Daily Dawg Tags: Cleveland Browns youth movement
By Thomas Moore
Spanning the virtual globe to bring you the latest news about the Cleveland Browns and the NFL – these are your Daily Dawg Tags for Wednesday, Aug. 31.
It is almost time Browns fans as the 2016 season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles is less than two weeks away.
There is still plenty of work to be done between now and Sept. 11, of course, as the Browns still have play their final preseason game, reduce the roster to 53 players, and continue to prepare for what may be a difficult season ahead.
“As I’ve said since Day 1, our head is down. We are just working. Hopefully, we will trot out a team that we feel very comfortable with and go play well,” head coach Hue Jackson said on Tuesday. “My job as the head coach is to make sure that we are in the best position to win offensively, defensively and special teams. If that means we have to keep doing that until we can make it right, then that’s what we’ll do.
“I’m very comfortable with where we are. I know what we are doing and how we’re doing it. I know what it may appear to look like, but I’m not concerned about that. I’m concerned about this team getting better over the course of this week and as we head into the regular season.”
Let’s kick off the day by taking a look at the latest news around the Browns and the NFL.
Cleveland Browns news:
How many rookies will make Cleveland’s final roster?
"The Cleveland Browns are working overtime to fix a roster depleted by continual mismanagement in recent years. How many of the team’s draft picks will be part of the solution?"
Paul Kruger’s release all about young players
"Though the Cleveland Browns will claim that the release of Paul Kruger was a result of poor performance, it is clear that it reflects the youth movement."
RG3: We need to be more consistent on offense
"Some of the shine was taken off the Cleveland offense during a poor performance last Friday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Quarterback Robert Griffin III was able to hit two long passes to Josh Gordon, but the rest of the night was a repeat of the first two preseason games – if Griffin isn’t hitting on the deep ball, there is nothing to the offense. With time growing short before the start of the season, Griffin says he knows how to fix the problem."
Who’s next to go from dwindling 30-and-over club? (ESPN Cleveland)
"Every new Browns regime talks of “changing the culture.” They start by blowing up huge sections of the facility at 76 Lou Groza Blvd. and reconfiguring offices and hallways, hauling in new equipment and furniture, and re-painting the walls with bold new slogans. Then they gut the roster and hope their younger, cheaper players are better than the higher-priced ones infected by habitual losing they inherited."
The worst Browns team ever? (cleveland.com)
"Will the 2016 Cleveland Browns go down as the worst team in franchise history? Some fans have emailed with that statement in recent days, especially following Friday’s embarrassing preseason loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the subsequent release of veteran linebacker Paul Kruger and the trade of punter Andy Lee."
NFL news:
Teddy Bridgewater faces surgery after ACL team (Star Tribune)
"The Vikings’ Super Bowl hopes took a major hit Tuesday afternoon when starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater suffered a knee injury that likely will end his season. Bridgewater had a dislocation that led to a complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and other structural damage and faces “significant” recovery time."
Making sense of Minnesota’s quarterback options (CBS Sports)
"The Minnesota Vikings’ season may already be over. That sounds like an overreaction — and perhaps it is — but anytime a team with playoff aspirations has its franchise quarterback collapse in a heap on the field, it’s only natural to wonder where it goes from there."
With veterans gone, it’s a millennial takeover for “Countdown” (Sports Business Journal)
"Welcome to the new “Sunday NFL Countdown” — a show that promises to be younger and hipper than last year’s version of ESPN’s long-running NFL pregame show. In the offseason, ESPN replaced 76-year-old Mike Ditka and 65-year-old Tom Jackson with a pair of 39-year-olds in Moss and Charles Woodson and a 40-year-old in Matt Hasselbeck. Also gone from the Sunday show are Cris Carter (50) and Keyshawn Johnson (44); Ray Lewis (41) will not return on Monday nights."
9 veteran players who could be cut (PFF)
"With the week of “dress rehearsals” in the books, some veterans are wondering if they’ll receive that dreaded phone call. Standing on the sideline throughout the Week 3 contest has given a number of veterans reason to worry. The following nine players still have much to prove if they are to make the final 53-man roster."