Browns make controversial cuts

The Cleveland Browns needed to reach 53 players by Saturday and then planned to make some waiver claims on Sunday.

They have done that and with each swing of the axe, John Dorsey puts more of his stamp on the Browns.

To start, the plummet of Shon Coleman finally hit bottom in Cleveland as he went from starting right tackle to presumed starting left tackle to falling down the depth chart and the Browns looking to get almost anything for him before they would likely release him.
John Dorsey found someone in San Francisco interested and Dorsey traded Coleman to them for a seventh-round draft choice.
The trade turned the second Coleman from the Browns 2016 draft that was picked in the first three rounds that returned only a seventh rounder in just two years.
Something beats nothing, I suppose, but these are such an indictment against the Sashi Brown personnel decisions and against Jimmy Haslem for hiring Brown in the first place.

There were a few cuts on Saturday that I wondered about.
I thought Caleb Brantley deserved to return at defensive tackle after a decent rookie season, but I could see how the numbers game caught up with him.
I wonder if there were any other reasons than Brantley was a Sashi Brown pick and rookie Chad Thomas was not, that could be a position that allowed Thomas to stay and Brantley to go.

Nate Orchard played very well in preseason and adding in that he contributed on special teams and I would have kept him over Carl Nassib, who had disappointed after an excellent first few games as a pro.
Orchard's versatility (Defensive End and outside linebacker) to me made him a better choice than Nassib.

Spencer Drango has been serviceable at guard and you can never be too deep along the offensive line, but the signing of a solid veteran in Earl Watford likely meant the end of Drango's Cleveland career.

I liked Matthew Dayes a lot as a scatback and special teamer, but when the Browns decided that they were going to carry just three running backs (Carlos Hyde, Duke Johnson, and Nick Chubb), it was going to be very hard for Dayes to make the club, no matter how well he played in the preseason and he played quite well.

That moved us to Sunday and the resulting available players that other teams released.
Cleveland is first in waiver claims until week four of the regular season, which means that the Browns would add anyone that they claim, but would have to release a corresponding player with each addition.

Cleveland picked up three defensive linemen, which showed me that they were not as high on the group as some observers were as they claimed Carl Davis from the Ravens and Ifeadi Odenigbo from the Vikings following a trade with New Orleans to acquire defensive tackle Devaroe Lawrence for the seventh round pick that they received for Shon Coleman.
Lawrence missed his rookie season with a torn ACL but played very well for New Orleans this preseason with a dominant performance against Jacksonville that saw him notch two sacks, three tackles for loss and three QB hits.
Granted, that is just preseason, but I can see why the Browns decided to acquire Lawrence and he might be the one guy of all of these maneuvers that turns out to be a top-notch player.
Carl Davis was a third rounder by the Ravens out of Iowa in 2015 and was a regular part of their line rotation for all three years.
Davis is big at 6'5 and 300 plus and moves with quickness, yet the production has never matched the tools, while Ifeadi Odenigbo was cut by Minnesota to the surprise of many after a strong preseason after being drafted in the seventh round out of Northwestern.
Odenigbo is a player that I saw a lot of and liked at Northwestern and being able to play end and tackle makes him potentially a key piece, but still needs development.

Offensive lineman Aaron Neary can play center or guard as he did with the Rams and is likely backup material, although from what I have read doesn't appear to be an upgrade from Spencer Drango, let alone any of the starters.
Linebacker Tanner Vallejo was claimed from the Bills and when Mychal Kendricks legal woes forced his release, it was almost inevitable that the Browns were going to sign a linebacker.
Vallejo spent last season with Buffalo after being drafted in the sixth round out of Boise State, where I loved his hustling attitude and flying around the football.
Vallejo at the minimum should be a productive special teams player.
Taviarre Thomas was an undrafted free agent from Ferris State that Arizona released after camp.
Not a lot available on Thomas, so I'm assuming there was something that the Browns liked especially after their sixth-round draftee Simeon Thomas was waived and claimed by Seattle.
My guess is that they expected Thomas to clear waivers and put him on the practice squad so Thomas will be filling that slot as a developmental secondary member.

To add those players, that meant five players were on their way out and surprisingly two of those were on the defensive line as Carl Nassib and Jamie Meder were waived.
I was OK with Nassib, who started so promisingly in his rookie year and never seemed to make any progress after that, but I was really surprised that the team cut Jamie Meder, who played with such a high motor along with being a local product.
However, with three new linemen, I can see why they needed to cut two older players, but I'll really miss Meder, who blocked a field goal to save the game against the Chargers in 2016 that was the only win in two years.


The other cuts were simply one player in one player out.
Offensive Line- Aaron Neary in, Austin Reiter out
Linebacker- Tanner Vallejo in, Jermaine Grace out
Defensive Back- Taviarre Thomas in, Jeremiah McKinnon out.

Some of the Browns additions, I really like Devaroe Lawrence and Ifeadi Odenigbo along the defensive line and I loved the aggressive play of Tanner Vallejo at Boise State, so I'm happy to have them around.
I'm still disappointed at the losses of Jamie Meder and Nate Orchard, although to bring linemen in, some had to leave.
Still, when I look at a player like Chad Thomas, who struggled with injuries, doesn't seem to be making an impact on the field when he did play and seems more interested in tweeting about his hip-hop productions than actually playing, that makes the team over a Meder or Orchard shows that even though there is a new front office there are still "our guys" and "their guys" for a while.

I'll have a Browns preview later this week with a look at the roster and what I think their record will be in 2018.

Deadline- Pirates move infielders

The Pittsburgh Pirates have fallen out of the wild-card race after losing seven of ten games and since they are now five games under .500, the time was right for a move or two.

Pittsburgh traded veteran third baseman David Freese to the Dodgers for minor league infielder Jesus Manuel Valdez in a deal that will help the contending Dodgers with a player that can play third or first and hits lefties very well.
Freese hit .282 with nine homers for the Pirates this season and is exactly the type of players that contenders go and get for the playoff run.

As far as the player coming from the Dodgers is concerned, I know next to nothing about Jesus Manuel Valdez other than he's an infielder, turns 21 in December and was playing for the Dodgers Dominican league team.
20 is pretty old to play at that level, where Valdez hit. 230 with six homers and stole 16 bases, so even terming him a lottery tickey is a major stretch for the Pirates, who must have seen something in him.

In the other deal, Adeiny Hechavarria made his stay in Pittsburgh a brief one, as the Pirates traded him to the New York Yankees for a player to be named later or cash (Care to guess which one the Nutting's will take?).
Hechavarria lasted just 15 games after being acquired from Tampa Bay, hitting .233 and a homer.
Hechavarria is expected to provide infield protection against further injury to Didi Gregorius, who has struggled with a heel injury of late.
That is a minor transaction, but I'd still rather have a longshot prospect than a check, which the Pirates usually prefer.

Whew, Now that I have caught up on baseball moves, it's time to look at the Browns cuts and additions as they prep for Pittsburgh.
I do have a few problems with those roster changes, so I will have plenty to say next time!

Deadline: Giants trade Andrew McCutchen

The San Francisco Giants traded for Andrew McCutchen as they thought they could contend for the postseason in 2018.
The Giants mildly contended, but for the most part, hung around the .500 mark and nearing the deadline for making waiver trades, did what teams that aren't contenders should do- move players that they can't or won't be keeping for the next season.

The Giants traded Andrew McCutchen to the New York Yankees in return for two minor leaguers- shortstop Abi Avelino and pitcher Juan DePaula.
McCutchen hit .255 with 15 homers and 55 RBI with the Giants and despite numbers that show McCutchen to possibly be in decline, please remember that AT&T Park is definitely a pitcher's park so it would not surprise me to see McCutchen do well with the Yankees in a league that he would be new to playing.

The Giants aren't getting top prospects in return, but both players were in Baseball America's Top 30 in the Yankees system.
The 23 year old Avelino looked to be just another organizational soldier entering the 2018 season for his third stint (Avelino had spent parts of 2016 and 17 there) at AA Trenton before a career season that re-ignited prospect status for the Dominican native.
Avelino hit .337 with 10 homers (both career highs) with 15 steals in 49 games with the Thunder before a promotion to AAA Scranton, where he hit .252 with 5 homers along with 10 steals for the Yankees in 74 games.
The AAA numbers were more in line with his numbers over the course of his minor league career, although the power was increased as his previous high for homers in a season was six and he hit five in AAA alone.
The increase makes Avelino a bit more intriguing, but the sudden numbers leap under the circumstances give me some pause to consider Avelino a true prospect as of this writing.
Avelino was assigned to AAA Sacramento to finish the last few games of the season and I'm not sure if he will be included in the September roster expansion or not.

Whenever you are trading and receive a young Latino pitcher that is toiling in the low minors, one has to realize that you are buying a lottery ticket.
It's a long shot mainly because young pitchers from outside the U.S. often do not have the statistical base to consider them as prospects or not.
The data to help determine that status will eventually arrive, but it isn't always available to decide when you are making the deal.
The Giants acquired one of these young unknowns from Boston last year in Gregory Santos in a trade that sent Eduardo Nunez to the Red Sox and they are returning to that well with Juan DePaula in this deal with the Yankees.
The soon to be 21 year old DePaula has spent the last two seasons with the Yankees short-season affiliate in Staten Island and pitched well enough looking at the 2017 stats (5-5 2.90 and an opposing batting average of .191 in 11 starts) that one would think that he deserved a full season assignment to their Low A team in Charleston for 2018.
That did not arrive (Perhaps he was injured?) and he was 2-2 with an ERA under two in nine Staten Island starts.
The 6'3 165 pound DePaula was obtained by the Yankees from Seattle in 2016 in a trade for Ben Gamel, works in the low 90's and used the curve and change from reports.
In other words, don't bet on him, but there is some upside there if the ticket comes in.

Trades like this take a while to sift through, so the results are unknown for now, but the Giants should have been doing more of these deals to bolster a less than strong farm system.

I still have a look waiting at the Pirates trades at the deadline and the Browns roster shuffling as well before we resume the road trip series...

Buckeyes drown Oregon State 77-31

The turmoil ended for a few hours and even longer than expected with a weather delay, but the Ohio State Buckeyes ripped, roared and rolled over the visiting Oregon State Beavers 77-31 at the Horseshoe in Columbus.

Dwayne Haskins threw for over 300 yards and five touchdowns, while Mike Weber ran for 186 yards and three touchdowns in the romp to lead the offense.

The now 1-0 Buckeyes host Rutgers next week in an early conference game.

Olentangy Offerings

1) Dwayne Haskins became the first Buckeye quarterback to throw for over 300 yards and set a record for TD passes in his first start/
Haskins did throw an interception that he would have been better suited throwing away, so it wasn't a perfect day, but it was pretty close for a player in his first start.

2) Mike Weber was the ground star with 20 carries, but J.K. Dobbins carried 15 times as well.
Weber is back at full health, which he was not last season and opened the door for Dobbins to star in 2017.
It'll be interesting to see how long the pair truly shares carries or will one or the other take command?

3) Terry McLaurin finished with two catches for touchdowns including a 75-yard catch and run.
What Dwayne Haskins might bring to the offense along with the ability to throw deep, is an accurate ball that receivers will be able to catch in stride easier than the passes thrown by J.T. Barrett.
Those are the type of throws that can be turned into big plays off short passes.

4) Lightning and pouring rain caused a halftime respite of well over an hour.
Sadly for the visitors from Corvallis, they would have to still play the second half.

5) The final two scores were tallied from two freshman backs in Brian Snead and Master Teague with Teague's score being very impressive on a 33 yard run that saw him pinball off several Beaver defenders.

6) The defense wasn't perfect, after all, they did allow 31 points, which in many games could cause a loss.
Lots of things to refine, but the tackling will need to be sharpened after two Oregon State touchdowns resulted off broken tackles against Artavis Pearce of 78 and 80 yards.

7) Pearce finished with 168 yards on the ground on 15 carries.
That means Pearce rushed for 158 yards on two carries and 10 yards on his other thirteen rushes.
Still, that's two huge scoring plays and Ohio State will need to be much better than this for their future games against better competition than Oregon State.

8) I also wondered why DeMario McCall didn't appear until the second half as the returner.
McCall was listed as the top returner on the depth chart, so why would he not appear until the game was in the bag?

9) Ryan Day's head coaching debut went smoothly as Day stayed on the sideline and fellow offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson remained in the press box.
Day is going to be a head coach somewhere soon, hopefully, that will not be in the Big 10.

10) The defense did struggle in the middle of the field in coverage, so both the linebackers and safeties are going to have to pick their game up against the pass.
Simply too many catch and runs down the seams from Oregon State and that will need to be addressed.

I still have to talk more baseball trades, the road trip continues, Browns cuts and additions going into the league opener as I pick the pace up here at TRS!

Deadline! Indians trade for Josh Donaldson

The Cleveland Indians pushed some chips into the middle of the table at the trade deadline (Waiver version) and gambled on a player that hasn't been seen since May and his return to health as the Wahoo's acquired third baseman Josh Donaldson from the Toronto Blue Jays in return for a player to be named later.

The American League MVP in 2015, Donaldson struggled in the early portion of this season before a calf injury that has prevented him from playing since late May as he posted numbers of just .234 with only five homers.
Donaldson was playing for the Blue Jays High A team in Dunedin on a rehab assignment, but it is still unknown when he would join the Cleveland lineup.

Assuming that Donaldson is able to regain his health, he would play third base with AL MVP candidate Jose Ramirez shifting to his natural position of second and that would shuffle Jason Kipnis to centerfield, which was his position before being drafted by the Indians, to be part of the platoon with Greg Allen, Rajai Davis or whomever.
Donaldson would add a big bat to a lineup that is solid 1-5 ( or even 6), but dips dramatically in the lower part of the lineup and could improve the defense, although he did have some throwing problems earlier this season.

The Indians will be giving up a "Player of Note" as the PTBNL, but the Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that the player could be pitcher Julian Merryweather, who impressed AA Akron observers in 2017 but suffered an injury that led to Tommy John surgery in spring training.
The player has to be named by January, so it is more than likely that the quality of the prospect could depend on Donaldson's health and perhaps his performance as well.

You have to like the aggressiveness of the oft-criticized Indians for going after an expensive rental (It's not as bad as you think, Toronto is tossing in some cash to help pay for the rest of the season) and taking a chance on what could be an impact player with some luck.
The trade could also prove to be meaningless should Donaldson not return to healthy status or even if his first two months of play become the normal level for Donaldson, who would be showing signs of fading at the worst possible team as he enters free agency.
Well worth the very minor risk.

I'll be back later with Ohio State against Oregon State and if I have time, I'll write about Andrew McCutchen's trade to the Yankees,a few minor deals for the Pirates and the Browns on cutdown day/

2018 Ohio State Preview

The Ohio State Buckeyes were all set to open a new era with the graduation of J.T. Barrett and the new dimension that comes with Dwayne Haskins before the name Zack Smith became one that football fans across the country recognized and threatened to end the Ohio State career of one Urban Meyer.

Ryan Day will coach the Buckeyes in their three games without Meyer and he will have a young quarterback in Dwayne Haskins to nurse through any early struggles.
Haskins brings the type of arm that has rarely been seen around Columbus of late and he'll give the Buckeye wideouts chances to get downfield that they did not have with the weaker arm of J.T. Barrett.
Tate Martell backs up Haskins and will likely see some playing time as well as Haskins could leave Columbus with a good season so Ohio State will find snaps for Martell as insurance.
We'll see if freshman Matthew Baldwin or West Virginia graduate transfer Chris Chuginov can find time for snaps of their own behind Martell.

The running game is well manned with sophomore J.K. Dobbins and junior Mike Weber.
Dobbins is a bit more explosive than the chain-moving Weber, but the ground attack will be strong with both or even either carrying the ball.
Sophomore DeMario McCall will be the top answer in case of injury to either of the top two with freshmen Brian Snead and Master Teague attempting to earn carries as well.

Senior Parris Campbell is the starter at H-Back after a strong junior year, but he is pressed for time by his two junior backups K.J. Hill and C.J Saunders, both of whom occasionally impressed last season.
On the outside, Seniors Terry McLaurin and Johnnie Dixon have been unable to separate from the other on one side, while juniors Austin Mack and Binjimin Victor both bring big-play potential on the other end of the formation.
Victor is my pick to be the breakout star on the offense.
Sophomore Luke Farrell has battled junior Rashad Berry to start at tight end, but I wouldn't be surprised at all to see freshman Jeremy Ruckert as the top receiver at the position by season's end.

The offensive line saw a major surprise when 2017 All-Big 10 guard Michael Jordan was moved to center.
At 6'7, there will be few centers of Jordan's size in the college game and he brings the type of blocking that should blow holes up the middle.
Seniors Demetrius Knox and Malcolm Pridgeon will start the season at guard, but redshirt frosh Wyatt Davis might be ending the season there.
Senior Isaiah Prince starts at right tackle with sophomore Thayer Munford sharing the left tackle slot with junior Joshua Alabi.
Heralded freshmen Nicholas Petit-Frere will see time as well after being listed as the top tackle recruit in the nation.

The defensive line is right with Clemson's as the most talented in the country.
The ends are the most impressive with a potential player of the year in Nick Bosa on one side and Jonathan Cooper alternating with Chase Young on the other.
Cooper and Young will benefit from Bosa's pass rush, but both are loaded with talent themselves and could be eventual first-round picks as well.
The interior line may not have the flash and names, but have plenty of talent in starters Robert Landers and Dre'Mont Jones.
The Buckeyes will rotate several players at defensive tackle with Haskell Garrett and Davon Hamilton having the most experience.

Junior Malik Harrison returns to start at a linebacker slot around two sophomores.
Baron Browning won one spot after an injury to Tuf Borland and Pete Werner surprisingly beat out a senior in Dante Booker to win the other starting position.
Juniors DeAndre Jones and Justin Hilliard will also see plenty of time and will have a chance to break into the starting lineup.

The cornerbacks look strong with juniors Kendall Sheffield and Damon Arnette starting and sophomore Jeffrey Okudah as the third corner and could be the star by the end of the season.
Redshirt freshman Shaun Wade is the fourth cornerback in nickel and dime alignments.
Junior Jordan Fuller and sophomore Isaiah Pryor won the starting safety jobs but will be pushed by sophomores Jahsen Wint and Amir Riep.

Sean Nuernberger returns at kicker and Drue Christman will replace Cameron Johnston as the punter.
DeMario McCall will be the main returner on kickoffs and punts.

The Buckeyes look strong and are more than capable of winning the Big Ten.
Still, the schedule isn't easy with TCU in a "neutral" site game in Dallas, Penn State and Michigan State on the road and a desperate Michigan team in Columbus.
I think Ohio State will lose one of those three road games, but I think they'll recover, finish 11-1 and go back to Indianapolis for a return match against Wisconsin for the Big 10 title game.

PPM

The PPM returns for another season of picks and guesses for the week ahead.

This year's unofficial host is Annie Yu of local television WTTG (Fox Five)in Washington.

If you live in the Washington area, check Annie out on weekday mornings as a reporter and as the weekend morning anchor of their news shows.

Onto the first weekend of games and I'm adding an extra game of the week since there isn't NFL action yet.

Ohio State over Oregon State 49-7

Houston over Rice 34-6

Texas Tech over Ole Miss 45-34

Auburn over Washington 20-17

Boise State over Troy 40-23

Middle Tennessee State over Vanderbilt 24-21

Oregon over Bowling Green 38-17

Games of the Week

Michigan over Notre Dame 30-24

LSU over Miami 24-22