The Folly of the Chris Perez Deal
January 21, 2013Anderson Varejao hospitalized; out for season
January 21, 2013
Now that the Super Bowl is set and the Browns hires are pretty much all set, there’s nothing left but to wonder about a lot of things. No, not silly already decided things about keeping a certain owner out of the Hall of Fame. That’s been decided a long time ago and as far as I can tell nothing at all (at all) has changed despite death and patches. Other than the obvious though, I don’t have a lot of answers. I have a bunch of questions that I’ll be keeping in mind as the off-season progresses.
- Every leak that came out over the last six months about the Browns (especially the Lombardi one) has pretty much come true. How about the one from January 5th reported by Will Burge that Colt McCoy was told he was in the next coach’s plans? Was that information based on the presumption that Chip Kelly was going to be the next Browns’ head coach? Was that more of a statement about what Joe Banner and Michael Lombardi think about Brandon Weeden? When asked about Josh Gordon’s tweet last week, Lombardi joked that the receiver had nothing to worry about, yet he needed to see more tape on Weeden before commenting.
- Â Michael Lombardi a General Manager or is he a Vice President of Player personnel? It doesn’t really matter, I guess, but does it say anything about this new Browns organization that owner Jimmy Haslam and Joe Banner weren’t 100% on the same page at least in terms of vernacular? I don’t want to get conspiracy-theory about it and I’m not overly concerned… Well, unless it is indicative of a wider-ranging disconnect.
- What does Jeffrey Lurie’s distaste for Joe Banner really mean? Is Joe Banner a horrible person who does bad things or is there some resentment by Lurie that Banner jumped ship? On the other side is Joe Banner just bitter that he was apparently rendered obsolete by the youngest GM in the NFL, Howie Roseman? Is all this distaste indicative of the wider league view of Joe Banner and is that harmful to the Browns to be disliked around the league at the CEO level?
- How much are the Browns going to try to win right now? More specifically, the Browns used a $14.3 million carryover that gives them almost $49 million in salary cap space this off-season. I’ve always had some sneaking suspicion – mostly based on my own paranoia and circumstantial evidence – that the Browns were somehow cash poor and that’s why they didn’t spend a ton in free agency over the last few years. They did break the bank re-signing Joe Thomas and Ahtyba Rubin while also franchising Phil Dawson, so maybe they truly were just being deliberate about building the team. But if you’re building toward something, wouldn’t it be a season like right now with so much cap space and a need to make a really great first impression? Will Mike Wallace or Greg Jennings be an obvious beneficiary? How about Paul Kruger or Connor Barwin?
- What are the stadium changes going to be? I can’t help but wonder now that the Browns have signed up a corporate sponsor that stadium improvements will be coming sooner rather than later. Will they install field turf? I know this might upset some of the “purists” or “traditionalists” but trust me when I say I think it will make players happy. I won’t even jokingly bring up the dome. Even if they were going to go in that direction, it couldn’t happen in a year, I don’t think. Will it be a new scoreboard? Who wouldn’t want that?
And that’s it for right now. I’m sure I could come up with countless more, but these are the immediate ones that come to mind right this second as we prepare for two weeks of impossibly awful Super Bowl hype about brothers and plea bargains and dead owners and almost nothing about actual football. I watched the first Super Bowl that the Ravens were in and I really didn’t enjoy myself. I will be in sunny Orlando for the second one and I am giving serious consideration to not watching it. My wife is bemoaning the potential loss of the commercials, but those will all be on Youtube days before.
The biggest off-season question is really an in-season question as the Super Bowl hasn’t finished. Should I watch it?
51 Comments
Not gonna lie, I really don’t want to watch this year either. Call me bitter or petty or whatever… I can’t get excited to watch a million fluff pieces about Modell and Ray “fing” Lewis… I don’t remember seeing Gonzalas dancing at the end of his last home game as he goes off into retirement..
Unless you grab a quarterback via free agency I think you stay with Weeden. I am quickly coming to believe a quarterback gets you to the playoffs and defense wins Super Bowls. And your defense has to be good enough to get stops when you need them,no more no less.
I’ll be watching to root against the Ravens and for the potential of what could be a really good game. However, I’m on media blackout over the next two weeks until kickoff.
I will gladly watch this compelling Super Bowl. The Ravens’ sole remaining connections to Cleveland are Ozzie Newsome and Kevin Byrne, who did nothing but follow their employer when it relocated, and a Modell arm patch. If we had experienced basic mediocrity with a smidge of intermittent success here the last 14 years we wouldn’t be so bitter, and I won’t blame the current Ravens org for our suckitude. It should be fine football.
1. I don’t care what happened with Banner and Lurie, so long as it doesn’t affect the job they do here. If there was any bragging rights that came with Chip Kelly, they’re gone with Shurmur.
2. Why would the Browns be cash-poor? Do they have trouble selling out? Otherwise, they make the same amount as other teams.
3. Free agency is rarely a cost effective way to build a team, because everyone is overvalued, and most free agents are products of the system that they came from. Even if you get the guy who’s a beast on his own, you’re likely paying too much.
4. I don’t think that there’s disagreement over Lombardi’s role. I think that there’s disagreement over what to call someone with that role.
5. The most worrisome thing to me is that the people wielding the most power are not football people, and the person who they brought in to advise them is a terrible football person. Chud and his coordinators are going to have to stake out some turf in the personnel decision room.
And BTW, you know what kind of quarterback can be in almost any coach’s plans? A backup.
I’m not in favor of dumping Weeden like McCoy was a year ago certainly not without a chance to battle for the starting job. The Browns will miss out on an opportunity to improve the roster elsewhere especially if they draft another QB. If they go the free agent route that wouldn’t be as bad. Still I’d like to see what Weeden might be able to achieve under the tutelage of Chudzinski and Turner rather then Shurmur/Childress.
I’ll watch the Super Bowl, but I’ll be sure to skip the national anthem. I prefer to pass on watching Ray Lewis bring himself to fake tears, and mouth the words, “thank you father” over and over again while knowing full well that a television camera is inches from his face.
I still can’t imagine how sick his victims families feel watching this Ravens run go on and on…..it has to be a living hell for them.
For two years, (2009-2010) out defense lost games – especially 2010. The only reason we won were game plans and special teams. In 2011 and 2012, it was our defense that made the games exciting and more often than not, close. Now, our defense is going to be “in transition” and our offense is going to be questionable. Our special teams will be good, but 2013 is going to be a repeat of 99, 00, 01, 03, 04, 05, 06, 08, 09, 10, 11, and 2012 all over again… Too bad the draft can last 3 months or something.
You are making a gigantic assumption that his victims family as you call it really care about a football team or game. I’m going to assume they don’t.
That’s the best way to go just ignore it two weeks is entirely to long for all of the talking heads to do their talking.
yep totally agree. who cares what colored underwear someone wears….. Gary?
Underwear? Real people go commando! Lol
Wow his point flew straight over your head.
Really?
Just because McCoy is in their plans, doesn’t mean they plan to start him. It just means that they may plan to hold onto him.
As for Weeden, I think he fits better in the type of offense Turner is likely to run.
I’m content with the three QBs on the roster at the moment. That doesn’t mean they are the future, but Lewis did fairly well against the Steelers and looks like a decent enough third stringer. It’d be a shame to throw away a first rounder on a QB again, especially so quickly.
I dunno about you, but I’ll be watching the Superbowl. I have a vested interest in watching a hated division rival lose the game. Whether they are the old Browns or not, they are the enemy of the Orange and Brown, and I hope SF runs all over them.
I think the quote about McCoy did come out during the time when everyone and their mother was just assuming that the Browns were getting Chip Kelly, and I’m sure it was just because they thought McCoy was a better fit to run the read-option than Weeden. It would be beyond stupid for Chud to use McCoy to run his downfield passing offense. Although I will say that both guys do have an affinity for the tight end.
Me too… call me crazy, but Weeden just seems like a perfect fit for Chud’s offense and I think he can improve on getting the ball out quicker with better coaches.
I am really hoping that the new organization is really about everyone checking their egos at the door (in other words, taking Haslem, Banner, and Lombardi at face value). If what they have said is true, Chud and the coordinators (great band name) will have a lot of influence in the type of players they want to bring in to run their schemes. Really, really hoping for that.
Clearly yes, since his post had absolutely nothing to do with the victims families caring about football.
I have no horse in this fight, but to be fair… “I still can’t imagine how sick his victims families feel watching this Ravens run go on and on…..it has to be a living hell for them.” kind of implies they care, or they would just…not watch.
It was meant, not that they care about football, but about having to watch more coverage of Lewis, and more idolization of a man who at minimum, is linked to their murders.
No care for them about the Ravens. Care that they have to watch more “Lewis is a living god” coverage.
He was obviously talking about the coverage Ray Lewis receives as a result of their run.
Rosey, if I may call you Rosey, that is an excellent comment.
V-Pat, I also hope they can check their egos, but the more I see of Haslam, the more I start to get a nagging little feeling that he thinks this whole thing is All About Jimmy. Hope I’m misreading it.
And what’s the deal with all the players wearing their skull caps during the Anthem? Can’t they take them off for two lousy minutes?
This is more nuanced than the last thing I remember you writing about Lewis, and I agree.
As I see it, the media looves to jump all over anything that might fit the standard Inspirational Story Angle, and they embellisg it with all the misty-eyed, gooey sentimentality over the top gusto they possibly can. They’re not really interested accuracy, it’s just that it’s this story line that sells best and has the widest appeal. So viewers get pounded into submission with Te’o and Lance Armstrong and Joe Paterno and Ray Lewis Inspiring His Teammates into Battle, like a football Kenneth Branagh in Henry V. Until those make believe stories fall apart because these are jocks, not heroes.
Pssshhh, come on man there are cheerleaders watching!
Ol’ Harv full of vinegar today.
I think Jimmer is a man who strongly believes in whatever he peddles, but I’ve yet to decide on whether I think he’s a guy who would go all AlDavis/Jerrah on us. At the very least, I think bringing in Banner was his admission that he doesn’t know much about running a football team (not just on-field, but off-field too). I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if he’s the kind of guy who will stick his nose into the drafting of players and the signing of free agents.
Good point.
I aspire to be only sweetness and light tomorrow. A hale greeting and uptick for all … nah, who am I kidding. Hit me up with those chips, good man. Let’s not waste the condiment.
Is that some kind of double entendre that I’m unaware of?
A Wodehouse fan perchance?
on Lurie vs. Banner – Honestly, I think it is staged. I do not think that either man really wishes ill on the other. However, I think that Lurie understands that someone needs to take the fall for the past few years and that it cannot be the GM he kept (Roseman). He has been careful to not come out and condemn Banner (or Reid) directly. Everything done with compliments to Roseman (and backhaneded to Banner if you make that easy leap). As I mentioned on an earlier thread about it, I think that Lurie understood that the local media would make that leap and it would validate Roseman (and who cares what it does to Banner – he’s gone).
Ray Lewis is a connection as well. Well-stated that it was Belichick and his scouts that had him tabbed (and gained the pick necessary to acquire him).
Also, while you do not need to blame the current Ravens for us not being a good team, they are still the city that stole our team. They are still a hated division rival. And, they are wearing Art patches on their jerseys just in case you needed a reminder.
perfect would have better accuracy on alot of his throws and the mobility of a Cam Newton (because he showed how much that helps on short yardage).
but, I think you actually meant: Chud’s offense is the best offense for Weeden’s skillset.
see, I can’t do this. With Raven Lewis and the whole ’96 draft we’re heading down what-if alley. Lewis pick was acquired (with others) a whole year earlier from SF – can’t tell me that BB did it with Ray Lewis in mind a year earlier, that Belichik (v. Newsome) would have had him at same place on draft board in ’96 if still with team, that Ogden would have been available at #5 as o-line HOFer had Browns not tanked after move announced and Ravens may have then taken a different LB at 12 or something, etc.
(and I did mention the patch, btw)
also, I blame Modell, and Al Lerner, for the move, not so much Baltimore. Did the fans engineer it? Could they have rejected it?
Or I may have trouble holding a sports-related grudge indefinitely. But whoo-boy, check me out with other sorts of grudges. I’m like the best.
I didn’t mention Ogden specifically because of that tanking scenario, but, yes, it was still Belichick’s scouts that had Ray Lewis there (they don’t get replaced until May) and it has been very well documented that BB (and Lombardi btw) had Mr. Lewis tagged as one of the guys they really wanted. He is the one piece that we likely would have had.
yes, you mentioned the patch, but it makes my blood boil to see it, so I mention it when possible 🙂
hey, I don’t blame you for letting go, just don’t blame me for hanging onto it 🙂
“The Band Plays On” demonstrated the Baltimore fan psyche of obtaining the Browns pretty well.
Seattle fans seem pretty torn about what is happening with the Kings. On one hand, they are excited to have the potential of a basketball team again. On the other, they are doing what OkieCity did to them. I have seen reactions ranging the whole spectrum on it and am glad that we didn’t go that route (the past 13 seasons and all).
Well, Chud’s said in interviews that he had to change his offense to fit Cam’s talents. In the past his offense was never predicated on having a QB who could run. But I agree, I probably should have wrote it the other way around.
so we’re saying Lombardi, BB and the same scouts that so liked linebacker Craig Powell as a first rounder had their eyes on Ray-Ray at the very same time.
O blind pig, seek thy acorn.
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hey. it’s what has been shown. also, tough to know on Powell who barely played in the NFL due to injuries.
McCoy is barely worth mentioning. I’m not sure why he’s continually brought up.
He’s a backup, and a backup he’ll be until he tumbles down the depth chart on his way out the door. I wish he was our franchise QB, but he proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that he’s not the guy. End of story.
Chud w/ Cam: it’s like a peanut butter banana & honey sandwhich. it doesn’t sound like something you want to try, but, once you do, it’s so delicious that it becomes one of your lunch staples.
I would totally eat that, but my wife is allergic to peanut butter so we don’t keep any in the house. Some guys, when their wife leaves town they smoke cigarettes or they call the guys over for a big poker game or they go out to the bar and drink themselves into a coma… I go to Dairy Queen and get a peanut butter cup Blizzard with extra peanut butter cups. Like George Constanza when he associates eating cheese with some sort of bachelor paradise… peanut butter is my bachelor paradise.
i am sorry for you. i don’t know if i could make it through w/o PB. it’s so good. and does DQ offer the PB syrup to mix-in with it? we have a local chain here (Culver’s) and their Blizzard-copy w/ PB syrup & hot fudge with reese cups and reese pieces is among the best desserts i have ever had.
That sounds incredible… I bet they could make something like that, pretty sure they have all the components. Culver’s is based out of Wisconsin, they’re all over the place up there… I went to one once when I was up there visiting a friend and it was awesome. Great food. The fried cheese curds were exceptional… why can’t we get cheese curds down this way?