If We Only Hadn't Traded Down Last Year

[TypicalBrowns]

The Falcons were 13-3 with a 1st round bye without Julio Jones last year. They give up 5 picks to grab Julio Jones and go 10-6 while losing their 1st playoff game once again. This thread wasn't created to say that the Browns are better than the Falcons - but that the Falcons failed miserably on this trade.

 

If you go 13-3 one year and trade the farm for 1 top pick the next, you are essentially saying that with that one player it is Super Bowl or bust. Atlanta still hasn't won a playoff game under Matt Ryan (0-3) and now don't have a 1st round pick to help fix all their problems..

 

Julio Jones could have a career year next year but Atlanta won't have enough draft picks to fix their defense. Plus Matt Ryan hasn't proven that he can do much of anything come playoff time..

 

The Browns have extra picks this year to trade up, trade down, or just use them all to get that much closer to competing. If Atlanta wasn't any better with Jones this past year there is no way in hell he would have benefited more this year in Cleveland.

 

So does that help clear things up a bit?

 

I'd rather be in the playoffs and lose then go 4-12.

 

Even for 3 years in a row...

[bringbackbrownie2]

I'd rather be in the playoffs and lose then go 4-12.

 

Even for 3 years in a row...

 

Wow you are dense. I'll try again. The falcons were a playoff team BEFORE THIS TRADE! The fact is the trade didn't make them any better - it made them WORSE! We got more draft picks to fill holes everywhere on our roster. The end.

 

No one is saying that the Browns are better than the falcons - just that the trade did not help out the falcons in any way. Thank god you aren't a GM.

[jnuh]

You are by no means going far enough with this analysis. The Falcons got:

Julio Jones

 

The Browns got:

Phil Taylor....as someone said, he should make all rookie team on D...and very well may turn out to be an elite player at his position.

Greg Little....Who had practically as productive a year as Jones.

Owen Marecic...a contributor.....hopefully improving

all three of the above were starters, also the Browns get:

Atlanta's first round pick in 2012, which we know will be #22 overall (and who the Browns, yes, will expect to become an immediate starter)

Atlanta's fourth round pick in 2012. Again, hopefully a contributor.

 

I absolutely loved Greg Little before we drafted him. And I am still a huge fan despite a case of the dropsies this year. I thought he was one of the top 3 WRs coming out in last years draft. I even went back and fourth with him and Jones being the second best behind Green was the runaway at the position. I still think he could be better then Jones.

 

With all that being said though ... In what world did Little have practically as productive of a year??

 

Jones had 250 more yards in 3 less games. Plus at the Pace Jones put up when he wasn't injured he would have ended with close to 500 more yards.

 

8TDs to 2TDs.

 

And 5 100 yard games to 1.

 

Jones also averaged 16.8 yards per reception compared to Littles 11.6.

 

I am not crowning Jones the better WR yet because it generally takes a couple of years to see what you really have in a WR, but the numbers definitly scream in Jones favor.

[TypicalBrowns]

Wow you are dense. I'll try again. The falcons were a playoff team BEFORE THIS TRADE! The fact is the trade didn't make them any better - it made them WORSE! We got more draft picks to fill holes everywhere on our roster. The end.

 

No one is saying that the Browns are better than the falcons - just that the trade did not help out the falcons in any way. Thank god you aren't a GM.

I never said the browns were better.

Just silly to use a receiving corp that gets to the playoffs as a reason Wrs are just shiny ornaments.

[hoorta]

As discussed the Browns 2011 draft has/had a great impact on WRs for your team. You could've been set with an elite player at that position, and/or you may draft an elite player at that position this year. However, by not selecting Jones in 2011, the Browns have for the most part ignored the QB position.

 

Many of you on this board (before the season) said Colt reminded you of a young Joe Montana. Now most of you think he needs jettisoned. RG3 what the majority of Browns fans seem to be hoping for with the #4 pick. St. Louis or Minnesota may also be gunning for him. You may have to give up your 2nd first round pick (from Atlanta) to move up and secure him.

 

Maybe Colt is good enough to get your team to the play-offs, however, he's not been surrounded with any weapons of any repute, so it's kinda hard to say if he sucks as bad as Ryan Leaf or not. Had you selected Jones, you'd have known more about Colt and subsequently, your top pick this year could've address another position of need (other than QB or WR).

 

Fair enough. Yes, we COULD have potentially landed a great WR (don't forget there were questions about Jones' hands which have proven to be correct), but at the time the Browns had more holes in the team than swiss cheese. And we still do- even with the extra picks the Browns are still a DE, RG, RT, CB, a couple LBs, and S away from being a serious contender, not to mention a WR. Heckert judged (rightly) at the time there were higher value targets than a WR. Like I mentioned- you can find your go-to guy way lower than 4th overall. So Mr. Steeler, would you trade Wallace (third round pick) for Jones right now, even up? And let's not forget the Saint's Colston 7th rounder, or the Giant's Cruz UFA.

 

Regarding Colt- there's certainly been premature gushing in this forum no doubt. However, Mike Holmgren has forgotten more about football than anyone on this forum can claim to know. Mike has seen the best- and he's said he's seen enough of Colt to make a decision. And if Mickey deems Colt lacking, he has more ammunition than anyone to move up to the Rams slot to take RG III, assuming he thinks he's the real deal. But that's also assuming the Rams new HC Jeff Fisher doesn't envision Griffin as the second coming of Steve McNair and is willing to dump Bradford. Tom Heckert has been astute in his drafting so far, and he's NOT going to sell the farm to move up to #2 if the Rams ask something stupid for the pick. Hello, Mr. Snyder, that's two firsts and two seconds? DEAL!!!!

[Unsympathetic]

100% wrong, Ghoolie. The Jones pick is universally determined to be a DISASTER for the Falcons, because they gave up too much.

 

They had then (and still have) too many holes to justify jumping up for a shiny hood ornament, and that's why they are at home after the divisional round -- again. They may be a playoff team, but they're currently a playoff team that is built to lose.

 

The Falcons have zero chance to advance beyond the divisional round as currently constructed. This trade set them back years, and they will need serious luck to make any improvements.

[calfoxwc]

The Falcons were in the playoffs in 08. Lost first playoff game.

 

Same thing happened in 2010. and 2011.

 

Meanwhile, the Browns have dramatically built up their defense.

 

Not much has changed with the Falcons.

 

They could have really set themselves up with the picks they traded away.

 

It's a team game.

[Tour2ma]

The falcons were a playoff team BEFORE THIS TRADE! The fact is the trade didn't make them any better - it made them WORSE! We got more draft picks to fill holes everywhere on our roster.

Worse? C'mon man... other than that bit...

 

Yup... completely different needs. The Falcons believed they were drafting the final pieces of their Super Bowl puzzle. So a "step in and play at a high level", impact player made sense in their case. Did they pay too high of a price? Maybe... but I ain't complaining...

 

By contrast the Browns are still assembling the border of their puzzle. It's why a project like Little made sense for us. I think Little has a chance of developing into a Andre' Johnson style, beast of a WR

 

Trading down was a great move in 2011 and it'll be a great move again in 2012... if Luck and Blackmon are off the board.

[choco]

I am not crowning Jones the better WR yet because it generally takes a couple of years to see what you really have in a WR, but the numbers definitly scream in Jones favor.

when was jones drafted again? yeah...and when did we get little again? uh huh....ok then....oh, you say we got little with one of the many picks that jones cost?

 

bbb2 had it correct....jones may be, should be better than little. the point was the cost of jones vs. the impact on the team, which i wanted to illustrate since so many of the madden football geniuses around here think all we need is to draft a WR and QB to rise to contention. everyone is willing to trade all these picks to get luck or blackmon, yet choose to ignore just how badly the falcons are fucked the next 2-3 years because of this trade. they're mired in improving without 4 extra draft picks to help their OL and defense.

 

this thread isn't about individual stats....or comparing little to jones...or even saying jones is a bad player. who gives a fuck....atlanta tried a blockbuster move and it failed. bottom line. how quickly we seem to forget the 08 draft.

[The Gipper]

I absolutely loved Greg Little before we drafted him. And I am still a huge fan despite a case of the dropsies this year. I thought he was one of the top 3 WRs coming out in last years draft. I even went back and fourth with him and Jones being the second best behind Green was the runaway at the position. I still think he could be better then Jones.

 

With all that being said though ... In what world did Little have practically as productive of a year??

 

Jones had 250 more yards in 3 less games. Plus at the Pace Jones put up when he wasn't injured he would have ended with close to 500 more yards.

 

8TDs to 2TDs.

 

And 5 100 yard games to 1.

 

Jones also averaged 16.8 yards per reception compared to Littles 11.6.

 

I am not crowning Jones the better WR yet because it generally takes a couple of years to see what you really have in a WR, but the numbers definitly scream in Jones favor.

 

Up to like the last game or two of the season, it was not all that much difference between Little and Jones. I think Jones had 4-5 of his TD passes in the last two games....plus that is when he widened the gap in yards.

And who did the Falcons play in their last two games....I bet it was not teams with defenses the caliber of the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers. No. It was the Saints and the Buccaneers.

[The Gipper]

I absolutely loved Greg Little before we drafted him. And I am still a huge fan despite a case of the dropsies this year. I thought he was one of the top 3 WRs coming out in last years draft. I even went back and fourth with him and Jones being the second best behind Green was the runaway at the position. I still think he could be better then Jones.

 

With all that being said though ... In what world did Little have practically as productive of a year??

 

Jones had 250 more yards in 3 less games. Plus at the Pace Jones put up when he wasn't injured he would have ended with close to 500 more yards.

 

8TDs to 2TDs.

 

And 5 100 yard games to 1.

 

Jones also averaged 16.8 yards per reception compared to Littles 11.6.

 

I am not crowning Jones the better WR yet because it generally takes a couple of years to see what you really have in a WR, but the numbers definitly scream in Jones favor.

 

Up to like the last game or two of the season, it was not all that much difference between Little and Jones. I think Jones had 4-5 of his TD passes in the last two games....plus that is when he widened the gap in yards.

And who did the Falcons play in their last two games....I bet it was not teams with defenses the caliber of the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers. No. It was the Saints and the Buccaneers.