Why Not Go Back To Winston?

The Cleveland Browns are still looking for a veteran starting quarterback. Slowly, the options have been reduced by other teams signing younger, experienced passers in the first round of free agency.

It appears that the Browns miscalculated the market and seemed to be settled on Kirk Cousins, whom they didn’t think Atlanta would pay a roster bonus and thus he would be released. But apparently, Atlanta isn’t going to do that.

So, in waiting for Cousins, Cleveland could’ve traded a third-round pick for Geno Smith, or signed Justin Fields or Daniel Jones in free agency. They didn’t, so if the Browns want a veteran signal caller, it looks like Russell Wilson, Carson Wentz, Joe Flacco, or someone else of that ilk.

We ask this question…why not Jameis Winston?

Yes, we know Winston has a history of throwing interceptions. And he ranked second in the league in interception percentage last season trailing only the Colts’ Anthony Richardson, who appears to be losing his job.

But hear us out. Remember when Winston became the starting quarterback last season after an injury to the starter, and head coach Kevin Stefanski gave up play-calling responsibilities the same week?

Winston never got a chance to run the offense that he came to Cleveland to run. An offense built on running the ball and the play-action pass. Instead, he played in a pass happy attack, one that had him throwing over 40 passes in a game five times, including 58 throws in the loss to Denver.

Then remember the first year Winston started in New Orleans, when the Saints got off to a 5-2 start before he was injured. Running Sean Payton’s offense, the most passes he threw in a game was 35, and he only had more than one interception in one game, when he went 11 for 22 for 111 yards in a 26-7 loss to Carolina.

For that season, the former first overall pick completed 59% of his throws and had 14 touchdowns and just 3 picks.

And we know Winston still has an incredible arm. Instead of signing a guy with diminished arm strength like Wilson, why not go with a passer who still can make all the throws. And in a locker room that seems to need leadership amongst the players, we know the leadership Winston provides.

Also, if Payton can coach the turnovers out of Winston, why can’t Stefanski?

We also think Winston would be a good mentor for whatever quarterback the Browns take in the first round, and we believe they are going to do just that.

Plus, Jerry Jeudy became a Pro Bowl wide receiver when Winston took over as quarterback, and we also are aware the QB wasn’t thrilled at times that wide receivers (Elijah Moore) didn’t try to break up passes that were thrown in harm’s way.

Look, we know it’s not going to happen. It doesn’t seem like Stefanski had a connection with Jameis and no media outlet has reported anything about a reunion between the two parties.

But if the picks were the problem, Flacco would have had the highest interception percentage in the NFL in 2023 had he thrown enough passes to qualify. The league leader was Mac Jones at 3.5%, Flacco’s was 3.9%.

We would like to see how Winston would fare in a run based, throw off play action attack like Stefanski likes to use. Maybe he would still put the ball in precarious situations, but maybe he’d hit on some big plays and give the Browns an air attack that can stretch the field.

For whatever reason, the Browns’ front office and coaching staff isn’t considering Jameis Winston as an option.

Would Love The Watson Situation To Be Over, But…

By now, if you are a Browns’ fan, you have to be pretty sick and tired of talking about Deshaun Watson. It’s the story that keeps gaining legs and quite frankly, we just want a decision once and for all, and it doesn’t look like that’s coming any time soon.

It a mess and there is plenty of blame to go around, starting with the player himself, who is a serial massage aficionado. It’s disturbing behavior to say the least and we certainly identify with supporters of the brown and orange who feel dirty having him on the roster.

The Browns’ front office and ownership could have searched elsewhere for a quarterback better than Baker Mayfield, and apparently did try to trade for Russell Wilson first, but the former Seattle signal caller didn’t want to play in Cleveland.

We are sure the front office felt it would be a long time before a very good QB in the prime of his career would come available again, so they made the deal to get Watson, who we feel is one of the game’s best at his position.

The NFL are no saints either. The allegations against Watson are over a year old. Why is it taking so long to dole out his penalty? Heck, he even sat out all of last year because of this situation.

We understand they wanted to get all the facts and that’s a good thing, but it should have been decided by now. And why does the league supposedly have such a problem with Watson playing in Houston this season?

It will be awkward for sure, but the Texans did get a boatload of draft picks, including three first rounders for him. It wasn’t like he used a loophole to leave the franchise for nothing.

The NFLPA has culpability as well. They agreed to let an independent person (in this case Judge Sue L. Robinson) handle the punishment, but they didn’t see the league had the ability to challenge that decision?

You don’t have to belong to Mensa to understand Roger Goodell was just going to overrule any punishment he thought was unfair and do whatever he wanted. Obviously, the NFLPA didn’t think that one through.

And if the league adds significant games to the six prescribed by the judge, no doubt the Players’ Association will take the league to court. Again.

Can anyone find a professional sports league involved with more litigation than the NFL? The NBA plays on a court, and they think the NFL is in court too often.

In the meantime, Kevin Stefanski has a job to do, and his bosses didn’t make it any easier. Nothing against Jacoby Brissett, who is a fine back up, but it is doubtful the Browns are making the playoffs if Watson is out more than the six games Robinson sentenced.

We wrote this a few weeks ago, GM Andrew Berry has to go out and get Jimmy Garoppolo as soon as possible. He’s taken the 49ers to a Super Bowl and an NFC title game, so he’s proved he can win with talent around him.

And most definitely the Browns are talented.

They can’t waste another season of Nick Chubb, Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward among others having them play with a journeyman quarterback. They need to get someone better than Brissett and let him be the backup.

With the AFC so stacked, it’s the only logical move for the front office and at this point, you have to assume Watson will miss most of the year (at least).

The old saying “you made your bed, now lie in it” has never been more applicable.

Browns Don’t Take Part In QB Carousel. Oh, The Humanity!

It was a very difficult day for the irrational Browns’ fan on Tuesday when Aaron Rodgers agreed to stay in Green Bay, and Russell Wilson was traded by Seattle to Denver for a king’s ransom.

Didn’t those guys feel obligated to play in Cleveland?

After seeing the reaction of these zealots, one would think the Browns’ front office should contact Roger Goodell’s office and asked to be removed from the 2022 NFL schedule because they have no chance.

The reality of the situation is Paul DePodesta, Andrew Berry, and Kevin Stefanski don’t think that way. It’s why they have jobs in an NFL organization and the rest of us are fans.

We commented on social media about the price the Broncos paid for Wilson, who will be 33 next season. The Browns first and second round draft picks in 2020 and 2021 were starting tackle Jedrick Wills, safety Grant Delpit, starting corner Greg Newsome and starting linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.

Would you trade all four for Wilson? And remember, Denver threw in more than that.

We understand quarterback play is important in the NFL, and the performance of Baker Mayfield last season simply doesn’t get it done. However, if your front office is good at drafting players, and Berry seems to be, is giving up four prime draft picks a good idea?

If your team is bad at picking players, then go ahead and trade the picks. That’s understandable. The draft is a good way to pick up good players cheaply. And if you continue to draft well, your forays in the free agent market, where you overpay for players, can and will be minimal.

And from what we can see, Berry and DePodesta value the draft.

We also know that the two best QBs in the league right now, Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes have combined for two Super Bowl victories. Wilson has a ring as well, that coming in 2013, eight years ago.

Reality tells us more teams have questions at the position than do not, and the people who run those organizations can’t just throw in the towel, they try to win with what they have.

Come on, how many truly great quarterbacks are there in the NFL right now? Rodgers, Mahomes, Wilson, Josh Allen, Matthew Stafford? It was reported that the Browns didn’t think Jimmy Garoppolo was much of an upgrade over Mayfield, and they are probably right.

The same can be said of Derek Carr, Ryan Tannehill, and a few others.

We often wonder what the thinking around town would be if Mayfield would have been ruled out for the season after injuring his shoulder in week two. Browns’ fans and media would be skipping around town with thoughts of a healthy Mayfield behind center in 2022.

However, he played, he didn’t play well, and the organization has to wear that.

Don’t forget, the free agency period hasn’t started yet, and the draft will not take place until the end of April. Our guess is Berry isn’t going to let the team get worse. They will upgrade the areas of weakness, with particular attention to the defensive line and wide receiver.

And they will probably bring in another quarterback, perhaps in a trade to replace Baker Mayfield before the season.

The majority of teams in the NFL are in the same boat as the Cleveland Browns. As we’ve said before, getting an elite QB isn’t easy.

No One Said It Would Be Easy For Browns

Based on the misery of some of their fans, it is hard to believe the Cleveland Browns made the playoffs last season for the first time in 18 years and actually won a game for the first time since Bill Belichick coached the team in 1994.

They are envious of other teams, particularly when it comes to quarterbacks. Apparently, the guy who led the team to the post-season isn’t good enough.

We wrote this summer about the top signal callers in the game and we determined the top five QBs in the NFL were in no particular order Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, and Russell Wilson.

Sounds fair, right?

Outside of Brady, who we believe no one questions is one of the best, if not the best, there ever was, the other four guys on that list have combined for three NFL championships. Brady, of course, has won seven.

And right now, Watson isn’t playing because of legal issues and Wilson is injured.

The point is Browns think if they had one of those guys, they would win the Super Bowl. Maybe they would, but the reality is the fans of those teams have those guys and more often than not, except for the team Brady is on, they don’t.

The envy has extended to the Bengals’ QB Joe Burrow as well after last week’s drubbing by Cincinnati over Baltimore. We remember a couple years ago, 2019 in fact, when a visiting team went into Baltimore and whipped the Ravens 40-25.

The winning team’s QB was very good that day, completed 20 of 30 passes for 342 yards and a touchdown.

If you remember that quarterback being Baker Mayfield and that team being the Browns you have a good memory.

Cleveland finished 6-10 that season, while the Ravens went 14-2.

No, we don’t think the Bengals will have the same fate at the end of the season, but our point is these things happen. Yes, Cincinnati is much improved, but let’s see what happens after 17 games (or even after they take on the Browns next week) before crowning them as the new bullies on the block.

These folks apparently need to have the other three teams in the AFC North be terrible when the Browns are good to feel comfortable. That’s not reality.

The AFC North might just be the most competitive division in the NFL. Three teams made the playoffs last season, and the team that didn’t, the Bengals, has made giant strides. Yes, the other teams are very good, but so are the Browns.

Will it be easy to win the divisional games? No, but Kevin Stefanski’s team is good enough to do so. We would not be shocked if the Browns won each of the next two games to be sitting at 6-3 after nine games.

And as for the other issue people are talking about, the health of Mayfield, let us remind you that professional athletes don’t think the way other people do. They want to play. If it is at possible to be out there and compete, they will go out on the field and help their teammates win.

That’s why Mayfield said, if he’s hurting the team by playing, then he will sit down. But he thinks he can do the job, and so does the coaching staff.

If Stefanski and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt think a less than 100% Baker Mayfield is a better choice than Case Keenum, that’s all we should need to know.

They want to win too.

Yes, if Mayfield takes a big hit on the shoulder again, he likely will miss more time and possibly could be lost for the season. That scenario probably doesn’t change if he sits out this week or the next two weeks. He’s going to have to have surgery after the season.

Just don’t pretend these athletes think the same way as we do. They are different cats.

Trading For Watson Is A Waste Of Browns’ Resources.

There is no question that there are fans and people who cover the Cleveland Browns that are a different breed. The media, in particular, have a different view of the city’s professional football team.

While the Indians can trade Francisco Lindor and people seem to think that’s okay, when it comes to the Browns they speculate about replacing the quarterback who led the team to its first playoff appearance since 2002.

It started with Houston QB Deshaun Watson’s pronouncement that he wants to be traded away from his current team. Immediately, there were folks in northeastern Ohio thinking the Browns should make a deal for the former Clemson quarterback, who by the way, Cleveland could have drafted.

Watson is a talent, that’s for sure. We believe he is one of the top four QBs in the NFL. We don’t include rookie in making this evaluation, but we feel the other three are Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, and Russell Wilson.

Yes, the Texans were a terrible team this season, but in Watson’s first full year as a starter, when Houston finished at 11-5, he was sacked the most times in the NFL. There are people who believe Watson sacks himself at times.

All of those other guys we listed have won one Super Bowl each, although Mahomes has a chance to win another next Sunday. Now, we understand the passers who have dominated the sport over the past two decades (Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger) are a little long in the tooth.

Besides that pair, no other active QB has won more than one Lombardi Trophy.

We aren’t saying you don’t need a great quarterback to win the championship, you certainly do, but we are saying having a great quarterback doesn’t guarantee a berth in the Super Bowl.

The current Browns QB, Baker Mayfield got his team to the playoffs in his third season, and won a playoff game, giving him the same number of playoffs wins as Watson.

To us, if you don’t think about replacing your quarterback if you are a playoff team unless he is the reason you cannot advance in the post-season. At this point, that does not describe Baker Mayfield.

His critics, which we feel have a dissenting opinion because they wanted the Browns to draft either Sam Darnold or Josh Allen in the 2018 draft, blame him for not driving the team down the field after the Karl Joseph interception in the fourth quarter of the 22-17 loss to Kansas City.

In reality, the reason the Browns lost that game was their defense couldn’t get off the field when they had the Chiefs in a 3rd and 14 situation. The defense was the weakest point of the team all year, because of injuries, and it couldn’t come through when it was needed.

And that defense will get better in the draft, where the Browns have nine picks. They would almost certainly have to give up some of those choices if they were to go after Watson, that doesn’t make any sense.

Those critics feel having Watson at the helm gives the Browns a better chance to win the AFC title and get to the Super Bowl, but how do we know Mayfield can’t do the same thing? How do we know Mayfield won’t be even better next season in his second year under the tutelage of Kevin Stefanski and Alex Van Pelt, and he can be on the same level as Watson.

He should get that opportunity.

If you could trade Mayfield for Watson, straight up, we would think about it. If you said trading for Watson would guarantee a Super Bowl for Cleveland, we would do it.

But there are no guarantees. Baker Mayfield is the Browns quarterback and he played well in the playoffs and won one game.

That should be the end of the argument. Period.

Evaluating Baker So Far.

A certain media member in town consistently refers to Baker Mayfield as “statistically the worst quarterback in the NFL”. While that is true, you have to remember that the statistic he refers to is really called “passer rating”.

The stat measures basically three things: Completion percentage, average yards per attempt, and how many touchdowns and interceptions you throw. You can pile up incredible numbers in those categories while you are losing a game 28-7.

The point is it is not a true measurement of how great a quarterback is, it does measure how efficient you are as a passer.

The current NFL passing leader is Ryan Tannehill, followed by Kirk Cousins, Drew Brees, Lamar Jackson, and Russell Wilson.

Brees is a future Hall of Famer, while Jackson and Wilson are the favorites for league MVP. The other two?

Cousins was also in the top five a year ago, and the QB who was 6th was Case Keenum, who is no longer a starter in the NFL.

As a frame of reference, the others in the top five last season were Ben Roethlisberger, Andrew Luck, Matt Ryan, and Aaron Rodgers. Four excellent signal callers.

Looking at Mayfield, if his interceptions were cut in half, his passer rating would increase from his current 77.6 to 85.3, moving him from 33rd to 24th in the NFL.

So, we were thinking, rating aside, where would the Browns’ quarterback rank in the league based on just our opinion, devoid of any statistics.

AFC East: Tom Brady, Josh Allen, Sam Darnold, Ryan Fitzpatrick. It would be presumptuous to put Mayfield ahead of Brady, but we’d take him over anyone else, including Allen, who is still more dangerous with his legs than his arm.

AFC North: Jackson, Andy Dalton, Duck Hodges. As we said, Jackson is the co-MVP favorite, and until Roethlisberger retires, we would take him as well.

AFC South: Tannehill, DeShaun Watson, Jacoby Brissett, Gardner Minshew. Watson is spectacular, still wish the Browns had taken him in 2017. Otherwise, we’ll take Mayfield over the rest.

AFC West: Patrick Mahomes, Derek Carr, Philip Rivers, Drew Lock? Rivers is a borderline Canton enshrinee, but has been bad this year, Mahomes is last year’s MVP and a top two or three QB in the game today. We would prefer Mayfield to Carr, Rivers, and Lock right now.

NFC East: Dak Prescott, Carson Wentz, Daniel Jones, Dwayne Haskins Jr. Although Wentz has struggled this year, and we aren’t huge fans of Prescott, we acknowledge they should both rank ahead of the Cleveland QB.

NFC North: Rodgers, Cousins, Mitch Trubisky, Matthew Stafford. The first two have to be ahead, white Trubisky is clearly behind. Stafford puts up a lot of stats, but doesn’t win. For the sake of argument, we’ll take him over Baker.

NFC South: Brees, Ryan, Jameis Winston, Kyle Allen. No question here, Brees and Ryan are ahead of Mayfield.

NFC West: Jimmy Garoppolo, Wilson, Jared Goff, Kyler Murray. We would say only Murray would be behind his former teammate at Oklahoma.

That would rank Mayfield 16th among the quarterbacks in the league, and you can make a case he could be a little higher.

That’s why talk of being a draft bust is ridiculous. Some players start off great, then have a learning curve, and then wind up being great players.

If at this time next year, Mayfield has shown more signs of regression, then perhaps his leash will be shorter. But let’s wait until that is seen.

Fans Split on Manziel, Shouldn’t That Say Something?

A week from today, the first round of the NFL Draft will be history. What will we debate about then?

In Cleveland, it seems about half of Browns’ fans will be ga-ga if GM Ray Farmer selects Texas A & M quarterback Johnny Manziel with the fourth overall pick next Thursday, while the other half will be relieved. Doesn’t that say everything about picking the former Heisman Trophy winner?

If this were two years ago, and Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III were possibilities for the Browns, don’t you think a majority of the team’s supporters would be on board with the choice? Of course.

The NFL talent gurus are also split on taking Manziel. He’s a huge risk, at least that’s the opinion of many of the folks who judge college players coming into the National Football League.

The main questions about the former Texas A & M quarterback are his size and his style of play, which some people consider reckless, too reckless for the NFL. Certainly, Brett Favre was considered a passer who played fast and loose with the football, and carved out a pretty successful career in professional football.

He will be enshrined in Canton some day soon.

As for the size, most of the QB’s supporters talk about New Orleans’ Drew Brees and Seattle’s Russell Wilson, who have both piloted teams to Super Bowl victories as proof shorter quarterbacks can succeed in the league.

However, neither player was selected in the first round, let alone in the top five choices. And although Wilson is a good player, and a great leader, putting him in the discussion of great quarterbacks seems to be a bit of a stretch.

When was the last time a quarterback who measured in at around six feet tall was picked in the top ten selections of the draft?

The answer: It has been 13 years since Michael Vick was selected first overall by Atlanta in 2001.

What has been the wrap on Vick throughout his career? He can’t stay on the field.

This isn’t to say that Manziel will have a similar career path as Vick, but it does explain why many pro scouts are reluctant to say he should be picked in the first five selections next Thursday.

Other bigger quarterbacks get hurt too, and Brees and Wilson have both been durable throughout their NFL careers. But the thing is, neither was a premium selection. If you are picking in the top five, you have to feel you are getting a great player who is going to start in his rookie season and be a mainstay for your team for many, many years.

As for the Browns, even though they finished 4-12 last season, they did have six players who received Pro Bowl recognition, and added two more, S Donte Whitner and LB Karlos Dansby who merited All Pro status last season.

They have to believe they are ready to win in 2014, and are they better off filling the holes they have on the offensive line, wide receiver, inside linebacker, and in the secondary with their first few picks next week than drafting a passer who seems to be risky?

Farmer and new coach Mike Pettine can look in their own division and see Andy Dalton, who has led the Bengals to three straight playoff apperances, despite not being one of the league’s best QBs. They also see the current Super Bowl champion Seahawks, who were led by a strong defense and running game in route to hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.

We still maintain that the Browns certainly need a quarterback, but in this year’s draft, there isn’t one worth picking in the top five. Add more talent, and see who is available in the second and third rounds.

You may just find another Brees or Wilson.