2019 Browns Off Season/Roster Discussion

[AZ_]

Cleveland will not rest until Colin Cowherd capitulates.

He totally will, just keep listening and repeating everything he says about the Browns.

You'll definitely win.

 

[The Oi]

No one gives a shit what Colin Cowherd has to say.

They do apparently. It’s irritating to know that they do, but they do.

 

[Kbiz]

The Browns Madden ratings are here.

 

[Real Deal]

I have all outlets regarding Colin blocked on twitter, I only find out what that asshole is saying through you guys now. There was a thread of Browns fans showing images of them having him blocked as well, I suggest we all block the motherfucker. Dude is obviously being a douchebag on purpose for hits. Hits = cash for him.

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

From two months ago. Nothing's changed.

You're still talking about that guy...

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

20. CLEVELAND BROWNS
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP:
Left Tackle: Greg Robinson
Left Guard: Joel Bitonio
Center: JC Tretter
Right Guard: Austin Corbett
Right Tackle: Chris Hubbard
The Browns’ offense is now lightyears better following an exciting offseason, but it will be intriguing to see how the offensive line fares given their losses.

Did I miss something? Who did we lose other than Zeitler?

Or is it that the only way they could justify dropping us from 20 to 2 was to convince themselves we lost more than one starter?

 

[AZ_]

Did I miss something? Who did we lose other than Zeitler?

Or is it that the only way they could justify dropping us from 20 to 2 was to convince themselves we lost more than one starter?

Regression and lack of trust in either of the tackles, save for a strong stretch at the end of last season.

History vs Recency

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

Regression and lack of trust in either of the tackles, save for a strong stretch at the end of last season.

History vs Recency

Doesn't make sense -- it's the exact same two tackles we had last year, and there isn't an argument that either is aging/declining.

That also doesn't explain the plural "losses".

 

[AZ_]

Doesn't make sense -- it's the exact same two tackles we had last year, and there isn't an argument that either is aging/declining.

That also doesn't explain the plural "losses".

This is part of the issue.

Nobody buys the long-term effectiveness of either, because their history of tape suggests caution.

Huge question marks, to be sure. Quite frankly, every other unit on the team seems better by comparison.

As much as I'd like to buy into a strong back half of last season against mostly sub-par competition, I'll take the same wait and see approach with that unit.

 

[Randolphkeys]

Doesn't make sense -- it's the exact same two tackles we had last year, and there isn't an argument that either is aging/declining.

That also doesn't explain the plural "losses".

I think this is a tale of why Pro Football Focus is a tool to examine a team, not the full explanation of a player's ability and accomplishments.

In the first eight or so weeks of the season, the offensive line ranked in the bottom third of the league. The interior protected fairly well but the tackles were dusted on an island without help. The run game also suffered from failing to develop holes and running lanes regularly.

With the promotion of Kitchens, his bunch formations built in chip blocks to help the tackles within Mayfield's blind spots. Usually Mayfield was able to extend plays when the tackle in his line of sight got burned, leading to hurries instead of sacks. So, the analytic grade for the line went up, however the ability level in tackle play remained a constant.

When PFF has an open door to give qualitative data along with the pure numbers, they can penalize the line for mistakes that the pure numbers don't reveal.

The line also remained incredibly healthy last year while other lines were banged up. The Browns have a better third tackle and some interesting experience behind the starters on the interior, but I think it's fair to say this starting group isn't as strong as last year's analytic numbers suggest.

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

I think this is a tale of why Pro Football Focus is a tool to examine a team, not the full explanation of a player's ability and accomplishments.

In the first eight or so weeks of the season, the offensive line ranked in the bottom third of the league. The interior protected fairly well but the tackles were dusted on an island without help. The run game also suffered from failing to develop holes and running lanes regularly.

With the promotion of Kitchens, his bunch formations built in chip blocks to help the tackles within Mayfield's blind spots. Usually Mayfield was able to extend plays when the tackle in his line of sight got burned, leading to hurries instead of sacks. So, the analytic grade for the line went up, however the ability level in tackle play remained a constant.

When PFF has an open door to give qualitative data along with the pure numbers, they can penalize the line for mistakes that the pure numbers don't reveal.

The line also remained incredibly healthy last year while other lines were banged up. The Browns have a better third tackle and some interesting experience behind the starters on the interior, but I think it's fair to say this starting group isn't as strong as last year's analytic numbers suggest.

First quality post of the RBF era

 

[6.19.2016]

538's latest statistical analysis of the team:

The Browns Are A Hot Super Bowl Pick For 2019. (Wait, What?)

It's possible that Cleveland is now overrated.

fivethirtyeight.com

 

[col63onel]

538's latest statistical analysis of the team:

The Browns Are A Hot Super Bowl Pick For 2019. (Wait, What?)

It's possible that Cleveland is now overrated.

fivethirtyeight.com

I wonder what these projections would look like if we only included the last 8 games of last year.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

The line also remained incredibly healthy last year while other lines were banged up. The Browns have a better third tackle and some interesting experience behind the starters on the interior, but I think it's fair to say this starting group isn't as strong as last year's analytic numbers suggest.

That's kind of my point. If PFF is discounting it's own "objective" numbers to that degree, of how much value are they really over basic stats and the eyeball test?

 

[Kbiz]

Bit of a fluff piece on our LB's (still need my off-season content fix regardless) but this quote stuck out to me...

Regarding Avery:

"He plays with his hair on fire," run game coordinator/linebackers coach Al Holcomb said of Avery. "He plays fast, his effort is relentless, he's physical at the point of attack. Those are the things, the intrinsic things that he brings to the table, that he brings to this defense, just his overall ability and his willingness and pursuit to get to the football. And he's a pretty good pass rusher as well."

Somehow Collins still led our team in tackles (104) last year despite playing at what looked like 50% effort last year. His loss is certainly opening up the door for these young guys - I expect this to be one of the more exciting positional battles to watch throughout training camp.