DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Tony Grossi Accuses Bill Barnwell Of Secretly Consulting For The Browns

Tony Grossi just pulled ahead of Mary Kay Cabot in the "most insane Browns beat writer" race:

http://deadspin.com/espn-columnist-accuses-fellow-espner-bill-barnwell-of-s-1794119338

Click through the link, it'll be worth your time just for the laughs.

............................................________
....................................,.-'"...................``~.,
.............................,.-"..................................."-.,
.........................,/...............................................":,
.....................,?......................................................,
.................../...........................................................,}
................./......................................................,:`^`..}
.............../...................................................,:"........./
..............?.....__.........................................:`.........../
............./__.(....."~-,_..............................,:`........../
.........../(_...."~,_........"~,_....................,:`........_/
..........{.._$;_......"=,_......."-,_.......,.-~-,},.~";/....}
...........((.....*~_......."=-._......";,,./`..../"............../
...,,,___.`~,......"~.,....................`.....}............../
............(....`=-,,.......`........................(......;_,,-"
............/.`~,......`-...................................../
.............`~.*-,.....................................|,./.....,__
,,_..........}.>-._...................................|..............`=~-,
.....`=~-,__......`,.................................
...................`=~-,,.,...............................
................................`:,,...........................`..............__
.....................................`=-,...................,%`>--==``
........................................_..........._,-%.......`
...................................,

Grossi was talking about this on 850 last night on the drive home. I didn't hear him "accuse" Barwell of anything untoward, it was more about the FO taking the advise of a journalist, as though good ideas are only valuable if they come from within. To me, it's a matter of Correlation vs. Causation. In his article on 12-22-16 (linked here for those interested in reading) Barnwell states two "future facts".

"...the Browns go after somebody like guard Kevin Zeitler, who excelled under Jackson in Cincinnati."

The Browns did indeed sign Zeitler a little under three months later, and in the same article, Barnwell wrote about the Osweiller trade, theorizing:

"Hypothetically, the Browns could offer a seventh-round pick to the Texans in exchange for Osweiler, a 2017 third-round pick and a 2018 first-rounder."

Obviously we didn't get a 2018 first round pick for the deal, but a deal was struck, so Grossi was asking the question, are the Browns taking advice from Barnwell? It is an interesting question, whether they could be listening to him either directly or through his column. If they are, so what? As long as the ideas are solid and work out for the team. It could be nothing more than his thinking prompting the FO to think outside the box, or there could be no correlation at all.

In this article Barnwell lists four options for the Browns. 1) Take Barnett 2) Take a QB 3) Trade down 4) Trade for Garoppolo

Grossi suggests the possibility of a correlation between Barwell's previous hypotheses being the causation of the Browns' decisions. He then went on to suggest that if the Browns do trade down, they likely got the idea from Barnwell because Barnwell writes:

"Research suggests that teams aren't capable of beating the draft, and teams who trade out of the top five and acquire additional picks often end up getting the better end of the bargain."

He also goes on to state:

"The Browns probably would be passing on what looks to be an excellent pass-rush prospect in Garrett if they traded down, but we often fool ourselves into thinking that we have a better read on the available rookies in a given class before the draft. I included a chart in previewing Cleveland's offseason that noted how former unquestioned, no-doubt first overall picks such as Jadeveon Clowney and Courtney Brown weren't even the best pass-rushers from their respective draft classes. In a player pool expected to be deep with pass-rushing talent, the Browns might very well be better off trading down and grabbing a couple of edge defenders before sorting through them at the professional level (alongside 2016 picks Emmanuel Ogbah and Carl Nassib)."

And concludes with:

"The Browns will have plenty of opportunities to continue to make smart moves. They'll be faced with chances to trade down for future picks later in this draft and/or in years to come. They will be able to push their advantage and leverage their pick haul. There's also a question of degree. If the Browns can pick up only a relatively small upgrade in terms of draft capital for the first pick, they're probably better off just drafting Garrett and using it as cover fire when they do inevitably make other trades later on during the draft process. As is the case with any organization or team operating unconventionally in a very traditional landscape, the Browns have to pick their battles. Unless they get blown away with an offer, the first overall pick might not be the right place to push the envelope."

The correlations are interesting, but there's hardly cause to think causation, let alone collusion, and I'm pretty sure Grossi wasn't suggesting that. (FTR I'm no Grossi fan.) Folks will take this opportunity to trash Grossi without having all the facts, painting him as a whacked-out crackpot. IMHO, In this case, it's not really fair. He poses an interesting question, giving us, the reader, food for thought. Draw your own conclusions. Do I think the FO is taking advice from a reporter? No. Do I think it's possible they stay informed and would use an outside idea if it made sense? Yes. Is it also possible Barnwell's inside sources fueled his speculation? Sure. So who really know what's happening?

Barnwell did Tweet this: "I don’t work for the Cleveland Browns or any other team." and "The consulting work I’ve done for teams in the past predates my time at Grantland."

Barnwell also wrote in the original article, "...for the Browns of 2017 and beyond, the only direction is up."

Let's hope he's right about this too.

This just smacks of professional jealousy on Grossi's part...

The guy is so petty it's hard to believe.

I personally, don't go out of my way to read anything, except what Barnwell writes.

So if he's ganna be jealous of someone..

Crazy idea here, maybe Grossi should try to be better at his job and then if he has good ideas someone will accuse him of working for a team.

To truly appreciate how terrible Grossi is, you have to understand what an absolute dumpster fire WKNR 850 has become. The only reason to listen to that station is to listen to them die a slow a death.

WKNR has become the radio equivalent of the National Enquirer (no offense to the National Enquirer).

#NotmyTony

Not for nothing, but remember, Grossi is the guy that promised that he had sources that told him that Bill "the Chin" Cowher was going to be hired by the Browns as a HC. He even had good info that Cowher bought a home in Strongsville.

LOL It's probably best to take anything he says with a grain of salt. he's had it in for the browns for a while now.

j/c

I don't know what happened to my post, but I'll try again. lol

Somebody had to replace the homeless guy after the Manziel fiasco. Who's to say it wasn't Barnwell?

... and what would be the problem if Barnwell was consulting the Browns? Is that illegal or something?

I have a better question. Do the people who bash Grossi constantly believe that insulting him makes them a better person? LOL

Even better question. Why is Grossi so bitter at the Browns because the Plain Dealer removed him as a Browns Reporter?

Grossi was bitter with the Browns long before that happened. He hasn't been anything but a crap-flinger and pot-stirrer for like a decade or more.

That being what it is, I wouldn't be surprised if the Browns asked for his removal, lol.

Sometimes an acceptable mountain cannot be rendered from a meager mole hill. This is one of those times. Sounds adversarial if not vindictive. This is lame. Grossi has to eat, so, well, like they say, THIS happens.

I am OK with just bashing him on GP. Saves a lot of otherwise wasted time.

Grossi had typed a message, which he termed "a smart-(aleck) remark to a colleague," that called Browns owner Randy Lerner "a pathetic figure, the most irrelevant billionaire in the world."
link

That's what put Grossi on the skids with the Browns. Then he was let go at the Plain Dealer as the Browns reporter. He never has and never will recover.

Nothing at all. I'd say he is a huge upgrade from the homeless guy!

JC

I hope this is the start of Bizaro Tony Grossi whose writings become much more estranged and imo coke fueled.

Yes he was bitter, but I gave him the benifit of the doubt till he want insane when he was removed