Month: February 2022

Yesterday started nice and quiet, then Browns WR Jarvis Landry tweeted and turned everyone in the media and on Browns twitter into mind readers. The tweets were preceded by a cryptic, passive aggressive Instagram post. Immediately it was believed Landry and the Browns have discussed his contract and he’s gone. Not so fast. Let’s review. First, Landry’s tweets:

“1/2 Reality behind all this is I came back to play in the best shape of my life, I got hurt week 2 with a high grade MCL Sprain, Partial quad tear and bone bruise. Then came back way to early and ended up staying hurt the entire season. You never heard me mention anything about it”

“2/3 Also my media availability didn’t happen because I was focused on getting on the field as healthy as possible during the week and after games.. a strategic plan was set in place to be followed. I put the ball in CLE court by telling them I would like to stay but if not then”

“3/3 I have put the ball in CLE court by telling them I would like to stay but if not then I’m confident enough in myself to be a better healthy me this year and moving forward to helping do my part in winning a championship elsewhere.”

At first, I thought the same thing. The Browns have offered Landry a restructured deal and he thought it wasn’t enough and he’s gone. About 30 minutes after Landry’s last tweet, I noticed this tweet from Brad Stainbrook (@BrownsByBrad) who is an insider for @TheOBR:

“Source: #Browns and Klutch Sports Group, the agency they represents WR Jarvis Landry, will meet at the NFL combine in Indianapolis next week.”

So, Landry implies he’s gone, and the Browns haven’t discussed his contract with his agents yet? What the heck is going on? Sounds like someone is tired of hearing the narrative that he’s not worth the money. Landry and the last year of his contract have been discussed since last year’s pre-season, $16.3 million is too much to pay for Landry. As a player, I love Jarvis, however if the Browns can save $14.8 million by cutting him and use that money for Clowney or Ward or Njoku or another free agent, then do it. I know this may shock people, but the NFL is a business. I would love to see the Browns bring him back at the right price and that price hasn’t even been discussed yet. If Landry truly wants to stay in Cleveland like he says, then why not wait until the offer is made?

This whole situation paints the Browns organization in a bad light unfairly. Now the national talking heads are creating the narrative that no wide receiver wants to play for the Browns. What a load of garbage. Landry is trying to shape public opinion that the Browns don’t want him, similar to what Al Michaels & Cris Collingsworth tried to do during the Super Bowl with OBJ. Hey Jarvis don’t tell us the team doesn’t want you when the Browns haven’t even talked to you about staying. If you don’t want to be in Cleveland, then say so.

Finally, next week the NFL combine starts and I’m sure there’ll be plenty of rumors flying around. Remember don’t believe everything you read on twitter and chose who you follow carefully. Next week is when the real tampering period begins. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

Now that the Super Bowl is over, it’s on to 2022. As for the final game, like I said last week, I can’t root for a divisional rival, so I’m pleased with the outcome. Am I happy OBJ won a ring? Hell no. I just didn’t want the Browns to be the only team in the AFC North to not win a Super Bowl. The narrative is the Rams went all in to win a championship. Not quite. Yes, they traded for an upgrade at quarterback, but the two difference makers for the Rams, Copper Kupp and Aaron Donald where home grown talent. Last year’s Tampa team went all in and tried to do it again but fell short in 2021. As for the Bengals, we’ll now see how the “Super Bowl Hangover” will affect them. They weren’t a powerhouse team, they lost seven games and twice to the Browns. Of their ten wins, five were decided by a game winning field goal. They escaped the injury and Covid bug all year and got hot at the right time. Tampa was that team last year, winning every game after their bye week and the Titans were hot went it counted the year before. Cincinnati needs to fix their offensive line, Burrow was sacked 70 times last year.

The narrative by Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth about OBJ during the game was the dumbest thing I ever heard. Beckham, according to Jay Glazer, never wanted to be in Cleveland and told potential free agents not to be signed by the Browns. He stabbed the Browns in the back by not giving 100% on the field. To say he was thrown out on the street by Cleveland is revisionist history. GM Andrew Berry did OBJ a favor by releasing him and allowing his to go to the team he wanted, the L.A. Rams. I had very little respect for Al Michaels before this and now I have none. As for Collinsworth, he’s Pro football’s announcing version of Booger McFarland.

So, what’s next for the Browns? They are probably cleaning up the salary cap. According to https://overthecap.com/ they are currently $25 million under the cap, with the potential to add another $28 million with some cuts (Landry, Tretter & Keenum). Free agent priority resigning’s are Clowney, Ward, Njoku and Stewart. Next up for the draft is the NFL combine March 1 thru March 7. I can’t wait to find out who they interview, because that’s the most important part of the combine. The legal tampering period for signing free agents begins on March 14 and the league starts on March 16. A trade could happen before March 16, but it doesn’t become official until the start of the new league year. The teams to watch who are over the cap the most are, the 49ers, the Falcons, the Titans, the Giants, the Rams, the Vikings, the Cowboys, the Packers and the Saints, these team will be looking to trim roster spots. Just remember, GM Andrew Berry goes after one big free agent a year in a position of need and the player is usually young and coming off their first contract. In 2020 it was Jack Conklin to stabilize the offensive line and last year it was John Johnson, III to stabilize the secondary. Finally, it won’t be a big-name free agent wide receiver. It’s not how this offense works. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

Well, It’s the Bengals versus the Rams in the Super Bowl. I never rooted for the Ravens when they played in the Super Bowl, I never rooted for the Steelers when they played in the Super Bowl, and I won’t root for the Bengals in the Super Bowl. A division rival is a division rival. I’m well aware OBJ plays for the Rams, and I hate he tried to steer free agents away from Cleveland after the Browns went 11-6 and won a playoff game. Don’t care, can’t root for a divisional rival. I’ll leave karma to OBJ. First rule of being a Browns fan, you always want the Browns to win. Second rule of being a Browns fan, don’t root for a divisional rival to win, unless it helps the Browns. Besides history is not kind to the loser of the Super Bowl, unless you’re New England and Tom Brady is your quarterback.

The quarterback carousel is starting to settle down a little. The Raiders hired Josh Daniels as their head coach and Dave Ziegler as their GM, both from New England. Daniels says he likes Derek Carr as his QB, but he also likes quarterbacks who fit his system. Enter former Patriots QB Jimmy Garoppolo. So, what happens to Carr? I could see him ending up in Tampa after the second-best quarterback in professional football history retired. Otto Graham went to ten championship games in ten years winning seven. As for the other flavors of the month, the Vikings hired Rams OC Kevin O’Connell as their new head coach and Denver hired Packers OC Nathaniel Hackett as their head coach. O’Connell and Kirk Cousins were together with the Washington Commanders. Commanders? That’s the best you could do after two years. Makes Guardians look pretty good. O’Connell will bring the Rams offensive with him to Minnesota and that’s a perfect system for a veteran QB. As for the Broncos, they’re trying to lure Aaron Rogers to Denver by hiring someone I’ve never heard of.

The Senior Bowl practices are going on this week and the local Cleveland media made a big deal about the Browns talking to quarterbacks. It’s just a front office doing their due diligence. They also talked to wide receivers, offensive linemen and defensive linemen. Players who the Browns might be interested in who have impressed are DL Jermain Johnson FSU, DL Perrion Winfrey, Oklahoma, CB Josh Williams, Fayetteville State, OL Dylan Parham, Chattanooga, WR Khalil Shakir, Bosie State, WR Christian Watson NDSU, TE Cole Turner, Nevada and K Cameron Dicker, Texas. Yes, his nickname is “dicker the kicker.” He also went to the same high school as Baker Mayfield. All these players are likely third day picks, when GM Andrew Berry is at his best.

Finally, Hue Jackson. He thought Tyrod Taylor, and Carlos Hyde were better than Baker Mayfield and Nick Chubb. The year he was fired, he was 2-5-1 and after coach “come get some” Gregg Williams took over, Williams went 5-3 with the same roster. Brian Flores has a legitimate case against the NFL, leave it to Hue to make it about him. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.