Tag: paul kruger

What Did You Expect From Browns?

It was shocking to read and listen to both fans and media alike being irritated by the Browns’ performance Friday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

What did these people expect?  Did they believe Hue Jackson’s team was suddenly going to dominate another NFL team?

After Jackson was hired and Sashi Brown and Paul DePodesta took over control of the franchise, the management has made no bones about the direction of the team.  They were going to get younger and build through the draft, really the only tried and true method of building a winning football team.

If you have read this blog since the beginning of 2016, we have advocated and predicted that Brown and DePodesta were going to rid the roster of most of the over 30 years of age crew.

After all, the only thing worse than being a bad team is being a bad, old team.

The purge started with Donte Whitner and Karlos Dansby, Dwayne Bowe followed, and now Paul Kruger and even punter Andy Lee were moved off the squad.

And we believe that Tramon Williams, Andrew Hawkins won’t be here for week one, and we have a feeling that Josh McCown won’t be either.

The Browns are accumulating young players and draft picks, and when you play a lot of inexperienced players, losing usually follows.  At least at the beginning.

The expectation is the team will build around the players taken last season that weren’t really given a chance to play, the 14 draft picks taken last April, and all of the picks the front office has accumulated in the 2017 and 2018 NFL Drafts.

That doesn’t mean the players and coaching staff will not try to win every week, of course they will, that’s imbedded in the DNA of competitive people.

However, they are usually going to be outmanned in each game, mostly because of a lack of experience.

What the front office is trying to decide is who can be a contributing player in 2018 or 2019, when this team is ready to make a legitimate playoff run.  If it happens sooner, then great, all that means is the Browns will be winners and still have a boatload of draft picks.

Gone is the philosophy of bringing veterans to patch some holes and keep the team somewhat competitive, perhaps winning five or six games so the coaching staff can say the Browns are improving.

Instead, the organization is throwing a lot of stuff against the wall and hoping some of it sticks.

The rookies and second year players are going to get to play and prove themselves.  If they get better as the season progresses, the coaches and front office will determine them to be keepers.  If they can’t get it done, they will be replaced by younger players acquired in the next two drafts.

It’s not a mystery.  Every signal given by the folks in Berea indicate just that.

So, don’t be surprised if this team loses in the early part of the season, and sometimes, the games will be flat out ugly.

And if the team doesn’t show some improvement as the season goes on, then you can be concerned, because that’s the plan.

In the meantime, get ready for more veterans to depart and more young players, particularly players cut after the final cut this weekend, to be brought in.

Frankly, we are puzzled as to why people were expecting anything different.

JD

 

 

Critics Aside, the Browns Have Improved

The first day of free agency in the NFL has come and gone and the Cleveland Browns made a big splash with three signings.

OLB Paul Kruger, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens, was the first choice of the brown and orange.  A pass rushing linebacker who had seven sacks a year ago, Kruger had an impressive post-season with the Ravens last season.

The Browns also signed DE Desmond Bryant, a huge man, and another OLB Quentin Groves, who played for defensive coordinator Ray Horton last season with the Cardinals.

GM Mike Lombardi and president Joe Banner felt the defense needed some help for 2013, with input from Horton, and the Browns went out and signed two likely starters at linebacker, a weak position for Cleveland in 2012, and the type of defensive end you need in the 3-4 defense.

Yet, there are still people upset that the Browns did not address the quarterback position as of yet, and haven’t signed a cornerback to go with Joe Haden either.

It just shows that there are some people who like to complain about everything.

In the NFL, where there are no guaranteed contracts, if you have the room under the salary cap, there isn’t a big penalty if the player doesn’t work out.  And as everyone is very aware the Browns have a ton of money available under the cap.

That means that Lombardi and Banner basically picked up three players, all of whom are younger and appear to be talented, for nothing more than cash.  They didn’t have to give up any draft picks or players.  They just spent money.

How can anyone be upset with that?

This isn’t like baseball or basketball, where a bad contract can hamper an organization for many years, like the Indians with Travis Hafner’s deal.  The organization had plenty of money to spend, and they did so.

They filled needs with the two linebackers and getting Bryant replaces Frostee Rucker,  who was cut by the new regime since the end of the season.

And most football people felt the Browns had more needs on the defense.  They still could use another cornerback and another safety, and they still have the college draft to address those positions.

An added bonus to signing Kruger is that he leaves the Ravens, a divisional foe.  Improving your team while hurting a divisional rival is always a win-win.

None of these players are guys who are near the end of their careers either.

Kruger and Bryant are just 27 years old, and Groves is only 28.  They have plenty of years left in the NFL lives and fit in perfectly with the rest of the young Browns.  They will be able to grow with the young core of veterans with four years or less of experience.  Players such as Alex Mack, Joe Haden, Taylor, Greg Little and Jabaal Sheard.

In fact, right now Cleveland has only three players with 10 or more years in the NFL on the roster:  Sheldon Brown, Juqua Parker, and Phil Dawson.  And it is doubtful that any of them will be back this season, although it would be great if Dawson is still the team’s kicker.

Also, with the expected departures via free agency of TE Benjamin Watson, TE Alex Smith,  S Ray Ventrone, and the expected release of P Reggie Hodges, the Browns will not have a player over 30 years old on the roster.

That’s a young football team.

There is no question the Browns are a better team today than they were on Monday.  That’s progress, no matter how people want to say differently.

JD