11 hours ago, Oldmanladyluck said:

It saddened me to see the pic of Garrett sitting on the bench alone while the entire team was on the field after the game. I hope he doesn’t seek a trade- he’s one of the best players in the entire league and I hope he retires a Brown.  He wants to win. We all want them to win. It’s just one thing or another with this team, every year.

Garrett has 3-4 more years left in his prime and then he becomes a situational player. This year was wasted. Clowney is coming to the end of his prime. Running backs have a short shelf life in general so you have to wonder how many more good years Chubb will have. They have a good O'line and the receiver room and QB room certainly will be functional for a few more years, but they certainly squandered a year to compete and make the playoffs (even if they were like the Titans missing a franchise QB, they would still have had a fighting chance). 

 

They squandared that this year and now lost a ton of draft capital to rebuild when some of their current stars age out. 

5 hours ago, LibertyBlvd said:

Another wasted season.  Thanks, Haslam.

"Thanks, Haslam" is what the fans are cheering in Houston.  He has single-handedly helped in what could transform a football organization for years to come.  Unfortunately it is the Texans at the expense of the Browns.  He played the fool on taking a first-rate creep off of the Texan's roster who was NEVER going to play for that team again and paid for it with a whole lot of draft picks.  Houston was able to parlay the 2022 #13 overall draft pick into a #15 first round pick, a second round pick, 4th round pick and 2 5th round picks.  The 2023 first round pick from the Browns will probably be somewhere around #5 to #7 overall plus a high 3rd round pick.  If the 2023 season is another train wreck, it will translate into another high first round pick in 2024.  All of those picks could have plugged the many holes that the Browns have now that still would be present even if that EXPENSIVE quarterback played the whole season.

 

The fans of the Texans should "honor" Haslam.  Houston was able to dump the pervert off to an idiot and obtaining a boatload of high draft picks in multiple rounds of multiple drafts.  A deal like that may get that team to the Super Bowl. 

 

If the Browns eventually extricate themselves from this self-imposed trip to the NFL wasteland again, it won't happen until the truly worthwhile stars of the Browns will be past their prime or gone from the team altogether.  That massive contract will handcuff the Browns making any notable free-agent moves for years.

11 hours ago, Brutus_buckeye said:

Garrett has 3-4 more years left in his prime and then he becomes a situational player. This year was wasted. Clowney is coming to the end of his prime. Running backs have a short shelf life in general so you have to wonder how many more good years Chubb will have. They have a good O'line and the receiver room and QB room certainly will be functional for a few more years, but they certainly squandered a year to compete and make the playoffs (even if they were like the Titans missing a franchise QB, they would still have had a fighting chance). 

 

They squandared that this year and now lost a ton of draft capital to rebuild when some of their current stars age out. 

I have my doubts about how good the offensive line will be as soon as next year.  The best players are Bitonio and Teller.  We don't know enough about how good Harris could be and he will be coming off a major knee surgery.  Wills has not lived up to his high draft pick expectations.  Conklin could be gone next year as his deal ends after this season.  It was a possibility he could have been gone from the team in the previous off season and there were rumors of him being dealt before this year's trading deadline. 

 

As stated, due to that awful deal with the Texans, they are sorely lacking in draft capital and they have too many glaring needs to fill.  Clowney almost certainly won't be back.  That leaves Garrett and a whole lot of question marks on the defensive line.  Due to performance and injuries, they need help for linebackers.  Ward is good, but he has been suffering from a lot of injuries.  The defensive secondary has been an expensive mess in both money spent and draft picks expended.  After Cooper and Peoples-Jones, they don't have much in the way of receivers.  Hunt will be gone after this season, too.

 

The window for success is narrowing and will be closing very quickly.  

9 hours ago, LifeLongClevelander said:

As stated, due to that awful deal with the Texans, they are sorely lacking in draft capital and they have too many glaring needs to fill.  Clowney almost certainly won't be back.  That leaves Garrett and a whole lot of question marks on the defensive line.  Due to performance and injuries, they need help for linebackers.

My biggest issue with the Texans deal is that you make such a deal when the goal is to win immediately. If you know you have a good team and just need that QB to get you over the top, it is justified to mortgage the future on the increased chance that 2022 is your year. Just like the Rams did in 2022 when they went all in on Stafford, it would have been reasonable for the Browns to give up that draft capital if they could have that franchise QB for 2022. The problem was that at the very minimum, the Browns KNEW he would be gone for a likely 6 games before tehy even made the deal and chances are he could have been gone longer (which we now know is 11 games), they knew that once he returns from a near 2 year layoff, he would likely be rusty and take a while to get back to speed (Heck look at Joe Burrow in Cincinnati for the first 3-4 weeks of the year compared to Burrow now). So at the very best, you waste half a season without a franchise QB in the effort to win TODAY. It just made no sense. 

This could go down as the worst trade in Cleveland sports history.  Haslam may surpass Modell as the most hated owner.  The NFL might have to implement a Haslam Rule similar to the NBA's Stepien Rule.

 

Edited November 22, 20222 yr by LibertyBlvd

I don’t think the trade is the problem. There were other teams who were willing to make the same deal for draft picks. Cleveland was actually out of the running until the last minute.

 

Watson SHOULD be a major upgrade over what we had. Everyone was expecting a suspension, but no one was expecting 11 games. Meanwhile, we have a good QB as a backup, a top-10 ranking offense in the NFL with said backup, but a defense which was supposed to be good on paper and has absolutely FAILED several times this season, being the primary reason why we’re 3-7. That along with special teams, missed and blocked field-goals, allowing 30-yard returns, etc.

 

 

1 hour ago, Oldmanladyluck said:

I don’t think the trade is the problem. There were other teams who were willing to make the same deal for draft picks. Cleveland was actually out of the running until the last minute.

 

Watson SHOULD be a major upgrade over what we had. Everyone was expecting a suspension, but no one was expecting 11 games. Meanwhile, we have a good QB as a backup, a top-10 ranking offense in the NFL with said backup, but a defense which was supposed to be good on paper and has absolutely FAILED several times this season, being the primary reason why we’re 3-7. That along with special teams, missed and blocked field-goals, allowing 30-yard returns, etc.

 

 

I wonder if the defense to some extent is playing "easy" since they know the offense won't put up points to support them.   No one wants to get hurt in a losing effort.   If Watson comes in and starts putting 40 points up a game and the defense steps up, then we'll know.  

2 hours ago, Oldmanladyluck said:

I don’t think the trade is the problem. There were other teams who were willing to make the same deal for draft picks. Cleveland was actually out of the running until the last minute.

Yes there were other teams that were willing to pay just as much or similar, but the main competition was (Atlanta, Carolina, New Orleans) not in the same position as Cleveland to compete in 2022. Watson was much more of a long term play and neither of those teams were going to viably compete in 2022, even with Watson. 

 

2 hours ago, Oldmanladyluck said:

Watson SHOULD be a major upgrade over what we had.

Watson will be a huge improvement, but just not in 2022, which means another wasted year with the Browns talent.

2 hours ago, Oldmanladyluck said:

but a defense which was supposed to be good on paper and has absolutely FAILED several times this season, being the primary reason why we’re 3-7.

I dont think you can look at anything in a vacuum. Could the defense's struggles have any relation to the chaos in the offseason?? I dont know if you could connect those two items together, but who knows how a football team pscyhie is. Back in 1995 the Browns were in first place until they said they were moving to Baltimore and the team fell apart. 

 

1 hour ago, Cleburger said:

If Watson comes in and starts putting 40 points up a game and the defense steps up, then we'll know.  

I do not think in week 12 he starts and puts up 40 points. He has not played in 2 years or has he had much time to develop any continuity with his receivers and line. Maybe by week 15 he finds is groove, but at that point of the season it does not get you anything. 

9 hours ago, Cleburger said:

I wonder if the defense to some extent is playing "easy" since they know the offense won't put up points to support them.   No one wants to get hurt in a losing effort.   If Watson comes in and starts putting 40 points up a game and the defense steps up, then we'll know.  

Injuries can happen any time a player is on the field.  Some could reason that injuries may even happen more frequently.  Those playing "easy" won't have their heads in the game, but the opponents who are playing their hardest will.  To those who may be off season roster casualties, it doesn't help their bargaining position when possible general managers and head coaches see lackluster effort.

 

As for wasting another year with the Browns talent, they do have a lot of holes to plug and make serious upgrades.  The losses of high draft picks in multiple rounds will hurt them.  They do have salary cap room that can be moved into 2023, but it will handcuff them in longer-term deals.  Finally, nobody can predict when time and injuries will catch up with the current talent.

 

If the Browns stayed with Baker Mayfield (or decided that Brissett would serve as a "bridge" to 2023) and the results were the same, they were done with him after 2022.  They wouldn't be saddled with a massive guaranteed contract and would still have the draft picks to maybe find Mayfield's replacement and fill the needs of the team.   

On 11/21/2022 at 11:44 PM, LifeLongClevelander said:

I have my doubts about how good the offensive line will be as soon as next year.  The best players are Bitonio and Teller.  We don't know enough about how good Harris could be and he will be coming off a major knee surgery.  Wills has not lived up to his high draft pick expectations.  Conklin could be gone next year as his deal ends after this season.  It was a possibility he could have been gone from the team in the previous off season and there were rumors of him being dealt before this year's trading deadline. 

 

As stated, due to that awful deal with the Texans, they are sorely lacking in draft capital and they have too many glaring needs to fill.  Clowney almost certainly won't be back.  That leaves Garrett and a whole lot of question marks on the defensive line.  Due to performance and injuries, they need help for linebackers.  Ward is good, but he has been suffering from a lot of injuries.  The defensive secondary has been an expensive mess in both money spent and draft picks expended.  After Cooper and Peoples-Jones, they don't have much in the way of receivers.  Hunt will be gone after this season, too.

 

The window for success is narrowing and will be closing very quickly.  

Browns fans seriously have an unhealthy fetish with first round picks. If Watson remains a top 5 level talent in this league, that trade was absolutely worth it (when considering on the field matters, I won't get into his off the field shenanigans). And Elite qb makes you forget about those holes because he can overcome them. And besides, from all this "genious" talk I hear about Andrew Berry, I would expect he is able to hit on 2nd and 3rd rounders which are honestly starters in the NFL. If he can't do that, then Haslam once again muffed another hire. 

Alright UO which one of you was it?  😜

There's one way to keep the opposing offense from running all over us....

 

 

Maybe Joe Woods?  😀

18 hours ago, AsDustinFoxWouldSay said:

Browns fans seriously have an unhealthy fetish with first round picks. If Watson remains a top 5 level talent in this league, that trade was absolutely worth it (when considering on the field matters, I won't get into his off the field shenanigans). And Elite qb makes you forget about those holes because he can overcome them. And besides, from all this "genious" talk I hear about Andrew Berry, I would expect he is able to hit on 2nd and 3rd rounders which are honestly starters in the NFL. If he can't do that, then Haslam once again muffed another hire. 

The problem with the Browns, aside from awful management.  They have so many holes and weaknesses.  No matter how good an elite quarterback is, if the defense lets the opponents have their way, it puts the offense in a come from behind situation.  An elite quarterback isn't going to be so good if the pass rush doesn't give him the time to complete passes.  A lacking offensive line will have trouble opening up gaps for big gains.  Of course, if the team is trailing, they will move away from the rushing game. 

 

As it stands right now, the defensive line will need an almost complete overhaul for next season.  For the offensive line, Conklin could be gone and Wills hasn't lived up to high expectations.  They definitely need a third receiver as they don't have much behind Cooper and Peoples-Jones.  If they don't have the draft picks to get better players, more often than not free agency isn't going to be a saving grace.  

 

This is hilarious 😄
 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/ClUC-suJckl/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Browns need to find another kicker.

Still not betting on playoffs this season at 4-7, but today was maybe the first time I’ve seen them play a full game all season. Defense ***actually*** did well and stepped up when the offense was in a slump. 
 

Brissett has literally played himself out of a backup role and will likely be a starter for another team next year. What’s crazy is that he (even while being a backup) is one of the better QBs we’ve had within the past 20+ years. Browns fans shouldn’t do anything but wish him the best after this season.

4 hours ago, Oldmanladyluck said:

Brissett has literally played himself out of a backup role and will likely be a starter for another team next year. What’s crazy is that he (even while being a backup) is one of the better QBs we’ve had within the past 20+ years. Browns fans shouldn’t do anything but wish him the best after this season.

I would not go that far. Brissett is playing great this year, especially of late, but there have been many one hit wonders in the past that we have seen. remember Derek Anderson?

10 hours ago, Brutus_buckeye said:

I would not go that far. Brissett is playing great this year, especially of late, but there have been many one hit wonders in the past that we have seen. remember Derek Anderson?

Jacoby Brissett is decidedly better than Derek Anderson.

5 minutes ago, Ineffable_Matt said:

Jacoby Brissett is decidedly better than Derek Anderson.

I dont disagree with that, but some of it could be him reaching his peak this year. It also could be Stefanski is a QB whisperer who can maximize the potential of his QB's. Look at the fall of Mayfield as prime example #1

Depending on how well Watson performs, the Browns have a chance to win 4 of their remaining games.   Houston, New Orleans and Pittsburgh are winnable.  And perhaps they can win one vs Baltimore, Cincinnati or Washington. That would result in an 8-9 record, not good enough for the playoffs, but it would at least be respectable.

 

Edited November 28, 20222 yr by LibertyBlvd

7 hours ago, Brutus_buckeye said:

I dont disagree with that, but some of it could be him reaching his peak this year. It also could be Stefanski is a QB whisperer who can maximize the potential of his QB's. Look at the fall of Mayfield as prime example #1

Could be…

 

 

^ Just want to say that the Browns helmet stripe has gotten stupidly wide. 

Edited November 29, 20222 yr by surfohio

13 hours ago, surfohio said:

^ Just want to say that the Browns helmet stripe has gotten stupidly wide. 

the Browns need to go back to their 1980s look. White facemask, slimmer helmet stripes, white pants with thin stripes on them, plain jerseys. Wear white all the time with brown as the secondary color. Channel their inner Frank Minnefield, Bernie kosar and Webster Slaughter. 

They definitely need to scrap those all brown unis - not a good look.  I'm OK with brown pants and white jersey.  Some kind of logo on the helmet would be nice.   

1 hour ago, LibertyBlvd said:

They definitely need to scrap those all brown unis - not a good look.  I'm OK with brown pants and white jersey.  Some kind of logo on the helmet would be nice.   

 

I hate the all brown uniforms and in fact the brown pants, and the orange numbers were jinxed (look at their record when they wore them all the time),   But a logo on the helmet is sacrilege.  

Welp, another wasted season. And no first round draft pick. Way to go, Haslam.

1 hour ago, LibertyBlvd said:

Welp, another wasted season. And no first round draft pick. Way to go, Haslam.

To be fair, he did concoct a pretty fantastic and novel way to ruin a Browns season for the 9th time in 10 years of ownership. 

1 hour ago, LibertyBlvd said:

Welp, another wasted season. And no first round draft pick. Way to go, Haslam.

Another week, another repeat of the same problems and resulting in another loss.  Questionable play calling AGAIN.  Undisciplined play and stupid penalties.  When the season comes to an end, it will be no better than last year's record of 8-9.  Looking deeper, what are the constants?  Finally, there will be significant holes to fill on the roster with departures going into next year:  Clowney, Hunt and Conklin being the known ones.  The team needs depth and significant upgrades in some positions.  They are already in the hole with the loss of the second of three first round draft picks.  Watson's massive contract will limit free agency moves.  Watson's last season when he played for Houston, still resulted in a 4-12 record (if he can duplicate his numbers here).  I don't expect much if anything better record-wise next year.    

 

The repercussions of that awful deal will be felt for years.

Edited December 11, 20222 yr by LifeLongClevelander

the all ohio dream here was browns to win for bragging rights and then bengals to win the super bowl. nope.

I find it quite fascinating that the Plain Dealer has a Bengals beat reporter, whereas the Cincinnati media could care less about the Browns. Is it a Burrow thing or something else? Why would the PD be devoting time to covering the "other" team in Ohio?

6 minutes ago, Brutus_buckeye said:

I find it quite fascinating that the Plain Dealer has a Bengals beat reporter, whereas the Cincinnati media could care less about the Browns. Is it a Burrow thing or something else? Why would the PD be devoting time to covering the "other" team in Ohio?

 

When they debuted the expanded Bengals coverage, they stated that it was because they think they have a competitive advantage in the quality of their sports coverage.

The use of drones during TV broadcasts has opened up a lot of angles that weren't possible during the Goodyear Blimp era.  

 

Yesterday, during the 4th quarter, national audiences were treated to the sight of a mile-long fright train crossing the C&O RR bridge.  This line forks in three directions south of the bridge.  The namesake C&O heads eastward to West Virginia along the south bank of the Ohio River.  The Kentucky Central heads due-south to Knoxville TN.  The busiest branch, the old L&N, travels to Louisville.  

 

Cincinnati's other active Ohio River railroad bridge, the Cincinnati Southern (not pictured), doesn't branch at all yet is as busy or even busier than the C&O, with 30 trains a day heading to Chattanooga, TN.  

 

 

 

4 hours ago, X said:

 

When they debuted the expanded Bengals coverage, they stated that it was because they think they have a competitive advantage in the quality of their sports coverage.

Compared to who? Compared to the rest of Ohio?? Of course. The Enquirer and Dispatch suck. The PD is hands down the best paper in Ohio (although the Beacon Journal has not bad either, but it has been a while since I really read that one). There are many newsworthy stories in Columbus and Cincinnati that would be worthy of the PD having a reporter cover. That being said, sports is local and does not really carry as far. Cleveland fans really could care less about the Bengals and if they would care about another NFL team, it likely would make more sense to have a reporter on the Steeler beat.  Outside of Dayton, Ohio is a Browns state and likely always will be 

 

I have always found it fascinating how the Enquirer never even bothered to have an Ohio State reporter yet the PD has a Bengals beat writer.

Uh...I hate to break it to you but Dayton is ALSO a Browns town along being a Bengals town.  WHIO, the metro's most watched channel, shows the Browns, not Bengals.  There are plenty of Bengals fans in Dayton but that's equal to Browns and Steelers fans.

 

And I say this as a day-one Bengals fan from Dayton.

So that's why my Bengals Beanie Ballz and backpack clips sat longer than expected at my Dayton store

LOL!  The Browns had a large Dayton presence up until, well, the Carson Palmer-era where their popularity rose in the area.  Today, with the rise of Burrow, Metro Dayton is probably 40% Bengals, 30% Browns, and 30% Steelers.  Pretty much every old school Daytonian, regardless of race, is either a Browns or Steelers fan.  Most under, say, 35 are probably Bengals-leaning.

It certainly can be alienating being a Bengals fan in the "wrong town." Like why is Groveport a Bengals town while Ashville is Browns? Ashville is further south! Ashville has a lot more trailer parks though. Not that it means anything 

1 hour ago, GCrites80s said:

It certainly can be alienating being a Bengals fan in the "wrong town." Like why is Groveport a Bengals town while Ashville is Browns? Ashville is further south! Ashville has a lot more trailer parks though. Not that it means anything 

Maybe one of the players was from there? That's how you get Celtics fans in Terre Haute, and Steelers fans in Findlay. 

5 hours ago, westerninterloper said:

Maybe one of the players was from there? That's how you get Celtics fans in Terre Haute, and Steelers fans in Findlay. 

 

Or older people.   It's seemed to me that in central Ohio Browns vs. Bengals fandom waxes and wanes with the teams' success or otherwise.

 

We had a busful go down to the opening of Paul Brown Stadium in 2000.   They ran out of bus parking.  The place was about 40% Browns fans and if you count the people in Kentucky/Couch stuff, we may have been the majority.   I almost felt bad for the two guys in my section who kept trying to rile up the fans, then would turn around and see a sea of brown along with the usual orange.

I enjoyed this story:

 

the browns just signed … jake paul ??? yep:

 

 

Jake Paul signs vague contract to join Cleveland Browns

 

By Jenna Lemoncelli

December 23, 2022 

 

 

Did the Cleveland Browns really just sign The Problem Child to an NFL contract? 

 

That appears to be true after they welcomed Jake Paul to the team on Friday, sharing a Twitter video of the internet personality and pro boxer pointing to a jersey with his name and No. 00 on the back.

 

 

more:

https://nypost.com/2022/12/23/jake-paul-signs-vague-contract-to-join-cleveland-browns/

 

Turn out the lights. The party's over. Actually, the party never started. Oh well. Wait til next year.

 

Edited December 24, 20222 yr by LibertyBlvd

What a fun day for the fans who attended. 

Overthrown passes, and dropped passes.  The end.

Receivers that can't catch. A $230 million quarterback that doesn't like cold weather. No first round picks.  A dysfunctional front office and coaching staff. Lackadaisical players. Good grief. And PLEASE scrap those all brown unis. It's not a good look.

 

Edited December 25, 20222 yr by LibertyBlvd

4 hours ago, LibertyBlvd said:

Receivers that can't catch. A quarterback that doesn't like cold weather. Good grief. And PLEASE scap those all brown unis. It's not a good look.

And a coach that is supposed to be a great play-caller who repeatedly makes the same questionable play calls, does not properly utilize the best offensive talent and does not adjust the play calling based upon weather conditions.  As for Watson, he has not shown much of anything to justify a $230 million contract and surrendering 3 first round draft picks.  Four games have yielded two wins against teams that had significant troubles scoring.  Four weeks worth of actual game play and another month of practice have seen offensive output significantly decrease.  

Edited December 25, 20222 yr by LifeLongClevelander

I don't mind the contract being guaranteed as a matter of principle - frankly, all NFL contracts should be guaranteed since players have a lifetime of pain and medical expenses unique to other sports (except boxers).

 

Never understood the non-guaranteed arguments at their core. Baseball and hockey solely have guaranteed contracts; football and basketball do not. Hmmm, I wonder why.

^ NBA basketball contracts are fully guaranteed.

Whoops, brain fart there

NFL team rosters are much larger than the others sports and might be why no guaranteed contracts.

 

Edited December 26, 20222 yr by LibertyBlvd