Looking Forward to the 2019 AFC North

Maybe you just have a screw loose.

 

lol! indeed.

 

Baker Mayfield raising expectations and attracting respected coordinators
BEREA, Ohio -- The optimism machine is in overdrive for the 2019 Cleveland Browns, and none of the principals involved are hiding from it.

Quarterback Baker Mayfield said Wednesday night that the hype about 2019 is warranted, and the team's new coordinators both said they chose to come to Cleveland because of the Browns' situation.

"This was the first place I wanted to come," defensive coordinator Steve Wilks said Thursday.


"It just felt right," offensive coordinator Todd Monken said. "I felt like I wanted to be a part of this moving forward."

Mayfield's attitude about the upcoming season came in a statement he made about the team's most exciting win of 2018: "It shouldn't be that the whole town goes crazy over one win on a Thursday."

He referred to the celebration that followed the Browns' victory over the New York Jets on Thursday in Week 3, a win that ended their 19-game losing streak. Mayfield understood the reaction, but he just has his sights set on bigger goals -- and he's not afraid to put them at the Super Bowl.

"If (fans) weren't excited," he said, "I think they'd be kind of blind to what is going on. The excitement's real and it should be."

It represents quite a step for a team that went winless in 2017 and won one game in 2016, for a team that struggled to find any kind of continuity or reliability from 1999 through 2017. But it's real, and it's tangible, and Mayfield is not shrugging off the expectations. The Browns finished 2018 with the biggest one-season turnaround in team history, with a defined answer at quarterback and with improving young players throughout the roster -- highlighted by Pro Bowlers Joel Bitonio, Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward.

Baker Mayfield is a big reason there is so much optimism for the Browns in 2019.
Monken interviewed to be the head coach in Green Bay and New York with the Jets, and he had other opportunities as coordinator. He chose the Browns, even though he had never met general manager John Dorsey or new coach Freddie Kitchens prior to interviewing, and even though Monken knew Kitchens would be calling plays.

"To me, it is pretty simple. I have always chosen places based on the people and the opportunity to win -- at least I thought that with the decisions I have made in the past," Monken said.

Wilks hit on the one main reason the Cleveland needle is pointing up.

"You can't win in this league if you don't have a quarterback, and we have a quarterback," he said. "Not only do we have one, we have one that I consider to be from my studying and the things I learned from him coming out of college is he is an alpha male. He affects not only the offensive side of the ball but this team, and that was very attractive coming here."

Hype and offseason excitement don't win games. The Browns have been masterful in proving that the past many years. However, this offseason the presence of the quarterback changes the dynamic. And that dynamic quarterback is ready for big things.

"That's our goal, to set our expectations and live up to that hype," Mayfield said. "But it's our own hype that we're building up. We've shown what we can do at times, but we need to be more consistent and we need to win more games, that's just plain and simple and that's competing for the division and the playoffs every year."

 

LOL you could say a lot of things. Let's see the wins first.

 

Jason Verrett can ball when healthy. And the injury history will make him a middle of the road guy financially.

 

My argument is that Greg Robinson has started 56 games in this league. There's a lot of tape out there and the majority of it shows a guy that never adjusted to putting his hand on the ground - something he didn't have to do in college. In his last 6 games, playing beside an All-Pro guard in a scheme where he was allowed to pass protect out of a two-point stance 80% of the time the Browns threw it he played better. But he is who he is, a guy that was simply over-drafted like many other OTs taken in the Top 10 over the years. Can he be a starter for the Browns? Sure! Is he going to command starting left tackle money in the NFL this March. No, I don't believe he will.

Breshad Perriman is in an entirely different situation. Like Robinson he has All-Pro physical ability. He's 6'2", 212lbs and ran a 4.24 at his Pro Day (one team had it at 4.17). Unlike Robinson, he simply hasn't had the opportunity to show what he can do. He is still an unknown because first he was injured, then he could never get out of Harbaugh's doghouse. As a Brown he showed off #1 WR playmaking ability playing very limited snaps. And for the record I see you ignored the Marquise Goodwin comp. You still stand by 3yrs, 15M would be something Perriman should jump at?

But one guy has 56 career starts, the other has 6.

I will disagree that Robinson showed 1st round talent. Again, PFF ranked him as the 63rd best OT.

I will absolutely agree that Mayfield raised everyone's level of play. That kid is special. It doesn't make Robinson a 1st round talent.

Last but not least and this will get a lot of backlash but the Browns 5 wins came against 5 teams that finished below .500 including a Bengals team that had one win after November 1st. The two losses came against playoff teams. I'm happy the Browns are improving. But you guys are jumping the shark a bit with all this AFC North domination talk. The Ravens and Steelers organizations are way too good at what they do for you guys to think you're going to rise to the top of the division overnight.

 

That's a fair point and one that hasn't gone unnoticed by me. In other words, they beat the teams they should have beat?

 

Wow all the ways I could answer this...

1. Well no, they should have also beaten Tampa Bay and Oakland, right?

OR

2. Yes, with Kitchens as OC they did. But they also lost to three teams (KC, Balt, Hou) that they need to beat if they want to win the division and be the SB contenders so many in here are eager to predict they will be. And they weren't competitive in two of those games.

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I come here because I like you guys. It's basically the only place I post on L4SN. So in spite of what some of you think about me I'm happy for Browns fans, easily the most loyal fan base in the NFL. Mayfield is a home run. He will struggle as all 2nd year guys do from time to time but he's one of those rare leaders that can raise the level of play of all other 52 guys around him. Truly a special player.

But you are still in the same division as the Steelers and Ravens and the idea that you are somehow AFCN favorites is not realistic in my opinion. Doesn't mean you can't or won't win the division because you certainly could but we haven't even gotten through the off-season yet and the Browns aren't the only team that will make additions. The other teams get to make themselves better too.

 

That's a hard pass from me. There is a good reason why you would be getting that discount... Look, no argument that he has some talent, but Jason Verrett just CAN't stay on the field. He's missed 40 games in 4 seasons....

 

The kind of guy that fits Dorsey's approach in my opinion. He's going to look for value regardless of how much money he has to spend. Obviously, cost is the key component here.

 

Kind of an "under the radar" guy. I read somewhere that Dorsey could have interest in CB Pierre Desir. I think he was a Ray Farmer pick, and he really played well for the Colts last year. Not sure why we let him go..

IMO, it's a strong F/A CB market. Besides Desir there are plenty of options I'd choose before looking Verrett's way...Bradley Roby, Darqueze Dennard, Ronald Darby, Jimmie Ward, Morris Claiborne to name a few...

I also like the idea of just investing in CB on Day 1 of the draft again. Dorsey was a defensive back. He knows how to draft CB's and isn't afraid selecting them early...

I Was watching film of DeAndre Baker after I saw him on NFL Channel claiming he's a "Top 5" pick...He's an impressive CB, that certainly has no lack of confidence. I'd love to see him and Denzel out there locking it down for the Browns..... FTR, they had DeAndre ranked 30th on the board in the studio, much to his disgust...

 

I like the kid from Washington, Byron Murphy.

 

I agree with @beachbum here. I also thought the wide receiver market was going to be much cooler in past off seasons and we saw pretty large deals going to players who really didn't measure up to the contract by most standards.

To wit, Sammy Watkins is a bust given his expectations, who's making $12 million this season and is below average, despite a prolific offense.

 

Kinda wish you would have just stuck with option #1 as the Steelers should have beaten the Broncos and Raiders, as well.

 

1. You know Hue...

2. Kansas City - a 6 point game at halftime in Williams/Kitchen's first week at the helm; Baltimore - the referees took a win off the board for Cleveland; Houston - no real defense of this one - they dug themselves into too deep of a hole early on and the defense was gassed by the time the offense started turning things around.

I'd agree that the Steelers are the rightful favorite for the division. I prefer that, actually. Wouldn't want Mayfield and the Browns to become complacent.

 

Right now, sure...But things could have a different look and feel by the time September rolls around. We'll see how the vibe goes this offseason.

 

Ugh.

 

From Dorsey...

 

Didn't see that coming.

 

I'm not crazy about the F/A WR market this year...

There are several of the WR prospects in this year's draft that intrigue me, but I admit that we aren't desperate at the position like in years past...

It was disappointing being consistently let down by Josh Gordon. To me, the prototype #1 NFL WR is the only thing we are missing in Cleveland as far as skill position players. Obviously, this is something I'd love to see paired with Baker Mayfield...That said, they don't grow on trees. D.K. certainly looks the part more than any other prospect, and it's not debatable, but he is far from a finished product. How fast could D.K. develop with a guy like Mayfield? That's really the question we'd have to consider...

I think John Dorsey could go LB, DT, DE, CB, WR or OT with pick #17...And I'm not expecting anything but deception from him until draft day. It's wide open. We have a lot of picks. So I would think we will just let this draft fall to us. I'm not expecting a move up from #17 anyway.