jrb12711

I’m just so unsure having a Rookie kicker and punter with how good this squad is.

Yep, any team but especially Dorsey isn't using that level of draft pick for a kicker to not play. Definitely encouraging performance against Tampa, all kicks were buried. Kinda glad it worked out that way honestly, the offense stalling really gave him a confidence boost going into week one.

Eh, to be honest I'm not sure how much that "means" to me. I'm motivated by money to be the best at my job, and I don't think that's a wrong mentality to have as a football player ya know? It just seems like the trend of players is going towards that idea of thinking, but I'm just spit balling here. For sure. I can't find it in front of my face for some reason, but I heard on the radio recently Pop Warner is having an identity crisis as they keep trying things, but the number of kids playing goes down without fail. Being totally honest, even though I'm being blessed with a girl here at the end of the year I have strong opinions on if I'd let my son play football. That's coming from someone who played high school and college (briefly) level of the sport. I'd probably relent, but makes sense.

For sure, I just wonder if this sort of thing will cascade more in the coming years. The first people that came into my head were the Bosa brothers. Came from a good (wealthy) family, have the tools to earn big deals in their mid 20's. Why not walk away from the game after 8-ish seasons? $100 something million bucks and already having a base makes it, in some ways, almost an easy decision. Gronk just did the same thing really. There some dudes who will want to die on the field, but I'm just not nearly as sure this generation feels that way.

Players leaving well before they have to isn’t some unprecedented thing, but I have no doubt this type of thing will happen more and more. hell, JT albeit a bit older could have easily come back for several more years but chose against it. It won’t shock me at all to see guys play through their 2nd contract and call it quits around 30.

FWIW here's Baker's response: https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/27433149/mayfield-reaches-giants-jones-clear-air Honestly? I'm not sure why he needs to be going into that conversation (context a bit off or not). But, if this stuff comes with the elite level play we have already seen, so be it. At the end of the day this stuff blows over.

the WR room seems incredibly deep, but I suppose this is the time of year to kick the tires. I'm never against the idea of having a deep WR guy who can play some emergency QB though. I guess that's partly from the nightmares of seeing clipboard Jesus out there a few years ago.

Even so, the Browns aren't a cap-strapped team despite all our moves. We have about $33 million in free space and a lot of the "VIP" guys (Baker, Beckham, Garrett) are under contract a couple more years yet. I don't disagree though, good or bad booming a punt like that is going to get some peepers on the guy. I'd be pretty surprised if we went that route though.

I don't disagree, but Colquitt has been a top 7-8 punter in the league for a long time. He was exceptional last year getting them pinned deep too (32 punts inside the 20). We have a very strong squad this year, I take that steady player all day. The money is likely very inconsequential for the short-term. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Gilliams ends up on the 53 for another squad, though.

Statistically flags are always thrown at a much higher rate in preseason. Refs use it as a review period just as much as players do honestly. Flags always go down a good margin come week one. the challenge for PI is shaping up to be very interesting though.

#66 is a weak ass link tonight.

Too 3 backup in the league no doubt. Good problem to have for them.

Two drops by guys trying to earn roster spots early

Honestly, right there at the beginning when he just blew by the tackle (who could only hold him lest get Keenum murdered) I just thought to myself "that's not fair". He's going to cost us a few off sides calls, but I feel you on this one. Very JJ Watt esque out there.

I'm not sure he has the same "skill set" as DJ had, but he did look strong out there last night. Very decisive cuts and down line running, and soft hands out of the back field.

My biggest takeaway more than Baker looking fabulous is that this team clearly has some depth. Callaway IMO got robbed of a TD, and the guys churning for the last WR spots all looked strong last night. Mack, Greedy (outside the busted coverage) and TakiTaki all looked like dudes who can contribute as rookies for depth. There was a lot of clean pockets for guys to throw last night too, outside of screen plays. This is the first time in my natural life I'm watching these guys thinking "man, what great depth" vs "man, what a chance for them to get thrown to the wolves". Exciting stuff.

Wow. As if I didn’t already have a boner for the potential of this squad already.

Maybe, I didn't get that vibe overall from the squad but it's hard to tell sometimes. I definitely fully agree with what you said though, and I believe Duke may be a breakout player down in Houston. Their RB pool is pretty shallow (I feel like lamar miller has been there 45 years) and the offense is pretty dynamic. Seems like a great fit. Overall, I can't blame the guy for wanting out as I've said before. He was going to be a depth chart casualty and with the right playing time could be looking at 10's of millions of more money in a deal. Best of luck.

As I've said before, I'm still just puzzled a bit at this one. Let's be real, Hunt can and will be an upgrade to the back-up over DJ. But with this offense and style of play, a guy like Duke especially weeks 1-8 seemed like such a great piece of the puzzle. Nothing but love though, best of luck to the man.

You would report the fraud to the police and it would be investigated, literally just the same as if someone stole your paper tickets and did the same thing. I'm not going to weigh in on the tech piece (i still prefer to print my airplane tickets), but this is a bit of a straw man argument. It's still very hard to hack advanced security, and I doubt seriously someone is clamoring to use that knowledge to catch a Browns game.

Honestly, the reddit nfl streams cited by OP is exceptionally good quality for the preseason stuff (my educated guess is the NFL doesn't care nearly as much). Depending on your entertainment set-up, it's virtually painless to watch on your TV. If not though, it's extremely simple to watch on a laptop. The biggest thing is just being "savvy" to not click ads, which can numerous but easy to dodge.

Wylie's disgruntled fired employee comments aside, my number 1 "concern" heading into the season is how Freddie leads the ship. I actually do have a lot faith, but there's SEVERAL examples of guys getting the HC gig to appease the QB and it not working at all. His rope is going to the shortest by far as well if things don't go the way we hope they do.

It's funny because I remember thinking the exact same thing. Don't forget too that the Browns were in the midst of a play off hunt that year with DA, so that game had a lot on it as well compared to most December games. Crazy that was 12 years ago.

I'll never forget this game, watching it with my dad and knowing Phil was somehow going to go out there and make 'em despite the nonsense weather. I'm glad to see this happening, beers should always be free for this dude in Cleveland. Just like JT, I just wish he coulda been part of some winning teams.

Man, watching the HOF is always such a stark reminder of how wide the talent gap is even within the NFL from starters to 3rd stringers/camp fodder dudes. There were some rough looking plays and players out there starting in the 2nd quarter. I mean they still have more ability in their toes than I do in my whole body, but it's just crazy.