2016 Season Preview... Time To Take Off

BigTexas18

BigTexas18

Hall of Famer
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Hello Browns Nation here we are again. We are gearing up for season 2! The Browns looked strong in preseason. They went 3-1, and had some really good showing's by their rookies. This year looks to be a good year for the Browns. They finished 9-7 last year and missed the playoffs. There is some tough competition in the AFC, but the Browns look to hold their own. Let's take a look at some of the offseason moves!

Free Agent Signings
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  • QB Kirk Cousins
  • HB C.J. Anderson
  • TE Ladarius Green
  • LT Mike Adams
  • LG Michael Ola
  • C Ryan Cook
  • RG Jeff Linkenbach
  • LOLB Marquis Spruill
  • FS Husain Abdullah (Signed Week 1 of Preseason)
The big name signings this offseason are obviously CJ Anderson and Ladarius Green. CJ Anderson is a big bruising back who loves to punish defenders. He should thrive here in Cleveland behind the best offensive line in the NFL. Ladarius Green is an explosive weapon out of the tight end spot. He was WR speed and a frame of 6'6 240 to go with it. This will make him extremely dangerous. The Browns signed Green to a 4 year $20.5M contract, and we expect him to make a huge impact here. Both of these guys give another weapon to Johnny who looks to shine this year.
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2016 Draft Class​
The 2016 didn't quite go as planned. The Browns had a monster draft board, but some of the other GM's around the league also had a key in on these players. They also had one huge Gaff in this draft. In the 4th round at pick 19, WR Evonte Patrick was still on the board, and everyone thought he was coming to Cleveland. Reports from the war room is we were just about to call him, then we got intel on MLB, Javonte France, and went a different route. While no one can be certain of what impact rookies will have, this kid looks to be one of the rookies of the year, and looks to have a stellar career in the NFL. The Browns will move forward and look for these young guys to make a name for themselves. Each one of them will see some playing time sometime this year. Here is your 2016 draft class:

  • CB Shakiel Gray 23 Years Old 78 Overall (1 19). Will start season at Quarter CB.
  • DT Taz Brandon 22 Years Old 79 Overall (2 19). Will start season splitting time with Danny Shelton
  • CB Rashard Thomas 23 Years Old 61 Overall (3 19). Will start season as KR. No designated CB spot at this time
  • MLB Javonte France 22 Years Old 63 Overall (4 19). Will start season playing behind Craig Robertson at MLB #2 Spot. Will see time here and there in the season.
  • WR Malcolm Cole 23 Years Old 66 Overall (5 19). Will see some time in certain packages, including red zone situations. Did not make 5 WR set.
  • ROLB Margarito Griffin 21 Years old 67 Overall (6 19). Will see a little playing time this year behind Kruger. Getting set up to be next in line when a decision is made on Kruger.
  • FS Russell Greco 22 Years Old 65 Overall (7 19). Cut week 4 of preseason.
There is your draft class Cleveland. Like we mentioned, it isn't anything stellar. We got a group of average players coming into this season. The big test will be which one of these players will step up. All analysts have high hopes for DT Taz Brandon out of LSU. He was taken in the 2nd round and stands at 6'2 290. Not quite as big as most would like but the kid can ball. He is a big brute with a strength rating at 92. He gets through the blocks with his power moves (84) and is great at laying the tackle (81) on up the middle runs. If he is caught out of position he has the speed (74) set to catch up and take good angles on the ball during pursuit (88), that's the benefit of a smaller nose tackle. He rarely ever misses a play as conditioning drills have his stamina (94) at an ultimate high!
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Keys To Success​
These are going to be the keys to success for the Browns this year. These have to be executed if they are going to make the playoffs!

Pressure The QB
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The Browns have to get pressure on the opposing QB's this year. They finished dead last in sacks last year with 19. We knew we had to address this problem, that's why we signed a ROLB in FA, and drafted a LOLB, MLB, and DT. If we do not get pressure on the QB we will get burned defensively. That showed last year as we finished last in sacks and gave up 3,600 yards through the air. Barkevious Mingo is in his contract year. While he led the team last year with 5.5 sacks, we expect more out of a player of his caliber, and he knows that. If he wants that big contract from us, he is going to have to perform this year. Expect him to have a huge year.

Protect Johnny
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Johnny is still young and his potential is sky high. For us to tap into the full swing of that potential, he has to be protected. Johnny was sacked 29 times last year. That's too many for my liking. Not to mention he avoided a few sacks with his legs. The OLine has to step up. From our starting OLine here is who gave up these sacks from left to right. LT Joe Thomas (99) 2 sacks. LG Joel Bitonio (99) 5 sacks. C Alex Mack (95) 3 sacks. RG John Greco (86) 6. RT Cameron Erving (82) 8 sacks. You can see where the strength of the line lies. Between the three All Pro's 10 sacks were given up, as of the 2 on the right side of the line gave up 14 sacks. Erving is still a rookie and is finding his role and skill set, so we expect that number to drop. Regardless, this line must perform better this year and protect our QB.

Establish The Run
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The run game wasn't terrible last year as we finished 8th in rush offense, but still left something to be desired. The browns did not tally a 1,000 yard rusher. Turbin finished at 957, and backup Isaiah Crowell finished at 278. Owner, Chris bigtex, went out and signed young breakout RB C.J. Anderson after the departure of Turbin, and Cleveland couldn't be more excited! If he performs like we expect him to you should see a big swing in the running game this year behind this All Pro line. Crowell will provide a great backup for Anderson and be another bruising runner and keep fresh legs on the field. While Duke may see some runs here and there, everyone knows his bread and butter is to provide that receiver out of the backfield!
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Beat The Ravens
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Cleveland had a hard time pulling the trigger last year to secure victories from the Ravens. In game one in Week 5, the brownies lost 20-17 as Johnny threw an INT on the final drive of the game with 45 seconds left. Then, in week 12, in game two, kicker Tyler Coons missed the game winning field goal as time expired and the Browns lost 23-21. Coons ended up being cut after that game and Garrett Hartley was brought on. Both losses combined for a total of 5 points. We were right there and this year we have to finish these games. The Browns believe they have the tools to win both games this year. The first game vs the Ravens this year is week 2, then the second game comes in week 9 right before the bye week. The week 2 game will be at home.

Rookie Preseason Stats
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We did see some impressive stuff from our rookies, which gives us great hope for the upcoming years and depth. Here's how your rookies fared this year in preseason:

  • 1st Round Pick CB Shakiel Gray 9 Tackles
  • 2nd Round Pick DT Taz Brandon 3 Tackles 2 Sacks 50 Downs Played
  • 3rd Round Pick CB Rashard Thomas 3 Tackles 1 Pass Deflection 40 Downs Played 2 KR 38 Yards 2 PR 30 Yards
  • 4th Round Pick MLB Javonte France 11 Tackles 2 TFL 1 FMBR 80 Downs Played
  • 5th Round Pick WR Malcolm Cole 13 Receptions 140 yards 1 TD
  • 6th Round Pick ROLB Margarito Griffin 9 Tackles 3 TFL 1 Sack 167 Downs Played
Finally we wrap it up with our preseason video! You won't see any starter highlights because you'll be seeing them tear it up all year, but let's take a look at how our backups and rookies performed during this 3-1 preseason stretch!

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We leave you with our tag line this year. Last year it was "A Reason to Believe". Cleveland fans believed and we stayed strong and after going 2-5 ended up with a 9-7 winning record. Now that we have developed and have some young talent it is "Time To Take Off". Watch out world...

Here Come The Browns
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"Time To Take Off"​
 
majesty95

majesty95

Admin
Staff member
Look at those corner routes :p

Great job man! How do you get the replays to switch angles and zoom in like that?
 
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