Browns Off-Season 2015--What Farmer Should Do

   It's off season for the Browns!  A lot of fans are down because the Browns ended the season with a losing streak, and their quarterback of the future is currently in rehab.   But if you look at the season as a whole, there is a big difference between the 2013 squad at 5-11 and this year's team at 7-9.   The Browns have improved, and there is every reason to expect that they will continue to improve if they add payroll.   I like Ray Farmer as GM and respect his judgment, but that doesn't mean I won't try to do his job.  So here is what I would do if I were him:  

   Let's talk about payroll.   The Browns have $31 M in 2015 cap room, plus another $19 M in "carryover."  Carryover money is money you are allowed to overspend based on underspending the previous few years.   So you can say that the true cap limit is $50 M, but realistically the Browns will likely not spend the spend their carryover money this year.  Also you have to allow for about $7 M of 2015 bucks for the draft picks.   Plus if they extend "tenders" to keep Pro Bowler Tashaun Gipson and Craig Robertson, that will cost another $4 to $5 M.   Perhaps I am more ruthless than Farmer, but I would make salary cap cuts to Phil Taylor, Paul McQuistan (already gone) and Jim Dray, which would net another $7 M. In all I think the Browns can spend about  $31 - $7- $5+$7 = $26 M on free agents.  

    On the other hand, the Browns are losing free agents, who got paid a total of $21 M in 2014.  These include former Pro Bowler Jordan Cameron, as well as starters Buster Skrine, Brian Hoyer, Miles Austin, and punter Spencer Lanning. 

   Other key players and sometimes starters include Jabaal Sheard, Ismaa'ily Kitchen and Ahtyba Rubin and special teams players Marlon Moore and Johnson Bademosi.  The Browns will be without Pro Bowler Josh Gordon, who is enjoying a year of sabbatical while researching the effects of drug addiction. 

     Tashaun Gipson is a restricted free agent.  That means the Browns will offer him $3.1 M dollars as a "first round tender" and if he signs with another team they will get a first round pick in return. We'll probably be able to keep Tashaun. 

    However, Craig Robertson is probably not worth as much as Tashaun, and the Browns may elect to let him go rather than ante $2.1 M for a second round tender.

   The Browns need to sign about 7 or 8 players in free agency, not just one key guy.   My theory is that football is a team game, and it really matters how good your 11th best man is on the field. The other team is coming after him!  I don't like the idea of using the draft to fill positional needs for the most part. In the draft generally you really do try to take the best players available, and let them develop for a few years.  Positional needs might be a tiebreaker if two players are ranked about the same, and maybe you can trade up or down a bit to get the positions to match up.  But you do not take untalented players ahead of talent in the draft. At any rate, in order, I think the Browns need to fill the following positions in 2015:

    Defensive end.  The Browns were last in the NFL in stopping the run and other than Desmond Bryant, the defensive line didn't sack anyone.  Let's not defend them. They were among the worst in the NFL and were simply pushed around and beaten up.  I would definitely cut Phil Taylor, which would give the Browns $5.5 million in additional money for free agents.  Taylor has had only 3 sacks in the past 3 years, and perhaps he will never return to his rookie form of 2011.   Browns fans complain that the Steelers have Roethlisberger and the Ravens have Flacco.  Okay, so let's get someone who can knock them on their butts.  Maybe not a big investment in Ndamukong Suh because of his tendency to get suspended, but definitely get a guy who can sack a quarterback and play the run.  I would try to do a contract similar to Desmond Bryant's.

Jared Odrick, seen here squishing Geno Smith of the Jets, did a great job for Miami, maybe he would like living in real football town like Cleveland.  
  

Nose tackle.  Ahtyba Rubin is gone, and frankly I'm surprised he was not a salary cap casualty last year because he had a contract suitable for a Pro Bowler.   If the players are there, I would be willing to blow half of my free agent stash on defensive linemen!

Someone like Dan Williams of Arizona might look nice in Brown and Orange.  

Quarterback:  Of course everybody understands that the Browns need a quarterback.  Right now the best guy under contract and not in rehab is Connor Shaw, who is a tough competitor, but undersized and without a cannon for an arm.  Shaw is good enough to lead the Browns down the field in a run-first offense, but don't expect to see many 50 yard touchdown passes.  Hoyer played well at times, but if it turns out that Farmer dissed him in a text message, it may be impossible to re-sign him.  But I don't see that there is a franchise guy out there that we will throw lots of money at.  We're looking at the game manager type, maybe like  Mark Sanchez  or Ryan Mallett. It would be muh better to go into battle with Aaron Rodgers or Ryan Luck, but that is not to say you can't win without such guys.   Build the rest of the team and yes you can win.  Will the Browns try to make a trade to draft Marcus Mariota?  Probably.  In which case they will be asked to overpay with two or even three first round picks.  I hope they can maintain the discipline to avoid such foolishness.  Very few players are worth two first round picks, let alone three.  
  

Is Marcus Mariota the next "Franchise Quarterback?"  Many Ohio State Buckeyes were not convinced....

Linebacker:  The Browns are losing  Sheard (who played hurt last year, but was clearly superior to nominal starter Barkevious Mingo) and possibly Craig Robertson (restricted free agent). Drafting Mingo was a dubious decision from the get-go because the Browns didn't really need linebacker help in 2013. Mingo was great in the combine, but he had only 4.5 sacks in his senior year at LSU. Does that get you to the number four overall position in the NFL draft?  Really?  Mingo was one of the fastest linemen in the combine, but everyone knew he was too small to be a lineman.  In fact he is smallish for a linebacker and not athletic enough to play the inside. My friend Dennis Dice (a great football analyst, if I may say so) and I panned that pick at the time...we both said agreed that Mingo would have to be vastly superior to Sheard in order to justify the pick, and that did not happen.  

Cornerback:  Justin Gilbert truly had a miserable first year last year and was consistently outplayed by free agent K'Waun Williams. Pierre Desir ran fast at the combine was scarcely used in 2015. Hence losing Buster Skrine, a talented and improving corner, really hurts. Here's hoping we can re-sign him, but if not we may have to find some help for Williams, since Gilbert and Desir seem to be transitioning from prospects to suspects.  

Tight end.  If we can resign former Pro Bowler Jordan Cameron, great.  He is a tremendous talent.  But he is a risky investment because of his health history, so I wouldn't offer him a franchise player's deal.  Maybe a contract that is backloaded with 30% guaranteed, so that if he plays two full years he gets paid like a premier tight end, but if not the Browns can ease out of it.  On the other other hand, a pass blocking tight end could fit because the Browns probably need to run the ball more than they did in 2014.  I would cut Jim Dray who wasn't able to outplay Gary Barnidge as a blocker or receiver.  Barnidge is a good all around tight end but not a monster blocker.   I want a guy who can fit in a two-tight end formation along with Barnidge and pancake a linebacker and catch one or two screen passes per game.   

Wide Receiver:  Sportswriters complained the Browns did not sign wide receivers last year, whereas they in fact signed three (Hawkins, Austin, and Nate Burleson, who got hurt). But with the under-performing and drug-obsessed Gordon out for at least 1 year (I don't expect him back till 2025 at the earliest) and Austin also gone, the Browns need to sign a professional wide receiver and maybe look for some help in the draft.    This seems to be a year in which there is a lot of depth at the position, so even some lesser ranked stars could be really good.   On the other hand, I have the opposite view of Ray Farmer on wideouts--the draft is a great way to get wide receivers because you can always use a good one. If he can run just a few routes he can catch some balls as the number three or four receiver and eventually work his way to a starting job. 

Fullback:  The Browns are not going to be Air Coryell in 2015, ok? Let's not try to be cute about it, the 2015 Browns are going to run the ball, so let's get a fullback.  Fullbacks are not expensive, and if you are not going to wow the opposition with four and five receiver sets, you should carry a fullback instead.  We're going to play power football in 2014 because we don't have Gordon and we don't have a rocket launcher arm quarterback.  We are going to be the big bad Cleveland Browns, we are running halfback over right tackle with the fullback as lead blocker, and what are you going to do about it?  

Offensive Line:  The Browns played like champs when all five starters were healthy, but were really damaged when All-Pro Alex Mack went down.  Clearly they need better backups (namely a guy who can play center and guard), but do they need a new starter?   I think if they have the opportunity to get a premier right tackle, that could create an awesome running attack.   Mitchell Schwartz and John Greco might compete at right guard in that case.  Another possibility might be to move Bitonio to right tackle and they can find a great guard (Mike Iupati?).  But if no changes are made to the front five, we'll be okay.  Put it this way, if there is a team that has Mitchell Schwartz as its biggest problem, that team will win the Super Bowl.   

Punter:  Sign a punter!  and a placekicker!

Here's a partial list of free agents from the Browns:

*Tashaun Gipson S (restricted, probably stays)

*Craig Robertson ILB (restricted, probably goes)
*Ishmaa’ily Kitchen DT (restricted, probably goes)
Buster Skrine CB

Jordan Cameron TE

Brian Hoyer QB

Jabaal Sheard 43DE or 34OLB

Miles Austin WR

Ahtyba Rubin NT

Spencer Lanning P

Marlon Moore WR

Johnson Bademosi S

So How Good Was Ray Farmer in 2014?

Ray Farmer comes across as a pushy SOB, but a guy who really knows his football.  You know what?  I'm pretty much okay with that.  

   I like Ray Farmer and am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt even if he did mess up with breaking text message rules.   In my opinion he did great in last year's free agent market, using the transition tag as a way to bring Alex Mack to the table for a long term contract with the Browns that was fair to both sides.  Then he made mincemeat of Cincinnati, signing a good receiver in Andrew Hawkins, a fact that was widely ignored by Browns fans who assumed we signed no receivers in the off season.  In reality we signed three:  Hawkins, Miles Austin and also Nate Burleson who was injured in the pre-season.   We also signed some really good players in  ILB Karlos Dansby and S Donte Whitner, as well as questionable players in TE Jim Dray and OL Paul McQuistan.  

   In the draft, it's still too early to judge, but we can say early returns were good for ILB Chris Kirksey, RG Joel Bitonio, HB Terrance West.  Johnny Manziel is currently lost at sea, and CBs Justin Gilbert and Pierre Desir are treading water.   But getting three starters is not bad for a draft, and we also got a number one pick in 2015 and a fouth rounder.   Overall it was a good draft.

    Undrafted rookie free agency was brilliant, as the Browns nabbed RB Isaiah Crowell, CB K'Waun Williams, WR Taylor Gabriel.

    Browns fans complain that the Browns should have drafted wide receivers.  Well, truth to tell if you let the fans have their way, they will draft a quarterback everytime, and a wide receiver next, and then a running back, just like fantasy football.  You can't do that.  Instead you should take the most talented players, and use trades or free agencies to plug a weakness.  Going into the season, the Browns plan was to have Miles Austin and Andrew Hawkins as the wideouts until All-Pro Josh Gordon could return in November.  And that worked fine.  The problem was that when Gordon came back he was flabby and out of shape and did not know the plays, and soon got in more trouble with substance abuse.  

   Should the Browns have drafted Sammy Watkins?  I think that would be a good move if you play in a dome.  In that case, heck yeah, get the qb with the strongest arm and get the wide receivers who can run fastest on a perfect surface. But if you are going to play cold weather football on a sloppy field, get me guys who are big, tough and capable of playing POWER FOOTBALL.   I'd rather take big physical receivers to catch a pass in the snow of First Energy Stadium.     But I have no problem with taking a defensive back if he can really play.  That was the real problem, that Justin Gilbert had a difficult adjustment to Pro Football.

Justin Gilbert was said to be immature and disruptive off the field, and struggled on the field.   

   There are also nagging rumors that owner Jimmy Haslam made the call for drafting Johnny Manziel.   That would be a problem if it is true, as the owner cannot be a better evaluator of talent on a long term basis.  I did not like the Manziel move (I had him as the fifth best qb in a strong class), but I did not view it as insane at the time.  The only insane part is if the owner is intruding on the draft decisions.  

   In summary, the Browns make a huge number of moves in the off-season in 2014, and they accomplished a great deal.   Ray Farmer did a great job, and I hope he continues in 2014.  

How Many Draft Picks Do the Browns Burn on Quarterbacks?

The Cleveland Browns love to draft quarterbacks. 

When they resumed operations in 1999, they had the rights to the top pick overall.  However the New Orleans Saints were interested in Rickey Williams ultimately gave up their 1999 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7th picks, plus their 2000 number 1 and number 3.   Wowzers, what a haul.  No sane team, especially an expansion team, could turn down an 8-for-1 trade like this.  But we turned that down because Coach Chris Palmer was convinced that Tim Couch would be a Hall of Famer with Palmer's quarterback "guru" ability. 

Coach Chris Palmer figured 50 sacks per year was just the thing to inspire Tim Couch to be a great quarterback.  

In 2000 they took a flyer on Spergon Wynn Round 6.  

Spergon Wynn had zero success in the NFL.

From there, they used free agents to replace Couch, and were able to resist drafting another qb till 2004 when they took Luke McCown.  Then in 2005 they used a number 3 on Charlie Frye.  

Charlie Frye went 6-13 as a starter for the Browns.  That makes him one of the winningest qbs for the new Browns, behind Couch and Derek Anderson, and tied with Colt McCoy.  

So who scouted Brady Quinn?  He was a good competitor, but probably did not have the arm talent that the scouts thought.  

They traded a number 1 and a number 2 for Brady Quinn in 2007.  In 2010 they took Colt McCoy in the third round. In 2011, they traded a 7th round pick for Seneca Wallace.  In 2012 they took Brandon Weeden in the first round, and in 2014 they traded a number one and a number 3 for Johnny Manziel.  

 Was Johnny Football worth a Number 1 and a Number 3?

Ok, so it's been 16 years since the new Browns started drafting.   Over that period of time, here's the draft picks either used directly or traded for a quarterback, or turned down in the Tim Couch non-deal:  

First round:  5 picks
Second Round:  1 pick
Third Round: 5 picks
Fourth Round:  1 pick
Fifth Round:  1 pick
Sixth Round:  2  picks
Seventh Round:  2 picks

Total:  17 picks in 16 years.  

Whoa! 17 picks in 16 years??  That has to be some kind of record. Nine qbs actually wore the Browns uniform as a result of this madness.  Mostly they have not been very successful.   In my opinion, the best was probably Tim Couch who was a deserving NFL starter, and got the Browns into the playoffs in 2002.  Injuries, probably caused by a record number of sacks given up by the blocking-adverse offensive line, eventually took their toll, and Couch was not able to throw after that year.   

Has all this carnage caused the Browns to lose their appetite for quarterbacks?  Maybe not.  Word is that they are willing to bundle 2 or 3 first round picks for either Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota.  Stay tuned for future news....

REALITY CHECK--ARE THE BROWNS THERE YET?

     After an amazing performance in which the Browns dominated the Bengals 24-3, are the Browns legit playoff contenders?

    Sure, but so are 20 or so other teams in the NFL. The Browns need to focus on the Houston Texans.  

    One of the spins on the game is that it was a fantastic performance by Brian Hoyer.  In fact, it was fantastic, but the best part was that he had zero turnovers.  It was not an aerial blitzkreig, and after the game I was surprised to find out that he had "only" 196 yards on 15 of 23.   People talk about game management as if it's a bad thing, but you don't want to have somebody slinging the ball all over the ballfield in that situation.  Hand the ball off!  The Browns had an astonishing 52 carries in that game, the result of getting an early lead and being faced with an inept Bengals offense that kept giving the Browns great field position.  The Browns were without Pro Bowlers Jordan Cameron and Josh Gordon, as well as their next best receiver in Anthony Hawkins.  On that basis, zero INTs and 23 passes looks great. 

photo credit:  nydailynews.com

Brian Hoyer was ruthlessly efficient if not exactly the Mad Bomber.  

Another theme was that this game marked the return of the Browns' running game, but I think it was more the case that the situation called for running the ball.  Overall, they averaged just 3.4 yards per carry which is nothing to write home about.  They still miss Alex Mack.  On the positive side, backup Nick McDonald improved greatly from his first game to his second.  So they are not back to where they were earlier this seaon, but they seem headed in the right direction.

ledger-enquirer.com

With three good running backs, the Browns were able to run 52 times for 170 yards. That's a 3.4 yard average, which is good but not great.  

Game balls should be awarded to the entire Browns defense.  They made the Bengals look silly.  Who ever heard of an NFL quarterback going 10 for 33?  Maybe in the 1920s, but surely not today, right?  Well Andy Dalton did it.  The Bengals seemed determined not exploit their advantage in the run game, with big mouth Stephen Hill averaging 4.6 yards but on only 12 carries. The Browns did not stop the run very well, but the Bengals managed to pass 39 times verus 22 team running plays.  How could that happen when the Browns were last in the league in run defense, but highly talented in the defensive secondary?    The Browns' Joe Haden crushed A. J. Green, and fellow Pro Bowler Donte Whitner did a great job on Jermaine Gresham.   Buster Skrine had a career game with two interceptions. K'Waun Williams and Jim Leonhard also played very well.  

The main downer was that rookie Justin Gilbert left early with an injury.  Gilbert had been   improving week to week.

Desmond Bryant got to Dalton a few times, aided and abetted by Paul Kruger from his outside linebacker post.  The Browns are finally applying pressure to the opposing quarterback.  

Dalton responded with a pathetic 10 for 33 effort.  As bad as it was, it is inexplicable why they decided to pass twice as much as they ran the ball.  I can only imagine that Offensive Coordinator Hue Jackson was hoping to impress a national TV audience with a high otane passing offense.   To put it bluntly, I think the Browns were helped by a foolish game plan from the Bengals coaching staff.  

To me it looks like the Browns are improving on Defense and should be able to win a few more games.  But I still think that the offense is struggling as they make adjustments.  In a few weeks, they will get Jordan Cameron and Josh Gordon back, and the Browns may suddenly find themselves playing well on both sides of the ball. 

The Browns Struggles on Offense Will Continue

   During the first five games of the season, the Browns had fantastic play from their offensive line.  Pro Bowlers Joe Thomas and Kevin Mack were joined by stud rookie card Joel Bitonio, and John Greco came back from an injury riddled 2013 season.  Mitchell Schwartz also has played well.  I suspect that he was playing with some injuries last year and had a few bad games but for whatever reason he has played at a high level in 2014. 

    In addition, all three running backs were up over 4.0 yards per carry, and the receivers were doing well also.  QB Brian Hoyer was getting time to throw and the result was an overall high performing offense.  Browns fans were demanding a Peyton Manning type contract for Hoyer, and dreaming up trades for rookie backup Johnny Manziel.  

   My theory is that it really matters how good your fifth best lineman is, especially for pass coverage, because the defense is going to target the guy that they think is the weakest. Up to now, the Browns really didn't have a weakness at OL.  

   The loss of Alex Mack has thrown a glitch into the entire offense however.  Now John Greco is trying to learn a new position at center, while journeyman Paul McQuistan is trying to replace Greco at right guard.   McQuistan is giving his 100%, but the fact is that he got pasted by a good Jacksonville front last week, and he struggled in the preseason as well.   The result is a huge difference in both run blocking as well as quarterback protection.  

   Suddenly the running game has lost its effectiveness, and Hoyer is being pressured and no longer has time to throw.  Suddenly, Hoyer looks human instead of like Superman.   

     The Browns are scrambling to find a solution for the O-Line, and perhaps they will find a new center soon that will allow Greco to return to right guard.

     In any case, I believe that the Browns are in trouble.  Hoyer is a great quarterback when he is surrounded by talent, but without excellent pass protection, he is going to be much less effective.  I predict that there will be a few more sacks and more interceptions now that Mack is out for the year.   No doubt the fans will say that Hoyer is regressing, but that isn't really what is happening if you ask me. He just isn't as good without five Pro Bowl calibre linemen.  

      So is replacing Hoyer with Manziel going to fix the Browns problems? Maybe to some extent. Manziel might be better than Hoyer at coping with the pass rush and getting the ball downfield.  That might partially compensate for his lack of NFL experience.

Will the Browns' Problems be Solved by Johnny Manziel? Not really, but I think they should make the move soon anyway.  

Desmond Bryant leads all other Browns defensive linemen in sacks, with a total of one.  Every other lineman on the active roster has zero. 

  But the real problem with the Browns is not the offense at all.  The banged up Browns' defensive line is currently number 32 out of 32 teams versus the run.  Not very impressive. Plus they have not rushed their opponents' passers either.  So far only Desmond Bryant and Armonty Bryant have a sack (one each), and now Armonty is gone for the year.  So the Browns current DL personnel account for only one sack the entire year.  That is shocking.

     It would not surprise me if the Browns continue to struggle on Sunday against the currently winless Oakland Raiders.  If so, don't be astonished if Manziel gets some playing time in the second half.  

Browns Get Beat Up by St Louis, 33-14

      The Browns disappointed the home crowd, losing to the Rams 33 to 14.  They were totally outclassed by the up-and-coming Rams on both sides of the ball. The Rams defense pushed the Browns around on the line of scrimmage and did whatever they pleased on offense.  

     Brian Hoyer had a touchdown, an interception and a fumble.   He was not very good, but significantly improved over his antichrist-like performances of the first two exhibition games.  Johnny Manziel likewise was much better in this game than the previous two,  rushing for another score.  

http://scout.imgix.net/137/1371813.jpg?w=600&h=360&mode=crop&scale=both
Brian Hoyer was much better than in the first two games, but still underachieved.  

     The running game was pathetically weak, gaining a grand total of 32 yards for the game. That is awful.   Nobody looked good, and the offensive line forgot how to block.  In particular I was disappointed  by hotshot rookie Terrance West.  Instead of the one-cut style that the Shanahan offense is famous for, West likes to tiptoe up to the line, and then start shifting left and right, almost like he is waiting for someone to tackle him. That style doesn't seem to work.  Can Shanahan get him fixed in time for the September 7 opener?    Likewise Tate was terrible, as the entire team averaged 2.1 yards per carry.  Can we have Willis McGahee back?  He at least rushed for 2.7 yards per carry last year.   The presence of a fullback plus blocking tight end Jim Dray was supposed to help the running game, but it was not evidenced today.   If there is a positive note, it would be the play of rookie Joel Bitonio, who continues to be rock solid at left guard.  Hint:  let's run left this year.  

    The Browns defense was equally terrible, being unable to stop the Rams on third down, and giving up nearly 500 yards of total offense, even though star QB Sam Bradford had to leave with a knee injury early on.  

   Although the Browns were terrible on both sides of the ball, the Rams are one of the top teams in the league, and they may make a lot of teams look terrible.  The Rams did not draft Robert Griffin III in 2012, and instead traded for several draft picks, who are now on the team (hello lineman Greg Robinson, 2nd overall pick this year).  Also, a partial explanation for the Browns' miserable performance was a rash of injuries in the secondary.  The Browns were without cornerbacks Joe Haden, Buster Skrine, Marcus Trufant and Pierre Desir. That's four of their five top cornerbacks.  Leon McFadden, probably the sixth best qb on the team, was torched pretty well by St Louis. I'm not sure if he will make the final team.  If the Browns have fewer than four guys out of the lineup, the secondary may be a LOT better.

   Christian Kirksey had a good game at inside linebacker, and made a fantastic pick.  He does not look like a rookie.  Pass coverage was a problem area for the Browns linebacker corps last year, and Kirksey goes a long way to fixing that problem.  I think he will start and be an impact player.  

    I noted that Ray Agnew started at fullback. The running game did not exactly hum when he was in, but on the other hand MarQueis Gray contributed a costly and unnecessary holding penalty.  Gray has made some big plays so far, but also some bad plays.  But what the Browns really need is a guy who can block for the halfback.  

    In short, this was a terrible game, and the Browns looked uninspired on both sides of the ball.  They still have time to turn it around, but they need to get it together soon.  

Is the MLB Blocking the Plate Rule Change Necessary?

    This year baseball has instituted a rule change basically requiring the catcher to provide a lane for baserunners attempting to score.  It's no longer legal to block the plate without the ball.  Specifically, new rule 7.13 states:  Unless the catcher is in possession of the ball, the catcher cannot block the pathway of the runner as he is attempting to score. If, in the judgment of the Umpire, the catcher, without possession of the ball, blocks the pathway of the runner, the Umpire shall call or signal the runner safe.

 

  Now of course many people question the new rule and are demanding that the rule be rescinded.  However, the Village Elliot asks a different question:  When was it ever legal to block the plate at all?  I think this has always been illegal, but MLB has chosen to ignore it.  Spefically, Rule 2.00 covers obstruction:

OBSTRUCTION is the act of a fielder who, while not in possession of the ball and not in the act of fielding the ball, impedes the progress of any runner.

So, for example if there is a play at second base you can not block the runner and then catch the ball and tag him out.  Why then was it legal to block home plate, then get the ball and tag the runner out?  

This should be simply called obstruction, and the runner is safe and the other runners are allowed to move up.   

Baseball, however, has chosen to convince itself that blocking the plate has been (up until 2014) a legal play.  

"The act of fielding the ball"  suggests that if the throw is off line, the catcher might be entitled to venture in front of the baserunner in order to catch it.  But definitely the catcher should not be permitted to camp up the third base line and let the runner smash into him before catching the ball.  That is completely bogus and is the result of umpires and players conspiring to read the rules differently than they are actually written.  

Rule 7.13, to my thinking, simply adds details about the home plate situation.  But blocking the plate is already illegal per Rule 2.00.  

Blocking the plate is dangerous and can get somebody killed or maimed.  MLB is right to try to make the game safer, or in my opinion, was incorrect to not enforce the existing rules.  

 . 

Takeaways from Lions 13 Browns 12

     Some random impressions from the Cleveland Browns first exhibition game:

      Some guys that I thought played well were LG Joel Bitonio, who seemed very tough for Detroit defensive linemen to move, ILB Craig Robertson, who defended the screen very well, Marcus Trufant who got into some man-to-man coverage in place of Joe Haden, Barkevious Mingo, who put on a decent pash rush showing that he might be a viable starter, WR Charles Johnson who had a nice catch and showed no lingering effects from knee surgery,  and Brandon Tate who had several strong runs.  Rookie Tyler Gabriel caught three balls for 32 yards, which might not sound like much, but he was actually the leading wide receiver for the Browns.  Overall Browns wideouts were dismal.  

It was great to see the Browns rediscover halfback over right tackle, thanks to Ben Tate. The Browns were not able to do that last year with Willis McGahee as the feature back. Now, however, they have Tate as well as Terrance West, Chris Ogbonnaya, Isaiah Crowell and Dion Lewis.  Somewhere, somehow you have to think they are going to run the ball this season, and run it a lot.  

It will be interesting to say how Marqueis Gray plays out at fullback.  Last year he played quarterback in the Wildcat for the Browns, but that position has been eliminated.  With Ken Dray joining Jordan Cameron and Gary Barnidge in the tight end corps, it makes sense to try Gray exclusively at fullback.  He was actually the leading receiver for the Browns yesterday with two catches for 51 yards, but also had a dropped pass. If he can prove he can catch the ball, he might find a home at fullback.  If not, free agent Ray Agnew might take his place, or else they might use undersized Chris Ogbonnaya in that role again.  

http://www.dawgsbynature.com/2014/8/10/5988321/browns-vs-lions-analyzing-the-snap-counts-offense

Charles Johnson gives a faint glimmer of hope at Wide Receiver. 

http://imgick.cleveland.com/home/cleve-media/pgmain/img/plain-dealer/photo/2014/08/09/-107a6be936a51e68.jpg 

Ben Tate looks like he will be a force in a run-first offense in 2014.  

Brian Hoyer did not look good, overthrowing a few passes and rushing some of his throws.  I can already hear ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski complaining about Hoyer's mechanics and explaining what happens when you throw off the wrong foot.  Well 6 for 14 is what happens.  He is lucky not to have thrown a few picks.  

Of course, Hoyer had help from his teammates, with drops by Marqueis Gray, WR Willie Snead who waved at a few balls, and WR Miles Austin.  The passing game just doesn't look good right now. 

Exhibition football is made for quarterbacks to succeed.  Defenses don't gameplan much and play a lot of man-to-man without much stunting up front.  Hence fans should not get too excited if their quarterback put up great numbers...but on the other hand if the qb flops in exhibition season, it is not going to get any easier when the regular season starts.  For that reason, I thought that Hoyer took a step back, and Johnny Manziel would be the odds on favorite to start if Hoyer struggles again next week.  In other words, Johnny isn't really winning the comparison at this point; but Brian may be losing it.  

http://www.dawgsbynature.com/2014/8/10/5988321/browns-vs-lions-analyzing-the-snap-counts-offense

Johnny Manziel was good, not spectacular. But that was better than Brian Hoyer.  

The Browns did not play RB Isaiah Crowell or qb Connor Shaw yesterday.  It may be that the Browns don't want to let the other scouts see these guys, hoping that they can sign them to their practice squad.  On the other hand, with Tyler Thigpen turning in a lackluster performance, Shaw might be viable now as the third string guy.   

Dion Lewis may be in trouble as he put the ball on the ground.  He looked great in exhibitions in 2013 before injuring his knee. He can run and return kicks, but whether or not he can catch the ball and block remains to be seen.   For that reason Crowell might have a shot at the 53 man roster, especially if the Browns feel that they have other options for returning kicks behind Travis Benjamin.

Edwin Baker was perhaps more impressive than Lewis, getting some tough yards in limited duty.  He performed well in some late season starts last year.  I think he is a better running back than Lewis, but Lewis might be a good role player and is a good kick returner. It's tough to guess which guy has the edge, although the fumble by Lewis does not help him.  

Salary Cap 101 Carryover Salary Cap in the NFL

This year the NFL is allow teams a "carryover" salary cap in which unspent 2013 salary money can be spent in 2014.  Last year Joe Banner of the Cleveland Browns underspent the salary cap by $24 million dollars which gets added to the Browns 2014 figure.  So all the NFL teams are allotted $133 Million dollars this year, but the Browns can actually spend an additional $24 million, or up to $157 million, if they want to.  In other words, the rules are set up to allow the Browns to overspend in 2014 because they underspent in t 2013.   

However, the Carryover money is sort of like a savings account.  Once you spend it, it's gone.  If they were to spend $157 million this year, they would be obliged to cut back to $133 million next year.   I think they are going to wait until they feel that they are legit Super Bowl contenders.

     It might also be mentioned that if players and their agents knew that the Browns were going to underspend in 2013, probably free agents would have been less inclined to sign with them. They got away with it once, but in my view it was the right thing to do to let Banner go, otherwise what free agent would ever trust the Browns again?

Would the Browns be able to sign a Free Agent like Paul Kruger, if he had known in advance that they planned to tank the season to the tune of some $24 Million?

As it is, right now (June 2014) they are about at $133 million, which is their annual salary cap "allowance."  They could try to sign a player or two if there are some guys who are cut by other teams with cap problems.  The Browns could carry an expensive player if they want.  They could also create some additional room by trading Ahtyba Rubin, who is a very good player, but who also has a very big salary, with most of it not being guaranteed.

     The Browns have fared very well this year because their GM, Ray Farmer, has understood the rules better than his rivals.  For example, by giving Andrew Hawkins a front loaded deal as a restricted free agent, the Bengals could not match it because they did not have the 2014 salary cap room.  

Browns GM Ray Farmer has been brilliant this off-season, by manipulating the salary cap rules in favor of the Browns.  

    Similarly, Farmer was able to get a multiyear deal done for Pro Bowl center Alex Mack, by manipulating the Franchise Tag (or Transition Tag) rules.  At the beginning of the off-season, the sportswriters were saying there was no way that the Browns could sign Mack to a multiyear deal.  

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Salary Cap Math 101: Salary Cap Effect on Trades

       This article discusses the basics of the NFL salary cap, as an aid to the armchair analyst in the Hot Stove League.   I'm just a fan and don't necessarily know that much, but I do know that the salary cap affects the moves that each team can realistically make.  

     Even professional sportswriters sometimes make the mistake of believing rumors that absolutely violate common sense.  

     Here's what you need to know:

   

     1.  Every team in the NFL has a limit to how much salary they can spend in a given year.  It should be obvious that good players are usually paid more money than less talented players, so if your team is spending a lot of money on player salaries, that is usually a good thing. 

    2.  There is a huge difference between salary  and bonus (guaranteed) money.  For example, if a player has a five year contract for $50 million dollars with 20 million guaranteed, then the annual charge is $10 million dollars for each year ($6 M salary and $4M guaranteed bonus).   However, suppose the team decides to trade the guy after year 1.   In this case the team clears $6 M of salary in year 2, but ALL of the remaining bonus gets charged to the cap or $16 M). It's not a fine that the owner can just write a check for.  The team has to actually CUT $16 worth of payroll in Year 2 which is a disaster for that year.  See below: 

  

Case i:  Player plays out his contract as planned.

Year 1  Year 2   Year 3  Year 4  Year 5

$10 M   $ 10 M    $10 M $10 M   $10 M

Case ii:  Player is traded after year 1.  

Year 1  Year 2   Year 3  Year 4  Year 5

$10 M   $ 16 M     $0 M    $0 M      $0 M

Year 3 and out are ok because the obligation to pay the guy is over, but basically in Year 2 the team is going to have to cut some really good players to cover the trade.  In this example they have to clear 16 million dollars in salary spending just to get rid of the guy.   

So in other words if a guy has bonus money in his contract, the team that trades him is going to get a big salary cap penalty for the year in which  the trade is made.   Got it? 

Let's consider a real example.  This year this was a rumor that the Cowboys were trying to trade Tony Romo in order to move up in the NFL draft.  Could that be true?  What you do is look up Romo's salary cap situation from a site like overthecap.com, and you find the following line  ( http://overthecap.com/cap.php?Name=Tony%20Romo&Position=QB&Team=Cowboys  ):

Year	Base Salary	Prorated Bonus	Roster Bonus	Workout Bonus	Other Bonus	Cap Number	Dead Money	Cap Savings
2014	$1,000,000	$10,773,000	$0	$0	$0	$11,773,000	$49,181,000	($29,908,000)
2015	$17,000,000	$10,773,000	$0	$0	$0	$27,773,000	$37,408,000	($9,635,000)
2016	$8,500,000	$9,135,000	$0	$0	$0	$17,635,000	$19,135,000	($1,500,000)
2017	$14,000,000	$7,500,000	$0	$0	$0	$21,500,000	$10,000,000	$11,500,000
2018	$19,500,000	$2,500,000	$0	$0	$0	$22,000,000	$2,500,000	$19,500,000
2019	$20,500,000	$0	$0	$0	$0	$20,500,000	$0	$20,500,000

Rom was paid a preposterous bonus, meaning that if the Cowboys were to cut or trade him this year, it would lower their salary cap in 2014 by an incredible $29,908,000.  That's how even amateurs like me knew that the Cowboys simply could not trade Romo no matter how much they might want to. They simply can not absorb the salary cap hit that they would take.  Hence any trade rumor involving Romo is 99% likely to be false unless Tony decided to restructure his contract to facilitate the move. Even then, it is nearly impossible in 2014 given the magnitude of the money involved.   Romo would basically have to give back 20 or 30 million dollars to get traded.  That's not very likely.  

Jerry Jones is one of the dumbest GM's in history, and loves to give guaranteed money away, which is great for guys like Tony Romo.  But you should disbelieve any rumor that Romo is going to be traded because that is almost impossible due to the salary cap.  

If you look at the Salary Cap, it is easy to see that the Cowboys are the worst managed team in the NFL.  Hopefully, Browns' owner Jimmy Haslam 3 will see how Jones has screwed up his team and avoid the same temptation.   

In any case,  for a trade to go forward, the principals have to have a relatively small amount of money tied up in signing bonuses (i.e., guaranteed money).  Either that or the trading team would have to be way under the cap.  For example, the Browns or Raiders could trade away a major player if they chose to because they can absorb the current year salary cap penalty.  At the same time they are able to pay large (non-guaranteed) salaries in 2014 because of their low payrolls compared to the cap limit. 

One guy that might be available from the Browns is Ahtyba Rubin, even though he is a very good player who can play end or tackle in either a 3-4 or 4-3 alignment.   The Browns could save $6.6 million dollars versus the cap if they could trade him (versus his total salary plus bonus of 8.2 M this year).  Or, because they have the cap room, they might just keep him or try to renegotiate him down.
 

Ahtyba Rubin has a big salary cap number, and might be used in trade even though he is a very good player.