5 Ups and 5 Downs vs The Mistake by the Lake (aka CLE)

[turtle28]

5 Ups

1. Sam Howell - 9/12, 77 yds, 1 TD, 119.1 rtg

The main things we needed to see from him, we did. We needed to see command of the offense, no major mistakes, no presnap penalties, composure in the pocket/good presence, and smart & quick decisions to get rid of the ball and avoid pressure. The mistakes that did happen to me in the first quarter were not on him, they were on a very susceptible OL which Rivera frankly deserves to get fired for the neglect he's had for the OL the last two offseason in FA but even more so early in the draft.

 

2. Chase Young, Montez Sweat, and Emanuel showed physicality and explosion - 

Yes, I know Chase only played 4 snaps bc he got a stinger, but if this was a regular-season game he would be been back in there after they got that worked out. Regardless, his bull rush which got Jedrick Wills moved & balanced, and then Chase tracing back under Jedrick Wills to almost get a sack of Watson if not for Wills tackling Chase - which should’ve been called holding - was the explosion, strength, and diversity in a pass rush we want to see from Chase. Working with Kerrigan is paying off, bc it looked like a Kerrigan pass rush but with more power and explosion.

Forbes and Kam Curl combined for a 3rd and goal run stop on Browns rb Demetric Felton for no gain. The biggest question mark surrounding Forbes in the NFL draft and in the NFL was him being only 170 pounds despite being 6’1, he showed on 3rd and goal that he can set an edge in short yardage and he can tackle. That was very positive.

Montez Sweat had a great run stop on 4th and goal for the Browns when he got a TFL on 4th and tackled John Kelly for a four-yard loss.

 

3. Chris Paul and Sam Cosmi impress at Guard-

The biggest question - at least we thought (more about that later) - on our OL was going to be if our young guards Cosmi, Charles, and/or Chris Paul could hold up and at least be serviceable. So far, so good in that category for Cosmi and Paul. Sadly once again Charles missed a game bc of an injury - this time a strained calf - which kept him out which we all are concerned about but, the good news is that for the 2nd straight game, Chris Paul played well in Charles’s place. Don't forget Paul started and played guard in our win against Dallas last year and played well too. 

Cosmi was strong and solid at guard, his problem has never been his ability, it's been his ability to stay healthy. I feel that Cosmi can be a very good RG for us just as he was a RT but again, health the last 2 years kept that from happening, luckily we had Lucas to fill in for when Cosmi was out, and still do.

More about the OL in 5 downs below

 

4. Cole Turner—

Cole flashed and impressed. A concern all offseason was the TE position. Logan Thomas had back-to-back straight injury-plagued years in 2021 and 2022 after breaking out in 2020. You'd hope that Logan can get back to his 2020 form but the concern from most is that his body just won't let him and sadly, this has come true again with Logan suffering a strained calf in practice so he missed this game.

Thankfully after an injury-riddled rookie year second year, TE Cole Turner has been having a great camp and flashed the ability to get open for Howell showing the big target he is at 6’6, 240 and having 4 recs for 31 yards in just a quarter of play. The yards aren't impressive but it's the ability he showed to get open and show secure hands that we needed to see and we saw that.

 

5. Chris Rodriguez - 

Being a 6th round rookie RB isn't always a bad thing, espwiclsky did the Burgundy & Gold. As we all know Alfred Morris had one of the most legendary seasons for a Burgundy & Gold RB in 2012 with 1613 yds and 13 TDs.

In no way am I predicting CRod to do that but he showed the tough running that made him one of the best backs in the SEC in his time in Kentucky. 

5 carries, 39 yards for a 7.8 ypc avg is soothing we could only hope for from BRob  & AG but obviously, there's a difference in doing it vs an NFL backup defense vs doing it vs NFL starters. 

 

5 Downs

1. Andrew Wylie at RT - 

We've covered this at nauseum but for most of us going into the season the least of our concerns on the OL was Wylie at RT bc he was fresh off a Super Bowl victory protecting Mahomes’s right side but, as @lavar703 has said multiple times since we signed him his PFF grade was worse than Cornelius Lucas who we all see as a serviceable swing back up OT but not someone we want to rely on as a starter.

Wylie had two holds and one resulted in a safety in one-quarter of play and could not block Zadarius Smith - which a lot of people can’t - so if remains to be seen if Wylie rebounds this week in joint practices vs the Ravens and in next Monday’s preseason game vs the Ravens.

At this point if he doesn't improve there are several things we can do to fix the problem. 1) we could flip Cosmi and Wylie on the right side. Cosmi was drafted to play OT and when he was a junior at Texas he had a better PFF grade than Lane Johnson had when he was in college, so the talent and athleticism are there for Cosmi to be a good OT still and I feel he'll be a good to great guard as well.

As a young OL Wylie played guard. He was the starting LG on the Chiefs first Super Bowl win in 2019 and when they went to and lost the Super Bowl to the Bucs in 2020.

I feel that's probably where we’ll end up eventually unless Wylie does a 180 this week in joint practices vs the Ravens and vs the Ravens next Monday night and in the first few games of the season.

If Bieniemy/Rivera totally give up on Wylie - which I don’t see happening - they could  make Lucas the starting RT and keep Cosmi at RG.

 

2. John Bates-

I know it was just one play and it was called back bc of Wylie’s hold but, John Bates has to make that catch if he ever wants to be considered more than just a blocking TE. Lavar703 has questioned us drafting him in round 4 since 2021 bc he felt it was a round or 2 too high given his little production as a receiver in college and so far he's been justified in those complaints.

If Bates can't become a more reliable TE, hell never be more than a #2 blocking TE and special teams guy - which is fine - but disappointing bc if he could just be as reliable as a receiver as Logan Paulsen was or many more blocking TE's over the decades wed have something worth holding on bc Bates is a pretty good athlete, so if he could just be a reliable pass catcher he could turn some heads in that area but he has to catch the ball first.

 

3. Our first team D getting shredded -

I know it's just the first preseason game but our first team D was shredded by Watson & Company in their first two drives. Yes, we had the goal line stand but up until that we couldn’t contain Watson's legs - now of course one of those scrambles should've been called a hold on Wills who held Chase but still - we can not have our defense start off slow again in September and be a reason why we lose a game or more. This has been an issue every year of Rivera & JDRs tenure. They end up making adjustments and start playing better in October but by then we’re 1-3, 1-5, 2-4 etc etc and half of the fanbase is feeling we need to tank while the other half is feeling we need to try to go 9-8 so we may get into the playoffs and lose the first round like 2020 while losing 9 draft slots and costing us a chance at a possible franchise QB or All-Pro LB. Oh, I digress.. 🤷🏼‍♂️

 

4. Quan Martin -

I like Quan a lot as a hybrid S/CB prospect but there's no hiding anyone’s shock when Rivera didn't take an OL in R1 or 2. Passing on the chance to take O’Cyrus Torrence or Cody Mauch instead of Quan Martin could really come back to bite this team this season. 

Quan looked at bit lost in his first preseason game, he had a PI called on him which I think was bogus but still. 

 

5. Phil Mathis-

As we all know Mathis missed all but a handful of plays his rookie season bc he tore his meniscus in the first game last season vs the Jags. Mathis limped off the  field just after just a handful of plays in the preseason game, now someone on Twitter said he went back in and played more but I didn't see that, and regardless he made no impact plays if he was out there.

Now, it's just his first action back after his torn meniscus but regardless he was our 2nd round pick last year and we expect him to be our 3rd best DT and to make some plays while he rotates in with Allen and Payne.

At this point, Big John Ridgeway looks better and that's not acceptable. I mean it's great that Ridgeway is out there stuffing the run, pushing the pocket, and recovering fumbles but we need to see something more out of our last two 2nd round picks Mathis & Martin which many in this forum and fanbase questioned when we made them.

Edited August 13, 2023 by turtle28

[turtle28]

@BenStanding “Not seeing DT Phidarian Mathis at practice. Left the preseason game at one point with an apparent injury.”

I hate it when @lavar703 is right! 😂 Love ya buddy!

[lavar703]

I think if Wylie doesn’t improve you have to pivot to Lucas. There’s no way you can risk Howell getting killed every game. Also, Keim and others have talked about his inability to block Sweat in practice. I think this might be a one and done season here with Wylie. 

[turtle28]

3 hours ago, lavar703 said:

I think if Wylie doesn’t improve you have to pivot to Lucas. There’s no way you can risk Howell getting killed every game. Also, Keim and others have talked about his inability to block Sweat in practice. I think this might be a one and done season here with Wylie. 

I think you and I would do that, I don't think Bieniemy will seeing as this was one of the 3 guys Bieniemy brought over from Kansas City and Wylie was the most high profile.

Again for me, it's going to be something to watch in September. If Wylie plays poorly blocking DEs in space in September then in October they'll hopefully flip him and Cosmi with Cosmi moving back to RT.

I do agree that Wylie could be one-and-done in DC if he doesn't play better at RT or if he's moved to RG this year.

For 1, next year his cap hit more than doubles from $4 mil to $9.4 mil, they can save $2 mil by cutting him after this hear. 

2. As you and in both think Rivera is probably in his last year as HC when we inevitably only win 7 or 8 games and when that happens the next GM 🙏 praying it's KYLE SMITH then Kyle could/should cut an above-average RT/RG who’s getting paid like an above average OL and he’ll draft a G or OT (depending on what they do with Cosmi) in next years draft.

Edited August 13, 2023 by turtle28

[Thaiphoon]

I think you left something out that I didn't see on the field last Friday (if you did, my apologies for missing it).

And that was...

No (*) stupid pre-snap penalties on offense!!!

I don't recall seeing drive-killing pre-snap false starts, etc... that are a result of a lack of discipline. Now, we did have holding calls, etc... but I can live with those somewhat. I cannot ever live with false starts and such as penalties for my team.

 

(*) there may have been some when I wasn't watching the TV and admittedly I didn't watch the 4Q, but the fact that I don't recall seeing them is monumental to me

[turtle28]

5 hours ago, Thaiphoon said:

I think you left something out that I didn't see on the field last Friday (if you did, my apologies for missing it).

And that was...

No (*) stupid pre-snap penalties on offense!!!

I don't recall seeing drive-killing pre-snap false starts, etc... that are a result of a lack of discipline. Now, we did have holding calls, etc... but I can live with those somewhat. I cannot ever live with false starts and such as penalties for my team.

 

(*) there may have been some when I wasn't watching the TV and admittedly I didn't watch the 4Q, but the fact that I don't recall seeing them is monumental to me

I mentioned it, I credited it to Sam Howell and how well the offense was run by him and his teammates.

[Thaiphoon]

2 hours ago, turtle28 said:

I mentioned it, I credited it to Sam Howell and how well the offense was run by him and his teammates.

Ah, yes. I missed it. I think I glazed over it as a pre-snap penalty for him instead of the OL, but yeah...I was impressed by the lack of stooopid penalties

[turtle28]

12 hours ago, Thaiphoon said:

Ah, yes. I missed it. I think I glazed over it as a pre-snap penalty for him instead of the OL, but yeah...I was impressed by the lack of stooopid penalties

All good. I honestly could’ve gone 10 deep on the 10 ups bc I didn't even mention Butler and I put Chase, Forbes & Sweat all in the same category.

Edited August 15, 2023 by turtle28