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Tag Archives: Ben Tate
BROWNS WAIVE BEN TATE – OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 18, 2014
BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns on Tuesday waived RB Ben Tate. General Manager Ray Farmer made the announcement.
“With all the transactions we make while constructing our roster, it will always be our intent to do what is best for our football team,” said Farmer. “This move is no different and we wish Ben the best going forward.”
Tate started six of the eight games he appeared in this season. He rushed for 333 yards with four touchdowns and added nine receptions for 60 yards.
KEYS TO BEATING THE PITTSBURGH STEELERS THIS WEEK
1) STOP THE RUN – If you can halt the Steelers ground attack and force them to be one dimensional, their offensive line does not pass block well and you can get to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for sacks and potential turnovers. However, that pressure must come from the outside, forcing “Big Ben” to stay in the pocket so he can’t get to the edges, extending the play to throw downfield for long gains and scores. But all this starts by keeping Le’Veon Bell and LeGarrette Blount bottled up. This is easier said than done, especially since the Browns rank 30th out of 32 teams against the run this season, giving up 152.5 yards per game and the Steelers are 7th in the league in rushing at 137.2 yards per game.
2) DOUBLE TEAM ANTONIO BROWN – Give Joe Haden help in covering Brown. Bring a safety over and take your chances with one-on-one coverage elsewhere. In other words, make a receiver not named Antonio Brown beat you. No one has emerged to become that true, viable, second receiver threat yet for Pittsburgh. In fact, Brown is the only Steelers WR to reach the end zone this season.
3) BALANCE ON OFFENSE – Against Tennessee the Browns ran the ball 36 times and threw it 37 times. A similar game plan this week would be beneficial against a Steelers defense that is at best, AVERAGE. At times Pittsburgh has had trouble stopping the run and with the Browns strength being their offensive line and three capable running backs led by Ben Tate, using the run to set up the pass with play action, could result in chunks of yards on the ground, and then big scoring plays through the air against a very poor Steelers secondary. But when that big play is there, they must hit on it, score touchdowns and not have to settle for field goals because of missed opportunities.
4) SPECIAL TEAMS NEED TO BE SPECIAL – The Browns must contain Antonio Brown on punt returns. No more long returns and karate kicks to the face of Spencer Lanning. The Browns must win the field position battle and make sure that whoever is returning punts and kicks doesn’t turn the ball over. The Browns were very lucky last week that a penalty against the Titans nullified a fumbled punt return by Travis Benjamin. Also snaps, extra points and field goals all must be handled flawlessly by snapper, holder and kicker, so no kicks are missed and points are left on the field.
5) MAKE THE STEELERS LINEBACKERS COVER – In Dick Lebeau’s defensive scheme, he expects to get sacks or pressure on the quarterback from his linebackers. In the past that was no problem because Pittsburgh had Pro Bowl caliber linebackers. These Steelers linebackers are not that good. They’re having trouble getting to the quarterback and they have trouble covering tight ends and running backs on wheel routes out of the backfield. So make them cover and keep them off of Brian Hoyer, and the “Blitzburgh” defense is very susceptible to the big play and yielding points.
6) START AND FINISH STRONG – The Browns can ill afford to spot Pittsburgh a huge lead again because this time Pittsburgh may not take their foot off the gas like they did last time. Getting an early lead would be great for the team’s confidence and might put doubt in the minds of some of the young Steelers players, but at a minimum, keep the game even or close going into the fourth quarter and see if Brian Hoyer can work some more late game magic and help the “Kardiac Kids 2.0” come away with an important home, divisional win against their arch rivals.
FRIDAY FOOTBALL FORECAST
OHIO STATE at MARYLAND – 12pm – SATURDAY
Maryland has a chance to show all the doubters, like myself, why they belong in the Big Ten as they host Ohio State Saturday. The Buckeyes have chance to show that they’ve started to figure out how to play pass defense as they go up against a talented dual threat quarterback C.J. Brown (wrist injury) and his group of talented receivers – Stefon Diggs, Deon Long and Marcus Leak. If Brown can’t go at QB then it’ll be Caleb Rowe slinging the pigskin around against the Buckeyes. Either way, it’s another big test for the back end OSU’s defense.
The Buckeyes special teams better be up to the task as well as they’ll be tested in their coverage units going up against the 11th ranked kickoff return man in the country in Stefon Diggs (29.4avg) and William Likely, the 8th ranked punt return man in the country (22.0avg).
OSU quarterback J.T. Barrett has put up some decent numbers overall so far for Urban Meyer. The redshirt freshman signal caller has thrown for 1,080 yards and 13TD’s in his first 4 games while running for 205 yards and a a score. He will have to continue to play at a high level for the Buckeyes to win this game on the road in what could be another shootout.
I’ll take the Buckeyes in another high scoring affair 34-24.
CLEVELAND BROWNS at TENNESSEE TITANS – 1pm – SUNDAY
The Browns have an opportunity for a road win at Tennessee this Sunday. The Titans are ranked 22nd against the run in the NFL and the Browns strength is their rushing attack, ranked 9th in the NFL. Because of the solid play of the offensive line it shouldn’t matter if it’s Ben Tate, Isaiah Crowell or Terrance West carrying the rock, Kyle Shanahan’s offense should be able to move the ball on the ground.
If the Browns are successful with ground game, this will set up Brian Hoyer for plenty of play action opportunities against a defense that has given up 74 points over their last 2 games.
If Jake Locker plays for the Titans, the Browns pass defense will be tested more than if Charlie Whitehurst is under center. But Locker is coming off a wrist injury and while he practiced this week, he could be a bit rusty and not at 100 percent. That’s good news, because any help the Browns pass defense can get right now is needed as they rank 27th against the pass in the NFL.
I’m taking the Browns 24-17 in this one, as they start a stretch of 5 games where I expect them to go at least (3-2) if not (4-1).
PODCAST – THE RODA REPORT ON 92.3 THE FAN
Here’s my weekly conversation with 92.3 The fan’s Andy Baskin and Jeff Phelps discussing the Browns/Steelers game, injuries to Ben Tate and Jordan Cameron, Josh Gordon and the NFL and NFLPA Drug Policy conversations and more.
POSITION BREAKDOWN – BROWNS AT STEELERS – RUNNING BACKS
Both teams now feel they have a feature back. The Steelers with Le’Veon Bell, last year’s second round pick out of Michigan State and the Browns with free agent signee Ben Tate who comes over from the Texans.
Bell and his back-up Legarrette Blount, are lucky to be playing because both are facing marijuana possession charges, and Bell also has a possible DUI charge to deal with. The Steelers, who could have suspended one or both, have decided to wait for due process to play out, thus allowing both running backs to play in the opener. Another reason the Steelers are probably letting both play is because the only other running back they have on the roster is rookie 3rd round pick Dri Archer from Kent State.
Bell racked up over 1,200 yards rushing and receiving last season in Pittsburgh while Blount accumulated over 700 yard rushing in New England. The two combined for 15 touchdowns last season. So Pittsburgh has its starter and a solid back-up, plus a rookie with 4.2 speed in Archer that offensive coordinator Todd Haley and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger can use. That’s a pretty good trio.
The Browns were led in rushing last year by Willis McGahee, but he only gained 377 yards and reached the endzone just twice. The Browns as a team only rushed for a total of 4 TD’s all of last season. So new G.M. Ray Farmer signed Ben Tate to be his feature back and then drafted Terrance West in the third round out of Towson to be his back-up. The third stringer is undrafted rookie Isaiah Crowell. Tate gained almost 800 yards playing for the injured Arian Foster last year in Houston and scored 4 touchdowns in 14 games. Now he gets his chance to be the Browns every down back running behind the better of the two offensive lines in Kyle Shanahan’s offense. He must hold on to the football and stay healthy for this free agent signing to be a success, something that Tate has had problems with in his career.
Even with the lessor of the two O-Line’s, I like the Steelers running backs better because they’ve got two healthy starters and a speedster to mix in as a change of pace.
RUNNING BACKS ADVANTAGE – PITTSBURGH
BROWNS WITH PLENTY OF QUESTIONS ENTERING LIONS GAME
The most important thing about Saturday night’s game is obviously the play of the quarterbacks. How does Brian Hoyer’s body hold up for the time he is in there? Is he indeed 100% healthy? Can he put points on the board? How does Johnny Manziel handle the speed of the NFL game even if it is against the second team? Can he command the huddle and call the right plays? How much does Johnny run the football and can he take a hit or two from guys that are bigger, stronger, faster than the ones he played against in college?
These are all questions that hopefully the Browns will get answers to one way or another. It doesn’t seem right to think this way, but you almost hope one of the two guys falls flat on his face or bombs, so it will help make the decision easier and clearer. On the other hand, if both guys do well, then you’ve strengthened the QB position and it’s great in this league to have depth.
Other positions I’ll be watching closely:
WR – Who steps up and makes plays besides Josh Gordon? Will it be the veterans Miles Austin or Nate Burleson? Will Andrew Hawkins show why the Browns paid him a decent amount of money in free agency to come to Cleveland? Does somebody come out of know where and make a name for himself and get the coaches attention? Besides quarterback, the receiver position is my biggest concern with this football team.
RB – Ben Tate was a nice free agent pick up in the off season by Ray Farmer, especially for the price, but how does he handle being the feature back now and can he stay healthy? Also rookie Terrance West has been getting rave reviews for what he’s done in training camp, will that translate to the football field against an opponent that isn’t wearing the same colored jersey you do?
LB – Barkevious Mingo has had a great camp, but can he produce the same results on the field in an actual game? How much of an impact will the self-proclaimed best linebacker in the NFL, Karlos Dansby really make? Can Paul Kruger bounce back from being a big name free agent bust from last season and start earning his money and making plays on the field this year?
CB – Not sure of the injury situation with rookie #1 pick Justin Gilbert and whether or not he’ll play, but from the day he was drafted I expected him to be the starter opposite Joe Harden from day 1. He needs to be able to beat out Buster Skrine for this defense to be a better defense.
HC – How will first time ever head coach Mike Pettine do in his first game? Is the game plan good? How does he handle in game situations from time outs, to challenges to halftime adjustments?
These are all things I will be watching closely in the Browns first and all of their pre-season games, as they get ready for their regular season opener on September 7th at Pittsburgh.
2014 CLEVELAND BROWNS FANTASY FOOTBALL RANKINGS
G.M. Ray Farmer and the Cleveland Browns feel they have made significant moves this offseason through the draft and free agency that will help them win football games in the NFL. But with the moves they have made, will it increase the value of any of their players when it comes to Fantasy football?
Here’s how I approach my Fantasy Football season and the player rankings. I have my own ideas on who I have ranked high and who I like for the upcoming season. I then go and buy my annual Fantasy magazine, which is Sports Illustrated and I also download information from two other highly reputable Fantasy outlets, ESPN.com and CBSSportsline.com. I then take the average of all four to come up with my rankings for my draft cheat sheet.
In starting my research it has become apparent to me that not many players on the Browns offense are being considered as starters or must haves on Fantasy rosters this year. With that in mind, here are the players and where the three major magazines/websites have Browns players ranked.
Sports Illustrated
QB – Johnny Manziel – 34th
QB – Brian Hoyer – 19th
RB – Ben Tate – 21st
WR – Josh Gordon 70th
WR – Andrew Hawkins – 82nd
TE – Jordan Cameron – 10th
ESPN.com
QB – Johnny Manziel – 23rd
QB – Brian Hoyer – 35th
RB – Ben Tate – 16th
WR – Josh Gordon – Not Ranked in Top 80
WR – Andrew Hawkins – 54th
TE – Jordan Cameron – 6th
CBSSportsline.com
QB – Johnny Manziel – 26th and 29th
QB – Brian Hoyer – Not Ranked in Top 32
RB – Ben Tate – 27th and 27th
WR – Josh Gordon – Not Ranked in Top 60
WR – Andrew Hawkins – Not Ranked in Top 60
TE – Jordan Cameron – 5th and 10th
So as you can see tight end Jordan Cameron, in the eyes of the experts, is your highest ranked Cleveland Browns player when it comes to expected Fantasy Football production this season. Josh Gordon would have been the top ranked Browns player if he didn’t have the potential season long suspension hanging over his head. However, not knowing his status at this point either has him ranked very low or not ranked at all. Should Gordon’s potential season long suspension be reduced, or if he miraculously is cleared to play in all 16 games this season, then he would once again be a top 10, if not a top 5 receiver on almost everybody’s boards and the top ranked Browns player.
MY 2014 BROWNS PROJECTED STARTERS FOR WEEK ONE
This is of course subject to change based on injury, practice and game performance, but this is how I see the 2014 Cleveland Browns lining up on Sunday, September 7th at Pittsburgh.
I’ve said it all along and I’m sticking to it, I believe it would be smart to start Brian Hoyer at quarterback for the first three games of the season if healthy, and see how he does. If he plays well and you’re winning you stick with him. If he struggles, or the offense struggles and you’re 1-2, or 0-3 after playing Pittsburgh, New Orleans and Baltimore then use the bye week in week #4, to reevaluate the QB position and decide if it’s time for Johnny Manziel to be your starter in game four at Tennessee.
On defense I know that the Browns spent a lot of money in free agency on outside linebacker Paul Kruger last year, but he was a big disappointment. I believe there’s a great chance for second year linebacker and last year’s first round pick Barkevious Mingo to step up in camp and earn a starting job there. I also believe that this year’s first round pick, Justin Gilbert will beat out Buster Skrine for the right corner back spot and start from day one.
Here are my projected starters as of (7-26-14) for the Cleveland Browns:
OFFENSE
QB- Brian Hoyer
RB- Ben Tate
WR- Andrew Hawkins
WR- Miles Austin
WR- Nate Burleson
TE- Jordan Cameron
LT- Joe Thomas,
LG- Joel Bitonio
C – Alex Mack
RG- John Greco
RT- Mitchell Schwartz
DEFENSE
LDE- Ahtyba Rubin
NT- Phil Taylor
RDE- Desmond Bryant
LOLB- Barkevious Mingo
LILB- Craig Robertson
RILB- Karlos Dansby
ROLB- Jabaal Sheard
LCB- Joe Haden
SS- Donte Whitner
FS- Tashaun Gibson
RCB- Justin Gilbert