Speaking as a Pats fan, I can certainly concede Jimmy may not be the answer (and anybody who thinks they should get the #1 overall pick for him needs to put the crack pipe down), but I also feel 100% confident in saying he's not Matt Cassel 2.0. He's better than Cassel ever dreamed of being. A lot better.
You really don't think there is ANY way for us to improve on our QB situation as it stands with RG3 and Kessler? C'mon. What has either done to warrant such loyalty? Kessler had a couple nice moments, but his production was seriously lacking. he went 0-8 and threw less than 1 TD per game, and less than 200 yards per game...AND he suffered 2 concussions. And all that was while he had one of the leagues best rushing attacks going for him....Then we got RG3 and he proved multiple times that he can't be counted on to stay upright, which was the knock on him coming in... Im afraid the bar at QB here is WAY to low. Any other team would be panicking if this was all they had... Are Browns SO gun shy when it comes to quarterbacks that we'd rather not even try to improve, for fear of yet another fail? If so, that is incredibly sad..I hope our front office sees things much differently...
We have 14 draft picks, unlimited cap space, and a team that desperately needs a leader...It's damn near impossible to build anything in this league when you don't have a franchise QB to build around. Players don't have incentive to stay. Losing is misery, and nobody wants to be a part of it when other options exist....We need a franchise QB....We need one as bad as any team ever needed one....Can Cody Kessler be that guy? Maybe. It's doubtful IMO, but he has a chance....The bottom line is, he's a 3rd round pick, and he didn't prove himself. He showed a knack for holding the ball way too long, and he took a couple serious head injuries...All I'm saying is, we can't be expected to devote another season to him, in the hopes that he pans out. It's not the same as a first round investment. He's in the mix, but serious competition needs to be added now....
I highlight my point...You say Kessler is a 3rd round pick that hasn't proven himself... Well, Garoppolo is a 2nd round pick(3rd to last pick in the second round) who hasn't proven himself, and you want to jettison a first round pick to bring him here and take over... I'm not saying, all in on Kessler, call off the QB search...I am saying don't reach for something that isn't going to move us closer to our goal. I think Garoppolo is a pipe dream that will merely cost us another piece to the puzzle once we finally do find a QB.
We might already have him......We might not be able to find one.......All I'm saying is, the Cleveland Browns aren't in a position to just stand pat when it comes to our never ending QB dilemma...
If we are SO desperate to get it right, this might just be THE draft to go all in on a QB... We have the #1 overall pick, figure out who your TOP prospect is, take him #1 overall.. We have the #12 pick, there is a possibility that either Watson or Kizer are there at #12, take him... Then there is a strong possibility that Mahomes is available at #33, take him... You are taking away (2) pieces to the puzzle, but in theory, you just tripled your chances to find your franchise QB...(3) guys, (3) different skill sets, see who fits your scheme(or who is easiest to mold the scheme to), then sell off the others to the highest bidders in the fall when QBs start dropping to injuries in pre-season. It happens every year. Set us back another year, but the net is wider in order to catch the elusive QB.... THAT idea is just as relevant as thinking Garoppolo is the answer...
I still believe that Hue does not have to identify his franchise quarterback this season and the Browns are in position to load up the roster through draft without much additional pressure in year 2 for results. Year 3, IMO, is still the timetable for the quarterback to be on the roster. If the coaching staff has to draft a rookie in 2018 to hand the reigns to I still believe it fits into the mold of what they are looking to achieve. If they go into the 2019 off-season with no viable answer at the position, then the talk of turning over the staff may come back into the discussion. As for the Garoppolo talk - the injury is of some concern because of it being to the throwing shoulder but Jimmy would be a better option (if proven healthy) than Trubisky or Watson. The Browns could theoretically move down in the first, add more picks (a first next season and an additional 3rd this season), grab Garoppolo with a future first and this years third (acquired in trade) and still make out very well in this draft class with an enormous amount of high picks and highly rated players that fill positions of need.
Whoa...I never said we should go after Garoppolo...I mentioned way back that I'm done trying to evaluate the QB's...But I will support whatever they decide to do. If Hue thinks Jimmy G is a player, then that's all that matters... Trubisky, Watson, Kizer, Garoppolo, Cousins, whatever....I just think sitting idle and banking on RG3 and Kessler is unwise....We don't have a QB established, and last I checked, this is still a QB driven league...
Sure... release Robert Griffin and sign Tyrod Taylor - if cut - as a bridge guy. Give Taylor and Kessler the offeason to compete for the spot and give the more deserving guy the start. Even if Kessler beats him out for the job, Taylor has shown more ability than RG3 to stay healthy and is a nice backup to have. Plus, all he costs the team is money. You're making my point for me. In his first start, on the road against a Playoff team (Miami), he had good output on the ground (169 yards) and the Browns almost won. He didn't make any mistakes and while he didn't do enough to put his team over the top, he was a third-round pick (reach, by most analysts' assessment) who wasn't supposed to even be starting and who had zero reps with the starters prior to that game. In his second start, again on the road, against a near-Playoff team (Washington), he again had good output on the ground (163 yards) and again played well. The team came within a few bad calls from winning that game as well and the final score did not accurate depict how the game went. Remember this one? In his other five games (excluding Cincinnati when he was injured and the numbers on the ground were inflated by Kevin Hogan rushing for 104 total), the Browns rushed for 178 yards total. That's 35.6 YPG. Pathetic! Any other team would be panicking because they probably have a roster to compete for a playoff spot. The Browns do not have that yet. So wasting a blue chip pick on a guy who is far from a sure thing and adding him to a team that has a lot of gaps isn't a recipe for success. We're so QB-desperate that there's a considerably-sized contingent of fans, analysts, and writers for this team that believe a long shot like Garoppolo is going to be the savior of the franchise or a question mark-riddled draft prospect like Mitch Trubisky or Deshaun Watson is going to be the next Dak Prescott.
I'm amazed that, surrounded by Browns fans, I'm the only one that thinks we need to bring in some serious competition for Kessler and RG3... All I can say is, contrary to what you might read on this site, the over-whelming majority of Browns fans do not feel this way. At least that is my experience. I respect everyone's opinions here, but the rest of the world (including 99% of Browns nation, and the Browns head coach) sees things much differently...
For verification, feel free to listen to ANY sports talk radio show or TV program, anywhere in the country, because the Browns QB situation comes up every hour, every day, and NOBODY thinks that the Browns are in a good way....Not just "talking heads" either...Well respected ex players, coaches and front office people are pretty much unanimous in that they feel Cleveland must address the QB position...
Sorry, TD, but this is just wrong. Both OBR and a Facebook group had separate polls up about who should be the Browns QB in 2017. Each poll included all the current suspects (with the exception of Kevin Hogan) and each poll overwhelmingly reached the very same conclusion. And it wasn'the even close. Cody Kessler won both polls in a landslide. So, I don't know where you come up with 99% of Browns fans . . . I haven'the seen any indication of that level of support.
Lyman, polls are subjective, and you know that. . Everyone knows we need QB help...No doubt Browns fans that answered Kessler, were assuming that meant we had to spend the #1 pick on a QB prospect instead of the "once in a generation" pass rusher Myles Garrett, that has everybody excited....Nobody wants to do that. I'm in NO WAY saying we should spend #1 on a QB....That spot should be reserved for Garrett.
I think ALL Browns know we need a QB, but probably 20 to 30% of Browns fans really are scared to death to even try, because of our wretched history.....So they just stick with the ol "lets build the team first" mantra, and they poo poo any talk of quarterbacks...It's understandable...But it's not how the NFL works. Usually when a team sucks, it's because they don't have a QB...That's why the NFL sets the whole thing up to reward the sucky team with the high draft pick so they can get a guy to build around...It's not that complicated, but I admit, when things go so wrong at QB for as long as they have in Cleveland, it's understandable why people might rather go with an "easier to evaluate" position, and just forget even trying to find a QB...Try to build an unstoppable team that could win even if Brady Quinn was the starter...
My answer isn't...The Browns don't need a QB... TD, my question is to YOU...Who the PHUQUE is out there that will elevate this team? My Gosh Man, you aren't hearing us...We aren't satisfied with the QB position on this team. We merely see the reality that there isn't a guy even in the "probable" stage that can elevate us. Every player has a level of risk, I don't deny that in the least...but every available QB (including Garoppolo, and I really don't have much to say about Garoppolo as you know) has a very HIGH risk. There isn't a guy available that I believe would come straight in and supplant Kessler, not because Kessler is the QB of the future, but because none of those guys are shown to be anything of relevance. THAT is what we are dealing with, it's the QB crop, not the fact we already have a stud on the team.
One more time . . . I understand the need of a good Quarterback. I'm not stupid. My point was and will remain - THIS YEAR, where are you going to find this elusive Quarterback? Watson? We already have one of him (RGIII) Garappolo? We already have one of him (Kessler) Trubinski (sp?)? We already have one of him (Hogan) I also understand the need of surrounding your QB (regardless of who he is) with NFL level talented players. Honest question . . . If you could have had Jimmy G. And Kessler swap places last year, do you really think their performance would be the same as it was with their real team?
With all do respect to everyone in here, and their ability to evaluate talent, none of us are professionals. Just because YOU don't see a QB that can help, doesn't mean that Hue and all our scouts agree...I've never claimed to have the answer, but I will support whatever the team decides...If Hue Jackson agrees with you Irish, and we avoid QB like the plague this offseason, then so be it...I don't see it happening in a million years, and I think you should at least open your mind to the possibility the there is a QB that this team likes and plans to pursue...That's all.. Thinking we are good to go with what we got, is at minimum,extremely short sighted IMO....
I would hope the Browns fans aren't calling the shots on the QB's here. Browns fans also loved (in no particular order): Brandon Weeden Charlie Frye Brian Hoyer Brady Quinn Derek Anderson and Johnny Manziel The 'ol, "Let's build the team first" works and for a number of reasons, first and foremost being that franchise QB's don't grow on trees. Think about the teams out there that built a team first before finding the QB. We have three in our division alone. The Patriots, who famously took Tom Brady in the sixth round, had a defense and running game that took them to their first Super Bowl - well before Tom Brady became the Tom Brady he is today. The Falcons, who's last appearance in the Super Bowl was 1998, drafted Matt Ryan in 2008. It took nine years for that to pay off. Manning was a generational prospect and it took the Colts years to build a team around him. The only QB's to make the Super Bowl drafted this decade (Cam Newton, Colin Kaepernick, Russell Wilson) all have one thing in common: they are all mobile QBs who rushed for 500+ yards*. They also played on teams with great running games and great defenses. *(Kaepernick only started seven games, but rushed for 238 yards, annualized to 544 for a 16 game season - and did rush for 415 yards that season in total). 2015 Panthers: 2nd in rushing, 4th in rush def., 11th in pass def., 24th in passing[/*] 2014 Seahawks: 1st in rushing, 3rd in rush def., 1st in pass def., 27th in passing[/*] 2013 Seahawks: 4th in rushing, 7th in rush def., 1st in pass def., 26th in passing[/*] 2012 49ers: 4th in rushing, 4th in rush def., 4th in pass def., 22nd in passing[/*] Let's be realistic... you don't go to the Super Bowl without a Brady, Manning, Roethsliberger, or new-breed running QB. 2016: Goff, Wentz, Lynch 2015: Winston, Mariota 2014: Bortles, Manziel, Bridgewater 2013: Manuel 2012: Luck, Griffin, Tannehill, Weeden 2011: Newton, Locker, Gabbert, Ponder 2010: Bradford, Tebow Drafted this decade... how's that working out for those guys? Successes Winston Mariota Newton Jury Still Out Goff Wentz Lynch Bridgewater Luck (and given his billing, this really should be a 'failure') Failures Bortles Manziel Manuel Griffin Weeden Locker Gabbert Ponder Bradford Tebow If there were a Mariota, Winston, or Newton in this draft, I'd absolutely take a shot at them. If there were a Goff, Wentz, Lynch, Bridgewater, or Luck, I'd consider it. The fact is, there's not. There's a Bortles - Trubisky, there's a Griffin - Watson, and there's a Manuel - Kizer. No thanks.
