DEAR TRADER TED.....HERE'S AN IDEA

[beveaux1]

I think what is painfully clear right now the gaping hole at the receiving position we have

We should not go from one of the best offenses in the NFL to jackshit because of Jordy Nelsons loss. I know we have had OL issues but the heart of the problem is our personell that is trying to get open.

Adams runs a 4.7 forty, rounds his patterns off, and drops balls. If he wasn't a 2nd round pick he'd have been on the bench long ago. He may just be Da Fraud #2.

James Jones runs a 5.5 forty, rounds patterns off, and is as good as he can get off of the back shoulder grabs and lobbed balls against crappy corners.

But Neither get open

Cobb is what he is ....a #2 WR who still only gets open sometimes before the routes go to free lance.

We don't play Abby or Janis so we have to assume they are sub par or MM has a love fest with I wish I were Allan Robsinson .....Adams............

Wide receivers sucking aside, we have made no effort to get a legitimate pass catching RB and our TE's who play run about a 6.5 forty and can be covered with AJ Hawk like talented LB's.

So we are left with a squad devoid of players who can create mismatches on defense regardless of whether there is protection or not.

Teams play us man to man and dominate us while Rodgers wanders around getting hit multiple times throwing nearly every pass with high pressure because nobody gets open.

And we still sit there with Clay Matthews being misused as a ILB....which is really all this defense needs.....a LEGIT ILB to allow Clay to begin to dominate anymore.

Do you have faith the lucky free agent signings will fix any of this ? It has not yet.

Most GM's analyze the draft and consider free agency as a source to help fill holes.

So when the draft does not fall our way we just end up the same holes......TE/ILB...etc....that has not worked lately.

I'm with you on your analysis of our skill players and I would add that A Rodgers has not played up to his standing as the best QB in the league. What I have issue with is the subtext that our GM has not done his job in addressing these problems. First, there would have to be a clear problem to address. The fact that our RBs cannot create matchup problems was not a problem going into this year, our RBs were rarely asked to catch passes in previous year's offenses. They were little used except as dump offs and I can't recall anyone seeing that as an issue before the season. By the end of last year, R Rodgers had taken over as starting TE with Quarless as a blocking backup. Everybody saw speed deficiencies in R Rodgers, but I believe the consensus was that TE was in fairly capable hands. Nobody saw problems with our WRs before the 2nd exhibition game. Our GM has drafted WRs in the 2nd or 3rd round in nearly every draft and projects in later rounds. He chose Montgomery in this past draft. When Nelson went down, he picked up Jones as a free agent to replace him. For 5 games, there was really no problem. It was business as usual. Then Montgomery went down, Adams got injured, came back and forgot how to catch and our speed deficiencies jump out like a sore thumb.

Second, if the deficiencies were known, what solutions were there to put in play? Could we have drafted a TE or ILB earlier in the draft? Of course, but that means that our defensive secondary that has been more than adequate this year would have been compromised. We have 43 sacks this year with Matthews at ILB. Do we really think that replacing one of the CBs drafted with an ILB would have made our defense stronger or more dynamic? What TEs could we have drafted that would have impacted the offense, but not impacted the defense? That brings us to free agents that we could have signed. Would anyone, not having the use of hindsight, have given up Cobb or Bulaga, and created another weakness in order to sign an ILB or TE in free agency? You could argue that we could have kept House and Williams, not drafted a CB, but I believe that the cap implications would not have allowed that approach. Also, the CBs drafted along with Raji and Ryan have helped strengthen the defense this year.

The question to me is not why has the GM not prepared the roster for 2015, but what will be done to fix the roster next year knowing the deficiencies.

[Bretsky]

Perhaps I was in the minority, but I have referred to out TE's as suck, suckier, and suckiest. I saw no goodness in entering the season with these yahoo's imitating a starter and there was a line of TE's who to me where good mid tier options that would have given us a receiver

[call_me_ishmael]

Call me crazy - but if Calvin gets released I think Ted picks up the phone and has a conversation at least.

Why? Because he is so big that he effectively counts as a TE and a wideout. He immediately fixes the offense. That is a ton of money at WR with three 8 figure guys, but I think it may happen.

That is a classic Ted signing. Freak athlete, premiere talent just past prime.

Peppers would be gone in this scenario. He is probably gone either way.

[woodbuck27]

C'mon, you know better than that. They will get three replacements from bodies on the roster. One position will go undermanned because the draft doesn't fall right or is light in good prospects.

And he'll find two immediate guys in the draft. The worry isn't can you fix the list in the offseason. The worry is can you fix in this offseason what will go wrong next August.

Carly Simon - Anticipation

[woodbuck27]

Rand said he has been terrible and beat up.

Rand said...and that means to you........!?

I know what what Rand ever says means to me...I know the source and so....I find the TRUTH;

This report directly contradicts myarnrand:

Please....see the LINK in B's original post this thread and read and you'll discover this contradiction of what you claim Rand informed you. Your over the top too smart to accept whatever fr. 'a poor source' without checking the information out, pbmax:

" Thomas has been the ultimate Cleveland Brown since the day he was drafted in 2007. He did not enjoy the Mangini years, but he re-upped his deal in 2011; it runs through 2018. He had one of his best seasons as he turned 31. " fr. LINK in post #1

[woodbuck27]

I agree. I think the answer is to shake up the O staff. Maybe let both Clements and Bennett move on and bring in a new guy with different experience. If Clements stays, pay him well and have him focus strictly on the QBs. Get a Strong WR coach (it might be The Pelt, but might be someone else). In any case, Stubby has to admit to himself that the offense is stale. My prediction is that he will attribute everything to injuries and will change virtually nothing, hoping the return of Nelson, the return of Lang, Sitton and Bacteria, a new offseason program for Lacy that involves less couch and fewer meals - and perhaps a new tackle in the draft - will solve everything.

If MM spins that BS...then TT and MM have to go.

I'm so sick of the BS and Power Leadership in Green Bay.

You need some simple common sense and a true knowledge of things Green Bay Packer to come to a decision:

It's now..not after next season and more TT and MM baloney to absolutely be praying for their removal. As long as these two are set in Green Bay we never get back to the Super Bowl.

I'm a strong Texas Holdem player......there's my huge raise.

Call it ...and... you... will...lose !

[pbmax]

^The OP report is from Pat McManamon who is an ESPN Staff Writer. I don't know him from Adam, so I take his info lightly until I know who his source is or I know he watches as much tape as McGinn. Even then I take it with a grain of salt unless others agree because I don't know his track record.

I know Rand watches the game carefully, and even if his report was part exaggeration to make a point about how bad the Browns offense is, I take his info as a reminder not to assume Thomas is as good now as when he was 27.

[Patler]

and then there is this:

This season, Browns quarterbacks were sacked 53 times – second most behind the Titans – but it's hard to pin much blame on Thomas, who finished the campaign ranked first among all tackles in the Pro Football Focus grading system.

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/inde...ble_depar.html


I wouldn't mind the Packers giving the Browns either Bakhtiari or Bulaga and a 2nd round pick for the last three years of Thomas' contract. That would give Cleveland an O-line starter and a decently high draft pick for a player who very well could be done after this contract is up.

Or, maybe you send them either Linsley or Tretter? Both seem best suited to center, and you only need one at a time! Let Cleveland have their pick!

[pbmax]

I like the work PFF puts in and it gives us access to areas of football we usually only seem described through anecdotes.

But so much of their work is opinion based (did someone do their job when you don't know what their job was) rather than numbers based, I wonder if its subject to the same biases that color peoples memories. It is more thorough than most fan memories though. So Thomas might be doing fine. I did a brief search through his news and couldn't find a declined article.

[Pugger]

As long as we're talking about possible reclamation projects, how about Mario Williams? He doesn't like where he's at; he's a better 3-4 guy, and Peppers isn't getting any younger.

Can we afford him? He's gonna want some serious jack.

[Pugger]

^ I agree. ILB and Tackles. Then whomever falls to them.

It might not hurt to get a speedy WR. From everything I've heard most teams say we have no speed on the outside with Jordy gone.

[Cheesehead Craig]

Can we afford him? He's gonna want some serious jack.

Williams is gonna be about 10+M/yr as there are several teams that can afford that cap number easily.

[Rutnstrut]

IMO this team has a lot of needs. But I would love to see them get a stud TE.

[woodbuck27]

IMO this team has a lot of needs. But I would love to see them get a stud TE.

We certainly need an upgrade their to secure better offense and the middle of the field.

[Patler]

A stud TE would make the team more fun to watch, but I think a capable OT might be more critical to their success.