Sunday early
SD @ TB
TEN @ MIA
BUF @ NE
OAK @ BAL
DEN @ CAR
NYG @ CIN
DET @ MIN
ATL @ NO
Sunday late
NYJ @ SEA
DAL @ PHI
STL @ SF
SNF
HOU @ CHI
MNF
KC @ PIT
Byes:
ARI, CLE, GB, WAS
So I’ve thought for a while - there must be collusion with coaching salaries in the NFL, because the lack of bidding wars is otherwise hard to explain.
There’s no salary cap impact on paying a ton to a coach. Here’s the one area where a rich owner can really flex his muscle.
We know the top coaching candidates aren’t going to want to come to Cleveland if we only offer the same contract as everyone else, so why don’t we shock the world and make Sean Payton the most well paid coach in history by a decent margin? Say 15-20 million a year. Some star players make that much. You can’t tell me having one of the best coaches out there to right this ship isn’t as valuable as having someone like Julius Peppers.
And it wouldn’t be taking up 20% of our salary cap or whatever. It wouldn’t cost the team anything except the owner’s checkbook.
You really want to prove yourself, Haslam? Do one fo the only things an owner can really do to stand out from the crowd. Prove you are dedicated to doing the absolute best for this team. Make Sean Payton the highest paid coach in history. Finally give the Browns a great young coach that’s actually worth building around. Have someone worth continuity. It will be money well spent.
If we were to do that, it would instantly take me from being too worn out to be able to really care about this team to the happiest I’ve ever been as a Browns fan. And what would it cost, an extra $10 million dollars a year for a billion dollar business? It would more than pay for itself in increased fan interest. It would change the direction of the franchise.
The only reason I can see why something like this wouldn’t happen is if there’s a collusive agreement to keep coaching salaries in line.
Yeah, that’s a tough one to figure. You know collusion goes on but at the same time each of those owners are so competitive that if it gives them an edge you’d think they’d take it. Sean Payton has demonstrated the ability to win and his team has suffered dearly without him this year. But 15 - 20 MM? That’s an awful lot of coin considering Belichick with 3 SB wins to Payton’s 1 makes about 7.25 MM plus endorsements, etc. Shanahan with 2 SBs makes around 7 MM, Reid and Fisher with lots of good teams but no Lombardi pull in about 5.5.
Wherever Payton goes though, including if he just stays in N.O., those fans will definately have something to cheer about. Let the courtships begin.
Lots of really good match-ups this week, none better than the Texans in Chicago Sunday night.
ETA: Btw, did you read Peter King’s story about Sean stealing the wine J. Jones had reserved for the following night when he and his team were celebrating the SB win? Pretty amusing.
Mike Golic was mentioning Payton this morning, noting the irony of a guy that essentially is going to get a huge payday after having been punished in almost unprecedented fashion by the NFL.
Anyway, the Bengals have a tough row to hoe, but I just know they can win their next 8 games in a row and finish 11-5. I believe!
Since the Packers are on bye, the biggest game for me this weekend is the Sunday Night game Bears v. Houston. It’s in Chicago, it’s primetime, and it’s two teams with 7-1 records (both only lost to the Packers).
I haven’t been this excited for a non-Packer game in quite awhile. I have been watching while the Bears beat up bad teams ala the Bengals last year, and I’m thrilled at the prospect of them playing a legitimate Super Bowl contender. It’s in Chicago and the Bears defense is legitimately an elite defense, so I don’t imagine it will be the kind of blowout that would have me laughing in the aisles, but I do think it will be a fascinating game that results in a Texans win. Plus, it should be fun watching JJ Watt, one of my current man-crushes, sitting on Jay Cutler’s pouty little head.
7:20 tonite on NFL channel: Indianapolis (5-3) -3.5 JACKSONVILLE (1-7)
In week 3 the Colts lost 17-22 when the spread was -3.5. I think they’ve improved on both sides of the ball since then and will W this one. Love them Thursday games.
OK, so here’s the deal, Washington/Dallas/Philly fans:
The AFC North has been laying the wood to the Giants over the past two weeks. They are now losing to the 4-game losing streak 3-5 Bungles and showing no signs of recovery, a week after losing a game that the refs gift-wrapped for them.
If your teams cannot make up ground on the now-hapless Giants, it’s because your team sucks harder than any team has ever sucked in a sucky division.
No they’re not. They have spurts of greatness, but they’re interspersed between 2-3 game stretches of what could charitably be called mediocrity. They’re pretty much exactly what you’d expect from their record.
They have the potential to be a much better team than their record indicates, but they’re not there yet.