(SportsRadio 610) - There's a lot of uncertainty heading into this year's camp and no guarantees of a better ball club, but some things are better in year two of Camp Caserio compared to year one.
Here are 10 of them.
1. Less Drama - The Deshaun Watson trade has been completed and the awkwardness of WATSON'S presence last camp is a thing of the past.
2. No BOB Offensive Offspring - Bill O'Brien made it look very hard on offense and failed to maximize the talent he had. The average offensive DVOA ranking in King Bill's six seasons was 23.6 out of 32 teams (21, 25, 30, 24, 19, 17). When O'Brien left town Tim Kelly, who had spent his entire coaching career under O'Brien, stayed to oversee the offense, which went about how you'd expect.
I have no idea what kind of offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton is going to be for this team, but I know he didn't learn offensive football from Bill O'Brien, which is a good thing in my book.
3. Lovie Smith - In year one of the startup David Culley was ok, I guess, but anything more than a year would've been too much. Same concept as Pep as OC… I don't know how much success Lovie Smith will have, but I know he's not David Culley.
4. More young talent - Caserio's first draft class showed a lot of promise despite not having a draft pick until round three. This year Caserio had full draft equity and there's a lot of optimism that the talented youth on this team will continue to grow. Jonathan Greenard also showed some promise last season with a team-high eight sacks.
5. No Stop Gap QB - Tyrod Taylor was a great leader and has carved out a nice career for himself, but he wasn't a potential long-term solution for life after Watson. Davis Mills might not be either, but there's at least the possibility.
6. A Young RB - The veteran route (typically from the back of his previous team's depth chart) has been the norm at the running back position around here for a while. Dameon Pierce is the most intriguing young back this team has had since D'Onta Foreman in 2017.
7. Tytus The Right Tackle - After a few years of being moved around all along the line Tytus Howard will finally be at right tackle, no questions asked. I've asked Howard what position he plays at every one of his camps as a pro and gotten the same answer, "I'm an offensive lineman." I cannot wait to talk to him this camp and have him tell me he's a right tackle, no doubt. How good he does is TBD, but this is where he belongs.
8. Better Offensive Line? - I've been burned assuming the offensive line will be better before, but let's try again. Healthy Laremy Tunsil, Tytus full-time right tackle, first-rounder Kenyon Green at left guard, free agent AJ Cann at right guard and a more simple scheme. The offensive line will be improved. Final answer.
9. Less Impactful Easterby - The word culture has been removed from Jack Easterby's bio on the team website and it seems the potential personnel/PR impact has been minimized. It appears the goal post is being moved around with Jack's role, which is a good thing.
There are still A LOT of tasks listed on his bio, but it seems more like a romanticized supervisor role to keep him busy and out of the way while the football people do their jobs. Less is more, none would be best, but the overall impact seems to be minimized, which is a good thing for the future success of the organization.
10. Vibes - The overall feel and vibes are better. It started at the Lovie Smith introductory press conference, I could feel it there. I can already hear listeners saying you don't win games at pressers. True, but I'll take the current vibes over the vibes of last year.
