@flugel said:

Conklin has too much wear and tear on his body to ever expect a full season from him (while they extended his massive contract before last season which ended abruptly for him in week 1).  As talented as Dawand Jones looks, he can't keep showing up to training camp looking like he weighs over 400 pounds or the nagging injuries will persist.  As sad as this is to say, Joel Bitonio's performance has dropped off significantly as it probably should at this stage of his career.  Having said that, Wills always dominated the stink scent so much on the left side that it's often gone unnoticed.  

Zinter is a promising draft pic.  Believe it or not, I still think the Wypler Snapper (Center - Luke Wypler) out of Ohio State was an ideal 6th round pick.  He had a freaky severe lower leg injury in the pre-season that landed him on IR (but the prognosis on the injury is positive).  Since both Jones and Conklin have missed games to injury in each of the last 2 years - Offensive Tackle is a great place to start.  Veteran Center Ethan Pocic is feeling the wear and tear as a veteran his age playing through injuries this year. Even RG Teller missed games to injury - so this draft for the OL might feel like we're showing up starving to an all you can eat buffet...

On defense, the secondary might be the most pressing need.  Ward had another concussion 2 weeks ago, the on-going communication breakdowns that continue to be tolerated instead of resolved are hard to accept. Not for nothing but teams that had Pro Bowl Safeties like Ed Reed and Pollyneededahaircut dominated our division and Won Super Bowls. I'd LOVE to see another Safety like Eric Turner here.  With LBer, we just gotta find a way to keep starters healthy.  

Does anyone feel like it's time for the Browns to re-evaluate their Sports Medicine/Athletic Trainers/Team Doctor as well as look into their strength and conditioning program?  Yes, all teams have injuries - but it sure feels like this team always has an unrealistic volume to overcome in comparison.  

Well said. 

So many needs. I agree on the safety position. Thom Darden, Don Rogers, Eric Turner, hell id take a Chris Rockins at this point.

Of course, all these needs can't get addressed in the draft, but they need to be smart (oxymoron with the Browns lol). 

Regarding the strength & conditioning, it is alarming they have an endless history of injuries. Some of it is surely bad luck, but soft-tissue type stuff certainly seems preventable. We've got the Cleveland Clinic sponsoring the team, you'd think we could minimize some injuries.

@bob806 said:

Yes, but it really looks like our once-vaunted O-line has aged and is subpar. That's why I'm not in favor of drafting a QB.

Take the "unsexy" route and draft linemen (and a mean ass LB for the D).

Conklin has too much wear and tear on his body to ever expect a full season from him (while they extended his massive contract before last season which ended abruptly for him in week 1).  As talented as Dawand Jones looks, he can't keep showing up to training camp looking like he weighs over 400 pounds or the nagging injuries will persist.  As sad as this is to say, Joel Bitonio's performance has dropped off significantly as it probably should at this stage of his career.  Having said that, Wills always dominated the stink scent so much on the left side that it's often gone unnoticed.  

Zinter is a promising draft pic.  Believe it or not, I still think the Wypler Snapper (Center - Luke Wypler) out of Ohio State was an ideal 6th round pick.  He had a freaky severe lower leg injury in the pre-season that landed him on IR (but the prognosis on the injury is positive).  Since both Jones and Conklin have missed games to injury in each of the last 2 years - Offensive Tackle is a great place to start.  Veteran Center Ethan Pocic is feeling the wear and tear as a veteran his age playing through injuries this year. Even RG Teller missed games to injury - so this draft for the OL might feel like we're showing up starving to an all you can eat buffet...

On defense, the secondary might be the most pressing need.  Ward had another concussion 2 weeks ago, the on-going communication breakdowns that continue to be tolerated instead of resolved are hard to accept. Not for nothing but teams that had Pro Bowl Safeties like Ed Reed and Pollyneededahaircut dominated our division and Won Super Bowls. I'd LOVE to see another Safety like Eric Turner here.  With LBer, we just gotta find a way to keep starters healthy.  

Does anyone feel like it's time for the Browns to re-evaluate their Sports Medicine/Athletic Trainers/Team Doctor as well as look into their strength and conditioning program?  Yes, all teams have injuries - but it sure feels like this team always has an unrealistic volume to overcome in comparison.  

@mddawg said:

The Chargers game planned against him, they took away easy passing options (even the tv commentators mentioned it) leaving risky throws as options. It was our coaches job to make them pay with a rushing attack and pull more defenders into the box which would've loosened things up a bit. 

Yes, but it really looks like our once-vaunted O-line has aged and is subpar. That's why I'm not in favor of drafting a QB.

Take the "unsexy" route and draft linemen (and a mean ass LB for the D).

@axe said:

I live south of Tampa on the gulf coast. I have since 73. I grew up a Browns fan and still am. But I've been a Bucs fan since their inception.. I've seen every game during Winston's tenure.. What we all saw Sunday unfortunately was vintage Jameis Winston.

Yeah, I only live about 20-25 minutes or so from their stadium so local sports radio was all about the Bucs.  The year Winston threw for over 5000 yards with 33 TD passes (to gifted WRs - Chris Godwin & Mike Evans) - he also threw 30 INTs.  That frustrated their fan base far more than it excited them - especially with the pick 6s they saw in the process.  If memory serves me right - I don't even think they made the playoffs that year.  Naturally, Tom Brady got added a year later to draw Gronk out of retirement to give the GOAT the following toys to throw to: Gronk, Evans and Godwin.  Now they're Super Bowl Champions...

@axe said:

I live south of Tampa on the gulf coast. I have since 73. I grew up a Browns fan and still am. But I've been a Bucs fan since their inception.. I've seen every game during Winston's tenure.. What we all saw Sunday unfortunately was vintage Jameis Winston.

That's the point of game planning, exploiting his weakness which is accuracy.

@mddawg said:

The Chargers game planned against him, they took away easy passing options (even the tv commentators mentioned it) leaving risky throws as options. It was our coaches job to make them pay with a rushing attack and pull more defenders into the box which would've loosened things up a bit. 

I live south of Tampa on the gulf coast. I have since 73. I grew up a Browns fan and still am. But I've been a Bucs fan since their inception.. I've seen every game during Winston's tenure.. What we all saw Sunday unfortunately was vintage Jameis Winston.

@bbedward said:

The LeBron old men whiny super teams sure , lost me too. And the BS of Kevin Durant joining the warriors - but the young Cavs group has been a lot of fun for the past few years. Definitely brought back my interest, they’re just a fun group of guys to watch and root for. Maybe because they’re not a big 3 super team, just a well built young roster.

I've watched every Cavs game this season and they actually remind me of the 15-16 Golden State Warriors.  They're really good, fun to watch and setting records. I read that they're the only team to start 5/6-0 and have every player less than 30 minutes since the '78 Seattle Sonics who won the championship that season. Atkinson has taken the team to another level and the bench is championship caliber.

@axe said:

I've seen far too many games like this from Winston. It's just who he is.

The Chargers game planned against him, they took away easy passing options (even the tv commentators mentioned it) leaving risky throws as options. It was our coaches job to make them pay with a rushing attack and pull more defenders into the box which would've loosened things up a bit. 

@bbedward said:

Still can’t believe we let Flacco walk and replaced our entire offensive coaching staff after the improbable playoff run.

Flacco didn't look great in Minny yesterday. You shouldn't think of him as a savior that could have salvaged the season.

Look at the Packers. They beat themselves yesterday. Pick 6, 10 penalties, 6 drops, missed FG, 3 botched snaps by a guard having to play center. 

The defense gave up only 17 points to a Lions team that was blowing teams out. You can't lose that game.

Moral: The Browns beat themselves a lot as well. 

@fy56 said:

Keep Winston as a journeyman mentor? Lol

So the rookie can watch how and why interceptions happen? I suppose keeping him would be beneficial in that regard.

If they manage to get a top rated rookie they aren’t gonna have Tom Brady behind him,  Winston is a QB2 in the NFL on most teams.

But I guess realistically they get a highly ranked rookie QB we’re going to see them battle in camp against Watson for the job 

@bbedward said:

The defense (Thornhill? Ward?) blowing the two touchdown plays would have been very meaningful had the offense actually scored more than 3 points when the game was competitive. Besides those plays it was a great showing.

We have nothing to play for, they need 9 wins to probably miss the playoffs but potentially have a chance and this team ain’t going 7-1 the rest of the way. 
 

They really should keep Chubb, Garrett on limited snap counts and play for next year. As far as the QB it doesn’t matter - they may wanna keep Winston to see if he can stay on as a journeyman mentor to a new rookie QB, or they may wanna put DTR to help them lose easier. That’s a judgement call I guess. I see Winston as being worse for our draft proposition since for every 3 INT game he seems to have a 3 TD game, but I don’t see much of an nfl future for DTR as a starter - maybe a backup as he develops.

Keep Winston as a journeyman mentor? Lol

So the rookie can watch how and why interceptions happen? I suppose keeping him would be beneficial in that regard.

I may try to catch a game but I'd rather get work done around the house.

Hoping we land at #1 for the draft, no point in winning anymore games this year plus we at least beat the Ravens once.

Sorry for the season ticket holders.

@axe said:

The NBA lost me a long time ago..

The LeBron old men whiny super teams sure , lost me too. And the BS of Kevin Durant joining the warriors - but the young Cavs group has been a lot of fun for the past few years. Definitely brought back my interest, they’re just a fun group of guys to watch and root for. Maybe because they’re not a big 3 super team, just a well built young roster.

@nickers said:

Well... I told you all this game would come... Jameis is Jameis... Not that the the season is basically over... Can we start talking about the draft now?

I find mid season draft talk so pointless because we don’t know where the browns will even pick. Maybe I’m not enough of a nerd.

I’d rather just talk about the Cavs and bitch about whoever they take in April 

@orion said:

Well...Winston threw 3 INT's...but it could've been as high as 5 or 6.  That said, he threw a bunch of good passes too.  (INT's in the end zone hurt.  You need to come away with at least a FG on good drives.)

Tillman had another good game!  Great catch at the end for the reviewed TD!  

Njoku had a working man's receiving day.  Tough yards over the middle knowing you're going to get knocked down.  Whiffed pretty good on a block that ended up getting Chubb caught in the backfield.  

Judy & Moore chipped in pretty well.  

Running yards are quite hard to come by for us this year.  It doesn't matter who the RB is.

The defense actually played pretty well...but they had a few pass coverage breakdowns that hurt.

The losses have piled up.  Obviously on game day you root for your team to win...'cuz that's what you really want.  But the back of your mind is saying...NO, wins don't help anymore.  We need to improve our draft position...in every round.  - Remember, the back of your mind is smarter than you are.      Is it the end of April yet?  

The defense (Thornhill? Ward?) blowing the two touchdown plays would have been very meaningful had the offense actually scored more than 3 points when the game was competitive. Besides those plays it was a great showing.

We have nothing to play for, they need 9 wins to probably miss the playoffs but potentially have a chance and this team ain’t going 7-1 the rest of the way. 
 

They really should keep Chubb, Garrett on limited snap counts and play for next year. As far as the QB it doesn’t matter - they may wanna keep Winston to see if he can stay on as a journeyman mentor to a new rookie QB, or they may wanna put DTR to help them lose easier. That’s a judgement call I guess. I see Winston as being worse for our draft proposition since for every 3 INT game he seems to have a 3 TD game, but I don’t see much of an nfl future for DTR as a starter - maybe a backup as he develops.

Tillman had another good game!  Great catch at the end for the reviewed TD!  

Njoku had a working man's receiving day.  Tough yards over the middle knowing you're going to get knocked down.  Whiffed pretty good on a block that ended up getting Chubb caught in the backfield.  

Judy & Moore chipped in pretty well.  

Running yards are quite hard to come by for us this year.  It doesn't matter who the RB is.

The defense actually played pretty well...but they had a few pass coverage breakdowns that hurt.

The losses have piled up.  Obviously on game day you root for your team to win...'cuz that's what you really want.  But the back of your mind is saying...NO, wins don't help anymore.  We need to improve our draft position...in every round.  - Remember, the back of your mind is smarter than you are.      Is it the end of April yet?  

@tiamat63 said:

Ceddy, Mikey Hall, McGuire, JoK, Newsome, Jeudy, Jones and Zinter...  Some good young players with years ahead of them that this team can be built around along with a rookie QB. 

Yes, let’s just not miss on the rookie QB. 6th? times a charm (not sure how many first round QBs we drafted since 99’) 

@bbedward said:

Still can’t believe we let Flacco walk and replaced our entire offensive coaching staff after the improbable playoff run.

Yeah, it would have been a lot cooler to see Flacco throw these picks instead of Winston.