BUSTER SKRINE

[Brown Warrior]

Sorry, guys, but you're all limping around with pulled muscles right now. As happy as we are with the offense right now, we put very little pressure on Rodgers or Flynn and they had time to find open receivers.

Sheldon Brown will be what he is: Okay. A wily veteran who came to camp in really good shape and has received a lot of praise. He's probably in his last year at corner. The plan was to have him competing with Wright, who the Browns very much wanted to keep, and also a draft pick.

For what it's worth, I usually slotted round 4 for that corner. The Browns waited until 5 and found Skrine, who has already moved up to starting nickel and earned every penny of it (pun for Tom's sake).

We had PROFOUND needs at DL and WR. I would add LB, but the team clearly didn't agree. To expect Brown or Wright to play 2nd corner in a Cover 2 with a decent pass rush wouldn't be risky business (more for Tom). Without a pass rush? Against Rodgers? Somebody's gettin' picked on.

As Tom pointed out, it wasn't old legs that had Brown beat for the TD. He was right there. He got duped by a flawless back shoulder and a quarterback who can get it from decision to hands faster than anybody in the league today and maybe ever.

The Browns biggest problem on defense in the first half wasn't Sheldon Brown. It was a lack of pass rush. Brown could step in for Ike Taylor and play very well, or for lesser known corners in Chicago, Tampa, and a lot of other 4-3 cities. He's not toast.

Losing Wright was not part of the plan but Skrine sure as hell helps. But I'm telling you, and I know you don't wanna listen: If the Browns can't shrink the QB window with some fairly consistent heat, you'll be blaming Brown and even Haden, who got beat badly on a hitch move down the right side... because the WR had time to make hitch moves while the QB waited.

But c'mon... let's not act like this is a "stupid" opinion. It's just not. In this league, you damn well better put heat on passers or you're in some serious trouble.

[Brown Warrior]

By the way, during all this sudden love I have for Sheldon Brown, I banged the drum all free agent season for another corner, including Richard Marshall. I was in favor of Jonathan Joseph. I said Kelly Jennings made sense.

You guys are missing so broadly... it's important that you continue to support each other. I get that.

[Flugel]

Originally Posted by Riffer X

Shep: “Thommmmm, I never, ever, said that corner isn’t important in today’s game, it just isn’t true. What I tried to tell you is that there is this thing called a pass rush. As soon as I read how important the RDE is in a 4/3 defense, it became my glory position for the D. You know, kinda like WR is for me on offense? Now stay with me here and see if you can understand (!) Wait, did I mention WR’s? Speaking of which, that Mike Sims Walker is like really, really good Tom. There is no denying that in the football world, there just isn’t.

When I was listing guys on our roster who were future pro bowlers like Brown, Schaefering, Mitchell, Wright, DQJ and others, I was trying to explain to you we had those positions covered. That way, we could afford to go after ten other WR’s. Removing Cribbs from WR would have given us the opportunity to possibly pick David Patten back up, so of course I got a little excited. I never once jumped on the Cribbs dislike going on here Thommm, it just isn’t true. I loved that cute little Freckly bastard Colt in the draft too, I just questioned his shoulder injury. Really, why do we need to question each other’s fandom here? I mean, we are all Browns fans—I think(!)”

LMAO! Classic stuff!

[Flugel]

Originally Posted by Brown Warrior

We had PROFOUND needs at DL and WR. I would add LB, but the team clearly didn't agree. To expect Brown or Wright to play 2nd corner in a Cover 2 with a decent pass rush wouldn't be risky business (more for Tom). .

I think we need to get back to remembering why this conversation started specifically. You were concerned about how frequently Sheldon Brown got burned vrs GB. And this just in, we drafted a dlineman in round 1 and in round 2 that were out there when Brown played. NOBODY pressured Rodgers in the post season inclusive of edge rushers like Abraham, Peppers, Harrison, and Woodley; because the ball was out of Rodgers' hands on the 3rd step of dropback or sooner in the shot gun. The short/quick passes are why I wanted us to upgrade Eric Wright and I was concerned about Sheldon Brown's 32 year old wheels; because these passes by design neutralize the effect/impact of the edge rush. There's also muliple receiver sets where you gotta have good cover guys back there.

Skrine excites me a ton, which is why I reported on him the day I saw him run SICK combine 40s. That was a grand theft on draft day that I'm excited about. Is he ready to start at this level covering #2s right out of Chattanooga? I could see an Anthony Henry type of rookie role that ended up in 10 INTs covering #3 WRs. With more reps/experience he COULD indeed grow into a #2 but realistically he's coming out of a program like Chattanooga so the question is how immediate can he be? As much as you like to act like a ton of great DBs come in late rounds, the WR and DE positions in round 1 have the highest bust factors. Meanwhile top pass rushers like James Harrison and Cameron Wake were undrafted as was Trent Cole, who has made the Pro Bowl more than once. We can apply your take on where to get good corners with any position and make it work. If it's a passing league - of course you need a pass rush but you gotta be careful not to make one at the expense of the other. Game plans attack vulnerabilities. When Baltimore got inside our red zone - Eric Wright surrendered half of Boldin's 2010 TD volume. Red zone doesn't mean 5-7 step drops from QB - they're all quick hitters and we wuz exposed. When the NY Jets spotted where Eric Wright was OT was over. YES I wanted his ass upgraded and Brown's age concerned me enough to worry about how we were equipped to handle short passing games and multiple receiver sets. Just add 1 unplanned injury to the mix and we're in deep shit.

[nickers]

Well considering we had no OTA's,Mini camps,etc...The defense did not look that bad to Me..for god sake they tackled for the first time in god knows how long...Shep,.,,,love ya man...but get this through your skull....WE'RE NOT GOING TO THE FUCKING SUPER BOWL THIS YEAR LET ALONE THE PLAYOFFS!. If we do get to the playoffs then cool.. I'll take it as a bonus. ...........I think this team is far and away better than what weve been treated to in the past. I think what people fail to understand is our FO and Coaches know our team better than we do...Its what theyre getting paid for. You dont see the Stoolers signing every Bubba, Jamal and LeRoy out there. Stay with the plan...Its working so far...but time will tell.

[OzDawg]

Originally Posted by nickers

Well considering we had no OTA's,Mini camps,etc...The defense did not look that bad to Me..for god sake they tackled for the first time in god knows how long...Shep,.,,,love ya man...but get this through your skull....WE'RE NOT GOING TO THE FUCKING SUPER BOWL THIS YEAR LET ALONE THE PLAYOFFS!. If we do get to the playoffs then cool.. I'll take it as a bonus. ...........I think this team is far and away better than what weve been treated to in the past. I think what people fail to understand is our FO and Coaches know our team better than we do...Its what theyre getting paid for. You dont see the Stoolers signing every Bubba, Jamal and LeRoy out there. Stay with the plan...Its working so far...but time will tell.

Patience is a virtue! lol unless you're a Browns fan.
+1 on your post