously used. That means three linebackers with a middle backer and two outside, one on the strong side and the other at the weakside backer spot. The strong side being the tight end side, more often lining up on the outside of the right tackle. Joe Schobert, a reserve last season mans the middle, Jamie Collins is set on the strong side and Chris Kirksey has moved to the weakside spot.
Schobert is an unknown quantity but, has looked good thus far. Don't be surprised if Kirksey and Collins are sometimes flip flopped depending on matchups, or, remain on the field in tandem in a 4-2-5 alignment, something Williams' defenses are noted for. The Browns, however, are woefully thin as far as backups, so, pray the starters don't get injured.
The secondary is now minus longtime starter, Joe Haden, cut and immediately signed by the Steelers of all teams. He's now the enemy ! Jamar Taylor is solid at one cornerback spot with Jason McCourty taking over for Haden. Boddy-Calhoun is now the 3rd corner, but the Browns are also woefully thin as far as depth here as well. In fact, there's currently only one other corner on the roster which is quite curious considering teams often go with four receiver sets nowadays. So, what happens if even one gets hurt during a game, God only knows.
One of the safeties, the last line of defense would have to man a corner spot. Jabrill Peppers, the team's 3rd pick in the 1st rd. of the draft quickly took hold of the strong safety spot, while 2nd year man, Derrick Kindred starts at free safety. Expect those two to flip flop also, however. In fact, Peppers will line up in multiple spots most likely, including a linebacker spot at times or blitzing. He is expected to bring a dynamic presence to a defense sorely in need of "impact" players.
Ok, so, how many games will this version of the Browns manage to win ? The guess here is anywhere from four to six, nothing exhilarating exactly, yet, a heck of an improvement on last season's ineptness. And, as far as this Sunday against those hated Steelers ?
Hopefully it will be a competitive exciting game, but, it's a tall order to say the least for the Browns to knock off Pittsburgh. Wouldn't it be sweet to burn ole buddy, Joe Haden deep late in the 4th Q. for a scintillating come from behind victory !
Dave Burkey
Email: daveywriter@yahoo.com
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