peen...I agree, that Farmer and Pettine are not working well together and I see no sign that it will change in the future.
In Pettine's 11/3 press conference, just minutes after the trade deadline, Pettine clearly looks unhappy when asked if the Browns made any trades...
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On if the Browns made trades before the deadline:
"No."
On if the Browns were close to making any trades:
"I'll let (General Manager) Ray (Farmer) talk about it. I wasn't involved. I was in gameplan meetings."
link
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No doubt in my mind that Farmer is not up to the task..but hey, the guy making that decision in Cleveland is Jimmy Haslam, so there is no way to figure out what he does.
What did you want him to say?
"Did you make any trades before the deadline?"
The Browns did not. How much detail is required to answer a yes/no question?
On if the Browns were close to making any trades:
"I'll let (General Manager) Ray (Farmer) talk about it. I wasn't involved. I was in gameplan meetings."
This is also true on .... oh ... every team that doesn't have the head coach pulling GM duties. Maybe Farmer passed Pettine in the hallway and says, "Hey, I got a call from the Broncos looking to trade for Joe Thomas." (laugh)
To which Pettine says, "Only if the return makes the Herschel Walker deal look like a loss for the Cowboys."
Given those parameters, were the Browns close to making a trade? Who knows? I am sure that Farmer, or any GM on any team, does not disrupt game planning with updates every 5 minutes. It was an entirely appropriate response to the question.
Sometimes people look for problems where none exist. I think that this is one of those cases.