Kudos to the Colts

[Schmoopy1000]

I dont know man. They werent going to win anything this yr. Richardson is a great back no doubt, but of all positions that one seems to be plentiful and the easiest to replace. They now have a boatload of draft picks next yr and could possibly trade for the the Bridgewater or simply get Clowney and the 2nd QB, which looks like Taj Boyd right now.

again unless T-Rich becomes a bust. How do you claim a guy worthy of the 3rd pick in a draft is worth losing for a late round 1st round pick?

 

[UK Cowboy]

again unless T-Rich becomes a bust. How do you claim a guy worthy of the 3rd pick in a draft is worth losing for a late round 1st round pick?

Exactly. And all this mess about having ammunition in next years draft.....they screwed the pooch in a loaded draft last year when they had two #1 picks....T Richardson, whom they obviously don't like, and Brandon Weeden. That could have been Tannehill and Doug Martin. Or maybe Kuechly and Upshaw. Or Barron and Wilson.These guys had two number 1's in a draft that produced a ton of good players, and they went belly up

 

[fordman84]

I'm thinking I am misreading this. So I'll just ask what do you mean by upgrade? McGahee over Trent???

Trent has been nicked up, not what the Browns need right now. The Colts have a QB and WR that defense have to respect and a line that is decent. Browns had nothing but Trent. I don't think Trent would have made it through the year, so now they could have Mcgahee and a 1st rounder...upgrade for their needs.

Trent > McGahee, but not on the Browns team with the Browns needs.

 

[fordman84]

again unless T-Rich becomes a bust. How do you claim a guy worthy of the 3rd pick in a draft is worth losing for a late round 1st round pick?

Because Browns know they aren't going anywhere any time soon, so rather than lose Trent to FA in a few years they moved him while he still has value to recover almost all of his cost (the #3 pick). How many first round guys that a team doesn't ahve a need for turn around and fetch another first rounder?

I don't think either team "won" the trade, but I think it makes perfect sense for both teams.

 

[jarntt]

Trent > McGahee, but not on the Browns team with the Browns needs.

Trent > McGahee, on any team with any needs. I'm not a person that feels TR is a top 5 back in this league, but he is good and McGahee is not good at all at this point. The Giants just picked Brandon Jacobs over him (salary determined I hope). Now if you are saying the trade overall is good for them, IMO I don't really agree, but a point certainly could be made for that and especially if they end up packaging this pick to Jax for Bridgewater. As with all trades...time will tell

 

[fordman84]

Trent > McGahee, on any team with any needs. I'm not a person that feels TR is a top 5 back in this league, but he is good and McGahee is not good at all at this point. The Giants just picked Brandon Jacobs over him (salary determined I hope). Now if you are saying the trade overall is good for them, IMO I don't really agree, but a point certainly could be made for that and especially if they end up packaging this pick to Jax for Bridgewater. As with all trades...time will tell

Agree that time will tell. I just think Browns looked and realized that right now they could get most of their sunk costs back by trading Trent. He isn't going to be a building block, but the pick could be. They should use their picks on OL and DL next year. Use the QB they have, pick up a RB in the 3rd or 4th, and then stock the lines. They have a lot of high picks, if they don't waste them they could make some hay. Trent is not a guy to build around, Haden and Thomas are. Dallas is proof positive that you build the line first and then add the skill positions. A great OL will make an average QB look good. A bad OL will make a great QB look bad.

 

[jarntt]

While I agree with a lot of what you said, I don't think it is applicable here because I think that Weeden is just not very good and I think the Browns agree with me. If they thought he was their future I think that they would not have done this move. IMO they know that they will go nowhere without a better QB and that is one of the main reasons for this move. There was talk of him losing the job before his injury. Nothing is more important in Football than a true franchise QB. I like Romo, but this exact same team with Aaron Rodgers is a SB contender. I can't say the same for us getting Joe Thomas or Geno Atkins.

I'm a little confused about where you say "Dallas is proof positive that you build the line first and then add the skill positions". I'm guessing sarcasm and my sarcasm detector is in for service...

 

[UK Cowboy]

While I agree with a lot of what you said, I don't think it is applicable here because I think that Weeden is just not very good and I think the Browns agree with me. If they thought he was their future I think that they would not have done this move. IMO they know that they will go nowhere without a better QB and that is one of the main reasons for this move. There was talk of him losing the job before his injury. Nothing is more important in Football than a true franchise QB. I like Romo, but this exact same team with Aaron Rodgers is a SB contender. I can't say the same for us getting Joe Thomas or Geno Atkins.

I'm a little confused about where you say "Dallas is proof positive that you build the line first and then add the skill positions". I'm guessing sarcasm and my sarcasm detector is in for service...

I agree with a lot of the things you say, but the part about this team being a Super Bowl contender with Rodgers.... I'm not sure about that. Rodgers is awesome. But take out the QB's, and Green Bay and Dallas are very similar, if anything, GB has more talent. Rodgers has one Super Bowl, but once they started losing linemen and defenders to FA, even he couldn't get them back to the big game. I think adding a guy like Thomas, arguably the best tackle in the game, would be the piece to get either team where they wanted to go. If Dallas had Thomas on one side and TSmith on the other, they wouldn't have to keep TE's and backs in to help, and their offense would be a monster. There is a difference between Rodgers and Romo for sure, but there is a Grand Canyon between Joe Thomas and Doug Free

 

[fordman84]

While I agree with a lot of what you said, I don't think it is applicable here because I think that Weeden is just not very good and I think the Browns agree with me. If they thought he was their future I think that they would not have done this move. IMO they know that they will go nowhere without a better QB and that is one of the main reasons for this move. There was talk of him losing the job before his injury. Nothing is more important in Football than a true franchise QB. I like Romo, but this exact same team with Aaron Rodgers is a SB contender. I can't say the same for us getting Joe Thomas or Geno Atkins.

I'm a little confused about where you say "Dallas is proof positive that you build the line first and then add the skill positions". I'm guessing sarcasm and my sarcasm detector is in for service...

We drafted and signed and kept all the skill positions, but still find ourselves thrilled when Romo is talking about an extra half second because a single guy was drafted. We need 2 more good OL and then I think this offense could hum right along. Right now, it's a crapshoot each week as to how the offense will run.

What I mean is that we have a solid QB, a great WR, a good #2 WR, a great TE, and a good RB. With the offensive weapons we have, we should dominate. But our OL can't open the holes needed or provide the time Romo needs consistently to let us just impose our will on defenses.

 

[UK Cowboy]

We drafted and signed and kept all the skill positions, but still find ourselves thrilled when Romo is talking about an extra half second because a single guy was drafted. We need 2 more good OL and then I think this offense could hum right along. Right now, it's a crapshoot each week as to how the offense will run.

What I mean is that we have a solid QB, a great WR, a good #2 WR, a great TE, and a good RB. With the offensive weapons we have, we should dominate. But our OL can't open the holes needed or provide the time Romo needs consistently to let us just impose our will on defenses.

Which makes the 2nd round selection of Escobar, over a guy like Armstead , Warford, or Barrett Jones even more baffling, at least to me

 

[Tharvot]

Its a good move for the Browns. They get back a 1st round pick, something that RBs aren't even worth these days and they unloaded a ton of salary plus a player that apparently did not fit well with their system going forward.

They aren't going to compete for anything this year, so why sit around on a valuable asset when you can make a move for the future?

I don't like that it clearly signals that they have already given up on the season, but I do like the aggressive move to build for the future.

 

[jarntt]

They didn't unload a ton of salary. They will take a cap hit for the unallocated guaranteed money and are only "unloading" a little over $2M per year in cash. For you that may be a lot of $, but if it causes an NFL owner to unload the #3 overall pick from a few years ago, he shouldn't be an NFL owner. What they do with their picks will decide how this works out for them. If they end up with another crummy QB and early pick that they simply trade for another (yet later) pick. They will have failed miserably. If they end up with a franchise QB...it could be brilliant for them.

 

[fordman84]

They didn't unload a ton of salary. They will take a cap hit for the unallocated guaranteed money and are only "unloading" a little over $2M per year in cash. For you that may be a lot of $, but if it causes an NFL owner to unload the #3 overall pick from a few years ago, he shouldn't be an NFL owner. What they do with their picks will decide how this works out for them. If they end up with another crummy QB and early pick that they simply trade for another (yet later) pick. They will have failed miserably. If they end up with a franchise QB...it could be brilliant for them.

If they don't see someone they want, they could always roll the extra #1 into a future year. Maybe after the season Washington wants back in the first round. So they trade the next years #1 for the Colts pick. With the salary slots, I think a mid-to-late 1st round pick is good as gold for teams looking to move up and steal a guy. then they still have their own high 1st to pick with, and one later to play with. If it is early 20's, they could even pull a trade to move back to a later 1st and pick up a 3rd in the process.

I like the move for the Browns and the Colts still. Browns aren't doing anything in the next two years. So sell what you can and rebuild correctly. Otherwise you get stuck like Dallas is. 8-8, mid 1st round picks, and veterans who are getting very expensive. Tear it all the way down and hope you hit in the draft.

 

[ROMOTOOWENS]

I think it was a good trade for both. I do think Richardson is a top 5 caliber back. I think Cleveland was going no where and got another 1st round pick.. They have a lot of picks built up. It will be interesting to see what they parlay that into. The only problem and it could be a big one is what does this say to the rest of the Browns for the next 14 games.

 

[jarntt]

If they don't see someone they want, they could always roll the extra #1 into a future year.

I agree with that theory in some cases, but not at all in this one. How long are they going to be in rebuilding mode? It seems like it's been forever already. Plus, they could have received a first rounder back for Richardson a year from now too. So if that is the plan, why not keep him for another year and then trade him if you still want to.

 

[fordman84]

I agree with that theory in some cases, but not at all in this one. How long are they going to be in rebuilding mode? It seems like it's been forever already. Plus, they could have received a first rounder back for Richardson a year from now too. So if that is the plan, why not keep him for another year and then trade him if you still want to.

Well I think they have been in it for at least a decade now, so who really knows

As for why not keep him around, what if he blows a knee or gets a couple of concussions? What if there isn't a team that thinks they are playoff bound who looses their starting RB when the Browns are again ready to sell? The same reason people tell undergrads to leave college for the NFL, its the same reason when you are discussing a trade and you would be happy with a deal in the future, you take it now as long as whatever you are giving up can't get you over the hump in the near term.

 

[jarntt]

What if they wait and things go their way and they make the playoffs?

 

[Schmoopy1000]

Holmgren says he would have quit!

Mike Holmgren shreds Cleveland Browns over Trent Richardson trade - NFL News | FOX Sports on MSN

 

[PDay8810]

Holmgren says he would have quit!

Mike Holmgren shreds Cleveland Browns over Trent Richardson trade - NFL News | FOX Sports on MSN

lol....well sure Holmgren rips the trade, but most people like newly hired Michael Lombardi want to put THIER stamp down....surely Holmgren can understand that since that's his MO as well

The more I live the more this world seems made up of the personalities of your average 5th grade classroom. It's ok Mike....somebody still thinks your a good football man...somewhere

 

[UK Cowboy]

lol....well sure Holmgren rips the trade, but most people like newly hired Michael Lombardi want to put THIER stamp down....surely Holmgren can understand that since that's his MO as well

The more I live the more this world seems made up of the personalities of your average 5th grade classroom. It's ok Mike....somebody still thinks your a good football man...somewhere

I'm guessing Holmgren wouldn't enjoy a review of some of the moves he made after leaving GB