BL live blog: 1-6-4 Formation

I was joking the other day when I said the Browns would use a 1-6-4
formation on defense against Tampa. Well in Q1 on defense, the Browns
have lined up one time, on 3rd and long, with only Shaun Rogers in as
a defensive lineman and 5 linebackers behind him (1-5-5 formation)

Marcus Benard positioned himself where the defensive end might normally be, but in a 2 point stance

It worked too. Freeman had no idea what to do...

Bring on Tampa Bay!!

Why, you ask, is the Brown Log optimistic about the 2010 season? While we don't see the Browns getting into the playoffs this year, a team that competes every Sunday, and 7 or 8 wins are well within reach. Such a major step forward would be great compared to the humiliation we had to endure last year.

It is true that Coach Mangini is still learning and hopefully growing as a head coach, but the jury is still out as to whether or not Mangini can lead a team to a Super Bowl win, so, why all the optimism?? There is one major reason, Mike Holmgren. In contrast to last year, what our Browns do have now is steady leadership at the top. Holmgren's first major move was the signing of Jake Delhomme, and this move should be the key to our turnaround. The quarterback is the key to a team's offensive success in the NFL. A successful QB understands what the opponent's defense is trying to do, and is able to make the right decisions, play after play. By moving the ball, avoiding turnovers, grinding down the clock and scoring some points, the QB controls the pace and outcome. It was clear all preseason long that the Browns are in good hands with Jake Delhomme and that should make a huge difference this year, especially if "Coach" can stay out of the way.

"My own belief is this team needs an aging veteran," Mike Holmgren told reporters earlier this year with reference to Delhomme. "They need a guy who's going to grab everybody by the throat and say, 'Follow me through that door.' That's what we need."

Reinders saga comes to an end

Regulars to this blog know that that one of the Brown Log's pet peeves is how much importance NFL scouts place on size and speed and how little they seem to care about whether or not somebody knows how to play the game of football.

That stated, even the Brown Log got caught up in the football potential of Joel Reinders. At 6'8" and over 300 pounds, with wonderful athletic ability, it was easy to imagine Reinders dominating the gridiron for years to come.

There was only one small problem along the way that causes optimism and dreams to crash head on with reality. Reinders simply had very few football skills. I myself was surprised that in the end, the Browns decided that Reinders wasn't even worth one years investment on the taxi squad. That means his skills are so scarce, that the team felt Reinders would never come around. Too bad really, but it goes to show that a track meet and a football game are two radically different events.

Look for Reinders to try to catch on in the CFL with the Toronto Argonauts, but honestly, don't look for him to play much. The CFL is major league football, no doubt, and Reinders will need years to develop the football skills needed to make it professionally.

BL Intel: week 1

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 1-10 against the spread in their last 11 home games. Right now they are "GIVING" 2.5 points to the Browns tomorrow! The Vegas spread is dropping, probably because so many folks are taking the Browns.

Revenge?

Watch for Kellen Winslow, one of the first "character cleansings" done by Coach Mangini, to be out to show Cleveland that they made a mistake by trading him to Tampa Bay. Furthermore, the Browns have had trouble covering tight ends all pre-season.

Breaking news: Mangini to reveal 1-6-4 defensive scheme vs Tampa

Eric Mangini, who protected 11, yes that's 11 Linebackers on his 45 man active roster, announced today that the Browns will line up in a 1-6-4 defensive formation to start the game against the Bucs this Sunday.

Coach Mangini was quoted as saying that a 270 pound linebacker is almost as big as a 310 pound defensive end and almost as little as a 220 pound defensive back. Therefore why bother to collect anything other than linebackers. Rumor is that if the 1-6-4 works out, Mangini eventually plans to unleash the 0-11-0 defensive scheme.

Go Browns!

BL Predicts: Week One vs Tampa Bay

Playing on the road in the NFL is NEVER easy, I don't care who you line up against. That stated, this Sunday's opponent, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers appear to be struggling with inexperience and lack of depth.

The Browns defense must pressure young Tampa QB Josh Freeman, something they've struggled with all pre-season. My guess is we will see the Browns aggresively blitzing in the right moments and Tampa will be hard pressed to protect Freeman.

The Browns should be able to execute against Tampa's D which will likely pay less attention to the Browns inexperienced and unproven wideouts, loading the middle of the field to stop the run and short passing game of Delhomme. Our bet is Delhomme will be able to find spots in the short passing game and move the ball.

An early key to get an idea of how Tampa will fare can be had by keeping a close eye on Buccaneers new defensive linemen, first round pick Gerard McCoy and second round pick Brian Price (both are pictured below). If McCoy and Price are disruptive the Browns will have trouble running and passing upfield and that would spell big trouble and a long day for the Browns.

Game keys
- Pressuring the QB: Slight edge to Tampa Bay
- QB decision making: Strong edge to the Browns


BL Predicts: Browns 23 Tampa Bay 17

Did Brandon McDonald Tweet himself out of a job?

Well, the Browns cut down their roster over the weekend and indeed there were some surprises, the biggest of which was the cutting of Brandon McDonald, an experienced cornerback, who was immediately picked up by Arizona.

Was McDonald punished by Eric Mangini for his offensive tweet about Terrell Owens? At the time, Mangini made no secret of his disgust about the tweet, and since McDonald is more than talented enough to contribute to the Browns success... it would seem to be the case that Mangini continues his use of "cultural cleansing" as a key criteria in selecting players to fill out his roster.

The Brown Log remains unconvinced that Eric Mangini can achieve success where Ted Stepien didn't. A football team has to be made up of 53 of the best football players you can find. Watering down the secondary because a young man has fun on Twitter is pretty damn stupid if you ask me.

time will tell....

Browns wrap up preseason

Yesterdays final tuneup against the Bears generally went well and we have now arrived to the end of a preseason that gave us much to be optimistic about.
Roster cut down time is now upon us. Here is a good article from the Canton Repository's Josh Weir summing up the key roster decisions to be taken by the Browns within this Saturday. One interesting aside is Joel Reinders who has rarely played this pre-season and clearly is not ready for the NFL. The article mentions that Reinders will likely make the taxi squad so the Browns appear to be impressed enough with Reinders athletic skills to invest one year in seeing if his potential can be transformed into playing ability

Here are some roster decisions impacted by the final exhibition game:

Plus
- Colt McCoy was a perfect 13 for 13 passing. Colt has certainly made the active roster as 3rd string QB. Here is hoping that Brett Ratliff does not get cut. He too is an NFL caliber quarterback and it would be a shame to lose him. Perhaps the Browns put Ratliff on the taxi squad instead of cutting him.


- Carlton Mitchell showed enough skills that he might just make the active roster instead of the taxi squad or getting cut

Minus
- Montario Hardesty left the stadium on crutches. That will likely mean a season long trip to the disabled list for Hardesty which saves the roster spot of James Davis.

Ohio's Football culture: Go Bucks!

Well worth watching. In Ohio, football is a secular religion.

Browns history: Dolphins 1985 playoffs

In Browns folklore, this playoff loss does not rank with the most heartbreaking, however the game truly was a sign of things to come under Marty Schottenheimer. With a 21-3 lead and 11 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter, Marty choose to try to run the clock out against Dan Marino. In effect, he played into Don Shula's hands who dared Marty to pass the rest of the game. With a young Bernie at the controls, a few first down passes might have locked this one up for the Browns but Marty had to play it by the book right up to the bitter end. There is no doubt that during the regular season, Marty's obsession with playing the percentages was in fact the smart approach. But come playoff time, you simply gotta roll the dice sometimes. It turned Schottenheimer's stomach to take risks, even in the playoffs, and the price paid was that during the prime of Kosar's career, the Browns never made it to the Super Bowl. If we had to label this game for it's infamy, the best title I can come up with is "foreshadowing the drive" because it was the same fear of winning the following year, that led Marty to play bend but not break when we had Elway pinned at the 3 yard line with 5 minutes left.

One more pre-season game and then its primetime

with one game to go in the preseason, it's clear that there is much to be pleased about with our Browns. Fundamentally, our first team offense has had no trouble all pre-season moving the ball. That is a strong contrast to last year's regular season in which the Browns offense was non-existent. Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace are a major upgrade over Quinn and Anderson. So scoring doesn't look to be an issue.

Where we do have a major problem, as this article from the Lorain Journal aptly points out, is on the defensive line. A couple of stats that will scare anyone. So far this pre-season there have been 96 passes thrown against the Browns and we've managed to sack the QB one time. Worse, the starting QBs of Green Bay, St Louis and Detroit completed a whopping 83% of their passes thrown.

Houston we have a problem.

If Shaun Rogers ever returns that will help but for the moment, nobody has a clue as to when that will be. On the plus side on D, our defensive backs have been great. Ward and Haden are a major talent upgrade and will contribute this year in a big way.

Other observations from the Lions game. Colt McCoy certainly firmed up his status as the number 3 QB with a decent showing, though he still struggled to move the team when a score was needed and the pressure was on. In any case, he also showed some flashes of his potential. He made the team Saturday and like most young QB's he simply needs time to develop.

Epic Football Fail

One year ago and we might have thought that Eric Mangini drew this play up!