Thomas and Mack back to Pro bowl

gftChris

@mudfly said:

So, here are my questions on Mack, if anyone knows about specifics of his contract situation.....

a ) Since he's under contract. should it be assumed he cannot negotiate(or shop himself) with other teams?....I know he has an opt out, so Im guessing he has to opt out first and become a FA?.....anyone know?

B ) His contract goes through 2018 or 19.....so can he opt out every year going forward, or is this the only year and if he doesnt use it he stays the term?....curious....

Per my understanding:

A) he would need to first opt out. I'm sure his agent will be doing things on the sly though and he wouldn't opt out without interest.

it's only this year.

D Bone

40% of our o-line makes the Pro Bowl, yet we can't run or keep a QB healthy......... Guess our RBs really are that bad.

Tour2ma

@gftchris said:
B.) it's only this year.

So this is the last opt out... interesting...

Ibleedbrown

@tour2ma said:
So this is the last opt out... interesting...

So franchise/transition tag is not an option? He's the one guy l really think they need to make sure is around. This year was a step back but l think next year he will be a beast.

gftChris

@ibleedbrown said:
So franchise/transition tag is not an option? He's the one guy l really think they need to make sure is around. This year was a step back but l think next year he will be a beast.

Not an option because it isn't an expiring contract.

jiggins7919

@mudfly said:

Me too......very surprised, actually.....

Honestly thought Thomas would be the only one......

I'm surprised as well. Apparently Mack turned it on during the latter part of the season, but admittedly, evaluating the center position is beyond me. I saw him make a pretty crucial gaff a few weeks ago that resulted in an immediate sack, but who doesn't make errors? It's safe to say that Mack is gone after this year IMO, and honestly, who can blame him? So you're saying I can go make big bucks at a team with a good chance of winning and that isn't a drama fest? Umm...sign me up, right? Just need to hope Erving is THAT much better at the center position, and the offseason will give him a chance to correct his technique and/or strength issues. The good thing about Cam is that he's a notorious hard worker, so perhaps he can significantly raise his level of play.

Mudfly

@gftchris said:

Per my understanding:

A) he would need to first opt out. I'm sure his agent will be doing things on the sly though and he wouldn't opt out without interest.

it's only this year.

Thanks.....

Been hearing he's a lock to leave.....and he has repeated that winning is a BIG part of his decision.....so, in my mind, he is likely to leave.....

But....damn....he has a great contract thats paying him $8 million for 3 more years.....and he would have to void that just to see what someone else is willing to pay him......

Thats a big big BIG gamble on his part......should be interesting....

The Gipper

VesnaKociper said:

Mark Bravado and Eric Heiden were two really good tight ends.

Also, back in Jim Brown's day, that guy Gary Collingsworth was really good.

I like the Mark Bravado moniker. And Eric Heiden was a big Nazi, wasn't he? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erhard_Heiden

And just to set the record straight.....Gary Collins was worth a lot. He was a great WR for the Browns. Still holds the Browns record for TD catches.

And the TEs back in JBs days were Johnny MilwaukeeBrewer and Milt Moron.

gftChris

@mudfly said:

Thanks.....

Been hearing he's a lock to leave.....and he has repeated that winning is a BIG part of his decision.....so, in my mind, he is likely to leave.....

But....damn....he has a great contract thats paying him $8 million for 3 more years.....and he would have to void that just to see what someone else is willing to pay him......

Thats a big big BIG gamble on his part......should be interesting....

That's the one thing that might keep him here. It works in our favour he has had a down year as he'd struggle to get the same on the open market.

That being said, I'd be truly flabbergasted if he stayed.

Tour2ma

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2015/12/when_it_comes_to_alex_mack_the.html

Interesting article including that ProFootballFocus.com ranked Alex among the "five players who shouldn't have made the Pro Bowl."

PFF's nominee in an answer to Gip's poll question? The Vikes' Joe Berger...

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/12/23/pro-5-players-who-shouldnt-have-made-the-pro-bowl

Mudfly

@tour2ma said:

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2015/12/when_it_comes_to_alex_mack_the.html

Interesting article including that ProFootballFocus.com ranked Alex among the "five players who shouldn't have made the Pro Bowl."

PFF's nominee in an answer to Gip's poll question? The Vikes' Joe Berger...

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/12/23/pro-5-players-who-shouldnt-have-made-the-pro-bowl

Read another article with an opposite twist, suggesting 2 of our guys got snubbed......

First is Barney, of course....and.....wait for it, cause everyones gonna think Benji.....But its SCHWARTZ!.....

BAZINGA!!!!

gftChris

Schwartz has improved every year he's been here. He's the kind of player we need to retain.

browns52

@kent said:
Its one of those cases where he gets voted in on his name and reputation. Same with Thomas. They were not Pro Bowl caliber this year. Pro bowl is a joke nowadays, Id like to see it voted on by people actually in the league

totally agree. mack got smacked around just about all yr...man he was terrible. jt i thought did not have a probowl yr either...although not as bad as mack was. Name and reputation is what it is..

bbedward

Joe Thomas has had a great season. 100% deserves the pro bowl again. Would start for literally every team in the NFL.

Mack was decent and got better down the stretch. Would start for most teams in the NFL.

Schwartz is a no-brainer for the pro bowl - he got the shaft. Would start for virtually every team in the NFL.

Bitonio had a sophomore slump but still did decent. Would start for many teams in the NFL.

Greco is a solid above-average starter and would start for many teams in the NFL.

The unit is great, and only a moron would blame them for the entirety of our ineptitude.

Erving, however, wouldn't even start for a big 10 team.

---

You guys can't tell good OL play from your left nut. None of you pay any attention to anything that happens on plays that break down or fail yet you say JT has had a terrible year.

....and...Wtf do we trade JT for? What we've gotten out of him has been once in a generation LT play. It's too bad we have failed at drafting literally every other position - only the biggest moron in the world would blame JT for our failures.

LT is a very important position. It does not mean having a HOF LT and nobody else worth mentioning will give you winning seasons. Similarly, having a HOF QB or HOF WR with a practice squad caliber team isn't going to get you very far either.

Fuck the uneducated haters.

Unsympathetic

Holy crap, I'm tired of seeing all the know-nothings who run dirt about how useless a good OL is.

Every single time one of those posts saying "Joe Thomas is Shit" should be forced to watch yesterday's Packers-Cardinals game.

The Packers ARE THE TEAM with "Weapons At WR" and a "HoF QB" ... and yet they have no chance of winning a playoff game. Why? Because Browns practice squad OL are better than their starters.

Packers were absolutely destroyed yesterday because the LoS was the point of handoff by the time Rodgers turned around to hand to Lacy, and because Rodgers had negative time to throw [8 sacks in the first 3 quarters].

Mudfly

Right.....anyone saying Thomas got in because of reputation did not watch him play......cause he had another GREAT season and graded out as one of the top 1 or 2 OT's in the league.....(again)....

@browns52 said:
jt i thought did not have a probowl yr either...... Name and reputation is what it is..

.....based on what?

wargograw

Erving wouldn't start for a Big 10 team, just started for a national championship team, right?