Za’Darius Smith traded to the Browns

[Augie]

36 minutes ago, Johnny Hammersticks said:

Never heard of him.

 

 

I just got a text alert. You hurt his feelings. 

 

 

It’s 2023, after all. 

 

 

.

Edited May 13, 2023 by Augie

[DCofNC]

Damn.. Cleveland stands to be very dangerous this year.

[cle23]

48 minutes ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

They had consistent play with Brissett. Stefanski is a moron. Their DC last year was even worse. Watson was awful. 

Offseason addressed many issues. 

But HC and QB are the same. 

Stefanski will be first HC fired on Nov 20th after a home loss to Pittsburgh. 

 

You keep saying Watson was awful last year,  which isn't true. He definitely wasn't great,  but he ended the year at 7 TDs, 5 INTs, and played 2 of his 6 games in terrible weather.  And hadn't played in a year and a half.  

 

If he continues to play like that over the long haul, Cleveland will be average at best.  Their defense blew more games last year and Joe Woods is finally gone. 

Edited May 13, 2023 by cle23

[BarleyNY]

Berry and the Browns stole Smith. Fifth round picks in 2024 & 2025, but they get back a sixth and seventh in 2025. Wow. That is it for a top 10-15 Edge. Just one year at $11.25M though. Ofc they could get a decent comp pick in 2025 if he walks (which is likely). Still, this was a robbery. 

 

Edit: No comp pick possible for the Browns since Smith’s contract was shortened to one year as part of the trade. 

Edited May 14, 2023 by BarleyNY

[Ethan in Cleveland]

40 minutes ago, cle23 said:

 

You keep saying Watson was awful last year,  which isn't true. He definitely wasn't great,  but he ended the year at 7 TDs, 5 INTs, and played 2 of his 6 games in terrible weather.  And hadn't played in a year and a half.  

 

If he continues to play like that over the long haul, Cleveland will be average at best.  Their defense blew more games last year and Joe Woods is finally gone. 

Nope. He had one good half of football otherwise he was terrible. 

Correct about defense and Woods. The offense was better with Brissett. 

[Thrivefourfive]

Let’s just pray this guy can hurt Burrow

 

Waiiit what.. did I say that out loud..? I mean hurt his comfort level in the pocket 🙊

[Buffalo Junction]

39 minutes ago, BarleyNY said:

Berry and the Browns stole Smith. Fifth round picks in 2024 & 2025, but they get back a sixth and seventh in 2025. Wow. That is it for a top 10-15 Edge. Just one year at $11.25M though. Ofc they could get a decent comp pick in 2025 if he walks (which is likely). Still, this was a robbery. 

It’s what happens when the team can’t afford the cap hit. I’m not sure what the comp pick would have ended up being though considering he’d be a 31-2 year old player with a back surgery. His production also tailed off after he suffered a knee injury against our Bills.

[Buffalo_Stampede]

I’m guessing edge players will start dropping soon. Beane needs to get one of the top available guys.

[Richard Noggin]

3 hours ago, cle23 said:

 

You keep saying Watson was awful last year,  which isn't true. He definitely wasn't great,  but he ended the year at 7 TDs, 5 INTs, and played 2 of his 6 games in terrible weather.  And hadn't played in a year and a half.  

 

If he continues to play like that over the long haul, Cleveland will be average at best.  Their defense blew more games last year and Joe Woods is finally gone. 

 

The production you cite IS, in fact, terrible. The Browns need their qb to be MUCH better moving forward. Hope they don't see the desired results. 

[Kirby Jackson]

6 hours ago, FireChans said:

Are you replacing Yolo for now?

There is no replacing the legend. It just seems like that there are lots of things happening, or things on Twitter, that should be discussed here. These topics used to fly up on TBD immediately. That Acho troll job would have been up here within seconds. It was hours before I started that thread. It just seemed like something that this group would have opinions on.

[GunnerBill]

7 hours ago, Straight Hucklebuck said:

Browns have had a nice off-season.

 

I liked their draft, FA was good for them, and they have needed another DE to pair with Garrett since he was drafted.

 

Clowney was a name only. 

 

Clowney was really good for them in 2021. 2022 was less good. Smith is an upgrade.

[CSBill]

11 hours ago, Straight Hucklebuck said:

Browns have had a nice off-season.

 

I liked their draft, FA was good for them, and they have needed another DE to pair with Garrett since he was drafted.

 

Clowney was a name only. 

 

But they're still the Browns, and they still play in Cleveland, and they still have that clown of an owner.

[BarleyNY]

7 hours ago, Buffalo Junction said:

It’s what happens when the team can’t afford the cap hit. I’m not sure what the comp pick would have ended up being though considering he’d be a 31-2 year old player with a back surgery. His production also tailed off after he suffered a knee injury against our Bills.

 

The Vikings are not in cap trouble, but Smith has been unhappy in Minnesota and asked to be released so a parting of the ways seemed necessary. The Browns capitalized on that. He’s 30 (31 this year) and is still playing at an elite level (10 sacks, 15 TFL, Pro Bowl). 

[BarleyNY]

4 hours ago, Richard Noggin said:

 

The production you cite IS, in fact, terrible. The Browns need their qb to be MUCH better moving forward. Hope they don't see the desired results. 

The Browns season will likely go as Watson goes. He has to return to form and gel with Stefanski’s play calling for them to be serious contenders. Even if that happens it might take time. In the AFC and AFCN that would be a problem. They open hosting Burrow and the Bengals so they start with a big challenge. 

[GunnerBill]

14 minutes ago, BarleyNY said:

The Browns season will likely go as Watson goes. He has to return to form and gel with Stefanski’s play calling for them to be serious contenders. Even if that happens it might take time. In the AFC and AFCN that would be a problem. They open hosting Burrow and the Bengals so they start with a big challenge. 

 

Agree. If Watson can be pre-scandal Watson the Browns are a playoff team. If he can't they are a below .500 team and Stefanski is done (and the GM too in all likelihood).

Edited May 13, 2023 by GunnerBill

[NoSaint]

11 hours ago, balln said:

Watson looked awful last year. History isn’t on his side to just put it together after a long layoff

 

cincys division w the ravens a tough out will dominate the division the next 4+ years

im not sure how much history there is. Guys have come back from extended injuries. Otherwise what are we talking about, Vick? 
 

watson should have looked bad last year. Not just rust but being away from the current team all season had to be a challenge with joining a new club and jumping in with new WRs and a new playbook. He’s not a slam dunk but the browns could easily be a 10-7 team (or a 6-11 team)

9 hours ago, BarleyNY said:

Berry and the Browns stole Smith. Fifth round picks in 2024 & 2025, but they get back a sixth and seventh in 2025. Wow. That is it for a top 10-15 Edge. Just one year at $11.25M though. Ofc they could get a decent comp pick in 2025 if he walks (which is likely). Still, this was a robbery. 

yea you add a comp pick to that trade, they could actually get more back in picks than they sent 

[TheyCallMeAndy]

He should be a decent Robin to Garrett’s Batman. 

[Royale with Cheese]

11 hours ago, DCofNC said:

Damn.. Cleveland stands to be very dangerous this year.

Are you going to say this every year?

[Royale with Cheese]

10 hours ago, cle23 said:

 

You keep saying Watson was awful last year,  which isn't true. He definitely wasn't great,  but he ended the year at 7 TDs, 5 INTs, and played 2 of his 6 games in terrible weather.  And hadn't played in a year and a half.  

 

If he continues to play like that over the long haul, Cleveland will be average at best.  Their defense blew more games last year and Joe Woods is finally gone. 

You left out a 79 rating, 58% completion percentage, 6.5 average and 20 sacks behind a great OLine in 6 games.

 

Is his contract set up where he gets more money if sacked?  

[cle23]

1 hour ago, Royale with Cheese said:

You left out a 79 rating, 58% completion percentage, 6.5 average and 20 sacks behind a great OLine in 6 games.

 

Is his contract set up where he gets more money if sacked?  

 

Again, not great.  I said he was average. But he wasn't "awful", especially given the circumstances.  They played a game in 40 mph winds, and then another with -21 wind chill in the course of 6 games. Everyone plays in bad weather occasionally, but not 1/3 of your games. 

 

All that with very limited preseason and then no practice/meetings/etc for over half the season. 

 

There's a chance he doesn't improve going into this year,  but I think it's a tiny percentage. 

Edited May 13, 2023 by cle23