Haslam can ask all the questions of his staff but in the end he makes that decision one way or the other.
Berry could say please boss. If Haslam says no. Guess what?
And he made that decision based on the information provided to him by his staff. Your assertion is that he could have chosen to ignore everything that he payed them to look into and the information they provided him. Sure, he could have. But then that means he would have had to have ignored everything they presented to him which he trusted them to do as part of their duties as his employees.
Now why would you think anyone would do that? Why would he trust and pay these people to do that job simply to turn around and ignore everything they told him? You see, Haslam didn't do these investigations. He relied on the people he paid to do them. If he didn't trust them to do that job he would have hired different people for the job.
Did he have the wrong people in place to gather that information and make these recommendations? I think we can both agree that's true. But that's not really the issue here. The issue is somehow you believe it's a normal thought process to think he would go against everything he was paying them to do.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
Jimmy Haslam should have Peyton Manning give his honest opinion when we draft a QB. He should tell AB right out Peyton will help us pick our future QB. PM knows something about QB play and if he's close with JH why not use his knowledge?
I've been saying that Berry needs help judging "football talent" for some time now.
If it takes input via family relationships between the Manning family and the Haslams, so be it.!
If the Browns decide to hire someone as an assistant GM, with experience judging football talent, so be it. I prefer this option... The Browns Draft Team needs help at judging talent at more than just the QB position.
Playing football and judging talent aren't the same thing. None of these guys coming out of college are finished projects. Unfortunately, it's not cut and dried this is what they are when evaluating players in the draft. It's more about guessing right on progression, regression, and fit, sadly.
I'm starting to think the best way to go about it is trying to pin down all the different ways a prospect could "break" and trying to avoid/mitigate those as much as possible.
Further complicating the picture is the fact that something going wrong with a different player can also affect prospects.
It's not just judging "talent." It's juggling independent "planets" (/talents) that each have their own gravity and any one drifting out of synch can cause catastrophe to the whole "solar system." Everything is tied together.
What really sucks is when you try to align everything to mitigate problems for that sun (QB/Watson) at the center of the system and that sun randomly becomes a black hole and everything is sucked into the abyss.
It's impossible to judge talent when the entire solar system is sucked down by a central vortex and it's massive "gravity."
Watson regressed horrifically. What on the field signs of that were there? The talent on the tape wasn't what we got.
Seeing the future before it happens isn't a tool any GM has in their toolbox.
I don't see judging talent as the problem. I think the problem is more in an inability to read minds or see the future. Sometimes catastrophes happen that are outside anyone's control.
It sucks, but QBs have the strongest gravity. Unfortunately, most of the ones available to us have problematic "gravity." (Watson might have "anti-gravity.") It's not always quantifiable on the tape or as a measurable field.
We might need more psychologists involved in our scouting, or perhaps seers.
Or perhaps the space between the planets/celestial bodies (fans) exert more gravity on the system than is readily observable. Perhaps all the wishing for Watson to fail for the off the field stuff exerted enough pull to initiate his implosion.
How does a GM ensure "positive" gravity? As far as I can tell, no GM can. Just gotta get lucky and hitch your wagon to the right star (QB, Mahomes, etc), and then hope it doesn't go supernova (Rodgers, Watson. ...Belicheck?)
The star has to provide the right light/heat for life to survive on all the other planets.
You mess with the "Bull," you get the horns. Fiercely Independent.
I don't think he made that decision easily. Because in the end it all reflects upon him.
At this point it does not matter to me who, why, or how.
Haslam is the owner. The team is a mess.
I am not different than Myles. I want to know the plan at quarterback.
I want to know that everyone wants to turn this around now. Don't come back and say "we want to get Deshaun healthy first then we want him to compete for the job."
The Steelers are in first place with two quarterbacks who were not on the team before this year.
We have had changed head coaches and GM's many times. The owner remains.
Haslam has certainly shown an inability to hire the right people. As of this moment it's very hard for anyone to say, "what the plan is at QB" I would suppose. They do not yet know the draft order. They do not yet know how much money the FA QB's that will be available will command on the open market or even who all will be available. As much as people have tried to belittle anyone who has brought up the salary cap over recent years the chickens are coming home to roost. (Everyone may not be familiar with that old saying but I'm pretty sure you are)
There will only be so many dollars left to pay at the QB position unless they wish to ignore substantial upgrades at other key positions which they need to make moving forward.
It certainly isn't an enviable position to be in but there's nobody to blame for them being in this position but themselves.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
That sounds like a plausible thought process. I have no idea how any of that will pan out but there is no doubt that dome is at the top of his priority list at this point in time. That's why he has other people in charge of doing jobs that pertain to the draft and signing players.
Since he has owned the Browns he has created a sports conglomerate. That includes purchasing the Columbus crew as well as a minority stake in the Milwaukee Bucks. The Haslam Sports Group also manages several professional teams and athletic facilities. He and his wife have a lot of irons in the fire.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
So, Berry is supposed to tell Haslam no? Are you listening to yourself??
What you just typed is a glowing endorsement for everything I've said since the trade: that Haslam was the driving force. And my proof has remained entrenched in the fact that Berry still hasn't been fired. And I pointed out his insulation on day one as well. When people said Berry just put his job on the line I argued he did no such thing.
Berry and Stefanski followed through on Haslam's objective. It was easy because they knew they would be insulated. It was also easy because all three were drunk on Haslam's Delusions of Grandeur and thought the only hangover would be after an upcoming Super Bowl win.
Thanks for proving my point.
Berry should have advised Haslam that it was a bad deal. Once Haslam was set on it he really only had three options:
1. Make the deal even if he has to hold his nose. 2. Refuse and suffer the repercussions, including termination. 3. Lose the fax and get the trade in too late.
What if Berry was not the one who really had Haslam's ear?
Just more things that show that show the Watson trade was the worst in NFL history. You win 11 games last year and made the playoffs with 5 different QBs then don't retain 99% of the Offensive staff that got you there.
Whatever he makes he is not going to say no to his boss or resign.
A professional GM who together with his team has done their homework presents the correct information to the board/owner no matter what. That’s his roll against the owner and board. At this level an executive manager build trust by presenting knowledge and accurate data. Not the opposite.
Being a yes sayer who bends over to please his master or trying to present yada yada or inaccurate information will drastically shorten his career. - Yes, massa isn’t a winner at this level if you’re looking for a long career.
What happens afterwards is up to the owner.
Berry doesn’t have to resign to make his point, just sit still in the boat and let the skipper sail into the rocks. One way or another he will get his compensation, either with integrity or with the pants down at his ankles.
So you, with zero evidence think that was orchestrated by Haslam from the beginning?
1st off Mac was blaming Jimmy for making decisions and sticking his nose in where it didn't belong. Now it's all his fault because he is NOT sticking his nose in. You see Mac is not happy unless he is making up stories.
"I totally understand the Browns going after Watson. I do because he was a proven player in the NFL and still a young player who should have been in his prime. It ended in disaster. He has been a total failure. Not average. Not good. A total failure."
I don't understand that move at all. I never have and never will. I was not fooled.
You don't take a kid with Poor judgement and Major character issues and reward him with $230 million guaranteed and expect him to pick up where he left off with no problems.
I won't knock a player that isn't healthy.. If he is injured he can't play and I don't hate on anyone that's injured. But when he was supposedly healthy, he didn't play all that well either...Had a few good games but that's it. To me that's the result of paying a kid big money who has character issues.
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe." Damanshot
Browns released DT T.Y. McGill from the practice squad
The Cleveland Browns have signed K Andre Szmyt (pronounced Schmidt) to the practice squad and released DT T.Y. McGill from the practice squad.
Szmyt (6-0, 200) is officially in his first NFL season out of Syracuse. Originally signed by the Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2023, Szmyt spent 2024 with the St. Louis Battlehawks of the UFL. He will wear No. 10.
I’m sure Hopkins will figure it out again this week in practice. You know, his technique problems, such as missing kicks.
bro, he just completely fell off, as if its another kicker in Hopkins jersey. i dont understand what happened.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
I’m sure Hopkins will figure it out again this week in practice. You know, his technique problems, such as missing kicks.
bro, he just completely fell off, as if its another kicker in Hopkins jersey. i dont understand what happened.
"The yips are a sudden and unexplained loss of ability to execute certain skills in experienced athletes. Symptoms of the yips are losing fine motor skills and psychological issues that impact the muscle memory and decision-making of athletes, leaving them unable to perform basic skills of their sport.
The exact cause of the yips is still not fully understood. A yips episode may last a short time before the athlete regains their abilities or it can require longer term adjustments to technique before recovery occurs. The worst cases are those where the athlete does not recover at all, forcing the player to abandon the sport at the highest level."
And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul. - John Muir
That sounds like a plausible thought process. I have no idea how any of that will pan out but there is no doubt that dome is at the top of his priority list at this point in time. That's why he has other people in charge of doing jobs that pertain to the draft and signing players.
Since he has owned the Browns he has created a sports conglomerate. That includes purchasing the Columbus crew as well as a minority stake in the Milwaukee Bucks. The Haslam Sports Group also manages several professional teams and athletic facilities. He and his wife have a lot of irons in the fire.
No doubt it is. A few days ago I received a survey from the Browns. As a season ticket holder we get several of them a year.
This past one was pretty much a trial balloon about seating and pricing disguised with questions about what sort of food options you might want to see. It took about 20 minutes to fill out the form. It had maybe a dozen potential seating plans and prices, asking if you were interested, likely interested, possibly interested or not interested. I have club seats. Just the normal clubs, not the newer upgraded clubs. My 2 seats cost me basically $4400 per year. In the seating plans it is over $8000 per year. I checked possibly interested, but really, probably not. My main motivation for getting the clubs was to have a indoor place where i could warm up from the cold weather. I sit outside, but have that indoor spot where i can go and hang to warm up a bit or get out of the driving rain if need be and still watch the game on one of the many TV's throughout the club.
Since it will be in a dome, I won't have to worry about weather. They showed upper level seats in the $2000 to $4000 range. I would probably opt for a couple of those. There are cheaper seats. Seems like pound seats and other endzone seats were around $1500 each. More than they cost now, but most anybody can come up with $1500. If not, they probably shouldn't be thinking about season tickets in the first place.
There was no mention of PSL's. If those are tagged on, then my days as a season ticket holder will end at 20whatever years once the move happens. Current PSL's, which I have, won't transfer to the new stadium. I am too old to do that. I never bought my PSL's as an investment. In a new stadium i could see that as a possibility of being able to resell after 15 years and make a small profit on the initial investment.
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn.
Just curious... what did you pay for the PSLs back then?
$1500 per seat. They were 40 yard line uppers, 18 rows up. I liked the seats. I just got tired of the cold after 4 seasons. Have been in the clubs for 14 years now.
Those seats had the same PSL classification as corner clubs. I was able to transfer to the clubs without having to up my PSL classification. Those uppers were the highest classification in the uppers. Had i had a lesser classification or wanted to move more to the center in the clubs, I would have had to up my PSL status. The club seats cost quite a bit more per season.
I never viewed my PSL's as an investment. I looked at it as a cost of doing business. I never expected to sell them or make any money on them. That $3000 was spent almost 2 decades ago. That money was out of my wallet a long time ago. I don't even think about it. It's just money spent. I would have spent it on something else on which I would never see a return.
The return is I enjoy having season tickets. Same seats. Same ushers. Same people sitting around you. I like that.
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn.
Unfortunately he forget (or don’t understand) a small little tiny detail ……… if the salary cap goes up ……. then the average salaries goes up too.
Sorry Q but in this case you’re just fooling yourself. The Browns will still be financially restricted regarding salaries even if we create an alternative universe to sleep better at nights.
guys, we all gotta deal with the reality here. Stefanski and Berry are here to stay, and especially after what we seen with DTR and Winston, we are most likely starting Watson next season.
at least we have decent cap space to still make moves, and we have good draft picks. we have to make the team competitive based around the likely scenario that Watson starts. we're in too deep to do anything else.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
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