THE DAILY BLOVIATION
Good morning, Cleveland Browns fans!
Yesterday was Monday, March 18, 2024, and I can confidently say that not much happened in the world of the Cleveland Browns. Does that mean that there aren't stories for the Newswire to cover?Au contraire! If there aren't, we'll just cover the non-stories posing as stories and do so with our usual gullibility and wonder.
The big news that you're all concerned about, of course, is "Did Barry use the slow day to make incremental improvements in his productivity when compiling the Newswire"? I did!
This Newswire, which once required using three different browsers and hand-linking about 30-40 links per day, is now about 75% automatically constructed using a script that pulls saved articles from an RSS reader via Mac App Shortcuts into a scriptable markdown editing app! A sentence that makes virtually no sense to anyone! At any rate, it's why I've been able to get the Newswire available a little earlier these last few days. It basically means a lot less time cutting and pasting and more time bloviating.
The next trick is to get the bloviations done via AI, which requires training a large language model to generate text like a bourbon-added yet sign-language-trained baboon suffering from chronic depression because his team hasn't been to a Super Bowl in, like, ever.
While I'm busy with that, here are today's LINKS OF MODERATE INTEREST:
4. GREGG WILLIAMS MIGHT BE SUFFERING FROM SOME SORT OF DELUSIONAL EPISODE
'We could have won a championship with him': Former Cleveland Browns interim coach on Baker Mayfield - (Sooners Wire)
Gregg Williams seems, at least, a tad delusional about how the team would have fared had he stayed on as head coach following the team's successful conclusion to the 2018 season. Williams, if you remember, took over for the infamous Hue Jackson and led the team to a 5-3 record. It was a great run and well-remembered.
GM John Dorsey then installed Freddie Kitchens as head coach; the 2019 season happened, Baker Mayfield became an average quarterback, and the excitement fizzled. Williams, however, believes that, had he remained, the team could have won a championship with Baker: "I believe with all my heart, we could have won a championship with him had I stayed in Cleveland instead of heading out." he said on a show called "Come Get Some" (rolls eyes).
Williams, in any event, is proud of Baker's success in Tampa Bay and has fond memories of his time working with him as head coach. Personally, I think you saw a team responding to having the Yoke of Hue thrown off and I don't believe it was sustainable with the talent they had through an entire season. But I'm just a webdork, and Gregg Williams turned a moribund franchise around. So maybe he's right, but it's just another alternate timeline that has us in the Super Bowl. They're all alternative timelines.
3. LET'S FACE IT, THIS IS THE MOST BORING FREE AGENCY EVER
In free agency, Browns banking on 2023's core to do more in 2024 - (ESPN)
2024 Free agency gains and losses: Tracking WAR lost, gained by each NFL team - (PFF)
Usually, March is our biggest month of the year for traffic and selling subscriptions. This year has been, well, a bit disappointing despite having the best team of writers and the best content in OBR history. (This reminds me that today is the LAST DAY to take advantage of our subscription sale.)
The reason for this is that the Browns have become tragically capable of simply running their team back from season to season. This opposes past behavior, which amounted to frantically running amok in early March, throwing dollars around to sign every free agent willing to accept big money to be on a losing football team. So, there have been fewer rumors, fewer controversies to talk about in the Watercooler, fewer big stories, etc. It's been the most boring free agency I can remember.
How boring? You can quantify it by the Browns WAR barely budging from year to year, as per PFF.
In Trotter's ESPN article, he says the Browns were targeting a big play at defensive tackle until salaries at the position quickly spiraled into la-la land, and they then decided to just run it back with Harris and Hurst. So, even that was denied us, and Jerry Jeudy was the only splash move the team really made, leaving us all to thrash about backup quarterbacks.
This is a sign of success for the team. Even if it doesn't help webdorks pay the bills.
2. AARON LYNCH IS OUR SECRET WEAPON
Browns Worked Out DE Aaron Lynch - (NFL Trade Rumors)
Report: Aaron Lynch has workout with Browns - (Pro Football Talk)
Kiran Amegadjie Draft Networking Interview: 'I’m A Can't-Miss Prospect' - (Draft Network)
Browns schedule top-30 2024 NFL draft visit with Yale OT Kiran Amegadjie - (BrownsWire)
Why am I batching these stories together? Because neither of them is likely to have much, if any, impact on the Browns' 2024 season. Stories like these typically emerge from agents looking to get attention for their clients, who want to appear to be in demand. Aaron Lynch hasn't played in the NFL since 2020, and Amegadjie is coming off a quad injury that kept him out of the Combine. The Browns love smart players, though, and he went to Yale, so you never know. But my eyebrow always goes up when these stories show up around the web. And I can't do that Rock / Spock thing with the eyebrows, but I try.
1. CALM DOWN. MO HURST DON'T KNOW NUTHIN'.
The Browns are starting tbe season in Brazil against the Eagles on Friday night Football. ? pic.twitter.com/bGsh97BqH5
— Nick Karns (@karnsies817) March 18, 2024
— Cody Suek (@CodySuek) March 19, 2024
Xitter went atwitter yesterday at the notion that Mo Hurst slipped on the Browns in-house video program (embedded above) and revealed that the Browns had been told that they're heading to Brazil for the Friday night NFL opener against the Eagles. There was a lot of "did he just slip" chatter before Hurst revealed that, no, he had just read the rumors like everyone else.
There's nothing to see here. NOTHING TO SEE. Kind of like 2024 free agency.
Have a good one! GO BROWNS!
THE LIFT
Positive news from the world of sports and beyond...
Browns legend Bernie Kosar: 'I should have been a statistic' - (Crain's Cleveland Business)
Browns legend Bernie Kosar turns wellness plan into coffee venture (ABJ)
I would have loved to point you to yesterday's Crain's Cleveland Business article on Bernie Kosar's bounce back via healthy living and getting his mind right. Unfortunately, they're a bunch of greedy, paywall-having weasels, so I'll point you instead to the ABJ's non-paywalled article on Kosar parlaying his rejuvenation into a coffee business.
Despite this site having a run as BerniesInsiders.com for several years in the early 2000s, I'll admit that Bernie and I haven't spoken much recently. I'll also admit that I've watched (with a little envy) as he's lost weight and gotten his health back on track. Bernie, as he points out, could have been a statistic, but he's not. To someone of a similar age, it's inspiring. Having one of our favorite sons turn his life around and be with us much longer is today's Lift.
YOUR MORNING NEWSWIRE SOUNDTRACK
Jake replays the OBR's Live Monday Night coverage where the Film Breakdown Podcast covers a plethora of topics with Andrew Spayde joining. They hit on the meaning behind the Tyler Huntley signing, and what Justin Fields to the Steelers means for the division as a whole. Then they break down how each of the three others in the AFC North handled Free Agency and what they are likely to be targeting in the NFL Draft come next month.
OBR VIDEO
OBR FILM BREAKDOWN FROM LAST NIGHT
OBR ARTICLES FROM YESTERDAY
Cleveland Browns News 3/18: Another New Quarterback, Mike Williams, and the Hilarious Sense of Regret - (Barry)
Breaking Down The Shelby Harris Cleveland Browns Contract - (Jack)
Free Agency Reset: What Moves the Cleveland Browns have Made on Offense so Far and What Do They Do Next - (Brad W)
What Will The Cleveland Browns Do In The 2024 NFL Draft? - (Jack)
FROM THE FORUMS
NEW! OBR VIP Discord Coming Soon!
Meanwhile, here are some new threads in the OBR’s discussion forums:
ASK THE INSIDERS (VIP)
Contract Restructures for Watson and Chubb?
Huntley signing signal concerns for Watson's recovery?
Jim Schwartz contract
Fu: Watson Restructure
THE WATERCOOLER
LiveWire Thread for 3/18 - Twitter, Articles, Videos-OPEN THREAD
Breaking Down The Shelby Harris Cleveland Browns Contract
Quincy Carrier on Browns Who “Lost” from FA Moves
Post FA: What is the weakest position group/who do you want @ 54
Browns met with 6-3 240 RB Aidan Robbins
OT: Iron Mike vs Some Guy
Free Agency Reset: What Moves the Cleveland Browns have Made on Offense so Far and What Do They Do Next
Chase Young to Sign with the Saints
Josh Dobbs Signs with the 49ers
What Will The Cleveland Browns Do In The 2024 NFL Draft?
WRAPPING UP
When not trying to get the Year of the Webdork off the ground, Barry McBride is the Publisher and Founder of the OBR and bloviates this nonsense every morning. You can follow him on Twitter @barrymcbride or write him at barry@theobr.com if you are so compelled.
CONTACT Barry to sponsor the OBR. We have plans for nearly any budget!
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