Looking Forward to the 2019 AFC North

This is a pretty good example of a team that opted to cut some corners and swing for the fences, didn't quite get there and may see a significant drop off. They have lost a lot of quality players over the last two seasons.

As I said. Some teams have less than others.

So this was just tongue in cheek?

I think your o-line will be your undoing. I predict .500 football.

Distractions #1. Kicking game #2.

I didn't say he didn't do it at all. He had 7 receivers with 25 or more targets. I'd just like to see more of it. He has the ability to do it. He won a Super Bowl with Cedrick Wilson as his #2 receiver. Plus I'd like to see a little more balance this year.

Agree on last year and agree on their losses. They are really lacking in pass rushers.

When I suggest taking shortcuts could blow up in your face this is exactly what I mean. Your OTs are not very good and you have no one behind them to challenge them. Imagine if one of your starters goes down? Baker could get hit a lot. I thought trading Zeitler was criminal.

 

Pretty much.

Both of which are still on the roster. Unless you're saying Ben's mouth wasn't a distraction.

Been saying the same thing all off season. In all fairness though, there weren't a lot of #1 tackles available this past off season. Ironically, getting one now like Trent Williams out of Washington would be considered another shortcut, eh?

 

I think Ben was part of the problem but not THE problem. And I think he learned from it. Not worried about him. Boswell's rope with be much shorter this year. If he misses a few kicks he'll be gone.

They're not getting Williams. They invested too much in Robinson. And clearly they're not afraid to trade to fill holes. Maybe instead of the flashy players they grab an OT.

 

I think this the 2nd thread where you've mentioned a investment (or commitment) to Robinson. He signed a 1 year deal with base salary of $5.5M and various incentives that take his cap value up to $7.0M. If they were to shed him, his dead money is only $500K. There is no reason to think that, should they acquire Williams, they wouldn't keep Robinson. Like you said, their O-line depth isn't very deep.

Hubbard, on the hand, would be very expensive to get rid of. He's on a 4 year deal with over $9.3M in dead money.

 

Much of the swiftness is in the form of capable rookies, the other holes filled with above average veterans of which this team lacked sorely.

The only possible weakness, talent wise, is the offensive line...though, they still have one of the top guards in the entire NFL in Joel Bitonio and a capable veteran center. The only piece that won't be there this year is Zeitler. I understand and agree he's also one of the best in the business..but we don't know he can't be replaced. Time will tell....however, we have seen time and again, bad offensive lines can be hidden by excellence in QB play.

This team lives and dies by Baker Mayfield, not the offensive line.


THAT is why this fanbase is energized...You have/had Ben, we are hopeful we now have our reason for a decades worth of competitiveness... if that is false hope, it's really the only way the Steelers survive a decade of sadness.

You seem to think we "need" you guys to take it serious...The Browns are moving into the top echelon whether you want to take them serious or not.

It's happening friend, welcome to the new world.

I'm not relishing in your downturn, but we have waited a LONG DAMN TIME for this. It's here and I'm not wasting a single minute waiting to prove it to Steelers fans before I start celebrating relevance.

They might be, I won't argue they have a leg up. It depends on how the new players acclimate with the younger ones already here. We have the pieces in place on defense, but you never know until they start playing beside each other...

I know you are baiting here...but time will tell.

This rivalry forming between Watt and Myles could be the most exciting thing the Steelers have to look forward to as Baker becomes the unquestioned best QB in the division very soon.

Ben is a quitter and cares very little about anything but himself. IF the Browns dominate the Steelers this year, he will be finished professionally. I have ZERO respect for him, this comes as no surprise I'm sure. With him goes the chances of the Steelers challenging the Browns until they find someone to challenge Baker.

 

Mason Rudolph

 

Let him first earn a helmet on a Sunday and then win a few games and we'll take him seriously.

 

I'm both excited and worried. Lots of talent and lots of personalities. We're going to be epically great or epically go down in flames. I didn't like the signing of Hunt and I don't care what he's done since arriving here. He should have never been brought in. Odell is great and nuts at the same time. I just don't understand why New York would want to get rid of such a great talent unless he really is a problem. It all feels like some kind of riverboat gamble to get to the playoffs. I'd love to make the playoffs but I want to be good every year for the next hundred. Not good for two years and go down in flames. I like everyones confidence but I think I'm more nervous. We're not going to sneak up on anyone this season. Kitchens has to be the right guy. That feels like the biggest riverboat gamble of them all.

 

I think this has more to do with the management in New York than it does with Beckham. I'm not sure his reputation as a malcontent has been earned, but foisted on him by both those within the building loyal to the front office and those in the media that depend on those people for their information/careers. The NY media is really a pit with a bunch of rabid animals fighting over the smallest scraps of printable rumor.

Impossible to say if he will be the 'guy' long term or not, but I'm on record before he was hired stating that he should be given the chance if for no other reason than to provide continuity for Baker's growth through year 2. If it looks like it's not working out after this season you can move on from Freddie knowing that you have a quarterback with a leader's mindset that can help bridge the changeover to a new Head Coach. I know some will think that it wouldn't be ideal to move on from Kitchens after a season, but there is no reason to stay committed to a coach that gets pulled under the water, it that happens to be the case.

It's a simple enough gamble, IMO. If Freddie works out you have the coach you want and you can work on developing a team around him for the long haul. If he doesn't, you haven't interrupted the most important aspect of franchise building, which is developing the franchise quarterback. Baker gets a second season with Kitchens to grow as a player before Cleveland would make the advancement of going all in on a potentially big name coach.

The table would be set with a talented roster, complete with franchise passer, and the coaching search in Cleveland would be aided by people wanting to be on the Browns sidelines knowing they can win some football games.

 

I think maybe that depends on how you've been looking at the situation, sir. Have the Browns won back-to-back NFL championships? Certainly not.

Did they go from a 1-31 team to a 7-8-1 team that has identified a franchise QB, a premier WR, a lockdown CB, a premier EDGE, a stud RB, etc. They kept continuity by bringing back a coordinator/coach who took them from the mid-20s under Haley/Hue to Top 3 in the NFL. And unlike 2007 - the last time the Browns had a truly promising situation, the team did not get worse as the season wore on, but better.

So yes, they haven't "accomplished" anything in terms of consistently winning the division, or in the post-season but for the first time in over a decade... they are positioned to do just that.

I smell an avatar bet...

 

Not in your lifetime . . . But they have in mine. 1954 - 1955.

 

To paraphrase an old politician... it's the economy, silly.

Carson "JAG" Wentz just got a massive extension for the work Nick Foles and John DeFilippo did. The very real fact of the current NFL model is that you've got a rookie QB deal as your window to a Championship.

Let's please toss out the very clear anomaly (New England) that still cheats relentlessly and bends the rules regarding QB pay to get a discount out of their guy and look around the rest of the league.

Who're repeat contenders?

The last 10 years you've had:

AFC: Steelers (W), Colts, Steelers, Patriots, Ravens (W), Broncos, Patriots(W), Broncos (W), Patriots(W), Patriots, Patriots (W)

NFC: Cardinals, Saints (W), Packers (W), Giants (W), 49ers, Seahawks (W), Seahawks, Panthers, Falcons, Eagles (W), Rams

Steelers had/have a HOF-worthy QB. Colts had a HOF QB. Broncos had a HOF QB (Manning). Cardinals had a HOF QB. Saints had/have a HOF-worthy QB. Packer had/have a HOF-worthy QB. Giants had/have a HOF-worthy QB (just ask Cameron Jordan).

Seahawks had a rookie-deal QB. Eagles had a rookie-deal QB. Rams had a rookie-deal QB. 49ers had a rookie-dela QB. They were also dominant teams on either offense, or defense (or both).

Only the Ravens (terrible QB, average team) over that span have gone - and shockingly won - a championship. They did so with a QB still on a rookie-deal.

Falcons and Panthers had the #1 offenses. In Atlanta's case, they had a very bad defense and (shock) lost because they couldn't stop the Pats. Panthers had a premier defense but happened to be going against the top defense.

Browns have to go all-in with Mayfield's deal. It's their best chance now to win a Super Bowl.

 

A lot to respond to and don't have a lot of time but ^^^^THIS is what I'm talking about. Top echelon? Are you serious? This game is played between the lines, not on paper.

 

Win first....brag second.

 

This is also pretty amusing. You're talking about a team that has had three losing seasons in the least 25 years - none since 2003. And unlike the Browns they get everyone's best shot week in and week out. The Steelers aren't going anywhere. They have a ton of talent.

 

I meant to respond to this earlier but had a shiney object moment and got distracted.

Of the 22 projected starters for 2019;

• 12 were DRAFTED by Cleveland.
• 4 were acquired (by Dorsey) via trades. Meaning he gave up existing assets (players and/or draft picks).
• 1 was aquired via Free Agency prior to Dorsey's arrival (Tretter).
• 5 were aquired via Free Agency by Dorsey.
  • LT, Greg Robinson - currently on his second 1 year contract. $7.0M cap hit, $500K dead money. Cheap tackle money.
  • RT, Chris Hubbard - $7.3M cap hit, $9.3M dead money.
  • DT, Sheldon Richardson - $9.6M cap hit, $15.0M dead money.
  • OLB, Adarius Taylor - $2.0 cap hit, $1.0M dead money.
  • SS, Jermaine Whitehead - $645K cap hit, $0 dead money.

So, only two out of 22 (Hubbard and Richardson) could be considered as "buying their way to relevance ".

 

Isn't trading for an already highly paid player, even when you give up players and picks, also buying?

 

I'll give a simplified breakdown. You decide.

• Olivier Vernon. Traded a starting RG (Zeitler)
• Damarious Randle. Traded a worthless QB (Kizer)
• Odell Beckham. Traded a starting SS (Peppers) plus draft picks.
• Jarvis Landry. Traded 2 draft picks.

 

I'm not deciding anything....and I'm not making "buying" players a negative. Because I don't think it is. Windows open and close quickly in this league for most teams...I think when you see an opening you gotta go balls out.

But Peppers is gonna hit the Giants books at like 1.4 million while Beckham will hit the Browns at something like 17? Plus the Browns threw in draft capital.

So didn't Cleveland buy Beckham?

 

I would say that Cleveland "bought" Beckham and Landry. And there's not a thing wrong with that. I'm sure Steelers fans will be more inclined to disagree when / if the Browns beat them. Interestingly, this Steelers fans is the only person I've ever heard who has a problem with that. I would think that complaint is directly related to the Browns' massive roster improvement, and the increased likelihood that they'll beat Pittsburgh 1-2 times this season.