The one thing I agree with him on is the premature talk of the Steelers demise. I don't think not having Bell is an issue at all because he didn't play last season and that's not why they didn't make the playoffs. AB departing is a downgrade but the Steelers have been through that same experiment a few times before and walked away look genius each time. Too early to say they are on a downturn.
The contract dollar amount differences can largely be attributed to the positions played by the involved players. The bottom line is both teams added a starter and created a different hole in their respective rosters in the process. Beach and I go back a long ways. So, I was pretty certain he was referring to the "Dan Snyder school of buying a championship" when he made that remark. It's also why I clarified that only two of those acquisitions came close to that.
That and Peppers is on his rookie deal...OBJ isn't. And OBJ is considerably better at his position than Peppers is. And the Browns added a lot more salary and gave up draft capital. They did the buying....Giants did the selling.
BWW already mentioned it but when you have 3 guys eating up 42.5M of your cap space (44 M in 2020) that all played on other teams last year that's buying in my opinion.
The three are Vernon ($15.5), Beckham ($17.0), and Richardson ($9.7), right? Sheldon's earning an average of $12.3 million a year with a two-year team out after 2020. He's the 11th best-paid interior lineman. He's probably not lived up to that, but teams typically have to overpay in free agency and he was probably considered the top, or second-best option in the 2019 class, no? The Browns have a blooming talent in Larry Ogunjobi who is still on a rookie deal and developing nicely. I am upset Dorsey didn't take a shot at the interior in this year's draft class, but so be it. Vernon's earning an average of $15.5 million over his contract with Cleveland (two more years). He's the fifth-highest paid EDGE player but the market is booming. Frank Clark, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Trey Flowers signed for $20.8, $21.0, and $17.0 million a year average, respectively. Myles Garrett will probably command Von Miller money when his rookie deal expires ($25.0 per year). I would agree they're buying Vernon, but the pricetag for proven defensive end talent is a steep one... Beckham's earning $15.4 million over his contract with Cleveland (five more years). That puts him third (he's probably close to Top 3 in the game) behind Sammy Watkins and just ahead of Brandin Cooks. Allen Robinson, T.Y. Hilton, and Antonio "JAG" Brown are just behind him. I'd say that contract is worth the price.
So you get your "franchise" QB, and have a couple of years before the BIG contracts come up on your young stars. Seems like a smart business move to load the roster and take a shot. Sashi is no longer here, but this is his legacy, and Dorsey has some serious stones, so we're all in NOW! I'm good with it. Maybe in two years I'll be bitchin about how he sold our future, but this year, I'm a Browns fan with the feeling like a "SuperBowl" contender. Are we rolling the dice? Hell yes! C'mon Seven!!
Kay Adams on the Browns bandwagon... Kay Adams: *lists all the reasons why Baker can win MVP, echoing what we've been saying for months* Bears Fans: There's no way it could happen, right? I mean, he only broke NFL rookie records as a QB in 13 starts, switched head coaches and offensive coordinators half-way through the season, wasn't an official starter until Week 4 (when he finally got first team reps) and his team added a Top 5 player at a pass-catching position to help him out.
NFL Network's Mike Silver reports the Browns' transition to new OC Todd Monken has "not gone as smoothly as planned." Per Silver, this has "resulted in coach Freddie Kitchens playing a greater role in spearheading the offense than originally intended." It's eye-brow raising after Monken earned an in-season demotion from the Bucs last season despite putting a ton of yards on the board. This always had the potential to be a volatile situation after Kitchens revived the Browns offense then earned a promotion. We'll see what happens in training camp. Source: Mike Silver on Twitter Jun 13, 2019, 3:50 PM ET
Browns’ OC Todd Monken’s transition not as smooth as planned, Freddie Kitchens playing a larger role: Report CLEVELAND, Ohio — Todd Monken’s transition as the Browns’ new offensive coordinator hasn’t gone as smoothly as planned, and Freddie Kitchens is playing a larger role in running the offense than originally intended, sources told Mike Silver of NFL Network. Kitchens has been doing more in offensive meetings the past few weeks, but only because he’s been gathering input from all the assistants and must make decisions on how the scheme will ultimately play out, a source told cleveland.com. When Kitchens hired Monken, the former Bucs coordinator, he made it clear he’d continue to call the plays after excelling in that role as interim offensive coordinator for the final eight games of last season. Therefore, Kitchens playing an integral role in the offense isn’t really a surprise. He’s had to spend a lot of time over the past few months overseeing the defense and special teams, and might just be honing the offense heading into training camp. During OTAs last month, Monken noted that the offense is a “work in progress" because it’s an amalgamation of Kitchens’ offense in Arizona, Monken’s in Tampa and others such as offensive line coach James Campen’s in Green Bay. “It’s a combination of things with everything you do from starting from how you huddle, how you call it, snap count to moving on to making it ours," he said. “I promise you next offseason will be a lot easier." He also stressed that his connection with Kitchens was the reason he took the job despite other opportunities. “He was a big reason why I wanted to come when I interviewed,’’ Monken told reporters. “Not only Baker being here and a young roster, but I really felt like we meshed as offensive philosophy and then how we are both wired. ... I always want to coach for someone that recognizes that we have a job for our players and putting the players first. It has been good so far, and I don’t anticipate that to be different. “My job is to do whatever Freddie asks me. That’s the job of any assistant coach. Everybody asks ‘what is your role?’ Your role is exactly what the head coach asks you to do. I don’t care what role you have on this field. It can be one of the managers to the equipment managers to one of the trainers to the coaches. Whatever the head coach asks you to do, you do.” He added that he was trying not to have too many voices in Mayfield’s ear. “I try to listen as much,’’ he said. “I think (quarterbacks coach) Ryan Lindley does a tremendous job in there. I am in there every day with the quarterbacks. I think he is on point. I only make comments when I feel necessary. Freddie is in there at times. At this point, we are building what we want the offense to be and we will go from there.” Lindley also noted at OTAs that he plans to visit Mayfield’s former Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley to confer about Mayfield and Oklahoma’s version of the Air Raid. Monken has an extensive background in the Air Raid from his college coaching days. With Monken taking over playcalling duties from head coach Dirk Koetter in Tampa Bay last year, the Bucs boasted the league’s No. 1 passing game with 320.3 yards per game. Their running game was ranked 29th, and their offense was third overall. In seven games, the Bucs rolled up 450 yards or more. Monken’s offense put up 48 points against New Orleans in his first game as the playcaller, with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick throwing for more than 400 yards with four TDs. In his first three games, Fitzpatrick passed for at least 400 yards and three TDs, and was NFL Offensive Player of the Week in Weeks 1 and 2. Koetter took the playcalling duties back against the Redskins, and the Bucs scored three points in a loss. He went back to Monken the rest of the way, and the Bucs set club records in total yards, passing yards and passing TDs.
Also hindered by injury as a rookie and missed five games (seven starts). His QB hits / game average over a full three seasons would have him at 84 behind only Aaron Donald.