The Angry Birds

When talking about the Atlanta Falcons, People think Matt Ryan, Julio Jones and that explosive offense. What about the defense? Since Dan Quinn has arrived in Atlanta, the roster has transformed into a much more ferocious unit. For those who don’t know, Dan Quinn was the Seattle Seahawks’ defensive coordinator in 2013 and 2014 in which they ranked 1^st in total defense in both seasons. Although the Falcons finished 25^th in total defense, this season the unit is starting to hit its stride into becoming a physical and feared unit. The Falcons have added key parts before this season to mold a great defense. They brought in Dwight Freeney to mentor Vic Beasley which paid off tremendously as Beasley leads the league in sacks with 15.5. They also drafted hard hitting safety, Keanu Neal out of Florida to add a physical presence to the defense. The addition of Neal elevated the play of 2^nd year safety, Ricardo Allen making them one of the better safety tandems in the league. The emergence of cornerback, Jalen Collins has been a huge bonus for the Falcons since they lost Desmond Trufant early in the season to a torn pectoral. Starting rookie linebackers usually don’t pan out well for the first season but for 2^nd round pick, Deion Jones, it’s been the total opposite. Jones has been an absolute force in the middle of the field and should be a staple for this defense for many years to come. The Falcons are on the right path to building an elite defense that we just saw completely obliterate Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers to go onto Super Bowl Ll.

Cornerstones for the Cleveland Browns.....

The Cleveland Browns have been the laughing stock of the league since they re-entered back in 99’ with just 2 winning seasons. They have had 9 different coaches and 26 different Quarterbacks during that span. Current coach, Hue Jackson is coming off his first full season where the Browns finished 1-15. The record may show the same old story but I do think Jackson has a chance to start this franchise on the right foot going into 2017. The Browns have a few key players on the roster who look very promising. 2^nd year run stuffer, Danny Shelton had a great sophomore season and looks to be even better in 2017. They also invested 2^nd and 3^rd round picks in the 2016 draft in pass rushers, Emmanuel Ogbah and Carl Nassib who hopefully can make the leap in production that Danny Shelton made in their sophomore seasons. The nucleus of the defense is All-Pro CB Joe Haden who is signed through 2020. The Browns also have two Premier players in Linebacker, Jamie Collins and Wide Receiver, Terrelle Pryor are set to hit free agency. The first key move would be to sign Jamie Collins, whom they traded for during the season, giving up a compensatory 3^rd round pick to the New England Patriots in a classic Belichick move, which is getting rid of players a year too early rather than a year too late. Collins is best suited for a 4-3 scheme which is what newly hired defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams will look to run in 2017. It has been reported that Jamie Collins would like to stay in Cleveland and is asking for a Luke Kuechly-type deal which would be worth $62M over 5yrs. The Browns have the most cap room in the league at just over $47M, so even though Collins’ demands are a little high for his services, the Browns do have the extra money to make a player want to sign with a perennial losing team. On the offensive side of the ball, the Browns have a lot more work to do with the current roster. 1^st rounder, Corey Coleman has the talent to be very successful in this league. The run game was successful for the most part behind Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson Jr. Crowell is also set to hit the open market. Outside of Cameron Erving, the offensive line played well considering they were under duress most of the time, which will happen when you have 6 different starting quarterbacks in one season. The most productive Brown without a doubt was Terrelle Pryor. Pryor had astonishing season totaling 1000 yards receiving on 77 catches with 4Tds. Pryor was a supplementary draft pick back in 2011 by the late, Al Davis for the Oakland Raiders. Since then he has bounced around the league before finding a home in Cleveland. Pryor has expressed feelings and desire to stay in Cleveland, it is up to the owners if he does. The wise move would be to sign the 27-year-old former Ohio St star to a multi-year contract that will roughly command $7-$10M annually.  

Kirk Cousins Market Value

It has been reported that the Redskins will tag Kirk Cousins again if they do not reach a deal this off-season. Kirk Cousins led the Skins to a division title last season, something The Redskins did only twice since 1999. In doing so, he set a franchise record, throwing for 4,166 yards. To go along with 29TD passes, something that had not been done since 1983 by Joe Theisman. After a record setting season from Cousins, the Redskins were still reluctant to hand him the key to the city by making him the franchise Quarterback. Instead, they franchised him for $19.95m. What will Mr. Snyder decide to do this off season?? Well, we can start by running down his options… Realistically, there is only one which is to lock him up long term. Kirk Cousins has proved to be more than worthy by outperforming himself this season. Cousins has thrown for 4,630 yards this season, shattering his own franchise record still with one game left to go. Cousins puts this team in perennial playoff contention if signed and with good strategic off-season moves and good drafts, this team is not too far from Super Bowl talk. Franchising Cousins would cost the Redskins roughly 24M but they would be taking a huge gamble on losing him for good after that. I am guesstimating Kirk Cousins will receive a max contract this off-season roughly around $125-$130M over 5YRS.