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

True, and Shaw should have been pleased with his effort as well. He looked confident and competent. Too bad he doesn't seem capable (skill set) to be a starting caliber NFL QB...

Hoyer was pathetic against some of the worst defenses the league has to offer and I think the team was just in an emotional funk that was so bad, Pettine went to Johnny to try to pull them out of it. Johnny sucked but that Colts game imho had depleted the defense physically and the offense mentally. Seriously we get a couple good drives in that Colts game and we win easily and are talking playoffs.

Connor shaw game showed me what kind of coach we have in Pettine. That team played with passion, well at least the defense did.

Lose a draft pick? Tomlin meanders around on the playing field, effects a play and he gets a fine. Farmer sends a text and we lose a draft pick?
Hardly seems fair to me.

Last year it was ....This is where I want to be, and all things being equal, this is where I'll be .... and this year it's "convenient".

To me it seems as though Hoyer has already checked out. He's history.

Pretty sure I was as big a Hoyer Pimp as anyone at the start of the season. I think that by the time Hoyer was pulled for Manziel it was fait compli .... there was no option BUT to start Manziel. Hoyer had lost his way totally. . . . . Anyone arguing that Hoyer should have seen out the season - or that Johnny started because of Farmer or pressure from Haslam is revising history to suit their agenda.

If we resign Hoyer - I'll be pimping for him again and hoping he doesn't lose his way next season, relatively speaking in terms of games played he is still young and can improve. I don't see a clear cut better option in the draft or in FA. Sure Mallet has some upside - but he carries as much risk as Hoyer IMO.

all the tracks lead back to lil Joe Banner...

If you read between the lines, I'd say he's already gone, yeah.

Did he really say that?

Hate to say it but to me that's a good thing. Why win a couple more meaningless games? The ceiling has been reached with Hoyer. Time to play for a REAL future. Is there any good NFL QB prospects that should be coming out in 2016? Either way if Hoyer is gone, I think we will get the first overall pick in that draft whether we try to tank the season or not.

So your plan is to lose so we get a high draft pick? That's worked out so well before huh? No thanks on any plan that is an attempt to gain high draft picks.

Yeah as either Hoyer plays up for real and elite or that Johnny Manziel could be playing and be a bust!

j/c:



https://twitter.com/evansilva

*Disclaimer* This post is not to be confused with bashing Shanahan or Jason LaCanfora.

man, whoever this is obviously missed the 1 year GM stint of George Kokinis.

Ray Farmer actually got many players who were quite useful to the 53man roster, which is his main job.

I don't think this tweet is specifically talking about personnel decisions nor do I think "worst" is referencing his performance as a GM.

I think the writer means that so many things happened this year that it was very trying on a General Manager. Some things are under his control, others are not. The way I took to tweet, I would have used "stressful" instead of "worst". However, maybe I'm not understanding the tone.

I would agree with you on Kokinos expept for two things:

(1) it was more like 6 months instead of on year
(2) Kokinos was a GM in name only. The disaster belongs to Eric Mangini. He was horrible.




See this, Vers? This is what bashing looks like. Take notes.

Yes, I agree that the moves were on Mangini.

But, even if you just want chaos, then it's hard to compete with Kokinis (between the alleged affair, getting over ruled on a FA who he had invited to town, sleeping in the office, et cetera).

I think my favorite mark of utter disarray from that era was that he learned about the Edwards trade from an ESPN ticker

Was it Edwards or Kellen Winslow?

...or both?

the mentioning of Kellen Winslow reminded me of the "other" media issue with him about a particular infection. but, as I was typing this post, I remembered that one was under Phil Savage.

No it hasn't worked and I'm not naive enough to think that they will all of a sudden learn how to draft, but at least they will have their pick. They don't know how to find a legitimate kicker let alone a good QB.

Those may have been the ONLY acquisitions made by Farmer. It could be Farmer had little to nothing to do with either of those first round picks. Especially Manziel.

The dumbest part about this situation is that no one has talked to try and put out the fire. Haslam and Farmer are completely mishandling the entire situation because they don't want to put themselves further in the crosshairs. Part of being a leader is taking the bullets, Haslam and Farmer aren't doing anything but hiding.

Perhaps they are not permitted to talk about it while an investigation is ongoing?

I thought about that aspect also. But then it came to mind how Kraft, Tom Brady and BB all talked about deflategate leading up to the SB.

very true... but they had no choice... the NFL was using deflate gate to pump up ( pun intended) viewership of the superbowl. So it was out on front of everybody.

Notice there has been noting from NE or NFL on this since.

Bingo. And they could at least comment on all the alleged dysfunction. Instead -- crickets.

There's no value in commenting on any of it. All that would do is give the media sound bytes to hyper-analyze and twist while stoking the flames.

Aren't they doing that anyway? At least deny the report through some PR person.

Would the NFL rather push this story or talk about Rice, Peterson, deflated footballs, crowd noise, Darren sharper or aaron hernadez? So this is why they are pushing the dysfunctional Browns. I dont blame them a bit.

LOL when you put it like that!

Grading the Browns' 2014 free agent signings

Despite a disastrous past six weeks for the Cleveland Browns, March could be kinder to the franchise. General manager Ray Farmer, for all his text-messaging problems and potential bust picks on two first-rounders in the same draft, showed a deft touch last free agency, picking up players to supplement a draft-first roster. I graded the Browns' six biggest free agency signings from a year ago, and only one (Ben Tate) garnered a C grade or below. (Hat tip to ESPN Ravens reporter Jamison Hensley for the idea -- he recently graded Baltimore signings from a year ago)

Let's get right to it.

Player: Linebacker Karlos Dansby

Contract: Signed a four-year, $24-million deal on March 11 worth $14 million guaranteed


Dansby
Verdict: Dansby eased into a leadership role on the defense and produced on the field with 93 tackles, three sacks and an interception in 12 games. Dansby will be 34 in November and still has three years and $14 million scheduled on his contract. The Browns will monitor any decline in production as Dansby reaches his NFL twilight, but he showed minimal signs of slowing down and seems a good fit for Mike Pettine’s scheme. Missing four games in the second half of the season with a knee injury keeps Dansby from pushing for an A grade.

Grade: B

Player: Andrew Hawkins

Contract: Signed a four-year, $13.6-million contract on March 16 worth $6 million guaranteed


Hawkins
Verdict: Another good signing for the Browns, who get an ascending slot receiver with the ability to effectively line up on the outside. He amassed nearly 800 yards with sketchy quarterback play. Most of Hawkins’ money comes in the first two years, which means the Browns will have to pay him $2.8 million combined in 2016-17. If he keeps playing well, that’s a team-friendly deal.

Grade: A-

Player: Jim Dray

Contract: Signed a three-year, $5.625-million deal on March 13.


Dray
Verdict: Dray is a competent blocking tight end and a serviceable pass-catcher -- about what you’d expect from a tight end on a low-risk deal. Dray didn’t exactly flourish in starter Jordan Cameron's absence, amassing six catches for 117 yards in the five late-season games Cameron missed.

Grade: B-

Player: Donte Whitner

Contract: Signed a four-year, $28-million deal on March 11 worth $15.5 million guaranteed.


Whitner
Verdict: The Browns didn’t throw funny money Whitner’s way, committing to $15.5 million in the first two years of the deal (the 2015 base salary of $4.5 million is guaranteed on the 15th day of the new league year). Whitner stayed true to his identity. He stops the run, provides leadership/toughness, and isn’t a standout playmaker in the passing game, which he doesn’t need to be in this system. Whitner finished with 106 tackles, two forced fumbles and one interception.

Grade: B+

Player: Miles Austin

Contract: Signed a one-year, $2-million deal on May 21.


Austin
Verdict: This was a low-risk, high-reward signing for the Browns. Austin was a reliable third-down receiver before being place on IR after Week 13. Perhaps the Browns should have signed Austin to a two-year deal last offseason, when he was coming off an injury-plagued ending with the Cowboys. Now, getting the same low-ball offer on a one-year term could prove more difficult. Austin isn’t a game-changer, but he did enough in Cleveland to warrant more than $2 million, despite his age (30).

Grade: B

Ben Tate

Contract: Signed a two-year deal on March 16 that paid $2.5 million in guaranteed money.

Tate
Tate
Verdict: The Browns’ only true free agency bust last year, Tate averaged 3.1 yards per carry and was cut after eight games played. Tate deserves some credit for leading the Browns to early back-to-back wins against Tennessee and Pittsburgh with 202 combined rushing yards and two touchdowns, but he averaged a woeful 1.7 yards per carry in his final five games. His attitude also appeared to be an issue internally.

Grade: D

http://espn.go.com/blog/cleveland-browns...=espnapi_public

Damsby was an A in my book. If he has not been injured and mised time, he would have been a Pro Bowl player last year. That is the pace he was on. Even missing time, he solidified the MLB position, and was an excellent teacher for guys like Kirksey and Robertson, and was a leader who was unafraid to stand up and be counted. He gets an A from me.

It makes sense that he did better in FA than the draft. He had experience in that area w/the Chiefs. He did not have experience w/the draft.

In the draft, he took 2 guys in the 1st round who most people considered to be quality picks. He then took a guy in the 2nd who some (me) questioned, took a RB in the 3rd who most talking heads loved, took a LB who turned out to be a really good pick, even though some (me) did not like the pick t=at the time. Then, he also picked a CB, who needed some practice time in this defense, and who most were ready to cut in training camp, but who came back and played well in real games towards the end of the season.

6 picks, and 4 of them were really good, and the other 2 were considered to pretty much be no-brainers. Sometimes picks, even high picks, just don't work out .... and sometimes it take a year for a guy to get his head on straight in the NFL.

People always tell me that you can't judge a draft for 3 years .... yet people want Farmer fired after 1, when he brought in 3 major contributors in the draft, (Bitonio, Kirksey, and West) 3 others as UDFA, (Gabriel, Crowell, and Williams) and the above listed free agents. I am not going to go back and re-count the free agents, but that is what .. 10 or so solid+ players added to the team in one off-season? That's a pretty good off-season, if you ask me. (Marlon Moore was a great special teams guy as well, and Leonhard, though probably more of a Mangini pick, was an excellent add as well )

What people want him fired? Please name them. Thanks.

His draft sucked. Period.

'The media agreed with him' isn't a glowing endorsement for a GM's picks.



Manziel was at no point considered to be a 'no brainer' or 'pretty much a no brainer' by any consensus.

At the time, I considered it a no brainer, but not by the definition one first thinks of.

And I'd hardly call 4 of our picks 'really good'. I'd use that to describe Bitonio, and that's it. Maybe Kirksey.

When you spend a third round pick on a guy who gets repeatedly benched by his coaches throughout the season, it's not 'really good'.

We had two first round picks, and we spent them on guys who didn't make the trip to our last game because of conduct issues.

How in the world anyone can argue that this was a promising draft at this juncture is beyond me.

Yeah, it is complete fantasy when people say DeSir came back and played well. What? The guy gave up 6 first down passes in his start. He sucked.

I thought Desir showed improvement over the season, though.

Isn't that something to build on?