Let This Sink In...

[LegendKiller]

The Cleveland Browns are Officially better than the Seattle Seahawks.

Ask yourself this:

Do the Cleveland Browns have better talent than the Seahawks?

Is Baker Mayfield better than Russell Wilson?

The answer to those questions is flat out...NO.

So that leaves just one things: Coaching.

In one season of Coaching, Kevin Stefanski has already gotten the Browns farther than the Seattle Seahawks. Even without him, since he wasn't at the game last night due to COVID, his coaching staff far outperformed our coaches and absolutely destroyed the Steelers. I just read that our idiot head coach won't get rid of Schotty, which means, expect more of the same. There is zero reason to expect things to progress or change otherwise. When I heard Carroll was extended until 2025, it sunk in that the Seahawks will not sniff another Superbowl until Carroll is gone. For all of those that are all Rainbows and "But we've made the playoffs" continue to look forward to early playoff exits. Temper your expectations to all of us who live in reality. Sad to see all this talent on our team being WASTED.



Just disgusting. Ironic how after they won the NFC West Division they wore a shirt "Won not Done". Should have been changed to "One and Done".

 

[Seanhawk]

Meh, good for the Browns. They won their first playoff game since re-entering the league. It was bound to happen. Not everything has to relate to the Seahawks.

 

[MrThortan]

Meh. How many years have the Browns had high 1st round draft picks? Browns offensive line ranked 1st in both run and pass blocking for 2020. I can't help but wonder how Russell would perform with such a force ahead of them. They have a lot of talent on their team. Seahawks chose Penny. They chose Chubb. Chubb has been amazing. Landry. Garrett. Sheldon Richardson. Joel Bitonio. Denzel Ward. Austin Hooper. Odell Beckham Jr. (IR). Every team has ups and downs. Winning is difficult, especially consistently.

 

[LegendKiller]

I'm referring to current state of the team. The past belongs in the past. We need to look at the team now and going forward and right now, we are going in the wrong direction. I'm worried that since no one is being held accountable, we are going to lose the locker room again after we cleaned house with Bennett, Sherman, Thomas etc.

 

[Maelstrom787]

The Browns could very well have the most talented roster in the NFL, actually. They're quite solid.

 

[AgentDib]

The Cleveland Browns are Officially better than the Seattle Seahawks.

They likely are better than the Seahawks. They have a very strong team this season largely due to all that draft capital they acquired over the years. You may not like Baker Mayfield but he has clearly outplayed his cap hit of just $9m this season. Of course, they drafted Mayfield with the #1 overall pick they got from having one of the worst seasons of all time.

That being said, getting to a later stage in the playoffs is not "officially better than." Even suggesting that shows you are completely misunderstanding what's going on.

 

[LegendKiller]

The Cleveland Browns are Officially better than the Seattle Seahawks.

They likely are better than the Seahawks. They have a very strong team this season largely due to all that draft capital they acquired over the years. You may not like Baker Mayfield but he has clearly outplayed his cap hit of just $9m this season. Of course, they drafted Mayfield with the #1 overall pick they got from having one of the worst seasons of all time.

That being said, getting to a later stage in the playoffs is not "officially better than." Even suggesting that shows you are completely misunderstanding what's going on.

No, I'm pretty sure I understand what's going on. Just listening to Carroll's press conference is nauseating. The COACHING needs to change. If Carroll's press conference doesn't tell you enough why we are headed in the wrong direction then you are choosing to bury your head in the sand the way he is. My point was that with the same roster, the Browns consistently sucked until they changed their head coach and got further in the playoffs in one season.

 

[Jerhawk]

That Browns O line is legit.

Shaun Alexander would put up 2k behind that line.

 

[Flyingsquad23]

Why is it that only the people that are down on the Hawks are living in “reality”?

My reality is this team is and has been a perennial winner, if you want to praise the Browns and their 1 playoff win in the last 18 years go right ahead. Stephanski is now the new glory boy...maybe he can score more than 3 points in the SB

 

[Maelstrom787]

That Browns O line is legit.

Shaun Alexander would put up 2k behind that line.

They and the Titans should be the template for Seattle to build on.

Get back to the rushing game, keep the chains moving, roll Russ out and let him chuck it deep. Russ struggles with the short game, and a robust rushing attack negates the need for one. It all fits within Carroll's philosophy, and THOSE offenses are the future. It's harmonious with the personnel. It's balanced. It works.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Browns are ABSOLUTELY better than the Hawks, in almost every single position group.

They have studs across their entire O and D lines, RB group is better (Chubb picked after Penny btw), WR group is fantastic, TE's are better, etc.

Maybe across the DB and LB lines we're better? But not by much.

The only thing that was holding back the Browns was Mayfield, and he's played great this year, especially down the stretch.

I think some Hawk fans wear blue and green colored glasses while assessing our roster talent..............so the "it has to be the coaching" is certainly important, but this is a terrible comparison if you're holding up the Browns as having inferior personnel.

 

[LoneHawkFan]

Why is it that only the people that are down on the Hawks are living in “reality”?

My reality is this team is and has been a perennial winner, if you want to praise the Browns and their 1 playoff win in the last 18 years go right ahead. Stephanski is now the new glory boy...maybe he can score more than 3 points in the SB

My guess is because they have a different level of expectations than you do. The Hawks haven't played above their heads in the playoffs since we won the Super Bowl. And, since we lost the Super Bowl, they've been even worse in the playoffs- just two wins over hapless Lions and Eagles teams, and a gift from Blair Walsh. We've looked barely competitive with Russell in his PRIME more often than not and have been consistently unprepared with a (supposed) Hall of Fame coach/QB combo.

If you're happy just to sit back and watch and have fun, cool. Awesome! Enjoy...but understand that there are realities that exist that you obviously aren't interested in talking about that might include being down on the Hawks and their players and coaches.

 

[AgentDib]

No, I'm pretty sure I understand what's going on.

I really don't think you do. If team A beats team B at the same time as team C beats team D, that clearly does not mean that team A is a better team than team D. More importantly, it does not even mean that team A is better than team B, as the worse team wins 33% of the time in the NFL.

Just listening to Carroll's press conference is nauseating. The COACHING needs to change. If Carroll's press conference doesn't tell you enough why we are headed in the wrong direction then you are choosing to bury your head in the sand the way he is.

This might be slightly off-topic, but half of the really obnoxiously dumb stuff people think on this forum is because they think Pete is directing press conferences at them personally. Instead, like every decent head coach, Pete manages press conferences in order to motivate his own team and try to limit information provided to his opponents.

One prime example of this is Pete saying "I ain't concerned at all" about the offense struggling against Washington. That is what is known as a "lie", and anybody who actually believes that Pete was not concerned that his offense looked bad is remarkably gullible. Good head coaches constantly lie to the media because accountability is something that should happen behind closed doors and not in front of the media. Joe Fann (and some Seahawk fans) would have found it much more entertaining if Pete had just thrown Russ under the bus instead, but that isn't the way you manage people successfully.

 

[JPatera76]

Pete chose Penny over Chubb in the draft...

 

[Maelstrom787]

Why is it that only the people that are down on the Hawks are living in “reality”?

My reality is this team is and has been a perennial winner, if you want to praise the Browns and their 1 playoff win in the last 18 years go right ahead. Stephanski is now the new glory boy...maybe he can score more than 3 points in the SB

My guess is because they have a different level of expectations than you do. The Hawks haven't played above their heads in the playoffs since we won the Super Bowl. And, since we lost the Super Bowl, they've been even worse in the playoffs- just two wins over hapless Lions and Eagles teams, and a gift from Blair Walsh. We've looked barely competitive with Russell in his PRIME more often than not and have been consistently unprepared with a (supposed) Hall of Fame coach/QB combo.

If you're happy just to sit back and watch and have fun, cool. Awesome! Enjoy...but understand that there are realities that exist that you obviously aren't interested in talking about that might include being down on the Hawks and their players and coaches.

I think most of us acknowledge that the reality of the team includes some disappointing results and philosophies inherent to the front office regime, but downright pessimism is just as unrealistic as unflinching optimism. It's a trend in society, not just here, to associate pessimism with realism. There ARE a few reasons to be optimistic and happy, including the fantastic regular season record the team assembled this year as part of their sustained status as yearly contenders, just like there are reasons to be down, namely the postseason lack of success.

Reality lies somewhere in the middle, but a board thats eager for the success they once tasted that is fresh off of a disappointment is liable to associate negativity with reality because there are fresh wounds open currently. I think what Flyingsquad23 is trying to say is that those of us who don't want to blow everything up shouldn't be labeled as fanciful sunshine-pumpers just because we aren't vomiting when looking back on the season(s) and are still looking forward to the next year.

 

[AgentDib]

Get back to the rushing game, keep the chains moving, roll Russ out and let him chuck it deep. Russ struggles with the short game, and a robust rushing attack negates the need for one.

I'm 80% convinced that this is the way forward too, but I don't agree that rolling Russ out of pocket by design is necessarily an advantage. That might provide him additional sight lanes, but I don't think it buys him more time to release the ball on average with his current mobility and it takes away half of the field.

What does the Russ that is worth $40m/year need to be able to do? I think that is operating within the pocket, and a heavier running focus should bolster play action enough to give him time to get the ball out.

 

[LoneHawkFan]

Why is it that only the people that are down on the Hawks are living in “reality”?

My reality is this team is and has been a perennial winner, if you want to praise the Browns and their 1 playoff win in the last 18 years go right ahead. Stephanski is now the new glory boy...maybe he can score more than 3 points in the SB

My guess is because they have a different level of expectations than you do. The Hawks haven't played above their heads in the playoffs since we won the Super Bowl. And, since we lost the Super Bowl, they've been even worse in the playoffs- just two wins over hapless Lions and Eagles teams, and a gift from Blair Walsh. We've looked barely competitive with Russell in his PRIME more often than not and have been consistently unprepared with a (supposed) Hall of Fame coach/QB combo.

If you're happy just to sit back and watch and have fun, cool. Awesome! Enjoy...but understand that there are realities that exist that you obviously aren't interested in talking about that might include being down on the Hawks and their players and coaches.

I think most of us acknowledge that the reality of the team includes some disappointing results and philosophies inherent to the front office regime, but downright pessimism is just as unrealistic as unflinching optimism. It's a trend in society, not just here, to associate pessimism with realism. There ARE a few reasons to be optimistic and happy, including the fantastic regular season record the team assembled this year as part of their sustained status as yearly contenders, just like there are reasons to be down, namely the postseason lack of success.

Reality lies somewhere in the middle, but a board thats eager for the success they once tasted that is fresh off of a disappointment is liable to associate negativity with reality because there are fresh wounds open currently. I think what Flyingsquad23 is trying to say is that those of us who don't want to blow everything up shouldn't be labeled as fanciful sunshine-pumpers just because we aren't vomiting when looking back on the season(s) and are still looking forward to the next year.

I'm not so sure that if we'd have fired Pete after last season, say, blew it up, and WE hired Stefanski, that we wouldn't be better off. So...what if we'd have blown it up last year? Maybe we should blow it up this year...?

I'm not convinced (anymore) that Russell can carry a team to a Super Bowl victory without an elite defense. Are you? His lifetime averages are stale AF- he hasn't really improved on any metric across the board; his stats grow as his pass attempts grow...but his metrics don't budge. They haven't budged since his rookie season.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ ... lsRu00.htm

What I AM sure about, is that the talent level on this team is BETTER than a 1st round crushing loss to a WC team. Yet, we looked like the single worst playoff team of the entire weekend. We definitely have things to be optimistic about: personnel, talent, leadership, depth, studs on both sides of the ball. We should be able to beat a WC team 10/10 times with HC and ideal mix of talent, leadership, experience, and hunger associated with this roster.

So...the "reality" being referenced to in these threads is that we are underachieving in the playoffs. People are trying to discuss why that is AND offer up solutions. Of course its emotional- but the emotional responses are just as important sometimes. It's important to remember the sting of a loss and the primal emotions that you feel as a result of it.

 

[xray]

That's not news . Watch the playoffs . There are several teams better than the Hawks .

 

[LoneHawkFan]

That's not news . Watch the playoffs . There are several teams better than the Hawks .

...but not necessarily more talented...

And therein lies the crux of it all.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

They won a playoff game. Doesn't mean they are a better team. Hawks are a damn good team, they just played like crap in the playoffs. The best team doesn't always win. You just have to be the better team that day.
Unfortunately, with all this talent that is good enough to go deep in the playoffs...………...3 wins in 6 seasons.
Ridiculous. Doesn't mean they won't get rolling next year, but damn...…….it gets really frustrating to say the least.
Pete has been outcoached SO often, it isn't even a surprise now. That's a flat out issue.