Now that we know the Super Bowl participants, can we all agree that fourth down has been the major topic of this years playoffs. I have never seen a year where fourth down can make or break a good coach’s decision making. Wow. Getting back to the Super Bowl, how close are the Browns from making their first appearance? Pretty, pretty close. If GM Andrew Berry and the Browns front office can do to the defense this year, what they did to the offense last year, the Browns are close. The process begins with the Senior Bowl this week. With the NFL Combine going virtual, the Senior bowl still affords the Browns to personally watch practices and speak individually to draft prospects. The off-season has begun.
Lets start with the schedule. Besides Pittsburg, Cincinnati and Baltimore, the Browns host Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas and Houston. Their road games are the Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City, Green Bay, New England and Minnesota. The home schedule is pretty good, while the road schedule is daunting. I’m glad there’s only one west coast trip. The key to this schedule are when the games are played and how they’re spaced out. Due to the Browns success, there will probably be at least four prime-time games. The Kansas City game, if the Chiefs win the Super Bowl, has Thursday night season opener written all over it. The amazing thing about the 2020 Cleveland Browns, they never lost two games in a row. That’s preparation by the coaching staff. To make the next step, the Browns need to win their opening game, win their division, beat teams coached by Andy Reid and John Gruden (0-8 vs Reid and 0-6 vs Gruden) and win two playoff games in a season. Sounds simple right?
First, the Browns have to fix their defense either through the draft or free agency. Since free agency starts first, you have to look at the teams who are over the salary cap for potential free agents. With an expected salary cap of $175 million, there are currently thirteen teams over the cap. The Giants ($3.3), the Titans ($7.4), the Bears ($10.7), the Vikings ($12.8), the Texans ($18.3), the Chiefs ($ 18.9), the Raiders ($23.5), the Packers ($28.6), the Rams ($30.5), the Steelers ($ 34.9), the Falcons ($36.3), the Eagles ($53.5) and the Saints ($112.1). That’s an incredible list. The Giants and the Titans could do restructures and get under the cap, but signing free agents would be difficult. As for the other teams, trades would their best option. This puts more players on the market. GM Andrew Berry’s ideal free agent is a player in his mid twenties coming off his first contract. But if Berry feels the Browns are close to the next level, then acquiring a big name defensive free agent has to be considered. Think defensive end or safety. As for the draft, the Browns have nine picks and I do not expect Andrew Berry to use all nine.
For the first time in a long time the Browns return their entire coaching staff and front office. They return their offense in tact and get Greedy Williams and Grant Delpit back from injury. This team has the capacity to handle both a virtual combine and pro days better than most NFL teams. They spent the last three weeks of the season game planning virtually Next week I’ll start my way too early free agent tracker and throw in a mock draft. The future looks bright. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.