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I disagree. I think they stink and you stink too.:gaga:

 

My top ten thoughts:

#1) I hate the sun. I burned to a crisp last year because I forgot sun block, and this year I took some but it had apparently gone bad because I roasted again even though I applied a lot of that shit three different times during the day.
Excellent information, keep up the great work!

 

Cleveland ranks 26th defensively. 12th in passing, 28th rushing. So, naturally, the inclination will be to press the run and grind out yards, first downs, and so on. Cleveland's 3-4 isn't as stout as the more talented 3-4s in the league (which are generally going to be successful with coaching and talent regardless of the D, though their personnel still matches to the 3-4), so the angles inside are there. This may be more of a Williams game rushing than a Foster fit, and the 3-4 doesn't give up as many draws as a one gap 4-3, but otherwise the run-oriented 3-4 isn't strong as it should be, especially if you can get Washington moving. In general, 3-4s can pursue but aren't as great on the run, so getting them moving and cutting back, if executed and gameplanned properly, can be lethal. This is Williams' specialty, as evidenced in his best runs, where he's been able to make the perfect cut and start heading against the grain or straight upfield past pursuit.

3-4s are typically a bit more hard to pull against, since they spread two men to the outside, but the angles will be there if we do any inside trapping. The inside trio isn't an especially stout combination, but each holds his own well enough.
Moving Washington might not be as hard as it used to be, though. None of them will, and Bridges shouldn't have trouble moving Roye, nor Gross on McKinley, or if he's bridging contain, Wimbley if they run off tackle with a lead blocker.
Andra Davis is their best run stopper, and is often a necessary LB to block to curtail pursuit. However, as Collin noted, he doesn't have good instincts, and can be suckered. D'Qwell Jackson is the weakside-styled ILB, without a lot of size, and without experience; running at him, and running outside to his side taking him on with a TE is a great way of taking him out of the play or forcing him to run around blocks.

I haven't seen the Browns yet this year, so I don't know for certain if Collin's listing of Wimbley on the left is completely accurate or not, but to me it made more sense to have him on the right and that's where both the official site and nfl.com have him, on the right. I'd prefer him on the right for this matchup as well, as I believe Gross can stay with a faster rusher in most circumstances and won't have to deal with the inside moves that often force him to give up more ground. Whether he'll always reach and shut down Wimbley is another situation, but hopefully he will. If he's on the right, I'd expect to see more of the same from last week - Bridges gets help, or Bridges blocks down and the help gets help. Expect a lot of strongside formations if so, and that might be a passing key for the Browns if Wimbley is on that side.

Assuming he isn't, Bridges takes on McGinest, where I'd still expect he'll see help. If Gross is taking on McGinest, I'm a little more worried, as Gross still doesn't always contain good double moves. Willie's not as stout as he was, and at OLB he's probably more slight than he was; he's also questionable with a calf injury so I don't know how effective he'll be.

Inside of that, as long as we have good calls, we should be allright. Interior rush is generally non-existent here, though our former backup McKinley amassed 5 sacks last year, he was the only inside lineman to pull much inside. Roye and Washington haven't had more than 2 sacks since the 90s. Their blitz is not ridiculously effective, or rather their inside blitzing; to me, if the 3-4 is bringing an OLB in his expected lane, it's not a special move. Speaking in the most basic of terms, a "blitz" is of course bringing two unexpected players, and OLB rushing in 3-4 isn't unexpected. I don't know for certain what general combination of players they bring, but they don't seem especially inventive and Crennel was never that exotic with it in my recollection in NE. Chaun Thompson had 5 sacks a year ago, Andra Davis isn't a rushing threat. If we get the good calls and no one comes free, Delhomme won't find tons of pressure, but we need an outlet in instances of 5-6 rushers nonetheless. I think that's one reason the 3-4 has bothered us, we're not as often a team that has one or two outlets on a play, which is one of the first reasons the 3-4 went out of style around the advent of the WCO.

With the odd front, it'll be Mathis and Wahle helping out and keeping their heads up, not the center. Wahle will be engaging McKinley more often, in theory, where Mathis will take on Roye. If we use two men outside and rotate Bridges in, Mathis has the option of helping on either NT or DE, and we'll be susceptible to inside blitzing. Despite that, and despite Seidman, I'd expect to see more 2 TE, which may include seeing Hoover on the wing a little more. This should pay dividends in both the passing game and running game, and as Collin stated in his writeup, keeping two WR on one side at times can help move secondary defenders around. With Keyshawn in motion so much, we can create this look on the fly, and probably should.

Plus, with the Browns' stoic run-stopping ILBs, it would be smart to motion out Williams or Foster, if Hoover's still in a position to receive the ball. The Panthers have been slightly more willing to get Hoover the ball in recent weeks, but more importantly, it tips Delhomme to the defense (as does the 'twins' or 'slot' type look) and splits a defender out of formation. A combination of the two, twins weakside and splitting a RB out of formation on the strong side, could leave a safety coming up or a LB coming out, either of which can be exploited. However, the team probably won't require too much trickery to run on the Browns, and should be successful enough passing.

Bodden's their better corner, Baxter their other corner is OUT for this game. That leaves rookie corner and former part time WR Daven Holly on the outside. Holly is still a slender frame that lacks strength; he will lose battles with Johnson. His only redeeming play would be to jump routes, which in the NFL tends not to be smart, especially for rookies.

Bodden is a tall, somewhat slender ballhawk, who's good at batting balls away, but still hasn't boosted his pick numbers into elite levels. He should be on Smith, if he plays (ankle), and is a good tackler; double moves to see if he's feeling healthy may be smart, but the WR screen shouldn't be pulled unless Bodden is playing well off.
Ralph Brown, a short, skinny veteran of Fox's choosing in 2000, will be the nickel, or could start depending on Bodden; Brown's gotten abused in more recent years and isn't a good matchup on anyone the Panthers can put out there. Brown does use his hands well enough, though, and could redirect Carter or Colbert enough if he's playing the outside in nickel, but I find no reason to support that he would, and will probably draw Key in coverage in the slot.

Cleveland is 28th in 3rd down percentage. Throwing in 3 wide sets is a necessity - and if running from base is difficult (which it should not be), this is a set to look into. Four and five wide sets, 4 from receiver personnel and 5 as traditional from base personnel, will each be useful.

 

Cleveland ranks 30th in 0. They also rank 8th in 3rd down conversion on O, coincidentally. 20th passing, 28th rushing.

Their line has given up 5th most sacks in the league thus far. Fraley, Andruzzi, and Coleman are more of run blockers at this point, and will be among the larger linemen the D has faced inside. They won't have size on our starting DTs, but will on Lewis and the reserves. Either way, they don't generate push, and Cleveland has upgrading to do here in the future. They're beatable off the snap, and while Jenkins and Lewis shouldn't use too much jumping the snap to swim, they'll be effective either way. Kemoeatu may be able to bull Coleman in the run game. They're not fast up front, so they won't be able to reach us often in the pursuit runs, but they trap allright.

Shaffer is an adequate pass blocker, but not worth what he was paid. Rucker will probably not blow by him, though this is a chance to stop setting a tackle up for the big play and just take him head up. Tucker is a bit lumbering at RT in his 10th year, and Peppers should generate pressure if not chipped, and possibly even if he is.

Lucas should match on Edwards, which is a positive matchup for us. Edwards is fast, and tall, but so is Lucas, who's crafty enough to deal with the underneath if it comes. Despite Edwards' yards, he doesn't get a lot of running after the catch. Northcutt on Gamble is intriguing, but a positive for us; Gamble is athletic enough to recover from Northcutt's moves, and Northcutt is only garnering 8.1 ypc from scrimmage. Northcutt's also your reverse option, though I don't believe it'll be called this game.

Kellen Winslow will be a threat, and in a general weakness for us; as of yet, I can't figure exactly what we'll do. It might work to bring a safety down, and have Davis jam him, but in general, it's as often the set plays used to get him in the game (Jr. is 3rd in TE RAC). It's not as much that Winslow is their bigger threat, it's more that we don't have an answer.
Droughns is not a terrible receiver, and ranks allright in RAC, so shouldn't be missed in coverage if possible. FBs Terrelle Smith and Lawrence Vickers aren't great threats, but do get used occasionally.

Jurevicius may suit this week, and if he does, Marshall will get him; even if healthy, this is a positive matchup for us.

If the Panthers end up spleening Frye, they get Ken Dorsey, the noodle-armed Miami product to beat up on. No threat there.




Cleveland's 3rd in KO yardage. 69.4, leading the league in touchbacks. 11th in coverage. Zastudil has been bad about out of bounds punts, 18th in net, 22nd in gross. Northcutt's above average returning punts, at 15/ret, and Cribbs is above average in KR.

 

Good stuff. From a blocking standpoint, this game does give us a new look and a new challenge. But yeah, Washington isn't nearly the player that he was in Buffalo or Chicago, or even in Super Bowl XXXVIII. He used to be able to singlehandedly make the inside nearly impossible, but teams have apparently done a good enough job of moving him. Oakland brought him in specifically to make their run D better, but they still sucked and couldn't compete against the strong running attacks of the AFC West. I don't want to pass him off, because he is still a big ass body and a guy who can knock down passes, but we should be able to get around him.


And obviously, the 34 has made them into a solid special teams unit because of the surplus of linebackers. Cribbs is a good return guy, but he's not a Dante' Hall-type that can make plays on his own, so the challenge will be more against their blockers. Zastudil has been dissapointing for them. They wanted a guy with a stronger leg, who could drop more punts inside of the 20, but it seems as though he's either been overkicking or underkicking every time.




oh, and I think Derek Anderson has moved into their #2 QB spot. Still, they would pretty much be screwed if it came to that point.

 

Okay, at least I feel GUILTY when I laugh at the spleen jokes.

 

that website sucks

 

Review up.

 

FYI- there are broken links on your page.

 

Great demonstration of how good Foster was Sunday.