DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum New Gordon Thread

He's only been out 1 year.

2010-2011 = played at Baylor
2011-2012 = sat out after transfer to Utah
2012-2013 = this season

Thus he last played "2 seasons ago" considering this is now the 2012-2013 football season, but he only missed 1 year.

He is going to be ahead of Little in development IMO. Little didn't take a snap for a year. Gordon practiced every day, just didn't suit up on Saturday's. Little had no off-season (and neither will Gordon) but still he turned out just fine last year. I view Gordon as the better athlete AND better WR than Little who was a converted RB.

Sure he has red flags, but needless to say I'm excited about the possibility of an offense built around Weeden/TRich/Flash Gordon/Little.

OK,, that makes better sense to me.. he's only missed ONE football season and if that's the case, then he could still be at least as good as Little was last season. I chose to revise my initial thoughts

Home > Bud Shaw's Sports Spin > Browns
Cleveland Browns show urgency in drafting of Josh Gordon: Bud Shaw
Published: Sunday, July 15, 2012, 5:21 PM Updated: Sunday, July 15, 2012, 5:52 PM
Bud Shaw, The Plain Dealer By Bud Shaw, The Plain Dealer


CLEVELAND, Ohio -- New Browns' wide receiver Josh Gordon is the highest selection in the NFL supplemental draft since Tony Hollings in 2003.

If that name doesn't sound familiar -- not Gordon, Hollings -- how about "Superman" Hollings? That's what they called him at Georgia Tech, in part because he wore the tattoo on his left biceps.

Still no?

Maybe it's because he's flown way under the radar for quite some time now, having suffered a season-ending knee injury in 2009 after a hardly-talked-about trade from the Dresden Monarchs to the Berlin Adler. His NFL totals: 49 carries, 149 yards.

That fun and totally beside-the-point fact is brought to you by those who believe the second-round selection of a receiver who didn't play last year after marijuana issues in college is more evidence the Browns are in panic mode after failing to land receivers in free agency or high up in the April draft.

You can say a lot of things about this rebuilding project under Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert. That it's plodding. That two rather important lynchpins -- QB and head coach -- aren't yet established. But calling the architects "panicked" isn't one of them.

If anything, what the Browns have done is bet boldly on their own talent evaluation. They've done this in a number of ways and pretty much continually since April.

They've done it at the expense of free agency. By moving to secure Trent Richardson in the draft and then by taking Brandon Weeden early after losing out on Baylor wideout Kendall Wright. The Gordon pick, despite all the legitimate questions it raises, falls right in line.

So what we have is consistency of approach. And some sense of urgency. Not free agent urgency. The Browns don't believe in it. But relative urgency, which is welcome in any form.

Gordon will cost the Browns a second-round pick in 2013. Which means they're laying money in support of Holmgren's prediction of a much-improved team (and he doesn't mean something paltry like 6-10, remember?) this season.

It's hard to see how they'll be significantly better record-wise, given their schedule and the number of rookies expected to play major roles. Gordon adds to the list of newbies counted on to match up with the Steelers, Ravens and Bengals in the AFC North.

So the Browns obviously must think Gordon is a high second-round or first-round talent because they'll lose a Top 40 pick -- maybe 35 -- if they have the kind of season many expect of them. Is he Justin Blackmon? Is he A.J. Green? Julio Jones?

Hey, for the sake of the people of this town who are so heavily invested financially and emotionally in what has been an unfulfilling one-way relationship, let's start small and hope he doesn't plateau at Brian Robiskie.

The move raised eyebrows nationally, in part because of Gordon's off-field issues. Here, it's been widely embraced.

Why? For some good reasons and some not-so-valid ones.

Because it answers a crying need, with Browns fans doing most of the crying.

Because Gordon is a big, physical receiver who could become part of an imposing tandem with Greg Little.

Because it pushes the accelerator and surrounds a soon-to-be-29-year-old quarterback with another weapon. Gordon isn't likely to become for Weeden what A.J. Green became for Andy Dalton this year. But the Browns believe he has that potential, so why wait until next April to add to the posse?

Because they finally did something.

Because, ultimately, Heckert has provided enough reason to trust his judgment.

That's not to say he's hit on everything he's done. Just that he's the chief evaluator of a brain trust that has boldly bet on Weeden's arm and -- by grabbing Gordon -- followed that up by accelerating the build-a-contender-through-the-draft philosophy.

As intriguing as the Richardson pick is, the NFL is still a passing league. Weeden's arm strength and accuracy will be needed to make Richardson go. Without it, every defense in the AFC North can commit enough run defenders to make life a slog for Richardson.

With Weeden's arm and a receiver capable of scaring the secondary, Richardson can be all he can be.

For all the risks inherent in Gordon's selection, anyone subjected to watching the Browns' offense in recent years can't help but applaud even the possibility of high reward.

The Browns didn't have to land Superman for it to work out. In fact, better they didn't this one time.
web page

Not to toot my own horn but this basically perfectly echoes what I said in my last post on Gordon a few days ago. You trust the process and let them take the bets they going to take. No one in this forum or the other one knows squat about this kid. They really seem to. It doesn't mean it's panic if they know the kid and we and some other scout don't. It just means they believe I their own ability to avaluate. More power to them. Roll them dice, We need to bet big.

I said in my post it wasnt quite the same. Your the one stating that this Browns management never drafted anyone kicked off their college team before. I'm just saying yea they did. Just get the facts straight.

Pit, I don't think anyone is disagreeing with you on Gordon. He represents a risk. People may disagree on how much of a risk, but he is definitely a risk.

What the other posters were trying to do is to make sure everyone had the correct facts and story about what has happened so far. You had mentioned that we never drafted a player that was kicked off a team before (wrong: Phil Taylor was booted from Penn State) and that Gordon spent last season hurt (wrong: NCAA transfer rules precluded him from playing).

I believe both were just corrections, not disagreements with the overall point. Carry on.

No logo, that is exactly the point I'm trying to make. I hage going into work and having people start dissing what move the Browns did or did not make when the facts aren't even straight.

Pitt I agree it was a risk taking him. I know people first hand who wouldnt stop smoking pot to go froma minimum wage job to one that made $13. I know thats peanuts but they could have essentially doubled their income. Hopefully Gordon realizes the money he could make if he would just stop smoking. But until he does do it I am going to look at this as an upgrade to our receiving corps.

At this point he should be somewhat ahead of where Little was last year, with more talent.

For the equivalent of a third-rounder, with our need at WR, plus a strong-armed young QB, for a guy with good size, I think it's a reasonable risk.

Cleveland Browns sign supplemental pick Josh Gordon to four-year deal | cleveland.com
http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2012/07/cleveland_browns_sign_suppleme.html

CLEVELAND -- The Browns have signed rookie receiver Josh Gordon to a four-year deal, which included a $3.8 million guarantee, a league source told the Plain Dealer.

Adam Caplan of the thesidelineview.com first reported that the two sides had agreed to terms on a four year contract worth $5.3 million, including the $3.8 million.

The Browns selected Gordon Thursday in the second round of the supplemental draft and will sacrifice their second-rounder in the 2013 draft.

Gordon's signing leaves only running back Trent Richardson and quarterback Brandon Weeden as the Browns unsigned draft picks. Browns general manager Tom Heckert said last week that he expects Richardson and Weeden to be in camp on time.

Rookies report on July 24th and begin practicing July 25th. The first practice open to the public is July 28th.

Heckert said Gordon (6-3, 224) has what it takes to become a No. 1 receiver and that he's an eventual starter.

In other Browns news, the 4 p.m. deadline passed for the Browns to sign franchised kicker Phil Dawson to a multi-year deal. Both sides had said they wanted to get a longterm deal done

Position Preview: Wide Receiver
By Matt Florjancic, Staff Writer

a a Over the next few weeks, ClevelandBrowns.com will take a look at the 2012 Browns, position-by-position. Today’s spotlight is on the Browns wide receivers.

Overview:

Greg Little was one of the most productive first-year wide receivers in the National Football League in 2011, and finished with one of the best seasons by a Cleveland Browns rookie pass-catcher.

Little caught 61 passes for 709 yards and two touchdowns. His 61 catches ranked second behind Cincinnati Bengals rookie A.J. Green, while the 709 yards were fifth among first-year NFL players in 2011. Little was just five receptions shy of Kevin Johnson’s franchise rookie record of 66 catches, which was set in 1999.

In addition to Little’s productivity, the Browns got a lift from veteran Joshua Cribbs. Cribbs had a career year with 41 catches for 518 yards and four touchdowns. He entered the 2011 season with 580 yards and three touchdowns on 59 career receptions.

“I don’t feel like I’ve proven my point because there’s always, ‘Can I be a second- or first-string wide receiver?’” Cribbs said on a recent appearance on CBS Sports Network with Jim Rome. “It’s going to be tough. I’m going to have my work cut out for me, but where there’s a way, there’s a will and I will make a way to get the ball in my hands.

“Whenever I’m able to make a play, I will and that’s the thing about playing wide receiver. You have to be able to step up when the quarterback throws you the ball and make a play for him. It’s my job to go above and beyond at all levels, to show them I can return and still score touchdowns, as well as catch passes for the offense.”

During the 2012 NFL Draft, the Browns selected Travis Benjamin, a 5-foot-10, 175-pound receiver from the University of Miami.

Last fall, Benjamin caught 41 passes for 609 yards and three touchdowns and averaged 14.9 yards-per-reception in his final season with the Hurricanes. For his career, Benjamin caught 131 passes for 2,146 yards and 13 touchdowns. Benjamin averaged 16.38 yards-per-reception over his time at Miami.

“He can fly,” quarterback Brandon Weeden said of Benjamin. “We were joking about that, the wind coming this way, so when we’re going toward the facility you have to let it go a few steps early because he can go. Downwind, it’s not so bad, but if you’re trying to throw into any kind of breeze, you have to let it go and keep it pretty tight.”

The Browns had 17 different players catch passes last season and the team averaged 10.3 yards-per-reception for the year. The Browns caught 320 passes for 3,300 yards and 16 touchdowns with a long reception of 76 yards. Little hauled in a 76-yard touchdown pass from Seneca Wallace in an overtime loss at the Arizona Cardinals last December.

Six wide receivers combined for 162 of the team’s 320 receptions in 2011.

Players to Watch:

Mohamed Massaquoi and Josh Gordon.

During his rookie season in 2009, Massaquoi caught 34 passes for 624 yards and three touchdowns, including a 59-yarder at Detroit’s Ford Field on Nov. 2. His 34 receptions were tied for the most on the team, while the 624 yards were the most on the Browns. Massaquoi was just the fourth rookie in team history and first since Johnson in 1999, to lead the Browns in receiving yards.

Massaquoi averaged 18.35 yards-per-reception, nearly a full yard better than the previous franchise record of 17.69 yards-per-catch set by Pro Football Hall of Famer Paul Warfield in 1964.

However, since then, Massaquoi has battled injury problems and caught just 67 passes for 867 yards and four touchdowns in 2010 and 2011 combined.

“He’s had a great offseason,” Browns coach Pat Shurmur said of Massaquoi. “I’m very pleased with where he is. I think he came in healthy this offseason and he’s taken advantage of the reps he’s gotten and he’s made plays out here. I think that’s money in the bank for him as he gets ready for training camp and the season.”

The Browns added depth and size to their wide receiver corps with the selection of former Baylor University wideout Josh Gordon in the second round of the 2012 NFL Supplemental Draft on July 12.

Gordon -- a 6-foot-3, 225-pound wide receiver who ran a sub-4.6 second 40-yard dash during his recent Pro Day workout -- spent two years at Baylor, where he caught 43 passes for 721 yards and seven touchdowns. During his sophomore season with the Bears, Gordon caught 42 passes for 714 yards and a team-best seven touchdowns. He ranked second on the team in total yardage and finished with a 17.0 yards-per-reception average.

By selecting Gordon, the Browns will not have their second-round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft.

“He’s a guy we obviously targeted and felt good about and we’re happy we had the chance to get him,” Heckert said. “I don’t know if it’s risky. That’s kind of where we thought he was as a player. We thought he’s a guy that could come in and be an eventual starter for us and make plays for us. Anytime you draft a guy, there’s always some risk involved, but we think we got a good football player.

“He can run, has got huge hands and long arms. He’s an impressive-looking kid, but there were some concerns about him. I drilled him pretty hard when I was with him and he didn’t back down. He told me everything I thought I needed to hear from him. He promised he was going to be a guy that we were going to love having in Cleveland. He seemed pretty fired up about being a Brown. When he left, he said he hoped we were the team that picked him.”

http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/arti...29-b9aee9319c8e

While there are obvious concerns about Gordon our current WR core was a joke. Little is the only player that if cut could end up starting for someone else. Cribbs is converted and I think has hit his ceiling for the position. Mass is an injury away from going from an already soft WR to just plain pathetic. Plus he's in a contract year so theres no garantee he'll be back (hopefully not actually). Norwood at his best is a three. Benjamin while fast, is undersized and has proven nothing except he can drop passes in practice.
We needed a real size and talent infusion at the position. It didn't play out in the draft. So we got it in the supplemental. Yes he's been out. Yes he's been in trouble. But going into this season with the cast of characters we've paraded out there already isn't going to help our future. Most WRs take some time to acclimate to the NFL. I'm glad we're getting that started this year instead of waiting until next.
Now we just sit and hope for him to stay out of trouble. I like those odds over sitting and hoping our talent base gets better but not doing anything about it.

Cleveland Browns sign supplemental pick Josh Gordon to four-year deal

Published: Monday, July 16, 2012, 4:23 PM Updated: Monday, July 16, 2012, 4:38 PM

By Mary Kay Cabot, The Plain Dealer



The Browns signed Josh Gordon to a four-year deal worth $5.3 million, including $3.8 million guaranteed.

CLEVELAND -- The Browns have signed rookie receiver Josh Gordon to a four-year deal, which included a $3.8 million guarantee, a league source told the Plain Dealer.

Adam Caplan of the thesidelineview.com first reported that the two sides had agreed to terms on a four year contract worth $5.3 million, including the $3.8 million.

The Browns selected Gordon Thursday in the second round of the supplemental draft and will sacrifice their second-rounder in the 2013 draft.

Gordon's signing leaves only running back Trent Richardson and quarterback Brandon Weeden as the Browns unsigned draft picks. Browns general manager Tom Heckert said last week that he expects Richardson and Weeden to be in camp on time.

Rookies report on July 24th and begin practicing July 25th. The first practice open to the public is July 28th.
Heckert said Gordon (6-3, 224) has what it takes to become a No. 1 receiver and that he's an eventual starter.
In other Browns news, the 4 p.m. deadline passed for the Browns to sign franchised kicker Phil Dawson to a multi-year deal. Both sides had said they wanted to get a longterm deal done

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2012/07/cleveland_browns_sign_suppleme.html

Great news!

Potential issue negated.

Is there an echo in here .......?

Good news on the signing.


I looked up Schwartz....he is 5.1 mil overall, but gets a 2.2 mil signing bonus. It doesn't say anything else about guaranteed money beyond the bonus.

Sounds about right. Keep Schwartz and Gordon on the same level.....and receiver usually make a bit more.


Gordon walked in to a good situation. No way the team could make this move then let talks drag out and miss camp. They want the guy on the field as soon as possible.

Schwartz probably had the 1st 3 years guaranteed. That seems common for a 2nd rounder .... especially a high 2nd round pick. (and I'm glad that I don't have to use the word "high" with regards to Gordon) lol

I was coming home from the hospital this eve ( mom is in again) and I heard a 30 second interview with Trent Richardson at his camp or something but anyway he was commenting on Gordon and how this team will support him. From the way Richardson sounded, I have full confidence that Gordon will keep it together. Mr. Ordinary is a very impressive young man.

BTW thanks to Jim Brown everytime I see a highlight of Richardson I get that Joe Walsh song in my head, "just an ordinary average guy".

Like I said, I don't know, but that makes sense. Gordon gets a little more overall, Schwartz gets more up front and guaranteed.

As the old saying goes, "A bird in hand is worth more than two in the bush".

STRONGSVILLE: If the trend continues, Browns rookie running back Trent Richardson will make the great Jim Brown eat his words.

Richardson, whom Brown called “ordinary” during an interview with ESPN Radio the day of the NFL Draft in April, has a history of proving his critics wrong. Richardson’s will to succeed in the face of skepticism comes from advice his mother, Katrina, gave him, and it’s the underlying theme in the messages he hopes to pass along to about 240 children who are participating in his first youth football camp this weekend at Strongsville High School.

“She always told me to never let nobody tell me what I can’t do,” Richardson said Saturday.

Richardson still hasn’t forgotten a naysayer from his middle school days.

“I had a seventh-grade teacher tell me I wasn’t gonna be nothin’ and I was gonna always be a failure in life,” said Richardson, the third overall pick in this year’s draft. “And look where I’m at now.”

Willie Richardson Jr., Trent’s uncle who offered assistance at the youth camp along with a few other relatives and friends, vividly recalls hearing about the incident. He said his nephew drew the teacher’s ire because he fell asleep in her class.

“She told me the story herself — ‘That boy was sleeping in my class,’ ” Willie Richardson Jr. said, impersonating the teacher. “ ‘I woke him up. I went over there, and I pushed him. I said, boy, what are you doing? You’re gonna never do nothing in your life. What do you plan on doing with the rest of your life?’ He looked up and told her, ‘I’m gonna play in the NFL.’ ”

Richardson’s dreams of becoming a professional football player, though, appeared to be dashed when doctors told him he wouldn’t be able to run again. During his first two years at Escambia High School in Pensacola, Fla., he suffered a torn ligament in each ankle, which had to be surgically repaired.

Through all the pain he experienced while recovering from those injuries, Richardson used the doubt of others as fuel. He played football again as a junior, became a high school star and punched his ticket to the University of Alabama.

“It had a big impact on me,” Richardson said. “For somebody to tell me that I can’t do this or for somebody to tell me I was too fragile in high school … that’s [motivation because] people just counted me out.”

Derrick Boyd, Richardson’s mentor who coached him in track and football at Escambia, witnessed another example of vindication last year.

“I have an 11-foot overhang at my house, and my son ran and jumped off the porch and just swung at it,” Boyd said. “Trent did the same thing and missed. My son was like, ‘Ha, ha, you can’t do it.’ This was the week before the LSU game [on Nov. 5].

“I’m like, OK, this is not gonna end nicely ’cause he’s gonna jump off again and come down and twist his ankle, and I’m gonna have to call [Nick] Saban and say, ‘Coach, Trent twisted his ankle jumping off the porch at my house ’cause it’s 11 feet up.’ He went back on the porch, and he hit the thing.”

Now Richardson can’t wait to show the world he’s far from “ordinary.”

New teammate

Richardson said he’s eager to meet former Baylor wide receiver Josh Gordon, whom the Browns drafted Thursday in the second round of the NFL’s supplemental draft.

“We’re all gonna embrace him with open arms, and we can’t wait to get him out there,” Richardson said. “I know he’s gonna [make] a big impact on our offense. There’s a lot of high standards he’s gonna set for himself, and there’s gonna be a lot of expectations for him. But at the same time, we’re gonna just treat him like, ‘Hey, you don’t have to live up to all this other stuff. Just play your game and just buy into the program.’ ”

Gordon will join Richardson, quarterback Brandon Weeden, right tackle Mitchell Schwartz and receiver Travis Benjamin as the core of the Browns’ rookie class and the foundation for a revamped offense.

“I think with the class that we have, I think we can change the program,” Richardson said.

Contract talk

With the addition of Gordon, the Browns have three rookie draft picks who are unsigned. Richardson and Weeden, the 22nd overall selection, are the others.

Browns General Manager Tom Heckert said Thursday he’s confident Richardson and Weeden will sign in time for training camp, which opens to the public on July 28.

Jeff Nalley, Gordon’s agent, said the same about his client.

“We do not anticipate a problem in getting the contract done on time,” Nalley said by phone. web page

this is a guy who has shown "trends" of pure retardedness..


Dez Bryant Arrested

Marshawn Lynch

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/817264...vestigation-dui

.....Another one.......

Happens a lot these days.
But when you ignore the caution signs, that can happen. That's why a lot of teams pay attention to the warning sugns. Really hurts their teams......

Have to withhold judgement on the Dez situation. It was against his mom and she is a known drug addict and prostitute sooo lets not slam the guy just yet when he is the one taking care of that entire family.

Josh Gordon takes 'Randy Moss-like talents' to Browns
By Marc Sessler

NFL exec: Gordon brings 'Randy Moss-like talents' to Browns


The Cleveland Browns can't predict what they have in rookie wide receiver Josh Gordon, but the team burnt a 2013 second-round draft pick in hopes of something special.

How does a young Randy Moss sound?


Hold your laughter. One NFL executive told ESPN's Adam Schefter that Gordon, taken by the Browns in last week's supplemental draft, possesses "Randy Moss-like talents."

Gordon hasn't played in a game since 2010 (kind of like Moss), but he showed promise in teaming at Baylor with Robert Griffin III, now the Washington Redskins' starting quarterback. Gordon has favorable size. At 6-foot-3, 224-pounds, he's the same height and 2 pounds lighter than Andre Johnson. He's an inch shorter than Moss but with a thicker build. Gordon gives the Browns a big, strong wideout -- in theory.

Browns president Mike Holmgren has said from the start that he wants to build this team through the draft. The Browns have stuck to the playbook, acquiring running back Trent Richardson and quarterback Brandon Weeden in April. The team believes Gordon -- alongside Greg Little -- can awaken the passing game, which has slept soundly for years.

Comparing anyone to Moss is a stretch. Besides, we have a more pressing question for this NFL executive: Assuming you aren't paid by the Browns, how are you explaining to your boss that you've just passed on selecting the next Randy Moss? Sounds like a fun chat.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d82..._headline_stack

Ummmmmm......

Yes please!