AFC North Off Season Buzz

For those doubting Bengals fans

 
 
In the latest AFC North news, its never a dull moment in Cleveland. This weekend (beginning Friday) was no different.
 
Here’s today’s buzz. Enjoy.
 
Cleveland Browns
 
The weekend in Cleveland started with the owner commenting on the state of Browns starting quarterbacks on Friday, and ended with what is turning out to be a tragedy with another Josh Gordon failed drug test.
 
My Take: I chose the FTW article and this one to highlight the disturbing trend that is the life of Josh Gordon. He doesn’t appear to be attention seeking like the frat-like ways of Johnny Manziel. Josh Gordon appears to have a serious substance problem, which the NFL should not take lightly, but probably will because it doesn’t make headlines or doesn’t blow up Twitter. A one-year suspension will not help Josh Gordon the football player or Josh Gordon the human get any better. What he needs is an intervention by family, friends, and the NFL community. Substance addiction has mostly been glossed over by the NFL with fines, suspensions, and finger waving. Now is the time for the NFL to take cases like Gordon’s as seriously as they recently have on domestic abuse (although it also took a video and public outcry for that to happen, so I won’t hold my breath).
 
Baltimore Ravens
 
Apparently the Ravens are enemy number one when it comes to the latest cheating allegations according to certain Patriots fans. This was an entertaining article to read over the weekend purely from a blind homer perspective, compliments of the Boston Globe.
 
My take: Apparently delflate-gate is all John Harbaugh’s fault and not the fault of those actually deflating the balls. If you don’t want someone to question your methods for gaining an advantage over an opponent (PC for allegedly cheating), either don’t do it, or do it more discretely (although data suggests the strategy may have been working for quite awhile). Also, it just might be possible that Harbaugh has a closer relationship with his former defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano than Bill Belichick as hard as that is for some to believe (Psssst: coaches talk to other coaches all of the time).
 
Cincinnati Bengals
 
Pro Bowl fans boo Andy Dalton when he failed to convert on the final drive after getting his team to the red zone with about a minuted left in the game.
 
My Take: You paid good money to watch the worst all-star display in sports by attending the flipping Pro Bowl… in Arizona. Boo yourselves for that. Dalton was the 7th alternate in a game that was missing a few QBs “due to injury” that you actually voted for (or they had something better to do). I did not watch the game, so I couldn’t tell you how good or bad he was, but booing a 7th alternate is enough for me to say “you are an idiot”… unless you are a disgruntled Bengals fan.
 
Pittsburgh Steelers
 
On a lighter note, (and because its a slow news week in Pittsburgh), Someone forgot to tell Antonio Brown that the Pro Bowl was moved from Hawaii.
 
My Take: We don’t get to see enough of a player’s personality in the NFL from the helmets, to the “No Fun League” rules, to a team’s dress code. Obviously these rules are loosened for the Pro Bowl, and as ugly as this getup is, I applaud it.