Post by Richie3Jack on Sept 19, 2013 10:53:11 GMT -5
This ought to be interesting as the franchise is apparently in full-blown 'blow it up and rebuild it' mode to an extent I can never quite recall another organization doing it. I will be following this closely since it piques my interest so much. That and I am friends with a family member of the head coach, Rob Chudzinski.
This all started when the Browns left for Baltimore in what I thought was one of the biggest crimes in all of sports. Unlike every team that moves, the Browns actually sold out every game. Former owner Art Modell had one of the sweetest deals of any owner in sports as he owned the Browns and the stadium, which he leased to the Cleveland Indians every year. When the Indians moved to Jacobs Field, Modell lost a significant amount of income. However, he should have been more than fine with the Browns given the NFL's network deals and how well tickets sold for Browns fans. Instead, Modell's incompetence as a businessman had him facing bankruptcy until Baltimore bailed him out. He then faced bankruptcy again and current Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti bailed him out.
Since the Browns moved back to Cleveland the franchise has continually been either snake bitten, made the incorrect move or just flat out made horrible decisions. For years they felt they had a good team if they could just field a quality Offensive Line. Then when their O-Line improved and became one of the better O-Line's in the league, they didn't have any playmakers.
This led to Mike Holmgren eventually taking over and being summarily dismissed in just 2 seasons. Instead of finding a way to take RG3, the Browns passed on the pick and traded down to take Brandon Weeden whom they felt played a pro-style offense and at the age of 28 was more mature to handle the QB position. Except, he was less ready for the NFL than RG3. They also took tailback Trent Richardson and then proceeded to trade him for a 1st rounder to the Colts only into Richardson's 2nd season.
I also have to mention that their new ownership is under a Federal Investigation for defrauding customers.
The main players here in the rebuild are:
Joe Banner CEO
Banner was the President for the Eagles, mainly known for his role with the Eagles during the Andy Reid era. Banner majored in Economics in college and used his Economics knowledge in terms of acquiring and maintaining players when he was with the Eagles.
A common theme that Banner would employ was to stockpile draft picks and then take the rookies that showed quality promise and give them a new deal before their 2nd year. This way he could sign them for 6 years at a fairly reduced price. So when a player would typically go into his 3rd or 4th year looking for a new, big contract...he ended up being stuck in his deal he made in his 2nd year. Meanwhile, the organization would be getting the player in their prime at a reduced cost. The risk was moderate, but the reward was substantial.
I believe that the Richardson trade was all Banner's idea. With the Eagles, Banner made it clear that the organization favored to pay certain positions and not others. And one position they usually went on the cheap with is at tailback. They typically went on the cheap at WR and linebacker as well. Although that may change if the defensive scheme changes to a 3-4. But, I expect the same philosophies Banner employed in Philly to show up in Cleveland...lots of stockpiling picks, giving big pay to corners, safeties and pass rushers, O-Line and the QB. And lots of deals in the 2nd year of a player's career that shows promise.
Mike Lombardi General Manager
Lombardi was a former player personnel guy for the Browns back during the Belichick coaching era. He was also the Director of Player Personnel for the Eagles in 1998 and the Sr. Personnel Executive for the Raiders from 1999 to 2007.
He's a fairly volatile figure as he is a career NFL personnel evaluator, but he has been accused of politicking his way to the top and there are doubts about how good of a personnel person he is. I believe that Joe Banner will direct the overall philosophy of the Browns (stockpiling picks, favoring certain positions over others, what type of coaches and schemes to employ, etc). Lombardi will be in charge of the scouting of personnel and gathering the information. I believe that Banner will be the final decision maker.
Ken Kovash (Director, Football Research and Player Personnel Assistant)
No picture available
Kovash will be in charge of providing a 'Moneyball' approach to the game of football. This is not actually that new as back in 2011 many of the teams in the league attended a Sloan Analytics summit to discuss advanced metrics and how it pertains to the NFL. In fact, Kovash comes from the Cowboys.
The issue I see that these teams are facing is usually the disconnect between the 'stats people' and the 'football people.' Often times the 'football people' only want to take heed of statistics that suit their long held beliefs and avoid the others. The other issue is that when it comes to stats and football, usually statisticians are a bit too 'pass happy' as they see the result of how 80% of the games in the NFL are won by the team that passes more effectively. Thus they develop a 'you pass the ball to win and run the ball to close out the game' philosophy. And that's probably part of what led to the Richardson trade. However, there are other hidden factors involved with passing the ball like how it has affected the injury levels on teams, particularly on their own defense. And depending on the scheme, some teams' success is predicated more on them running the ball.
I will say that I think the Browns should not have as big of a disconnect as Banner has been utilizing advanced metrics for years. He's done it more from a salary cap and personnel perspective, but I think he understands the basis behind using advanced metrics for other purposes and will bridge the gap between Kovash and the 'football people.'
Rob Chudzinksi Head Coach
Chudzinski is an Ohio native and initially got into coaching as a Tight Ends coach (position he played at Miami). He then had an outstanding debut as the O-Coordinator for the Browns in 2007, but with injuries and a struggling Derek Anderson at QB, the Browns fired Head Coach Romeo Crennel and let Chudzinski walk. Chudzinski then went to San Diego before being chosen the O-Coordinator for the Panthers where he helped Cam Newton smash all sorts of offensive passing records for a rookie.
Chudzinski will employ a Don Coryell/Ernie Zampese style of offense where the pass patterns are longer and it's more about sight adjustments, reading the defense and understanding option routes than say a West Coast Offense which the Browns were employing last year under Pat Shurmur.
Norv Turner O-Coordinator[/
Turner was Chudzinki's boss at San Diego and now the shoe is on the other foot in Cleveland. Turner is one of the more famous proponents of the Zampese style offense. While considered a lousy head coach and many have questioned his ability as an O-Coordinator, he's well respected around the league for his play calling and his ability to work with young QB's. He will never get another Head Coaching job, but at the age of 61 years old I question how much longer he will stick around in Cleveland.
Ray Horton D-Coordinator
Horton was surprisingly let go by the Arizona Cardinals after arguably coaching the best defense in the NFL in 2012. He has experience in the AFC North having been the DB coach for the Steelers. He likes to employ a hybrid 4-3/3-4/3-3 scheme. As far as the Browns go, they have more talent on defense than they do on offense.
3JACK
This all started when the Browns left for Baltimore in what I thought was one of the biggest crimes in all of sports. Unlike every team that moves, the Browns actually sold out every game. Former owner Art Modell had one of the sweetest deals of any owner in sports as he owned the Browns and the stadium, which he leased to the Cleveland Indians every year. When the Indians moved to Jacobs Field, Modell lost a significant amount of income. However, he should have been more than fine with the Browns given the NFL's network deals and how well tickets sold for Browns fans. Instead, Modell's incompetence as a businessman had him facing bankruptcy until Baltimore bailed him out. He then faced bankruptcy again and current Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti bailed him out.
Since the Browns moved back to Cleveland the franchise has continually been either snake bitten, made the incorrect move or just flat out made horrible decisions. For years they felt they had a good team if they could just field a quality Offensive Line. Then when their O-Line improved and became one of the better O-Line's in the league, they didn't have any playmakers.
This led to Mike Holmgren eventually taking over and being summarily dismissed in just 2 seasons. Instead of finding a way to take RG3, the Browns passed on the pick and traded down to take Brandon Weeden whom they felt played a pro-style offense and at the age of 28 was more mature to handle the QB position. Except, he was less ready for the NFL than RG3. They also took tailback Trent Richardson and then proceeded to trade him for a 1st rounder to the Colts only into Richardson's 2nd season.
I also have to mention that their new ownership is under a Federal Investigation for defrauding customers.
The main players here in the rebuild are:
Joe Banner CEO
Banner was the President for the Eagles, mainly known for his role with the Eagles during the Andy Reid era. Banner majored in Economics in college and used his Economics knowledge in terms of acquiring and maintaining players when he was with the Eagles.
A common theme that Banner would employ was to stockpile draft picks and then take the rookies that showed quality promise and give them a new deal before their 2nd year. This way he could sign them for 6 years at a fairly reduced price. So when a player would typically go into his 3rd or 4th year looking for a new, big contract...he ended up being stuck in his deal he made in his 2nd year. Meanwhile, the organization would be getting the player in their prime at a reduced cost. The risk was moderate, but the reward was substantial.
I believe that the Richardson trade was all Banner's idea. With the Eagles, Banner made it clear that the organization favored to pay certain positions and not others. And one position they usually went on the cheap with is at tailback. They typically went on the cheap at WR and linebacker as well. Although that may change if the defensive scheme changes to a 3-4. But, I expect the same philosophies Banner employed in Philly to show up in Cleveland...lots of stockpiling picks, giving big pay to corners, safeties and pass rushers, O-Line and the QB. And lots of deals in the 2nd year of a player's career that shows promise.
Mike Lombardi General Manager
Lombardi was a former player personnel guy for the Browns back during the Belichick coaching era. He was also the Director of Player Personnel for the Eagles in 1998 and the Sr. Personnel Executive for the Raiders from 1999 to 2007.
He's a fairly volatile figure as he is a career NFL personnel evaluator, but he has been accused of politicking his way to the top and there are doubts about how good of a personnel person he is. I believe that Joe Banner will direct the overall philosophy of the Browns (stockpiling picks, favoring certain positions over others, what type of coaches and schemes to employ, etc). Lombardi will be in charge of the scouting of personnel and gathering the information. I believe that Banner will be the final decision maker.
Ken Kovash (Director, Football Research and Player Personnel Assistant)
No picture available
Kovash will be in charge of providing a 'Moneyball' approach to the game of football. This is not actually that new as back in 2011 many of the teams in the league attended a Sloan Analytics summit to discuss advanced metrics and how it pertains to the NFL. In fact, Kovash comes from the Cowboys.
The issue I see that these teams are facing is usually the disconnect between the 'stats people' and the 'football people.' Often times the 'football people' only want to take heed of statistics that suit their long held beliefs and avoid the others. The other issue is that when it comes to stats and football, usually statisticians are a bit too 'pass happy' as they see the result of how 80% of the games in the NFL are won by the team that passes more effectively. Thus they develop a 'you pass the ball to win and run the ball to close out the game' philosophy. And that's probably part of what led to the Richardson trade. However, there are other hidden factors involved with passing the ball like how it has affected the injury levels on teams, particularly on their own defense. And depending on the scheme, some teams' success is predicated more on them running the ball.
I will say that I think the Browns should not have as big of a disconnect as Banner has been utilizing advanced metrics for years. He's done it more from a salary cap and personnel perspective, but I think he understands the basis behind using advanced metrics for other purposes and will bridge the gap between Kovash and the 'football people.'
Rob Chudzinksi Head Coach
Chudzinski is an Ohio native and initially got into coaching as a Tight Ends coach (position he played at Miami). He then had an outstanding debut as the O-Coordinator for the Browns in 2007, but with injuries and a struggling Derek Anderson at QB, the Browns fired Head Coach Romeo Crennel and let Chudzinski walk. Chudzinski then went to San Diego before being chosen the O-Coordinator for the Panthers where he helped Cam Newton smash all sorts of offensive passing records for a rookie.
Chudzinski will employ a Don Coryell/Ernie Zampese style of offense where the pass patterns are longer and it's more about sight adjustments, reading the defense and understanding option routes than say a West Coast Offense which the Browns were employing last year under Pat Shurmur.
Norv Turner O-Coordinator[/
Turner was Chudzinki's boss at San Diego and now the shoe is on the other foot in Cleveland. Turner is one of the more famous proponents of the Zampese style offense. While considered a lousy head coach and many have questioned his ability as an O-Coordinator, he's well respected around the league for his play calling and his ability to work with young QB's. He will never get another Head Coaching job, but at the age of 61 years old I question how much longer he will stick around in Cleveland.
Ray Horton D-Coordinator
Horton was surprisingly let go by the Arizona Cardinals after arguably coaching the best defense in the NFL in 2012. He has experience in the AFC North having been the DB coach for the Steelers. He likes to employ a hybrid 4-3/3-4/3-3 scheme. As far as the Browns go, they have more talent on defense than they do on offense.
3JACK
