Breakout year for Jabrill Peppers is a coming

Submitted by mGrowOld on

I have a friend who works for the Cleveland Browns in an executive/administrative capacity.  As such he's privy to information not generally available to people outside the organization as he's connected with some of the scouts and other employees of the team.  He doesnt tell me much (he cant) but he also knows I went to Michigan (he went to OSU) and he called me this morning to share a little story about JP he had recently heard in the building.  And yes, he said it was ok if I shared it.

It seems that at the beginning of the season last year our DC Greg Williams had a one-on-one with Peppers and told him what his role with the Browns would be in 2017.  That he would play Free Safety and because Williams would be blitzing a lot he would be lining him up so far off the LOS people would think he was in a punt return formation.  Williams told him he was doing so to keep 15 yard gains from becoming 60 yard gains when the blitz didnt get home.  And according to my contact he also told him he was doing this cause JP was the only player in the Browns secondary he trusted and that fans & media would crush him over it cause Williams knew this wasnt Jabrill's strength.

According to my contact as the horrible 2017 season wore on Peppers never once complained about his role and never asked to be moved closer to the LOS despite all the negaive press he was getting and this impressed the hell out of the Browns coaching staff.  He said the #1 reason the Browns moved Kizer to Green Bay for Damarious Randall was to move Peppers to Strong Safety and have him playing back in the box for the Browns this year where they can turn him loose and let him play more aggressively.  He said the Browns defensive staff is expecting a lot from Peppers this coming year and plan to move him all over field in an effort to maximize his talents and really get the most out of what he can do on the football field.

I know I'm biased as hell on this issue - both regarding the Browns and Peppers but I am very fired up thinking about Cleveland using JP this way and havoc he will create.

MGoStrength

May 9th, 2018 at 1:07 PM ^

I'm pulling for the guy.  For whatever reason I still am frequently reminded how he was supposed to be 6'1" like Woodson.  But, at the combine he measured in at 5;10" like Denard.  I don't know why but we spent a lot of time arguing over his height and I remember this.

SAM love SWORD

May 9th, 2018 at 1:51 PM ^

That you Buamgardner?

You can’t put a counting stat on JP’s versatility or the pressure he put on opposing offenses having to account for all the things he could do. He also completely obliterated opponent’s screen game, something Michigan sorely missed last season.

DenverBuckeye

May 9th, 2018 at 2:46 PM ^

Sam, every Peppers defender points to him blowing up screens as if that makes him this irreplaceable defensive god. He was excellent at blowing through WR and TE blocks and getting to the screen receiver. He's a very good blitzer situationally. Now what else on defense is he excellent at?

DenverBuckeye

May 9th, 2018 at 2:50 PM ^

Peppers is a fantastic athlete and excellent blitzer. ProFootballFocus pointed out a bunch of holes in his game after his final season, though. He has linebacker skills in a safety body. Lewis was by far the best defensive player in their final year at UM and should have been DPOY. Ohio State made a point of running at him whenever they could and it worked out well. He's not big enough to take on olinemen and can't cover to save his life. He's really a situational player and I'm flat out shocked when UM fans compare him to Woodson who is one of the best defensive players of all time. Peppers can't do a third of what Woodson could.

kehnonymous

May 9th, 2018 at 1:53 PM ^

There's no denying that deploying Peppers in Ashtabula during the first half and Westlake-on-Avon in the second half often had us play 10-on-11 and Peppers himself didn't always take great angles because he's not best used as a free safety.  Thing is, that at the end of the day, someone's gotta be free safety and prevent literally every completed pass of 10+ yards from being a TD.  And when the roster was basically 60% scarecrows last year, you put your best and most instinctual athlete out there to fill an unglamourous but necessary stopgap to keep what was frankly a tire-fire squad from becoming a raging inferno of suck.

Was it a winning strategy?  Checks record.  No, it wasn't.  It was still the least bad option and given where the Browns were at that point, it's all you can ask.

Richard75

May 10th, 2018 at 4:47 AM ^

That's illogical. It’s only the least bad option if you’re thinking solely about the 2017 season—which CLE shouldn’t have been, since the team was going to suck no matter what.



Given that Peppers is one of their top assets, they should’ve been prioritizing his development by playing him where he belongs.

CLord

May 9th, 2018 at 2:31 PM ^

Most of us from Michigan are Lions fans and we need the Browns to always be terrible so we're not alone as the only non-expansion team to never make the SuperBowl.  Definitely want JP to have a monster year, but would be pleased with another 0-16 coming out of Cleveland.

Ali G Bomaye

May 9th, 2018 at 4:02 PM ^

After 19 seasons, they're not an expansion team, just a poorly run team. Literally every player in the league who was active during their expansion year is gone now, so whatever handicaps they faced then, they're completely irrelevant now.

BoFan

May 9th, 2018 at 3:37 PM ^

It sounds like your friend and the Browns organization are desperate to get ticket sales up with a little JP hype.

Ali G Bomaye

May 9th, 2018 at 4:00 PM ^

It's good to hear that they're going to start using him correctly, but man, Williams is an idiot. Peppers is a truly gifted player in the box, but average at best playing centerfield.

The Browns allowed 57 plays of 20 yards or more last season, and Peppers only made the tackle on 12 of them. In other words, Williams sacrificed a season of Peppers creating havoc for the sake of 12 tackles, most of which probably could have been made by an average free safety.

1 percent

May 9th, 2018 at 9:59 PM ^

I’m with you MGro, Tyrod, Carlos Hyde, Chubb, Duke Johnson , Gordon, Landry and a really good oline. We’re gonna have a pretty damn good offense and the defense will be average

TESOE

May 10th, 2018 at 6:04 AM ^

then again... why?

 

 

I'm pumped about this post. 

I was ecstatic for Brandon's strip of Brady.

If it's Maize and Blue I'm with you.

If it's yellow be mellow.

...

 

I wish JP the best. Great post...best one in months.