American Sports Thread

[magpie seanie]

On the Browns, as bad as their record has been the last 2 years I still don't think they were any worse than the Niners pre the Garropolo trade or the Rams prior to hiring McVay. A decent QB and good coaching can go a long way in the NFL.

Not when you are 0-16, trade the first pick, trade the second pick and get as many 3-5th round picks as you can, when you are this bad you need to take chances, a blue chip QB is not going to be ready to get pounded for 2-3 years and coaches no longer have that time, get a servicable QB and draft the future QB next year and go from there.

Alex Smith, Tyrod Taylor, Blake Bortles, Sam Bradford, Teddy Bridgewater all out of contract as well as Cousins. You're not winning a Superbowl with any of them (bar possibly Cousins) but they need stability at that position first. Honestly the Browns are not as bad as 0-16......they threw away a few games they should have won. Yes, they need to shore up the o-line and bolster the defence but they have huge cap space available and a lot of draft capital. They could rebound very quickly.

[AZOffaly]

Just on that, a top QB is the quickest path to a superbowl of course, but Average QBs can and will win Superbowls. There's recent enough examples where defense and a good running game were the drivers, and the QB just had to be average or above. I'm sure a lot of people said you can't win a superbowl with Trent Dilfer. I think the biggest problem the Browns have had up to now is reaching for the silver bullet. The QB who will win for them. Problem is the QB is a leader, and can drive you on, but only if he has something to drive. The Browns have had bad coaching and too many bad players. I think a sustainable team is built from the inside out. Start with the lines on both sides of the ball, and then work out.

[Minder]

They were always going to struggle with the people they had in the front office, pretty much all based on "analytics", as opposed to scouting and having "football people". Front office is responsible for getting you the players, obviously Hue Jackson hasn't covered himself in glory either. They seem to have remedied their problems in the front office with the hires of John Dorsey as GM & Alonzo Highsmith & Rob Wolf Jr from the Packers.

[AZOffaly]

They were always going to struggle with the people they had in the front office, pretty much all based on "analytics", as opposed to scouting and having "football people". Front office is responsible for getting you the players, obviously Hue Jackson hasn't covered himself in glory either. They seem to have remedied their problems in the front office with the hires of John Dorsey as GM & Alonzo Highsmith & Rob Wolf Jr from the Packers.

Yeah, GM builds the team, coaches coach the team. But the Browns always seemed to chase the big ticket, and then ended up not getting anything out of them because the team around them was flawed and the coaching was flawed. If you have a really good O Line and protection schemes, even an average NFL quality QB can make throws and a slightly above average Running back can be relatively successful.

If you have All Star calibre QBs running for their lives, or All Star calibre Running Backs being met in the backfield, then they are going to fail regardless.  American Football is truly a team game, where stars can do nothing without the footsoldiers laying the groundwork.

[magpie seanie]

Eli Manning has 2 Superbowls!

[AZOffaly]

Eli Manning has 2 Superbowls!

On his day Eli is above Average, but he's not Brett Favre or Aaron Rogers and he has the same amount as them combined But that's what I mean. A decent QB given great protection and with a solid run game can easily be a force in the playoffs. Obviously defense is a factor too, which is why Favre and Rogers don't have more probably. 

[magpie seanie]

Kizer might actually be ok but we can't know because he has been running for his life. Like a succession of other QB's for Cleveland. Brian Hoyer actually looked decent there for a spell when he had a good line protecting him.

[Minder]

Kizer might actually be ok but we can't know because he has been running for his life. Like a succession of other QB's for Cleveland. Brian Hoyer actually looked decent there for a spell when he had a good line protecting him.

Browns has one of the best lines in the NFL a few years ago, Joe Thomas, Schwartz, Alex Mack. I do think if you hit gold with a great QB it makes a lot of areas of the team look better, OL included. Rodgers being the prime example. OL is also an area where you can pick up more than serviceable players later in the draft that can be improved with good coaching. They have some decent players, Garrett looks to be special & makes a good pairing with Ogbah, Shelton very good, the TE looks decent

[AZOffaly]

Kizer might actually be ok but we can't know because he has been running for his life. Like a succession of other QB's for Cleveland. Brian Hoyer actually looked decent there for a spell when he had a good line protecting him.

Browns has one of the best lines in the NFL a few years ago, Joe Thomas, Schwartz, Alex Mack. I do think if you hit gold with a great QB it makes a lot of areas of the team look better, OL included. Rodgers being the prime example. OL is also an area where you can pick up more than serviceable players later in the draft that can be improved with good coaching. They have some decent players, Garrett looks to be special & makes a good pairing with Ogbah, Shelton very good, the TE looks decent

A good QB can only hide a bad line for so long. As soon as a good defense comes along, that can cover or play a disguised zone, he's in big trouble. But a solid o-line is worth it's large weight in gold. I think the mistake too many teams make is not being ready for a good QB, especially a young one. An auld lad that has learned a few tricks to keep himself alive behind a bad Line is more use to a team  like the Browns rather than throwing in the next great hope and watching him panic himself out of the league.

[stew]

On the Browns, as bad as their record has been the last 2 years I still don't think they were any worse than the Niners pre the Garropolo trade or the Rams prior to hiring McVay. A decent QB and good coaching can go a long way in the NFL.

Not when you are 0-16, trade the first pick, trade the second pick and get as many 3-5th round picks as you can, when you are this bad you need to take chances, a blue chip QB is not going to be ready to get pounded for 2-3 years and coaches no longer have that time, get a servicable QB and draft the future QB next year and go from there.

Alex Smith, Tyrod Taylor, Blake Bortles, Sam Bradford, Teddy Bridgewater all out of contract as well as Cousins. You're not winning a Superbowl with any of them (bar possibly Cousins) but they need stability at that position first. Honestly the Browns are not as bad as 0-16......they threw away a few games they should have won. Yes, they need to shore up the o-line and bolster the defence but they have huge cap space available and a lot of draft capital. They could rebound very quickly.

They had the packers dead to rights and blew it, that said they were playing hard, Bradford would be the man for me with the Browns over a three year period, he will win you games as would Cousins but I am fascinated by the 18/19 Browns, they were wise in keeping their coach, that provides stability and he is a good coach, the NFL numbers with the Browns does anything but reflect that but I am sure he will turn this thing around given time, this season I expect the Browns to win at least five games and build from there, they are in a very strong draft position and just added excellence in the front office, Wolf will ensure they draft well and has a ton of money to throw at key free agents, the Browns will be division winners three years from now, mark my words.

[gallsman]

Falcons, Pats, Steelers, Vikings.

[Minder]

Falcons, Pats, Steelers & Saints

[Minder]

Don't see any way Eagles can win here with Foles

[gallsman]

Yeah, not an encouraging start at all.

[AZOffaly]

Yeah, not an encouraging start at all.

And a speed bump at left tackle