Week 3 NFL thread

That helped create a pretty cool trip for me.

I was covering a Division I college basketball team that had a game in the LA area on New Year's Eve, which was a Wednesday. Since I was there, I convinced the boss should cover the Rose Bowl the next day. He loved that idea. Then, when we learned they moved the Fiesta Bowl to the next night, I told him I'd be glad to zip over to Phoenix the next night. He loved that idea, too. So I got to cover a Rose Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl for the national championship, and then caught up with the college hoops team I was covering Saturday night for its game in Colorado.

 

Browns are bad. If they tank it bad enough, they win the Jadaveon Clowney sweepstakes AND they get another lower first-round pick.

 

It does make sense in that there are several teams with QB/coach combos that could be gone next year. TB, NYJ, Tenn., Carolina and throw in Chicago, Arizona, Minn., Pittsburgh, Houston, St. Louis also looking at the position as well.

 

Having heard Mike Lombardi (now Cleveland's GM) as a guest on Bill Simmons' podcast many times the last few years, this doesn't really surprise me. He ripped the Richardson pick when the Browns made it, saying that no team should use a first-round pick on a running back.

And certainly, he knows they need to address their QB situation. The Browns will now have 6 picks in the first 3 rounds next year to do so, in what should be an extremely deep draft for QBs (Bridgewater, Mariota, Hundley, Boyd, Murray, Manziel, McCarron).

 

Cleveland's first-round pick was already likely going to be high enough to take a QB in next year's draft.

 

Now they have the ammunition to deal up and take their pick, no matter where they finish. Or they can add another piece to a team that certainly has no shortage of needs.

I, too, think the Browns got the better of this deal in terms of value. I'm certainly not sold on Richardson as a big-time featured back.

 

Yeah. My first reaction was that the folks in Cleveland were out of their minds. But is Richardson even all that good? Seems like he's been hurt more often than not. Averages 3.5 ypc. Never breaks runs of 20 yards or more. To get a first-round pick for that is pretty amazing, isn't it? You can find a RB just as good, if not better, in later rounds anyway.

If I'm a Cleveland fan, I'm not worried that we just lost our best running back. I'm OK with that. But I'm worried at how the team will use all those draft picks. They'd better not fuck this up.

 

Ding!

And we have a winner!

 

Richardson is one of my favorite Alabama players of the Saban era (maybe my favorite, period), but in today's NFL, he's not that much better than someone they could have gotten in the fourth round.

Richardson's greatest asset is that he almost never fumbles. Only three all year last year, and hasn't lost one since his freshman year at Alabama.

He's strong and can catch the ball. But he's not Adrian Peterson.

In retrospect, the Browns drafting Richardson at No. 3 overall is the equivalent of a last-place team paying big bucks for a closer in baseball. Best to allocate your assets elsewhere, particularly in a salary-cap league.

 

OK.
But he's still a decent feature back. Prolly in the better half of the league. Upper echelon? Maybe not.

And drafting a running back high in the draft - esp. a guy like Richardson - is not a bad move. A lot of teams build around a feature back.
You can be a competitive team with a good running back, a decent kicker and stable defense.
Without a QB, Richardson was the highlight of the team. Shit, even with Wheedon, Richardson was the highlight of the offense.

They can say what they want but I think the Browns have given up on the season. Hell, maybe they are trying a Major League move and want to move the team.

 

The more you look at it, the more potential it has to be a good trade for both sides. I say potential because you can't trust that the Browns will do the right thing with the picks they have. But the Colts have to be thrilled to get a decent RB to maybe take some of the pressure off Luck. I don't think it would surprise anyone if Richardson suddenly looks like a better player in a couple months.

It's crystal clear that the Browns have given up on the season. And that sucks if you're a Browns fan. But long-term? It could end up being a good thing. Again, assuming they don't fuck up the draft.

 

If this trade was prior to the season, it would have been less weird. But blowing up a season after an 0-2 start doesn't say "we're the new bosses and we're starting over" it says "we're the new bosses and it hasn't taken too long for us to panic."