OT: Update from Browns training camp on a couple of notable Michiganders
https://www.si.com/nfl/browns/browns-maven-features/film-room-malik-mcdowell-2021
The emergence of Donovan Peoples-Jones in the Browns training camp has been discussed here several times already but there's a second player making a name for himself here that's an even bigger surprise - Malik McDowell.
A very surprising off-season signing by the Browns, McDowell's NFL career was considered finished following his ATV accident in 2017 and his legal troubles in Michigan in 2019. But to the surprise of many (including me) McDowell is showing signs of not only making the 53 man roster - he may even end up starting given how well he's been playing in practice and against the Giants this past Sunday
"He finished with five tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss, and two quarterback hits on just 25 snaps. He earned an elite 91.7 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, pacing all defensive tackles in Week 2. He was clearly the best defensive tackle on the field for the Browns, and probably their best defensive player, period."
Oh, and one more thing. This past Sunday I went to the Browns game and met DPJ's mom (SUPER nice lady) as well as many other family members (they were all wearing "Team DPJ" t-shirts). I introduced myself as a fellow Michigan alum and asked her how the fans in Ohio were treating Donovan given the troubles (allegedly) that both Braylon & Jabril faced. She said people here couldn't have been any nicer or more supportive of him and outside of some good-natured teasing nobody had any issue with where he went to school. Before I left I asked her why Donovan was thriving right now compared to how he performed at Michigan. She just smiled and said "two words: Jim Harbaugh"
August 25th, 2021 at 2:01 PM ^
Let's hope the browns underachieve and lose a bunch of games.
August 25th, 2021 at 2:15 PM ^
I grew up in the shadow of the Silverdome and my parents were Lions season ticket holders so I went to a LOT of Lions games between 1966 - 1981. Most years they lost significantly more games than they won and I never saw them win a playoff game.
In 1989 my company moved me to Northern Ohio where I slowly became a Browns fan. In 2009 I married a very nice lady whose family had Browns season tickets forever and we took them over. From 2009 to 2019 I saw them lose a LOT more games than they won and I never saw them win a playoff game until last year.
I have been a been a season ticket holding fan for two of the four teams to never make a Super Bowl. I have watched and supported more shitty football teams than any one man should ever have to endure in a lifetime.
So you'll understand if I dont' "hope they underachieve and lose a bunch of games".
August 25th, 2021 at 2:28 PM ^
Tip of the hat for your loyalty! It's not easy being a Lions fan but the Browns success last season gives me hope that it is possible.
August 25th, 2021 at 2:32 PM ^
I have been a been a season ticket holding fan for two of the four teams to never make a Super Bowl.
Not that this is any consolation for Cleveland fans, but the Browns were a John Elway drive and an Earnest Byner fumble away from making the Super Bowl in two successive seasons. The Lions have never come remotely that close.
August 25th, 2021 at 2:45 PM ^
They were down 17-10 at half in the 1991 NFC Championship game to the team formally known as the Redskins. Game got away from them in the 2nd half but they were only 30 minutes away that year.
August 25th, 2021 at 3:18 PM ^
Washington beat Detroit in the season opener 45-0, so I think that halftime score in the playoff was a bit misleading. Washington held Sanders to just 44 yds on 11 carries for the game, and that wasn't going to beat anybody in the playoffs, let alone a Redskins team that went on to win the Super Bowl.
August 25th, 2021 at 11:12 PM ^
It’s not really a consolation as those are two of the most crushing defeats in sports history. As a life long Browns fan those games did forever shape my sports world view which can best be described as, “disaster is always just around the corner.”
That being said I am the most excited I have been about the Browns since 1986 when I was 12 and was listening to Bernie Bernie by the bleacher bums on my Walkman.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xuX6HqJwYWk
Of course I know deep down this season will end in pain.
August 25th, 2021 at 2:39 PM ^
I get it.
I'm a big Bears fan (ugh!), but my mom and dad are from Cleveland who love the Browns. My late grandmother was a big Cleveland sports fan, where she threw the first pitch for an Indians game about 10 years ago. My observation: Michigan/Detroiters have an unusual dislike (dare I say, hatred) to Cleveland teams, despite the fact that they don't directly compete in the NFL.
While I was born in Detroit, I'm not of Detroit so I can't figure out the disdain from Detroiters towards Cleveland. Is it an OSU thing?
August 25th, 2021 at 4:08 PM ^
Yes it's and OSU thing. At least 90% of Cleveland sports fans are also OSU fans.
August 25th, 2021 at 2:53 PM ^
You're not the guy who has lived (the house recently went on the market) in Ohio City who drives a Jeep with an "Mgoblog" license plate, are you?
August 25th, 2021 at 3:13 PM ^
No. I'm the guy who lives in Granger Township (just north of Medina) who drives a Raptor with giant Michigan flag in his front yard.
August 25th, 2021 at 5:40 PM ^
I hiked through Medina in May 2021 as part of my day hiking journey along the Buckeye Trail. I have ~800/1444 miles completed. Witnessed a bald eagle flying along the path, so that was nice.
August 25th, 2021 at 7:30 PM ^
You live like 5 minutes from me apparently
August 25th, 2021 at 3:28 PM ^
Saw my first Browns game in 1952, when I was 4. They were good then so the period post 1964 has been a lot easier for me to endure. Saw every home game between 1952-1965; then I moved to Ann Arbor.
August 25th, 2021 at 3:36 PM ^
Craig. That surprises me. The WTKA and MgoBlog crew make you out to be this ancient sage kept alive by formaldehyde and passion for Michigan sports.
Being less than 100 years old AND liking the Browns does not compute!
August 25th, 2021 at 4:02 PM ^
From 1950 through '65, the Browns were in 9 NFL title games, winning 4 of them. And that was after winning four straight AAFC titles prior to joining the NFL in '50.
It was almost all Paul Brown (Collier coached the last Browns title team in '64) and Brown's coaching tree is insane: 24 Super Bowl victories
August 25th, 2021 at 4:37 PM ^
That is the most impressive coaching tree I've ever seen!
Almost every all time great NFL coach is on there.
August 26th, 2021 at 6:42 AM ^
I've been a Steelers fan my entire life. When I was a kid the Steel Curtain was a thing. I wanted to be the next Jack Lambert when I grew up. I know it was easy to be a Steelers fan because of the winning tradition.
I can not stand any team in any sport in Ohio or Chicago and want to see them fail at everything.
I root for the Lions to do well, but I'm not a Lions fan. I am Black and Gold through and through. Going to the home opener against the Vegas Raiders next month.
My wife is a hard core Lions fan. Wears Lions apparel all the time during the fall. We now live in Indianapolis area and I get a lot of crap from the Colts fans, but she seems to get sympathy.
August 25th, 2021 at 2:07 PM ^
Take me to your supervisor!
Good for Malik in overcoming his green issues.
August 25th, 2021 at 4:45 PM ^
This is amazing. I thought he had suffered a TBI from the ATV accident?
August 25th, 2021 at 2:07 PM ^
Good to see that Malik is hopefully getting his life and football career on track and is maturing.
Apparently he did get a supervisor after all.
August 25th, 2021 at 2:18 PM ^
Beat you to it EGJ!
August 25th, 2021 at 2:08 PM ^
I was really into the story, but I hate the ending.
August 25th, 2021 at 2:08 PM ^
Good for McDowell. He was obviously going through some mental health concerns. Glad to see him getting a second chance and taking advantage of it.
August 25th, 2021 at 2:10 PM ^
While she's biased, she ain't wrong!
August 25th, 2021 at 2:47 PM ^
Can we have 1 post about a former Harbaugh player, without their lack of success being blamed on him? I remember DPJ dropping 3 passes and 1 for a TD in his last OSU game.
August 25th, 2021 at 3:05 PM ^
Naw that would go against the current the staff is terrible at the everything axe people have been grinding.
Also I am not sure that this level of navel gazing for a guy who went 14-304-2 last year and is projected to be the WR3 for the Browns(if everything works out) this year is warranted.
August 25th, 2021 at 7:05 PM ^
Oh, you're so right. Silly me I keep forgetting how many times we beat OSU under Harbaugh, how many trips to Indy and B1G titles, and how many tough road games we have won under JMFH!
August 26th, 2021 at 7:59 AM ^
We all see the same things.
We all know the same things fall at Harbaugh's feet(even if the cycle of haplessness that so frustrates everyone started well before then).
What is tiresome is the CONSTANT drumbeat and hairshirt wearing as well as an inability to note any sort of good things or improvement. This whole HARBAUGH DOES NOTHING WELL AND I MUST YELL ABOUT IT is tiresome, extreme, and inaccurate.
And full disclosure I wanted him to get fired or hired away by the NFL last year, I worry about the fact that Captain Comeback had a team that flat out quit on him last year, and I don't have high hopes for this season given that most of the team that quit is still here. I just don't feel the need to continually tell everyone about it or cite the frustrations of a guy who's doing okay in the NFL, but apparently needing to blame something-anything other than himself for why things didn't go the way he wanted in college as a good example of why Harbaugh is terrible at the everything.
August 25th, 2021 at 3:09 PM ^
I'll agree with this. I soured on JH last season (long lead into it, though), but he's not to blame for every player that doesn't shine at UM. Sure he plays favorites.
SO MAKE YOURSELF ONE OF THE GODDAMMED FAVORITES THROUGH YOUR ACTIONS!!!
DPJ did nothing to set himself apart from the other WRs on the field. Yeah, issues with play calls and quarterbacks... None of that keeps you from playing each play to its conclusion and blocking your ass off when you don't get the ball.
August 25th, 2021 at 3:15 PM ^
I am incredibly happy that DPJ is thriving in Cleveland but yeah, sort of annoyed literally everything his family says about why he struggled at UM was because of Jim Harbaugh. Like, somehow Jim Harbaugh is so awful a coach that he turned the #1 recruited WR in the country into a guy who never caught more than 100 yards in a game (despite leading the team in targets) and was graded out as a 6th-rounder by multiple NFL scouting services.
Anyway, it is cool that McDowell is doing well.
August 25th, 2021 at 4:22 PM ^
Agree. I don't remember DPJ's problem being underutilized like Nico. Low three star Ronnie Bell outgained DPJ by 300 yards and 3 ypc in 2019. I can't remember where the quote came from back in 2019, but someone asked why Bell was getting so many more catches and the person basically said he gets more targets and more catches because he gets open. I'm sure it's not that simple, but there's probably something to it.
August 25th, 2021 at 5:43 PM ^
I do think the offense became somewhat stagnant at times with Patterson at the helm and that hurt DPJ somewhat, but I also remember this site going bananas over the "DPJ is so wide open" clips and what I'd see is a guy who is 40 yards downfield 4-5 seconds after the ball is snapped with a corner still reasonably close. Like, sure you can launch the ball downfield sometimes in those situations but QBs aren't always going to wait for someone to get open deep if they also have guys getting open closer and with room to run.
I am happy that DPJ is doing better, and I can see a world where his skills translate better to the NFL passing games than the one he played in at UM. But I also do wonder a bit if the offseason hype winds up being a bit underwhelming during the year wherein he settles in as a #3 WR and does fine but unspectacularly.
August 26th, 2021 at 9:38 AM ^
All of this, and it’s been suggested that Nico wouldn’t have even come back (though he ended up opting out) had “others” stayed. It was basically implied that Nico didn’t like Tarik and DPJ’s attitudes, which I gotta say does seem to have some legs. I met Nico’s parents and I don’t think one of their kids would put up with Prima Donna bullshit.
August 25th, 2021 at 2:12 PM ^
Cool story bro.
August 25th, 2021 at 2:26 PM ^
Hopefully McDowell can turn things around. That would be a great story.
I'm curious why she blamed Jim? Intriguing. Inflammatory, yet intriguing.
August 25th, 2021 at 2:38 PM ^
I'm curious about this as well. Harbaugh didn't drop the touchdown pass vs OSU, nor did he run fail to get separation on routes. Maybe she didn't like his playcalling, practice routines, pre-game speech, ???? Inquiring minds want to know.
August 25th, 2021 at 2:40 PM ^
Other family members, not mom, spoke to me about the lack of coaching DPJ got at Michigan as compared to what he's getting now with the Browns. A couple of them (this was a large entourage) said it was "night and day" for DPJ in that regard. I'm guessing (although this is my assumption - not anything said to me directly) that they hold Harbaugh responsible for that.
August 25th, 2021 at 2:50 PM ^
Isn't this the stock excuse for all players? The Lions are saying this about Okudah. Nico Collins looked like his coaching was OK. Ronnie Bell seems to be getting adequate coaching.
August 25th, 2021 at 2:58 PM ^
And the Lions coaches said Okudah was not coached, either. It's absolutely stupid to blame college coaches for your lack of development when, clearly, other players that were fucking walk-ons somehow ended up drafted despite supposed coaching issues.
I loved that DPJ went to the Browns, but his play at UM speaks for itself. He was an inconsistent punt returner who often made some questionable scoops. He also didn't have a great acceleration. He had a few good returns in three years, despite being handed that job. He was never a great PR.
As a catcher, he dropped passes in his hands. They even threw him screens to get him the damn ball, and he flubbed most of those.
Any parent who throws their son's college coaches to the wolves like that needs to humble themselves, because Jim Harbaugh certainly has. Perhaps he expected his 5 star to actually take to coaching little more than he did.
It is one thing to have these words come from 18-21 year old kids wanting to be adults, but to hear the family keep saying it sounds like sour milk.
August 25th, 2021 at 2:58 PM ^
Well his first year Michigan didn’t have a wide receivers coach. Then one year of McElwain, then Gattis who was a first time OC and play caller (so I’m assuming he wasn’t 100% focused on the WR group).
August 25th, 2021 at 3:13 PM ^
Nico and Ronnie Bell didn't seem to have problems with the same coaching turnover...
August 25th, 2021 at 3:32 PM ^
If I recall, Nico sat out a year to prepare for the draft. If he felt like he was getting well coached at UofM, perhaps he would have stayed with the team to get more coaching.
August 25th, 2021 at 4:19 PM ^
That's some major revisionist history from you. He had full intentions of coming back but the B1G decided to cancel their season due to covid so he left the team and signed with an agent. The B1G said their decision was final.
August 25th, 2021 at 7:36 PM ^
“It was an option," Collins said. "I thought about it. Again, when I see guys opting back in, that’s when I asked my parents. We had a talk. I just felt like getting my mind right and prepared for the combine was the right decision for me.”
August 25th, 2021 at 10:54 PM ^
Nico had only 50 yards more in his career than DPJ. But the board couldn't be more divided. Nico's lack of production is all the coaches' fault. DPJ is all on him.
August 26th, 2021 at 2:31 AM ^
Nico Collins' only good year was when Jim McElwain was here. And he was great that year.
August 25th, 2021 at 3:23 PM ^
And yet...Nico Collins seemed to get better as the years went on. Ronnie Bell is a better WR than he was when he showed up. Before his injuries Tarik Black looked really good as WR. It's sort of amazing that the staff spent all their time coaching those guys to be better and seemingly actively ignored DPJ despite, again, having multiple QBs throw him the ball the most on the team. Maybe UM would have won more games had they stopped putting so much effort into ignoring DPJ and more into gameplanning for opponents.
Anyway, I know I'm coming across as a broken record so I'll stop, but DPJ seems like a guy who thought he could coast on his athleticism and potential in college and didn't do nearly enough to get better when the competition stepped up. He was then barely drafted and, it sounds like, that opened his eyes and he's been much better about receiving coaching. That's great, and I hope he succeeds. But I swear every year you hear coaches complain about how guys didn't seem to get coaching in college and yet other guys at the same position on the same team sure seemed to get something that made them better.
August 25th, 2021 at 4:56 PM ^
Well of course it is night and day.
College coaching vs. NFL coaching with unlimited time (within the CBA) to refine skills is definitely a big difference.
But can they coach EFFORT?
That was what was lacking at UM.