Around the AFCN

[ATL96Steeler]

For a decade it was one of the best rivalries in all of sports imo.

Lotta of respect for BAL even though I didn't grow up watching the Steelers play them, but they have quickly become that hated rival. Finally swept their asses.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

LMAO...

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Truth, or nah? @Wamu @Sgt Brutus

Johnny Manziel Says He Didn't Understand Pro Offenses In NFL, Nobody On Browns Could Help

Basically throwing Mike Pettine & Kyle Shanahan under the bus. And didn't Shanahan leave the team because of disagreements over Manziel's readiness in 2015? John DeFilippo took over OC in '15. Formerly the Raiders QB coach.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[Sgt Brutus]

Truth, or nah? @Wamu @Sgt Brutus

Johnny Manziel Says He Didn't Understand Pro Offenses In NFL, Nobody On Browns Could Help

Basically throwing Mike Pettine & Kyle Shanahan under the bus. And didn't Shanahan leave the team because of disagreements over Manziel's readiness in 2015? John DeFilippo took over OC in '15. Formerly the Raiders QB coach.

Wouldn't surprise me

Mike Pettine was a giant dunce

Kyle Shanahan has been impressive elsewhere though

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Wouldn't surprise me

Mike Petrine was a giant dunce

Kyle Shanahan has been impressive elsewhere though

I didn't follow everything very closely when Pettine was around, but that one year he had them in WC discussion I was impressed. Then the Browns ripped the rug out from under him. Could have had a lot to do with Manziel. There was a lot of pressure around him to be a miracle worker.

 

[Wamu]

Truth, or nah? @Wamu @Sgt Brutus

Johnny Manziel Says He Didn't Understand Pro Offenses In NFL, Nobody On Browns Could Help

Basically throwing Mike Pettine & Kyle Shanahan under the bus. And didn't Shanahan leave the team because of disagreements over Manziel's readiness in 2015? John DeFilippo took over OC in '15. Formerly the Raiders QB coach.

I don't believe anything Johnny Outta Football says. It's just easier for him to blame the organization for his own failures than himself. He should look in the mirror. He was the real problem & nobody else.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Could Dez Bryant be headed to the AFC North with the Ravens this season?

Bryant & Crabtree would be a formidable duo for Baltimore. Hope it doesn't happen.

 

[cincygrad]

Could Dez Bryant be headed to the AFC North with the Ravens this season?

Bryant & Crabtree would be a formidable duo for Baltimore. Hope it doesn't happen.

On paper it looks promising for the Ravens. But it's worth noting that both players have been more hype than actual production and both guys have shown signs of slipping (though its hard to evaluate what effect bad qbing has had).

It's pretty amazing to me that the Ravens haven't been able to develop a receiver after all of these years. Different coaching staffs, different offensive schemes, but the same inability to get a good, homegrown receiver. It's an odd thing for such a successful organization.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

On paper it looks promising for the Ravens. But it's worth noting that both players have been more hype than actual production and both guys have shown signs of slipping (though its hard to evaluate what effect bad qbing has had).

It's pretty amazing to me that the Ravens haven't been able to develop a receiver after all of these years. Different coaching staffs, different offensive schemes, but the same inability to get a good, homegrown receiver. It's an odd thing for such a successful organization.

Yea it is very bizarre. Ozzie’s track record for drafting receivers is awful. Players like Patrick Johnson, Travis Taylor, Mark Clayton, Torrey Smith, and Perriman never fully panned out. Ozzie has drafted plenty of HOF worthy players, but wide receivers has always been his blind spot.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

AFCN Draft recap... And my "way too early" grades

Baltimore... TE Hayden Hurst & QB Lamar Jackson. B+

Surprised the Ravens passed on Calvin Ridley and countless other defenders that could have made their team better. But the Hurst pick felt like an obvious move to help out Flacco. Their TE group has been in shambles over the last couple years. Tons of injuries and Maxx Williams never panned out. Decent pick. Lamar Jackson is a surprising move. In the back of my mind I thought they were going to take him earlier in the draft but they kept trading back. Guess they had 2nd thoughts by trading back in to grab him. Jackson could be trouble in a few years. He has the looks of an explosive playmaker with a huge chip on his shoulder now.

Cleveland... QB Baker Mayfield & CB Denzel Ward. C+

I like Mayfield, but not a good fit for the AFCN. He's arguably one of the best & most NFL-ready QBs in the draft aside from Rosen, so he could surprise a lot of people. I'm simply going off the terrible fit mentality. Darnold, although overrated IMO, would have been a better fit in the physical AFCN. The Denzel Ward pick was odd. He fits a need, and is one of the better CB prospects. But I feel they missed a ton of value in Chubb. Ward felt more like a hometown pick. To think that Cleveland could have come away with Barkley & Chubb... This has to be a disappointment to the fans. Who knows how they'll pan out. But I'd be pissed.

Cincinnati... C Billy Price A-

Smart move for Cincy to upgrade their O-line that was abysmal last season. They allowed 81 sacks and averaged a paltry 3.8 yds per rush. With Price they got the best available road grader. A true anchor type O-lineman. He should provide some stability after the departure of Bodine. But don't forget about their previous trade down for OT Cordy Glenn. If Glenn stays healthy, the Bengals have vastly improved their O-line this year. Smart move for an offense still riddled with talent.

Pittsburgh... S Terrell Edmunds. D

Physical secondary player with ball skills, but appears to be one helluva reach in the 1st round. Ronnie Harrison & Justin Reid were still available. Both had 1st Rd grades, but Edmunds, he was graded as 19th best at his position by PFF, and had a 3rd to 4th Rd projection. Yikes. He has the look of a good athlete, but I simply can't justify the value in the 1st Rd. Not even close. Hope I'm very wrong though. But as I said in the other thread, Edmunds looks more like a SS. So now they have 3 SS-types in the backfield in Davis, Burnett & Edmunds. Not sure how they hope to upgrade their secondary by doing that, but I guess we'll have to wait & see how they sort themselves in camp.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

AFCN Draft recap... And my "way too early" grades

Baltimore... TE Hayden Hurst & QB Lamar Jackson. B+

Surprised the Ravens passed on Calvin Ridley and countless other defenders that could have made their team better. But the Hurst pick felt like an obvious move to help out Flacco. Their TE group has been in shambles over the last couple years. Tons of injuries and Maxx Williams never panned out. Decent pick. Lamar Jackson is a surprising move. In the back of my mind I thought they were going to take him earlier in the draft but they kept trading back. Guess they had 2nd thoughts by trading back in to grab him. Jackson could be trouble in a few years. He has the looks of an explosive playmaker with a huge chip on his shoulder now.

Cleveland... QB Baker Mayfield & CB Denzel Ward. C+

I like Mayfield, but not a good fit for the AFCN. He's arguably one of the best & most NFL-ready QBs in the draft aside from Rosen, so he could surprise a lot of people. I'm simply going off the terrible fit mentality. Darnold, although overrated IMO, would have been a better fit in the physical AFCN. The Denzel Ward pick was odd. He fits a need, and is one of the better CB prospects. But I feel they missed a ton of value in Chubb. Ward felt more like a hometown pick. To think that Cleveland could have come away with Barkley & Chubb... This has to be a disappointment to the fans. Who knows how they'll pan out. But I'd be pissed.

Cincinnati... C Billy Price A-

Smart move for Cincy to upgrade their O-line that was abysmal last season. They allowed 81 sacks and averaged a paltry 3.8 yds per rush. With Price they got the best available road grader. A true anchor type O-lineman. He should provide some stability after the departure of Bodine. But don't forget about their previous trade down for OT Cordy Glenn. If Glenn stays healthy, the Bengals have vastly improved their O-line this year. Smart move for an offense still riddled with talent.

Pittsburgh... S Terrell Edmunds. D

Physical secondary player with ball skills, but appears to be one helluva reach in the 1st round. Ronnie Harrison & Justin Reid were still available. Both had 1st Rd grades, but Edmunds, he was graded as 19th best at his position by PFF, and had a 3rd to 4th Rd projection. Yikes. He has the look of a good athlete, but I simply can't justify the value in the 1st Rd. Not even close. Hope I'm very wrong though. But as I said in the other thread, Edmunds looks more like a SS. So now they have 3 SS-types in the backfield in Davis, Burnett & Edmunds. Not sure how they hope to upgrade their secondary by doing that, but I guess we'll have to wait & see how they sort themselves in camp.

My early spin on the 1st rd..

BAL...B-, Hurst, TE, Jackson QB...Like the trade down with BUF and picking up #65, and Jackson is effectively their 2nd round pick...covered needs, but not real sure I like the players at they took. Jackson can sit for at least this yr, but the writing is on the wall for Flacco in '19. Did they let maybe the most versatile LB in the draft go in Tremaine Edmunds?

CIN...B, Price, OG...they let the board come to them...this kid can play OG or C...upgrade @ C imo

CLE...C, Mayfield QB, Ward CB...I'm not as high on Mayfield as some others...love his mental swag, and accuracy, but 6' QBs not named Brees leave me wanting. Ward needs to be a shut down CB to leave Chubb & Fitzpatrick on the board. If I wasn't going to take either of those guys or trade back I would've taken Mcglinchey...and come back for my CB at 33.

PIT...C-, Terrell Edmunds, S...Obviously not the name I was expecting. Best I can say about this pick, clearly he was their guy at this point on the board, and they filled a need. Reports say he's a SS...with Burnett and Davis in the fold, I'm sensing some 3 S sub pkgs...maybe taking VWill off the field on 3rd down...otherwise I don't see how he gets much run on DEF. I like his physicality more so than Davis.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

My early spin on the 1st rd..

BAL...B-, Hurst, TE, Jackson QB...Like the trade down with BUF and picking up #65, and Jackson is effectively their 2nd round pick...covered needs, but not real sure I like the players at they took. Jackson can sit for at least this yr, but the writing is on the wall for Flacco in '19. Did they let maybe the most versatile LB in the draft go in Tremaine Edmunds?

CIN...B, Price, OG...they let the board come to them...this kid can play OG or C...upgrade @ C imo

CLE...C, Mayfield QB, Ward CB...I'm not as high on Mayfield as some others...love his mental swag, and accuracy, but 6' QBs not named Brees leave me wanting. Ward needs to be a shut down CB to leave Chubb & Fitzpatrick on the board. If I wasn't going to take either of those guys or trade back I would've taken Mcglinchey...and come back for my CB at 33.

PIT...C-, Terrell Edmunds, S...Obviously not the name I was expecting. Best I can say about this pick, clearly he was their guy at this point on the board, and they filled a need. Reports say he's a SS...with Burnett and Davis in the fold, I'm sensing some 3 S sub pkgs...maybe taking VWill off the field on 3rd down...otherwise I don't see how he gets much run on DEF. I like his physicality more so than Davis.

BAL... Not only did they pass up on Edmunds (who would have been great alongside Mosley), but they also passed on Derwin James who could have played alongside Eric Weddle or learned from him until he retired which could be as soon as next offseason. Looks like they had the offensive mentality all along and didn't deviate. I have a feeling if Hurst was gone they would have picked Calvin Ridley.

CIN... The Arkansas kid Ragnow went right before them. Price is 1b, but still a good upgrade to their O-line.

CLE... Mayfield has the look of the next great Cleveland failure. Feel bad for him, because he's a good player. Just don't see how he'll do well in the AFCN. I have a feeling he's going to be eaten alive.

PIT... Even in 3-Safety sub package, who the hell can cover the deep man? You're banking on Artie Burns reemerging, which is not good. IDK. I thought sleeping on it would have changed my mind but I'm still just as confused about the pick. We have no true FS's on the field. I'm going to pray they find someone else in the draft or a UDFA lol. Or maybe Cam Sutton makes the move? Who the hell knows.

 

[cincygrad]

I thought the Bengals did a nice job. They come away from the first round with Cordy Glenn and Billy Price. That is a really nice duo given their needs on offense.

I think Baltimore is inching closer and closer from ending the Flacco era. He delivered a Super Bowl, but his presence on that roster has killed them since that day. He's just not a franchise qb or anywhere really close to it.

Mayfield was the guy that intrigued me the most among qb prospects. I keep thinking he could be the next Favre.... But then I remember that he is only 6'0" and not the most polished passer. Oh, and he's not really a dual threat at the next level. He appears to be a high variance guy - And given that he's going to Clevleand, I'm sort of expecting the worst.

I'm not sure I understand Pitsburgh's pick, only because it seems like he was rated much lower in pre-draft forecasts. But the dude is a good athlete and Pittsburgh could use the help in the secondary.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

BAL... Not only did they pass up on Edmunds (who would have been great alongside Mosley), but they also passed on Derwin James who could have played alongside Eric Weddle or learned from him until he retired which could be as soon as next offseason. Looks like they had the offensive mentality all along and didn't deviate. I have a feeling if Hurst was gone they would have picked Calvin Ridley.

CIN... The Arkansas kid Ragnow went right before them. Price is 1b, but still a good upgrade to their O-line.

CLE... Mayfield has the look of the next great Cleveland failure. Feel bad for him, because he's a good player. Just don't see how he'll do well in the AFCN. I have a feeling he's going to be eaten alive.

PIT... Even in 3-Safety sub package, who the hell can cover the deep man? You're banking on Artie Burns reemerging, which is not good. IDK. I thought sleeping on it would have changed my mind but I'm still just as confused about the pick. We have no true FS's on the field. I'm going to pray they find someone else in the draft or a UDFA lol. Or maybe Cam Sutton makes the move? Who the hell knows.

BAL...agreed, forgot about James. Being a Bama boy, I thought for sure Ridley was the guy, but I like Hurst too. Just seems like they have been bombing on TEs lately as well as WRs.

PIT...good question...the only positive I see...regardless of who ends up with the FS gig, Burnett, Davis, or Edmunds, they are faster, more athletic, just plain better than they were with Mitchell back there.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

I thought the Bengals did a nice job. They come away from the first round with Cordy Glenn and Billy Price. That is a really nice duo given their needs on offense.

I think Baltimore is inching closer and closer from ending the Flacco era. He delivered a Super Bowl, but his presence on that roster has killed them since that day. He's just not a franchise qb or anywhere really close to it.

Mayfield was the guy that intrigued me the most among qb prospects. I keep thinking he could be the next Favre.... But then I remember that he is only 6'0" and not the most polished passer. Oh, and he's not really a dual threat at the next level. He appears to be a high variance guy - And given that he's going to Clevleand, I'm sort of expecting the worst.

I'm not sure I understand Pitsburgh's pick, only because it seems like he was rated much lower in pre-draft forecasts. But the dude is a good athlete and Pittsburgh could use the help in the secondary.

I like what the Bengals did the most out of the AFCN. Price should be a solid anchor, and both he & Glenn have instantly upgraded the O-line on paper.

Jackson has good upside, but is he going to beat out RG3 for depth? At this point I think their forced to think that way but I don't honestly believe he's better yet. But I agree that they need to eventually move on from Flacco. This sets them up for that transition. I think Mason Rudolph would have been a better fit though.

The one thing Mayfield has that none of CLE's previous QBs had is he's a true competitor. That gives him an edge to be successful. His desire & drive to be a winner is going to give him a fighting chance. I just don't think he'll be that guy in Cleveland. Maybe after this season they fire Hue and Mayfield gets traded. That would be an ideal scenario for Mayfield.

Edmunds was a reach by at least 1 Rd. Originally he was projected in rounds 3-4. But the week before the draft he crept into the 1st & 2nd Rds. I trust Colbert knows a lot better than me lol. They have always made their own big boards that don't necessarily conform to the rest of the league. But I can't help but feel this was a panic move of sorts. LVE & Evans were gone, and they reportedly tried to trade up to get Evans. Looks like they settled. Still not sure why they didn't go for Justin Reid or Ronnie Harrison. Both were rated much higher.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I thought the Bengals did a nice job. They come away from the first round with Cordy Glenn and Billy Price. That is a really nice duo given their needs on offense.

I think Baltimore is inching closer and closer from ending the Flacco era. He delivered a Super Bowl, but his presence on that roster has killed them since that day. He's just not a franchise qb or anywhere really close to it.

Mayfield was the guy that intrigued me the most among qb prospects. I keep thinking he could be the next Favre.... But then I remember that he is only 6'0" and not the most polished passer. Oh, and he's not really a dual threat at the next level. He appears to be a high variance guy - And given that he's going to Clevleand, I'm sort of expecting the worst.

I'm not sure I understand Pitsburgh's pick, only because it seems like he was rated much lower in pre-draft forecasts. But the dude is a good athlete and Pittsburgh could use the help in the secondary.

Mayfield...you hit the nail on the head...he's not a dual threat at this level and from what I can see that was a big part of his game at OKLA...I can see him instinctively taking off and getting plastered...learn to slide kid.

Flacco...some of it is on Joe, but I think they expected some growth from him that they never got. Some of that rests on the FO. Since Ray Rice, they have struggled with a feature RB, the TE failures, WR draft failures have forced them to FA vets since forever it seems, multiple OCs, and finally OL issues. But...production is production and for the cap hit invested it's not too difficult to see the end coming for Joe in BAL.

PIT...spot on.

CIN...not sexy, but the best job imo so far.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

BAL...agreed, forgot about James. Being a Bama boy, I thought for sure Ridley was the guy, but I like Hurst too. Just seems like they have been bombing on TEs lately as well as WRs.

PIT...good question...the only positive I see...regardless of who ends up with the FS gig, Burnett, Davis, or Edmunds, they are faster, more athletic, just plain better than they were with Mitchell back there.

BAL... Like I said, I think they are going to try and salvage Flacco's career. Hurst fits the bill to do that. Flacco needs that outlet and their TEs have been subpar ever since Pitta's decline. Gillmore & Williams could stay healthy. Watson was a stopgap.

PIT... Agreed they got a lot more athletic. I know they have a plan and don't knee-jerk picks, so I just need to settle down and trust the process lol

 

[cincygrad]

It's funny how one play can completely change the fates for a franchise in both good and bad ways. For Flacco and the Ravens it was that miracle deep ball in Denver. If the safety just does the job that any typical NFL safety will do, Flacco and the Ravens are eliminated, never win the Super Bowl and Flacco probably doesn't get that deal. I'm sure their fans will take the ring and the cap issues they've had ever since, but it's interesting to think about.

 

[cincygrad]

I thought the Rudolph pick for the Steelers was a wise move. I thought for sure he was going to New England... I haven't watched a lot of him, but what I did see makes me think he's going to be a good pro.