Teams Cleveland Browns - GPODAWUND [sic]

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V9x18

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So it's impossible to know whether Kitchens will be a good head coach, we have about 2% of the information necessary to make a judgement on it. I'm comfortable with the decision, and am relieved they didn't go for a retread like Mccarthy or Mcdaniels. I've liked what I've seen so far from Freddie, but this is the easiest his job will ever be, I want to see how he deals with adversity. Does he go the Hue Jackson route of throwing everybody he can under the bus to save his own neck? My instinct says no but I want to see how he handles the pressures of leading a football team before I assume he can. From a schematic point of view I am pretty optimistic, loved what I saw from him, and he's got a great deodorant in Baker to make his bad calls good.

I love the Monken hire. It makes sense to hire an air raid disciple to mesh with Kitchens Coryell offence when Baker Mayfield is your QB. My expectations for this offence are enormous. Expecting lots of deep shots off of play action. Lots of passing on first and second down. I want to see the field spread out with 11 and 10 personnel, and run Chubb into some lighter boxes.

Am ambivalent towards Wilks. Didn't like how he turned Pat Pete into a zone corner last year. Hopefully he doesn't do the same to Ward and let him do what he does best and play sticky man. However there is so much talent on this defense that I expect it to be somewhat productive regardless of scheme. Expect just as many blitzes from Wilks as you got with Greggggg. Hopefully Steve is less predictable with them however.

Love the Campen hire. Green Bay has consistently had success with developing late round draft picks in productive NFL linemen, one of them is currently playing centre for us. An especially difficult task considering how long Rodgers holds the ball for. He's notorious for teaching a technique which is basically legal holding, or holding that never gets called.

The rest of the hires I don't know enough about, happy they kept Adam Henry though.
 

V9x18

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So now we're onto the Browns time of year, or as every other team calls it, the off-season.

This is a great off-season to need a defensive lineman (DT is probably our biggest need). Seems like some good options in free agency even when the top ones get tagged and this might be the best defensive line draft ever studied. I'd expect Dorsey to attack defensive line heavily this off-season. I'd also like another receiver, linebacker, corner and tackle. But with our roster i'm just picking BPA in the draft and try to fill our needs with trades and free agency. This is a big off-season. We've got a stud QB on a rookie deal, the biggest competitive advantage in the NFL. Our window is the next 3 years. Go all in and try to win it all before you have to pay Baker and Garrett.


Only early on in my draft study, will be posting my thoughts from now until the April. Going back and looking at my initial impressions of last years draft, I think I did pretty well one season removed. Seems like I wasn't high enough on Calloway however, kid really impressed me the last 6 or so weeks.


Well that was fun, my overall thoughts:

Baker Mayfield - Love it. Was my number 2 QB but you could throw a blanket over the top 3, plus I've never met the kids or seen their medicals so my eval was incomplete. Deadly accurate, strong arm, good deep ball, can throw with anticipation, mobile but uses his feet to extend plays rather than rush for yards, by all accounts incredibly smart football mind, culture changer, 4 year starter which is a strong predictor of success, set the record for quarterback efficiency, and then broke it, clearly the best quarterback from the class today, question is will he be 5 years from now? I'm not sure but he's certainly capable, up to him and the coaches. Keep him away from Hue Jackson. This pick took massive balls to make, because you will get the idiots who see a short, cocky quarterback and immediately think he's Manziel 2.0. I applaud Dorsey and co for having conviction in their evaluation and not worrying about fan backlash. First time in 18 drafts that we've picked a quarterback with our first available selection. Can't wait to cheer for this guy. I will say though that the combination of Mayfield, Jackson and Hayley has the ability to go up in flames spectacularly.


Denzel Ward - Wouldn't have been my pick but he's certainly a good player. Sticky man corner, best technical DB in the draft. Good player at a premium position that we had no long term solution to. I like it. Hopefully will play on AB for the next 5 years, don't know if he has the size to go with Green though. If he becomes a lockdown corner then this was a great pick.

Austin Corbett - This was puzzling. He's a really good player, but when asked where they saw him starting, they had no answer. I view him as a guard or a centre, and with 3 good starters on the IOL, it just seems an odd pick. On the plus side, we can get out of Zeitlers contract in a year, and Bitonio and Tretter have had problems staying healthy, so he should be good depth for a year or 2 before he takes over either the C or RG position. Also, with a short QB having a good interior O-line is even more important. Now, if he can play LT in the NFL then this was a terrific pick. To me though, this will always be the pick that should have been Harold Landry. Good player however.

Nick Chubb - Total stud. I posted here about a month ago that pre-injury Nick Chubb was the best RB prospect I've ever seen. Tremendous vision, explosion, balance, speed, strength, and deviceness. Welcomes contact. He'll win the starting job in no time. Hyde is JAG, this will be his only season in Cleveland I expect. Chubb and Duke Johnson is a tremendous "thunder and lightning" combination. Pay Duke for the love of God. The three backs this year will be a terrific backfield, no excuse to not run the ball this season. THIS IS WHY YOU DONT TAKE A RUNNING BACK TOP 5 IN A HISTORICALLY GREAT RUNNING BACK CLASS!

Chad Thomas - Terrible pick. He won with athleticism against college players but he's a below average athlete by NFL standards. Poor technique. Can be a decent run defender that can kick inside from the 3-Tech. Don't see the upside, don't think he's very good to begin with. There are 50 players I'd have picked ahead of him.

Antonio Calloway - Ugh. I've got no problem with giving guys second chances, but this is about his 20th. Has such a long history of bad decision making that I find it hard to believe he's going to suddenly get his head screwed on after just having thousands of dollars placed in his bank account. He couldn't even stay away from pot for the biggest job interview of his life. Obviously the NFLs rules regarding weed are archaic, but it just shows a fundamental lack of self control and out and out stupidity. We just added a pot head who's a borderline criminal to a wide receiver room with Josh Gordon in it. Just asking for trouble. Talented player so the upside is there, but I hate this pick.

Genard Avery - Outstanding pick. This guy is a freak athlete, though undersized. He played the role of a hybrid linebacker, rushing the passer and dropping into coverage. Will never be a full time pass rusher at his size, but he has the technique, flexibility and bend to be useful as a third down rusher. As a linebacker he has good reactions, and his athleticism shows on tape. Elite sideline to sideline speed. Apparently they see him as a MIKE, I think he'd be best as a SAM and take over from Jamie Collins. Will be used in sub packages his first year I expect. Top 50 player for me, I'd have picked him before Thomas and Calloway 100 times out of 100.

Need to watch tape of the last 3 picks before I make a judgement.

Overall this was a good draft but we left meat on the bone. None of the other picks matter if Baker busts. Because everyone will be fired, and their replacements will probably be fired, and these guys will have learned and un-learned 3 different schemes before their first contract is even up. And the cycle continues. If Baker hits then this will be a franchise changer. Got some good players after round 1 but also made some really questionable picks.

This is all my opinion and there is a very real possibility that I'm wrong on every single pick. Only time will tell.
 

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Joeltownsmith

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Real exciting times ahead and what a massive year we’re in for just started getting into nfl the last couple of years and chose the Browns as my team, couldn’t of picked better time to jump on the bandwagon. Carn dawg pound!
 
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So now we're onto the Browns time of year, or as every other team calls it, the off-season.

This is a great off-season to need a defensive lineman (DT is probably our biggest need). Seems like some good options in free agency even when the top ones get tagged and this might be the best defensive line draft ever studied. I'd expect Dorsey to attack defensive line heavily this off-season. I'd also like another receiver, linebacker, corner and tackle. But with our roster i'm just picking BPA in the draft and try to fill our needs with trades and free agency. This is a big off-season. We've got a stud QB on a rookie deal, the biggest competitive advantage in the NFL. Our window is the next 3 years. Go all in and try to win it all before you have to pay Baker and Garrett.


Only early on in my draft study, will be posting my thoughts from now until the April. Going back and looking at my initial impressions of last years draft, I think I did pretty well one season removed. Seems like I wasn't high enough on Calloway however, kid really impressed me the last 6 or so weeks.
your analysis last season was pretty much spot on for each pick.. your concerns with Callaway were more behavioural than talent
 

Bigelow

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Yeah it confirms that most of the rumours were right.
Haslam has been the problem and Jackson wasnt as good a coach as most thought.

Thankfully Dorsey arrived to be able take advantage of the work done in the previous couple of years.
 

Bigelow

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It is a constant surprise that organisations dealing in millions of dollars need to have such basic management objectives spelt out.

These are all good principles, but it begs the question of how were they doing things before.




DxrxbFaUwAE9bjD.jpg
 
This diminishes my chubby for Chubb

The more I think about it the less worried I've become from a dynasty perspective, its a one year deal without a suspension even being handed out yet.

Chubb will start of the majority of the year ( who knows, maybe even all of it) and Hunt may very well not even be on the roster the following season.
 

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Joeltownsmith

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What do you guys think of the Kareem hunt signing I know he’s a gun player but with Johnson and Chubb already running the ball this ones abit bewildering for me?
 
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What do you guys think of the Kareem hunt signing I know he’s a gun player but with Johnson and Chubb already running the ball this ones abit bewildering for me?
Proven player, super cheap and the Browns have enough good will to ride out the negative image of the signing.
 
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What do you guys think of the Kareem hunt signing I know he’s a gun player but with Johnson and Chubb already running the ball this ones abit bewildering for me?

Might trade one of those guys, depending on Hunt's suspension?
 
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Pilot Flying J retaliates against ESPN over story of Browns dysfunction

Posted by Mike Florio on February 13, 2019, 1:38 PM EST








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When a sports team is on the wrong end of an in-depth report characterizing management as dysfunctional and inept, it can do one of two things. It can mobilize its P.R. professionals to tap into local and national media contacts in an effort to push back against all or part of the story. Or it can retaliate economically.

The owners of the Cleveland Browns have opted for the latter.

Michael Smith of SportsBusiness Journal reports that Pilot Flying J, the company owned and operated by the Haslam family, has taken steps to end prematurely an advertising deal with ESPN in retaliation for Seth Wickersham’s in-depth story regarding dysfunction and disharmony of the Browns under the leadership of co-owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam.

Per the report, Pilot Flying J and ESPN are negotiating a termination of the contract, which is believed to be worth low-to-mid seven figures per year and which has two years left on its four-year duration.

The fact that Pilot Flying J would cancel the deal over ESPN’s treatment of the Browns suggests that Pilot Flying J expected positive (or at least neutral) treatment of the NFL franchise in exchange for the advertising relationship. ESPN deserves credit for not playing that game.

Among other things, Wickersham’s story cited unnamed sources, who claimed that Dee Haslam at one point said, “We just don’t know what we are doing” and “f we’d known how hard it would be, we never would have bought the team.”

The team denied that Dee Haslam ever said this. And the team apparently didn’t appreciate the ESPN published the quotes and other comments regarding the management of the franchise since the Haslams purchased it in 2012.
 

son of meto

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Pilot Flying J retaliates against ESPN over story of Browns dysfunction

Posted by Mike Florio on February 13, 2019, 1:38 PM EST








457911170.jpg

Getty Images


When a sports team is on the wrong end of an in-depth report characterizing management as dysfunctional and inept, it can do one of two things. It can mobilize its P.R. professionals to tap into local and national media contacts in an effort to push back against all or part of the story. Or it can retaliate economically.

The owners of the Cleveland Browns have opted for the latter.

Michael Smith of SportsBusiness Journal reports that Pilot Flying J, the company owned and operated by the Haslam family, has taken steps to end prematurely an advertising deal with ESPN in retaliation for Seth Wickersham’s in-depth story regarding dysfunction and disharmony of the Browns under the leadership of co-owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam.

Per the report, Pilot Flying J and ESPN are negotiating a termination of the contract, which is believed to be worth low-to-mid seven figures per year and which has two years left on its four-year duration.

The fact that Pilot Flying J would cancel the deal over ESPN’s treatment of the Browns suggests that Pilot Flying J expected positive (or at least neutral) treatment of the NFL franchise in exchange for the advertising relationship. ESPN deserves credit for not playing that game.

Among other things, Wickersham’s story cited unnamed sources, who claimed that Dee Haslam at one point said, “We just don’t know what we are doing” and “f we’d known how hard it would be, we never would have bought the team.”

The team denied that Dee Haslam ever said this. And the team apparently didn’t appreciate the ESPN published the quotes and other comments regarding the management of the franchise since the Haslams purchased it in 2012.
So what? Next year Ravens are toast!!! No Flacco No Ravens...your QB (forgot his name) will be a bust after we stuff the seam so he can't run, force him to throw (cause he has no arm), and his clock gets shortened and cops sack after sack after sack. Mayfield will own Baltimore for 10 loooooonnnnnnggggg years.
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So what? Next year Ravens are toast!!! No Flacco No Ravens...your QB (forgot his name) will be a bust after we stuff the seam so he can't run, force him to throw (cause he has no arm), and his clock gets shortened and cops sack after sack after sack. Mayfield will own Baltimore for 10 loooooonnnnnnggggg years.
View attachment 622715

It'll be great if Baltimore and Cleveland dominated the AFC North for 10 years.
 

son of meto

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It'll be great if Baltimore and Cleveland dominated the AFC North for 10 years.
I think the Ravens have had there time. Great defense, but your offense is average at best.
Be interesting how Lamar goes, but once we take his run away...trouble.
 

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