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Tag Archives: Miles Austin
WHAT’S THE BIGGER LOSS – BRAXTON MILLER FOR THE OHIO STATE BUCKEYES OR JOSH GORDON FOR THE CLEVELAND BROWNS?
OHIO STATE
Braxton Miller was a Heisman Trophy candidate and was expected to lead the Buckeyes to a Big Ten title and into the first ever NCAA College Football Playoff to battle for a National Championship. He has been lost for the year with a shoulder injury that he had surgery on Tuesday, August 26th.
Miller accounted for 3,162 yards of total offense and 36 touchdowns for the Buckeyes last season.
He threw for 2,094 yards with 24 TD’s and 7 INT’s.
He rushed for 1,068 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Miller is being replaced by redshirt freshman J.T. Barrett who has never taken a snap in a regular season game at Ohio State. Redshirt sophomore Cardale Jones could also see some time at quarterback. Jones has completed 1 pass in his career in Columbus for 3 yards, but has rushed for 128 yards and 1 score.
BROWNS
Josh Gordon was coming off a record setting year in which he led the NFL in receiving yards with 1,646 yards in only 14 games and he scored 9 touchdowns. Gordon’s yards per catch average was 18.9. Gordon has been suspended for the entire year for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
photo courtesy of AP – Tony Dejak
Browns G.M. Ray Farmer passed on drafting highly rated wide receiver Sammy Watkins with the 4th overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft and then proceed not to draft a receiver at all in the 7 round draft in a year when the receiver position was considered very deep.
The Browns did sign free agent wide out Andrew Hawkins from the Bengals, but he’s not even close to the player Gordon is, and he’s not even considered a #1 receiver. Hawkins totaled only 12 catches for 199 yards last season in Cincinnati and failed to get into the end zone.
The Browns are banking on free agent veterans Miles Austin and Nate Burleson to step in and fill the void left by Gordon’s suspension. Austin and Burleson combined to reach the end zone 1 time last year and both are known more for their injuries lately, than for what they’ve done on the football field. Austin only played in 11 games for the Cowboys last season and Burleson suited up for just 9 games for the Lions last year. Neither have helped the team or quarterbacks Brian Hoyer or Johnny Manziel so far in the preseason, can you really count on them in the regular season?
TOP 10 THINGS THAT I NEED TO SEE FROM THE BROWNS IN THE GAME AGAINST WASHINGTON
1) The Browns offense needs to score a touchdown against the Redskins first team defense.
2) Brian Hoyer has to step up and take the starting quarterback job.
3) Johnny Manziel staying in the pocket and going through his progressions instead of being a one read and then run QB.
4) Whoever plays wide receiver, do your job and “CATCH THE DAMN BALL”!
5) The Browns defensive front seven has to put pressure on the quarterback.
6) Cut down on the penalties, especially on defense.
7) Miles Austin and Jordan Cameron play, make plays on offense and don’t get hurt.
8) For first round pick Justin Gilbert to impact the game like other top draft picks Blake Bortles, Jadeveon Clowney and Ryan Shazier did this weekend.
9) Ben Tate to maintain his 4.0 yards per carry average, but more importantly, don’t fumble the football.
10) For the defense to prove they can shut down someone’s offense other than their own!
BROWNS WITH PLENTY OF QUESTIONS ENTERING LIONS GAME
The most important thing about Saturday night’s game is obviously the play of the quarterbacks. How does Brian Hoyer’s body hold up for the time he is in there? Is he indeed 100% healthy? Can he put points on the board? How does Johnny Manziel handle the speed of the NFL game even if it is against the second team? Can he command the huddle and call the right plays? How much does Johnny run the football and can he take a hit or two from guys that are bigger, stronger, faster than the ones he played against in college?
These are all questions that hopefully the Browns will get answers to one way or another. It doesn’t seem right to think this way, but you almost hope one of the two guys falls flat on his face or bombs, so it will help make the decision easier and clearer. On the other hand, if both guys do well, then you’ve strengthened the QB position and it’s great in this league to have depth.
Other positions I’ll be watching closely:
WR – Who steps up and makes plays besides Josh Gordon? Will it be the veterans Miles Austin or Nate Burleson? Will Andrew Hawkins show why the Browns paid him a decent amount of money in free agency to come to Cleveland? Does somebody come out of know where and make a name for himself and get the coaches attention? Besides quarterback, the receiver position is my biggest concern with this football team.
RB – Ben Tate was a nice free agent pick up in the off season by Ray Farmer, especially for the price, but how does he handle being the feature back now and can he stay healthy? Also rookie Terrance West has been getting rave reviews for what he’s done in training camp, will that translate to the football field against an opponent that isn’t wearing the same colored jersey you do?
LB – Barkevious Mingo has had a great camp, but can he produce the same results on the field in an actual game? How much of an impact will the self-proclaimed best linebacker in the NFL, Karlos Dansby really make? Can Paul Kruger bounce back from being a big name free agent bust from last season and start earning his money and making plays on the field this year?
CB – Not sure of the injury situation with rookie #1 pick Justin Gilbert and whether or not he’ll play, but from the day he was drafted I expected him to be the starter opposite Joe Harden from day 1. He needs to be able to beat out Buster Skrine for this defense to be a better defense.
HC – How will first time ever head coach Mike Pettine do in his first game? Is the game plan good? How does he handle in game situations from time outs, to challenges to halftime adjustments?
These are all things I will be watching closely in the Browns first and all of their pre-season games, as they get ready for their regular season opener on September 7th at Pittsburgh.
MY 2014 BROWNS PROJECTED STARTERS FOR WEEK ONE
This is of course subject to change based on injury, practice and game performance, but this is how I see the 2014 Cleveland Browns lining up on Sunday, September 7th at Pittsburgh.
I’ve said it all along and I’m sticking to it, I believe it would be smart to start Brian Hoyer at quarterback for the first three games of the season if healthy, and see how he does. If he plays well and you’re winning you stick with him. If he struggles, or the offense struggles and you’re 1-2, or 0-3 after playing Pittsburgh, New Orleans and Baltimore then use the bye week in week #4, to reevaluate the QB position and decide if it’s time for Johnny Manziel to be your starter in game four at Tennessee.
On defense I know that the Browns spent a lot of money in free agency on outside linebacker Paul Kruger last year, but he was a big disappointment. I believe there’s a great chance for second year linebacker and last year’s first round pick Barkevious Mingo to step up in camp and earn a starting job there. I also believe that this year’s first round pick, Justin Gilbert will beat out Buster Skrine for the right corner back spot and start from day one.
Here are my projected starters as of (7-26-14) for the Cleveland Browns:
OFFENSE
QB- Brian Hoyer
RB- Ben Tate
WR- Andrew Hawkins
WR- Miles Austin
WR- Nate Burleson
TE- Jordan Cameron
LT- Joe Thomas,
LG- Joel Bitonio
C – Alex Mack
RG- John Greco
RT- Mitchell Schwartz
DEFENSE
LDE- Ahtyba Rubin
NT- Phil Taylor
RDE- Desmond Bryant
LOLB- Barkevious Mingo
LILB- Craig Robertson
RILB- Karlos Dansby
ROLB- Jabaal Sheard
LCB- Joe Haden
SS- Donte Whitner
FS- Tashaun Gibson
RCB- Justin Gilbert