Cleveland Rocks? Posted April 4, 2014 Posted April 4, 2014 Hello Bills fans. I hope it is OK for fans of other teams to visit the board. I found this board around the time the Browns hired the new HC and I was looking for some insight on Mike Pettine. I finally decided to create an account because I think this board has great football discussion. It is so much better than the Browns board which can obviously be kind of depressing, haha. Be nice with all your Browns jokes! It is kind of hard to root for them these days but I have lived here for 20 years and got sucked in anyway! We are always waiting for next year, that is our motto! I was wondering if anyone had time to provide information on Pettine. The offseason breeds both cautious optimism and familiar fear around here. He just seems very inexperienced and we are really worried that his calling card, good defense, won't carry over to the Browns because we don't have near the talent on the DL that the Bills do. We only have a couple real playmakers on the entire D (Dansby who they just signed and Haden). I am really hoping they draft Kahlil Mack who I am sure you guys also know all about. But if they do that, then not sure what they do at QB as the top ones will be gone by there next pick unless they trade up. The QB situation here has been so dire. Wish we had taken one last year. P.S. Sympathies on the recent loss of your owner. I admit I did not know much about Mr. Wilson before I saw a piece on him on ESPN after his death. What an amazing life story and man. Browns seem to switch ownership like they do socks. I am planning on going to the game in Buffalo this year! When the time gets nearer I'll ask about the best section to sit in. We will wear neutral colors, haha!
thebandit27 Posted April 4, 2014 Posted April 4, 2014 Welcome to the board! Most of us consider the Browns to be basically our cousin franchise, so you're among friends. As to Pettine, here's what you can expect: - A very, very aggressive defense. He will find ways to make guys effective in various roles. If a player can do one thing well, you can bet he'll be asked to do that one thing most of the time. - Lots and lots of blitzing. Blitzing from everyone and everywhere. He's not afraid to bring pressure and leave corners on an island in coverage. I'd look for him to use Mingo and Sheard in a bunch of different looks to get matchups he likes along the defensive front on passing downs. - He likes to disguise coverages...he'll often run a defense where the slot WR is left unchecked at the LOS, and then slip a LB into the underneath zone immediately post-snap to bait the QB into an interception. If you have a solid coverage LB, like we have in Kiko Alonso, deceptions like this are very effective. - He needs a thumper to stop the run. There wasn't really a big, solid run-stuffing LB on this team last year, and it hurt the run D significantly (hence the addition of Brandon Spikes). I'm guessing that Dansby is the guy that will fill this role in Cleveland. As for offense, I can't really comment as I assume that will be Shanahan's department. Hope that gives you some insight.
\GoBillsInDallas/ Posted April 4, 2014 Posted April 4, 2014 Welcome to the board! Do you like movies about gladiators?
May Day 10 Posted April 4, 2014 Posted April 4, 2014 yeah, welcome. I think we need to make some kind of formal treaty between Buffalo and Cleveland sports fans. Our cities are so similar in heartbreak/failure in sports. Cleveland roots for the Sabres, Buffalo roots for the Cavs and Indians (Im a huge Tribe fan). We pull for the Browns/Bills depending on who is out first.
drinkTHEkoolaid Posted April 4, 2014 Posted April 4, 2014 (edited) The bills are the browns. Why would we mock you? You realize the last time the bills made the playoffs internet was dial up and Clinton was president. Think about that. And you think its tough being a browns fan? Welcome. In fact I really think buffalo and Baltimore should trade divisions. Edited April 4, 2014 by drinkTHEkoolaid
Kellyto83TD Posted April 4, 2014 Posted April 4, 2014 I have felt for years the NFL Screwed up with re alignment. Browns, Bengals, Steelers and Bills are in very close proximity and the fans would fill each others stadiums. Screw the old rival with the Dolphins. that said Welcome, we are glad to have you. With the talent you have on D, you should field a top 5 D this year with your new HC
Cash Posted April 4, 2014 Posted April 4, 2014 Welcome! It's really nice to get a visit from a fan who DOESN'T consider the Bills depressing! I mostly agree with what Bandit27 said above, but would add/clarify that last year, we didn't actually blitz much, if you define blitz as sending >4 rushers. Doug Marrone even recently talked about this when asked about the changeover to Jim Schwartz, and basically said something along the lines of, "we wound up not blitzing nearly as much as we expected to, because our front 4 was so good." What Pettine did a ton of was classic zone blitz -- he'd rush 4, but it would be 3 d-linemen and the slot corner, or 2 d-linemen and 2 linebackers, or whatever. Very creative play design, and frequently confused the heck out the offense. I remember seeing a review this offseason of some of our better plays from last year, and it included a play where we rushed 2 guys and dropped 9 into coverage, but still got the sack because one of the 2 rushers was unblocked. That's serious confusion right there. If you guys really don't have much pass-rush ability on the front line, you might see more true blitzes than we did last year, because Pettine might need to bring 5-6 guys to get the kind of pressure he could with 3-4 in Buffalo. But I seem to recall that your D was already really good last year under Ray Horton, especially against the run? Will be interesting to see how your run D holds up. Ours was garbage last year, but that actually represented a pretty significant improvement from the previous 2 years, when our run D was historically bad. Some of Pettine's Jets teams struggled against the run as well. I do tend to think that his style of D lends itself to big/costly mistakes in the run game, because if one guy screws up, the runner basically has to be caught from behind. But we shall see. In any case, I think he's a really good defensive mind and coordinator, and I think you guys will field a very strong D next year. Best of luck, except against us!
Green Lightning Posted April 4, 2014 Posted April 4, 2014 Under Pettine, your D will be a beast. No clue on the offense. I was underwhelmed with his choice of OC but my guess is he wants a competitive and effective offense and a killer D ala the Seahawks. Not a bad recipe. BTW we're fine with fans of the Brownies - you are us.
ALF Posted April 4, 2014 Posted April 4, 2014 It will be interesting to see who the Browns draft at QB. The Bills are still hoping Manuel is the one here.
boyst Posted April 4, 2014 Posted April 4, 2014 Welcome to the board. Other then the general inquiry, mostly addressed above do you have any specific questions about how he did things? How it may apply to the Browns? I'll do my best to get to them.
Cleveland Rocks? Posted April 4, 2014 Author Posted April 4, 2014 (edited) Wow, this is great! I feel more informed in 10 minutes than I have in 10 years on the Browns board where all they do is wallow. I appreciate that you are so open to fans of other teams. The Bills have always been a classy team. Did they not make the playoffs a few years ago? I guess they always seem to be in the thick of things, I didn't notice they hadn't been in. At least they are competitive every year! Browns are always the joke team who wins just enough games to NOT get the top pick (i.e. Andrew Luck) and then they miss out on the QB. They have not won a playoff game in 20 years and have not been there in 12! In fact, the "new" Browns have never won a playoff game. As far as the defense, I think the Browns defense last year was a bit overrated as it started out well but then crashed and burned under Horton. The issue is that the scheme seems to change every year with the coach and the GM changes as well has led to having personnel that doesn't fit. Pettine said yesterday that he compares Mack to Mario Williams. This is the kind of player I think we need in order for this D to be successful under Pettine because as all of you said the pass rush is key and then I would believe the secondary would benefit. i don't mind them moving on from D'Qwell Jackson although I liked him as a player. Dansby seems to be more of a pass rusher who can also stop the run. You mentioned Kiko Alonso. He is my favorite player in the NFL who doesn't wear a Browns uniform (or Chargers, I am also a fan of theirs because my cousin works for them, but would root for the Browns still if they played). Even thought Kiko took out our hometown boy Hoyer last season, he is incredibly fun to watch. I can only hope that we draft someone like that. Again, maybe Mack. Ryan Shazier is a player from Ohio State and he also could be another Kiko. I think that is the kind of player this team needs. The offense is kind of in shambles with no QB and only one WR. We have Mack who still hasn't signed his tag because he doesn't want to be here. He is set to make 10 mill under the transition tag. I don't think he is worth that much but so be it. We do need him if we are going to have a rookie QB. The rest of the OL was really bad at run blocking last year which had a domino effect. We could not run the ball at all after Richardson was traded. I would love to get a RB like CJ Spiller. Every time we play the Bills he is running all over the place. I think Kyle Shanahan would like to run the ball, at least he says this. Our running backs never seem to make any big plays. We signed Ben Tate but he was a backup, but would like to draft a fast guy. I can't wait for the schedule to come out. Thanks again for all of your help. I have to say the draft talk on this board is outstanding. It will be interesting to see who the Browns draft at QB. The Bills are still hoping Manuel is the one here. The Browns brought in EJ Manuel last year for a visit. I wish they would have drafted him. I think they waited too long. Edited April 4, 2014 by Cleveland Rocks?
Canadian Bills Fan Posted April 4, 2014 Posted April 4, 2014 Welcome! I too view the Browns as our cousin franchise and never had any ill fealing towards Cleaveland until they stole our movie "Draft Day" lol j.k You are lucky to have Pettine and your defense will be amazing. I hope you guys draft a QB but have a feeling you will draft Sammy Watkins CBF
YoloinOhio Posted April 4, 2014 Posted April 4, 2014 Welcome! I think you will be excited to see Pettine's defense. He had a lot of success against Flacco last year so that should help in the AFC North. Struggled against Cincy and somewhat against Pitt but the Steelers game looked worse due to our offense not being able to sustain any drives. Otherwise everyone else summed up his defense really well and I know we were all sad to see him go but it was maybe his only opportunity to be a HC. I live in Columbus so I know there is a lot of angst around this hire, but I think he is a good football coach who may go through some growing pains of not having been an HC before. Outside of that he seems like a great guy with a blue collar mentality that will fit in there. I think the players liked him too. Regardless of how the defense does, this season for the Browns will depend on the QB. Trust me that the Bills fans are going through the same thing as we wait to see how Manuel develops. Good luck and you'll have a great time at the Ralph if you go, that is for sure, no matter what happens in the W-L column. Bills fans know how to have a good time and if you are respectful as you seem to be you will fit right in.
Dorkington Posted April 4, 2014 Posted April 4, 2014 The Browns brought in EJ Manuel last year for a visit. I wish they would have drafted him. I think they waited too long. Kinda funny... considering most here (not me) think EJ is the worst QB in the league, heh.
PromoTheRobot Posted April 4, 2014 Posted April 4, 2014 yeah, welcome. I think we need to make some kind of formal treaty between Buffalo and Cleveland sports fans. Our cities are so similar in heartbreak/failure in sports. Cleveland roots for the Sabres, Buffalo roots for the Cavs and Indians (Im a huge Tribe fan). We pull for the Browns/Bills depending on who is out first. Cleveland roots for the Sabres? I figured they'd be Blue Jacket fans.
Big Turk Posted April 4, 2014 Posted April 4, 2014 Cleveland roots for the Sabres? I figured they'd be Blue Jacket fans. The Blue Jackets don't have fans
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted April 4, 2014 Posted April 4, 2014 Did they not make the playoffs a few years ago? No.
drinkTHEkoolaid Posted April 4, 2014 Posted April 4, 2014 No. Last year? No last decade? Nope last millennium? You betcha
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