After Further Review... I Believe we finally have an Identity....

[PlaygroundLegend]

We have been clamoring for a new Identity for years now, we have been... Lost....

The resurgence started last year with Haden, Ward, and Peyton Hillis.... All Hard hitting, aggressive guys...

It was preceded by tackle breaking Josh Cribbs, and Beast O-lineman Joe Thomas..

Now, we have gone from a barely average D-line, to a freaking 1200lb monster Including Rubin, Taylor, Benard, and Sheard... These guys are all, big strong and aggresive

We have drafted a WR who played runningback and loves to deliver bone crushing hits in Greg Little....

We have taken a road grating OL prospect, a sonic fast DB combine hero, who also throws his body into other player with wreckless abandon.... We took a guy who has so much testosterone, playing Fullback wasnt enough for him... so his coaches decided to let him get his Ray Lewis on as well at MLB...


We now have an extremely LARGE and aggresive team of players, and I think that even though we are moving to a west coast scheme, we may still have that "Smashmouth" Identity that many of you were looking for...

Theres two types of YAC guys... guys like DeSean Jackson... and Guys like Anquan Boldin...

and it looks like were going the contact route....

Im extremely excited to See Cribbs, Hillis, and Little on the field at the same time... that kind of shit makes defenses tremble....

Its time people.....

Im Officially on Board

Go Browns 2011-12

[Brown Warrior]

Wonder what the starting DL would be right now? Sheard actually played LDE at Pitt, so you might see Benard at RDE. Seems more and more possible the more you hear Heckert talk about small, light, quick DEs. And obviously they want massive DTs (!).

Then you have Shaefering, Mitchell, and Ivey for the rotation. I could see Shafering and Mitchell inside on passing downs with Benard and Sheard outside.

[Listercat]

I am right there on board with you kind sir....outstanding draft!

[PlaygroundLegend]

Im really excited to see if


...gets double digit sacks next year. Opposing o-lines will have enough to deal with accounting for enough muscle to hold off Rubin and Taylor. As well as enough strength and Quickness to keep Sheard away...

It almost seems unfair to have Benard out there...

He had 7.5 sacks last year and he wasnt on the field half the time. Now he wont have to worry about pass protection...

What are the chances he puts up 13?

[Brown Warrior]

If it's Benard, Taylor, Rubin, Sheard? Nobody can say our DL is old anymore, huh?

Today it'd be those four, then DQJ, Gocong, and Fujita at LB. Maybe Haden and Wright at corner, Brown and Ward at safety? I really think Wright will rally, especially in this defense.

[Sez.EJ]

We have a nice mix of youth and a little experience on the DL now.. and what I truly like is we have a quality vet like Robaire to show the ropes. What an amazing upgrade these 2 guys (Sheard and Little) should be to what was a unit that was a HUGE questionmark up til 2 days ago. Having a beast like Little next to Ruben is going to make our LB's VERY happy and also buys us a year with the LB's we have as I can definately see the LB being more of a draft priority next year since we skipped it this year. I suppose we can still dip into the free agent market if we chose to.

[Listercat]

Agreed; but who knows what the FA market will even look like when an agreement is finally reached

[Alo]

Heckert said yesterday that Benard possibly could end up playing strongside LB. Personally, I think that's his best fit -- let Sheard play weakside DE and Mitchell/Roth/FA (Ray Edwards) at the opposite end spot.

[Brown Warrior]

Originally Posted by Alo

Heckert said yesterday that Benard possibly could end up playing strongside LB. Personally, I think that's his best fit -- let Sheard play weakside DE and Mitchell/Roth/FA (Ray Edwards) at the opposite end spot.

Hmm. That seems odd to me. He's best putting his hand in the ground and rushing the passer, no?

[slowmo411]

Originally Posted by Brown Warrior

If it's Benard, Taylor, Rubin, Sheard? Nobody can say our DL is old anymore, huh? Today it'd be those four, then DQJ, Gocong, and Fujita at LB. Maybe Haden and Wright at corner, Brown and Ward at safety? I really think Wright will rally, especially in this defense.

I dont agree with Wright at all hes the weak link. Other than him Id be VERY excited about that line up. We have a far better run D now up the middle, i'm not sure how Sheard is against the run but our starting OLBs aint too bad for sure. I think thats a weakness for Bernard though. (correct?) LOVE Ward and Brown as our safties and Haden at CB (i have NO faith in wright at all) and Im not a huge fan of DJQ.
I loved our first 4 picks (including the trades) and Skrine (our new returner) although i dont think of Skrine as more than a returner (not even good depth at CB).
At the tail end of a 30 pack so i hope someone out there can follow what im trying to say.

[Brown Warrior]

Banks likes our draft and I like Banks, so...

NFL's have-nots improved, Chiefs gamble, more Saturday Snaps - Don Banks - SI.com

[Alo]

Originally Posted by Brown Warrior

Hmm. That seems odd to me. He's best putting his hand in the ground and rushing the passer, no?

Look at how productive Orakpo was as a hybrid SAM/Nickel DE in '09: I think that's Benard's ideal role, one that I'm not sure Jauron will be willing to carve out for him.

Heckert said that one of the drawbacks of the lockout is that they haven't been able to work with the players and see how a guy like Benard fits in their defense. It could be something that gets settled in training camp.

And Sheard's a better fit for the weakside. Ironically, he and Romeus each played the opposite of his ideal NFL position.

He'll be okay against the run at RE, and while he lacks elite tools, his polished pass rush skills will allow him to be effective immediately. That's a major plus for a team that desperately needs guys who can get after the quarterback.