DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum What are the best options left to address Wide Receiver?

Quote:

---

I never did pot but I got pulled over once and my girlfriend had pot on her and I got charged with controlled substance? WTF?

---

I hope you got lucky that night.

I hope you snitched.

Told on her.

Quote:

---

The receiver position is a bit of an enigma. On the one hand losing Gordon is a huge problem. Huge. There’s no sugarcoating it.

But I always flash back to the season opener in 2006, when New Orleans visited Cleveland with two unknown receivers. Those unknowns went out and competed, and the Browns were embarrassed in their opener by a team led by Drew Brees that would go on to the playoffs.

Those two receivers turned out to be Marques Colston and Devery Henderson, guys who would play for the Saints for 17 seasons and catch 852 passes and score 83 touchdowns.

Prior to that game, they were (supposed) weak links. At season's end, they were in the playoffs. 

---

Pat McManamon

The article from the link above...


Ray Farmer is confident he can put a sound receiving corps on the field for the Cleveland Browns this season, with or without Josh Gordon.

ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. falls into step with the masses, though, saying the Browns needed a receiver before the news of Gordon’s possible suspension broke, and they really needed a receiver on the draft’s second or third day after "Outside the Lines" broke the news that Gordon would miss the 2014 season.

Kiper gave the Browns a B-minusInsider in his annual grades, crediting them for some picks but wondering about the pass-catcher. In the Kiper parlance, that’s a pretty good draft, with a minus. He summed it up by saying: “The Browns have potentially changed the face of their franchise, but (Johnny) Manziel could use somebody to throw the football to.”

Elsewhere ...

On SI.com, Greg Bedard had nothing but praise for the Browns' draft, writing: “Yes, it’s disappointing that Gordon had another lapse, but he’s just one of 53 and doesn’t play quarterback. It takes a team to win the NFL, and that’s the important work Farmer is doing.” Also on SI, Chris Burke and Doug Farrar felt better than Kiper, giving the Browns a B-plus and calling the draft’s first day one of the most exciting in franchise history.

At Yahoo! Sports, Rob Rang of The Sports Xchange was harsher, saying the decision not to draft a receiver was an “inexplicable ignoring” of the position. Grade: C-minus.

Noted harsh grader Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com agrees with Rang, saying the decision not to take a receiver drops the Browns' grade to a B-minus.

I interpreted Bedard’s high praise as an A, and I’ve devised a very clever way to figure the draft grades. Call it Pat Macalytics, something that would make sabermatricians proud. It involves a ... wait for it ... point system for each grade, A-plus through F.

Combine them all and the average grade for the Browns is a B.

Which I think is understated.

The Browns landed the top cornerback and quarterback on their board on Day 1.

They landed an offensive lineman and a running back they like a great deal on Day 2.

They landed a highly thought of cornerback on Day 3.

I’m not sure about a 230-pound inside linebacker, but they also landed a first- , fourth- and sixth-round pick in next year’s draft.

Yes, they traded out of picks, but they took guys they like, guys that make sense.

The decision not to take a receiver is ... interesting. There’s no arguing that Sammy Watkins and Manziel sounds better than Justin Gilbert and Manziel. But Gilbert, Manziel and 2015 first- and fourth-round picks is impossible to criticize.

The receiver position is a bit of an enigma. On the one hand losing Gordon is a huge problem. Huge. There’s no sugarcoating it. But I always flash back to the season opener in 2006, when New Orleans visited Cleveland with two unknown receivers. Those unknowns went out and competed, and the Browns were embarrassed in their opener by a team led by Drew Brees that would go on to the playoffs. Those two receivers turned out to be Marques Colston and Devery Henderson, guys who would play for the Saints for 17 seasons and catch 852 passes and score 83 touchdowns. Prior to that game, they were (supposed) weak links. At season's end, they were in the playoffs.

Not taking a receiver is head-scratching. Taking the guys a GM believes in and works months to find and rate is not.

I think the loss of Gordon is a serious blow (more on that later today), but I still give the Browns a very solid A-minus for the 2014 draft.
__________________________________________________________


We had Gordon last season. Although he compiled an historical, epic, individual campaign, we won only 4 games. With Hoyer at QB we won two of those four games without Gordon. The QB matters a great deal.

Of course we could have followed the talking-heads insisted best course of action and drafted Sammy Watkins and maybe Gordon would not even have been missed this coming season. We could have won 4 games again.

So it's already been proven last season that an elite WR does not always add up to victories and that the absence of one does not necessarily mean losses.

I sat in FirstEnergy Stadium, Home of the Cleveland Browns and watched Josh Gordon compile 250 yards receiving with 2 TD's vs the Jacksonville Jaguars only to lose the game on a last minute TD on a pass to Jacksonville's Cecil freakin' Shorts who couldn't qualify to wash Josh Gordon's jock strap. Of those two WR's, who won that battle?

Will Gordon be missed? He sure will. But even with his stellar season it made little difference in compiling wins. As shown in Hoyer's two wins we didn't necessarily need Gordon to win games. What we needed was a QB who was neither slow-thinking like Weeden nor playing scared to make a play like Campbell. What I'm saying is that we need a quality QB a lot more than we need an elite WR.

This draft we got our QB. Will Manzel cut it in the NFL? We don't know that yet. But what we do know is that gone are the dumb/aging QB's and in their place are two guys in Hoyer and Manzel who make games fun to watch by virtue of their passionate, sense of urgency, mobile/play extending qualities and their will to win mentalities.

The season before last, 2012, I found myself watching the games not so much because I was excited that the Browns were playing but moreso because I'm a Browns fan and I will watch every game. I never expected to win but always had the highest of hopes that we'd pull it off. We seldom did.

Last season, in Hoyer's first game it was exciting to watch and in the end he orchestrated a last minute TD for the win. That set me up in my chair. I actually felt excited, though apprehensive, for the next game. Again the game was exciting to watch and we won again. Going into the Buffalo game I was so pumped up to watch the game it was hard to hold back as the clock ticked so slowly to kick-off time. I actually felt we could win again. In the end we did even with Weeden by virtue of the Bills losing their starting QB as well.

That was great. But rather than being excited for the next game after three straight wins I was more cautious wondering which Weeden would show up next week. He started out good and took a 17-7 half-time lead. But in the second half went completely flat as we never scored another point while our defense fell into another epic collapse and we lost 24-17. That was the first of three losses in a row.

Then we somehow won vs the Rats. But it went downhill from there with 7 consecutive losses.

The reason for the season: Bad QB and collapsing defenses.


So as I mentioned above, we drafted our QB and the difference between our starter and backup, regardless how that shakes out, compared to last season is night and day.

We also got a very good CB. He has the potential to become another Joe Haden. Some have said that Gilbert was not the best CB in the draft. That might be true. If not, he was the 2nd best.

But the Browns took the first CB off the board so they obviously had their pick of the litter. I'm guessing they took Gilbert because he had the specific qualities they wanted in their CB though perhaps lacking in some qualities that they were not concerned about for this system.

It might take some time for Gilbert to adjust to the NFL but at one point we should have 2 Joe Haden's on the field at the same time.

As well as Buster Skrine improved last season he still needed to be upgraded and we did that. It moves Skrine to the NB which is a position he should excel playing. We also added Whitner in FA so our defensive backfield should have become elevated to a high degree. Our coverage unit could potentially become near elite in a year or two.



Or we could of had Sammy Watkins to replace Josh Gordon.




Nearly everyone complained about our OL calling Lavauo a complete bum while having no confidence in Schwarts either. The FO must have had some of the same thoughts because they let Lavauo walk to the Redskins and we drafted the best ZBS OT/G in the draft at pick 35 in round 2.

Bitonio will likely start at one of the guard positions day one. Since he played LT in college so one he gets acclimated he can easily slide to RT if the need arises. Plus he can be a potential back-up to Joe Thomas should he get hurt or even his replacement after Joe is gone, (if he goes after his contract is up). Bitonio should become a 10 year starter possibly making a pro bowl or two in his career.

This gives us the ZBS guard we needed so badly. Our running game should improve exponentially. Last year we had no running game at all. This year the running game could very well become one of our greatest offensive strengths.



Or we could have had Marqise Lee to replace Josh Gordon.




In the 3rd round we took a LB I know nothing about but assume the FO has a specific use for him so I'll have to give them that.

But also in the 3rd round we took RB Terrance West who is perfectly suited to our system. We already have Tate, who many fear his injury history, so West should be a very useful back-up to Tate. With Tate, West and Baker along with the potential of Deon Lewis our stable of RB's far surpasses anything we had available last season.

As with Bitonio above, the addition of West should further help our running game become a strength in 2014.



Or we could have had some 3rd round WR to replace Josh Gordon.



To the thread topic of "What are our best options at WR" I'm going to have to defer to Ray Farmer in what he's saying which is that there are plenty of options left in UDFA, FA, future cuts or possible trades.

Will any of them be Josh Gordon II? Probably not. But then Josh Gordon I didn't exactly rack up the wins for us even though he had his historically epic season.

What the FO did in this draft was to accomplish 3 major upgrades. They got our Franchise QB, (IF and a big IF Manzel becomes that, with Hoyer in the meantime), built a potentially elite defensive backfield and took our running game from a horrible weakness to an offensive strength.

They did that by building the team while not worrying about replacing Josh Gordon.

At any round, had they reached in an effort to replace Gordon, one or two of the 3 major upgrades could not have happened. At least not to the degree that it appears they've been upgraded.

There are still options for WR. None of them will be Josh Gordon. But even Josh Gordon didn't do much for the win column.

I agree.

nice post dub. I have to agree whole heartedly.

I am so happy that we stuck to our board.

Free agent wide receiver Santonio Holmes expected to take his time in looking for a new job, after he was cut by the Jets this offseason.

According to ProFootballTalk.com, Holmes is expected to make a decision on his next team once the draft is complete. With a deep receiver class, he wants to see where his best chance for playing time will be before he makes a decision.

Holmes was limited to 11 games a year ago with the Jet, finishing with 23 receptions for 456 yards and one touchdown. He has not topped 800 yards since leaving the Steelers in 2009
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/players/playerpage/413021/santonio-holmes

I am sure someone could look this up, but I was wondering, how much of Josh Gordon's stats last season came in garbage time, when we were behind a a bunch and the other team wasn't trying as hard. I seem to recall him disappearing several times early on in games, only to come on late.

Now as for the draft, we went into the draft needing a qb, a wr (even before Gordon), a rb, an ilb, o-lineman and depth in the secondary/cb opposite Haden.

Other than the receiver, we hit on all of those. Even picked up some extra help with UDFA. Now the biggest question is...

is Josh Gordon suspended? He seemed surprised when asked about it, his agent has denied it and the Browns have yet to comment. Usually an agent the caliber of Drew Rosenhaus publically takes a "We will wait til the facts are all in stance." Time will tell. He may be successful on appeal, in whole or in part.

Of the wr out there currently as free agents, on Miles Austin seems worth it at all to me.

j/c

At this point, luck and hope are our best options to address WR. Because after the draft is over, that's the only thing left.

Quote:

---

With a deep receiver class, he wants to see where his best chance for playing time will be before he makes a decision.

---

Could there possibly be a better place than Cleveland?

Hopefully not a very talented pot head!



But yes, I haven't looked into that aspect.

I did some reading on Holmes yesterday, and it appears that he suffered a Lis-Franc injury to his foot that is the worst kind. His career is probably over.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000...ost-severe-kind

jc

what about Quinton Patton from the 49er's ?

Decent size and speed,

Might be worth a call

WR with one year on their contract.

Brandon Marshall Bears $11,194,750
Roddy White Falcons $8,544,000
Wes Welker Broncos $6,000,000
Reggie Wayne Colts $5,833,333
Jeremy Maclin Eagles $5,500,000
Michael Crabtree 49ers $5,333,333
Nate Washington Titans $4,466,667
Jordy Nelson Packers $4,200,000
Hakeem Nicks Colts $4,000,000
Eddie Royal Chargers $3,500,000
Demaryius Thomas Broncos $2,830,100
Dez Bryant Cowboys $2,362,100
Matt Slater Patriots $2,000,000
Kenny Britt Rams $1,400,000
Sidney Rice Seahawks $1,400,000
Arrelious Benn Eagles $1,247,500
Dane Sanzenbacher Bengals $1,200,000
Brad Smith Eagles $1,150,000
Jason Avant Panthers $1,050,000
Brandon Tate Bengals $1,024,000
Nate Burleson Browns $1,020,000
Santana Moss Redskins $1,020,000
Brandon Lloyd 49ers $1,005,000
Jerome Simpson Vikings $1,000,000
Kassim Osgood 49ers $975,000
Robert Meachem Saints $920,000
Torrey Smith Ravens $847,308
Greg Little Browns $831,875
Domenik Hixon Bears $830,000
Eric Weems Bears $830,000
Randall Cobb Packers $802,355
Louis Murphy Buccaneers $795,000
Kevin Ogletree Lions $795,000
Lavelle Hawkins Buccaneers $795,000
Mario Manningham Giants $795,000
Darrius Heyward-Bey Steelers $795,000
Seyi Ajirotutu Chargers $795,000
Damian Williams Dolphins $760,000
Jacoby Ford Jets $740,000
Kyle Williams Chiefs $740,000
Josh Morgan Bears $730,000
David Reed 49ers $730,000
Brian Robiskie Titans $730,000
Mike Thomas Texans $730,000
Trindon Holliday Giants $700,000
Austin Pettis Rams $682,354
Leonard Hankerson Redskins $680,344
Jerrel Jernigan Giants $672,563
Cecil Shorts Jaguars $668,037
Vincent Brown Chargers $656,517
Jonathan Baldwin 49ers $645,000
Lestar Jean Vikings $635,000
Marc Mariani Titans $610,000
David Nelson Jets $600,000
Taylor Price Seahawks $570,000
Kealoha Pilares Panthers $563,878
Denarius Moore Raiders $557,513
Jeremy Kerley Jets $556,063
Niles Paul Redskins $555,413
Dwayne Harris Cowboys $545,015
Ryan Whalen Bengals $541,279
Marcus Easley Bills $533,333
David Ausberry Raiders $521,475
Edmond Gates Jets $510,000
Joe Morgan Saints $495,000

2015 FA WR

With Cobb and Jordy due to be extended this year, Boykin really beginning to breakout and the Pack drafting 3 WR I could see Jordy available for the right price.

Nice research, Predator, thx!

Detroit Lions May Consider Trading Calvin Johnson

The Detroit Lions added Golden Tate from the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks during free agency, and that was it for the team as far as adding another option opposite star wide receiver Calvin Johnson.

Detroit did add tight end Eric Ebron in the first-round of the draft, and now it appears that they could be planning another move that would shock the NFL world.

On Monday morning, a rumor was passed along from the Dan Patrick Show that says the Lions may be considering trading Calvin Johnson. Michael Ginnitt of Sportsrac passed along what he heard.

Spotrac @spotrac
Follow
Per @DpShow, #Lions may consider shopping WR Calvin Johnson; A $16M net cap loss in 2014, but just $416,000 in 2015 http://bit.ly/TMul1i

It would make sense for the Lions to look for some cap relief, but trading one of the best players your franchise has had in recent memory would be a stunning move.

The following is pure speculation, but with two first-round picks in 2015 and a lot of cap space, the Cleveland Browns would be an interesting trade partner for the Lions if they do end up looking to move Johnson from the Motor City.

I would trade the entire 2015 draft for Calvin Johnson.

And I'm not kidding.

I'm not buying that rumor at all. The Lions fans would riot. There was a rumor about them trading Suh too, nothing happened.

But I'd be glad to give them Buffalo's first rounder for him right now.

It's very, very unlikely to happen from what I'm reading, but it just goes to show you that there WILL be teams looking to trade WR's after the record amount of them drafted this past weekend. It may take several weeks (or longer) for something to materialize, but I guarantee that Ray Farmer will add a dynamic threat to our WR Corps before the start of the season. He isn't stupid and he knows that the success of Brian Hoyer and/or Johnny Manziel require at least one dependable WR and right now, we really don't have that and we have draft picks that we can give up.

You just drafted your franchise QB.

If the front office is thinking like you are, there's a problem already.