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Tag Archives: Blake Bortles
KENNY’S KEYS TO A BROWNS VICTORY IN JACKSONVILLE
1) START FAST AND DON’T STOP – Even though Jacksonville is winless on the season, the Browns can’t afford another horrendous start on the road like they had in Pittsburgh and Tennessee. You don’t want to give a lousy football team any hope or belief that they can win. So Brian Hoyer and the offense needs to score early and play from ahead or at least be even going into the locker room at the half and then turn on the 2nd half after burners and put this terrible team away.
2) HANDLE THE JAGS ONLY STRENGTH, THEIR DEFENSIVE LINE – The one thing the Jaguars have done a decent job off this season is getting to the quarterback. Through 6 games they have racked up 19 sacks. Most of that pressure comes from their D-Line out of their 4-3 defense. Defensive ends Chris Clemons and Andre Branch have 3 sacks each, while defensive tackle Sen’Derrick Marks has 2. With Alex Mack out and John Greco moving over to center and Paul McQuistan in at right guard, the Browns O-Line will be tested this weekend. How they handle the pressure up front, will go a long way in determining the outcome of the game. While Jacksonville’s defense has struggled the first 4 games of the season giving up an average of 38 points per game, that same defense has yielded only 33 total points in its last 2 games.
3) PASS THE BALL – While there is a concern about Jacksonville’s pass rush, if you can control it, you can do a lot of damage through the air. The Jags pass defense is ranked 30th in the league giving up 294 yards per game. Use the running game to soften up the pass rush and keep Paul Posluszny and those defensive linemen honest, and then hit them for the big play like the Browns did with play action and misdirection against the Steelers. Big chunks of yardage and points are there for the taking.
4) PIGSKIN PROTECTION – Brian Hoyer, Ben Tate and Isaiah Crowell, the guys who handle the ball the most, need to make sure they don’t give it away. Nothing breathes life into a team faster than getting turnovers and short fields.
5) STUPIFY BLAKE BORTLES – The 3rd overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft is making his 4th start of the season since taking over for Chad Henne. What Mike Pettine and defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil need to do is change up their defensive looks every series to get Bortles thinking and guessing instead of just playing. Make it as uncomfortable for the rookie both mentally and physically, so he can’t get into a rhythm and gain any confidence as the game goes along. You don’t want the game close in the 4th quarter allowing Bortles to think they have a chance to win it late. Also Bortles is a threat to run it, so Karlos Dansby and Donte Whitner need to be ready. After what Jake Locker did to the Browns 2 weeks ago, I’m sure it’s something Bortles will be looking to exploit.
6) SECONDARY SUCCESS – The Browns did a much better job last week against the Steelers in the backend of their defense. Another solid game from Joe Haden, Buster Skrine and Justin Gilbert will help make up for a pass rush that is lacking do to all the injuries the Browns have up front. Allen Hurns is the Jags homerun threat, so give Haden some help over the top with him, but also keep an eye on fellow wide outs and a now healthy Cecil Shorts and rookie Allen Robinson.
KENNY RODA 2014 NFL MOCK DRAFT 2.0
One of the craziest years in trying to figure out who will do what and who’s going where. If I get six of these right I will be thrilled. So with that said, here’ my final Mock Draft for the 2014 NFL Draft.
1 Houston Jadeveon Clowney DE South Carolina
2 St. Louis Greg Robinson OT Auburn
3 Atlanta Khalil Mack LB Buffalo (In a Trade w/Jags)
4 Cleveland Sammy Watkins WR Clemson
5 Oakland Jake Matthews OT Texas A&M
6 Jacksonville Mike Evans WR Texas A&M (In a Trade w/Atlanta)
7 Tampa Bay Johnny Manziel QB Texas A&M
8 Minnesota Blake Bortles QB UCF
9 Buffalo Taylor Lewan OT Michigan
10 Detroit Darqueze Dennnard CB Michigan State
11 Tennessee Justin Gilbert CB Oklahoma State
12 NY Giants Zack Martin OT Notre Dame
13 St. Louis Calvin Pryor SS Louisville
14 Chicago Aaron Donald DT Pitt
15 Pittsburgh Odell Beckham Jr. WR LSU
16 Dallas Ha Ha Clinton-Dix FS Alabama
17 Baltimore Eric Ebron TE North Carolina
18 NY Jets Brandin Cooks WR Oregon State
19 Miami Cyrus Kouandjio OT Alabama
20 Arizona Derek Carr QB Fresno State
21 Green Bay Timmy Jernigan DT Florida St.
22 Philadelphia Anthony Barr LB UCLA
23 Kansas City Marqise Lee WR USC
24 Cincinnati Kyle Fuller CB Virginia Tech
25 San Diego Jason Verrett CB TCU
26 Cleveland Teddy Bridgewater QB Louisville
27 New Orleans Marcus Martin C USC
28 Carolina Moses Morgan OT Virginia
29 New England Stephen Tuitt DL Notre Dame
30 San Francisco Ryan Shazier LB Ohio State
31 Denver Trent Murphy LB Stanford
32 Seattle Louis Nix III DT Notre Dame
PICKING APART THE NFL DRAFT PROSPECTS
The negatives. Areas of concern. The warts. Must improve these parts of his game. Aw yes, as teams and media members prepare for the NFL draft we’re always looking for a player’s weakness and how that may affect the decision to draft him if you’re a team, or where to rank him if you’re a media member. So today I figured I’d share with you some of the negatives I’ve heard from talent evaluators that I’ve talked to about some of the top players in this draft.
DE – Jadeveon Clowney – Takes plays off. Injury issues. Plays to stiff and upright. Can be pushed up field. Maturity issues on and off field. Is he discipline enough and can he set the edge?
WR – Sammy Watkins – Only 6 foot. Caught a lot of balls at or behind the line of scrimmage. Occasional concentration issues. Arrested for drug possession as a sophomore. Needs to stay in shape.
LB – Khalil Mack – Didn’t play against elite talent. Got in a fight with a teammate. Needs to use his arms better.
OT – Greg Robinson – Not a good pass blocker. Needs better balance. Speed rushers gave him problems.
OT – Jake Matthews – Needs to get stronger and add a few pounds. Has trouble at times with the bull or power rush. Run blocking isn’t as good as his pass blocking.
WR – Mike Evans – Has trouble getting off press coverage. Must improve his route running. Not a guy with that burst of speed at the line or downfield.
QB – Blake Bortles – Played against few elite teams. Lack of pin-point accuracy. Not enough juice on the ball at this time for NFL throws. Doesn’t lead receivers with his throw. Will try and force the ball. Overall fundlamentals need fine tuning. Footwork needs work.
QB – Johnny Manziel – Too short. Durability will be a factor. Is a system guy. Bad weather could affect him so he needs to play in a dome or in a warm weather city. Wants to escape the pocket too soon. When he stays in the pocket will he be able to see the receivers. Fundamentals are not good. Off the field issues, will they follow him to the NFL? Can he takes snaps from under center and read a defense?
TE – Eric Ebron – A wide receiver playing tight end. Bad blocker. Route running is suspect. Must get stronger in upper and lower body to play tight end in the NFL. Too many drops.
CB – Justin Gilbert – Needs to improve his technique. Relies too much on just his athletic ability. Doesn’t tackle well at all. Plays too far off receivers and not physical enough when at the line of scrimmage.
CB – Darqueze Dennard – His size is a factor at only 5’10 and some change. Has trouble playing zone coverage. Because of his size he grabs a lot and in the NFL he’ll get caught.
QB – Teddy Bridgewater – Has a funny build and his bone frame is a concern. Numerous injuries throughout his career going back to high school. Small hands. Deep ball accuracy is not good. Competition level he played against was suspect. Horrible pro day. To glove or not to glove on his throwing hand?
QB – Derek Carr – Didn’t play against enough elite competition and when he did, he didn’t perform well. Struggles when under pressure and will try and force the ball. Isn’t very mobile and doesn’t make many pass rushers miss. Throws off his back foot at times. A lot of completions were short and quick. Can he play under center?
OT – Taylor Lewan – Needs better knee bend and balance. Gets beat inside. A hot head or a dirty player. Grabs too much. Needs to be more powerful to play left tackle at the NFL level. Is he going to have off the field issues like he did at Michiagn?
Roda Report: Browns Cheerleaders, Bortles Not Ready, Adam Silver’s Statement
If you missed Wednesday’s “Roda Report” with Andy Baskin & Jeff Phelps on 92.3 The Fan you can listen to it right here –http://cbsloc.al/1o3Oj6g
10 QUARTERBACK OPTIONS FOR THE BROWNS
As the Browns begin workouts for the upcoming 2014 season, they now know who, when and where they are playing. They also think they know who their quarterback is for this year as Brian Hoyer is recovering from an ACL tear and looks to be on schedule to be the team’s starting signal caller on Sunday, September 7th in Pittsburgh.
But what if Hoyer has a setback and isn’t ready? Even if he is ready, is Hoyer the quarterback for the future? If not, who is? These are all questions that owner Jimmy Haslam, general manager Ray Farmer, head coach Mike Pettine and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan are asking themselves, and each other.
As the May 8th NFL Draft draws closer and closer, the Browns brass better have multiple plans to address their quarterback situation for the here and now, as well as for next year and beyond. With that in mind here are some options the Browns will consider as they try to find that franchise quarterback, or at least, a quarterback who they feel can lead this team for the next few years.
Option 1: Roll the dice and draft who you think the best quarterback is with the 4th overall pick in the draft. Your candidates would be Johnny Manziel, Blake Bortles, Derek Carr or Teddy Bridgewater.
Option 2:
Roll the dice in a different way and pass on the QB at pick #4 and take the best player available, and then come back at #26 and take the best quarterback that is still left on your board.
Option 3:
Go with the best player available strategy again at pick #4 and then see how far some of these quarterbacks fall in the first round, and if the one you like continues to slide but you don’t think he’ll be there at #26, then make a trade to move up in the first round and get that guy. You have plenty of draft picks to use as trade chips.
Option 4: Really roll the dice and pass on taking a quarterback at all in round one, and then, with your 2nd round pick at #35, you finally select a QB from the guys that are left, and who is ranked highest on your board.
Option 5:
Wait until the later rounds and draft a quarterback that you think is a sleeper because of your personal information, private workouts and interviews.
Option 6:
Take the best player available at #4 and then wait and see what the Buccaneers do at pick #7. I had one source tell me the Bucs might have some interest in Johnny Manziel if he would fall to them at #7. If he does, and they select him, then you could inquire about whether or not Tampa might be willing to trade last year’s 3rd round pick, quarterback Mike Glennon who started 13 games for the Buccaneers last season, going (4-9) while throwing for over 2,600 yards with 19 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.
Option 7:
If you don’t really believe in any of the quarterbacks in this year’s class to be your franchise QB of the future, another trade possibility to look into would be with the Washington Redskins for Kirk Cousins. One source told me Washington realizes they’re probably going to lose him down the road to free agency and might be willing to deal him for a 2nd or 3rd round pick so they at least get something in return for him as opposed to him just walking away in free agency after 2015. Plus the Skins don’t have a first round pick this year due to the RG3 trade, so they are looking to add picks. Browns could offer a 3rd or a 4th for him, but not a 2nd.
Option 8:
Another potential trade target is Ryan Mallett of the New England Patriots. Mallett has learned under, and has been Tom Brady’s back up for three years. However the 6’6 – 245 pound signal caller has thrown just 4 NFL passes during the regular season. Bill Belichick made the decision to draft him in the 3rd round in 2011, but with Mallett set to become a free agent after this 2014 season, Belichick has to make another decision. Is Mallett the Pats quarterback of the future, or do they trade him and at least get a draft pick for him before he leaves through free agency at the end of this year? Mike Lombardi loved him and would have been working the phones with his buddy Belichick, but Lombardi is gone and now it’s Ray Farmer’s call. How much, if at all, does Farmer like Mallet, and what would the Browns be willing to give up in the draft to trade for him?
Option 9:
The Browns go with Brian Hoyer as their starter for 2014. Add veteran QB Rex Grossman as his back up in free agency and then use two of their ten draft picks at some point on quarterbacks they like and see if one or the other can develop into a starting quarterback.
Option 10:
Wait until after the 2014 season and go after a free agent quarterback during the 2015 off season. Potential candidates are Colin Kaepernick, Alex Smith, Andy Dalton, Ryan Mallet, T.J. Yates and you own Brian Hoyer. Maybe Hoyer proves this year that his performance last year wasn’t “fool’s gold” and you resign him as your starter.
If I was able to come up with ten legitimate quarterback options for the Browns as they approach this draft, I’m sure JH3 and the boys have at least ten more that I haven’t even thought of as they continue to search for the one thing that has eluded this organization since their return to the NFL in 1999, a franchise quarterback.
*Bonus Option
After hearing Browns G.M. Ray Farmer’s press conference from 4-28-14 add these two names as options for the Browns at quarterback – Vince Young and Tyler Thigpen will get tryouts with the Browns during minicamp this week.
RODA RATINGS – TOP 32 PLAYERS FOR THE 2014 NFL DRAFT
1- Jadeveon Clowney DE South Carolina
2- Jake Mathews OT Texas AM
3- Sammy Watkins WR Clemson
4- Greg Robinson OT Auburn
5- Mike Evans WR Texas AM
6- Khalil Mack LB Buffalo
7- Darqueze Dennard CB Michigan State
8- Justin Gilbert CB Oklahoma State
9- Taylor Lewan OT Michigan
10- Blake Bortles QB Central Florida
11- Eric Ebron TE North Carolina
12- Anthony Barr LB UCLA
13- Aaron Donald DT Pitt
14- Zack Martin OG Notre Dame
15- Johnny Manziel QB Texas AM
16- C.J. Mosley LB Alabama
17- Ha Ha Clinton-Dix FS Alabama
18- Teddy Bridgewater QB Louisville
19- Odell Beckham Jr. WR LSU
20- Calvin Pryor FS Louisville
21- Timmy Jernigan DT Florida State
22- Jason Verrett CB TCU
23- Louis Nix III DT Notre Dame
24- Brandon Cooks WR Oregon State
25- Marqise Lee WR USC
26- Ryan Shazier LB Ohio State
27- Cyrus Kouandjio OT Alabama
28- Stephon Tuitt DE Notre Dame
29- Morgan Moses OT Virginia
30- Deone Bucannon SS Washington State
31- Xavier Su’a-Filo OG UCLA
32- Allen Robinson WR Penn State
WHAT TYPE OF QB DO THE BROWNS WANT IN THE DRAFT?
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!