Who The Browns Must Reach For In Fa
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The Browns may not be looking either..any more so than the others you mention.
........unless, you/they think that Flacco is nothing more that a modern day Trent Dilfer....a game manager QB who is merely a replaceable cog in their machine.
Right now, Weeden has no real cap impact on the Browns, nor has he really stepped up to say he is starting calibre material. Weeden's biggest expense was the 2nd first round pick your team spent (or I would say "overspent") on him. Tannehill and Dalton have stepped up for their repsective organizations to clearly establish themselves as the starters heading into 2013. You don't spend big bucks in free agency when you already appear to have an answer at a position on your team.
It's not what I think about Flacco that matters. Before the addition of Caldwell, I think the Ravens would've bypassed on a transition/franchise tag for Flacco...now I don't know that they can. As you mentioned, I don't think Reed is in their future plans. There's no way they can spend enough money to keep him on the team unless Flacco leaves and Reed's in the twilight of his career. (The $15.7M they are under the cap does not include a contract for Reed).
Actually, attempting to upgrade "Dilfer" resulted in a disaster for the Ravens and that will probably weigh heavily on them as they consider the transition/franchise tags. As for my opinion of Flacco, I think he's better than Dilfer ever was. I think the Ravens viewed him as a Niel O'Donnell style QB until recently (i.e. a good system QB, but not an elite NFL QB). O'Donnell was good for the Steelers, but the Rooney's didn't have the desire to overpay for his services. Unlike the Steelers though the Ravens don't have another QB waiting in the wings.
With Baltimore's cap position, I don't think its a sure thing the Ravens transition/franchise him. As a matter of fact if he loses the Super Bowl the chances of transition/franchising him will diminish greatly. I don't see the Ravens paying a QB $10-$12M/yr who just lost the Super Bowl. Furthermore, I believe ole' brother Jim and the 49'ers will probably give the Ravens a sweatheart deal for Alex Smith. Alex Smith isn't a upgrade in my view...he's a cheaper alternative.
Endymion said:
Right now, Weeden has no real cap impact on the Browns, nor has he really stepped up to say he is starting calibre material.
Well, you see, this season is weird. If this had not been a bizarre season where 3 rookie QBs took their team to the playoffs, by all historical evidence BW3 had a VERY GOOD rookie season....better than most HOF caliber QBs. Better than P. Manning, Favre, BR, Eli, Elway, etc. etc. etc. Its just that it was not as good as Luck or RGIII....but NO ONE except maybe Marino has ever had a rookie year like those guys. So I am not so sure you should be so down on Weeden.
Weeden's biggest expense was the 2nd first round pick your team spent (or I would say "overspent") on him. Tannehill and Dalton have stepped up for their repsective organizations to clearly establish themselves as the starters heading into 2013. You don't spend big bucks in free agency when you already appear to have an answer at a position on your team.
I don't see where Tannehill had one bit of a better season than Weeden did.
It's not what I think about Flacco that matters. Before the addition of Caldwell, I think the Ravens would've bypassed on a transition/franchise tag for Flacco...now I don't know that they can. As you mentioned, I don't think Reed is in their future plans. There's no way they can spend enough money to keep him on the team unless Flacco leaves and Reed's in the twilight of his career. (The $15.7M they are under the cap does not include a contract for Reed).
Actually, attempting to upgrade "Dilfer" resulted in a disaster for the Ravens and that will probably weigh heavily on them as they consider the transition/franchise tags.
Yes, I think they tried to go to Elvis Grbac. That didn't work out.
As for my opinion of Flacco, I think he's better than Dilfer ever was. I think the Ravens viewed him as a Niel O'Donnell style QB until recently (i.e. a good system QB, but not an elite NFL QB). O'Donnell was good for the Steelers, but the Rooney's didn't have the desire to overpay for his services. Unlike the Steelers though the Ravens don't have another QB waiting in the wings.
I agree that Flacco has come out better than Dilfer....but a. this SB ain't won yet, and b. see my supposition that the Ravens throughout the whole year were at best incrementally better than the Steelers and Bengals...and Browns. I think they are on one of those roles. Flacco is playing out of their mind. They are riding incredible luck and emotion into this SB...and I don't think they will be nearly as good next year...though, again, I will say I agree....until lately, yes, Flacco was, to me, a system guy like O'Donnell. (Hell, he may still be...but I have upgraded my view of him)
With Baltimore's cap position, I don't think its a sure thing the Ravens transition/franchise him. As a matter of fact if he loses the Super Bowl the chances of transition/franchising him will diminish greatly. I don't see the Ravens paying a QB $10-$12M/yr who just lost the Super Bowl. Furthermore, I believe ole' brother Jim and the 49'ers will probably give the Ravens a sweatheart deal for Alex Smith. Alex Smith isn't a upgrade in my view...he's a cheaper alternative.
Hey, I hope you are right. I hope Flacco jumps ship...or they make him walk the plank. But...it would be an absolute PR nightmare for them to do that. I think there will absolutely be too much pressure on them to let him go. Win or lose.
Hell, maybe next year the Ravens and Steelers could go head to head for 4th place in the division if that is the case.
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XxDaBuckeyexX said:
Flacco is not leaving Baltimore.
End of conversation.
Exactly...
And if this is a wish list for FA, here is mine:
S - Jarius Byrd or Dashon Goldson or Glover Quin
OLB - Paul Kruger or Phillip Wheeler or Connor Barwin
CB - Sean Smith or Derek Cox or Tony Carter
WR - Danny Amendola or Brian Hartline or Greg Jennings
ILB - Dannell Ellerbe or Brad Jones
TE - Martellus Bennett
OG - Andy Levitre or Louis Vasquez or Kevin Boothe
If we get one or two of these guys, I'll be happy.
#Justsayin' -
I believe that, given the expertise & experience of Horton & Turner (and of course, Chud), these guys will have tons of input in FA & Draft decisions. I'm just gonna sit back, have a brew or few, & enjoy watching CREDIBLE Pros work.
It's gonna be fun.
Mike
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XxDaBuckeyexX said:
Flacco is not leaving Baltimore.
End of conversation.
Exactly...
And if this is a wish list for FA, here is mine:
S - Jarius Byrd or Dashon Goldson or Glover Quin
OLB - Paul Kruger or Phillip Wheeler or Connor Barwin
CB - Sean Smith or Derek Cox or Tony Carter
WR - Danny Amendola or Brian Hartline or Greg Jennings
ILB - Dannell Ellerbe or Brad Jones
TE - Martellus Bennett
OG - Andy Levitre or Louis Vasquez or Kevin Boothe
If we get one or two of these guys, I'll be happy.
Exactly...
And if this is a wish list for FA, here is mine:
S - Jarius Byrd or Dashon Goldson or Glover Quin
OLB - Paul Kruger or Phillip Wheeler or Connor Barwin
CB - Sean Smith or Derek Cox or Tony Carter
WR - Danny Amendola or Brian Hartline or Greg Jennings
ILB - Dannell Ellerbe or Brad Jones
TE - Martellus Bennett
OG - Andy Levitre or Louis Vasquez or Kevin Boothe
If we get one or two of these guys, I'll be happy.
Whats really sad is only 4 or 5 of those guys will actually hit the open market. And theyre on everybody elses wish list too.
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The offseason is upon us. As this past season of failure fades away into part of everyones memory filed under "Please Forget" we look to the future. These next couple months seem to be the most exciting months of being a Browns fan. We have yet another top 10 pick to look forward to, another new coaching staff everyone is excited about, and an owner who promises to win. And we have a boatload of money to spend in free agency. Isnt it so much fun to go through the list of upcoming free agents and say ohhh i want this guy, ahhh i want that guy. Just remember that 60-65% of the players on those lists will re-sign with their respective teams, or get franchised. Then the realization kicks in that the remaining players are on the other 31 teams wishlist also. And then comes the harshest realization of all, this is Cleveland. Generally speaking Cleveland is at the bottom of the list of NFL cities to live and play in. Lombardis true test isnt in the draft, its March 12 when free agency begins. Lets hope they spend that boatload of money wisely, and temper our optimism till we see what hes able to reel in.
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Why did we need a new thread on this. Isn't it a repeat of the other current thread?
Nevertheless, I don't think that "this being Cleveland" has that much to do with FAs coming here. The past regime Holmgren/Heckert simply had a philosophy of not going after big name FAs.
(I believe part of this was dictated by Randy Lerner who knew he was going to sell and didn't want a potential new owner saddled with an albatross of a big FA contract)
While I agree with you that 65% will stay where they are and that 31 other teams will be bidding...it will all be dictated by cash and playing opportunity.
E.g. Alex Smith will want to go somewhere where he can almost be assured of the starting QB job....and that mean probably only 3-4 teams, and I am not sure the Browns is one of those.
You might see interest in Arizona/KC/Jax/Buffalo and where else?
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I just hope we will be able to get ONE FA in the backfield. We will get the OLB pass rusher surely with the first pick. I don't think the third rounder will be able to help sure up the backfield with Haden Ward etc...
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Oh youre right on Alex Smith. I was thinking more along the lines of Jarius Byrd or Greg Jennings or Dwayne Bowe. If you dont think the city itself has anything to do with a players decision youre fooling yourself.
XxDaBuckeyexX said:
Oh youre right on Alex Smith. I was thinking more along the lines of Jarius Byrd or Greg Jennings or Dwayne Bowe. If you dont think the city itself has anything to do with a players decision youre fooling yourself.
I think the cash has far, far more to do with it that the city. And Cleveland IS known as a great football town, despite what you may think.
And who the coaches of the team are is equally influential in a FAs decision.
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100% wrong - Barwin is absolutely not worth it.
The accurate question is "is he better than every other FA" and he is absolutely the bottom of the barrel for FA LB's.
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