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Impressed by Browns

Discussion in 'NFL Draft Forum' started by Da 'Fins, May 9, 2014.

  1. Da 'Fins

    Da 'Fins Season Ticket Holder Staff Member Club Member

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    They have done well accumulating picks and I like what they have done so far.

    They are not building for right now but they scored a big haul from the Buffalo swap of firsts (a 1st and 4th next year!). Shows how strong this draft was at the top.

    And, they still have early picks in rounds 2/3 and multiple picks in the 4th.

    You have to make good selections with those picks but I like what they have done so far. They still need a RB - which they should be able to get in the 3rd / 4th and they could use another OL to help Manziel (we all know how vital that is).
     
  2. Deerless Dice

    Deerless Dice Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Trading with Buffalo is a no brainer, they've picked at 9, 16, 10, 3, 9, 11, 11, 12, and 8 since 2006
     
  3. rafael

    rafael Well-Known Member

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    I'm not a fan of Manziel and I see Gilbert as a good but unspectacular CB, but time will tell how good those valuations were. But I was impressed with how they moved around the draft. They got the guys they wanted and garnered extra picks. That's the main complaint people have with the Dolphins. Nobody cares whether James was a reach or not. They just care that the team didn't garner an extra pick when the opportunity arose.
     
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  4. Alex44

    Alex44 Boshosaurus Rex

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    I thought they made good moves in terms of acquiring picks. I love Gilbert but hate Manziel so I'm split on that one.
     
  5. phinswolverinesrockets

    phinswolverinesrockets If he dies, he dies

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    I will definitely be watching Manziel. I think they got a steal.
     
  6. phinswolverinesrockets

    phinswolverinesrockets If he dies, he dies

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    Ouch...just saw Josh Gordon may be suspended for the year for a 2nd failed drug test. They may want to take a receiver today.
     
  7. MrClean

    MrClean Inglourious Basterd Club Member

    Don't like what Cleveland did. Knowing Gordon is in for a long suspension and Nate broke his arm, they draft zero WRs. After trading down I think they should have taken Beckham. Or else stayed put and took Sammy. Jacksonville drafted Bortles and then with the next two picks they get him two WRs to grow with together.

    Dallas was just as puzzling. The have the worst DT contingent in the league, Melton coming off an ACL injury and a bunch of JAGs. So they wait until the 7th to take one more JAG.
     
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  8. Fin D

    Fin D Sigh

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    I think their draft was an extreme example of draft value over talent.

    I think Gilbert will be good and Johnny Doucheball will bust out. Its great to get more picks, unless you're not turning those picks into solid players.

    I think Jax and St. Louis won the draft.

    I think if anyone complains about how our draft value was poor, need to look at Buffalo for a real example of poor value.
     
  9. Da 'Fins

    Da 'Fins Season Ticket Holder Staff Member Club Member

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    Yeah - posted this before the Gordon news and then when the Browns did not grab a WR early - that was a fail, imo.

    I mainly liked how they traded in the draft. I actually think Manziel will do pretty well for them. He has a very good arm and will be a better pocket passer than people think. He may not be great right away (though he'll make a play or two). The key is whether he stays healthy. Mike Vick was at times untouchable but sometimes all it takes is one hit and you are out half-a-season. But, Manziel has the potential to be a smallish but effective pocket passer in the vein of Wilson (Wilson's advantage is he is built more solidly and can take a hit better). And eventually could progress toward a Drew Brees type of game (not as good - Brees is a HOFer, but could develop in that direction).

    But, failing to get a WR - that was a big mistake by the Browns.

    I liked the St. Louis draft in the first three picks or so - but it was hard to go wrong with picks 2 & 13 (both of which were great selections).

    I think the Steelers will walk away with the best overall draft, however. Shazier will become a spectacular pass rush specialist in their 3-4 system - I think he'll be Von-Mlller-esque and wanted him badly. Also loved what they did later in the draft.
     
  10. ILDolPhan

    ILDolPhan New Member

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    I'm not sure what Cleveland was doing either considering their knowledge of Gordon missing a significant portion, if not all of the season. They could have drafted Beckham at 8 and got another CB later on since they already have a #1 corner. They won't have a #1 WR for awhile. That said, a good route running WR like Beckham would probably be wasted with Manziel at QB. They do have a nice stable of RBs since they'll be a run heavy.

    Like you said about J'ville, they did a great job in the draft of supporting Bortles with 2 nice WR prospects that compliment each other very well. Bortles won't be forced to start week 1 which will also help his development. Indy did something similar after they drafted Luck with TY Hilton and Fleener.
     
  11. ToddPhin

    ToddPhin Premium Member Luxury Box Club Member

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    Wonder how Manziel feels knowing he could've been throwing to his blankie Mike Evans? If I were after Manziel from the start with the 26th pick, I would've traded #9 up for Evans instead of Gilbert and still kept the extra 1st rounder. Then at #35 I would've traded up a handful of spots for the last top tier corner- Bradley Roby.
     
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  12. texanphinatic

    texanphinatic Senior Member

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    Was hearing on the radio that the Browns were targetting Bridgewater with the pick when Haslem pulled a Jerrah.
     
  13. MrClean

    MrClean Inglourious Basterd Club Member

    Evans to Tampa Bay at 7 was about as much a sure bet after the top 2 as anything. If the Browns were planning on Manziel with their late 1st all along, they should have used the early pick on a weapon for him. Either stood pat and took Watkins or Evans, or after the trade down, took Beckham.
    The worst drafts IMO were Cleveland, Carolina and Dallas. None of the three teams addressed their most glaring weakness even when they had opportunities to do so handed to them on a silver platter.
     
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  14. djphinfan

    djphinfan Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Don't agree with the Gilbert pick at all..

    Do agree with Manziel..
     
  15. rafael

    rafael Well-Known Member

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    While I like how Cleveland moved around the first round, I don't agree with their choices. IMO Evans should have been a given since they knew of Gordon's issue. Also why bother funding some $100,000 study on QBs and then ignore the result? Their study allegedly concluded that Bridgewater was the most likely to succeed in the pros, but reportedly Haslem trumped all that and just said he liked Manziel. I wonder if there's any truth to that alleged NE scouting profile on JM. They never denied it. If true it would debunk all of the great leader/hard worker stuff that JM fans have been alleging.
     
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  16. finyank13

    finyank13 Reality Check

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    San Fran murdered the draft.....
     
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  17. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    It's my understanding that the $100,000 study was not about this particular QB class but rather aimed at creating a formula or prototype or set of success factors or whatever the hell you want to call it which tells you what things make for a successful quarterback prospect.

    From there they would grade the quarterbacks in this class on those success factors and rank them accordingly.

    So I don't know that it would be accurate to say they spent $100,000 evaluating the QBs in this particular class, as if that money is flushed and they'll never see any benefit from it. They'll probably continue to use the model of success factors to grade quarterbacks going forward, and then once they have those grades they'll use their judgment as an overlay to the metric grading. It's not an unusual practice.

    In this case the success factors that were isolated as a result of this research project were probably applied to this draft class and that's where Bridgewater probably came out highest. But we don't know how much higher he came out as opposed to Manziel, and the Browns may have felt that some other factors that the model can't account for should be overlaid on top of the model grade to where Manziel came out highest.

    I wonder if Cleveland got wind of Bridgewater telling his agent he doesn't want to play there.
     
  18. Fin D

    Fin D Sigh

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    True, I forgot them.

    What they did to the Bills is illegal everywhere but Thailand.
     
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  19. Stitches

    Stitches ThePhin's Biggest Killjoy Luxury Box

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    :confused:

    They didn't trade with the Bills.
     
  20. PhiNomina

    PhiNomina White-Collar Redneck

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    Like selling over 2,000 season tickets within 24s of the draft.
     
  21. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    That and the character/interview stuff. Despite reports of Manziel's bad work ethic when coaches get him in a room I think they can feel his swagger and really like that. They can also tell he's very intelligent (which is what enables him to figure out how to game the system the way he does). When you get Teddy Bridgewater in front of you he impresses you with his knowledge of the game, but not many other ways. He doesn't seem particularly bright otherwise. He says really awkward things that leave you thinking, who says that? There's rumors he's kind of a quiet keep to himself guy. He has the kind of personality that I think really rubs some coaches the wrong way.
     
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  22. Stringer Bell

    Stringer Bell Post Hard, Post Often Club Member

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    $100K seems like a very small number for the type of work the Browns did. I would think that they likely purchased information from previously dint research, rather than creating something on their own.

    Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
     
  23. Fin D

    Fin D Sigh

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    They traded a 5th rd pick for Steve Johnson.
     
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  24. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    Considering the rumor of how long it took (I believe I read that the study was begun last year under Banner) I am guessing it was a custom job and they did indeed have someone do it for them.
     
  25. Stitches

    Stitches ThePhin's Biggest Killjoy Luxury Box

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    Ah. Wasn't considering that part of their draft.
     
  26. djphinfan

    djphinfan Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    You gotta feel that they had a scenario to take Manziel, we also know they knew their top 5 receiver would be suspended, why didn't they invite action at their 8th spot if they didn't feel like who was there was worth the 8th, and why the hell do you not draft a receiver, at all..
     
  27. MrClean

    MrClean Inglourious Basterd Club Member

    After seeing the UDFA WRs they signed, I feel a little more positive about the Browns draft. Between Chandler Jones, Willie Snead, Jonathan Krause and Kenny Shaw, I think they have a decent chance of finding at least one that could be worth keeping and being a contributor. Still considering they could have had Manziel throwing to Sammy Watkins, I think they made a mistake not going that route.
     
  28. TooGoodForDez

    TooGoodForDez Deion Sanders for GM

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    [​IMG]
     
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  29. ILDolPhan

    ILDolPhan New Member

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    That's funny right there. A little taller than Manziel though..
     
  30. MrClean

    MrClean Inglourious Basterd Club Member

    Another real head scratcher by the Browns was after trading down to 9 with the Bills, the gave up a 5 to move up one spot with the Vikings. Gilbert was not that much better than the other corners that it was necessary to move up one spot to insure getting him. The Browns got Gilbert and after dropping down one spot the Vikings got Barr and used the 5 on David Yankey.
     
  31. ILDolPhan

    ILDolPhan New Member

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    The Browns signed WRs Bennett and Austin today, so I guess they did have a plan for that position...

    Their WR depth chart right now rivals Miami's from 2012.
     
  32. MrClean

    MrClean Inglourious Basterd Club Member

    With Bennett and Austin plus their other receivers besides Gordon, it looks like a much better group that Miami 2012. IMO.
     
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  33. ILDolPhan

    ILDolPhan New Member

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    I don't know if I'd say much better, but Cleveland appears to be a tad better on paper. I thought Bess had a decent year along with Hartline relative to total receptions. However, they were both allergic to the endzone though.

    I'm assuming Austin will get hurt early on, and won't be much of a factor even when he's playing. Bennett could be ok, but they've got a group of slot WR's without Gordon now. I wouldn't want to be a rookie QB with that WR lineup, and I'm sure Tannehill wasn't thrilled with his group in 2012.
     
  34. MrClean

    MrClean Inglourious Basterd Club Member

    If Austin gets hurt that would change the entire picture of course. I don't think of Greg Little as mainly a slot. Hawkins is of course. Benjamin maybe too, though he played outside some I like their group of 4 UDFAs and think it's likely they find one keeper out of them. One thing to consider is other than Austin, none of this group has had success as a #1 WR over any extended length of time. It's going to be a lot tougher for this group without Gordon drawing primary coverage. Seems shocking they'd pass on Watkins and Beckham.
     
  35. ILDolPhan

    ILDolPhan New Member

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    That same Greg Little was released earlier today. They're going to be extremely run heavy if Gordon misses significant time.

    I think we can both at least agree that the Dolphins 2014 WR depth chart looks better than the Browns. It's actually nice to have decent competition at that position for the first time in awhile.
     

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