Odell Beckham Jr.,: Seatbelts Ruin Lives

[The Human Q-Tip]

Instead of trying to force him targets, playing without him might be exactly what they needed to develop their own identity in the passing game before adding his talent back into the mix in 2021.

Definitely will assess his value in the market, as they're duty-obligated to do, but I have zero issues believing that this team will be better in 2021 because of his return.

You may very well be right. But the question is whether they would be $14M/year better with him, and how many games you give them next year to figure it out.

The argument that the problem wasn't the OBJ/Baker combination itself, but rather that Baker himself needed to improve, is appealing. But as was pointed out upthread, Baker's performance improved immediately -- within that same game in which OBJ got injured. Maybe that's just correlation rather than causation, or maybe it isn't. It's just really tough to know.

For me, it boils down to what we can get for him. We have enough other needs that I suspect we could get more value for our $14M elsewhere. But if there aren't any takers, we may as well just give it another shot next year.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

He's the closest thing in the league to prime Antonio Brown--and has been for a little bit now.

I'm just happy that Allen turned into a great passer this year. I was worried that we were gonna see Diggs's career dry up in Buffalo.

I'm still amazed the dude went in the seventh. He was a projected first rounder before that injury at Maryland.

I'd prefer that Buffalo not be as good competition as they are. Buffalo and Allen are a legitimate threat.

 

[AZ_]

He's the closest thing in the league to prime Antonio Brown--and has been for a little bit now.

I'm just happy that Allen turned into a great passer this year. I was worried that we were gonna see Diggs's career dry up in Buffalo.

I'm still amazed the dude went in the seventh. He was a projected first rounder before that injury at Maryland.

To see Josh Allen's tape at Wyoming, or even the first year in the NFL, to what you see now is one of the best progressions I've ever seen from a QB. Daboll and Dorsey have done incredibly work there, both of them are likely to get the bag because of it.

We all spent months going over that QB class from top to bottom and all it really proved was that none of us really no shit about evaluating QBs.

Fortunately, at least for the time being, I don't need to invest any more time and energy into evaluating it as it relates to the Browns. Though I guess we'll see what Baker's contract demands are.

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

I'd prefer that Buffalo not be as good competition as they are. Buffalo and Allen are a legitimate threat.

Teams are going to be good. If you're talking just about Browns success, you have to beat good teams to win anything. I'd rather our Erie bros in Buffalo be good than nearly any other franchise.

 

[bob2the2nd]

To see Josh Allen's tape at Wyoming, or even the first year in the NFL, to what you see now is one of the best progressions I've ever seen from a QB. Daboll and Dorsey have done incredibly work there, both of them are likely to get the bag because of it.

We all spent months going over that QB class from top to bottom and all it really proved was that none of us really no shit about evaluating QBs.

Fortunately, at least for the time being, I don't need to invest any more time and energy into evaluating it as it relates to the Browns. Though I guess we'll see what Baker's contract demands are.

its been said 100x over, but one of the absolute key's to Allen's develop has been the fact that he has stable coaching around him. He easily could have been a bust if he went to a franchise like the browns which turned over twice in Baker's first 2 years. Hell you could make the argument that if Baker didnt come out slinging the ball his rookie year he may not have even made it to week 6 this year (or whatever week it was he began to turn it around).

Good for buffalo for actually sticking with a planning.

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

its been said 100x over, but one of the absolute key's to Allen's develop has been the fact that he has stable coaching around him. He easily could have been a bust if he went to a franchise like the browns which turned over twice in Baker's first 2 years. Hell you could make the argument that if Baker didnt come out slinging the ball his rookie year he may not have even made it to week 6 this year (or whatever week it was he began to turn it around).

Good for buffalo for actually sticking with a planning.

I'll say it's also good for Buffalo that they turned one of the most inaccurate starting QB's in the league into an accurate thrower. Instead of generating everything with his arm, he's generating torque with his torso and just following through with his arm. I don't know which coach on their staff is responsible, or if it was something Allen worked on privately, but everyone involved deserves credit. Allen for making the changes, the advisers for recommending them, and the Bills organization for their patience with their developmental QB.

 

[AZ_]

its been said 100x over, but one of the absolute key's to Allen's develop has been the fact that he has stable coaching around him. He easily could have been a bust if he went to a franchise like the browns which turned over twice in Baker's first 2 years. Hell you could make the argument that if Baker didnt come out slinging the ball his rookie year he may not have even made it to week 6 this year (or whatever week it was he began to turn it around).

Good for buffalo for actually sticking with a planning.

They groomed him incredible well, then all of sudden they added Diggs (who is probably in the top tier of WRs in the league) and it took their offense to the next level.

Now that Baker has settled into the offense under Stefanski, adding Beckham back into the fold should be a welcome addition. It opens up a lot more of what Stefanski can do off play action.

 

[Los216]

One of the most fun fan experiences I've had at a Browns game was that home game against BUF last season. They have some of the most fun traveling fans. Really aggressive and supportive of their team and all of the Browns fans had to rally together to fend them off. Their hey, hey, hey, hey, let's go Buffalo chant is kind of cool too. I don't know if it's because the teams and cities are both similar but it felt like a nice little rivalry. Baker and Josh Allen being in the same draft adds to it.

I think I'd put BUF over DEN as our best non division rivalry game now.

 

[PITCavsFan]

What's OBJ worth in draft capital at this point?

Given he's not exactly producing huge numbers here to justify his cap hit, is it not worth the savings to grab a WR in the draft or sign someone to a more cost-effective deal?

 

[bob2the2nd]

What's OBJ worth in draft capital at this point?

Given he's not exactly producing huge numbers here to justify his cap hit, is it not worth the savings to grab a WR in the draft or sign someone to a more cost-effective deal?

well he is guaranteed 12.75 next year because of the injury. So that combined with the coming off the ACL injury probably makes him almost impossible to trade. So my guess is there is probably a 95% chance he is on the team come the beginning of next year.

That said, yes I do think the browns look to grab a WR later in the draft.

 

[DJTJ]

One of the most fun fan experiences I've had at a Browns game was that home game against BUF last season. They have some of the most fun traveling fans. Really aggressive and supportive of their team and all of the Browns fans had to rally together to fend them off. Their hey, hey, hey, hey, let's go Buffalo chant is kind of cool too. I don't know if it's because the teams and cities are both similar but it felt like a nice little rivalry. Baker and Josh Allen being in the same draft adds to it.

I think I'd put BUF over DEN as our best non division rivalry game now.

Am I the only person here who, if it isn’t against us, roots for Buffalos success? They were huge in getting our franchise back so quickly.

 

[Marcus]

People are tremendously underappreciating the value of what a comfortable Kevin Stefanski, Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham can contribute to this offense.

That perhaps instead of a mythical "Baker is better without this excellent player" take, this offense managed to find rhythm over the course of their first season in this zone/PA scheme as it progressed through the season.

Instead of trying to force him targets, playing without him might be exactly what they needed to develop their own identity in the passing game before adding his talent back into the mix in 2021.

Definitely will assess his value in the market, as they're duty-obligated to do, but I have zero issues believing that this team will be better in 2021 because of his return.

I think we'd be having a different (more positive) discussion about this if Stefanski had been the head coach last year and they had added OBJ this year, exactly for the reason that I bolded. Hypothetical of course, but you can't discount just how bad Freddie was last year for the team as a whole and how Kevin has done a masterful job of righting the ship and developing an identity for the offense in particular.

I really, really hope that a full offseason with the team will finally allow OBJ to comfortably integrate into the offense. And if not, you get whatever you can for him in a trade following the next season.

 

[Marcus]

Am I the only person here who, if it isn’t against us, roots for Buffalos success? They were huge in getting our franchise back so quickly.

The Bills (and the Bills Mafia) are our Lake Erie bros. Hell yeah I'm gonna root for them.

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

I think we'd be having a different (more positive) discussion about this if Stefanski had been the head coach last year and they had added OBJ this year, exactly for the reason that I bolded. Hypothetical of course, but you can't discount just how bad Freddie was last year for the team as a whole and how Kevin has done a masterful job of righting the ship and developing an identity for the offense in particular.

I really, really hope that a full offseason with the team will finally allow OBJ to comfortably integrate into the offense. And if not, you get whatever you can for him in a trade following the next season.

This is a great point.

Imagine the world where OBJ isn't on the roster. This team comes off the season we just had, and we're all looking at our team like "Yeah, Baker is balling out. Our run game looks tremendous. We should just try and add a WR who can take the top off a defense and we're set." We'd be talking about drafting guys, or just adding a cheap guy in that Breshad Perriman mold.

Then, one morning, you read the news that we acquired OBJ. Fans would be creaming themselves.

It's just so funny that, since he's here already, there's this strong narrative that we'll be better without him. Anyone wanna guess how close to a circle the venn diagram is between people who think we'll be better off without OBJ and the people who were always calling for the backup QB to replace the starter?

 

[Ohio]

One of the most fun fan experiences I've had at a Browns game was that home game against BUF last season. They have some of the most fun traveling fans. Really aggressive and supportive of their team and all of the Browns fans had to rally together to fend them off. Their hey, hey, hey, hey, let's go Buffalo chant is kind of cool too. I don't know if it's because the teams and cities are both similar but it felt like a nice little rivalry. Baker and Josh Allen being in the same draft adds to it.

I think I'd put BUF over DEN as our best non division rivalry game now.

I was at that game too. Those motherfuckers are LOUD. Gotta respect it.