Now that the final NFL game has been played, it’s time for the new season to begin. As for the Super Bowl, a couple of thoughts. Patrick Mahomes is the next Tom Brady and Otto Graham. A team can’t give him extra chances to win a game. A franchise quarterback gets you to the final game and wins that game. He’s been a starter for six years and taken the Chiefs to the Super Bowl five times winning four. Every AFC team has to go through Mahomes to win the big game. Going into the game, I thought the national media were ignoring how good the Kansas City defense really was. A great secondary can shut down any team. In overtime on third and goal, how do you not block the best defensive lineman on the field. Speaking of Chris Jones, two tackles, eight pressures and two QB hits. No sacks. What? I thought you measured the greatness of a defensive lineman by how many sacks he has. My other take away, special teams. seven field goals between the two teams. Two special teams’ blunders cost the 49ers, a fumbled punt and a missed extra point. Wait, the San Fransico kicker missed a kick? Who would’ve thought.
How close are the Browns to making the Super Bowl? Pretty damn close. All the coaching changes tell me the Browns are going to do everything in their power to make sure QB Deshaun Watson is successful. On offense, the Super Bowl proved one thing, the right play calling contributes to your quarterback’s success. I don’t care who is calling the plays with the Browns, just help Watson to be successful on the field. I wish the Cleveland media would get off this story line. By the way, I thought head coach Kevin Stefanski did a great job calling plays this past year. I’ve seen a few early power rankings for the 2024 season. In one the Browns were ranked eleventh and the other they were ranked ninth. In both cases they make the playoffs. My new obnoxious off-season rant is going to be, “They must win the division.” They have to. I know a lot of fans have pointed to the Browns having the hardest schedule next year, let’s wait till the schedule is released and training camp to revisit that topic. A lot can happen between now and then.
Moving forward, the Browns have some house cleaning to do concerning the salary cap. Currently, they are about $19 million over, but with a few restructures, extensions and trades, which I know they will accomplish, they could end up with about $40 million to $50 million of cap space. I have full faith in this front office. I also have faith that both Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry will get contract extensions. Stay tuned. I’m also convinced the Browns will open the season playing the Eagles in Brazil. After all the post season award wins, I’m getting that vibe.
Up next, free agency and the draft. The Browns have a few of their own free agents they’ll need to resign. The NFL Combine starts February 27, which is the illegal tampering period, and the legal tampering period starts March 11. The league year starts March 13. I’ve already started breaking down free agency on my podcast, The Cleveland Browns Dawgpound South Podcast. It’s part of the “Fanatical Elfz Network.” You can follow on YouTube, Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts. The Browns have some key decisions to make. What to do with WR Amari Cooper and RB Nick Chubb. How to make the defense better. Who to resign and what trades to make to gain salary cap room and to take the offense to next level. They are close. But like I said, they have to win the AFC North and have playoff games at home. Stay safe and Go Browns.