DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Farmer Responsible For Text To Sidelines: Browns Coud Lose Draft Picks

we suck.

It's time for Browns GM Ray Farmer to face the music and answer some tough questions

Angry words: Browns GM Ray Farmer is very good at issuing tough statements. He was at his best on Tuesday evening when the NFL lowered the boom on Josh Gordon and banished the receiver for a minimum of one year.

The Browns’ Big Man responded with typically stern comments.

"As we have conveyed, we are disappointed to once again be at this point with Josh,” Farmer said in the statement. “Throughout his career we have tried to assist him in getting support like we would with any member of our organization. Unfortunately our efforts have not resonated with him.

“It is evident that Josh needs to make some substantial strides to live up to the positive culture we are trying to build this football team upon. Our hope is that this suspension affords Josh the opportunity to gain some clarity in determining what he wants to accomplish moving forward and if he wants a career in the National Football League.

“We will have no further comment on Josh as he will not be permitted in our facility for the duration of his suspension.”

Growing pains: Tough talk has become one of the tenets of the Browns in Farmer’s one year as general manager. Tough action is another story.

To be honest, the team for which Farmer is responsible is a raging dumpster fire right now.

Gordon, its best player when Farmer took over, is suspended indefinitely.

Johnny Manziel, the would-be franchise quarterback in which Farmer invested two high draft choices, checked himself into “treatment,” presumably for alcohol dependency.

Brian Hoyer, the only quarterback with a winning record in 16 seasons of the Browns’ expansion era, is on the verge of free agency after getting frozen out by Farmer and others.

Jordan Cameron, the franchise’s only Pro Bowl tight end since Ozzie Newsome was in his prime, is on the verge of free agency after the team offered him a one-year contract before the 2014 season.

Justin Gilbert, Farmer’s first-ever No. 1 draft choice, finished his horrendous rookie season sequestered in the visitor’s locker room in Baltimore, disciplined for missing an umpteenth team meeting. In the team road hotel!

Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan forfeited two years of guaranteed salary to jump off what he considered a sinking ship. On the way out, he laid out a list of 32 complaints to owner Jimmy Haslam, several of which reflected poorly on the rookie GM.

On the clock: Like most NFL GMs, Farmer is unavailable during the season as he shuffles into the shadows and allows the head coach to stand alone as the day-to-day team spokesman. The problem with that is that the head coach often is forced to respond to questions raised by decisions made unilaterally by Farmer, who holds the authority on Browns football decisions.

Over the course of the past season, I sought to arrange interview time with Farmer. The response was always the same: The head coach is the spokesman during the season.

But Mike Pettine wouldn’t be the person to respond to the questions I’ve compiled over the course of the past season. They need to be answered by Farmer. Such as:

Did you really text-message coaches in the coaches box during games to complain about play-calls and usage of players, as sources have said?

Did you also text-message a team employee on the sideline to deliver your messages to coaches during games, which is a violation of league rules?

What role did you play in the decision to start Manziel in Game 14 against Cincinnati with a chance at the playoffs still alive?

Speaking of Manziel, did you Google his name before the draft and read the plethora of stories detailing problems he had with drinking going back to his high school days?

Was it really worth not attending pro days of the top-rated players in the 2014 draft? Couldn’t you have gleaned one bit of useful information on Gilbert and Manziel by talking to some college coach attending their pro days? Was it so important to be absent solely to disguise your intentions in the draft?

Like most GMs, you said you would be “true to our draft board” when selecting players in the draft. Was Gilbert and Manziel really the highest-rated players on your board when your turn came up at No. 8 and No. 22 in the first round?

The former Browns football regime commissioned a $100,000 study that concluded Teddy Bridgewater was the best quarterback of the 2014 draft. Why did you disregard it?

Explain again how you could ignore the receiver position in the most receiver-rich draft in history after knowing Gordon would be suspended for most, if not all, of the 2014 season?

Given the questionable situation at receiver, why did you cut receiver Charles Johnson after the club invested nine months in rehabilitating him from ACL knee surgery?

Why did you ignore the blatant problem at punt returner all season?

How did you arrive at Nick McDonald as a suitable replacement for injured center Alex Mack?

Ryan Seymour?

Why exactly do you not think the team is best served by re-signing Hoyer?

When it comes to “play like a Brown” core values, what was it about Ben Tate that qualified him to receive a contract in free agency?

Do you feel a GM should accede to the whims of the owner or is it the GM’s responsibility to stay true to his convictions even if they contradict the owner’s opinion?

Could we possibly have answers to these questions? An official tough statement on each would do.

http://espncleveland.com/common/more.php?m=49&action=blog&r=17&post_id=41941
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I'm also curious, just who blew the whistle on this, was it Shanahan?

Yeah it's kind of getting hard to stomach. I mean that with 100% zero sarcasm.

You are certainly entitled to your opinion.

However, in my opinion...........your opinion is just about the prototype response of how not to respond.

We have been discussing bullying and other character traits at school. By your "logic," a student that reports a person who has bullied another or a person who reports a cheater is a "rat."

I really hope you aren't raising children.

That is not my take on it at all. He was the rat. This would have been all in house stuff if he didn't leak it to the media..... correct me if I'm wrong- But the news of the texting came when Shanny wanted out of his contract. News broke of Shanny looking around, he leaked this texting (I'm not saying it was right for Farmer to do), and he forced his way out. I can't help but wonder if he could have handled this differently, kept the texting in house, and quietly slipped away - but that is not the Shannahan's style. No, he is the rat. If he would have kept his mouth shut about it, this would not be public knowledge.

Wow. The lengths some go to to deflect the fault from Farmer. This is Farmer's fault and he and the team will have to take their punishment. I haven't read anywhere else that Shanny was the leaker and was looking around except here on this forum.

well he is still looking for a GM job. but after ruining a eagles team and a browns team there doesnt seam to be any takers.

...I am still a Farmer pimp ... and I think we are on the right path

I would have a hard time believing a healthy guy would walk away from $24something on his contract.

But you never know the motivations of a man.

Well he is still looking for a GM job. but after ruining a eagles team and a browns team there doesnt seam to be any takers.

I am in agreement with that, and nobody can dissuade me otherwise. I am sick, literally and figuratively, of the rampant negativism of some recent posts that is based on speculation, rumors, LaCanfora spite, "hatred or agenda", etc. No person nor organization is perfect; there are learning curves that we must "suffer" through before the road gets smoother. Learn from the past by all means, but reinforce success and focus on the future...

I was a Farmer pimp before he got the GM job, and I am still a Farmer pimp. What he did was stupid, stupid, stupid. He screwed up I can't make any excuses for that. However I still believe he can build a winning team in Cleveland and I think we are on the right path. Only time will tell folks, only time will tell.

Why doesn't LaCanfora write about Indy?

Why doesn't LaCanfora write about Indy?

I thought he was Director Of Pro Personnel for the Broncos...

they wont let him near the draft after what he did here and the eagles

Don't respond to me like I'm dumb, steve.

And what's your point? Are saying that dysfunction and incompetence are ok and tolerated and even ignored as long as you're winning?

Farmer illegally texted the sideline. We lost what .... 6 games to end the season.

The Patriots supposedly illegally underinflated footballs.

The Falcons pumped in "extra" crowd noise into their home games.

Only one of these things does not directly create a competitive advantage.

Plus, I seem to recall Jimmy Johnson heading down to the sidelines during games in the past. What is the difference? What if Farmer would have walked down to the sidelines? Would that have been illegal?

Why do I have this sick feeling that we will get hammered, while the other 2 teams, who created a specific, competitive advantage for their teams, get off scot-free.

Of the 3 situations, I would say that what the Falcons did was the worst. That had to be completely premeditated. It also specifically creates a competitive imbalance on the field.

Anyway ... we'll see what happens.