OT: Watson to Brownies

[1960Pats]

The remaining four need to get on board and cash in their lottery ticket.

I wonder how many victims are out there? You can't tell me that every woman he accosted ended up in a lawyer's office. It looks like he has a serious problem.

 

[1960Pats]

Or he just wanted to pay out 2.2 million to protect his 250 million.

He still looks as guilty as sin, no matter why he settled. Luckily, I'm not being interviewed as a juror.

 

[venecol]

Goodell getting hammered from all sides.

 

[XLIX]

In the eyes of the CLE execs, it's all sunk cost, the current and long term cash they're sending to the new QB, the draft picks they gave up, and the money they'll eat on the old QB, and the games they'll lose because the new QB is gonna be suspended. You and I can figure out the cost in rough terms, the CLE execs have access to staff and to consulting entities that can draw it all out in fine detail, yet they still went ahead.

But it's not a sunk cost. There is value in having a good season and contending for the playoffs. Baker Mayfield maximizes their chances of doing that.

Sure the $20 million is gone, but if you have to pay him $20 million, you may as well keep him. Why pay him $20 million to play QB for some other team when you need a QB (assuming Watson gets suspended for the year)? Keep in mind that the alternative is Jacoby Brissett who is a quality backup, but not as good as Mayfield.

It really is the same process in my mind as NBA tanking. The team is willing to commit to several seasons of really bad basketball and piss off fans by dumping decent players they have supported for years while having to pay full price to see scrubs play. The main idea is the fans will put up with a few seasons of watching scrubs because they have short memories and they're being fed one of the most powerful drugs there is, hope.

Except Cleveland doesn't have their first rounder next year. There's no incentive to tank.

 

[rochrist]

I think you are right... And I think they are angling to get this over quick as possible... Watson used the Brady strategy from deflate gate and lowered this year's base salary to 10m so if he gets suspended he doesn't lose the big dollars coming his way in 2023... What's a 5 or 6m penalty when he's going to get 46m next year...

He lowered it to 1 not 10. His base salary NEXT year is 46 Mil.

 

[rochrist]

So a couple months suspension?

You forgot the word alleged.

Yeah. Alleged. By over 60 different women.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Yeah. Alleged. By over 60 different women.

It's 24.

 

[rochrist]

It's 24.

No. It’s 24 who filed suite. Not all his accusers have filed suite (although 2 more are supposed to come in shortly).

 

[Pape]

He lowered it to 1 not 10. His base salary NEXT year is 46 Mil.

ahhh, i looked at his total cap hit... thanks Ro

 

[Bill Lee]

But it's not a sunk cost. There is value in having a good season and contending for the playoffs. Baker Mayfield maximizes their chances of doing that.

Sure the $20 million is gone, but if you have to pay him $20 million, you may as well keep him. Why pay him $20 million to play QB for some other team when you need a QB (assuming Watson gets suspended for the year)? Keep in mind that the alternative is Jacoby Brissett who is a quality backup, but not as good as Mayfield.

Except Cleveland doesn't have their first rounder next year. There's no incentive to tank.

If the new QB is out for the year, your point strengthens. If he becomes available for their 9th game it weakens.

If you really think the QB is out for the year, you know you aren't going to transition this season so you banish him so there is no question on who the QB is, and you make nice with Baker. You don't have the new QB in for mini-camp, you excuse him. Yet CLE had him in. I'd say that suggests they feel it will be less than a full season.

Making a deep run in the playoff with Baker is a short term gain, but only will deepen the split in the building and in the fan base, making the transition to the long term guy more difficult.

And of course if the team thought they could make a deep playoff run with Baker, they could have just re-signed him and kept the draft picks too, but they already decided that's not the likely outcome.

 

[Ring 6]

So it looks like the NFL/WFT team strategy is to say this was looked at, fine & suspension was imposed and the team has changed its conduct since then. Nothing to look at here, it's all in the past.

What a brilliant strategy. Lol

It’s actually a pretty impressive claim of changes made to address the issues that happened.

 

[TheRainMaker]

When the NFL suspends Watson, Mayfield better hold the Browns hostage.

 

[XLIX]

When the NFL suspends Watson, Mayfield better hold the Browns hostage.

And how, precisely, does he do that? Quite honestly, him not showing up for the actual season would be doing the Browns the biggest favor imaginable. He screws them over by showing up on time and doing everything he contractually needs to do.

 

[TheRainMaker]

And how, precisely, does he do that? Quite honestly, him not showing up for the actual season would be doing the Browns the biggest favor imaginable. He screws them over by showing up on time and doing everything he contractually needs to do.

Who would be a better option?

 

[XLIX]

Who would be a better option?

For the Browns, there is no better option than Mayfield (assuming Watson loses the entire season).

I answered your question, now please answer mine: How exactly should Mayfield "hold the Browns hostage"...? There is really nothing he can do which doesn't hurt himself more than the team.

 

[TheRainMaker]

For the Browns, there is no better option than Mayfield (assuming Watson loses the entire season).

I answered your question, now please answer mine: How exactly should Mayfield "hold the Browns hostage"...? There is really nothing he can do which doesn't hurt himself more than the team.

If they want him to stay and not get traded, they will have to pay for that.

 

[XLIX]

If they want him to stay and not get traded, they will have to pay for that.

Yeah, they'll have to pay his guaranteed $19 million.

And I notice you didn't answer my question. That kinda admits that there is no answer.

 

[venecol]

No. It’s 24 who filed suite. Not all his accusers have filed suite (although 2 more are supposed to come in shortly).

But each lawsuit is tried separately and has to stand on its own. This isn't a class action suit.

True case: young black man (no prior criminal record) gets accused of groping a woman's vagina in a bar. The accuser is a white female firefighter, as is her husband and her gf, all witnessess to the alleged assault. State charges the man with battery. Woman was a good witness, cried on the stand and everything. State had an open and shut case. Then my daughter started her cross examination. Jury found the man not guilty.

Thankfully for that young man, we live in a Country were mere accusations aren't enough to convict. A lot can happen in a court, civil or criminal. It's perfectly fine for lay people to opine on a persons guilt or innocence w/o hearing the entirety of a case. Jurors don't have that benefit.

Watson's attorney, Rusty Hardin has represented and won favorable verdicts for athletes such as Rudy Tomjanovich, Warren Moon, Michael Bennet, Wade Boggs, Rafer Alston, Scottie Pippen, Kurt Busch, Steve Francis, Calvin Murphy, and Roger Clemens. He's a bad Mfer.

 

[venecol]

If you really think the QB is out for the year, you know you aren't going to transition this season so you banish him so there is no question on who the QB is, and you make nice with Baker. You don't have the new QB in for mini-camp, you excuse him. Yet CLE had him in. I'd say that suggests they feel it will be less than a full season.

But that's not what is happening. Baker was excused from mini-camp. He didn't attend OTAs. There's word CLE is willing to eat half his salary to get CAR to take him in a trade. They want him out, regardless of Watson's suspension (1 mo or 1 yr).

To me this says they probably know the outcome already (8 to 17 games) and are willing to move on w/ Watson regardless. I guess they don't have much of a choice but you would think they'd want to keep Baker just in case. That ship has sailed.

 

[patfanken]

But each lawsuit is tried separately and has to stand on its own. This isn't a class action suit.

True case: young black man (no prior criminal record) gets accused of groping a woman's vagina in a bar. The accuser is a white female firefighter, as is her husband and her gf, all witnessess to the alleged assault. State charges the man with battery. Woman was a good witness, cried on the stand and everything. State had an open and shut case. Then my daughter started her cross examination. Jury found the man not guilty.

Thankfully for that young man, we live in a Country were mere accusations aren't enough to convict. A lot can happen in a court, civil or criminal. It's perfectly fine for lay people to opine on a persons guilt or innocence w/o hearing the entirety of a case. Jurors don't have that benefit.

Watson's attorney, Rusty Hardin has represented and won favorable verdicts for athletes such as Rudy Tomjanovich, Warren Moon, Michael Bennet, Wade Boggs, Rafer Alston, Scottie Pippen, Kurt Busch, Steve Francis, Calvin Murphy, and Roger Clemens. He's a bad Mfer.

Which speaks to the power of having a good lawyer NOT to whether the allegations are true or not. When a jury finds a defendant "not guilty", it doesn't find them innocent.

We have been doing a LOT of inferencing here. If Hardin is such a good attorney then why NOT go to court where the legal system puts ALL the weight on the accuser to prove THEIR case which is so difficult in a "he said, she said" situation. Not to mention that the accuser will have the defense investigating her entire past and have it publicly laid open for anyone to see in open court. Even today it is not easy for a woman to go through this, there is a cost that mere money doesn't always make it worth it.

So given this atmosphere why isn't Hardin racing to have this go straight to court instead of settling most of them out of court if he's such a "bad MFer"?

Personally the mere fact that Watson felt the need to go to 66 different FEMALE massage therapists in a 16month time period takes "allegedly" out of the question. Tom Brady's been with the same guy for 20 years. It's not for the massage. You'd think that after around 5 or 10 he'd find a capable person if massage therapy was the issue. It's not for the sex, because if THAT was the need he could have gotten that for free, or else he certainly could hired a professional (who also would have given him a massage as well, btw.) This was a least 66 attempts to impose his will. 66 power trips. Predatory and Narcissistic behavior plain and simple.

I don't know if the settling of most but not all these cases will hasten his return to the Browns, but I hope not.