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J/c

I’m not going to believe we’ll overtake the Steelers or the Ravens until we actually do it.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the Steelers will have a good year because they’re motivated and under the radar right now ... it’s been forever since we’ve garnered this much hype and I really don’t want it to work against us

I don’t understand ...

They lost 4 key defensive players and picked up one really good player and 2 Ok ones ... there D got HURT .... BIG TIME ...

Lamar can’t throw the ball ... in the last 6 quarters there O was COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN ... COMPLETELY ... he has to prove he can throw the ball or there done ... and even if he can this year .. there gonna struggle ... there WR room has gotta be the youngest in the league and they have almost zero experience ... TE and WR are stacked with rookies and second year guys ...

There gonna struggle big time this year even if Lamar does improve enough to make D’s have to think about the pass ...

Plus .... Lamar did not learn how to read nfl defenses last year against the pass ... he hs to basically start from scratch in that regard ..

We lost last years final game when they were in a playoff game ... it was WIN or GO HOME for them ... we lost by 2 points with the following things going against us ...

- bake threw 3 picks including one for 6 ...
- we had a fumble return for a td called back ...
- we missed a FG ....
- bake threw a pass so far behind VG on the last drive not even he could catch that would have put us in FG range ...
- we shut their O down in rhe 2nd half .. shut their butts down ...

There was a few other things ... they slip my mind ...

That was with a rookie QB with a HC/OC that had been on the job for all of 8 weeks ...

Since then we’ve lost Peppers/Ogbah and Zietler ....

We’ve picked up Hunt and OBJ and some OL “depth” ... on D we’ve added Vernon,Sheldon and greedy and the other rookies and Morgan Burnett ...

Scales aren’t exactly equal on this one ... we improved by leaps and bounds and they’ve taken a step back ...

We should sweep them ... we have MORE TALENT and are a better football team as of now ... barring injuries i expect to sweep the rats ...

I did notice you didn't mention VG dropping a TD that was put perfectly into his hands like a new born baby being handed to his momma for the first time

Are you talking about the one right after the preamture whistle that cost us a TD? When VG was running down the middle of the field? If so, that was not perfectly in his hands. It was a little short and hit Landry in the back of the helmet.

If you mean something else ... I do not remember it.

Cut his ass off Cap ... he’ needs to learn whose in charge here ... *L* ...

IMO we will win the division.

IMO we will win the division.

Cap is saying he agrees 100%

Bro, are you purposely trying to jinx us?

It all depends on Baker.

This.

2019 NFL preview: Browns have a loaded roster, but one enormous question lingers

Yahoo Sports Frank Schwab,Yahoo Sports 23 hours ago



Yahoo Sports is previewing all 32 teams as we get ready for the NFL season, counting down the teams one per weekday in reverse order of our initial 2019 power rankings. No. 1 will be revealed on July 31, the day before the Hall of Fame Game kicks off the preseason.


Cleveland Browns general manager John Dorsey wasn’t going to lie, and nobody was going to believe the lie anyway.

He was asked when Freddie Kitchens had even been on his radar as a potential head coach before he was promoted to interim offensive coordinator in the middle of last season. Before that promotion, Kitchens had never even called a play in the NFL. He got promoted from running backs coach when the Browns turned over their staff during another disappointing season. By January, Kitchens was hired to be the Browns’ head coach.

Kitchens had a typical assistant coach resume, working up from Glenville State to the NFL coaching quarterbacks, running backs and tight ends. But head coach?

“No, he wasn’t,” Dorsey said about Kitchens being on his head-coach radar. “But that does not mean that he is not a qualified coach. You just look at the eight games he did, kind of caught your attention, too, didn’t it?”

Yes, those eight games. Those eight games are why the Browns are coming up this late in our countdown, and not in their typical slot closer to No. 32.



Cleveland went 5-3 in the second half of the season, after Hue Jackson and Todd Haley were let go. The Browns’ three losses were to Kansas City, Houston and Baltimore, a trio of division champions. The offense, and especially quarterback Baker Mayfield, took off. The Browns, whose ineptitude since coming back to the NFL in 1999 has been the league’s most predictable storyline, looked good. All the high draft picks and hoarded salary-cap space was finally paying off. The future looked bright, and that was before the blockbuster Odell Beckham Jr. trade.

And there was just one small issue: The Browns needed a coach. For once, Cleveland’s job was very attractive, especially because of Mayfield. Cleveland had options. And Kitchens, who was quite impressive calling plays for the first time, impressed the team again in the interview process. Kitchens wasn’t on anyone’s radar at this time last year, not even Dorsey’s radar, but suddenly he is leading the most interesting team in the league (yes, it’s weird to write that about the Browns).

Every coach has to be a rookie at some point. John Harbaugh, for one example, was never an offensive or defensive coordinator and he is one of the best coaches in the NFL, with a Super Bowl ring to prove it. Sean McVay didn’t have a ton of experience before he got his shot, and he’s great. Just because Kitchens had a very fast rise late last year doesn’t mean he won’t be a great head coach. It’s just an unknown, and for once in Cleveland, there’s a lot to lose. It’s by far the biggest question the Browns have heading into a season overloaded with hype.

Las Vegas has been swamped with Browns futures bets and for once it’s easy to see why. The Browns made perhaps the biggest acquisition of the offseason, getting Beckham in a trade with the Giants. They have stars or potential stars all over, from defensive end Myles Garrett to running back Nick Chubb to cornerback Denzel Ward to receiver Jarvis Landry and plenty in between. The Browns are not a punchline anymore. This is a good football team.

There are more than a few good football teams out there, of course. The best of them combine a talented roster with a great coaching staff. Cleveland’s window to be a playoff team and — sit down before reading this next one — a potential Super Bowl contender has finally opened. The are plenty of things that have to still go right for the Browns, but the biggest one seems to be hitting on a head coach that was a fairly anonymous running backs coach as of late last October.

Kitchens is the biggest bet the Browns have made. All that’s on the line is the longest-suffering fan base in the NFL finally being paid off for its loyalty.

Off Season Grade
I could drop a picture of Odell Beckham Jr. here, give them an A and move on to the next section. We’ll talk about the good and the bad of Beckham in a bit, but he’s a transcendent player. Guys like that don’t change teams very often at age 26. I didn’t love the trade of guard Kevin Zeitler for edge rusher Olivier Vernon with the Giants, because Zeitler is a good guard and the Browns aren’t putting enough emphasis on the offensive line. But Vernon is a quality player as well and just 28 years old. Likewise, the trade of edge rusher Emmanuel Ogbah to the Chiefs for strong safety Eric Murray could be one the Browns regret, but it’s not too bad on the surface. The Browns also added defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson, safety Morgan Burnett (who will help replace Jabrill Peppers, sent to New York in the Beckham deal) and running back Kareem Hunt. Hunt will miss the first eight games due to an NFL suspension over a video that showed him shoving and kicking a woman, and while he was an obviously controversial addition, the Browns have a former NFL rushing champion as a backup. The Browns didn’t take on any big losses in free agency and while their draft haul was light due to the Beckham trade, LSU cornerback Greedy Williams was a great value pick in the second round. And while it might bother chemistry, not giving in to running back Duke Johnson’s trade demand was smart because the Browns still need him.

GRADE: A

Reason for Optimism
The Browns were close to adding a fourth Pro Bowler to the defensive line, but Gerald McCoy chose Carolina instead. Cleveland will just have to settle for three Pro Bowlers on the line. Defensive end Myles Garrett is a star, Olivier Vernon could see a boost with opponents focusing elsewhere and Sheldon Richardson can be a force in the middle. And the fourth starter, tackle Larry Ogunjobi, is no liability. He had 5.5 sacks in his second NFL season last year. The Browns have one of the best defensive lines in the NFL, and they’re not bad at linebacker or in the secondary either.

Potential Problem
The Browns have invested in just about every position, but the offensive line hasn’t gotten the same treatment. The trade of guard Kevin Zeitler for Olivier Vernon helps the pass rush but weakens an offensive line that already had some questions. Pro Football Focus’ preseason rankings of offensive lines had the Browns 20th, and that might even be a bit generous. The Browns are counting on former Rams draft bust Greg Robinson not imploding at left tackle and Austin Corbett replacing the elite Zeitler even though Corbett has barely played, among other questions. The Browns have a strong roster, but the kicking situation (Greg Joseph and rookie Austin Seibert are competing) and the offensive line are two possible issues.

Quarterback Report
When the story is told of Hue Jackson’s impossibly bad job coaching the Browns, one of the first lines should be that he had no intention of playing Baker Mayfield as a rookie. It was weird when Jackson was digging in and telling the world Tyrod Taylor would start all season, and it was inexplicable in hindsight once Mayfield actually played. The No. 1 pick of the 2018 draft looked like a future Pro Bowler. He threw for 3,725 yards and an NFL rookie record 27 touchdowns despite not starting the first three games, only getting his chance due to a Taylor injury (seriously Hue?). We can be sure that it will be a long time before the Browns voluntarily start another quarterback. Mayfield wasn’t perfect, and he’ll need to cut his 14 interceptions, but this is what the Browns have been waiting for. Cleveland, you have a franchise quarterback.

Most Important Non-QB
It’s probably not overstating things to say Odell Beckham Jr. is the most important player in new Browns franchise history. Joe Thomas is the best player the Browns have had since 1999, but he was playing at a Hall of Fame level on a bad team. Beckham has the chance to lift the Browns to a place they haven’t been before. There are certainly questions about Beckham’s ability to not be a distraction and to stay healthy — we all know there’s a reason the Giants traded him — but if Beckham is healthy and happy he’s probably one of the 10 best non-quarterbacks in the NFL. And while Eli Manning has had a fine career, it’s also fair to wonder if Baker Mayfield is an upgrade over the aging Manning that Beckham played with. Non-quarterbacks can’t win MVP anymore because most voters don’t bother considering them, but it’s not too crazy to think Beckham could get some MVP buzz if the Browns pay off on their hype.

Yahoo's Fantasy Take
From Yahoo’s Scott Pianowski: “If you want to own the primary Cleveland players in fantasy this year, you’ll probably have to buy at the high end of their theoretical ranges. With Nick Chubb and Baker Mayfield, I’m open to the discussion. With Odell Beckham Jr., I’m much less likely to cut the check.

Stat to Remember
“Mayfield has a history of spreading the ball around — although he had 27 touchdown passes last year, no one caught more than four. That theme was similar in his Heisman Trophy year at Oklahoma. And while Beckham is without question the most talented wideout on Cleveland’s roster, it’s not like OBJ has never been a fantasy disappointment before. He’s only played one full season out of five, and receivers often struggle a bit when they shift to a new team.

“To be clear, it’s not like I expect Beckham to fall on his face. But to draft him where he slots in 2019, you likely pick him over a Julio Jones or a Michael Thomas. That’s not something I’m likely to do. There’s also a bunch of running backs in the same ADP pocket — James Conner, Joe Mixon, teammate Chubb — who interest me more than Beckham does.”



The Browns’ offense took off in the second half, and pretty much everyone has credited Freddie Kitchens and Baker Mayfield. Those two certainly did well, but it’s not a coincidence that the offense rose as Nick Chubb’s rookie season took off. Stuck behind Carlos Hyde to start the season (seriously, what was Hue Jackson doing?), Chubb had 823 rushing yards on a 4.7-yard average with six rushing touchdowns, and 149 receiving yards with two receiving touchdowns in the Browns’ final 10 games. Inexplicably Chubb, a high second-round pick, didn’t have more than three carries in any of Cleveland’s first six games. The addition of Kareem Hunt when he’s done with his suspension in midseason could affect Chubb’s workload, but it’s just as likely the Browns continue to ride Chubb all season. He’s already one of the NFL’s most talented backs.


Burning Question
COULD CHEMISTRY BECOME AN ISSUE?

Baker Mayfield says whatever he wants and mostly that’s endearing and fun. But he stepped over a line when he criticized Duke Johnson, who requested a trade. Players don’t often air out their teammates over business matters.

“It's not awkward. No. It's self-inflicted,” Mayfield said. “It is what it is. That's not awkward for anybody else in this building.”

Mayfield also said “you're either on this train or you're not.” NFL Network reported that veterans talked to Mayfield about his words toward Johnson.

Just because Mayfield didn’t take the right tact with a teammate doesn’t mean there’s a problem. But the Browns have some big personalities. We all know that Odell Beckham Jr. created countless headlines in New York that had nothing to do with catching the football. Freddie Kitchens is a first-time head coach and we don’t know how he will handle some of the situations that might arise. There are no known chemistry problems now, but it’s worth keeping an eye on.

Best Case Scenario
I don’t even know how to say these words in order, but here goes: Cleveland should believe it can win a Super Bowl. Really. The roster is that good. I don’t know if Freddie Kitchens can be a good head coach and manage what might be a bit of a volatile locker room, but I do know the Browns are loaded. If Mayfield builds on his rookie season (and I really don’t see why he wouldn’t), Beckham stays healthy, the offensive line holds up and the defense is as good as it looks on paper, the only reason you wouldn’t believe in the Browns as one of the NFL’s truly elite teams is their history. And that’s not unfair. There’s a lot of baggage to unload. But just look at the depth chart. It’s impressive what they’ve put together. The rebuilding project has reached a point where it’s time to win.

The Nightmare Scenario
It’s fun to be optimistic about the Browns. Even if you’e a fan of another team, (outside of the rest of the AFC North) you probably have a soft spot for the Browns. They have a fan base that deserves a winner. But the Browns are still the Browns. We expect the worst to happen. Maybe Baker Mayfield has a sophomore slump, or Odell Beckham Jr. can’t stay healthy, the few warts on the roster are just too much to overcome or the Browns hired the wrong coach. This is a team that hasn’t posted a winning record since 2007. Not many of the current players are burdened with all of thee Browns’ miserable history, but if there was ever a “here we go again” team if things don’t go well early, this is it.

The Crystal Ball Says
Do I have the Browns too high because I want the Browns to be good? I can’t deny that might be the case. The Browns becoming a playoff team, even an AFC North champion, would be a fantastic story. Everyone could rally behind that. The Browns’ mix of stars makes them a must-watch team. And even if I’m rooting for the story, we can all recognize the talent is legitimate. So here goes: The Browns are going to win their first division title since 1989. Crazy.

Previous Reviews
32. Arizona Cardinals

31. Miami Dolphins

30. Oakland Raiders

29. New York Giants

28. Cincinnati Bengals

27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

26. Washington Redskins

25. Detroit Lions

24. Buffalo Bills

23. New York Jets

22. Denver Broncos

21. San Francisco 49ers

20. Jacksonville Jaguars

19. Atlanta Falcons

18. Tennessee Titans

17. Carolina Panthers

16. Minnesota Vikings

15. Seattle Seahawks

14. Baltimore Ravens

13. Pittsburgh Steelers

12. Houston Texans

11. Dallas Cowboys

– – – – – – –

Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab


https://www.yahoo.com/sports/2019-nfl-pr...-124057949.html

Wow. That was an outstanding right up.

You don't see too many like that anymore.

Wow. That was an outstanding right up.

You don't see too many like that anymore.