Are the Browns now a threat for us to contend with?

[HuDey]

(03-09-2018, 11:44 PM)Essex Johnson Wrote: In those two years.. Browns have won one game and have had many many draft picks etc.. and yes we have not played well but we have played nothing like the Browns.. come on man

In the last two drafts combined the Browns have had 4 first round picks and 2 second round picks. This year they are sitting with 2 more early first rounders and 3 picks in the second round, two of which are very early in the round. Not to mention that they still have 76 million in cap space (after recent moves) with which to add even more talent.

Yes the the Browns have been horrendous the last two years, while they were busily stock piling high draft picks and hoarding cap money. Do you think that is a coincidence? Do you really think it is a stretch to say that they can ascend to the level of mediocrity that is the Cincinnati Bengals?

They have a plan, and if even half of those high picks pan out, 2 years from now we will be on the wrong side of them in the standings.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(03-09-2018, 08:38 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: Heard on the radio that they traded a 3rd rounder for Tyrod Taylor, and also made a trade for Jarvis Landry.

If they draft Barkley and Chubb? Whew boy.

Definately will be a lot better. Not as high on Tyrod as some but Landry is probably the best Slot Receiver in the NFL.

These are great moves, just hard for me not to see these guys fail as Stains. QB's and WR's come to Cleveland and their careers die.

It is just what happens, no matter the talent.

[*Synric*]

(03-10-2018, 03:30 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: If they cut Duke Johnson to make way for Barkley, I wouldn't mind seeing him brought in to replace Hill's roster spot.

I think Isaiah Crowell is a free agent.

[Shake n Blake]

(03-10-2018, 03:16 PM)3wt Wrote: I tend to agree with your thinking Shake.   Landry is a very good receiver, and should combine nicely with the outside threats that have the potential to improve this year.   And Joe Thomas has already come out and enthusiastically endorsed the Taylor acquisition.   They've been slowly putting together a fine offensive line and they are getting rid of the deadwood.

And what this means to me is that they have a GM who knows what he's doing and is on the same page with the head coach.

Pretty good prescription for success I'd say.   At the worst they build a foundation for a franchise quarterback and look to get to around .500 this year.

At best they look like they are following the script that Philadelphia, Jacksonville and the Rams have been benefitting from - with a pretty quick turn around.

I'm not convinced but they have my attention

Exactly how I feel. I could see 7-9 or better this season. Maybe playoffs if all goes well. I'm not 100%, but they have my attention for sure.

(03-10-2018, 03:30 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: If they cut Duke Johnson to make way for Barkley, I wouldn't mind seeing him brought in to replace Hill's roster spot.

I'd think they'd keep him. He's a good pass catcher for sure. Not that we really need that.

(03-10-2018, 03:37 PM)Jakeypoo Wrote: How is he 3-2 against us when we have only played him 3 times?  We beat him twice once when he was in Baltimore and once while he was in Buffalo where are you getting the other 2 games. 

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/T/TaylTy00/splits/

Although it appears PFR's splits are mistaken. We've only played him twice when he was the starting QB. Once each of the last 2 years. We split them. 

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/T/TaylTy00/gamelog/

And just to throw this little tidbit in there: Last year, Browns QB's threw 28 INT's, which is 10 more than Taylor has thrown in his entire career.

[Shake n Blake]

(03-10-2018, 06:48 PM)HuDey Wrote: In the last two drafts combined the Browns have had 4 first round picks and 2 second round picks. This year they are sitting with 2 more early first rounders and 3 picks in the second round, two of which are very early in the round. Not to mention that they still have 76 million in cap space (after recent moves) with which to add even more talent.

Yes the the Browns have been horrendous the last two years, while they were busily stock piling high draft picks and hoarding cap money. Do you think that is a coincidence? Do you really think it is a stretch to say that they can ascend to the level of mediocrity that is the Cincinnati Bengals?

They have a plan, and if even half of those high picks pan out, 2 years from now we will be on the wrong side of them in the standings.

Glad I'm not the only one who noticed that maybe...just maybe...they were planning to lose and compile picks. They hired baseball guys. What to they do in baseball (and the NBA)? Tank for great picks. Why didn't they fire Hue Jackson after he went 1-31 in two seasons? Probably because they knew the losing was part of the plan.

[*bfine32*]

They just let Danny Shelton go for a conditional draft pick......Championship!

[HuDey]

(03-10-2018, 08:31 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: Glad I'm not the only one who noticed that maybe...just maybe...they were planning to lose and compile picks. They hired baseball guys. What to they do in baseball (and the NBA)? Tank for great picks. Why didn't they fire Hue Jackson after he went 1-31 in two seasons? Probably because they knew the losing was part of the plan.

I’m not saying that they tried to lose games, but the decisions that they made were obviously geared towards the future and made it extremely difficult to win in the present.

[Fan_in_Kettering]

No. Non. Nein. Nyet. Nao.

[Bengalitis]

We all want the Browns to stay where they are but unfortunately, they are long overdue to get out of the slump and they seem to be doing more than we are so far, so quickly.

[*bfine32*]

(03-10-2018, 10:24 PM)Bengalitis Wrote: We all want the  Browns to stay where they are but unfortunately, they are long overdue to get out of the slump and they seem to be doing more than we are so far, so quickly.

I don't want the Browns to sty where they are. I want them to be competitive and beat the Steelers and Ravens. They've been "doing more" for a few years now and they have gone 1-31 over the last couple years. 

[reuben.ahmed]

lol, bengals fans worrying about being in 4th place instead of winning a playoff game (let alone the superbowl). what a handcuffed feeling this team has on its "fans". what's the threshold where we can give the fan card up? 40 years of this bullshit? 50? mike brown/other owners should be forced to attend interview sessions after every game or be fined 250,000 each time. do it commissioner. and you have to take questions from online, unprepared. anywhere else in life, where there's money, there are some bullshitters. NFL earns a shitload, the league is fishy! any team that doesn't make the playoffs that year, the whole team AND owner has to participate in a dunk booth, where 10 chosen fans get to dunk the mother *****. every fan gets to dunk mike brown, in addition to that, they get to choose 5 players/coaches on the team to dunk.

[reuben.ahmed]

(03-10-2018, 10:28 PM)bfine32 Wrote: I don't want the Browns to sty where they are. I want them to be competitive and beat the Steelers and Ravens. They've been "doing more" for a few years now and they have gone 1-31 over the last couple years. 

What's worse, going 1-31 and keeping your job, or Marvin Lewis keeping his job?

It doesn't make sense to me unless they're OK with "tanking". Were they trying to win? Can Hue go 1-90 and keep his job? He's 33% of the way there. Is he allowed to go 3 and 93? Lol. If they weren't tanking, there is no way a 1-31 coach should keep his/her job on any level. The commissioner should be allowed to fire coaches automatically, any coach that can't win 3 games in the year is automatically fired. They are no good for the NFL.

[*Nately120*]

(03-10-2018, 06:26 PM)t3r3e3 Wrote: No one is interchangeable.  Merely pointing out that there isn’t a clear best QB, and this year features 5 bona fide 1st rounders.  All depends on what the Browns value.  Pocket statue = Rosen, Dual threat= Jackson, upside with cannon = Allen, gamer with good overall game= Mayfield, semi-mobile QB w/ good arm and propensity for TO’s = Darnold

It's possible they're all pretty close, but I'm getting flashbacks to stuff like:

If the Chargers don't get Manning, they'll still get Leaf and that might be better!
The Bengals could take Carson Palmer, or trade down and still get a guy like Byron Leftwich or Rex Grossman!
Andrew Luck or RGIII?  They could both be around for a decade or more!
The Jets took Ken O'Brien over Dan Marino...that could prove to be the safer bet!

Hell, here is an article about Blaine Gabbert leading the race against Cam Newton for the top QB.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/621052-cam-newton-vs-blaine-gabbert-the-great-debate

Again, I can't see the future, but the reason any team pays people to evaluate talent is because anyone can look at 5 guys who were good in college and say "Um, they all look purdy good!"  One of these QBs is going to be better than the others, and I'd say the NFL evidence leans towards one QB being better than the others and getting that QB being the main thing to rebuild the Browns.  The Browns aren't the type of franchise that can take the 3rd best QB in a draft and win with him (ala the Steelers and Ben versus Eli or Rivers), so they have to get this right and waiting to take a QB at 4 limits their chances of doing so.

Again, the Steelers will move heaven and earth to keep their 36 year old QB but they won't even give the best RB in the NFL who is in the prime of his career a long term deal.  Like I said, it's possible Barkley is so good and the QBs are so close in "goodness" that taking the RB is what will reboot the franchise but the guy is going to have to be the next OJ Simpson or Jim Brown to pull it off.  I'll admit that this is some intriguing stuff and I've even been listening to Browns-related podcasts to see what they're saying about all this.  So far I hear the guys running the show wanting a QB and the fans screaming for the RB, so it's interesting to be sure.

I can see Rosen's injury history and the fact that he said he doesn't want to play for the Browns being his downfall. Baker Mayfield may not be Johhny Manziel, but he will be one step closer to it IF the Browns take him. And so on. I can see the Browns destroying any QB, though. Still, the only decent QB they've had since they came back was the top QB in 1999 and it's all been late round guys and guys who weren't the top prospect since.

[jj22]

Browns have significantly upgraded their front office. Depending on their draft, it's not outrageous to say we are headed in the opposite direction. Hopefully they left the lights in the basement on for us.

[*Nately120*]

(03-11-2018, 12:57 AM)jj22 Wrote: Browns have significantly upgraded their front office. Depending on their draft, it's not outrageous to say we are headed in the opposite direction. Hopefully they left the lights in the basement on for us.

Yeah, I'm not handing the Browns anything other than 4th place until they show me something BUT I find it interesting that fans of a franchise that was resurrected by Mike Brown and Marvin Lewis find it so absurd that anyone else could turn things around.

[Shake n Blake]

(03-10-2018, 09:58 PM)HuDey Wrote: I’m not saying that they tried to lose games, but the decisions that they made were obviously geared towards the future and made it extremely difficult to win in the present.

Well they probably would've been a losing team either way, but I think they had a plan for the future that entailed a complete overhaul of the roster, with lots of losing and stockpiling top picks for 2 years. Now it looks like they're making moves to end that and get to the "success" part of their plan. We'll see if it works. Tbh, what they've been doing looks just like what the Reds have been doing, and Hue kept his job for the same reason Brian Price kept his.

[J24]

(03-11-2018, 01:01 AM)Nately120 Wrote: Yeah, I'm not handing the Browns anything other than 4th place until they show me something BUT I find it interesting that fans of a franchise that was resurrected by Mike Brown and Marvin Lewis find it so absurd that anyone else could turn things around.

I don't think anyone finds it absurd that they can turn it around but with the moves they made this weekend doesn't put them over the top. Tyrod isn't the long-term answer and it won't prevent them from drafting a QB 1st, Randall is a solid CB but nothing great, and Landry he is good but he is not great either. 

[Shake n Blake]

(03-11-2018, 02:21 PM)Jakeypoo Wrote: I don't think anyone finds it absurd that they can turn it around but with the moves they made this weekend doesn't put them over the top. Tyrod isn't the long-term answer and it won't prevent them from drafting a QB 1st, Randall is a solid CB but nothing great, and Landry he is good but he is not great either. 

- Solid stopgap QB + top QB prospect
- A full season of Josh Gordon, who proved he still has it last year
- A solid starting CB
- Landry has made 3 Pro Bowls in 4 years, averaging 100 catches for over 1000 yards - this is better than good IMO
- They added Todd Haley as OC - a guy who has been extremely successful
- That's not even getting to the young talent they've stockpiled or the top picks they have this year, one of which will probably be Barkley

Let me stress this: No one has said they're "over the top" or anything of the sort. I don't think they're a threat to the Steelers. I'd put their over/under at 7.5 wins. I could easily see them going 7-9. Possibly better if everything clicks perfectly. I just think the days of an automatic 2 wins vs the Browns may be over.

[grampahol]

I'd still rather lose to the Browns than to pissburg anytime.. A changing of the top dog in the division is long overdue . I can't even count the number of times I've teetered on the thought of switching allegiances and giving up on Mikey and  company .  I haven't lived in the area full time since 2003 .
I've even thought about switching to Carolina, but I haven't lived here long enough and they haven't impressed me enough anyway  .. Not to mention I've never been a Cam Newton fan.. I've never liked the guy  ..
I'll probably still be a bunglized fan till I die , but occasionally the thought of jumping ship just sounds like a good idea .

[dr1441]

Do I think the Browns will be competing for a Super Bowl next year? No, I don't. Do I think the Browns are a much improved team on paper? Sure do.

And if you think that them getting a veteran QB that has a chip on his shoulder, a WR that has the most catches through 4 years in NFL history and a good slot CB to go along with 2 of the top 4 picks in the draft and 5 of the top 65, then you are naive and are in for a disappointing year when you see them become a more complete football team. If I was a Browns fan, I'd have more to celebrate than we do by signing Chris Baker this offseason.