Maryland

We just don't have the talent to blitz the way we did last year (and even last year we lacked talent in the secondary). We lost our edge rushers with Suggs and Doom. The Browns knew an ILB blitz was coming every time and checked down for a good gain whenever it happened. We need to add a lot of talent to our pass rush and secondary in draft/FA. (and WR)

I think some of the criticisms fall under hindsight. A lot of it is injuries. Going into the season, Ozzie thought Hill would be better in coverage. He thought Elam, Lewis, or Brooks might step up to be a good 2nd safety. He thought Jimmy, Webb, Arrington, Melvin, and Walker would suffice at CB. I thought DB was a bit unproven, but I thought Oz did a reasonable job addressing it during the offseason. WR falls under hindsight a little bit too. No one knew Perriman would get hurt in TC. A WR corps with Perriman, SSS, Camp, and Aiken didn't look that bad on paper to me going in. Maybe it was a bit thin like CB, but good enough I thought. 3 of those guys are injured. And you can't really question Ozzie's drafting history. Maybe some people with an agenda will point out all of the bad picks, but the good outweigh the bad. So what is Ozzie really under fire for? For injuries happening? I don't think that's fair, but to each their own.

Looking at things completely objectively, I actually thought the defense looked alright before Davis, Webb, and Doom went down. After that, all hell broke loose. Davis was actually looking like a strong trade until his knee gave out. Still want Pees fired, of course. The defensive struggles obviously aren't all his fault considering the injuries, but his scheme has always been frustrating to watch.

I'm surprised so many pundits are on the Ravens. This seems almost like a matchup between two pretty equal teams to me, with the only real advantage being the home field. As for Forsett's production, I think they only way he takes a dip is if they feel more powerful runners like Taliaferro and Allen can get more consistent gains up the gut vs Cleveland's weaker LBs.

Thinking back to Jamal almost makes me want to draft another incredible RB in the first round (someone like Leonard Fournette, or Gurley in this recent draft). Those were the days of smash-mouth, slow, clock-draining, defense-laden football. Hope he gets into the HOF some day, although it'll be pretty tough.

What do you guys think of Demarcus Robinson? Sounds like he might need some kind of personal handler ala Dez Bryant for a few years to keep him out of trouble. He's good at getting open though, and he seems to run routes well for his size. Not sure about his hands though.

Mark Clayton played in 14 games his rookie season... pretty poor reference.

I would be surprised to see SS89 on the team next year, since he seemed pretty adamant about this being his last. This situation kind of reminds me of Tony Gonzalez, who was performing at a high level in his "final" season before being convinced to come back for another.

The pink trim always looked good /w those black unis.

I'm actually thinking Treadwell won't go as high as you all are thinking. I predict him having average combine numbers; teams might question his ability to separate as a pro (like Jordan Matthews or Allen Robinson, Jaelen Strong). Still a first rounder, but not a top-10 pick. Boyd is a top-10 pick. Also thought Robinson looks really awkward running and catching, as many big men do. He seems like a project, and we've already got one of those in Waller.

I like the Vjax and Garcon names being thrown out there. Wouldn't mind either one of those two for the right price. Roddy White seems average at this point in his career, plus I think he'd like to retire a Falcon. You could put Amendola on Roddy's tier as an underwhelming possession receiver who might be cut. Mike Wallace is another possibility. I don't like him myself, but he is basically Torrey Smith (with attitude problems). I'm liking what I see of Treadwell. He looks like a great physical possession receiver to pair with a deep threat like Perriman. Hopefully his lack of speed puts him in our draft range. Boyd probably goes too high.

At least Givens has slightly longer than usual to learn the playbook. Perhaps he can be activated the next week like Will Davis.

you got me, grats

I think I only saw him play zone that game. Not sure if he can play man on anyone outside as people seem to be suggesting.

Browns are supposedly weak vs the run. Hopefully we can take advantage of that, since I wouldn't want to have to rely on our receiving corps.

I guess I should pick up Marlon and Aiken in my really deep leagues

Disappointed Camp got injured. Feel bad for him, but I guess some people just can't hold up in the NFL. I would like to know exactly what his injury is.

I think some people criticize the entire offense without actually looking at what Trestman does. He actually has some pretty creative plays in his offense. Some nifty sweeps, or that fake jet motion sweep he ran with SSS vs Cincy. Surprised he hasn't run more screens. He also has used Chip Kelly's run/pass option a few times in Chicago, haven't seen it yet though. As a playcaller, he does get pass-happy and ignores the run sometimes, which makes it hard to set up play-action. However, most of the criticisms of this offense reflected upon Trestman (whether unfairly or not) are done so while ignoring the lack of talent we have in our receiving corps and O-line right now. I think with better talent in those two areas (namely in the receiving corps), Trestman could have a pretty potent offense going. /in this day and age, I'd much rather have an OC who is creative in the passing game than the running game. It may betray the ground and pound tradition of the AFCN, but the times (aka rules protecting QBs and WRs) are a'changin.

I'd prefer they start McCown when they play us. Manziel could actually buy time with his legs and hurt us deep (which is our weakness), whereas McCown would probably just get sacked. I mean, we haven't had any problems defending running QBs in the past, but Manziel seems like the more explosive QB, even if he is more TO prone. Anyone else agree?

Camp left the field himself without even taking an injury timeout. Paul Pierce once left a game in a wheelchair and came back minutes later. It's just a precaution. Sounds like Camp was only having back spasms anyway. The rumors of his demise were greatly exaggerated.

Hopefully Monroe's return can help the run game even more. We need teams to respect the run, since our O-line has been allowing way too much pressure on passing plays. You saw how much the Steelers respected the run when Joe successfully ran a classic play-action bootleg, tossing a completion to Waller (I think?) in the middle of the field near the end of the game.

Well I think we know who we're using our franchise tag on in 2016. Everyone got to see the best kicker in the league juxtaposed against the worst kicker in the league.

Did anyone else watch that INT by Flacco? Seemed like the CB (Cockrell) was covering Marlon Brown on a 9 route, and then broke off to go underneath SSS just as he threw it. Seemed like a really good gamble rather than a bad read by Flacco (which Simms seemed to agree). Thoughts?

If Camp is truly injured long-term, I think they promote Butler from the PS. However, there is no news to suggest Camp is seriously injured. There aren't any FA WRs worth a roster spot.

Seemed like they had him playing exclusively zone, at least when he made those two clutch plays. Did anyone see him play man? Hopefully he improves and pushes for playing time. I like what I see, but after watching Melvin in last year's Jacksonville game, I'm going to temper my excitement after 1 good game.