02-02-2018, 04:26 PM
(02-02-2018, 04:00 PM)Wyche Wrote: I agree with that....wholeheartedly. We will see how this all unfolds during FA and the draft. As I said earlier, if they pick up a serviceable starter in FA or the draft, they could make some noise. Look at the names at QB in FA. A LOT of serviceable stop gaps to potential solid starters out there. Some plausible trades too. The Ravens are beginning to fade.....and we're currently re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic. It could happen sooner than a lot of people think.
I also said in another reply to Nicoma that we might catch lightning in a bottle......and that I'm hoping Katie makes the necessary adjustments to move into modern era competition. Time will tell on that, but I'm convinced Son of Paul will most certainly have to luck into a SB; regardless of coach(es).
I think the Browns are at a make or break moment. They can do what they've failed to do since they became a team again and get it right with any college quarterback they choose. They can also get him a nice weapon soon after.
I like their position compared to the Bengals. They at least try to play in all aspects of roster improvement rather than the Bengals philosophy of drafting and signing zero impact FAs. That's guaranteed failure in this era of the NFL.
Not a single team in a conference title game didn't sign an impact free agent this offseason. Not one. The Vikings rebuilt their o-line. The Pats added Gilmore. The Jags spent a ton of money in FA over the last couple of years. The Eagles bought a New receiving corps.
I'd add that every team that showed dramatic improvement this year used FA as a tool. The Bengals will never do this, therefore will always be attempting to compete with a self-imposed disadvantage. They aren't serious about winning a title. They may want to do it as a side effect of being, you know, at team in the league that plays games, I guess but it's not a driving force for ownership.
They won't do it when they suck. They won't do it when they get 1 or 2 impact players away as they were in 2013 and 2015. that fact alone means they basically disqualify themselves in a way that the Browns don't. The Browns will buy a player if they see fit. the Bengals will not. If the Browns somehow manage to get a quarterback, then I think we can easily expect them to exceed all the Bengals have done in the Lewis era.
