Is there anything this man can’t do? Sure the interview was a bit weird .. but he’s a weird guy. If there was any doubt in people’s minds that this was real — we got this tidbit from Mike Reiss earlier.
Don’t get me wrong — he definitely went to the bathroom to promptly throw up and not screw up his exclusively avocados and grass diet. But still, is there anything this man can’t do? I’ve never been more ready to ride with Tom Brady into the helm of the 2018 season.
Anyone got a pack of smokes? Still sweating from the Tyrod Taylor trade. John Dorsey pulled off a third Trade in the span of an hour and a half. This time he sent DeShone Kizer and a late round draft choice to Green Bay. In exchange, the Browns received Cornerback, Damarious Randall.
Excellent work by Dorsey on this one. Randall was Green Bay’s top corner this past season. Randall was drafted in the first round of the 2015 draft by the Packers. With the Green Bay roots in Cleveland’s front office, this one comes as a little less surprising. Randall has 10 interceptions through 2 full seasons.
Shame to have to give up on DeShone Kizer less than a year removed from drafting him. I still believe he will succeed in the NFL. Despite his accuracy issues, anti-clutch gene, and 0-16 record, Kizer handled a truly horrible season in a professional manner. He never complained, called any of his teammates out, and always shouldered responsibility. For that, I will always respect the shit out of DeShone Kizer. Hue Jackson did his best to destroy the kid, but he kept his head up. Some games he really looked like he could be something. The Packers will coach him up well.
Browns’ additions today:
QB Tyrod Taylor WR Jarvis Landry CB Damarious Randall.
With free agency and picks No. 1 and No. 4 still to come.
Holy shit! Big Dick John Dorsey made another move Friday, just minutes after the Jarvis Landry trade. This time the Browns acquired Quarterback, Tyrod Taylor from the Bills. In exchange, the Bills received a third round draft selection.
This one is stunning. I fully expected AJ McArron to be the Browns starting Quarterback in 2018. Instead, Dorsey shelled out a mid-round draft pick for Tyrod. No issue with the trade, as Sashi Brown STILL shits out mid-round draft picks each morning. Not bad adding Jarvis Landry and Tyrod Taylor in the span of 45 minutes!
I don’t know what to say. I was high on Tyrod for the longest time, and then he couldn’t hit a three yard check down in his playoff game. Hey it’s a competent Quarterback under center. I’ll take it.
Hey now! Bit of a surprising move here on a casual Friday afternoon! The Browns have traded a pick in both the 2018 and 2019 drafts for ex Dolphins Wide Receiver, Jarvis Landry.
Nice way to kick off the off-season for big dick Dorsey. They’ll pick up Landry and his $16 million franchise tag for 1 season. If it works out, than an extension could be in the works. If not, they’ll move on. It’s a low risk move for the Browns. I would prefer that they wait to see who will be under center, and how well Landry fits before an extension is discussed. I am sure he would be receptive to an extension, or else the Browns wouldn’t have made the trade.
I’m not going to get too excited. I’m more curious to see if free-agents are willing to sign here than Landry who was traded. Hopefully this acquisition will show others the Browns mean business, and this leads to a few more acquisitions (Trumaine Johnson, Malcolm Butler).
It’s nice to add a pro-bowl player to the mix for sure, but Landry is coming off a down-ish year. Jay Cutler factor? Down year or not, the prospect of Gordon on the outside and Landry underneath….well that gets blood flowing.
Nice first move by Dorsey and company, but let’s not get carried away. 0-16 is 0-16 no matter how you slice it. Jarvis Landry doesn’t suddenly make this team .500, Daniel Jeremiah. This team has a long way to go. Let’s go Browns!
I think it’s very likely the Browns win a game this season. Perhaps many.
Silly season continues, as this past weekend has been the NFL Combine. Prospects from all over this great land assembled in Indianapolis to do a bunch of meaningless drills, and interviews. That brings us to our fourth Quarterback will most certainly be discussing as an option at first overall, or even fourth.
Out of all the options at Quarterback in the 2018 Draft Class, Josh Allen is down towards the bottom. Why you ask? Easy, there have been about 100 Josh Allen’s in past NFL Drafts. First off, he’s a fucking monster standing at 6’4, 240 lbs. Just a fucking linebacker playing QB. These are obviously seen as positive traits. He is a guy who will be able to withstand NFL punishment. Another talking point is his hands, big people have large hands, and Josh Allen’s hands are pretty big. These are all contributing factors to this guys cannon of an arm.
The career stats for Allen are as posted above. The biggest takeaway: What the fuck happened this year? I see a significant statistical drop-off in almost every major category in 2017. He threw 12 less TD’s in 2017. He also declined in interceptions, which is obviously a good thing. Just head scratching statistics. This guy can throw it 90 fucking yards, but he averaged only 6.7 yards per attempt in 2017? He is a surprisingly decent runner. In 2016 he ran for 523 yards and 7 TD’s. Again, those numbers plummeted in 2017, where he only rushed for 204 yards, and 5 TD’s. For such a big body.
So, the kid has a good arm. He can move around in the pocket ala Big Ben, should the Browns draft him to be the Quarterback of the future? ABSOLUTELY NOT. First off, I hadn’t watched ANY of this kids games, because well I am not a Wyoming fan. He is coming from that typical two-bit, punching Judy College offense. The QB is hardly under center, and almost every fucking play is a run-pass option. He hasn’t displayed the ability to take snaps under center consistently, at least from what I am seeing. I watched that highlight tape (the first time I’ve watched Josh Allen) and I saw less than 10 snaps come from under center. I saw a few bootlegs, but that’s about it.
Basically what I see when I watch this tape, is a big dude who relies on his natural arm strength. He’s got accuracy issues that may not ever be fixed. Doesn’t matter how far you throw it when you can’t hit the target. But, Danny! What if the Browns develop him properly?! We have a Josh Allen on the Roster already, and his name is DeShone Kizer. Kizer is a a guy who is massive, has a rocket arm, can run, and has insane accuracy issues. Kizer may never be fixed, which leads me to believe we wouldn’t be able to develop Allen in the first place.
(^Looks sexy doesn’t it^)
For that reason, I am OUT on Josh Allen. The question is, are the Browns out on him too? I sure hope so…
Lamar Jackson seems to be the least talked about high-end prospect the 2018 NFL Draft has to offer. Make no mistake about it, Lamar Jackson deserves consideration to be picked first overall, or just the first round in general. The fact he isn’t getting much attention is very weird.
Now, the easy comparison here is obviously Michael Vick. They are both run-heavy Quarterback’s, with athleticism through the freaking roof. At any second Jackson could take off, and run the ball 90 yards to the house. In college, Mike Vick had one huge knock to his game. His ability to throw the ball down the field. Vick lacked the down field accuracy, and power if he were to stand in the pocket.
Now, based on what I have been watching of Jackson it seems as if he is ahead of where Vick was just throwing the ball down the field. His passes have more zip, and accuracy than anything Vick threw at Virginia Tech.
Looking at Jackson’s’ stats here I am pleasantly surprised. Obviously his best year came in 2016, where he threw for 30 TD’s, and rushed for another 21. That’s your Quarterback accounting for 51 total touchdowns. That is insanity right there. In 2017 his stats dropped………barely. In a season where he was hyped less than the year before, Lamar came out and balled. Interestingly enough, he ran for 3 less TD’s, AND threw for 3 less TD’s than 2016. However, his total yardage increased for both rushing and passing. In 2017 he threw for 3,660 yards. That is up from 3,543 in 2016. 2017 saw Lamar rush for 1,601 yards, which is an improvement from the 1,571 in 2016.
All of those stats, and insane highlights bring us to the main Question: Should the Browns take Lamar Jackson at number 1? Short answer: No. I would have no problem with the Browns if they decided they wanted to pick Lamar Jackson. First overall would be a bit of a reach despite the Heisman Season, highlights, and numbers. Drafting Lamar Jackson so high would require the Browns to tailor the entire offense to him. This is fine and all, but the gimmicky read-option/pistol offense seems to only work in spurts in the NFL. Defenses are just too fast for it. If you draft Lamar Jackson that high you don’t force him to become a pure pocket passer. That would ruin the kid, and is just not doing his talent justice. I feel like it’s easier to ask a Pro-Style quarterback to run more, than it is to ask a running quarterback to stay in the pocket.
If Dorsey decides Lamar is the guy, by all means draft Lamar Jackson. I would prefer they tried to trade back into round 1 in the 15-32 area. They have the draft capital to do so (Thanks Sashi, love you mean it). But, Browns fans should not sleep on Lamar Jackson. This dude is fucking electric, and I was shocked to see he virtually matched his Heisman winning season. Hell, 2017 was probably the better year. Fewer TD’s, but total yardage increased. Will John Dorsey show some serious balls, and draft Lamar Jackson to be the Browns Quarterback of the future?
Here we go with the second Quarterback on my Rookie QB wish-list. Sam Darnold from USC. Darnold is coming off a 4,000 yard Sophomore campaign. Coming into the year Darnold was seen as a unanimous #1 overall pick. Both USC, and Darnold himself disappointed in 2017, but not bad enough to ruin his draft stock. USC finished 11-2, and got waxed in the Cotton Bowl by Ohio State.
History has not been kind to USC Quarterbacks. They are consistently pumped up as the next great thing, and it never pans out. They are all seen as the (my favorite word!) prototype NFL signal caller. What is the prototype? It’s a 6’4 225 pocket passer, who has a rocket arm. All USC Quarterbacks fit that mold when their slinging the rock against the fucking Oregon State Beavers.
(Look even John David Booty made it to an SI cover)
In the NFL it is a different story. More often than not, they amount to shit. Occasionally, guys are able to carve out a decent career (Carson Palmer, Matt Cassel).
Lets take a brief look back at USC Quarterbacks past:
Matt Leinart:
Selected 10th overall in 2006, by Arizona Cardinals. Career record: 8-10.
This guy straight sucked. First of all this is nothing but pure bias on my part, but NEVER EVER take a lefty Quarterback. He was one of those guys labeled the “prototype” NFL QB. Problem is he threw like a Sally. Leinart toiled around with the Texans, Raiders, and Bills before calling it quits.
Matt Barkley:
Selected 98th overall by the Philadelphia Eagles. Career Record: 1-5
Another USC QB, another bust. Barkley was regarded as a sure fire first round draft pick in 2011. That didn’t stop him from returning to USC for his Senior season in 2012. Big mistake. Going into the year, Barkley was the unanimous number 1 pick with all the draft nerds, and leading Heisman trophy candidate. His team was ranked #1 in the country to go along with it. By years end USC had lost five games, Barkley had a shoulder injury that ended his season, and he had fallen out of the first round in draft projections.
Barkley was drafted by Philadelphia 98th overall in 2013, and he never saw the field. Philly traded him to Arizona in 2015, who cut him weeks later. As a backup Matt got a few starts with Chicago in 2016, but still went 1-5. He was on the Arizona Cardinals roster in 2017, but was inactive for all 16 games.
Mark Sanchez:
Selected 5th overall by the New York Jets in 2009. Career Record: 37-35
Ahhhhhh yes! The Sanchize. I remember it well. Mark Sanchez came on to the scene with slightly less fanfare than the other two hacks. However, in his draft year he soared up draft boards right behind the consensus #1 overall pick, Matt Stafford. The Jets took Sanchez 5th overall after trading up with the Cleveland Browns. Sanchez had an immediate impact. The Jets went 9-7 and 11-5 his first two seasons as starter. He even managed to take his team to the AFC Championship twice. The kicker? They beat the Patriots in Foxboro, in January.
It all went down hill from here for Marky Mark. The Jets would miss the playoffs each of the following two seasons, and finally Sanchez was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2015. Since then, he’s been a journeyman backup. He’s suited up for Denver, Dallas,, and Chicago. I’m sure he will pop up in some camp this August.
These are the three most recent examples of over-hyped USC stiffs. Carson Palmer gets an honorable mention, as his career turned out to be mediocre at best once he took that shot to the knee in the 2005 Wild-Card game against Pittsburgh.
Just goes to show you there is enough of a trend for me to have MAJOR doubts picking a highly rated USC Signal Caller. However, there is something about Darnold that leads me to believe he could be the exception to the rule. Of course, once again he is seen as the “Prototype” NFL QB. The kid is a fucking Mack Truck standing at 6’4, 225lbs. That will come in handy at the NFL for sure. Darnold has a big arm, and he is not afraid to stand in the pocket and sling it.
A few things standout watching these two clips, Sam has some fuckin’ confidence in his arm, eh? He is willing to stand in there, and fit the ball into tight windows to make plays. At 2:05 of the second video, Sam is being pressured from the outside on a four man rush. He is able to use his vision, and footwork to evade pressure, and he fires a missile to his receiver in the back of the endzone. The throw at 2:05 seriously gave me a chubby for Darnold.
I also noticed that he is surprisingly good using his legs. Not only can he move around the pocket to create throwing lanes, Darnold can take off and get chunks of yardage. It also appeared like USC ran some designed QB running plays to get him into space. He rushed for 332 yards and 7 touchdowns in his two years at USC. Not bad all.
What I do definitively like about this kid, is his attitude. There were reports that he would head back to Southern Cal for his Junior season simply to avoid the Browns. That’s not the case obviously, as he and Josh Rosen declared for the draft this past January. Seems like the kid has a good head on his shoulders, and it’s not lodged up his clam like Josh Rosen. Rosen walks around with the stench of prick following him around. Darnold is humbled, well spoken, and seen as a true leader by his teammates. After-all, he does have the “C” on his jersey.
Will Dorsey and the gang find all this enough to grab Sam Darnold with the 1st or 4th pick in the draft? We’ll see…
Scot McCloughan has joined the Cleveland Browns as a personnel consultant for the 2018 NFL draft, as of Saturday, when he participated in full scouting sessions, according to sources. More coming.
Interesting move by the Browns here. I assumed once Eliot Wolf was hired, that would probably be it for Dorsey and company until Free Agency. I was wrong. Dorsey went out and made another Front Office hire. Dorsey has brought in ex Redskins General Manager, Scot McCloughan. So far, it’s been reported that he is only being hired as a 2018 Draft Consultant, and no other duties have been specified.
Kind of a surprising move hiring this guy. I thought for sure they had their Front Office all lined up, and ready to rock. It is a nice addition to the Organization, as Scot is highly regarded for his ability to identify talent. The man is Football Scouting Savant. Seems to fit the M-O of the front office, a collection of Football Lifers, who are known for identifying talent. The more the merrier here in Berea, OH.
A few highlights from Scot’s career are as follows:
Identified, scouted, and drafted Russell Wilson with the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson was picked by Seattle 75th overall in 2012.
Drafted Alex Smith first overall in 2005, when he was with San Francisco. He took him over Aaron Rodgers, but it is still very difficult to draft a successful Quarterback in the first round. Even if it is the first round, success rate is 40% league wide. He found a successful NFL starter. That earns you a statue in Cleveland.
Along with Wilson, the Seahawks front office with McCloughan found Kam Chancellor, and Richard Sherman with later round picks.
Bottom line here is, the Browns are terrified of fucking up what is ahead. The amount of picks, and cap space make this off-season absolutely vital. They have added some big-time names to the executive staff, in hopes they won’t fuck it up (Mainly fucking up selecting a Quarterback).
If the Browns could add a few starters in free agency (you’d play for us on Super Bowl Sunday, Malcolm!), parlay that with a good draft, and look out! We might even win a game?!
Or maybe a reunion with TP11?
Of course our man McCloughan will focus on the Browns draft plans, rather than Free Agency. The Browns draft plans revolve around Quarterback, and drafting twice in the top 5 he will have a huge role in scouting, and interviewing all the QB prospects. Early on in there seems to be one rookie QB Scot has the hots for. He’s already sucked off one of the top Quarterbacks verbally during Senior Bowl week.
In an interview with Pro Football Talk McCloughan drooled, “He reminds me of a shorter version of Brett Favre,” McCloughan said. “Tough guy. He can throw it. And he’s very confident, and he’s not afraid whatsoever, whatsoever. He’s a battler. I know saying Brett Favre’s a big name, and I was around him for a while, but this guy has talent.”
Should be an interesting couple of months. New Year, new Browns baby!!
Well there it is folks; Tom Brady wins the MVP award at forty years of age, the oldest player ever to win the NFL’s highest honor. To put it into perspective, Ram’s head coach Sean McVay just won Coach of the Year at 32. For those of you that struggle with math, Tommy Touchdowns is eight years older than the coach of the year in the most physical league of all major sports. It truly does not make sense that Brady is still able to compete at this high of a level.
This is Brady’s third NFL MVP award, and is just another piece of hardware to add to the trophy case. You may hear the critics get their takes in before the game tomorrow, saying how Brady has won this award twice in the past but the Pats didn’t win in those seasons. That those teams weren’t as good as other Patriots teams, and this team is in that same category. That winning the award will get inside Brady’s head during the game. Some may even go as far as bringing up the awkward kisses with his Dad and son.
Well I am here to tell you that after tomorrow, that will not be the case, and there is no chance this affects his gameplay. Hell, I wouldn’t even be surprised if he doesn’t know that he won it! Brady continues to play like he has something to prove, and has even indicated he is still not over the whole Deflategate suspension. Continuing that mentality throughout this season has the Patriots back in the big game, and I just don’t see them losing. Time and time again, they have shown us that no matter how many points they are down, Belichick’s preparation and gameplan is better than anyone else’s, especially in the playoffs.
If you have gotten this far, it is clear that I am picking the Patriots. Final score:
Patriots 31 Eagles 21 (and another Superbowl MVP for the GOAT)
In case you have been living under a rock the past couple of days, The Kansas City Chiefs have traded Quarterback, Alex Smith to the Washington Redskins. In return, Washington received a 3rd round draft pick in 2018, and second year Cornerback Kendall Fuller. In addition, Alex Smith signed a four year $91 million dollar contract extension with Washington. The trade cannot be officially completed until March 14th, when the new league year begins. Theoretically, there could be “take backs” called by one of these two teams between now and then.
This is a massive deal for many reasons, first being Kirk Cousins is officially out in Washington. I will never understand that organizations’ contempt for him. From the very second he was named starter over Robert Griffin III, Kirk was never really respected as a true Franchise Quarterback. All while Kirk was showing them wrong on the field. After 3 seasons, the Kirk Cousins saga is finally over in Washington, it’s going to very much heat up around the league come March.
I initially thought Alex Smith would be the first big move of John Dorsey’s tenure as Cleveland Browns GM. Like with many acquisitions, the Browns were beaten to the punch by another team.
Oh fucking well. That’s the way the ball bounces for the Cleveland Browns. Like the Jimmy Garoppolo deal the Browns were frozen out. Likely this is a case of the Chiefs doing Smith a solid.
Sounds like Smith would not have been thrilled to play in Cleveland, not that he has any reason to be thrilled. I am not overly frustrated because, well it’s Alex Smith. He just got an albatross of a contract extension, and it seems as if the Browns were only willing to commit short-term. The problem with this deal is that it likely takes 2 quarterbacks off of the “Veteran Bridge Starter” short-list for Dorsey. With every Quarterback needy team salivating over Kirk Cousins, I thought for sure the Browns would swoop in and silently trade for Smith. The Browns simply due to cap space are still likely in the conversation for Kirk, but I can’t imagine him not picking Denver. How could you not? The more I thought about it, the less I can see the Browns landing captain Kirk. They should do everything in their power to land him, but I just don’t see it happening with Denver sitting there all QB needy. John Elway is going to rob the Browns a third time. You just know it. The Broncos had offered a 2nd round pick, AND Aqib Talib for Smith, and that was turned down. You can certainly see Elway pulling out all the stops to land Kirk.
The Jets and Bills feel like viable landing spots for him too. Both teams are solid on the defensive side of the ball, and have a few quality pieces on offense to intrigue Kirk. While I desperately want Kirk to dawn turd colored pants, it just doesn’t seem like a good landing spot for him. They are likely on this list due to the shear amount of money available to spend.
Now that those two are out of the way, lets take a look the remaining Unrestricted Free Agent Quarterbacks this off-season:
Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints.
Hasn’t re-signed with the Saints yet. Would expect him back in NOLA.**
Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers.
**Technically has not re-signed with San Francisco. He will re-sign there no doubt.**
Kirk Cousins, Washington Redskins.
**Will be a Bronco on 3/14.**
Case Keenum, Minnesota Vikings.
**This guy blows. Hard pass.**
A.J. McArron, Cincinnati Bengals.
**Sashi Brown is rolling in his hypothetical grave**
Teddy Bridgewater, Minnesota Vikings.
**Will re-sign in Minny. Youngest QB on their roster with positive upside.**
Sam Bradford, Minnesota Vikings.
**Viable option in the Alex Smith mold. Can see him being high on the Browns wish-list**
Overall, considering what is normally out there for Free-Agent Quarterbacks, it’s not a bad list. There are a few other names that could be moved as well. Tyord Taylor could be released or traded by Buffalo. Initially, I was all-aboard Team Tyrod. Then this years playoffs happened. Boy oh boy did he ever suck in the Wildcard game against Jacksonville. He couldn’t hit check-down routes in the hands. A brief look at his playoff stat-line:
Depending on his contract situation, and how he plays this Sunday, Nick Foles is another prospective bridge guy. Big Dick Nick would have to put on one hell of a display for me to want the Browns to go after him. If he is a Free-Agent, by all means give it a go. If not, don’t sell the farm to bring him in.
I seem to be changing this prediction as to which Veteran Quarterback I would like the Browns to bring in. First I wanted Tyrod, then Kirk, then check down Alex, and back to Kirk. It’s exhausting really. I guess with new developments I will make a new prediction:
Based off of prior events, I would think that AJ McCarron will be fumbling snaps next season in Cleveland. Just remember:
Welcome to Cleveland, Katherine Webb-McCarron!!!!!!
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Office Chatter 