The Weird, Wacky and Awesome World of the NFL - General Banter thread V3

Foxtrol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118803296#Comment_118803296

Huge new guaranteed deal for him too. Browns always seemed to be an organization that was desperate enough to win to climb into the gutter and they just proved it with this trade and giving Watson more money.

From a sporting perspective, glad he ended up in the AFC and not to one of the NFC teams - which just keeps adding on more quality.

Itssoeasy

https://twitter.com/adamschefter/status/1504911016139841538?s=21

So he’s guaranteed every single dollar. Jesus just when you think the browns are out they got back in the game. Now comes the PR spin from the browns to try and keep fans and sponsors on board given that while Deshaun Watson won’t be found criminal liable, he may be civilly liable.

paulie21

https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1504912778938695688?t=eaeBuSp34iqdCjdcXTdFwA&s=19

Itssoeasy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118803401#Comment_118803401

Utter insanity.

Jolly Red Giant

The Browns have been promoting their image as ‘inclusive’ and promoters of civil rights and women’s rights - then they go and throw hundreds of millions at someone who has all the hallmarks of a sexual predator.

I feel sorry for Browns fans that their team is run by such a dysfunctional organisation.

Jolly Red Giant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118800144#Comment_118800144

Typical McDisaster - wasting two premium picks on a WR.

Things are going to go **** up for the Raiders

Is there a more entertaining team in sport than the Browns?

Foxtrol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118803716#Comment_118803716

They've even designed the contract so Watson loses the minimum possible money if he gets suspended next season. The whole thing gets worse the closer you look at it. Also disgusting how the big media companies with NFL rights are glossing over it, it is mostly those connected to other organizations that are highlighting how bad it it.

dakar

I posted in the ‘why do you support a crap team’ thread a while ago that I bought into the Browns as an underdog and l liked Baker especially after the ‘I feel dangerous’ interview.

I enjoyed the rollercoaster. I mean Baker had sass and potential in about equal measure, and brought the Browns to a a first playoff win (against the frickin Steelers, in Heinz frickin Field), but really he wasn’t that amazing. Odell’s Da’s video was pretty damning.

Which brings us to an analytics driven front office doing analytics and figuring out that the sh*t storm of hiring Watson is worth it.

I’m personally not that emotionally invested in the Browns, but I feel the pain of those that are. Time to go back to being a team agnostic, I think.

Oat23

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118803816#Comment_118803816

To be fair, Skip Bayless on Fox has been regularly calling it what it is. Sadly he's the only one not brushing off dozens of sexual assult lawsuits as "off the field issues".

There are several teams here who look like complete c**ts. The Falcons alienated a legend to court a sexual predator and the Saints, one of the few franchises owned by a woman, were also clamouring for him to join. It's disgraceful how this scumbag has been treated similarly to Lebron when he was leaving the Cavs.

I wish Watson and the Browns nothing but pain and misery.

Shedite27

Yeah I threw on NFL network for a half hour last night to hear the reaction, not one mention of the allegations.

I suspect this will follow like the Big Ben allegations or Ray Lewis double murder plea deal, it’ll get plenty of airtime on Twitter, and not one mention on TV if Watson is winning Super Bowl MVP in two years time

el Fenomeno

I thought he had ruled out the Browns earlier in the week.

Looks like Cleveland wouldn't take no for an answer. Disturbingly appropriate for all involved.

Shedite27

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118805673#Comment_118805673

He did, then they were adamant they wanted their QB and made a higher bid. Not sure how to take it really, the optimist in me thinks Watson sees it as a sign of how much they liked him and what a great gesture. The pessimist in me sees him as a money-grabbing c*.

to be fair, they’re a team setup to win. So it makes sense for footballing reasons anyway. It’s not like he’s taking millions to go play in Qatar

VillaMad

Been a Browns fan for a number of years who has followed them through the 1-31 run and then the Baker Mayfield adventure and it has been a very up and down time but ultimately a fun ride albeit that the end of the Baker Mayfield era was nigh.

The past week has been interesting to say the least and I wasn't surprised that the Browns were interested in Watson as it was quite clear at the end of the last season, they wouldn't be moving forward with Mayfield. When it was reported that the Browns were out on Watson, truthfully I was relieved as I found the whole thing very troubling with Watson.

Last night's shocking twist, honestly made me quite sad. By giving a guy who has a gigantic heap of sexual misconduct cases against him an even bigger contract despite not having even played in 2 years was wrong on so many levels. It feels in some ways like making a deal with the devil to try to win a Super Bowl. The best case scenario for the Browns of course like any team is a Super Bowl, but the thoughts of him holding the Lombardi Trophy on a Browns open top bus through Cleveland makes me feel a bit sick at the moment. Maybe with time, and who knows what will happen in the future that that feeling may change, but at the moment, I'm just really disappointed in the Browns.

Good to see the adverse reaction. In football, so many fans seem to go with the patent nonsense of "Casilla/Suarez/Terry was not charged/convicted, so this means the incident did not happen"

eagle eye

That suggests there's not many that want him.

Whether that's because they're afraid of fan reaction or just not that impressed with his body of work is the question.

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

As is the case with a lot of these things, unless something happens in the immediate aftermath of the incident - when the outrage is at its most intense - it's unlikely the Browns will face any major repercussions. I don't really know what the repercussions would be, but I'd imagine a significant portion of their season-ticket holders would want to be doing something - and I haven't heard anything on that front.

It's as egregious a signing as the Tyreek Hill one (if not for different reasons), but sure like most things in the NFL, if it didn't happen on camera, it may as well not have happened.

Shedite27

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118804078#Comment_118804078

Yeah Browns were one of the teams that most fans would ahve liked to see have their Benglas-style rags to riches story at some point. This will definitely take someof the charm for neutrals off it.

And for whatever outrage we feel about Browns going through with this, dont forget Falcons, Panthers and Saints were also hoping to sign him. The outrage at Browns actions should extend to those teams

Itssoeasy

interesting that the HOF speeches will be moved back to during the day from this year.

Christy42

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118809365#Comment_118809365

??? Watson had his pick of several teams. The Browns just offered him everything he wanted, even protection against a possible suspension (his base salary next season is 1 million, so any any suspended games will come out of that) which seems to be why he changed his mind. Possibly they felt pushed to up their offer when Mayfield was asking for a trade. Given the haul of picks the Browns gave for Watson I imagine that the other teams were offering similar as they each got the Texans go ahead before it came down to which team to go with. I would wonder how many more teams were interested in Watson for a slightly cheaper price in terms of picks as well.

Honestly the market seems like it was pretty healthy for Watson, unfortunately so. Many fans will forget about it unfortunately and the NFL will go on. It would be brilliant to see half empty stadiums for the Browns next season but I doubt it.

Foxtrol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118812901#Comment_118812901

That was an extremely strong market for Watson, you have a player with that many pending legal issues and likely suspension to get to do a FA tour with 4 teams and demand the biggest contract in history in terms of guarantees on top of that many picks when he said he'd never play again for his current team.

Agree it would be brilliant for them to have half empty stadiums but the Browns couldn't sprint fast enough to sign Hunt after the video was released of him attacking a woman and their fanbase had no problem showing up and supporting the team after that. To be fair there has been a bit more complaints this time but unfortunately they'll quickly disappear as the majority of mainstream media can't move on quick enough.

No team is whiter than white but there are certain teams who have no morals at all (which isn't really surprising as very few billionaire owners get there by always doing the right thing) and their fanbases will always find a way to excuse it.

paulie21

Matt Ryan traded to the Colts for a 3rd round pick

Itssoeasy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118815354#Comment_118815354

So who goes to Atlanta then ? Indy seemed to be the place baker mayfield wanted to go to but obviously not now. Baker to the falcons then ?

Mr. Guappa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118815433#Comment_118815433

Marcus Mariota being linked. Not sure if he's viewed as a potential starter.

Foxtrol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118815489#Comment_118815489

With Winston also signing with the Saints I think it has to be Mariota with the Falcons because of their cap issues, as they are paying crazy money still for Ryan, and it isn't as if they are contending and need a decent QB. They could also draft a QB if they like any of them and have them learn/compete.

Looks like we're down to Jimmy and Baker with the Panthers and Seahawks looking to upgrade their QBs (both are an improvement on Darnold and Lock, respectively). Both teams aren't in position to really compete so I wonder if their just sit on their hands and see if either get released or wait until they see how the draft goes.

Blut2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118815354#Comment_118815354

Thats a great bit of business by the Colts considering they got two 3rd round picks for Wentz, a much worse QB, from the Commanders.

Ryan should still have a few years left in his tank, particularly with way more talent around him at the Colts than he had in Atlanta.

Foxtrol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118815710#Comment_118815710

Even better value when you compare it to the 1st and the 3rd that some GM spent on that much worse QB last season 😋

It is a decent deal but a few years in the tank is probably a stretch with Ryan being 37 when the season starts and his performances have been on the downhill. At least he went to a team in a dome and a very weak division which might keep him viable a bit longer - good on the Falcons for sending him to a good place, obviously their fault for causing the rift having courted a creep. Colts are however still stuck in that cycle of aging or very flawed QBs who will struggle to compete with the level of other teams in the AFC outside of their division with no obvious way out of it.

Blut2

I'm not sure what you're basing that on. His performances have been quite consistent over the last 14 years bar two outlier very high performance seasons:

[img]https://i.imgur.com/VCsKjhx.jpg[/img]

He could have physically declined massively in the 2021 season at 36, but given his well known physical health (hes only missed 1 game since 2010) and how well managed the bodies of top level QBs are these days its far more likely that the complete lack of talent around him at Atlanta was the problem either way.

I'd wager the Colts probably plan on keeping him for the two remaining years on his cheap (for them, given the Falcons are eating a big chunk of it) contract at the least. Then possibly extend based on performances go. Maybe draft a young QB next year to sit for a year under him.

Foxtrol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118816897#Comment_118816897

Another view could be that his numbers over the last few years are hard to trust due to being on a team with great receivers in a dome that is regularly trailing leading to perfect stat padding garbage time opportunities.

Even with all of the management of QBs, nearly every one has shown deteriorating performance as they move towards their late 40s. Brady is an outlier that has distorted how we view the position, like when we discuss SB wins.

You might be right with your wager but I'd say it is just as likely that Ryan has a decent season and decides to retire after an early playoff loss against one of the young elite QBs.

Foxtrol

Hill traded to the Dolphins and another disgraceful human getting a new contract.

Exciting to see what McDaniel can do with two guys like Hill and Waddle. Can't say Tua isn't set up to succeed.

Surprised Chiefs couldn't make things work with Hill - he has been so key to Mahomes and Kelce is getting up in years. Decent but not fantastic return in terms of picks, very close to what the Packers got for Adams.