NFL Radio's talking heads sometimes remain where the sun doesn't shine in regards to the lowly Cleveland Browns.
The most consistent of these is former Jets GM Pat Kirwan. He said that Alex Mack should go to a team that could contend for a few years, and put the Browns behind him.
I'm used to Pat's immutable attitude, and it doesn't bother me. I just hope that Hue Jackson, his all-star veteran coaching staff, and the new front office heard this.
If they did, they're insulted. "You're calling me a loser before my first draft?"
Of course, Hue is a little spoiled. Everybody including Kirwan thinks very highly of him.
Ross Tucker last season called the Browns roster the worst in the NFL. Ross is my favorite analyst, but I don't understand this, when the Browns played in the very same division as the Ravens.
We can skip the whole starting offensive line and secondary, plus Dansby, Barnidge, Thomas, Benjamin, Des Bryant, Shelton, and Duke. I would like to hear Ross identify one starting or rotational player who was below average (yes including Hartline).
Can you? Is Roberts below average? Well, he gets washed out at the point of attack vs the run, but is all over the field, gets a ton of tackles, and covers well. You need to dig deeper.
If I had Ross in front of me, I know I'd change his mind. Ross Tucker isn't a blockhead like Pay Kirwan. He's not a Yabut guy. I would go through the players one by one and have him rate them, then show him the results. He would say "Okay you got me, but name me a team that was worse".
I would name the Ravens. Maybe the Saints. Or the Rams.
Kirwan made up his mind years ago, and will go down with his ship. But Ross drives me nuts, because when his co-hosts snicker and pick at the Browns, he's the one to mention McCown 3.0, Duke, Danny, Travis, Gary, the Joe's, etc. to elicit the "Yabut"'s.
One caller was a Carson Wentz fan, and hoped he would go to Dallas. He even compared him to Romo, saying that just when you think he's sacked, he's the rare guy who will time and time again pull a rabbit out of his hat.
Then he said he loves the guy, and really hopes he doesn't go to the Browns. I can excuse a caller from North Dakota, but not the analysts who agree.
Yeah, going to Cleveland under Hue Jackson and Josh McCown would be horrible for a young quarterback.
Alex Mack's agent says he could come back. This is being dismissed as a leverage ploy, but it's not. Joe Thomas wasn't negotiating. Mack himself wasn't lying when he himself expressed confidence in the new staff.
The players know. This is new. This thing is about to turn around. It's not some guy on a blog talking candy canes and lolly pops. It's great coaches and brilliant front office people. It's a new second overall quarterback.
Mary Kay and Tony expect Mack to be offered over ten million a year. That's possible. But the new salary cap is increasing, and along with it so is the team budget.
Don't assume that these new Browns won't match the offer. Also, let me remind you: Alex Mack in 2015 was ranked sixteenth by PFF, he is thirty, and his priority is the proportion of guaranteed money, not the gross amount.
The Browns may not have to top what Mack is offered. They can guarantee more of it, or add a year to it. Sashi Brown can front-load the cap hit so that the biggest hit is in 2016. Mack can have more up front to invest, and still know that he'll get paid until he's thirty four or so even if he gets hurt.
Pat Kirwan would shake his head and roll his eyes. Why would Mack stay with that team?
Ross could tell him: Wentz/Goff, Thomas, Barnidge, Gordon, Duke, Danny, Des, Haden, Nate, Paul, Hue, etc.
Dan Labbe, who I rank almost in the middle of my sources, speculated about how the Browns might replace Travis Benjamin, should the Browns lose him.
Under "internal options", Dan wrote "None. Thank you, Ray Farmer". This is idiocy. Andrew Hawkins. Than you, Ray Farmer. It's pretty obvious here that Dan doesn't like Ray Farmer, but he shouldn't let that shut his brain down.
Hawkins isn't quite as good as Benjamin, but is a super fast lilipution in the same mode. Dan skips over dumber to dumbest as he lists Mohammud Sanu as a replacement.
A big strong possession receiver is not a replacement for a microscopic super fast big play slot receiver and returner.
Dan Labbe and apparently many of you need to get outside the box here. "Wide receiver" is just a label, okay? A 175 lb shrimp is not the same as a 215 lb brute. No coach in his right mind would ever use these two players in the same way.
For your convenience, I have created two new labels: "Small, big play receiver" and "Big, possession receiver". I will send you the bill.
Dan Labbe's assessments of the other positions are a lot better, so he's not a dumbass. When you're as brilliant as my humble self, it's hard to accept that everybody else is dumber.
Anyway, Dan went from dumbest to super-dumbest here as he looked for potential Benjamin replacements in the draft, and mentioned everybody except Braxton Miller.
Wow.
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