Jump to content
THE BROWNS BOARD

Personel Issues


The Gipper

Recommended Posts

My observation during this game tonight is that the Browns have a certain problem with the makeup of this roster.  At least, it seems in a couple of areas that I could seem to tell:

A.  We miss Duke Johnson.   At least we miss a guy like him, if not him.  By that I mean a 3rd down back that can be used in passing situations and that can be a outlet receiver when  Baker gets in trouble.  Not one time tonight did I see where Baker did a checkdown to his outlet RB when he was in trouble.  Has it happened any time this year?   Baker was  constantly being pursued...and constantly had to throw off his back foot downfield....because there was no one short for him to lay the ball off to.   Was it a specific plan by  Dorsey and the coaching staff to have no one like that available?  Is that what this offense is all about?

B. We miss having a Fullback.  Again, Donald...and others constantly were getting by the OL...with a direct line to Baker who had to scramble.  Why do we not have a masher of a FB who can get in the face of pressure up the middle and check them or lay into them on their way to the QB.   I don't recall ever seeing Chubb handle that role much.  

So, its fine that we can have 3 wides, and 2 TEs.  But those guys are not meant to protect the QB, either as a blocker or as an outlet receiver (though...shouldn't a TE perhaps be that...ours are not.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 minutes ago, The Gipper said:

My observation during this game tonight is that the Browns have a certain problem with the makeup of this roster.  At least, it seems in a couple of areas that I could seem to tell:

A.  We miss Duke Johnson.   At least we miss a guy like him, if not him.  By that I mean a 3rd down back that can be used in passing situations and that can be a outlet receiver when  Baker gets in trouble.  Not one time tonight did I see where Baker did a checkdown to his outlet RB when he was in trouble.  Has it happened any time this year?   Baker was  constantly being pursued...and constantly had to throw off his back foot downfield....because there was no one short for him to lay the ball off to.   Was it a specific plan by  Dorsey and the coaching staff to have no one like that available?  Is that what this offense is all about?

B. We miss having a Fullback.  Again, Donald...and others constantly were getting by the OL...with a direct line to Baker who had to scramble.  Why do we not have a masher of a FB who can get in the face of pressure up the middle and check them or lay into them on their way to the QB.   I don't recall ever seeing Chubb handle that role much.  

So, its fine that we can have 3 wides, and 2 TEs.  But those guys are not meant to protect the QB, either as a blocker or as an outlet receiver (though...shouldn't a TE perhaps be that...ours are not.

Is Lawrence Vickers available?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, The Gipper said:

We do have Joe Kerridge as our only FB...but he is on IR.

I was being a tad facetious when I mentioned Vickers.. I do believe hes been retired a few years

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What I mean is that we need an outlet receiver for times when Baker is in trouble and needs to dump it off. There appears to be NO scheme for that in this offense. So...no checkdown back means that Baker has to scramble and heave the ball downfield..instead of having a safety valve in there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

29 minutes ago, The Gipper said:

What I mean is that we need an outlet receiver for times when Baker is in trouble and needs to dump it off. There appears to be NO scheme for that in this offense. So...no checkdown back means that Baker has to scramble and heave the ball downfield..instead of having a safety valve in there.

The best QBs always have an offense with a checkdown short pass receiver. Whatever this is our OC runs is very defective, especially with a porous OL.

  • Upvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, The Gipper said:

What I mean is that we need an outlet receiver for times when Baker is in trouble and needs to dump it off. There appears to be NO scheme for that in this offense. So...no checkdown back means that Baker has to scramble and heave the ball downfield..instead of having a safety valve in there.

That isn't a personnel issue though.  That's a scheme issue. We have multiple backs who can catch check down passes and get up field afterwards (chubb Hilliard and Johnson are all more than capable). Whether or not we have a guy there is a scheme issue. I'll admit I havent seen a check down guy all too often this year but the times we do have one they are wide open and Baker still doesn't get it to them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

45 minutes ago, bjh2130 said:

I'll admit I havent seen a check down guy all too often this year but the times we do have one they are wide open and Baker still doesn't get it to them.

Soph learning curve or pressure to throw deep every damn play? Whatever it is he's holding the ball too long and is skittish in the pocket even when there is no reason to be so. I saw way too many people running go routes together yesterday all at the same time. Something very wrong there. If it's by design then fix it. If it's by selfishness, then bench whomever is not running the proper route.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The weird regression I see in Baker is he’s fleeing the pocket.  Some of the time it isn’t because of Pass rushers. If the ball is snapped and he’s going to his first read he’s in the pocket. If he goes to the second read or what appears to be a second or third WRs he’s not standing in and making the throw.  He’s rolling out sometimes retreating and throwing on the run.  Just a bad habit really.

Im not saying the line is perfect, but we are seeing tons of zone with backers dropping and the four man blitz.  He’s given time in most of the circumstances and he’s going back to what I describe above.  Baker did a lot of work from the pocket last year and one of his better qualities was feeling the rush and moving around IN the pocket.  I don’t see the same this year. 

Now the routes are awful too.  I am not impressed with the scheme and the effort so far.  We had a 3rd and 10 yesterday and we three side by side WRs running go routes!??? 

The line is the convenient excuse- they were really bad in the 4th quarter yesterday.  McCray isn’t a RT in this league.  Hubbard has had some problems too.  Aside from Robinson’s bone head kick he’s serviceable we can certainly have a lot worse out there.  We have bigger problems than this group.  We need Kendall Lam back or we need to make a trade with a team that has tackle depth.  I would say TE is a priority too. 

The rest is Fixing Baker and scheming better offensively.  Problems 1a and 1b

I don’t think any major personnel moves need to be made.  Our depth as showcased last night is great defensively.  Bravo to the back 7.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Browns149 said:

The o-line is getting beat way to fast and easy. 

And Baker seems to be having trouble reading the defense when he does have time 

 

That in a nutshell is the major problem. If you're running go routes, Baker isn't having time to throw the ball.  They pointed out Baker was doing OK when he got rid of the ball in 2 seconds or less to negate the Ram's ridiculously good pass rush.  Or is it the Browns o-line is ridiculously bad? Probably not, but as I like to point out the o-line chain is only as strong as it's weakest link, and we currently have a couple weak links LA knew exactly how to exploit. (So much for Ghoolie's continual dime-a-dozen fat ass rags) 

Thing is going forward,  teams are going to jam the line with bump and run- and bet their pass rush can get to Baker before he can burn them deep on a go route.  

Guys were complaining after the Jets game about Mayfield holding on to the ball too long. Yesterday that was probably a factor when you're running for your life, it's tough to see guys that are open, and constantly being forced to make off balance throws turns your accuracy to garbage. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, hoorta said:

That in a nutshell is the major problem. 

Yes.

QUESTION: What is the easiest way to get rid of your quarterback?

ANSWER: Have an OL that resembles a piece of Swiss cheese.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, bjh2130 said:

That isn't a personnel issue though.  That's a scheme issue. We have multiple backs who can catch check down passes and get up field afterwards (chubb Hilliard and Johnson are all more than capable). Whether or not we have a guy there is a scheme issue. I'll admit I havent seen a check down guy all too often this year but the times we do have one they are wide open and Baker still doesn't get it to them.

Well....for some reason when Duke was here, they did have him play that role, but now they aren't.  I am sure the guys we have could do it, so it probably is primarily a scheme issue.  And, OK, Baker does have to learn to look for that more.  Of course, it would help if he were taught to do so....and I am not sure he is being coached to do that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

52 minutes ago, SdBacker80 said:

The weird regression I see in Baker is he’s fleeing the pocket.  Some of the time it isn’t because of Pass rushers. If the ball is snapped and he’s going to his first read he’s in the pocket. If he goes to the second read or what appears to be a second or third WRs he’s not standing in and making the throw.  He’s rolling out sometimes retreating and throwing on the run.  Just a bad habit really.

Im not saying the line is perfect, but we are seeing tons of zone with backers dropping and the four man blitz.  He’s given time in most of the circumstances and he’s going back to what I describe above.  Baker did a lot of work from the pocket last year and one of his better qualities was feeling the rush and moving around IN the pocket.  I don’t see the same this year. 

Now the routes are awful too.  I am not impressed with the scheme and the effort so far.  We had a 3rd and 10 yesterday and we three side by side WRs running go routes!??? 

The line is the convenient excuse- they were really bad in the 4th quarter yesterday.  McCray isn’t a RT in this league.  Hubbard has had some problems too.  Aside from Robinson’s bone head kick he’s serviceable we can certainly have a lot worse out there.  We have bigger problems than this group.  We need Kendall Lam back or we need to make a trade with a team that has tackle depth.  I would say TE is a priority too. 

The rest is Fixing Baker and scheming better offensively.  Problems 1a and 1b

I don’t think any major personnel moves need to be made.  Our depth as showcased last night is great defensively.  Bravo to the back 7.

I disagree to this point......IF they are going to be so pourous as to let the interior D line of the opponents get on Baker's ass in 1.5 seconds....like they did last night.....then an asskicking blocking Fullback could possibly help in that area.  A second line of defense, if you will.   Baker is not going through his progressions mainly because he has no time to go through his progressions.  (Ergo, I also disagree with you statement that "He's give time in most circumstances"...totally disagree with that....at least as far a last night is concerned.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, The Gipper said:

I disagree to this point......IF they are going to be so pourous as to let the interior D line of the opponents get on Baker's ass in 1.5 seconds....like they did last night.....then an asskicking blocking Fullback could possibly help in that area.  A second line of defense, if you will.   Baker is not going through his progressions mainly because he has no time to go through his progressions.  (Ergo, I also disagree with you statement that "He's give time in most circumstances"...totally disagree with that....at least as far a last night is concerned.)

^^^^ I'll say this Gipper it was easy to see why Donald is a multiple D-MVP winner. Bunch of times he blew through there essentially untouched before our o-line even stood up....  

Myles has some serious catching up to do if he wants to get that honor....  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, hoorta said:

^^^^ I'll say this Gipper it was easy to see why Donald is a multiple D-MVP winner. Bunch of times he blew through there essentially untouched before our o-line even stood up....  

Myles has some serious catching up to do if he wants to get that honor....  

I know he did....but would it not have helped to have had a FB back there to slow him down a bit at least after he blew through our line? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, The Gipper said:

I know he did....but would it not have helped to have had a FB back there to slow him down a bit at least after he blew through our line? 

I don't particularly have your fullback-a philia...:)  If the Browns were that worried about it, I suppose having Chubb or one of the TEs back there would have been about as effective as a designated fullback... :D  Donald is so fast, you can almost use his speed against him- just have a body to get in his way....  And since he lines up in multiple places- that's not always going to work.  

PS- still having Duke on the roster wouldn't have helped much, MHO. I don't think there's a player in the NFL who can block Aaron one on one.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

40 minutes ago, The Gipper said:

I disagree to this point......IF they are going to be so pourous as to let the interior D line of the opponents get on Baker's ass in 1.5 seconds....like they did last night.....then an asskicking blocking Fullback could possibly help in that area.  A second line of defense, if you will.   Baker is not going through his progressions mainly because he has no time to go through his progressions.  (Ergo, I also disagree with you statement that "He's give time in most circumstances"...totally disagree with that....at least as far a last night is concerned.)

I thought Dernest Johnson did a great job at blitz pickup last week against the Jets. He had two snaps yesterday. 

If we are in such dire need of TE and we don’t have a good unit there why not go FB- so to that point I agree.

the line played poorly for a lot of the second half last night.

but if you honestly look at most of our pass plays he has more than 1.5 seconds it may not seem like in fact it won’t seem like when he’s leaving the pocket with NO pressure on him.  He’s doing it a ton.  Watch the tape. It’s a problem makes you susceptible to pressure on the outside too something we aren’t accustomed to handling especially with a backup guard playing right tackle.

Baker and our O scheme is the problem.  Next I’d put Oline particularly the RT spot, TE personnel grouping and Higgins being out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

34 minutes ago, hoorta said:

^^^^ I'll say this Gipper it was easy to see why Donald is a multiple D-MVP winner. Bunch of times he blew through there essentially untouched before our o-line even stood up....  

Myles has some serious catching up to do if he wants to get that honor....  

I’m going to play devils advocate...he left some huge rush lanes that we took too long to exploit.

you RUN at him, you trap him - take him up field and hit the spot he vacated.  We had some nice runs at him not so much when he wasn’t cutting off the backside and making plays across the field.

unbelievable talent but you can scheme him out for some of the game in fact use his penetration against him 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 minutes ago, hoorta said:

I don't particularly have your fullback-a philia...:)  If the Browns were that worried about it, I suppose having Chubb or one of the TEs back there would have been about as effective as a designated fullback... :D  Donald is so fast, you can almost use his speed against him- just have a body to get in his way....  And since he lines up in multiple places- that's not always going to work.  

PS- still having Duke on the roster wouldn't have helped much, MHO. I don't think there's a player in the NFL who can block Aaron one on one.  

Well....Right....no, there is no one that can block him one on one.....but that is essentially what the Browns tried to do it seems.   The question is:  can they block him  with two on one.   Have the OC or OG in there...and also have a RB...be it a fullback or anyone else who can block also in their chipping on him, or full blown blasting on him.   Slow him down...some at least, so that Baker doesn't have to scramble after 1.5 seconds on every play...and so he can maybe make some 1 or 2 reads after his first. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, SdBacker80 said:

I’m going to play devils advocate...he left some huge rush lanes that we took too long to exploit.

you RUN at him, you trap him - take him up field and hit the spot he vacated.  We had some nice runs at him not so much when he wasn’t cutting off the backside and making plays across the field.

unbelievable talent but you can scheme him out for some of the game in fact use his penetration against him 

Did the Browns ever try any bubble screens?   Don't recall any.  Would that have helped accomplish that? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, The Gipper said:

Did the Browns ever try any bubble screens?   Don't recall any.  Would that have helped accomplish that? 

No they didn’t.  If you have backers that are crashing down like they were especially over the right side - that opens up screen game.  But I saw a lot piss poor blocking downfield from the Browns too and you need some blocks on that play.  Ratley has a great opportunity to spring Jarvis on that last drive and past a guy like he had an infectious disease.

Instead of putting five guys in the end zone on weakly executed routes on 1-4 goal at the 4 last night- that may have been a good call.  WR screen or the obvious Chubb left or Chubb right 4 times probably too we had three timeouts too.

we did well with the screens to Chubb but we went to the well too many times on it at the end.

we played like we had a rookie coach.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, TexasAg1969 said:

The best QBs always have an offense with a checkdown short pass receiver. Whatever this is our OC runs is very defective, especially with a porous OL.

Me and Brother in law said the very same thing. I know many people made fun of "check-down" Alex Smith but it'd better then what I been seeing.  It like if the 1st option isn't available Baker is either eating dirt or scrabbling for his life to the right, throwing weirdfading away. Infuriating how they wasting all this talent. Also has anyone notice Jarvis is being completely ignore on everything and is a glorified special teamer/kick returner. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...