03-13-2019, 12:13 PM
(03-13-2019, 09:40 AM)t3r3e3 Wrote: You used the Cardinals as a straw man. Easy enough. What about the other 25 teams actively signing players? Will they also be terrible this year? And really, if you think the Browns deserve no worry, you’re willfully delusional or haven’t been paying attention. Their roster is pretty stacked, younger than ours, they have more draft picks of consequence, and have a legit GM. In other words, they’re the odds on favorite to win the AFC North. The Bengals are the favorites for 4th place in the Division.
I used the Cardinals as an example, but yeah, I think most of those teams actively signing players won't do jack squat this year. Year in and year out there's always a handful of teams who "win" free agency, and then they go on and stink it up during the actual season. I'm sure the Lions, Cardinals, and Jets are feeling great right now... we'll see if that actually translates to anything.
There's no doubt in my mind the Browns will be favorites to win the AFC North next year. I sure as hell wouldn't bet on them, though, talent or not. They have an unproven head coach (which everybody *loves* to kill the Bengals for), they've hurt the offensive line this season, they won't have a last place schedule to prey upon anymore (they beat literally nobody of consequence last year), and Mayfield needs to prove he's not the next RGIII, Josh Freeman, or insert-one-year-wonder-at-QB here for me to feel confident in them. And while everyone will be impressed with the OBJ move... he's a diva who doesn't exactly have a long track record of being on winning teams in the NFL.
The Bengals, meanwhile, are absolutely going to be picked to finish in last place in the division. Do you honestly think there are moves out there that they can make that can change that? Because I'm not so sure throwing stupid money at 1 or 2 guys is going to change that. If they're going to succeed (as unlikely as it seems), it's going to primarily be on the backs of the guys they already have - guys like Ross, Jackson, and Price taking that next step while older guys get back in line with what they used to be. Throwing $50 million at CJ Mosely would make no difference, so why bother? They'll be better suited with a handful of good players signed than with one great one.
