Can the Browns emulate their Hype?
Believe it or not, the Cleveland Browns have become the team to watch for 2019. Last season, the team went 7-9 in the wake of going 1-15 and were within a few games of reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2006. They found their franchise QB in Baker Mayfield and their new head coach with former offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens. 2018 was a good year for them by their standards in recent years, but the Browns were looking for more to fill their bowl up. In the offseason, the team made a trade for former New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr as well as defensive end Olivier Vernon. They also traded away running backs Duke Johnson to set up running back Nick Chubb to be the primary back, in addition to former Kansas City Chief running back Kareem Hunt.
It’s no debate that the Browns have had the biggest offseason of any team this year, but will it be enough to live up their hype on paper. Brining in Beckham to play opposite wide receiver Jarvis Landry will help the growth of Mayfield. While Hunt serves his 8-game suspension, Chubb will continue to hold things down after having a rookie campaign that left much to be desired. Adding Vernon alongside defensive end Myles Garrett is going to be something for a lot of offensive linemen to deal with. Still, they have to take what they have on paper and put it into action. They have early tests against the Rams and Seahawks, in addition to their regular divisional matchups. The Cincinnati Bengals might not be a huge concern at the moment, but the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens have both seem to have improved on the defensive front which can be bad new for a young QB such as Mayfield. Since their return in 1999, the Cleveland Browns have never been put together this well ahead of a season but the bite has to be louder than their bark.
Which Running Back Gets Paid?
Update: The Dallas Cowboys signed Ezekiel Elliot to a six year, $90 million contract extension after this article was published. But read this shit anyway lol
Los Angeles Chargers running back Melvin Gordon and Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliot have put the pressure on their teams for new contracts; but nothing seems to be moving for either one. Gordon is entering the last year of his contract and has been holding for a new contract since before training camp began. Elliot has only 2 years remaining on his contract, but his holdout has been making headlines as it has forced Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to publicly take some subtle shots at his superstar back.
Even though Gordon might have a sound reason for holding out as opposed to Elliot – Gordon is in final year of deal while Elliot has 2 left – both running backs are fighting for their careers here. The running back position is being deemed more expendable everyday by commentators, analysts, fans and even owners such as Jones. It’s the same reason that Le’Veon Bell refused to sign his franchise tender last season with the Pittsburgh Steelers in hopes of receiving a long-term contract, which could caryy him into his late 20’s, the time period in which many running backs are seeing their end. But these actions could really fall on deaf ears of the front office. In one of his public clapbacks, while bragging on rookie running back Tony Pollard’s performance in a preseason game, Jones tried to slight Elliot by saying “Zeke who?”. The Chargers responded to Gordon’s holdout by saying they would move forward with a running back by committee of sorts, with Austin Ekelar and Justin Jackson as well as grant his reps the permission to seek a trade.
The reality of this situation could be none of these teams pay these guys, but Elliot is more likely to get his new deal. Melvin Gordon is a superb talent but he hasn’t really propelled the Chargers to any real winning yet. Since he has arrived, L.A. has made the playoffs only once and he did not really have a mind-blowing performance. The Cowboys have made the playoffs in 2 of Elliot’s 3 seasons, each into the 2nd round. The only season they missed the postseason is when he served his suspension from an offseason incident that supposedly violated the personal conduct policy. When Elliot is not caught up in off-the-field drama, he is a running back that has led the league in rushing in 2 of his 3 seasons, that can take the pressure of the quarterback and create one-on-one looks for the outside receivers. Sure, Jones indicated running backs have a short shelf life, but it’s more reason he should pay Zeke now, and milk the most out of his years before he hits that late 20’s wall.
The Kyler Murray Project
The Arizona Cardinals pushed the reboot button – again – on their franchise by selecting a new quarterback and head coach for the upcoming season. With the number one pick, the Cardinals drafted Oklahoma University quarterback Kyler Murray, a year after taking Josh Rosen number 10 overall. To help with Murray’s transition to the pro’s, they hired his former Texas Tech coach, Kliff Kingsbury as head coach.
This project has some interesting pieces put together. Kingsbury comes in with a 35-40 record as a head coach as well as some NFL experience from his days with the New England Patriots as a backup QB to Tom Brady. Murray comes in as one of the more explosive quarterbacks in recent memory, but also at the pocket size of 5’9 and only one full season under his belt as a starting QB. Arizona hopes their new franchise QB can find some success with the coach who has partaken in the collegiate careers of Baker Mayfield and Patrick Mahomes. Despite his size, Murray is just as mobile and can throw just as deep as those 2 QB’s. Since he is familiar with Kingsbury’s system already, it should allow him more time to get used to the speed of the game and how to utilize his size at the next level.
The Cardinals have really rolled the dice on this one. They brought in 2 unconventional parts to bring them success going forward…for now. They were in the same situation just a year ago and have already abandoned that plan, so there’s justification to question whether they will bail out on this strategy. The measuring stick will be if they can win more than the 2 games they won in 2018.
The Next Big Thing
When the 2019 season wraps up, it’s possible the league will be void of 2 legends t quarterback but plenty of candidates to rely on. New England Patriots QB Tom Brady is getting up there in age, despite his proclamation of feeling healthier as he ever has been in his career. New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees is not far behind either. Both quarterbacks are playing in their 40’s, and at very high levels at that; but things will not continue to last this long. People can even fact check that by looking at the situation of Andrew Luck retiring abruptly due to injuries. However, when they leave, who will be the signal-callers to take over those marquee spots for the long haul.
There’s a mixture of veteran and up-and-coming QB’s to fill in the spotlight that Brady and Brees will exit from. Probably, the best of the next tier will be Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers and Pittsburgh Steelers Ben Roethlisberger. Both gentlemen have their own unique talents, play for competitive teams and have been around the game long enough to cement their own hall-of-fame status. After that, you can look to Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson as taking on that marquee signal-caller spot, in which he might be the sole beneficiary of it, until younger guys such as the Houston Texans Deshaun Watson, Dallas Cowboys Dak Prescott and Philadelphia Eagles Carson Wentz come into their own.
The QB who can step in one of those top spots right now is Kansas City Chiefs Patrick Mahomes. The dual threat signal-caller can be operates in an explosive offense that satisfy fan cravings but has an astounding talent to put the ball downfield. In his first full season as a starter, Mahomes has shown his ability to compete on some of the brightest lights, with high scoring games against the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams, the latter being a 51-54 thrilling loss. The downside of that, is he lost those games but he got to experience those high stakes in the beginning of his career as he is still developing at the pro level. It’s not entirely too bad, as he notched his first pro bowl and MVP within this same season. His cross-the-body throws and other playmaking tangibles will keep him near the top of his peers for years to come.