SB Nation - Scott Young

Broncos sign G Scott Young

John Bena — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 22:54:57 -0000

The Denver Broncos on Friday signed unrestricted free-agent guard Scott Young, it was announced. As per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Young (6-foot-4, 312 pounds) is a fifth-year player who joins the Broncos after stints with Cleveland (2008) and Philadelphia (2005-08). He entered the NFL with the Eagles in 2005 as a fifth-round draft choice (172nd overall) from Brigham Young University.

The offensive lineman has appeared in 14 career regular-season games (0 starts) along with two postseason contests (0 starts).

Young spent the entire 2008 regular season on the Browns' active roster and appeared in one game for the club. He was claimed off waivers by Cleveland on Aug. 31 after competing in the Eagles' training camp.

In 2006, Young saw time in a career-high 12 regular-season games along with both postseason contests for Philadelphia. He began his rookie season with the Eagles in 2005 on their practice squad before he was signed to their active roster in late November of that year.

After starting his collegiate career at Dixie State College (St. George, Utah), where he was a first-team NJCAA All-American as a defensive lineman, Young played two seasons at BYU. He switched to the offensive line before his senior year with the Cougars.

A two-way starter at Hillcrest High School in Salt Lake City, Young was born on July 15, 1981.

Should a 3-0 Broncos Team Have Any Concerns?

Steve Nichols — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 21:00:05 -0000

At this point in the season it feels pretty good to be a Broncos fan. Cutler is playing like a Pro Bowl talent, and his targets are playing at the same level. Perhaps the best news about the Broncos is the youth movement.

Does anyone doubt that Clady and Harris will play at offensive tackle for years to come? How about Marshall and Royal? The team is throwing points at opponents at a staggering rate, and the Broncos faithful are loving it.

But questions remain, even for a team out to a three and zero start. It may not be pleasant to consider, but it bears discussion.

Some statistics point to an effective defense, and the case can be made that the defense isn't doing so bad. On the other hand, teams are putting up a lot of points.
Does the offense need balance? Can we really keep winning putting the ball in the air so much?
Are the Broncos changing their identity on both sides of the ball, leading to new era? Is this a good thing?

Let's look at these points and bring together our community at Milehighreport.com for a discussion.

Read on...

The Defense

In the opening season game, Denver's defense seemed to allow the Raiders to fire up their offense towards the end of the game. This led to games against SD and NO where the opposing teams seemed to move the ball at will. Is this an issue?

One school of thought says no. This thinking holds that Denver is an explosive offense that can win with minimal defense. The school of thought that I subscribe to believes that there are consequences for a team that allows opponents to move the ball so well that they put up almost as many points as our own dynamic team.

But the debate can be further muddied. Yet a third school of thought can claim that the defense is actually doing fairly well. For example, stats can be found showing that we are holding teams' running games in check. Is this accurate, or are teams throwing the ball because we are forcing a shootout?

Let's look at some key areas for discussion.

First, what are we doing with our safeties?. I'm not going to give much thought to this area, because Styg50 is going to be rolling out an excellent look at the safety position, and how it needs to be utilized to work in concert with the rest of the team.

Second, are we satisfied with the play of our LBs? DJ Williams hasn't made a lot of major plays (sacks, forced fumbles, fumble recoveries, INTs, etc) but he remains a tackling machine. Debate still seems to linger with MLB Webster, and his issues with overpursuit. There is some talk pro and con about Webster or Niko being the better option. But I'll stick my neck out about Boss Bailey. I remain concerned about his playing time (injuries), and it's too early to tell for sure, but I like what I see in TE match-ups. Brees and Shockey may not be a fair measure of how well a LOLB does incovering a TE, but I like B. Bailey's speed, swivel, and tackling. Boss wasn't on Shockey on every play that Shockey performed well on, but the ones where he matched he did a credible job.

The defensive line has points pro and con as well. On the one hand, there simply isn't enough pressure to stop teams from throwing with success. Denver recognizes this, and experimented with the 3-4 against New Orleans. (note - Styg50 had asked me about teaming up for an article looking at the merits of running a 3-4 this year. I was dismissive about the value of the article a the time. A nod goes out to Styg while I eat a big mouthful of humble pie). The hope was that Denver could at least disguise one of the rushers, which you can't do with a 4-3. By the second half, Denver realized that this wasn't the answer either.

I'm going to assert that our defense isn't getting the job done. We can point to very valid points in defense of the defense, but I don't buy it. Some will point out that we are doing a much better better job of stopping the run. This is true, but teams are throwing the ball against us. Some will point out that we are playing top notch QBs. Again, this is true, but only to a point.

We let Russell (Oak) throw on us effectively late in the MNF game, and I wouldn't call him a solid QB. I watched that game, and I didn't really see that we were playing a prevent defense at all. Rivers threw well against us, enough that the game could have gone either way. Brees went at us missing his number one target (Colston), and put up even better numbers than Cutler did. Except for some missed kicks by NO, Denver could have lost that game.

Here's my worry. We are doing a fantastic job as a team right now, but this kind of play won't work in the playoffs. (Yes, I'm going to talk about playoffs. We are definately good enough to get there). The playoffs are a single elimination tournament, and teams that can't put away their opponents go home. We aren't "closing the deal". We're racking up a lot of points, allowing our opponents to do the same, and hoping we come out on top. That's a major gamble. We are on the razor's edge of being 3-0 or 1-2 right now. I don't want to be that razor thin in the playoffs. We can afford a loss here and there in the regular season, but not in the playoffs.

Case study - the Colts. The Colts depend on a star QB and multiple star receiving threats. Take way one key playmaker on defense (safety Sanders) and the team goes into a nosedive.

Case study - the Patriots. Everyone focuses on Brady and his offense. Big mistake. The same defense that stopped the "Greatest Show on Turf" (STL) is the same defense that magicaly adjusts to any offense it plays. It is the play on both sides of the ball that makes the Patriots a dynasty this decade.

Balance on Offense

Why isn't Denver running the ball? Again, there are two opposing schools of thought. One goes, "Why bother? We're beating the excrement out of teams with Cutler's sure hand". True.

But the other way of thinking goes like this. Because Denver doesn't run the ball much, several other things happen.

Our offense doesn't stay on the field for as long as they could. This means our defense is getting worn down.
Our offense isn't able to eat up the clock, which would prevent second half scoring frenzies ala Oakland and San Diego.
We aren't tiring down opposing defenses.

In my mind, these are the differences between winning and losing close games versus winning games by a comfortable margin. Maybe a blow out isn't as fun to watch, but it sure makes it easier to progress to a trophy.

Young and Hall are doing a fine job rotating about every five plays, and Pittman is doing a good job on short yardage. But we just aren't using them very much. Perhaps the coaches are giving Cutler as much practice as possible to speed his advancement. After all, we'll always have a good running game. Or maybe it's a new trend. Which leads us to...

Denver's New Identity

Is it just me, or has Denver radicaly changed on both sides of the ball?

We know that Denver has abandoned last year's Run Contain System on defense. I think a lot of us expected an aggressive defense from a coordinator with a reputation for attacking. Not so. In act, we're not only seeing base plays from the Broncos, we're still seeing adjustments. This is a concern. The 3-4 we saw for awhile against NO was likely an attempt to disguise who the fourth rusher is. Coach Slowik is likely to take what he's seen back to the drawing board to look for tweaks to maximize the defense.

But the offense is morphing into uncharted waters. The zone block running game? Still there, but rarely used. West Coast? Still there, but awfuly close to a spread offense. Instead of spreading the field east-west to set up the middle, one-cut runs, we are setting up vertical passes with short passes. Is this "new way" here to stay, or are we going to settle back into a game that causes more confusion for our opponents?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm hoping to create a lot of discussion with this story. I don't have the answers, but like each of us, I enjoy theorizing. I love watching Cutler dissect a defense, but I don't like seeing opponents do the same to us. I love watching Denver put up points, but I don't like the absence of a running game that could keep opponents from catching up. I love seeing a 3-0 record, but I would like to see games won by a comfortable margin.

I'm not complaining. I love the fact that we are 3-0. But it isn't a dominant 3-0. We can't improve much on Cutler and the passing game; we're blessed there. But we do need to see other elements of the team thrown into the mix and to see other parts of the team step up, or we could deflate later in the season.

Poll

Denver is 3-0.

We're winning, that's all that really matters.

40 votes

We need to make some adjustments if we are going to keep winning.

263 votes

303 votes | Poll has closed

Cleveland Browns 2008-2009 Season Preview

Chris Pokorny — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 04:28:28 -0000

The Cleveland Browns are entering the 2008-2009 with high expectations. With a successful offense returning, a much-improved defensive line, and the fans more excited than ever about the team, anything short of a playoff berth will be a disappointment.

Now, let's take a look at this year's official season preview, brought to you exclusively by Dawgs By Nature.

Note: Due to page-width issues, click the link below to read the full preview. Also, please use the "Yahoo Buzz" feature in the top-right corner to help promote this piece!

Cleveland Browns Season Preview - 2008-2009 Edition

Offensive Depth Chart

Defensive Depth Chart

Pos	1st String	2nd String	3rd String
QB	Derek Anderson	Brady Quinn	Ken Dorsey
RB	Jamal Lewis	Jerome Harrison	Jason Wright
FB	Lawrence Vickers	Charles Ali
WR	Braylon Edwards	Joshua Cribbs	Steve Sanders
WR	Donte Stallworth	Syndric Steptoe	Martin Rucker (TE)
TE	Kellen Winslow	Steve Heiden	Darnell Dinkins
LT	Joe Thomas	Isaac Sowells
LG	Eric Steinbach	Scott Young
C	Hank Fraley
RG	Seth McKinney	Rex Hadnot
RT	Kevin Shaffer	Ryan Tucker

Pos	1st String	2nd String	3rd String
LDE	Corey Williams	Shaun Smith
NT	Shaun Rogers	Ahtyba Rubin
RDE	Robaire Smith	Louis Leonard
LOLB	Willie McGinest	Alex Hall	Shantee Orr
ILB	D'Qwell Jackson	Kris Griffin	Beau Bell
ILB	Andra Davis	Leon Williams
ROLB	Kamerion Wimbley
LCB	Eric Wright	Terry Cousin	Gerard Lawson
RCB	Brandon McDonald	Travis Daniels
FS	Brodney Pool	Mike Adams
SS	Sean Jones	Nick Sorensen

Positional Summaries

Quarterbacks

Defensive Line

Quarterback controversy? For the first time since returning to the NFL, the fans, the coaching staff, and all of the other players on the team have confidence in the starting quarterback. Derek Anderson is coming off of an unprecedented year, throwing for nearly 30 touchdowns. After leading the Browns to a 10-5 record as a starter last year, he'll have to improve his game this season though. With expectations higher, a tougher schedule ahead of him, and a decision needing to be made about backup quarterback Brady Quinn, Anderson now needs to show that he can enter the ranks of the Peyton Manning's, Tom Brady's, and Tony Romo's.

Meanwhile, Quinn can't feel too good about his situation in Cleveland right now. No matter what a quarterback says, they want to play right away. When he looks around the league, all of the other young quarterbacks -- Matt Leinart, Vince Young, JaMarcus Russell, Alex Smith, Joe Flacco, and Matt Ryan -- have received starting opportunities in their first or second years. Quinn has shown the ability to manage the Browns offense if needed though, and third-stringer Ken Dorsey will continue to remain a mentor for him.

Grade: A

I graded the defensive line a D+ last season. Looking back, that was probably being too optimistic. Robaire Smith was a welcome addition to the Browns at the time, but I can't say I'm too upset about seeing guys like Ethan Kelley and Simon Fraser replaced by two potential Pro Bowlers.

When free agency first hit, the Browns didn't make a single move involving the defensive line. Fans were outraged and confused as more and more of the "higher-rated" free agents were being signed by other teams. Then, out of no where, Phil Savage pulled out his bag of magic tricks with two trades. First, he somehow worked a deal to acquire Packers defensive end Corey Williams in exchange for just a third-round draft pick. Then, he paid a lot for Pro Bowl defensive tackle Shaun Rogers, giving up top cornerback Leigh Bodden and a second-round draft pick. We wanted improvement, and we got it.

The optimism for the defensive line is extremely high now. Some fans are dying to see a pass rush, but the thing I'm looking forward to is Rogers' ability to stop the run. I can definitively remember teams like the Houston Texans running their third-string running back against us for 100+ yards with ease. With the versatile Shaun Smith becoming depth as opposed to a starter, the talent of rotation should improve too to ensure everybody stays fresh for four quarters.

Grade: B+

Running Backs

Linebackers

There were a lot of questions surrounding Jamal Lewis prior to last season. He was coming over from a Baltimore Ravens team where he had looked injury-plagued and on the downside of his career. He answered all of his critics by having a tremendous season overall last year, especially by establishing his role as a "closer" against teams like the New York Jets and the Buffalo Bills. There is still room for improvement though, and that'll have come against the stiffer competition he'll face this year in the NFC East, the AFC South, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

No matter what he does though, there will always be a concern in the back of everyone's mind if Lewis suffers an injury. Phil Savage decided to stick with Jerome Harrison and Jason Wright as the backups for the second year in a row, but their roles have become a little more defined. If Lewis suffers an injury, Harrison will be the starting running back. Whether Lewis is healthy or not, Wright will be the third-down running back. That boils down to Harrison still being a poor blocker -- something you can't afford in third-down passing situations.

Part of the reason I graded the Browns' backs a C+ last season was due to the question marks at the fullback position. In his first season as a starter though, Lawrence Vickers was more than impressive. And, in training camp and throughout the preseason, Charles Ali has looked like one of the best No. 2 fullbacks in the league.

Grade: B

So, what has changed at the linebacker position this year? Absolutely nothing.

Our starters are still Kamerion Wimbley, Andra Davis, D'Qwell Jackson, and Willie McGinest. Leon Williams is still the backup middle linebacker. Antwan Peek still has the injury asterisk next to his name. The lone differences are the rookie draft picks -- Beau Bell and Alex Hall. While there is a lot of excitement surrounding Hall, until he shows what he's capable of on gameday, it's impossible to evaluate his true value.

I've always been negative towards Andra Davis, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that he is going to have a break out year. I have criticized him for always making his tackles five yards down the field as opposed to in the backfield or closer to the line of scrimmage. Considering that he's had to suffer through running backs getting through the defensive line so quickly though, a change in talent up front can only be beneficial to him. Wearing the defensive headset this year, he'll also be counted on more than ever to be the leader of the defense.

Wimbley's expectations are also high, but I'm still not sold on him. It's frustrating to see that he has yet to develop a solid inside move -- the better left tackles have had no problem defending him if they know he's one-dimensional. I overrated our linebackers last year with a B+; this year I'm setting my sights a little lower (not because we got worse).

Grade: C+

Receivers

Secondary

Clearly, Dennis Northcutt was a better third wide receiver than Tim Carter (last year's candidate) and Travis Wilson (this year's original candidate). Thankfully, due to the talent at the top two receiver positions and at tight end, the third wide receiver shouldn't be an issue for the second year in a row.

Braylon Edwards is coming off of a career year, and now enters this season as one of the most respected receivers talent-wise in all of football. The impact he has on opposing defenses is greater than anybody else on our team -- just look how sorry the offense looked in the preseason when Wilson was starting as opposed to Edwards. Veteran receiver Joe Jurevicius is still with the team, but unfortunately the soonest he'll be able to come back is after Week 6 as he tries to return from offseason surgery. Replacing Jurevicius in the starting lineup is former Patriots receiver Donte Stallworth, who was one of the top free agent receivers on the market this year. Stallworth adds a different dimension than Jurevicius did -- more catch-and-run, with the deep ball sprinkled in.

Without Jurevicius though, the Browns will be in search of a new go-to-guy on third downs. That man has to be tight end Kellen Winslow. While he's had two consecutive solid seasons, you still get the feeling that he's yet to reach his fullest potential. Around Week 6, the Browns also hope to have rookie tight end Martin Rucker available to open up the offensive playbook even further by being able to shift Winslow to receiver more often while still having a pass-catching threat at tight end.

Grade: A

This is the problem area heading into the season, but with a lot of luck, things don't have to turn out so bad.

When you look up and down the NFL, how many teams actually have a dominant secondary? I can probably count them on only two hands, meaning far less than half of the league. The Browns are receiving so much attention because we're playing young players and we traded away our best cornerback in Leigh Bodden. Since when do two young players, paired with two safeties who are in command of their positions, warrant an automatic notation for failure? The risks are certainly high, but until we see what happens over the first several weeks of the season, it's not time to write the unit off just yet.

Sean Jones had his ups and downs last season, but he really seemed to get things going towards the latter part of the season, as did Brodney Pool. Pool's coverage abilities are still questionable, but he knows how to lay the big hit at the right time. Now, we just have to hope he'll be able to deliver those hits still after sustaining several concussions over the span of his career.

At cornerback, Brandon McDonald's starting role is the our only new dimension in reality. When the team traded Bodden, they envisioned cornerback Daven Holly filling one of the starting role, allowing McDonald to become the nickel back. Holly's injury is what triggered the chain of concerns -- and with Terry Cousin and Travis Daniels being the only depth behind the starters, I am concerned if one of them has to start. The signing of a free agent cornerback like Ty Law isn't completely out of the question still if the unit is unbearably bad to start the season. For depth reasons, the secondary suffers a low grade here.

Grade: D+

Offensive Line

Special Teams

I gave the Browns' offensive line a "B" at the start of last season. Again, I completely underestimated our line's capabilities. Rookie left tackle Joe Thomas exceeded expectations, becoming one of the few rookie tackles to actually live up to his potential. Free agent pickup Eric Steinbach anchored the left side with Thomas very well all season long. Meanwhile, Kevin Shaffer was better at right tackle than he was at left tackle, Hank Fraley held his own at center, and the right guard position was held down by either Seth McKinney or Ryan Tucker.

This year, nothing has changed with the exception of a few backups on the offensive line. Considering that the line only allowed Derek Anderson to be sacked 14 times all season and that Jamal Lewis ran for over 1,300 yards, I think it's safe to say that this unit warrants a higher grade.

Grade: A-

Take a look at this quote from last year's special teams preview I wrote, regarding Browns kicker Phil Dawson:

"Phil Dawson is back for another year, but if he's not able to produce some more "clutch" kicks this year, some of the once loyal fans could finally be giving up on him."

Boy, did I unknowingly foreshadow something at the time? Not only did Dawson have several game-winning field gals last season, he improved his leg strength in the offseason and could be in line to attempt more 50-yarders this season. At punter, Dave Zastudil is healthy again after having somewhat of a down year last season.

The X-factor remains Joshua Cribbs. Sorry Deven Hester, but Cribbs by far has you beat as the best all-around special teams contributor in all of football. Any time he touches the ball, he's a threat to take it the distance. Any time he's a gunner, he'll mow down the opposing returner in a flash.

Grade: A+

How The Season Will Go

Schedule

Divisional Finish

REGULAR SEASON

Date	Opponent	Time
9/7	Dallas - Win	4:15 pm
9/14	Pittsburgh - Win	8:15 pm
9/21	at Baltimore - Win	4:15 pm
9/28	at Cincinnati - Loss	1:00 pm
10/5	BYE WEEK	------
10/13	New York Giants - Loss	8:30 pm
10/19	at Washington - Win	4:15 pm
10/26	at Jacksonville - Loss	4:05 pm
11/2	Baltimore - Win	1:00 pm
11/6	Denver - Win	8:15 pm
11/17	at Buffalo - Win	8:30 pm
11/23	Houston - Win	1:00 pm
11/30	Indianapolis - Loss	1:00 pm
12/7	at Tennessee - Win	1:00 pm
12/15	at Philadelphia - Loss	8:30 pm
12/21	Cincinnati - Win	1:00 pm
12/28	at Pittsburgh - Loss	1:00 pm

REGULAR SEASON

AFC North 2008-2009
Place	Team	Record
1	Cleveland Browns	10-6
2	Pittsburgh Steelers	10-6
3	Cincinnati Bengals	7-9
4	Baltimore Ravens	3-13

I predicted that the Browns would win seven games last season, and at the time, that was a high prediction. After winning ten games, look at the respect we earned on the schedule to the left: five nationally televised prime time games. Forget those typical Ian Eagle/Soloman Wilcots- announced games that we became accustomed to the past several seasons: in our first ten games, only two of them will be played at 1:00 pm.

This season, I expect the Browns to rise to the occasion of a tough schedule. It's time for the Browns to become one of the elite teams in the NFL again rather than always being the underdogs. More important than anything else though, it's time to dethrone the Pittsburgh Steelers from atop the AFC North.