Month: January 2022

I don’t understand the Cleveland media and their obsession with running QB Baker Mayfield out of town. They never complained like this when the Browns were going 1-31. Maybe they can’t be happy when the Browns have success. Each member of the media has their favorite replacement, even though the replacement they desire might not be available. Let’s confuse the members of the fourth estate with some facts.

First, not one member of this esteemed group has any clue what the Browns are going to do. I have no idea what the Browns are going to do. I do know the Browns have a plan for every contingency. They also have back up plans and back up plans for the back up plans. It wouldn’t surprise me if they had super-secret emergency plans to the back up plans. I trust the Browns front office to make the right move, not Tony Grossi, Mary Kay Cabot, Aaron Goldhammer or Dustin Fox. So, are any of these alternatives realistic?

Russell Wilson. Wilson is 33 years old and is currently signed through 2023 season. His cap number is $37 million and if he’s traded Seattle would have to carry $26 million in dead money and only save $11 million. The Seahawks are currently $39.7 million under the cap. Wilson has a no trade clause in his contract with four teams he would be willing to be traded to and Cleveland isn’t one of them. Not happening, he’s staying in Seattle.

Aaron Rogers. Rogers is 38 years old and is currently signed through the 2022 season. His cap number is $46.4 million and if he’s traded Green Bay would have to carry $26.8 million in dead money and only save $19.8 million. The Packers are currently $50.3 million over the cap. To trade Rogers, his contract has to be on the books when the new NFL year begins on March 16. Not happening, he’s staying in Green Bay.

Deshaun Watson. Watson is 26 years old and is currently signed through the 2025 season. His cap number is $40.4 million and if he’s traded Houston would have to carry $16.2 million in dead money and save $24.2 million on the cap. The Texans are currently $4.4 million under the cap. If you’re a Browns fan and complained about a certain recently retired Pittsburg quarterback and the claims he sexually assaulted women, get off this train. Besides, the Browns aren’t giving up three number one picks for anyone.

Derek Carr. Carr is 30 years old and is currently signed through the 2022 season. His cap number is $19.8 million and if he’s traded there is no dead money and Las Vegas would save $19.8 million on the cap. The Raiders are currently $23.3 million under the cap. While Carr has led many comebacks in games, he’s never won a playoff game. The wildcard in Las Vegas is they have no head coach or GM. Carr may like who they hire. If traded, the Raiders would need a replacement.

Jimmy Garoppolo. Garoppolo is 30 years old and is currently signed through the 2022 season. His cap number is $26.95 million and if he’s traded San Fransico would have to carry $1.4 million in dead money and save $25.55 million on the cap. The 49ers are currently $3.5 million over the cap. As a 49er starting quarterback, Garoppolo’s record is impressive, 31-14. His stats prior to this year in six post season games were 64 of 102 (62.7%) for 730 yards, two touchdowns, five interceptions eight sacks for a QBR of 70.3. Not very impressive. I heard someone say he was trailer, not a truck. His injury history is also a factor. I’m sure San Fransico would love to take advantage of another team in a trade. It won’t be the Browns.

Kirk Cousins. New flavor of the week, welcome to carousel Mr. Cousins. Cousins is 33 years old and is currently signed through the 2022 season. His cap number is $45 million and if he’s traded Minnesota would have no dead money and save $45 million on the cap. The Vikings are currently $17.3 million over the cap. Much has been made of his starting record in primetime games, 8-17. The only reason his name is being brought up is because the Vikings newly hired GM worked for the Browns and head coach Kevin Stefanski is familiar with Cousins. Again, the Vikings would love to take advantage of another team in a trade. It won’t be the Browns.

Browns GM Andrew Berry is trying to build a team that is successful in 2022 and in future years. The Browns are not going to trade away draft capital for aging quarterbacks with big salaries. Mayfield’s cap number for 2022 is $18.8 million, that’s very affordable for a starting QB in the NFL. When healthy, Mayfield is a very good quarterback who can take the Browns to the playoffs. When healthy. I understand why everyone is trying to replace Mayfield after watching quarterback play in the playoffs this year. They think there are better options available. Not really. The Browns will roll with Baker Mayfield in 2022. If you want to spend some money Browns, extend Denzel Ward, sign Jadaveon Clowney, M.J. Stewart and David Njoku. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

I just don’t get the Baker Mayfield hate, I just don’t. Former NFL quarterback Phil Sims said in a radio interview this week he doesn’t understand how people love to hate Baker Mayfield. Hate Mayfield, look for reasons he is a terrible quarterback and then justify your argument. Is he perfect? No. Did he make mistakes? Yes. Did his injuries attribute to his play physically and mentally? Yes. Did the play calling add to his poor play down the stretch? Yes. Did all the drama in the locker room help? No. I recall a healthy Baker Mayfield as a rookie breaking Payton Manning’s rookie touchdown record, later to be broken by everyone’s flavor of the month Justin Herbert. Then, a healthy Mayfield leading the Browns to the playoffs last year. So now the haters and the Cleveland media are clutching their pearls about what the Browns are going to do about the quarterback situation.

First, they complained about the announcement to skip the last game to schedule surgery for his shoulder. Then they complained about not having the surgery in Cleveland. Now they’re dissecting his post-surgery Instagram video like it’s a hostage video. I think if you play it slow, he’s blinking trade me in morse code. The local Cleveland media are now breaking down every sentence word for word looking for meaning and inflection to confirm their wish that Mayfield doesn’t want to be in Cleveland anymore. People have lost their minds. The Baker haters also said none of his teammates wished him well on social media. As Rashard Higgins said on twitter, he texted Mayfield and not everything has to go on social media.

The Browns front office has a plan for the off-season. They’ve had this plan for months. GM Andrew Berry is not a spur of the moment GM. The Browns aren’t in a desperate need for a quarterback. The most logical thing to do is for Mayfield to be the starter in 2022. I know that he’s on the last year of his contract, but so is Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson. Raven’s fans don’t have their panties in a wad over it. The only difference between the two is Jackson won an MVP award. They both have one playoff win and both of their injuries derailed their team’s season. I recall a news report the week after last year’s Super Bowl the Ravens were going to sign Jackson to an extension. Then nothing, nothing, not a peep. That’s a more concerning situation than the Browns.

My concerns for the 2022 Browns are the depth at wide receiver, depth at interior defensive line, extending CB Denzel Ward, finding a kicker, resigning DE Jadeveon Clowney and S M.J. Stewart. Those are my priorities. With 2021 rollover, the Browns currently have about $28 million in cap space. Certain moves would create more space. As of now the Browns have eight draft picks with wide receiver again being a deep position for the draft. In 2020 the Browns needed a left tackle, and they drafted a left tackle in the first round. In 2021 the Browns needed a cornerback, and they drafted a cornerback in the first round. In 2022 the Browns need a wide receiver, and they will draft a wide receiver in the first round.

If you’re on the fence about QB Baker Mayfield, trust the Browns front office and Andrew Berry to do the best for the Browns. Like I said earlier, they have plan and they’ve had the plan for months. Stop being amateur physiologists looking for any clue to prove you’re right. I don’t care if I’m right or wrong, I just want the Browns to win. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

Expectations were so high this year. A possible AFC North division title and hopefully a deep playoff run. Then the starting quarterback gets hurt and the season falls way short. Now the team goes into the off-season with their starting quarterback playing the last year of his rookie contract and everyone is wondering if and when the team will offer an extension. But enough about the Baltimore Ravens, let’s talk about the Browns. I will always root for the Browns to win games and I’m glad they won Sunday. When your team’s front office is a good as the Browns, draft position doesn’t matter. After the game I heard a lot of football fans saying congratulations the Browns beat the Bengals backups. The Browns starters beat the Bengal starters in game one and the Browns backups beat the Bengal backups in game two. The Browns roster is better top to bottom.

As for the game yesterday, it’s nice to go into the off-season with a win. According to Pro Football Focus the highest graded players were G Joel Bitonio (90.7), OT James Hudson (90.0) LT Jedrick Wills, Jr. (84.9), Jadeveon Clowney (79.2) and G Wyatt Teller (79.1). The secondary was graded as the highest coverage unit in the NFL (90.7). During the game on social media, I heard a lot of fans saying if QB Case Keenum had started more games the Browns would’ve won more games. Nope. He had a bad interception and a fumble that was returned for a touchdown. The Browns won yesterday because they were dedicated to running the ball and because of their defense. The Browns offense finished 18th, the defense finished 12th and the special teams finished 24th. The off-season has to be spent improving the offense by drafting a wide receiver with the first pick, signing a decent WR free agent or restructuring Jarvis Landry, getting better depth on the offensive line and a starting defensive tackle. Hopefully the Browns can extend CB Denzel Ward, resign Clowney, TE David Njoku and S M.J. Stewart, Jr.

It’s refreshing not having to wonder or hope the head coach and/or the GM of the Browns will be fired on black Monday. I know a lot of Browns fans want head coach Kevin Stefanski to be fired. I guess some fans love dysfunction. I don’t. My hope is 2021 will be a motivation for the offensive coaches to reevaluate play calling and play callers. The quarterback in 2022 will be Baker Mayfield. It’s the logical thing to do because right now there’s no one better available. The team currently has around $27.2 million is cap space. If they cut C J.C. Tretter, QB Case Keenum and WR Jarvis Landry, they’ll have an additional $29.85 million is cap space. The Browns will pick 13th in the first round (WR Garrett Wilson please) and have eight picks overall. This roster only needs to be tweaked a little, it’s young and talented. On to the off-season. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

That was the weirdest Browns game I’ve ever watched, and I’ve seen some strange games. First of all, yes, the Browns were trying to win the game. The defense sure looked like it. The offense was, well offensive. If you’re looking to blame someone, then I place the blame on both QB Baker Mayfield and head coach Kevin Stefanski. Why play an injured quarterback if he can’t run the offense because he’s injured? And if your quarterback is injured and you’re going to play him, why not adjust the play calling to what he can do?

Positives & Negatives. The positive was the defense, again. DE Jadeveon Clowney, DT Malik McDowell, LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, LB Malcolm Smith, LB Jacob Phillips, CB Denzel Ward, CB A.J. Green, S/CB M.J. Stewart, Jr., S Grant Delpit and S Richard LeCounte, III all played very well. Defensive coordinator Joe Woods has done an incredible job this year. Remember when Browns fans wanted him fired? Good times. The negatives start with stupid penalties. From lining up offsides by a foot to throwing a shoe that’s all on the coaching staff. It’s been this way all year. Could you start the game off with some play action or rollouts on offense? How about you start a right tackle who could at least slowdown the potential defensive player of the year? Or maybe give some damn help. How about teaching your wide receivers to separate when they run routes? Or instruct your quarterback to throw the ball to the open receiver instead of holding on to it so he can get sacked? Last but not least, run the ball more.

So, what’s going to happen moving forward? I think QB Baker Mayfield has taken his last snap as the Browns quarterback. The team is not going to fire the head coach and one has to go. Watching this front office work, I’m confident GM Andrew Berry has several plans in place for the off-season concerning Mayfield. I think he asks to be traded. He transferred from two schools before going to Oklahoma. Last night after the game, he was asked when he would have the surgery to fix his shoulder, he said he would talk with his family and his representatives. You would think the team might need to be consulted.

So, if the Browns don’t keep Mayfield, who’s the Browns quarterback in 2022? The three big names are Aaron Rogers, Russell Wilson and Deshaun Watson. Rogers will either stay in Green Bay or go to the west coast, probably Raiders or 49ers. The ripple effect would be Derek Carr or Jimmy Garoppolo would become available. Carr has already let it be known he wants to play somewhere else. Over the last three games, Carr has thrown four interceptions, but the Raiders have won all three games. Garoppolo is a taller version of Mayfield, which after watching last night might not be a bad thing. Russell Wilson has four teams he wants to be traded to and has a no trade clause in his contract. None of those four teams are Cleveland. The two front runners are the Raiders or the Saints. As for Watson, of the 20+ sexual assault civil cases against him, it looks like four are going to court. They will be tried one after another and while in a criminal case you need a burden of proof for there to be a guilty verdict, in a civil case the proof of guilt only needs to be 51%. He will be found guilty in at least one of those cases and will be suspended by the NFL for at least six games. So, who plays QB while Watson is suspended?

Getting a mid-level quarterback can work in the NFL. Look at the Titans and QB Ryan Tannehill. The Browns have a better offensive line and running game (when they chose to use it) then Tennessee. The Titans gave up a box of rocks for Tannehill because they weren’t sure their number one draft pick quarterback could take them to the next level. The Titans even picked up Marcus Mariota’s fifth year option prior to trading for Tannehill.

I’ve always been a supporter of Baker Mayfield, however after last night, I’m not sure he’s the answer. The Browns are a very talented team and Andrew Berry has done a remarkable job building this roster. Owner Jimmy Haslam has finally hired the right front office and coaching staff and will support them in any decssion they make moving forward as will I. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.