For the Cleveland Browns, their future is now

There is no rebuilding plan; the Cleveland Browns believe they have a window open to win the Super Bowl this year.

No longer are the Cleveland Browns hoarding draft picks and slashing salaries to save cap room. Now they are spending for very high-priced talent like Odell Beckham Jr., Sheldon Richardson, Olivier Vernon. They join emerging stars Baker Mayfield, Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward, and Joe Schobert, plus established stars Jarvis Landry, Joel Bitonio, J. C. Tretter, Damarious Randall and others.

Your humble correspondent has been ripped for pointing out that the Browns are spending at a rate of about 120 percent of the annual cap, and that can not be sustained longer than three years. In fact, when the Browns extend Garrett, Ward and Mayfield (you do want to keep these guys, don’t you??), there will be some major cuts in order to keep these fellows in Cleveland. You simply can not keep all these big contracts on the team. Some stars not named Garrett or Mayfield will have to go to other teams in three years. I thought it was obvious why the Browns are putting themselves in this situation, but maybe not. So, to be clear:

THE BROWNS ARE TRYING TO WIN THE SUPER BOWL THIS YEAR.

No five-year plan, no four-year plan, no three-year plan, no two-year plan. No rebuilding. WIN RIGHT NOW. THAT’S THE PLAN.

That is why the Browns are deliberately putting themselves into a future salary cap bind. They are going to try to win right now, dominate the league and win the bleeping Super Bowl.

That’s not Dawg Pound Daily’s plan, that’s John Dorsey’s plan, as evidenced by the checks he is handing out. There is no other explanation.

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Some fans are excited that Las Vegas is now giving 14-1 odds against the Browns winning the Super Bowl this year, which is lower than it has been in a long time. Gee, we’re just like a normal NFL team, right? Maybe even better than average?

Well, Dorsey and the Haslams are absolutely not thinking about being ordinary. They were more than ordinary already. Bill Parcells famously said, “You are what your record says you are,” and so the Browns seem to have been an average team at 7-8-1. But the Browns really were better than that the second half of the year, especially offensively.

Nick Chubb powered his way to 678 yards under Williams and Kitchens after not being used much by Jackson and Haley. More importantly, Mayfield was lights out with a 108.4 rating in the last games. He had a rating of 78.9 in the first half of the season. They were not a consistent 7-8-1 team. They really were bad in the first half of the season and really were good down the stretch. And yes you can hang that mainly on the coaching staff.

You are what your record says you are? Well the head coach was 3-36-1 with the Browns, and that encompasses the first eight games of 2018. After that the record says the Browns were 5-3, which should have been enough to make them a threat to make the playoffs in a normal year.

The Browns were already a young, rapidly improving team ready to challenge for the playoffs, and now the Browns have added three players who may head to Hawaii after next season: OBJ, Vernon and Richardson. Of the three, Richardson may be the most important because they really struggled in the interior line.

Based on talent level, the Browns are probably better than any team in the league right now.

In the Sashi Brown era, the Browns cut loose veterans who were not expected to be around in 2019. Well, it’s 2019 now. They will no longer turn up their noses at aging veterans looking to hang on for one more year to get a ring. Can he give the Browns 20 snaps a game at a Pro Bowl level and will he sign for what the Browns are willing to pay? If so, they are going to sign guys like that.

On the other hand if the Browns are going to outspend the competition, it is fair to point out that it can not continue forever. Two or three years, yes. Likewise, it is also fair to point out that Derek Carr received one of the largest contracts in history in year four of his career. And no, Mayfield is not going to play on his rookie contract for 10 percent of what Carr was given, just to help out the payroll.

Next. One final move Browns should make before draft. dark

There really will be financial pressures to pay Schobert, Garrett, Ward and Mayfield in a few years. That does not mean that the Browns are going revert to losing ways, but it does mean that the rosters of 2019, 2020 and 2021 will be the most talent laden Browns fans will see for a long time. And after that, some major cuts will be made.

The future is now. 2019. NOW.

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