Guys doing better/worse than I expected

[Bronx Cheer]

Just some barometer thoughts regarding the weeks 1 and 2 performances relative to my expectations. I am not grading a guys absolute performance, just whether they are doing better or worse than I expected. For example, I don't mention Robo under "bad" because I expected him to suck and he has in fact sucked. Flip side with Haden and Thomas.

First, the good news, the guys who are doing better than I expected (roughly in order) are:

1) Cribbs - I though the new rules would cripple his special teams worth, but obviously not. He continues to make baby step improvements at WR, too. Still can't run a route to save his life, but it appears that Shurmur is doing what he can to get him involved, and you cannot argue about him being effective in space with the ball.

2) DQJ - I do not like him generally - I think he gets swallowed up way too much in traffic. He still has been fitting in at MLB much better than he ever did at ISLB. I think he is over-rated in Browns land, but now I think his performance is at least better than average (I think he is Sheldon Brown, others think he is Joe Haden).

3) Pinkston - good going young man. Keep it up.

4) Sheard - didn't expect much, but the man has been making plays. It would be great if he was more of a consistent factor, but he has been as good as you can expect from a second round DE.

5) Secondary - This unit has looked great except for the occasional 20 yard completion to whoever Adams is covering. Patterson looks like a solid nickel, and I look forward to seeing how good the unit can be once Young and Ward get accustomed to one another.

Now, the bad:

1) Pashos - I liked him and thought (wished?) that he'd be healthy, giving us a rock solid line. Silly me.

2) Gocong - he's been invisible and getting run over in the rushing game. By far, this has looked like our weakest link on D. I think he's been worse than Counsins/Hicks, but I rank him as a lower merely because I didn't expect much from him. Perhaps we'll see Titus Brown if he ever gets healthy.

3) McCoy - He has't been bad, just average, but my expectations were pretty high. I give him a bit of a pass considering how crappy his line has been. His pocket presence hasn't been the greatest, though, so I give him a knock down there. He's failed to step up into the pocket a few times when the opportunity presented itself. Hopefully he'll settle down once our line does.

[Brown Warrior]

Good stuff, Bronx. Except you know I like DQJ and I think he's been pretty crazy good (!).

Exactly how I feel about Colt so far. I built up some expectations with the WCO fit and all. He's been a little lower than what I envisioned.

On the line, I'd pick a RT (Hicks) and stick with him until Pashos is well.

Pinkston is playing very well. Might turn Steinbach into Wally Pipp.

[Bronx Cheer]

Do you ever DVR the game and key on DQJ? The next blocker he sheds will be his first. To echo a Flugel favorite, dude looks like Tarzan when he is in space, but reverts to playing like Jane if a blocker can lay a hand on him. He is also pretty bad in coverage.

[Riffer X]

I have sort of a weird take on Cribbs and the new kickoff return thing, and I may as well post it here. My theory deals with the 5 yard run up limit. I think this is huge and limits guys getting such a running start. If Cribbs can bring the ball out--even 8 yards deep--he is at an advantage still.

There is further distance from where he receives the kick and the coverage guys coming downfield, hence, he can get his full head of steam and then cut to the crease as he sees it unfold. This could actually be a good thing, especially later in the year when the weather keeps the kickoffs from flying out of the endzone.

May sound wacky, but I think there is some merit to this hypothesis.

[NW Ohio Brownie]

I have been disappointed with Jayme Mitchell and Fujita. Teams are running on those two to have success. They are both getting abused at the point of attack. Not to mention Mitchell has done nothing rushing the passer and Fujita couldn't cover a tight end to save his life.

On the other hand, Rubin and Taylor are proving to be a formidable force in the middle. They are just clogging the middle on runs and collapsing the pocket on passes.

On offense, I have been delighted by next to no one. Little is starting to show glimpses. Hardesty hasn't seen enough action yet, which is also disappointing.

Let me also say this: I was thrilled with Shurmur's game plan yesterday. He decided to run Hillis a bit more which was the obvious call against a banged up Colts front. But, and this was huge, he obviously game planned to get the ball out of Colt's hands quickly yesterday with a lot of slants, bubble screens, and stick routes. That can't be underestimated. He knew from Week 1 that if Hicks/Cousins couldn't contain Dunlap then Colt would get killed in Week 2 with the same gameplan. In fact, the Browns' two longest throws downfield came when Colt scrambled out of the pocket. Nevertheless, this showed great understanding and adjustment on Coach Shurmur's part. Once Pashos comes back healthy, we might see longer developing passes in the game plan.

[Brown Warrior]

Originally Posted by Bronx Cheer

Do you ever DVR the game and key on DQJ? The next blocker he sheds will be his first. To echo a Flugel favorite, dude looks like Tarzan when he is in space, but reverts to playing like Jane if a blocker can lay a hand on him. He is also pretty bad in coverage.

I'll actually concede that he sticks to some blocks like he has glue on him... as the father of a very good linebacker, I can't deny it.

But he also plays forward better in this offense. He made a lot of plays at the line.

[Brown Warrior]

Riff, Cribbs said that most kickers have to line drive the ball more to try to kick it deep... so it kind of averages out as far as time.

If they were smart, they'd get more air and quit trying to kick it out. Go for hang time at the goal line.

[TheBestPlayersPlay]

Originally Posted by Riffer X

I have sort of a weird take on Cribbs and the new kickoff return thing, and I may as well post it here. My theory deals with the 5 yard run up limit. I think this is huge and limits guys getting such a running start. If Cribbs can bring the ball out--even 8 yards deep--he is at an advantage still. There is further distance from where he receives the kick and the coverage guys coming downfield, hence, he can get his full head of steam and then cut to the crease as he sees it unfold. This could actually be a good thing, especially later in the year when the weather keeps the kickoffs from flying out of the endzone. May sound wacky, but I think there is some merit to this hypothesis.

Not wacky ..and I heard it discussed elsewhere as well ...I can't put my finger on where now, but I agree 100%. Of course all that advantage is out the window when the ball is kicked out of the endzone. But yes, he should run that ball out of the end zone at every opportunity imo.

[Sez.EJ]

Notes on some other guys.

The LB's have been really bad overall making DQJ look amazing..especially against the run. Pass coverage has been bad against TE's.. The LB's are goiing to need to handle Reggie Bush who is exceptional out of the backfield, and TE Fasano who's decent. It's a concern..

Sheard and Taylor..both playiing up to their draft spots so far.. Looking good.. need to continue to see improvement each week..

Marecic looked better this week and caught the ball well..one was a really good catch... don't fumble anymore though.

Alex Smith caught the ball well, but more importantly.. he helped out Hicks and I did not here the name/ or see Mathis near Colt very much.. Nice job.. I kind of thought they may help out Hicks with Alex last week since he is the best blocking TE we have.

Completely agree on Colt.. and on Cribbs.. like getting him the ball on Bubble screens..

I'd like to see Little run more than slants...but he's catching the ball..so.. onward and upward..

Moore: seems to be just a red zone option.. I'd like to see him between the 20's for a few plays too.

Shurmer: Called a really good game this week. Much better than week one. He stuck with Hillis even when he was getting bottled up.. ( I was laughing at Hillis 'cuz you could see how frustrated he was geting on some of those 1-2 yard runs) I like Shurmers patience in that matter and staying with the run game..it paid off in more managable 3rd downs and we went from 27% on 3rd down converstions vs cinci ..up to 50% last week.. that's HUGE!!! Nice job Coach!!

Miami is going to a tough tough game.. The defense must play better if we want to have any chance to win.. they are pretty balanced and have some serious recieving threats.

[Brown Warrior]

Nice, Sez. I think the "stubborn running" did pay dividends. Very Steelers-esque.

[Brown Warrior]

Kind of along these lines, things Shurmur's learning (including which WRs to play):

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/inde...9/post_95.html

[Alo]

Originally Posted by NW Ohio Brownie

I have been disappointed with Jayme Mitchell and Fujita. Teams are running on those two to have success. They are both getting abused at the point of attack. Not to mention Mitchell has done nothing rushing the passer and Fujita couldn't cover a tight end to save his life.

Fujita's certainly struggled playing in space, and not just when covering Dallas Clark. He had an ugly play on which he failed to break down & tackle Joseph Addai. The 32-year-old may be showing signs of decline.