papazoid Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 6 Pro Bowlers $40 mil projected under the cap 2 @ 1st round picks Cleveland is 1 Franchise QB away from making the playoffs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 6 Pro Bowlers $40 mil projected under the cap 2 @ 1st round picks Cleveland is 1 Franchise QB away from making the playoffs. There are almost exactly 20 teams that are a franchise qb away from making the playoffs annually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machine gun kelly Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 6 Pro Bowlers $40 mil projected under the cap 2 @ 1st round picks Cleveland is 1 Franchise QB away from making the playoffs. Given their extra 1st, you wonder would they grab St. Louis' spot at #2 to get Bridgewater or Bortles? They do have some nice talent on defense, and Hoyer is an excellent back up. They can dump the other QB's. It was funny this morning on NFL Radio Ross and Booger were talking about the top 5 dysfunctional franchises, and Cleveland, Jax, Oakland and Dallas were right up there. I was waiting for Buffalo and they had them around the next tier. I wanted to call in and state if it were Buffalo prior to Nix, Whaley and Marrone (contrary to a lot of you guys I saw Buddy as a better GM than anything we had in a decade) then we should compete for that #1 spot. Now I do believe we are on track, and patience is what is needed by the front office to get us out of the hole. Thank god for Cleveland as they are still a bigger mess than us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 6 Pro Bowlers $40 mil projected under the cap 2 @ 1st round picks Cleveland is 1 Franchise QB away from making the playoffs. Well that should be fairly easy to find... The only legit Pro Bowler they had on defense was Haden. Ward was an alternate after some other safeties turned it down and/or were in the SB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Cubed Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 6 Pro Bowlers $40 mil projected under the cap 2 @ 1st round picks Cleveland is 1 Franchise QB away from making the playoffs. As if the Pro Bowl means anything... Also, being 40 mil under the cap means very little if the FA market doesn't yield what a team is in need of. A team certainly doesn't build through FA. You say there 1 franchise QB away from being in the playoffs? Are there any franchise QB's in FA? No. So looks like they will attempt to draft one, as will every other team that is still searching for one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 As if the Pro Bowl means anything... Also, being 40 mil under the cap means very little if the FA market doesn't yield what a team is in need of. A team certainly doesn't build through FA. You say there 1 franchise QB away from being in the playoffs? Are there any franchise QB's in FA? No. So looks like they will attempt to draft one, as will every other team that is still searching for one. 2 of their offensive Pro Bowlers were on the OL, and their OL could NOT run block last year. Joe Thomas is a HOF LT but he didn't have a good year (for him) and I think was voted to the PB on his name. Alex Mack is a good Center but is a FA and prior to this latest FO change, the plan was not to resign him. I personally think that is a mistake especially if they plan to roll a rookie QB out there, you need an experienced, strong Center. If they sign him though (he will be in demand), they will either need to not sign or tag TJ Ward who is also a FA. At least that was the plan before. I can't see Pettine wanting to rebuild at Safety but again, not sure how much say he will have even with Banner gone. They desperately need a running back and QB. Many mocks show them taking Hyde at 26. I don't advocate taking RBs in the first and despite being Hyde's biggest fan I think that is too high. Haslam has made no secret of trying to expand the Browns fan base into Columbus though and that would be an easy way to fill a huge need with a good player and do just that. The Browns have their work cut out for them, no doubt, and as with most teams, starts with the QB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewildrabbit Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 If Al Davis were still alive you could ask him how he feels about Lombardi giving up Randy Moss for a 4th to Lombardi's old Patriots buddy Bill Bill-i-cheat. This happened in 2007, and that was the last time he was a GM. Funny how Lombardi now ends up in NE with his old pal. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/02/13/reports-michael-lombardi-to-join-patriots-front-office/ I wouldn't trust that guy as my GM for anything, as I would need to question if he has more then one agenda. Probably why he was out of work as a GM for so long. That said, I wouldn't be surprised to find that Robert Kraft had Tom Modrak on his payroll. Its almost impossible to be that bad at your chosen profession for that long. Then again Matt Millen managed it while with Detroit as their president / CEO for almost as long as Modrak was the Bills chief scout. Seven years 31-81 Lets see, Russ Brandon de facto GM to CEO 2008-2013 six years 35-61... Anyway, conspiracy theories aside. How does a franchise lose so much, and miss the playoffs for as long as the Buffalo Bills (14 years), Cleveland Browns(11 years), Oakland Raiders(11 years) St Louis Rams (9 years), and still survive in such a down turned economy? Why do the fans keep showing up for these teams? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarleyNY Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 On a personal note, I have never hated a regime any more than I hated Banner and Lombardi. Even Mangini. Even Policy/Clark. Not that either of those wouldn't top most lists. Haslsm fixed a huge mistake and he did it earlier than I thought he would. Props for that. I agree that the jury is out on his replacements as well as on him (maybe literally soon!), but I feel immeasurably better about the Browns today than I did a week ago. The horror stories about the environment inside the Browns building have been consistently awful over the past 18 months and more is coming out now. The news the past few days has been great. Much rejoicing has occurred and now it looks like some real work is going to get done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 (edited) Lombardi really wanted McDaniels... makes sense now, given what has occurred, on why it did not happen... ProFootballTalk @ProFootballTalk 2m Report: Josh McDaniels wanted Browns job, was a candidate to the end http://wp.me/p14QSB-9pzw Edited February 13, 2014 by YoloinOhio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuntheDamnBall Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 This has got to rank as one of the oddest offseasons for a team in which no one shot themselves in the leg, ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 (edited) On a personal note, I have never hated a regime any more than I hated Banner and Lombardi. Even Mangini. Even Policy/Clark. Not that either of those wouldn't top most lists. Haslsm fixed a huge mistake and he did it earlier than I thought he would. Props for that. I agree that the jury is out on his replacements as well as on him (maybe literally soon!), but I feel immeasurably better about the Browns today than I did a week ago. The horror stories about the environment inside the Browns building have been consistently awful over the past 18 months and more is coming out now. The news the past few days has been great. Much rejoicing has occurred and now it looks like some real work is going to get done. I agree. Apparently, it is being discussed that hiring Banner is not 100% his "mistake." It was an arranged marriage by the NFL. Goodell recommended Banner to him and said he would be the best guy to help him run the team, and Haslam had no reason not to trust that. Now, that may have been true (he was available and he had run successful teams before) but what Haslam didn't realize was what he would ultimately do to the brand, which couldn't afford to take more of a hit. This has got to rank as one of the oddest offseasons for a team in which no one shot themselves in the leg, ever. Don't sleep on Devone Bess, he may not be done. Edited February 13, 2014 by YoloinOhio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Given their extra 1st, you wonder would they grab St. Louis' spot at #2 to get Bridgewater or Bortles? They do have some nice talent on defense, and Hoyer is an excellent back up. They can dump the other QB's. It was funny this morning on NFL Radio Ross and Booger were talking about the top 5 dysfunctional franchises, and Cleveland, Jax, Oakland and Dallas were right up there. I was waiting for Buffalo and they had them around the next tier. I wanted to call in and state if it were Buffalo prior to Nix, Whaley and Marrone (contrary to a lot of you guys I saw Buddy as a better GM than anything we had in a decade) then we should compete for that #1 spot. Now I do believe we are on track, and patience is what is needed by the front office to get us out of the hole. Thank god for Cleveland as they are still a bigger mess than us. The Bills franchise/front office weren't dysfunctional during that time. They may not have been good, but hardly dysfunctional, theres a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 I agree. Apparently, it is being discussed that hiring Banner is not 100% his "mistake." It was an arranged marriage by the NFL. Goodell recommended Banner to him and said he would be the best guy to help him run the team, and Haslam had no reason not to trust that. Now, that may have been true (he was available and he had run successful teams before) but what Haslam didn't realize was what he would ultimately do to the brand, which couldn't afford to take more of a hit. and yet... here he was listening to BB about wanting to get Schiano. it seems the lesson may not have been learned. Don't sleep on Devone Bess, he may not be done. and really, between the twitter and the airport incidents.... well... hes not far behind even if he is done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bourbonboy Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 My apologies if this is a repost, but didn't see it noted herein....not only wasn't Farmer present for the Pettine interviews, but according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Pettine wasn't new GM Ray Farmer's first choice to replace Rob Chudzinski.. So basically, if Cleveland had done this thing right, Pettine would still be Bills DC. http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/9338/mike-pettine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 As for the fact that the Browns have $40 mil in cap sapce, thats great, but they have to convince good players to want to come to the Browns in order for that cap space to be put to good use. There are many players inside the Browns organisation that have been questioning the franchise this offseason and are not happy, that doesn't help attract players that have a choice where they want to play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 As for the fact that the Browns have $40 mil in cap sapce, thats great, but they have to convince good players to want to come to the Browns in order for that cap space to be put to good use. There are many players inside the Browns organisation that have been questioning the franchise this offseason and are not happy, that doesn't help attract players that have a choice where they want to play. Any good FA who has a choice on where to go would really need to question going to this franchise. Take away the lack of success and perceived unattractiveness of the city, the instability and daily jokes about the team have got to be a major turnoff The Bills franchise/front office weren't dysfunctional during that time. They may not have been good, but hardly dysfunctional, theres a difference. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLFan Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 6 Pro Bowlers $40 mil projected under the cap 2 @ 1st round picks Cleveland is 1 Franchise QB away from making the playoffs. So are the Bills. If EJ plays to expectations, the Bills are a very good team, despite all the self loathing around here. I would not trade places with Cleveland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Any good FA who has a choice on where to go would really need to question going to this franchise. Take away the lack of success and perceived unattractiveness of the city, the instability and daily jokes about the team have got to be a major turnoff +1 Exactly, since they fired Chud after one season where he didn't look bad until his starting QB went down against the Bills, there have been players questioning and complaining about the direction of the team. Having player on the team doing that is not a good way to sell the idea of attracting new talent to come sign with you. Then the mess of the coaching search, and now the surprise of firing Banner and Lombardi after the coaching search is over that they conducted, without having the new GMs input on the new coach is going to have many players thinking twice about signing with the Browns even for more money. Theres too much instability Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireChan Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Anyone read the reports that Weeden wants out of Cleveland? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarleyNY Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 My apologies if this is a repost, but didn't see it noted herein....not only wasn't Farmer present for the Pettine interviews, but according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Pettine wasn't new GM Ray Farmer's first choice to replace Rob Chudzinski.. So basically, if Cleveland had done this thing right, Pettine would still be Bills DC. http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/9338/mike-pettine I have also read where Pettine was told that there would be front office "changes" which equated to Lombardi's removal. Banner had a falling out with him and as he was his only supporter in Cleveland that writing was on the wall. Farmer wasn't in interviews with Pettine or any other candidate, but I'm pretty sure Pettine knew it was a Farmer he was going to be working with and not Lombardi. It would explain Farmer's withdrawal from the Phish GM job as well. Banner was probably a surprise, however. Haslam apparently moved fast on that one. On that note I hear that Pettine is very happy about that change as well. Again, nobody has proven anything yet. But two road blocks to success have been removed so it's looking up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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