Play Brian Robiskie Because I Am Smarter Than The Browns Coaching Staff

This started out as a response to a Comment made on my most recent article. But because my long-winded response just went too long, I decided to turn it into an article.

I do not generally write articles in first person, but given that the comment was directed at me, I am going to take a break from my normal format.

The Comment surrounded my refusal to give in to the Poster(s)’ obsession with the lack of playing time surrounding some of the younger players (most notably WR Brian Robiskie). I was called to task because according to one of my more passionate (and knowledgeable readers), “you seem to be on the side of quick wins over developing players.”

Now before I answer that charge, I am going to point out that I am a huge fan of the Cleveland Browns, the Ohio State Buckeyes, and Brian Robiskie.

I not only watched Robiskie suit it up for “my” Buckeyes, but I also had the good fortune of watching him as a high school athlete in Northeastern Ohio. In fact, he lived only a couple of miles from where I raised my own family.

Believe me, there would be a certain sense of undeserved pride to see some local kid succeed at the professional level. And even better than that, succeed in the NFL for my hometown Cleveland Browns! And I am willing to bet that there are a whole lot of Browns fans that have that exact same feeling.

I dearly WANT the kid to make it!

Now that I have that out of the way, let’s get down to the business of answering my critic(s).

I am all for developing young players. But developing young players does not include throwing them onto the field when they are not ready (or un-deserving). The players on the team know who belongs on the field on Sundays and if someone doesn’t belong…it will lead to complete anarchy in the locker room.

You want to talk about a coach losing the respect of his players?! If the coaching staff made a decision to promote one of their rookie draft choices over a veteran when he does not deserve it, said coach would lose the locker room so fast his head would spin.

No amount of open practices or sitting in an armchair watching the game on the boob tube can even remotely give fans the feel for how hard NFL players work at their job. The blood, sweat and tears (along with film study and position meetings) that go into preparation for a game or a season are unimaginable by even the most ardent fan.  

This is their livelihood! For most NFL players, this is their one and only shot of making real money. And the risk of injury is so great that they are acutely aware that they are one day away from the end of their career.

Those veterans are working their butts off just like everyone else. In fact, until a rookie actually “gets it” and understands how hard you have to work as a professional athlete, most veterans are actually working harder at their craft.

There is much for a rookie to learn in the NFL. The game is much more difficult not only from a physical standpoint, but from a knowledge standpoint than the average fan can ever fathom.

Even if you were a high school athlete and you want to relive those “Glory Days,” there is absolutely no comparison to what a professional football player puts his mind and body through before, during and after games.

And because of that, a coach cannot play a guy because the “fans” (including me) want to see him in the game!

Now let’s look closer at the Brian Robiskie situation (much of this applies to whoever your favorite young player is).

Some question head coach Eric Mangini’s decision to deactivate or not play him on game day. Something that Mangini points to is that Robiskie is not taking his special teams duties seriously enough. I am sure that is not the only reason that he is not on the field, but rather, one of the many.

Fans, in turn, question why Mr. Robiskie has to take his special teams duties so seriously if players like Mohammed Massaquoi do not even play special teams.

But what those same fans do not take into consideration is that Robiskie currently sits fifth on the depth chart behind Edwards, Massaquoi, Cribbs and Furrey. Because the team is allowed to activate only 45 players on game day, the fifth receiver (or whoever is lower on the depth chart), has to contribute on special teams.

If that player does not, the team needs that spot for someone who can.

Why does Massaquoi not have to play special teams you ask? Well, the answer is that Massaquoi beat Robiskie out on the depth chart to play wide receiver. As evidenced by his monster game against the Bengals, I would say that the coaches were on to something there.

Robiskie is NOT, and I repeat, NOT a great athlete (as compared to guys like Edwards, Cribbs and Massaquoi). He is not faster, is not stronger, and does not have the vertical leap of any of them.

Every professional scout that I ever heard (or read) had the same read on him coming out of college: lacks speed to run by defenders, lacks strength to get off jam and shield off defenders, lacks technique and upper body strength as a blocker, inconsistent production in college, not a number one-type of wide receiver.

As good as he appeared at times in college, even the casual observer could see that he struggled against superior athletes. The defensive backs in the NFL are even bigger, stronger and faster than anything he saw in college. On top of that, they are smarter.

In order to work his way up the depth chart he is going to have to work harder than the superior athletes that are ahead of him. Because he is not the smooth athlete that a guy like Mohammed Massaquoi is, he is going to have to spend more time in the weight room, more time in film study, and more time watching receivers with less-than-superior athletic ability get themselves free (see Mike Furrey).

There is no harm in letting a young player learn by watching a veteran’s work habits, game day preparation, or on-the-field play…at least until he is ready.

A lot of people see a guy like former Brown Joe Jurevicius and say, “that guy wasn’t ridiculously fast and he was a productive wide receiver…so why can’t Robiskie play?

Well, the answer to that is two-fold. First, Jurevicius was a big (6’5”, 235 lbs.), strong guy with exceptionally long arms that he used to shield defenders. Secondly, Jurevicius barely saw the field (even though he was a second round pick) until his fourth season in the NFL.

Jurevicius worked hard to become the final product that he became. Based upon everything I have heard and read about Mr. Robiskie’s character, he most likely will do the same.

I am confident that Robiskie will some day learn the tricks of the trade necessary for him to be a productive number two or three receiver ONE DAY in this league. But that time apparently is not now according to the guys who make the decisions, which includes the wide receivers coach, the offensive coordinator, and the head coach.

When everyone outside of the organization is calling for a coach’s head (as is the case with Mangini and his staff), they cannot afford to be putting guys out on the field who are not ready to play. There is just too much pressure on this coaching staff to win, or to at least play competitively.

From the accounts I have heard, Robiskie is dropping passes during simple drills. The coaching staff is wondering what in the world is going to happen when some 220 pound safety with lightning speed is bearing down on him to separate his head from his body? That’s assuming he can even separate from the corner that is locked on him.

He has not yet learned to block during running plays, let alone in the return game. And he certainly is not going to beat out Joshua Cribbs to return kicks and punts.

Now, I must admit, those are third-person accounts. I am not going to pretend that I know that to be the case. But outsiders shouldn’t assume the opposite is true either.

So as of right now, he is stapled to the bench unless something unforeseen happens OR he improves enough to jump someone ahead of him.

Hey, for all we know, maybe Robiskie does something in practice this very week that gets the coaches attention. Maybe Braylon Edwards most recent brush with the law might have some effect on his playing time. Or maybe someone ahead of him on the depth chart pulls a hamstring.

Fans/Writers, no matter how intelligent of a football fan/writer, can only point out so much from what they see during a game or open practice.

Good fans know when a coach makes a mistake in clock management…or that running an off tackle play on third and 15 isn’t the right call. They can observe that the game plan became too predictable or conservative. They can even recognize that every time a player touches the ball, something good happens.

Even better fans know that running a sprint draw when a defense is blitzing from the edge is too slow of a developing play to work under those circumstances.

Fans (and I include myself in that category), sit around the house with their game-day jersey on, with a beer in one hand, and a foam finger in the other and scream at their television set about coaching decisions.

The media sits in the press box from 50 yards away and say, “I’ve been watching football forever and I’ve got a better handle on this team than coach X.” Guess what? They don’t!

Most couldn’t throw a football 40 yards if someone was holding a gun to their head. Most have never broken down 20 hours of film let alone thousands.

None have spent 18 hours a day in practice or game-day preparation. None have any face-to-face interaction with the player during practice or team meetings.

I remember what a very wise, elderly man who lived next door used to tell me, “You don’t even know what you don’t know.” It irritated me to no end…but that didn’t make him wrong.

Sometimes fans have some very valid complaints, like “how can you kick a field goal when you’re down by 27 points you idiot!” or “why in the world are you not running the clock down when you’re up by seven you #$&*!”

Some especially strong connoisseurs of the game recognize tendencies or weaknesses of opposing teams that should be attacked.

But one thing fans, even good fans, DO NOT KNOW is how far along and how ready one of the team’s players is to get on the field on Sundays. They may WANT their favorite young player to be on the field…but they DO NOT KNOW that said player deserves to play.

I consider myself a pretty intelligent football fan, but it would be obscenely arrogant of me to suggest that somehow I had more ability to make that call than an NFL coach.

Granted, a player can only learn by getting on the field. But to get on the field, you have to do what your coaches are telling you to do.

Only the coaches and fellow players have the insight as to whether that is the case with Robiskie (no matter how much you THINK you know, or THINK you saw while standing around the practice field during OTAs).

Coaching is a very delicate balancing act. Coaches want to develop their young players, but the coach cannot do that at the cost of alienating the rest of his team.

The one thing that I think ALL of us can agree on is this, “Once a coach loses the ears of his players…that coach will be on the firing line.”