Tag Archives: AFC North

NFL DRAFT NEWS and NOTES – BLAKE BORTLES

Posted: Apr 30, 2014 by . Filed under Blog Posts, Feature Articles | 159 Comments

After hearing from three very trusted NFL talent evaluators recently, I’ve come away with some info I didn’t have before, some info that changed my mind a little and some info that verified what I already knew. So today let’s give you the Intel that was shared with me on Blake Bortles.

From the various talent evaluators that I talked to they all pretty much said the same thing about Bortles, he’s not ready to play right now, but he may have the most upside and potential of any quarterback in this class.

Scouts and coaches love his size at 6’5-232 and his durability. They aren’t worried about him getting hit and knocked out of the game as much as they are with Manziel and Bridgewater and for Browns fans that would make him a good fit for the rugged and physical AFC North.

He also played in a pro-style offense or an NFL system at Central Florida, taking plenty of snaps from under center.  He has some intangibles that team’s love like leadership, an underdog player who has worked hard to ascend over the years, he can extend a play with his underrated athleticism, but yet he will stand tall in the pocket and deliver the ball while taking a hit. He communicates well at the line of scrimmage and has good football intelligence. His arm strength and accuracy are good enough to play in the NFL, but not great.

What the evaluators I talked to don’t like about his game right now is a lack of pin point accuracy on deep balls and throwing behind receivers at times. His ball placement will have to be better to be successful at the NFL level. Some passes that he got away with, or completed in college, would be broken up by NFL defensive backs. Also while his arm strength is good enough to play in the NFL, it’s not considered a major plus for him right now. Some of that has to do with his lower body fundamentals as he tends to be more of an upper body thrower. He must work on his feet and legs to better his arm strength to get more zip on the ball.  But with the right coach and not being rushed to play, my sources tell me those things can improve and if they do, again, he could be the best QB in this class.

Bortles is your prototypical drop back quarterback with some athleticism that could make him very dangerous in time at the NFL level. If you draft him you need to know that in order for him to evolve into the quarterback you want him to be, that you think he can be, he needs to sit at least a half a year to a year, before he’ll be ready to play on an every Sunday basis. If you have that patience and good coaching, Blake Bortles could pay off for you in a big way.

The Houston Texans would be a perfect fit for Bortles. He’s the type of quarterback that Bill O’Brien loves and dreams about and has worked with over his years in the NFL and in college, but can you afford to take him at number #1 overall? Probably not. But don’t be surprised if the Texans end up with Bortles somehow some way before the draft is over.

WHAT TYPE OF QB DO THE BROWNS WANT IN THE DRAFT?

Posted: Apr 15, 2014 by . Filed under Blog Posts, Feature Articles | 40 Comments

So whose quarterback model will the Cleveland Browns follow? I’ve been looking in my crystal ball that Bill Belichick loaned me to try and find out. Will it be that of the big, strong quarterbacks like Ben Rothlisberger in Pittsburgh and Joe Flacco in Baltimore, who have a total of 3 Super Bowl wins? Could it be that of the Cincinnati Bengals who have, at best, an average quarterback in Andy Dalton, but have surrounded him with a lot of offensive weapons? Or might they go with the smaller, more mobile quarterback like the Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks Russell Wilson?

New G.M. Ray Farmer must decide which way he feels is best for this Browns team. If the owner has any influence, and I believe he does because Jimmy Haslam III has taken a more hands on approach, I’ve got to believe JH3’s preference would be that of the bigger framed, more prototypical drop back type quarterback who can take a hit or two and not miss many games. This is what has been successful in the AFC North and it’s what Haslam saw when he was a minority owner with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

With that in mind, it would lead one to believe that the quarterbacks the Browns would be targeting then are Blake Bortles early in the first round, or guys like Derek Carr, A.J. McCarron or Zack Mettenberger later in the draft.

However maybe I’m way off base and Farmer and Kyle Shanahan and the rest of the boys in Berea are feeling lucky and are willing to roll the dice on quarterback who prefers to roll the pocket and make plays with his feet as well as his arm. If that’s the case, then Johnny Manziel would be the guy.

Give Ray Farmer credit, in his first year on the job he’s keeping everyone guessing as to which way the Browns will go. However, while Farmer hasn’t tipped his hand as to which type, or which quarterback he likes best, the one thing I do know for sure is, the Browns with 10 picks in this draft, will use at least one, or maybe even two of those picks on a quarterback. That’s the one thing that is crystal clear about this draft for the Browns!

AFC NORTH BEST and WORST OFF SEASON MOVES and DRAFT NEEDS

Posted: Apr 7, 2014 by . Filed under Blog Posts, Feature Articles | 1 Comment

CLEVELAND BROWNS

Best Move – Free agent signing of running back Ben Tate. At the price G.M. Ray Farmer signed him for (2 years – $7 million), if he can stay healthy, he is a feature back who fills an enormous hole on offense for the Browns.

Worst Move – Giving 5’7 wide receiver Andrew Hawkins a 4 year $12.2 million dollar contract with over $5 million guaranteed. In 35 NFL games he has only 86 catches and just 4 touchdowns.  They over paid for an under productive talent in my opinion.

Draft Need – Quarterback – Whether it’s with the 4th, 26th or 35th pick they need to draft a young QB for the future, preferably a franchise quarterback. They could have their choice of Blake Bortles, Johnny Manziel, Teddy Bridgewater and Derek Carr at #4. I’ll be shocked if one of those four is not a Cleveland Brown after the draft. Also I’ve been saying it for weeks, I expect the Browns to sign Rex Grossman as a veteran back-up to help teach Kyle Shanahan’s offense to whoever they draft. It also wouldn’t shock me if the Browns, with 10 picks this year, drafted another QB in the later rounds.

 

PITTSBURGH STEELERS

Best Move – Replacing aging safety Ryan Clark with the younger ball hawking safety in Mike Mitchell in free agency. A little pricey for him, but it was a major need for the Steelers in talent and to get younger on defense.

Worst Move – Losing wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders in free agency to Denver. He was starting to come into his own as the #2 receiver in the Steelers offense. Big Ben can’t be happy that in the last 3 years he’s lost Hines Ward, Mike Wallace and now Sanders.

Draft Need – Cornerback or Wide Receiver – Depending on who’s still available at pick #15 for Pittsburgh they need to get an impact player at one of those two positions. Guys they could be picking from include corners Justin Gilbert or Darqueze Dennard or wide outs Mike Evans, Marquise Lee or Kelvin Benjamin.

 

BALTIMORE RAVENS

Best Move – It’s tough to pick just one because once again Ozzie Newsome had a very good off season by keeping Daryl Smith at LB and Jacoby Jones as a dual threat WR/KR and adding wide out Steve Smith to the offense. However resigning tight end Dennis Pitta stands out to me. He is Joe Flacco’s favorite target and everyone saw how the offense suffered when he was hurt last season. With Pitta back healthy and under contract look for he and Flacco to have a big year.

Worst Move –    Losing safety James Ihedigbo to the Lions in free agency. Losing Ed Reed last season and now Ihedigbo this season, the Ravens need some serious help deep in the secondary for second year safety Matt Elam.

Draft Need – Safety – The Ravens are picking 17th and Ozzie has to be hoping that he’ll get to pick from free safeties Ha Ha Clinton Dix or Calvin Pryor to help fill that need at the back end of their secondary.

 

CINCINNATI  BENGALS

Best Move – I really don’t see a move that really stands out in a positive way that will have a major impact for the Bengals. Keeping some of their own guys like Michael Johnson and  Mike Pollack are decent moves, but nothing to get real excited about.

Worst Move – Bringing in Jason Campbell as Andy Dalton’s back-up. While Dalton has stayed healthy in his three years in the league and has made the playoffs each year, there are still questions about whether he is the guy to lead this football team and if he’s not, you’re going to turn to Jason Campbell?

Draft Need –  Cornerback – Cincy is in desperate need of help in the secondary at the corner position. They’re praying that on May 8th when it’s their turn to pick at #24 corners Kyle Fuller or Jasson Verrett are there to choose from.

IF I WERE IN CHARGE OF…….

Posted: Jan 6, 2014 by . Filed under Feature Articles | 42 Comments

If I were in charge of the Cleveland Browns I would inquire with every  former NFL coach who’s won a Super Bowl, every hot NFL coordinator and every top college coach and ask what would it take for them to come and coach the Cleveland Browns. Money is obviously no object, as Jimmy Haslam is paying Rob Chudzinski over $10 million dollars not to coach.

Jimmy Haslam Photo

(courtesy of sportsillustrated.cnn.com)

So yes I would reach out to Bill Cowher, Jon Gruden, Brian Billick and Tony Dungy just to hear them tell me they’re not interested.

I would then call all the so-called hot coordinators like Dan Quinn the defensive coordinator of the Seahawks(he’s already interviewed with the Browns), Josh McDaniels the offensive coordinator of the Patriots(the Browns have already talked to him as well), Ken Wisenhunt the offensive coordinator of the Chargers and Adam Gase the Broncos offensive coordinator.

After I talked with all of them, I would then get in touch with the top college guys like Bob Stoops at Oklahoma, Jim Tressel, Gus Malzahn from Auburn, James Franklin from Vanderbilt, Nick Saban at Alabama, Urban Meyer at Ohio State and whoever else is considered a top coach. I would leave no stone unturned if I were Haslam, Banner and Lombardi, you can’t afford to. Your franchise is a joke right now. You admittedly screwed up last year by hiring Chud, so you better go out and find the savior to coach this team and turn it around in a hurry.

Then I would find the top three guys who have an interest in the job and see what it would take for them to quit their current job and come to Cleveland. Whoever showed the most interest and had the best resume of the bunch, I would offer him the job and get him on the next plane to Cleveland to start helping turn this franchise around.

This is the most important off season in Browns history as you’re trying to find the right coach; you have 10 high draft picks and a boatload of money to spend in free agency to better your talent. You better get all three phases right or the Browns will continue to be at the bottom of the AFC North, fan apathy will start to set in and you will continue to be the punch line for all NFL football jokes and yes Jimmy Haslam, whether you want to believe it or not, just “THE SAME OLD BROWNS”!