Daily Archives: May 16, 2022

Browns would be wise to sign Clowney and Suh

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The Cleveland Browns still have an obvious hole on their defense, the defensive line. That can be addressed by signing both Jadeveon Clowney and Ndamukong Suh. Clowney and Suh have been linked to Cleveland lately and could provide short-term help while they look to take the next step forward as a team.

At this point in their careers, Clowney and Suh are both better utilized in a rotational format. Clowney had his best season in years in 2021 with 74% of defensive snaps played while Suh played a career-low in snaps (63%) but registered his highest sack total since 2015 with six.

From a playing style standpoint these two would wreak havoc on opposing offenses. Clowney and Suh are both able to single-handedly create chaos. If the Browns were to have both players on the field at the same time with Myles Garrett this defensive line could be scary. Perhaps Cleveland could try out the idea that has been kicked around of kicking Clowney inside. Having the chaos of Clowney and Suh creating the much needed internal pressure get quarterbacks off their marks could result in even more sacks for Garrett and whoever is the starter opposite of him, whether that happens to be Chase Winovich, Alex Wright, or any other player added by Week 1.

What these hypothetical additions would do that has not been mentioned yet is create depth on the defensive line. Jordan Elliott, Taven Bryan, Perrion Winfrey, Tommy Togai, Glen Logan, Sheldon Day, and Roderick Perry II as possible starters is not all that exciting. Having these players as part-time rotation options with Clowney and Suh is highly intriguing. By making a short-term commitment to both the Browns could get the most out of them while developing their current players on the defensive line. One final thing that will definitely be appealing to someone such as Andrew Berry, it preserves long-term flexibility. They do not have to make multi-year commitments to either player which would allow them an out should this experiment not work. This aspect cannot be overlooked due the injury history of Clowney and the age of Suh (35).

At the end of the day the Browns agreeing to deals with both players turns what is a clear weakness on their defense into strength. That’s what the team building process is all about, right?

Panthers, Mayfield, Rhule, and panic?

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The Carolina Panthers quarterback saga continues. A recent comment from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler has linked the team with Baker Mayfield… again. Fowler noted that the Panthers want another quarterback in the mix to join Sam Darnold and Matt Corral. Adding Mayfield to this group does not really solve anything and that begs the question. Are the Carolina Panthers at the onset of panic mode?

Matt Rhule was brought in by Carolina to lead their team and provide solutions to an offense that was sputtering. In two seasons Rhule has a 10-23 record with an offense that was one of the worst in all of football last season. Granted having a who’s who of average to below average quarterbacks during this time has not helped matters. The Panthers have started Teddy Bridgewater, P.J. Walker, Sam Darnold, and Cam Newton the past two seasons. Darnold and Walker remain in Carolina while Newton is a free agent and Bridgewater is a backup in Miami after a brief one year stint in Denver. Drafting Corral has shown they are not settled with their incumbent quarterback options and still being connected to Mayfield and Jimmy Garoppolo amplifies that further.

So what about Mayfield? Well, adding another first round disappointment to their roster really does not solve anything. There have been a lot of hand wringing about Mayfield’s performance, injuries, and schematic performance while in Cleveland. The point remains that Mayfield is another average to below-average quarterback that Carolina would be taking a chance. Carolina would be repeating their mistake from a year ago when they traded for Darnold and picked up his fifth-year option.

Here’s the reality, Rhule has to know that his job security is on the line should the Panthers stumble again in 2022. That is why the team continues to be linked with other quarterbacks who are not the answer for their respective organizations. Darnold, Mayfield, and Garopplo are all of the underwhelming variety that do not provide long term solutions. The Panthers would be better off playing out this season and if things line up properly be in position for a top quarterback selection in the 2023 draft. Making a panic move by acquiring Mayfield or Garoppolo does not provide any clarity for their roster and surely be an indicator of panic internally.

Guardians drop two of three in Minnesota

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The Cleveland Guardians found out things were not so nice when they travelled to Minnesota to take on the Twins. Cleveland found themselves facing adversity before they even made it to the Twin Cities with their series finale against the White Sox being postponed due to COVID-19. Seven coaches entered health and safety protocols and Josh Naylor was placed on the COVID-19 IL with the team recalling Richie Palacios to fill his roster spot. This series was going to be a challenge for the Guardians as the Twins are the current division leader, adding in the organizational shuffle on top top that just made it a bit more difficult.

It was an offensive explosion in Friday’s 12-8 loss with Minnesota at one point holding an 11-2 lead. Some late inning runs that really only impacted the stats of Twins pitcher Griffin Jax ended up not mattering in the end. The series opener appeared to set the stage for what could be a run scoring frenzy at Target Field, it did not.

The next two games saw the Guardians and Twins combine to score just nine runs in 19 innings. It was a 3-2 win in Mickey Mouse extra-innings Saturday propelled by Andres Gimenez and some clever base running by Myles Straw. Sunday’s rubber match lacked late drama as all the run scoring was done by the 5th inning. Three of the four runs score in the contest were via the solo homer, Max Kepler’s RBI single in the 1st being the outlier.

Normalcy (sort of) has seemed to settle in for the Guardians after they were stuck in a sweep streak earlier this season. Cleveland has played moderately well over the last 14 games with a 9-5 record to show for it. The conclusion of the annual Ohio Cup series with the Reds awaits them beginning Tuesday with off days Monday and Thursday before taking on the disappointing Detroit Tigers to finish out the week. This is the opportunity to build up some wins on some lesser opponents to possibly get back into the mix of an underperforming American League Central.