DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Moneyballers May Be Leading the Browns Right Back to the Tank

MIKE TANIER
MARCH 12, 2020
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Oh dear, the Browns appear to be tanking again.

The Browns released linebacker Christian Kirksey on Tuesday. Hamstring and chest injuries limited Kirksey to just nine games over the last two seasons after he'd been one of the team's best players in 2016 and 2017, and his departure saved the Browns over $6 million in cap space. So in itself, Kirksey's release was no reason to fear the return of "tanking."

Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reported last week that the Browns will also allow linebacker Joe Schobert to leave in free agency. Schobert reached the Pro Bowl in 2017 and was one of the team's most reliable starters in 2018 and last season, but he's likely to fetch a premium as a free agent. Letting a good-but-not-dominant player break the bank elsewhere, in itself, is also no harbinger of "tanking."


Olivier Vernon and his $15.5 million cap figure (for 3.5 sacks last year) also appear to be on the chopping block. Aging, banged-up safety Morgan Burnett is another likely cap casualty. The Browns are expected to let Damarious Randall test the market after a tumultuous 2019 season. Cornerback T.J. Carrie was cut in February to save cap space. On the other side of the ball, ESPN's Jake Trotter speculated that tight end David Njoku, who clashed with the outgoing coaching staff, is potential trade bait, while ESPN's Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler reported that the Browns would trade Odell Beckham Jr. if "blown away" by an offer.

Also, starting left tackle Greg Robinson was allegedly caught with 157 pounds of marijuana in his car by border patrol last month. That's not something the Browns had any control over, but it's another big hole opening up in a roster that's subtracting pieces instead of making plans to add them.

That's a lot of starters and veterans either leaving or with a "make an offer" sign dangling over their lockers. It looks like the Browns are preparing to start from square zero yet again, with the guys who lingered on square zero for two solid years while waiting for the analytical stars to align back in charge of the organization and more powerful than ever.

Welcome to Moneyball II: Electric Tankaloo.

Here's a brief refresher of Browns recent history for those of you who haven't kept up with the team's front office machinations, as well as for fans of Wagnerian operas:

After two seasons of dubious drafts, counterproductive austerity and a 1-31 record, Brown was fired, polarizing head coach Hue Jackson eventually followed, DePodesta disappeared behind a curtain, and new general manager John Dorsey attempted to turn the Browns into a real-life Dirty Dozen reboot starring Baker Mayfield, Beckham and lots of other lovable (?) scoundrels. Unfortunately, in real life, the ragtag misfits didn't become elite commandos; instead, they generated more melodramas than victories.

Exit Dorsey and bumbling coach Freddie Kitchens. Re-enter DePodesta via trap door beneath the stage, with Haslam stressing "alignment" around a unified team vision (DePodesta's, presumably). Well-regarded Dorsey assistants Alonzo Highsmith and Eliot Wolf left town. DePodesta retrieved 32-year-old former Browns lieutenant Andrew Berry from exile in Philadelphia to be his general manager and brought back Moneyball-era executive Ryan Grigson (the executive who wasted Andrew Luck's best seasons in Indianapolis) in an unspecified role. Kevin Stefanski, a 37-year-old Vikings first-year coordinator and DePodesta favorite, is now the head coach, though he must run every decision past Haslam (DePodesta) and the analytics department (chosen by DePodesta). Sashi Brown is now working for an NBA ownership group, though he may also be lurking in the Browns rafters wearing a phantom mask.

Let's get real: DePodesta staged a power coup from his sideways squiggle on the Browns org chart, blaming all the team's past failings on Jackson, Dorsey and Kitchens (who all deserve their share) while packing the decision structure with people who lack the inclination or credentials to challenge him. But DePodesta has cultivated an Elon Musk-meets-Jonah Hill persona and couches his decisions in pseudo-scientific jargon, making the business-as-usual Cleveland palace intrigue look like version 2.0 of some scientific revolution.

So the Moneyballers are back in charge, and there is nothing they enjoy more than a cut-to-the-quick rebuild that will take two-to-unspecified years, even though the Browns do not really need one. Yes, there are some malcontents and overpriced underachievers on the Browns roster worthy of cuts or trade inquiries. But the Browns also have frontline talent that many believed was good enough to reach the playoffs about eight months ago.

The Browns could have splurged on Schobert or eaten a little cash to wait-and-see with Kirksey instead of opening up holes in an already thin position group. They have the cap space ($67.7 million, according to Over The Cap) to be buyers instead of sellers when free agency opens next week, which would signal a plan to rekindle last preseason's optimism and compete quickly while Mayfield and Myles Garrett are on affordable contracts, Nick Chubb and Denzel Ward are on the rise and Beckham, Njoku and Jarvis Landry are still relatively content and (in Beckham's case) tethered to planet Earth.

Perhaps the Moneyballers will surprise us over the next few months by operating with a little urgency. They are rumored to be considering making a play for Washington left tackle Trent Williams, a sign that they are willing to invest some resources in the immediate future instead of trying to win Super Bowl LXVIII. But the Williams talk is just whispers (perhaps echoing from the Dorsey era) right now; all the Browns actions so far suggest the Browns are back to thinking that saving cap space and waiting until whenever to start competing is the soul of data-driven wisdom.

The Browns have little to show for their four-year love-hate relationship with DePodesta's baseball-imported version of "analytics" (as opposed to the analytics teams like the Patriots, Eagles, Chiefs and Ravens use without building a brand around it) except for some 2017 articles about the cleverness of the Brock Osweiler trade and that Madden Super Bowl you won with Mayfield throwing bombs to Beckham last August. Oh, and Mayfield himself, who is already half-withered on the vine and unlikely to regain his top-prospect luster during another roster purge. Browns fans deserve better than bracing for more years of cheering for cap space instead of victories, clutching the team's impressive-sounding "guardrails" like a life preserver and hoping that tanking works if you keep doing it over and over again for long enough.

Maybe the Browns will someday have the last laugh. But that day just keeps getting pushed back further and further.



Mike Tanier covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @MikeTanier.

Yeah, he runs something called "Muck Rakers". That speaks volumes.

So, you got yourself a writing gig doing opinion pieces?

Mike "Mac" Tanier.

This article is absurd

I tried to read this article with an open mind. If you start at the point where "Moneyballers" tank then the conclusion he came to makes sense. If you have more intimate knowledge of the Browns off-season plans, as many of us do, then you know that the team is not planning on tanking.

My guess is that this article will look very silly and dated in about a week.

It just proves that if you search the internet long enough you'll find someone, somewhere who agrees with you.

So Mikey has proved a single not-famous writer can manage to be trite, write insulting tripe, and manage to be a living cliche of cheap shot stories.

Words fail to express how proud I am, equally so, of his effort and his product. Just lame. But it is a paycheck. So Moneyball journalism has its own socket in the firmament.

Haslam is ordering the tank to maximize his profit. Its amazing to me how people havent caught on that he doesnt care about winning

The writer of this article is 100% correct. I would say the Berry hiring and the Stefanski hiring are the big indicators of the tank. What the hell does Berry know about talent evaluation? Haslam is making the picks anyway.

Sorry Browns fans but very few of you can deal with reality

32-88-1 is impossible to do if you are trying to win. Evidence Haslam doesnt care about winning he kept Hue Jackson 2.5 yrs. The worst coach in NFL history

They let go of a LB who hasn't played for two years and now they are tanking? LMAO

Haslam seeing and knowing that Kitchens
Was going to be head coach last year
Tells you he doesn't care about winning

Oh good, another "moneyball" thread. Hasn't the subject been fully plumbed after all the other ones?

This site is starting to feel like Groundhog Day ...

LOL....you just post this stuff because you like to see your name at the top of the board.


How many times are you going to continue to bump this up to continue to see your name in lights?

I think the article was trash. And a lot of folks have made an appearance to point that out.

However, a lot of trash articles have been posted and those articles were deemed as reliable sources, even a tweet from a guy who had 34 followers.

Make no mistake about my intent here. The article was trash. However, there have been a lot of trash posted on here via articles and tweets, and those are somehow regarded as evidence that guys like Dorsey and Hue were garbage and the Analytics department was good.

LOL...........y'all are a trip!

I think you are trying to tie in too much in to my comment to promote a point.

Express it to someone else.
\

I have been pretty clear in my comment and intent.


I don't like talking Sashi, I don't like talking John.


I am going to stay right here. Let's talk about Berry. Sashi and John failed in their own ways.


No need to revisit that. It's sad on multiple levels.

I did not put j/c, but I was j/c. You are just one part of he group I was talking about.

And again...........you whined and groused for three straight years. Day in and day out. Don't tell me to stop after less than 3 months. LOL........

Less than 3 months? Oh my.

This isn’t 2016 bro .... past results are not indicative of future results ...

During the last tear down they did way overspend on 3 players in FA and gave an in house FA way more than he was worth ... that gives me hope they will spend again ... lets just hope there’s more Zietlers and tretter’s than there are Collins and Britts ...

This is a fair post. I will add that they did a poor job of keeping their own players, releasing players such Haden and Gabriel, and w/their actual draft choices for the most part.

Their roster was far inferior to the roster that Dorsey assembled. Thus, while I won't proclaim doom and gloom for the current group, their previous history doesn't instill much hope for the future.

I decided around game 14 last season that I was in no way buying into the hype again. I'm also not buying into the negative crap because it's hard enough to be a fan and tune in year after year. It's now been 7 years since I went to a game because I decided I wasn't paying that much to watch them lose. The last Jersey (official) that I bought was JT in his sophomore year. I buy a couple officially licensed tees or sweatshirts every season but that's the limit of my investment as a fan. This year I will be foregoing that. They don't deserve my money at all until they field a winner. So, let them play games, make changes, try to figure it out... I'm not going to let it eat at me anymore... If they are winning I'll get excited but until then... MEH.

Suddenly, so many things make sense and fall into place.

Just excruciating how long we beat long departed horses here.

There drafts STUNK ...

I wanted Trubisky for awhile but MG was such a no-brainer I came around long before the draft so in my book they get no credit for that pick ... he was so far ahead of everyone else in that draft class pre-draft it was crazy ... turns out Swish was right and Watson was not only the best QB in that class but the best #1 pick ... MG is just as talented at his position but because Watson is a QB that would make him the best player to come out of that draft IMO ...

U take him out and there’s very little to show for their drafts ... the best picks to come out of their dealings were made when KJ took over and Sashi was still looking for a job ....

The only FA they didn’t re-sign I blame them for was Mr. Schwartz ... and what a HUGE MISTKE that turned out to be .... WOW .... they slammed the door in his face when he wanted to come back and do some more negotiating ..... STUPID as hell .... just DUMB ... I don’t blame them for the other FA’s that walked ... i gave Sashi credit for even getting Mack to visit after he had the offer from the Falcons ... based off his history with the franchise and the fact he was signing with the team Shanny was the OC for ... i thought just getting him to come back and sit down and let us pitch him was a coup ... what they did with Mitch never made sense to me on so many levels ...

As for the cuts ... I whined about it after Gabriel turned some heads under Shanny but I can’t blame them for that one .... I didn’t like Haden as a player but didn’t understand the cut because it didn’t save much at all on the cap ... it was less than 2 mill we saved and I thought he ended up being cut for pennies .... and with what we had that was CRAZY .... i got the feeling he was cut more because he wouldn’t re-negotiate and they either got their feeling hurt or wee sending out a message like I believe they did with Mitch .. DUMB ASS MESSAGES IN BOTH CASES if I’m correct ...

There all 4 more years experienced ... lets hope they learned .... end of the day ... bottom line ..

As of NOW there’s a lot more reasons to doubt and to be very skeptical than there are reasons to be optimistic about this new group ... but they have not yet written this chapter of our history, lets hope they learned ALOT since they last wrote a chapter in our history book and this chapter is much much better than the last one ...

Lets also not forget ... there starting from a much much different place then they did last time ...

The Isle of Optimism is alive and well .... *L* ...

Watson??? I think Mr. Mahommes may beg to differ.

Different draft?

Now wait a minute... Kirksey was a favorite of mine, but if he can't stay healthy.. That kinda makes him not worth the contract. But either way, that's not anything close to being lead right back down the tank..

Electric Tankaloo? I can't take this guy seriously

No, KC got him at 10. I believe they traded up for him.

Wanna guess who the GM was when they drafted Mahomes?

I think Schobert is an actual example of money ball. Scho probably isn't a top 20 linebacker in the NFL and will certainly be paid as such. They even defended this move as such.....odd to even mention it in that case.

Releasing Kirksey who has played 16 games twice in his seasons is a bad example. There is some merit to losing players and calling it money ball.....greg Robinson, TJ Carrie and Christian Kirksey are very poor examples.

Who is to say they don't bring Kirksey back? I dunno, very soft hitting material here.

Dang, you're right. They were in the same draft. Thought they were a year apart.

The Bears took Trubisky at 2. Traded up for him. LOL

J/c

I thought Pat came out a year later than Mr. Watson .... oooops ...

OK ... the best payer in that draft was Patrick with Watson in 2nd ....

It doesn’t change the context of the point i was making ...

Sashi .... ...

That's what I was thinking too. Didn't Mahommes sit behind Alex Smith for a season before starting, whereas Watson started straight out of the gate?

Yes sir ... and Pat also hasn’t suffered a major knee injury since turning pro ...

Wow ... with those 2 alone its a GREAT QB CLASS ...

Meanwhile my boy Mitch is struggling mightily ... another ooops .. *L* ...