What the Hell is Going On Around Here

Barry Manilov paraphrased Vince Lombardi in asking this question about the current Browns anemia in free agency.  I'd been bothered by it too, but was assuming that they were actually working behind the scenes.  You know, when any Browns' front office fails to land the big ones, people assume that they're not trying.

Cleveland is not a popular destination for free agents--unlike Joe Banner's perennially-contending Eagles teams.

Then Lane Adkins shocked me.  He'd been in touch with some of the agents, who told them that "the Browns" contacted them to express interest in their clients, then never called back, even as the agents were/are negotiating with competitors.  Wow are you kidding me!?!

I have some theories about this.  First, we need to know the people involved:

Joe Banner is serious and businesslike.  During his tenure with the Eagles, he might have inquired with agents about players, but after that, he could just wait for a return call.  The Eagles were in the playoffs every year; always a top 5-7 NFL team.  Real football players wanted to play for Andy Reid and be a part of that.  Sometimes they'd even take second-best money to get there.

Put aside Mike Lombardi's idiotic opinions and bad draft picks for a moment.  (And by the way, delete his time with the Raiders.  Everybody knows who made every one of those draft picks and free agent moves, and it wasn't Lombardi, ok?)

Don't be emotional here: He has great people skills.  People like him.  As a columnist, he spoke to a lot of agents and GM's extensively as he tried to dig up information.  He developed some friendships, and stronger relationships with these people than he would have as a front-office rep.  In his media role, he was not an adversary.

Further, lip-service aside, Lombardi is not a brillant personnel guy.  He has a didactic memory like Gil Brandt, and knows all the stats, all the clock-times and reps, the mother's maiden names, injury details, etc.  So he can tell you all about any player he's checked out.  This is impressive.

What he really does is collect opinions and information.  With the Browns today, my profile says that he consults all the coaches and scouts (and his very smart assitant, Farmer--Ed, is it?  Highly-respected judge of talent).  He sort of gets a consensus.  His opinions are less his than this consensus of those of people whose judgement he's learned to trust.

I don't know as much about Banner.  I HOPE he's not a control-freak megalomaniac, as some have said.  And then there's Haslam, who makes me feel better.  He will have exerted some control in the front office structure.

If I'm right, Lombardi is the guy who calls the agents to feel them out about ballpark asking prices and terms, discuss how their clients would fit, etc.  (ALL guesswork here ok?)  He is NOT authorized to negotiate--that's Banner's job.

Lombardi recons out the preliminary info and takes it to Banner, and it's up to Joe to follow up.

And he doesn't.

Why?  Surely, he must know that these Browns are not his Eagles.  Surely he knows that players joke about the Browns, and curse eachother by saying "I hope you get traded to Cleveland!"  He can't just sit here and wait for his phone to ring anymore.  But if I'm right, that's what he's doing.

But there are other factors.  One is, there are a number of young Browns' players who are being dismissed by fans and media who the new coaches think will be very good.  One-A is they may be willing to gamble a little to give them their shot.  Tashaun Gipson and Jordan Cameron, for example.

Two is bigger: They intend to hold something back for next season, when they need to re-sign Alex Mack, Joe Haden,  and others.  Mack is in my opinion (and certainly his) a top five center, and will command top five money.  Haslam and Banner want to keep their best players, as well as sign new ones.

Three is, naturally the agents asked for the stars and the moon, and Banner doesn't like horse trading.  Scott Pioli on NFL Radio helped me understand his own method: You make an initial offer which is close to what you're willing to pay.  If you lowball the player, it's insulting, and they don't forget it, even if they sign with you.  You might also alienate the player to the point that he won't let his agent talk to you at all.

You make your offer, and then move only a little. 

I believe that Banner may have made these offers, and is waiting for replies.

If that's the case, I sort of get it.  Maybe they're even willing to overpay a little, because they know how unpopular the Browns are.  And if some other team wants to pay too much, the Browns can't go there--because that would be stupid.

Overpaying is stupid because other players on your team will also want more, you eat up your cap space, and in both cases you get dissention and lose players.

And what about the agents?  Well, did they tell Lane the whole truth?  Was an offer made?

If that's the case (and I have no idea if it is--it just sort of fits the puzzle.  I mean, I'll need more evidence before I'll believe that Banner is an incompetant boob.)...If an offer was made, and the agents are waiting for him to call back with a bigger bribe, then they are the bad guys, and not acting in their clients' best interests.

I'm guessing.  It's a lot of what analysts lacking information have to do.  You look for a pattern that makes sense, and to do that you have to fill in some blanks.

Just sayin.