Here'sJim

Alongside the biggest issues, did anyone think about special teams? So what the heck is going to happen to kickers and punters? If you think starters are bad now, we bout to see next level terribad with shanked punts and missed field goals galore from whatever backups they are gonna bring in. Also means balancing a 53 man roster will be even more difficult. Your special teams units are basically gonna be handicapped 2 games a year.

Anyone think we keep both Colquitt and Gillan? Gillan can be both our backup kicker and backup punter. I just don't know how often a team keeps 3 kicking specialists to be optimistic but I think it's possible.

Congrats, I heard September 20th was a productive day for other Browns fans too.

Again, you ignored the fact that Cam is coming off his shoulder injury. Is this irrelevant? The Panthers have question marks too. Cam hasn't proved he has recovered from his surgery.... We are going to have to agree to disagree on a couple things. I think they have demonstrated the mentality that they can win and you don't. Fine. I've stated my points and I don't need to rehash them. However, the Browns roster clearly favors McCoy for his future success. It fits better, and you will have to concede on that point. Even if you don't think the Browns are better competitors, you have to admit that the road to the Superbowl is easier through the AFC. If Brady drops off in the next year or two, the AFC competition won't compare to the dog fight in the NFC and it increases the chances that the Browns go further. Not to mention Browns schedule is easier than the Panthers as well.

I am trying to assert that the statement "I can get why ____ would sign with the Browns, but the Panthers?!" is valid. I don't perceive you to be attacking the Browns, but the choice for Gerald Mccoy is clear (if he values personal success and wins). The only way you can argue that the Panthers are a better choice (or a comparable choice) is by showing how the Browns are likely to implode or fail. If you can't demonstrate that, the evidence suggests that this is the better destination for a free agent like Mccoy. If they don't implode, then this is better team for Mccoy by a lot. Let me spell out my thesis statement. The Browns have a better roster (which directly compliments Mccoy and his ability to be productive) and a semblance of a track record that suggests that they can win (which shortens the gap to the perceived advantage that Panthers may have). This demonstrates that the Browns are better candidate than the Panthers, which makes "I can get why ____ would sign with the Browns, but the Panthers?!" type of statement, at the very least, not "stupid". 1. On the topic of roster, I don't think you can argue that overall the Panthers are a better team. Especially at the positions that will help Gerald Mccoy for instance. That Browns D line will always free Mccoy up in ways that the Panthers Dline can't. On offense, Baker doesn't have to be better than his rookie year to take advantage of the added weapons, which everyone understands will create huge mismatches. Compared to Cam, who is coming off a shoulder injury (which you didn't address in your post), with less weapons, I think the choice is clear. 2. On the subject of track record, the Browns from last year did very well for being such young team that lost its head coach half way through. Yes, they were close to the playoffs. In their game game against the Steelers week 1, the Browns go into overtime and miss a 43 yard field goal to tie it. In their game against their Saints they go into overtime and miss a potentially winning 41 yard field goal before losing. This is after a previous missed field goal and missed extra point that could have sealed victory. In their game against the Oakland Raiders, the refs had an extremely controversial call on Carlos Hyde's run to close out the game, which allows the Raiders to get the ball back and put the game into overtime and win it. This was after the refs had blown a strip sack fumble (which would have likely led to a touchdown) which the NFL later apologized for. In their game against the Tampa Bay Bucs, the Browns go into overtime again and lose on a 59 yard field goal. In their last game against the Ravens, Baker throws a pic on the opponents 40 yard line in a game after their kicker missed a kick that forced them to perform another drive. From these games, I would argue that the refs stole the Oakland game from the Browns and that a good kicker wins 2/4 of those other games. I don't think that is unreasonable to say they were close to a playoff birth (I don't know how close the Panthers were so I won't comment). In addition, this shows that this team is NOT far away from being a winning one. Any person can see that the Browns were in the majority of their games, and given the youth, performed admirably when pressure was high. This isn't proof, but to say that there is not evidence for future success is asinine. There is enough to suggest that the Browns are capable at winning, and the added talent and experience is enough to make a difference of 3 games (if not more). TLDR: 1.Browns Roster>>>Panthers Roster (especially as pertaining to Mccoy's success) especially considering Cam's recent shoulder surgery 2.Browns ability to win and be competitive has been demonstrated, which mitigates any perceived experience advantage the Panthers have. Thus the Browns are a better destination point. To argue otherwise is to demonstrate that the Browns will collapse somehow. That is what I'm trying to address.

Yes, objectively better. At the very least, we can say this is an objectively better Browns team than the 2018 Browns, which was extremely close to going to the playoffs with an extremely inexperienced squad. This is a team whose probability of winning in the playoffs and a Superbowl are higher than the Panthers. You talk about how the team has its unknowns, but yet you don't recognizer the unknown of Cam coming off his shoulder surgery??? Has he PROVEN that it will not affect his game? I forgot that it was a given that he will return back to form. In terms of roster talent, you can not argue that the Panthers are better. In terms of offensive talent, the number of weapons are a better predictor for success. Teams will have to account for Nick Chubb (later with Kareem Hunt), Jarvis Landry, Odell Beckham jr, David Njoku, and many others all at the same time. The Browns can simply always put more offensive talent the field and they will always have favorable matchups compared to the Panthers. You just simply can't account for all of them. Our O line is certainly good enough to allow Baker to take advantage of those opportunities, and that is all that is necessary. On defense, we are stronger at positions that matter more. We have a pass rush from every part of the D-line with proven players in Myles Garrett, Olivier Vernon, Sheldon Richardson, and arguably Larry Ogunjobi. The secondaries don't compare. Everyone would take an excellent d line and secondary over over an excellent LB core, and its not as if the Browns LB core is holding that defense back. In terms of Gerald Mccoy, this supporting cast by far better equipped to support him and he will be much more likely to get 1v1 match ups due to what he has around him. What you can argue is that Panthers squad is more experienced and has demonstrated success previously, but how strong a predictor is it for success in the future? You act this makes an immense impact, when we have frequently seen veteran squads break down and regress. I will admit that the Browns have a lot to prove, but there needs to be good reasons demonstrated to show why they will fail. This roster has been completely overhauled from 2016, and the newest players are from college or nfl teams that have won (and won alot), have performed at the highest level, or had both. I can see the coaching staff dropping the ball this year, but the likelyhood of the team being a complete dumpster fire is extremely low. Most gambling individuals, fans, and football coaches would likely pick the Browns to succeed over the Panthers in 2019, and I don't really see it being close.

So what is the correct way to talk about the Browns? The off-season moves have been discussed and it is understood that the team (especially Baker) were on an upward trajectory by the end of the 2018 season. A better roster is certainly, at the very least, a good reason to suggest that the team will win more in 2019 ( it's not the determining factor, but it's a good reason). In addition to that better roster being combined with a coaching staff that has demonstrated competence at different parts during their individual careers, you would surely think it would allow for optimism, right? The real question is why do you think the Browns have been bad all these years, and will those factors still impact the Browns in 2019? It's rather frustrating for people to just say "lol browns" when faced with a objectively better team and just assume that people can't be excited for their success (which is much more probable than any other year in the last 2 decades).

The Chargers play 16 away games every year and do ok... How bad could it be?

Real Schedule

Also, if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are any indicators last year, Todd Monken's offense will enable us to abandon the run every game while still putting up godly numbers. People seem to forget that they had no decent running backs, and they still had one of the most prolific offenses in the NFL.

https://corporate.wwe.com/investors/news/press-releases/2018/07-26-2018-133155541 In Q2 of 2018 (span of 3 months), the WWE had a net revenue of almost 300 million. I don't know where this money is coming from (that many love the WWE???), but if there is anyone who can fund a league that will lose money for 3 years, he's the guy.

https://twitter.com/AllbrightNFL/status/1110945866322509824 Fake news, from other sources it seems like the AAF tried pulling a bluff to secure a deeper connection with the NFL, and it didn't work.

Well, if there is any way to boost Carr's confidence, this qb room would do it.

Nothing like representing a franchise in dysfunction than by using the jersey that embodies dysfunction itself.

Considering that I've done a couple around already such as this one: I think I'm ready to open up the shop. I'll try to service all reasonable requests within a reasonable amount of time.