pre-season final thoughts

[dbair1967]

got in late last night from Vegas..a few thoughts on the weekend cuts and etc etc

1) kinda surprised Austin made the team...not all that shocked that Pettiti was cut though...I thought he'd make the team as a backup but he DID lead the league in sacks allowed last yr and was a just another guy as an OL...glad to see Hurd and Elam make it, those two guys have upside for down the road...hope Elam stays out of trouble

2) I guess hindsight is always 20/20, but signing Vanderjact is proving to be a poor move...he kicked like crap all TC (according to those watching) and was horrible against Minnesota...he clearly cant kickoff, so we'll be wasting a 2nd roster spot all yr on a guy that does nothing but kickoff...we paid Vanderjact just a little less than what Longwell and Vinateri got, but those teams dont have to pay for two kickers and waste a spot on a guy to handle kickoffs only (I know Vinateri is hurt, but if he werent there would be no issue)...I'd venture to say nobody in the NFL is wasting more roster spots on guys who are just special teamers than we do, and the sad thing is our special teams will probably be no more than middle of the pack, if that

3) I really hope we were holding back on defense in terms of the pass rush.we showed almost nada in the pass rush all preseason and wenthe last 3 preseason games with no sacks from our starters...while some want to clamor that we didnt blitz any, we did rush 4 the majority of the time and other than a play here or there never got close to the other team's QB...we're going against a team with a questionable OL and a guy who is one of the least mobile QB's in football and he combines that with a long, slow release...if we cant generate a rush vs this team I'd say we're in for another long yr of no pass rush and few turnovers

4) OL has to perform better than it did vs Minnesota or we are in big trouble offensively this yr...Jacksonville will be a huge test for this OL and perhaps a good barometer on how we'll do this year...if they can handle Jacksonville's DL we might be in pretty good shape...everyone knows abotu Henderson &Stroud, but Reggie Hayward is a good DE with alot of pass rush skill and Paul Spicer had 7 1/2 sacks last yr

5) if the OL can pass block even decently we should have a good day throwing ontheir secondary...other than Mathis (who is just above average IMO) they really dont have guys that can cover any back there, so Owens, Glenn & Witten shoudl have a field day...I doubt we have much success running the ball and wont be surprised of Bledsoe throws 35 times

6) not sure how this guy from the Browns is an upgrade over what was already here...sure he may eat up space, but it doesnt mean he is any good...the Browns run the 3-4 as well and I cant imagine Crennel cutting loose a guy who could potentially be a solid backup NT, especially after the guys only been in the league less than a yr

7) got to see some of the college games this weekend...too bad for M Bush at Louisville, that was an awful injury...USC lost Leinart, Bush & White and still scored 50 pts and almost 500 yds of offense against a major college opponent...Michigan looked mediocre as did Oklahoma...they barely beat a team that won 5 games last yr...last nights FSU/Miami game was painful to watch for the 2nd yr in a row, and both those teams have fallen off bigtime from what they used to be...Notre Dame is clearly not the 2nd best college team right now...hate the new college rules with the clock, it messes up the game too much

8) at the hotel I was at, Jacksonville was 2 1/2 pt favorites and the Cowboys were now 6-1 to win the NFC...I think we were either 25 or 30-1 in January

David

 

[baj1dallas]

Me too about Austin, didn't see that coming. Agree that if Elam stays out of trouble he could be a solid player.

I wonder why they signed Vanderjagt in particular, if there was something they liked about him in particular.

This first game will be a good test for Ellis and Ware...if those two get some cut loose to go after Leftwich they should get some sacks. They need to come out of the gate firing.

To me the OL will be ok if they pass a lot to set up the run.

I think the Browns already have two NTs they like that's why they cut this guy, they didn't really need a developmental prospect.

 

[JackMagist]

Austin was a surprise to me also. We hardly heard anything about him in TC or the preseason.

I was always felt a little weird about Vanderjagt; just had a bad feeling about him from the start. Hopefully he can pick it up and start hitting again.

I am waiting to see this Defense cut loose with all guns blazing. We should have a dominant D this year and Ware and Ellis should be able to get to Lefty on a regular basis. If they can't it could turn into a long year.

Our #1 RB is best when running draws and delays. We will have to use the pass first to set up his runs or we will go nowhere on the ground. If we plan to run 80% of the time on first down like we did in preseason we had better move MBIII to starting RB.

The Browns did not release Parker until Monday which means that they came very close to keeping him. I have always wondered why we did not try to get bigger in the middle and now we have.