Tag Archives: featured

Draft, NFL

QB Search 2017: Player Profile Mitch Trubisky

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*This is part four of a 10 part series where we will take a look at the Cleveland Browns options for the elusive quarterback of the future.

Name: Mitch Trubisky

Height: 6’3”

Weight: 220 pounds

Throws: Right

School: North Carolina

NFL Team: N/A

Draft Spot or Projection: Top 15 overall

strengths:  Very accurate…throws a catchable ball…shows great anticipation…leader on the field and off…athletic and will surprise people at combine…throws with a strong base…solid mechanics…good velocity…great on short to intermediate routes, decent deep ball…goes through progressions well…looks off safety well…shows above average pocket presence, especially given minimal playing time…will only get better as he plays more…extremely coachable and smart, a true football loving gym rat.

Weaknesses: May not be as big as listed, want to see how tall he truly is at combine…velocity looks good on tape, need to see how hard he actually throws at combine. I like to see 56 mph or above from an elite QB prospect…has tendency to throw off back foot at times when rush in his face…limited playing time in college…

Summary: Trubisky looks the part of an elite quarterback prospect. The limited playing time does have me worried some, but the playing time he did have shows a quarterback with little weaknesses in his game. His ceiling might not be as high as some, but he is the safest of all of the quarterbacks in the 2017 draft and at worst will be an Andy Dalton or Alex Smith type quarterback.

Up Next: Texas Tech QB Pat Mahomes

Previously: Buffalo Bills QB Tyrod Taylor

Browns, Draft, Uncategorized

QB Search 2017: Player Profile Tyrod Taylor

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*This is part three of a 10 part series where we will take a look at the Cleveland Browns options for the elusive quarterback of the future.

Name: Tyrod Taylor

Height: 6’1″

Weight: 215 pounds

Throws: Right

School: Virginia Tech

Draft Spot or Projection: 6th Round 180th overall (2011)

Strenghths: Taylor is accurate…shows good anticipation…excellent movement in the pocket…keeps his eyes upfield while navigating the blitz…above average arm strength…solid velocity…a great competitor who feeds off of others doubting his abilities…believes in his abilities 110%…leader…hard worker…gym rat…extremely smart…athletic…

Weaknesses: Lacks NFL size…gets a lot of balls batted down at the line, but did improve on that during his second season as a starter…can telegraph throws at times…may believe too much in his abilities at times and will force throws…

Summary: If the Bills decide to cut Taylor because they owe him at least $27.5 million, teams will likely be all over the former Bills and Ravens quarterback. While he isn’t a top 10 guy, he is good enough to lead a team into the playoffs, but will only get as far as the talent around him will allow him.

Up Next: North Carolina QB Mitch Trubisky

Previously: Bengals QB AJ McCarron

Browns, Dawg Biscuits

Dawg Biscuits: Myles Doesn’t Want to Be a Brown?

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***Dawg Biscuits is a daily rundown of thoughts, news, and opinions on the Cleveland Browns.***

  • A video came out this weekend of possible number one overall pick and Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett pleading with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to trade up for him. In it, Garrett tells Jones that he should trade Tony Romo and picks to the Browns so that they can take him number one overall and he can be a Cowboy. Browns fans are losing their minds about this and it is so unnecessary. Yes, Garrett would prefer to be a Cowboy and yes, he did say he didn’t want to play for a cold weather city, but in another video, posted on twitter by Fox 26 (Houston) sports director Mark Berman Garrett talks about wanting to be a Brown. There are two sides to all stories and unless he pulls an Elway or an Eli he should be the number one pick. He is a talented monster.
  • Many people have talked about how deep this edge rush class is in the 2017 NFL Draft, with as many as seven guys going in round one. That talk has brought about the argument that the Browns should take a quarterback (which is not as deep a unit) at number one. No. NO, they should not. This quarterback class is filled with questions all around. At number one, the Browns need a sure thing and Garrett, who is clearly the best edge rusher available, is the closest to a sure thing you can find.
  • While the quarterback class is weak, I am still among the few that think North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky can be a very good NFL QB. The kid has everything you want in a franchise signal caller.
  • Speaking of Trubisky, the fact that he was not a starter until 2016, as  a redshirt junior, has been brought up ad nauseam. Carson Wentz sat for years behind a guy who wasn’t an NFL prospect (Brock Jensen), let alone future starter, and how did he look last season? Pretty damn good. College coaches are paid to win games not develop NFL type signal callers. Marquise Williams, who was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Vikings, was a good college quarterback and an athletic freak who helped his college team win ball games. Jensen won National Championships while keeping Wentz on the bench.Just because Williams started over Trubisky does not mean Trubisky won’t be an excellent NFL quarterback. It’s just a weak take.
  • More on this, last night Ken Carman of CBS Radio tweeted out a take from North Carolina quarterbacks coach Keith Heckendorf…
  • carman-mitchy
  • The reasons most likely are that Williams was a very good college quarterback. Some guys are great college quarterbacks, but not suited for the NFL game.
  • Last thought on Trubisky…Biggest worries with him are his true height (hope he is at least 6’2″) and his velocity (hopefully clocked over 56 mph). Outside of either of those coming up short, he will most likely remain my number one QB in this draft.
  • My current top five in this draft at QB…Trubisky, Mahomes, Watson, Kizer, Kaaya.
  • Mahomes is rising because of what he can be. He’s a mix of Favre, Cutler, and Manziel…As long as the good outshines the bad, the future can be very, very, bright.
  • After releasing Josh McCown and Tramon Williams, the Browns have more than $100 million in cap space. Even with that, don’t expect them to go crazy in free agency. They will add some pieces, but they won’t go overboard.
  • The reason they have so much cap space is because they don’t have the piece that takes up most of a teams cap, a franchise QB.
  • That’s all for today. Want to finish off before I say anything about a certain growing legend that rides the bench for the Patriots…
Browns, Draft

QB Search 2017: Player Profile AJ McCarron

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*This is part two of a 10 part series where we will look at the Cleveland Browns options for the elusive quarterback of the future.

aj-mccarron
Bengals back up QB AJ McCarron

Name: AJ McCarron

Height: 6’3″

Weight: 22o pounds

Throws: Right

School: Alabama

NFL Team: Cincinnati Bengals

Draft Spot or Projection: 5th round, 164th overall (2014)

Strengths: Good size for an NFL QB…big hands…played in a pro style offense and makes NFL caliber reads…goes through progressions well…good short to intermediate accuracy in the pocket and also accurate while on the move…above average mechanics with smooth throwing motion…used to being under center from college offense…above average arm strength…takes care of the ball…smart…a leader on the field…prepares well.

Weaknesses: Struggles with the deep ball…not overly athletic…does not drive the ball at times, causing his receives to adjust a lot of times, putting them in awkward situations…had an amazing NFL caliber team around him in college, hard to tell how much was him and how much was the talent around him as far as wins and production…

Summary: When I wrote my original scouting report on McCarron I was stuck on how good his supporting cast was. Watching just McCarron’s mechanics and the way he works in the pocket, you can see a guy who has talent but is also a big product of the guys around him. In the NFL he can be an average starter, but will only get as far as the talent around him can help him.

Up next Part Three: Bills QB Tyrod Taylor

Part one: Jimmy Garoppolo

Browns, Uncategorized

Report: Browns Release Josh McCown

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According to Mike Garafalo of the NFL Network, the Cleveland Browns have released veteran quarterback Josh McCown.

McCown, 37, joined the Browns in 2015. He threw for 3209 yards with 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Originally brought in by former general manager Ray Farmer to be a mentor to Johnny Manziel, McCown became a fan favorite and showed unbelievable toughness on the field. There were reports that the team and head coach Hue Jackson offered McCown a chance to stay on as a coach, but the veteran still wants to continue his career as a player.

McCown signed a three-year deal to join the Browns and was due over $3.5 million in 2017, as well as a $750,000 roster bonus.

Browns

Browns Add Former Buckeye Powell

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On Monday the Cleveland Browns announced that they have claimed Tyvis Powell off of waivers from the Seattle Seahawks.

Powell, a 6’3″ 211 pound defensive back, went undrafted in the 2016 NFL Draft following an outstanding career as an Ohio State Buckeye.

Powell had 11 tackles and one interception for the Seahawks in the preseason, but was mainly a special teamer during the regular season and then was cut during the playoffs. Powell, who grew up in Bedford, Ohio is known as a diehard Browns fan by those who have covered him, will now have a chance to fulfill his dream of playing for his childhood team. He will also bring much needed depth to one of the weakest spots on the Browns current roster.

 

Browns, Draft

QB Search 2017: Player Profile Jimmy Garoppolo

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*This is the first part of a 10 part series where we will take a look at the Cleveland Browns options for the elusive quarterback of the future. 

jimmy-g

Name: Jimmy Garoppolo

Height: 6’2 1/4″

Weight: 225 pounds

Throws: Right

School: Eastern Illinois

NFL Team: New England Patriots

Draft Spot or Projection: 2nd round, 62nd overall (2014)

Strengths: Good, but not great size…Excellent usage of his eyes, scans the entire field…lightning fast release…accurate…smooth, natural delivery…good feet, helps evade pocket pressure, average pocket presence, resets himself after getting “happy feet” on occasions…very good ball placement…stays calm, leader on the field, does not show many ups and downs…executes his offense well…elite production at FCS school with 13,156 yards and 118 touchdowns…2013 Walter Payton Award winner…

Weaknesses: Velocity is not elite, but good enough…needs to continue to improve his decision making…deep ball accuracy issues…has tendency to go side arm at times…will take time to develop…holds the ball to long and needs to develop a better internal clock…gets happy feet when faced with pressure and does not show great form when forced to improvise…

Summary: When I wrote the original scouting report on Garoppolo in 2014, I saw him as a late second to early third round quarterback who would be an NFL starter if given the time to develop. After sitting behind Brady and working with Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels over the past three seasons, he has been given the proper time to develop and has been taught by some of the best ever. If Garoppolo was in the 2017 draft with his current skill set, shown in minimal NFL playing time, I truly believe he would he would be a first round pick.

Up next: Bengals QB A.J. McCarron

Browns

Sources: Browns Will Show Interest In Every Available Quarterback

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Earlier today, reports came out that the Browns have a very real interest in trading for Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. The 6’3″, 25 year-old, backup to Tom Brady is one of the more attractive options that could be available this offseason, so it should come as no surprise that the quarterback starved Browns would have an interest. However, in late January, with only rookie Cody Kessler, the ghost of RGIII, and veteran journeyman Josh McCown on the roster, expect the Browns to show interest in any and all available quarterbacks. In fact, don’t be surprised if they end up trading for a signal caller AND drafting one in April in the 2017 NFL Draft.

Armed with 5 picks in the top 65, the Browns will have plenty of options available to them to make moves as they attempt to find the guy who will lead this team into the future. In the coming months, you will hear the names Mitch Trubisky, Deshaun Watson, DeShone Kizer, Patrick Mahomes, and possibly Brad Kaaya in the NFL Draft and Garoppolo, AJ McCarron, as well as many others linked to the Browns.

If you are a fan of the Browns, as well as a fan of any of these guys, do not get your hopes up to soon. As this point there will be lots of smoke, but don’t expect fire until at least early March.