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Pinch me! No, really...pinch me! I want to make sure I'm not dreaming or that I'm in some alternate reality. The Cleveland Browns, my pro football team that I've been rooting for since I was in the 6th grade, just elevated themselves to not only the favorites to win the AFC North but also to legit Super Bowl contenders! That's right, SUPER BOWL CONTENDERS BABY!!!!! Here's what the organization did to get there...

1. Draft Baker Mayfield.
2. Draft Nick Chubb.
3. Signed the rights to former Kansas City RB Kareem Hunt.
4. Traded guard Kevin Zeitler and a mid round pick to Giants for DE Olivier Vernon and a higher mid round pick.
5. Signed FA DT tackle and former Viking Sheldon Richardson to a 3 year deal.
6. Signed FA WR Breshad Perriman to a one year deal.
7. The biggest off-season trade move...wait for it...wait...Browns trade their 2019 first round pick (#17), 3rd round pick (#95) and starting safety Jabrill Peppers for ODELL BECKHAM, JR.!!!

You now have arguably the most dynamic offense this side of Kansas City to go with an improved defense - especially along the DEE line. Unfuggin'believeable! I don't care about anything else right now. Life is good for long suffering Browns fans! John Dorsey is a fuggin' genius!!!! He has transformed this team in just two years. Still can't believe it....

And then the whistle blows and the clock starts...

The Bengals supposedly have had the best team in paper the last two years in the AFC North and we see what has become of it. Still, the Browns have talent and momentum from last year. The biggest question mark for them is the coaching staff.

We'll see what happens. I feel like I can get behind the Browns, especially if the wheels fall off the Bengals. Anything to hasten action from their front office.

As a lifelong Cleveland Browns fan since March of 2019 ive never been so excited

(03-12-2019 09:33 PM)crex043 Wrote:  The Bengals supposedly have had the best team in paper the last two years in the AFC North and we see what has become of it.

According to who? The Bengals roster has sucked the last couple years. No OL, no LB, overrated, aging DL. At least now they have a child HC whose main qualification was playing Madden with his buddy McVay.

I'm not a big fan of the teams that make big splashes in free agency, sustainable teams win don't in FA they win in the draft and player development, but there's no comparison between recent Bengal teams and the Browns. The reason I'm buying the Browns is because Baltimore and Pittsburgh are losing key players and they Browns already had a nearly .500 team.

I am a Bengal fan, but have never had much animosity towards the Browns... I am probably going to jump on the Cleveland bandwagon for the season. They should be very fun to watch.

(03-12-2019 07:44 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  Pinch me! No, really...pinch me! I want to make sure I'm not dreaming or that I'm in some alternate reality. The Cleveland Browns, my pro football team that I've been rooting for since I was in the 6th grade, just elevated themselves to not only the favorites to win the AFC North but also to legit Super Bowl contenders! That's right, SUPER BOWL CONTENDERS BABY!!!!! Here's what the organization did to get there...

1. Draft Baker Mayfield.
2. Draft Nick Chubb.
3. Signed the rights to former Kansas City RB Kareem Hunt.
4. Traded guard Kevin Zeitler and a mid round pick to Giants for DE Olivier Vernon and a higher mid round pick.
5. Signed FA DT tackle and former Viking Sheldon Richardson to a 3 year deal.
6. Signed FA WR Breshad Perriman to a one year deal.
7. The biggest off-season trade move...wait for it...wait...Browns trade their 2019 first round pick (#17), 3rd round pick (#95) and starting safety Jabrill Peppers for ODELL BECKHAM, JR.!!!

You now have arguably the most dynamic offense this side of Kansas City to go with an improved defense - especially along the DEE line. Unfuggin'believeable! I don't care about anything else right now. Life is good for long suffering Browns fans! John Dorsey is a fuggin' genius!!!! He has transformed this team in just two years. Still can't believe it....

Update: Perriman was signed just before the OBJ trade and wanted out of his one year contract post OBJ deal. I don't blame him since we already had Jarvis Landry, Higgins, Callaway, et. al. There's only so many footballs that can be thrown outside of OBJ and Landry per game. The Browns agreed and he signed with Tampa Bay. I was happy to have Perriman as he fell out of favor with Baltimore but had a nice 1/2 season with the Browns after they picked him up. He still has some good years left on the right team.

Remind me... how many diva WR's have superbowl rings?

(03-13-2019 08:06 AM)GoCats1994 Wrote:  Remind me... how many diva WR's have superbowl rings?

Not to single out only the divas but superstar receivers have not won super bowl rings since Jerry Rice. Marvin Harrison statistically would count but I consider him more of a product of a Peyton Manning offense. Julio would have if not for incompotent playcalling. But my point is top 5 receivers whether divas or not are not pieces that have helped teams win championships. Even top WRs who are solid guys like Hopkins and Julio I don't think spending for a superstar at that position makes sense. You're better off with multiple solid receivers and putting that money into other positions.

I am a lifelong Browns fan as well and am stoked about the off-season and looking forward to hopefully a great season. Hopefully all the years of suffering will pay off. I will say I do pull for the Bengals a bit, though I'm not sure I can continue to do that with them being such idiots and continuing to not care about the product on the field. Maybe the new regime will be better than it is looking.

(03-13-2019 08:45 AM)RealDeal Wrote:  

(03-13-2019 08:06 AM)GoCats1994 Wrote:  Remind me... how many diva WR's have superbowl rings?

Not to single out only the divas but superstar receivers have not won super bowl rings since Jerry Rice. Marvin Harrison statistically would count but I consider him more of a product of a Peyton Manning offense. Julio would have if not for incompotent playcalling. But my point is top 5 receivers whether divas or not are not pieces that have helped teams win championships. Even top WRs who are solid guys like Hopkins and Julio I don't think spending for a superstar at that position makes sense. You're better off with multiple solid receivers and putting that money into other positions.

The New England Patriots pretty much debunk the need for a "superstar" receiver but they are an outlier. As I stated in my OP, OBJ is a final piece that may put Cleveland over the top and certainly as a favorite to win the AFC North. FWIW, I believe Vegas now has them as the favorites to win the North and the third best odds to reach the AFC Championship. Obviously, it's one thing on paper and another thing to get it done on the field but I believe the Browns will do the latter but not JUST BECAUSE they have OBJ on the roster. This is a young, balanced, hungry, confident team. This past season, if Baker starts from day one it was very likely the Browns either won the division or grabbed a wild card spot. We now have added one of the most dynamic weapons on offense to one of the most dynamic young QB's. This is a QB driven league and you can't have enough weapons to surround your QB with. Reports out of Cleveland is they are not done making trades/deals and RB Duke Johnson may be next in a trade. That's what I love about John Dorsey - with all these moves he has not broke the bank in payroll because most have been trades and not simply signing a high dollar free agent. Did you see the Brinks Truck that the Jets pulled in to to sign Bell and C.J. Mosley? I also appreciate that Dorsey is making these moves now because Baker Mayfield is under a rookie contract and is an absolute bargain-cap-friendly price for the next four seasons. He will command YUUGE dollars after that point so the time is right to spend some money now and try to win big time before the roster will have to be retooled. Stay tuned...

Don't get me wrong; I'm not arguing against the move. There's actually a great article on ESPN breaking down the trade and why it's such a huge win for the Browns. They are basically taking advantage of having a great QB on a rookie deal and because NY paid Odell his signing bonus they're getting him on a discount. I was just making a point that I wouldn't go out on the open market and build teams around these guys.

And just because superstar WRs haven't won Super Bowls doesn't mean they can't or won't. I do think this was a unique situation and Cleveland did the right thing.

Something tells me that OBJ and Mayfield will not be able to coexist. 2 alpha's in the same locker room. Eli Manning was too laid back and he put up with OBJ publicly calling him out. You think Mayfield will put up with that, or vice versa? Should be interesting.

(03-13-2019 08:45 AM)RealDeal Wrote:  

(03-13-2019 08:06 AM)GoCats1994 Wrote:  Remind me... how many diva WR's have superbowl rings?

Not to single out only the divas but superstar receivers have not won super bowl rings since Jerry Rice. Marvin Harrison statistically would count but I consider him more of a product of a Peyton Manning offense. Julio would have if not for incompotent playcalling. But my point is top 5 receivers whether divas or not are not pieces that have helped teams win championships. Even top WRs who are solid guys like Hopkins and Julio I don't think spending for a superstar at that position makes sense. You're better off with multiple solid receivers and putting that money into other positions.

It's funny how much evidence there is that paying your RB and WRs almost precludes you from winning a Super Bowl. There isn't a whole lot of difference in WR talent after the top 2 or 3, and if you've got a solid quarterback it doesn't matter too much. As far as RB is concerned, the best teams take the extra $10M that high end RBs want, and split that among 3 high end OLmen to make the marginal RBs better.

(03-14-2019 10:41 AM)BearcatMan Wrote:  

(03-13-2019 08:45 AM)RealDeal Wrote:  

(03-13-2019 08:06 AM)GoCats1994 Wrote:  Remind me... how many diva WR's have superbowl rings?

Not to single out only the divas but superstar receivers have not won super bowl rings since Jerry Rice. Marvin Harrison statistically would count but I consider him more of a product of a Peyton Manning offense. Julio would have if not for incompotent playcalling. But my point is top 5 receivers whether divas or not are not pieces that have helped teams win championships. Even top WRs who are solid guys like Hopkins and Julio I don't think spending for a superstar at that position makes sense. You're better off with multiple solid receivers and putting that money into other positions.

It's funny how much evidence there is that paying your RB and WRs almost precludes you from winning a Super Bowl. There isn't a whole lot of difference in WR talent after the top 2 or 3, and if you've got a solid quarterback it doesn't matter too much. As far as RB is concerned, the best teams take the extra $10M that high end RBs want, and split that among 3 high end OLmen to make the marginal RBs better.

The Browns had the third most cap space of any team in the NFL so there was money to be spent but they've spent it wisely investing in two starting defensive lineman. OBJ is in the top 2 or 3 WR talent so the Browns didn't exactly make a reach by trading for his current contract to compare with Anthony "I fugged over Pittsburgh" Brown who now makes more.

I will believe it when I see it. They are the Browns, afterall.

(03-14-2019 08:05 PM)Bearcatbdub Wrote:  I will believe it when I see it. They are the Browns, afterall.

Yeah, '92 is entitled to his opinion. But I'd wait until they actually produce a .500 season for the first time in a long time before anointing them as the next NFL dynasty...

Why do people keep trying to change tradition? The Browns sucking, the Cubs sucking - they were always charming teams with solid fan bases even when they were bad. Why would anyone want more than that? The Bengals tried that in the 80's and all it did was change the expectations of their fans. Be careful what you wish for!

(03-15-2019 12:17 PM)Bearhawkeye Wrote:  

(03-14-2019 08:05 PM)Bearcatbdub Wrote:  I will believe it when I see it. They are the Browns, afterall.

Yeah, '92 is entitled to his opinion. But I'd wait until they actually produce a .500 season for the first time in a long time before anointing them as the next NFL dynasty...

Who said anything about being a dynasty? I said (and Vegas says) they are favorites to win the North and contend for the Super Bowl in the AFC. The AFC Championship goes through New England, so there's that, but the Browns will win big this season. I remember a few of you dudes (BearcatMark for one) scoffing at me when I predicted before the season began that the Browns would win 5-6 games and one would be against the Bengals. Turned out pretty accurate, no? If Pue Jackson didn't d_ick up the team from the get go they probably would've won the North or won a wild card spot this past season. Not a stretch by any means.

(03-15-2019 03:28 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  

(03-15-2019 12:17 PM)Bearhawkeye Wrote:  

(03-14-2019 08:05 PM)Bearcatbdub Wrote:  I will believe it when I see it. They are the Browns, afterall.

Yeah, '92 is entitled to his opinion. But I'd wait until they actually produce a .500 season for the first time in a long time before anointing them as the next NFL dynasty...

Who said anything about being a dynasty? I said (and Vegas says) they are favorites to win the North and contend for the Super Bowl in the AFC. The AFC Championship goes through New England, so there's that, but the Browns will win big this season. I remember a few of you dudes (BearcatMark for one) scoffing at me when I predicted before the season began that the Browns would win 5-6 games and one would be against the Bengals. Turned out pretty accurate, no? If Pue Jackson didn't d_ick up the team from the get go they probably would've won the North or won a wild card spot this past season. Not a stretch by any means.

Um, your title of this thread is you've "died and gone to Pro Football Heaven" for Pete's sake! If your idea of Heaven is based upon a Vegas prediction rather than actually winning something, maybe you should work for the Bengals. Vegas actually favored them in some of their playoff games and considered them contenders for the Super Bowl. Yet I haven't heard any Bengals fans refer to themselves being in Heaven in decades at least and the Bengals have actually had some seasons and accomplishments worth bragging about in the last decade (e.g. 3 Division titles and 6 playoff appearances) as opposed to a predicted one.

And then there's your sig... You do know Exec of the Year is given out AFTER the season, right? You know, after games were actually played and won and lost, so can see how things actually work out. Nobody gets an MVP trophy based upon a prediction before they've even played a game.

Hey, like I said, believe and predict what you want. I'm just saying you might want to pump the breaks a bit until they've actually done something worth celebrating. It's a long road from a prediction to an accomplishment and a lot can happen (for example, your new RB acquisition that has you so excited could be suspended for 8 games for kicking a woman AND getting into another fight AND lying about it before he's even played a game for you). Who knows, your prediction could be right and the Browns might actually accomplish something worth celebrating. But for a team that hasn't even reached .500 since 2007, hasn't been to the playoffs since 2002, and hasn't actually won their Division since 1989, the bar is about as low as it can get.