Q & A: WUNKLE ON WUNKLE – PART III

Greetings again from the hallowed ground that’s otherwise known as The Padded Cell; and welcome to our latest Q&A session with our special guest, Bill Wunkle. This seems to have turned into something of an annual event, and this year’s interview comes at a time where everything NFL draft is up for discussion. I’ll try to keep the crusty old curmudgeon on topic, but I can’t guarantee anything. So with that said, let’s get to the interview.

Q: About this time last year, we were talking about the disappointment of going 1-15, and here we are in an off-season following a 0-16 record for 2017. What went wrong?

A: Where do I start? The quarterback play was abysmal, the offensive play calling was terrible, execution of plays was awful, there were injuries to what few key players the Browns actually have, the roster as a whole was far too inexperienced and lacked depth. Need I continue? Those are the kinds of things that happen when your roster is stripped down to the bare bones.

Q: With four weeks to go in the season, owner Jimmy Haslam fired Sahi Brown and hired John Dorsey to be the Browns GM.  What were your initial thoughts on this move and what are your thoughts now?

A: I thought it was a move that desperately needed to be made. While I wish no ill will for Sashi, I did think that he was in way over his head and that he took analytics far too heavily into any decision making process. As far as the hiring of Dorsey goes . . . I knew that he had both experience and success as a GM, which is something that no person holding that position with the expansion Browns has ever had before. Kudos to Jimmy Haslam for having the stones to make the move and the timing in which he did it. That gave Dorsey the opportunity to get a feel for the locker room, observe how practices are conducted; but most importantly, to see which players were giving effort and which ones were just here for a paycheck. What told me that this hire just might be what the doctor ordered was when he cut Kenny Britt. That move sent a message throughout the entire organization that break time is over and that it’s time to get to work. The second move that impressed me was the hiring of both Elliott Wolf and Alonzo Highsmith to the personnel department. These are real football people with real ability to judge talent.

Q: A lot has already transpired this off-season. Since you’ve already expressed your thoughts on changes made to the front office, which move for the Browns has surprised you the most in terms of building the roster?

B: Well, to be quite frank, I have to say that there were two moves that surprised the heck out of me. The first one being the trade to acquire Tyrod Taylor from the Bills for a third round pick. I’ve never been a big fan of Taylor, but the one thing he does well is take care of the football; and that’s something that the Browns offense severely lacked this past season – particularly in the red zone. The second move was that they only needed to give up a fourth this year and a seventh next year to acquire Jarvis Landry. Now that the Browns have signed Landry to a five year contract, it tells me that the front office is serious about turning things around and doing it quickly. My concern is that Dorsey might get the franchise dangerously close to salary cap hell.

Q:  Keeping with surprises . . . which move from the other 31 teams surprises you the most?

A: I’d have to say it was the move the Jets made to move up to third overall from sixth. Not so much in the trade up, but rather what all they had to give up to make the move. There was some surprise in the Patriots trade of Brandin Cooks to the Rams for a first round pick, but the Hoodie evidently saw Cooks as a systematic non-fit. Red flags go up when you see a player traded twice before his rookie contract has been completed. Stay tuned for more on that story as the season goes on.

Q: Do you have any takes on possible trade scenarios on draft day?

A: Well, I don’t want to give away too much . . .  but . . . it’ll be very interesting to see what happens with the second, fourth and sixth overall picks. Denver, Buffalo and Arizona are still looking for young quarterbacks to be the faces of their respective franchises. I’ll let you try to connect the dots.

Q: What . . . no card tricks . . . no pulling a rabbit out of the hat?

A: My final mock will be out before the Browns are on the clock; hopefully by the night before. By then, everything will be made abundantly clear concerning how I think things will go down. I hope the suspense won’t prove too much for you.

Q: so where will you be watching the first night of the draft?

A: The plan is to move Wunkle’s War Room to Canton where my wife, daughter and I will join up with our second born son and watch the activities from there. While changes in our son’s work schedule may affect things, that’s the plan as of today. The menu is yet to be determined, but I’m pretty confident that some finger foods will be included.

Q: With the NFL being such a quarterback driven league, how many quarterbacks could go in the first round?

A: Let’s look at this from a talent standpoint. We have the consensus top five : Josh Allen, Sam Darnold, Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield and Josh Rosen. By all accounts, those five should go in the first round. As far as I’m concerned, there are three others that make up the true second tier at the position. That list comprises of Luke Faulk of Washington State, Mason Rudolph of Oklahoma State and Mike White of Western Kentucky. The big question is, “Which team will flinch first on a second tier level quarterback and how soon will they do it?” The thought was broadcast that the Patriots might take Rudolph with the 31st overall pick. However, I don’t see the Hoodie making that big of a reach. If he does take a quarterback in the first – which I think will be highly unlikely – he’ll trade up to get one of the top five. I’ve got both Faulk and Rudolph ranked somewhere in the 90’s overall and White inside the top 120. That kind of reach for a quarterback would be on the level of the Vikings selecting Christian Ponder 12th overall in 2011.    

Q: Still talking quarterbacks . . . Sam Darnold is considered to be “the safe pick” at that position by most of the so-called draft experts. What’s your take?

A: Let me say first off that, from all accounts, Sam Darnold is a top notch and high character human being. At only 20 years old, I honestly believe that one more year of college would’ve served him far better, but I understand his desire to move up to the next level. His size and arm strength are more than adequate, as are his work ethic and leadership skills. That said, Darnold doesn’t appear to have good field vision – particularly when it comes to the middle of the field – which is critical for the position. I also have major concerns with his lack of ball security, particularly when in the pocket. He has trouble working within structure inside the pocket with a sense of timing. His throwing motion is elongated and too loopy for my taste, in spite of the fact that he’s worked hard to improve his footwork. That throwing motion is something that you cannot change significantly, and that’s a major concern of mine. I’ve compared him to the character Bo Callahan from the movie Draft Day. Not for his lack of character, but in the aspect that I think he’s a first round bust in the making. I just think that he’ll have too much trouble making the transition to the next level.

Q: Since we’re on a roll, what about Josh Rosen?

A: Josh Rosen is the most NFL ready quarterback as of Saturday April 14th, 2018. He has good height, adequate weight, more than enough arm strength to make all the throws and is the purest pocket passer in the draft. He’s very smart, has excellent footwork, processes information very quickly, works very well within structure inside the pocket and with a sense of timing. That said, although he’s certainly not a statue, I question his ability to escape from the pocket when things break down. I also have concerns about perceived susceptibility to injuries (shoulder and concussions) as well as what really drives him as a player. I’m still not convinced that his heart is completely in football.

Q: What about Baker Mayfield?

A: He’s had a bump or two along the way, but I think he’s smart enough to learn from those bumps. His lack of height is a concern, but he’s been dealing with that since he stepped onto a college campus. It’s not like he was 6′-5″ and then woke up one day 4 5/8″ shorter. He’s got enough arm strength, not a cannon, but strong enough. He’s an accurate passer. He’s a fiery type of leader – perhaps some “little man syndrome” in that he always seems to play with a chip on his shoulder. His feet are very active, but I think that’s just because he’s a high energy guy. I do think that – regardless of the team that drafts him – he’s going to have trouble dealing with having to sit and learn during his rookie year because of his pride. This is where his extremely competitive nature might get him into trouble. If he was 6′-5″ and 235 lbs., I think he might be the first overall pick. Depending on how the Browns draft board is set, he still might be.

Q: And Lamar Jackson?

A: He’s a definite candidate as a first round quarterback with freakish athletic ability. His feet and eyes aren’t always in sync, which leads to his inconsistency issues with accuracy. His arm strength is quite adequate to make all the throws, but he needs to clean up his footwork. When he gets outside the pocket is when things get electric with Jackson. However, he needs to learn how to beat NFL teams from inside the pocket with his head and arms, rather than with his feet, if he has any aspirations of a long and prosperous NFL career. That said, I think he’ll go somewhere in the middle third of the first round. If things get crazy, he might become a top ten pick.

Q: And finally Josh Allen?

A: What have I said about this kid that hasn’t been said already? He’s got prototypical size, freakish arm strength, a great work ethic and is outstanding when it comes to understanding concepts on the whiteboard. His footwork was, in his own works, “jacked up” during the regular season; which was the main cause of his inaccuracy issues. However, something started changing when he was out with a shoulder injury. He apparently took advantage of the time off to work on that footwork because his next two games were very good. That’s what has me on the Josh Allen bandwagon: the combination of the physical gifts with his ability to take instruction and the work ethic to improve his overall play. This kid’s WOW factor is off the charts. If he can continue to work on more consistent play, there’s no doubt in my mind that he’ll be something special in this league.

Q: What about Allen’s low completion percentage in college?

A: It is a concern. However, with the way he’s cleaned up his footwork, that doesn’t bother me as much as it does others because I think he can raise that to 60% or better once he takes over an offense in a year or two. By the way . . . Brett Favre’s completion percentage over four seasons at Southern Mississippi was only 52.4%. And yes, I know . . . he was only a second round pick, not first overall.

Q: How much of your support for Josh Allen has to do with the fact that you’re still pissed at Sashi Brown for not selecting Carson Wentz second overall two years ago?

A: I was wondering how long it was going to take you to ask that question. To be honest, I’m sure that there’s a little something to do with it. However, I do try very hard to look at all the players with objective eyes. How successful am I? I guess only time will tell. In the long run, all I really want is for the Browns to be successful on the field. And when I say “be successful on the field”, I mean, “Win at least one freaking Super Bowl before I die”. I’m not getting any younger and the clock is ticking.

And that wraps up this year’s Q & A session with Bill Wunkle. So long for now from The Padded Cell. See you on draft day.