DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Farmer Press Conference

I'm not sure if this has been addressed in this whole texting fiasco, but cell phones aren't allowed on the sidelines during games, right?

Sorry, if this has been addressed. I don't feel like searching all the pages.

didn't farmer text someone else who then told shanny what it said?

Thats one thing, but the other is, has there been any verification that Shanny was the one receiving texts?

I don't think so. Was ever verified that the recipient actually read the text during the game?

Whether or not the text was read during the game, whether or not the phones were on the coach's person on the sidelines or in the locker room or at home, whether or not the phones were even on during the game ... none of that changes the fact the text was sent. That's the problem, that the text was sent. Even if not read until the next day, it was sent during the game.

Completely agree. It was sent and it was a clear message that the FO would be undermining the decisions of the coaches. No argument there at all.

However, the thing that would be an issue would be whether or not the text actually violates league rules. That's all I'm saying. If the text was sent during the game but the phone wasn't actually on the field, because they cannot be, how would that be a violation?

It's been forever that this issue came to light and nothing has been determined yet. That seems odd to me. But the Gordon ordeal took forever too, so there's that.

Good point, Memphis. Can't argue any of that at all.

2015 NFL Draft: Transcript from Browns GM Ray Farmer's pre-draft news conference
By NATE ULRICH Published: April 23, 2015
http://imgick.nj.com/home/njo-media/width620/img/realtimesports_impact/photo/17391672-mmmain.jpg
Browns General Manager Ray Farmer met with reporters Thursday for a pre-draft news conference. Below is a transcript provided by the team.

Opening statement: “Hey, I appreciate everybody coming out. It’s draft time, which seems like the next most exciting time in comparison to the season. We’ve contended all along that we want to build through the draft here. The draft’s important. It’s important for us. It’s important to make the right decisions, get the right guys. Strategically, I would tell you that you plan for Scenario A to happen and, inevitably, that could happen or there are contingency plans, as well, to move on. In that, you think about best player available. You think about what needs you may think you may have to address, but need shouldn’t outweigh taking the best players for today and tomorrow. The things I think are hot buttons in the league now – character’s obviously one of them, guys have existing issues, understanding what they are, understand your risk and your tolerance for risk and when you take risks. Those are all out there. I think we really focus on the idea of continuing to ‘Play Like a Brown’ and add guys to that. I think last year was interesting for us – ‘Pett’s (Head Coach Mike Pettine) first year, my first year, new coaching staff. I think that blend has been a lot smoother this year for how we kind of come about and get together and get everybody organized so that we can make the right decisions for our ball club and how those guys fit. At the end of the day, we really feel good. There are 10 picks. We’ve got two in the first round, three of the top 43. We’ve got four of the top 77. We’re excited about kind of where we’re at and what’s happening. I guess I should take a moment and really thank the scouts. Those are the guys that I don’t even know if a lot of you guys even know who a lot of our scouts are, to pick them out if they were just walking through the building. A lot of tireless effort, singularly focused on improving the football team. I know a lot of times it may seem like those are forgotten warriors, but they’re not. They’re a vital part of the process, and they help us get to where we’re going. I also want to thank our coaching staff…Did a tremendous job this year, as well, of working both with us. I guess I can get to that for a second…Took some liberties this year to kind of change how we did some things during the offseason blending and blurring the line between the scouts and the coaches, having those guys work together on some projects to flush out some of the conversations early on which I thought was a good part of that. Our group and how we kind of come to these answers is really collaborative. At the end of the day, I know myself, (Vice President, player personnel) Morocco Brown, (Executive Chief of Staff) Bill Kuharich, Mike Pettine have spent a lot of time the last several weeks kind of locked behind doors kind of putting the finishing touches on where we think we are in the draft and who we like and, again, what that plan and what that contingency plan would look like moving forward. I think I might have taken enough of the time just kind of catching you guys up as to how we got to where we’re at. If there’s any questions, I’m open.”

On if he is expecting his phone to be ringing more than normal because of how aggressive the Browns were in the first round last year: “I think the big thing for us now is the fact that we have picks. They’re not compensatory picks. They’re just regular picks. We can move any of them. I think that’s what spurns people to call you is the flexibility that you may have in the draft because of the number of picks that you possess.”

On if he expects to be as active in the draft in regard to making trades as the Browns were last year: “For me, it’s more about looking at not being aggressive for the sake of being aggressive or moving for the sake of moving but trying to create the opportunities that you can create value and you can capitalize on that value.”

On if what the Browns went through with wide receiver Josh Gordon will affect how he looks at linebacker Randy Gregory: “I think they’re two independent guys, and they’re completely different in a lot of ways. To kind of answer the question differently I would say, for us, it’s more about you take advantage of the information that you have on any player. Then, you associate that with how you think that guy fits into your building and your culture.”

On how he thinks quarterback Marcus Mariota can translate to playing in the NFL: “I think that’s probably a better question for Pett and the coaching staff. I would say, from our scouting side, there are things to like about the young man, and those things that you like are the reason that I think he’s being talked about where he’s being talked about in the draft.”

On what the Browns still have to go over in the week leading up to the draft:“There’s really not a lot left in the room. Now, it’s almost nauseam at the moment of, ‘Let’s go over again…What are we going to do here? What if this happens? What if that happens?’ You play the what-if scenario it seems like 10 million times, and it seems like we’ve played it so many times that you feel like you know kind of where things are going to go. I hate to say this. It’s almost like going to the batting cage and you feel like you kind of get in a rhythm and you know where it’s at. Then, there’s this curveball. It’s the one ball that dies on you. You swing and miss like you haven’t been in there all day. That’s what the draft’s become in my mind. There’s always going to be that one selection, that one move that nobody truly anticipated, and that’s what you’ve got to be able to adjust to.”

On if he would have known a week away from the draft last year that he would have made the trade with Buffalo early in the first round: “No. I would not have known a week out. That brings up a good point which is interesting. You hear all the information. I can tell you right now – nobody’s saying anything that’s substantial at the moment. They’re just not – all the reports, all of the conjecture, all of the ‘this is happening’ and ‘that’s happening.’ It’s a pretty fluid process. People say when you make calls and you talk to other teams – ‘Hey, we’re willing to go up. We’re willing to go down.’ That does me no good. That doesn’t help, but it’s the reality. I would go up if it was the right circumstance, and I would go back if it was the right circumstance. Those things happen literally much closer to the draft and a lot of times when you’re on the clock. You’ve got to make that in-the-moment decision of, ‘Do I want to do this? Do I not want to do this?’ That’s where all the contingency planning and the preparation comes into play.”

On if he has a feel of what it might take to move up to select Mariota:“Ironically, you can always look at those charts that are out there. They’re all over the internet. I know we have our own. There are several versions of it. Teams have their own versions. You try to piece that together. The reality is that – this is interesting – a lot of the scuttlebutt that you hear and the conjecture and the noise that’s out there, it changes the complexion of trying to get a deal done. If everybody thinks that you want something, your price just went up. If you’re the guy that’s dying in the desert for thirst and you need a cup of water, your cup of water costs $10,000. Meanwhile, we just gave one to Mary Kay (Cabot) for $1.50. It’s different. I think that’s where it’s interesting is that you hear it, you see it, but then there’s no reality until somebody truly makes an offer or makes a push to get something done.”

On being linked to liking Mariota a year ago and what he thinks distinguishes Mariota from other quarterbacks: “I think the thing that distinguishes him is that the guy’s been successful. You look at the differences of what guys do and accomplish and how they play, and a lot of it comes down to ‘What was your performance? What did your performance yield?’ It’s easy to see why. Whether it’s Marcus, whether it’s another player, they get the benefit of the doubt because their teams have had success with them at the helm. That’s where it starts. There are a lot more, I’d say, nuances and intricacies that we can talk about – as far as how he delivers the ball, what his footwork’s like? What is his accuracy like? What’s his decision-making like? Can he progression read? Can he take a three, five, seven-step drop with a hitch, make a throw in rhythm? All of those things come into play and they’re technical and they get past all of the generalities I think people look at. It really comes down to how well did the guy play his position in college and how well do you think your staff and your coaching staff can utilize his skill set to help you win?”

On if taking quarterback Johnny Manziel last year and there being an odd man out enters his mind when it comes to the thought of drafting Mariota:“Every decision comes at a consequence to somebody else. We’ve brought a lot of guys in on 30 visits. We talked to a lot of guys at the combine and different circumstances. The thought process for us – and I told several young men this – is that the National Football League is different than college football. You come into an organization and you make friends and you have friends, but at the end of the day you’re here to take that guy in front of you’s job. That’s what it comes down to. It’s a different way of looking at it, but the reality is, for us, we make the decisions that we think we need to make to improve our football team. Driving competition is a part of that. I do want Player A to compete with Player B, and Player B to compete with Player C. ‘C’ may end of being ‘A’ by the end of the day. Nobody expected it. Nobody anticipated it, but the idea is to drive the competition on our roster. Inevitably, it’s going to come at the demise of somebody. Who that person is I don’t know if anybody can say, but we definitely like the idea of just driving the competition and making the team better.”

On if he has seriously considered trading the No. 12 and No. 19 picks to move up and draft Mariota: “Sure. Why not? (with a smile and laughter)”

On why the Browns didn’t have a private workout with Mariota and if it was because Mariota has previously spent time quarterbacks coach Kevin O’Connell: “At the end of day, in certain instances, you take advantage of the opportunities that you have. For us, when you have enough information on a player there’s no reason to continue to move forward. When you kind of finalize and you know where you’re at you put the period on it and you end the story. For us, when you have a good feel for a player that’s what it comes down to. We think we know who he is. We think we know what he’s capable of. We think we know kind of where he would fit for us, assuming he was with us…No reason to take that any further than we went.”

On where he is in terms of looking at wide receivers and if acquiring wide receivers Dwayne Bowe and Brian Hartline impacts that at all: “Doesn’t impact it one iota. Every position on our roster…If I had to play today, I feel good about if we went out and played. End of the day, I think it comes to, again, take the best player available, move forward, improve your football team and see if you can’t get better with the guys that you bring into the building.”

On how he feels about the receivers they have right now: “Very good. They fit who we want to be and what we’re going to do.”

On if he feels that the Browns have done a better job with background checks on prospects this year compared to last year and if the Browns were inefficient on last year’s background checks, especially with Manziel and defensive back Justin Gilbert: “No. Not one iota do I feel like we missed it or we didn’t do it. At the end of the day, there’s a balance between what you know and what you can expect, then what you can change. End of the day, I do appreciate our staff. I think our staff does a really good job. We’ve taken extra steps in trying to challenge kind of what others could dig up and what they could figure out and what they would know and what they could kind of utilize to garnish a better idea of who a player is. The reality is I think we do a really, really good job of unearthing the information that’s out there. End of the day, you’ve got to believe kind of what people tell you about kids. No team gets the luxury of living in whatever city for four years and understanding who that young man is. You’re at the mercy of what people tell you. The information that we got was consistent around the league, as far as what I’ve been told. I’ve talked to probably half a dozen teams, more here recently, just to make sure that you kind of quality controlled that. At the end of the day, the character background stuff is what it is. You’ve just got to determine, if you assume that risk, how much risk you’re willing to take.”

On what the missing piece is for the Browns defense going into the draft: “I like where I’m at. Like I said, if I had to go play today I’d go play today. There are always unknowns. There are always pieces that you want to continue to drive competition at. I think, for us how we play ball, the league in general, in my mind, is getting more specialized. That specialization has allowed a variety of players to play on any particular defense. I’d say it in this regard – D-linemen, in a lot of cases, they rotate. There are very few guys that are going to just play 95 percent of snaps as a defensive lineman. They’re going to be a rotation or a wave of players, same thing at linebacker. You used to have an old-school Mike linebacker that was a downhill thumper. Those guys are so versatile now that they’re trying to keep guys on the field and rotate them and use them in different ways. Same in the secondary, you see a lot of safeties slide down and play nickel-linebacker. You see a lot of corners slide in and play nickel, etc. Some corners may slide back and play nickel-safety. I think the player utilization and the wave prospects and the differences that allow guys to slide around, it helps us overall. I feel comfortable in where we’re at.”

On if the Browns need more defensive linemen with the specialization and the way the game is played now: “I think it requires a variety of defensive linemen, not necessarily more because now you get trapped by roster numbers. You can’t really go out and say, ‘Well, let’s just have 10 or 12 defensive linemen.’ You’ve got to keep it in the context that you have. Again, it’s kind of like I explained before about wide receivers and different positions. You may want two big guys. ‘I need two quick guys. I need two guys that can play a variety of roles. I need two long guys. I’m OK with two short guys.’ It’s just kind of that mix and match of skill sets and abilities that I think can make you more dynamic than just trying to say, ‘I have this one player or there two players.’”

On if the Browns need more competition at the quarterback spot on the roster: “If I can get it. If I can find somebody, I think, that pushes the competition further, then I think that’s what you focus on. It’s not about what you currently have. It’s about what you can add.”

On if it is true that the Browns tried to trade Manziel to the Philadelphia Eagles: “No, that’s not true.”

On if it is true that Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford would not sign a long-term contract with the Browns if traded to Cleveland: “You’d have to ask Sam. I have had no connection with Sam. I haven’t spoken to him. I do not know the answer to that question.”

On if there is any more urgency or need to get the first two picks right this year after the performances of last year’s two first-round picks: “I think, for me, it’s all about…Again, I’ve said this repeatedly, I like the idea of slow-brewed, fresh-brewed coffee. I’m going to grind my coffee beans. I’m going to get my filter out. I’m going to pour it in. I’m going to let it sit, simmer. Then, I’m going to get a good cup. We all want it to happen right away. We want these guys to come in. I think you want to improve your football team. I thought we did that last year. I think we found guys in the second round, third round, free agents – guys that came in, contributed and played. The reality that everybody wants the first ones to be great players right away – sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t. I think, from my perspective, yeah, do you feel like you want those guys to come in and contribute more? Absolutely. You’d love for everybody to come in and play and be great. I don’t think that they’re done. I think they have more to offer. At the end of the day, I’m going to do the same thing. I’m going to try to add guys to this roster that I think can improve us.”

On where the organization is with Manziel now that he’s returned to the team from rehab: “Right exactly where we were before: we support the young man, that he took steps that he needed to take and at the end of the day, we realize that he’s a part of our organization and we’re moving forward. He said it best. He’s going to do his best to show and not talk about it. I’m probably in that camp, as well. Let’s just see what happens.”


On if he has a hard-line view on not selecting a WR in the draft, based off of the Browns not selecting a WR last year: “I always think that you take the opportunities where you get them. If there’s a receiver that provides the best value and the best player, then we’ll probably take that guy. If there’s not and there’s a guy that we think who can influence our team or help our team in a different way, in a better way, we’ll take that guy. Somehow I’m ‘anti-wide receiver.’ That’s not the case at all. I do think that we have guys who can contribute and can play. To that effect, I think our guys played pretty well last year, and I think they’ll do the same this year and probably do a little bit better.”


On reports that a Browns analytics study last year stated Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater was last year’s best QB prospect and how much the Browns use analytics now when evaluating QBs: “We do have analytics in our building, and every piece of what we do has a requisite part of the puzzle. I can’t tell you that this is 99.95 percent of what we do, but at the end of the day, I would say that we take all of that into consideration when we make any decision.”


On if last year’s study did rate Bridgewater as the QB prospect who would have the most long-term success: “Again, I’m not going to confirm anything in regard to what the study said, but I will tell you that we do use analytics.”

On his agreement with Manziel’s comments that actions speak louder than words and how that affects his decision-making process during the draft: “It doesn’t. I’ve got to make the best decision for the Cleveland Browns, not for Johnny Manziel, not for Ray Farmer. I’ve got to make the best decision for the Cleveland Browns. That’s what we’ll focus on.”


On evaluating QB Jameis Winston as a player and a person, particularly in the event he isn’t selected No. 1 overall: “Again, the fact that his name is being talked about as being the first overall pick should let everybody be put at ease that most people feel confident or comfortable that this guy is going to be an NFL player. The person, I guess I see all the commentaries and questions about who the young man is. We’ve done our character-background information work, and we have an opinion on that that will remain private. He’s got his opportunities. Again, he’s said it pretty openly, I think, that he wants to be the No. 1 guy selected in this draft. Whether or not that happens, that’s not my call; that’s somebody else’s call. We can respect his ability to play football.”


On if Winston is on the Browns’ draft board and is in consideration, if not selected No. 1 overall: “I try not to talk about the board. It’s kind of like one of those things that you try to leave out of it. At the end of the day, he is a young man that warrants consideration at the right time.”


On if the Browns would select a running back in the first round, given the recent NFL trend not to do so: “Sure, why not (laughter). I should probably stop using Pett’s words. Right player, right price, sure. There’s always guys... Again, it’s interesting how people get into these swells of ‘running backs shouldn’t go in the first round.’ I don’t see why. If you get a guy and that’s kind of who you are and what you want to be, why wouldn’t you? I guess that’s probably where I’m at. Some people say, ‘The guy has got to be Adrian Peterson to be taken in the first round’ just to throw a name out there. I don’t know if anybody could ever say they knew it was going to be what it was going to be because otherwise, somebody would have drafted him as the first overall player and not where he went.”


On if there is a specific offensive position other than QB that really needs to be addressed in the draft to drive competition: “Do I really need to add somebody at some position on the offense to drive competition? All of them. It’s always about trying to find the best players to make your team better. There’s not one room in our building that doesn’t require another player to try to push that competition better because it’s going to make the guys that we have that we all know are probably going to be on the team better, it’s going to make us better and inevitably, we’re going to get better as a football team.”


On prospects at OLB and if that’s an area he’d like to see improved from last year’s roster: “The guys in the draft, I do think there are guys in this draft that they could help you. The question of how do they fit into our defense and how do we see them, I’ve had a lot of extensive conversation with the coaches about Player A vs. Player B. How would Player A fit versus the guys on our roster? Those conversations have been had of who helps, who doesn’t, who’s good, who’s not. At the end of the day, there’s a lot of talk about where those guys will go and who may be available when it’s your turn to select and what the values become. What you don’t want to do is end up getting the fifth guy on our list and be like, “We got one, but he’s fifth’ and you don’t really love it, or do you just take your time, make the best pick and if you get one, you get one; if you don’t, you don’t? The guys that are currently on this roster, I feel good about those guys – Paul Kruger, (Barkevious) Mingo, Scott Solomon. I know some of the people saw Scott at the end of last year. All the guys that are in those rooms – Armonty Bryant coming back – there are guys that you don’t know or probably don’t know as much about – Keith Pough – there are other guys who I think have the ability to play in this league, and given the right opportunity to compete and put their skillset forward – they either make it or they don’t – but again, adding another one is not a bad thing, either.”


On Twitter trending that ‘Farmer likes Mariota best’ currently: “Again, I don’t know where this stuff comes from. I know last year somebody asked a question about Marcus Mariota and I answered differently than everybody else that I talked about. I guess I was saying, ‘I like him, I like that player’ and then it got to Mariota, and I said, ‘Yeah, he’s good’ or I changed what I said. From that moment on, he’s been ‘my guy.’ I guess it doesn’t really matter what I say, he’s ‘my guy’ so I’m going to leave it at that and let you guys decide when he’s ‘my guy’ and when he falls out of being ‘my guy.’“


On if the Browns are evaluating players like OL Joel Bitonio who could potentially make a significant transition when entering the NFL: “I do think there are guys who you have to project what they are going to become at the NFL level. College football is vastly different from the NFL game. It’s almost like it’s two different games in some respects. You’re going to have to project and have to have a plan for what you’re going to do with our players. I think that’s what we’re more focused on is making sure that we have a plan for each guy that we would consider, what does that plan entail and then how would we utilize that player, assuming we added him to our roster.”


On TEs in college not typically blocking as much: “Depends on where you get them from. There are guys at certain schools that they do play in-line. There are other guys that play detached and they’re almost big wide receivers or glorified wide receivers. I’d probably say the position that is almost non-existent is fullback. You don’t see guys playing full back. Teams don’t use them so if you want a fullback, you’re going to have to create one. You’re going to have to take a linebacker or take a guy who was a smaller tight end that didn’t have the length or the measurables. You’re going to have to figure it out. That’s probably the one position that I’d tell you is the hardest to figure out where do you get one from because there are very few of them. You’ve either got take the notion of you’re going to Alabama who runs the ball, you’re going to Stanford – there are very few teams that play with the traditional old-school fullback.”


On if it’s difficult to judge how Mariota would transition to the NFL and does having quarterbacks coach Kevin O’Connell on the staff help with that evaluation: “I struggle with that one because I think in college football... Again, I’ll go back to the game is different. The NFL is not getting a pipeline of traditional NFL quarterbacks the way that they used to. When you look at whether it’s Mariota or any quarterback that played in the spread – we can go back past the spread, my son is 12 and they run the spread. I’m like, ‘They can’t even throw the ball, but somehow they’re lined up with guys all over the field.’ It’s kind of become what it is. That’s where you’re getting your players from. The league in general has got to figure out how you take guys from this system, change kind of what they are if you are going to do something different with them and plug them in. That’s what it comes down to. You have to figure out either how to make the adjustment or everybody is going to start running the spread in the National Football League. It’s one of the two. I think the teams that figure it out the fastest or change the fastest will reap the benefits of what’s out there. That’s what it comes down to. You have to have a plan, a direct plan, for any guy you take that you’re going to do something different with him than what he was asked to do previously because it’s all a projection at that point. It’s the same thing that Terry (Pluto) asked. Whether it’s a tight end and is an in-line guy or is he a guy or is he a guy that played as a detached guy and now you’re going to make him play on the line, if he didn’t do those skillsets prior, you’re going to have to figure out a plan to get that guy to operate in that capacity.”


On DB Tashaun Gipson not participating in the first two days of voluntary offseason workouts and the current state of contract negotiations: “All voluntary. Tashaun is at home and has his rights to be at home. I would say I hope he is doing what he is doing to prepare himself for the next season. Again, the NFL has decided that these guys deserve downtime, and as a former player, I used to love downtime. It’s a positive in that respect.”

On if the Browns are trying to negotiate a long-term contract with Gipson: “I try not to talk about player contracts and negotiations in the media so I’ll graciously decline, if that’s OK.”

On if contract situations like OL Alex Mack having the ability to opt out next year are considered when drafting: “We think about every scenario that’s available for our club. Whether it’s Alex Mack or whether it’s guys that are going to go into free agency next year, we will be prepared for all of those scenarios and take into consideration what our options are short term and long term.”


On why the national perception says the Browns are the team most likely to make a move for a QB: “Because it’s constantly reported that we are just starved and we are going to do whatever we’ve got to do to get there and we are going to trade everything we have to get one person. I don’t know why that is but it seems to make for good media because people like it – you read it, you see it and it’s what it is. At the end of the day, the object is to improve your football team and to win football games. I get that there’s this notion at times that there is this silver bullet or there is this one magic player that is going to walk in here on a horse and we’re going to start winning games and he’s going to be the reason we did it. I just don’t believe in the fairy tale any more. You’ve got to get your hammer and your nails and you’ve got to go out and build the house. That’s what it’s going to take. You’ve got to take your time and put it together the right way.”

On if the Browns starting QB for 2015 is on the roster now: “He very well may be. He might not be. It depends upon what you have an opportunity to acquire and then if that guy comes in and plays better than the guys that are currently here. It’s an opportunity-driven league. In some respects, nobody would assume that (Cowboys QB) Tony Romo would become Tony Romo, but somehow he’s Tony Romo. It’s just the nature of the beast. There was time when (Packers QB) Aaron Rodgers was sitting behind (former NFL QB) Brett Favre and people were like, ‘Well, he’s never played so he can’t be very good because they would do something.’ Then three years into it, they roll him out and now he’s Aaron Rodgers. At the end of the day, I think that patience and a plan and the consistency to drive that competition is kind of where it lies to me.”

On if not believing in a ‘silver bullet’ potentially ignores the fact that teams with QBs like the Patriots’ Tom Brady and Broncos’ Peyton Manning consistently make the playoffs and that addressing that position may dramatically affects chances of making the playoffs: “You could say that, but I could in turn say that when Tom Brady got to New England, they were built on defense and the run game. Was he really the magic bullet or did he grow into that? It’s what came first, the chicken or the egg? Yeah, the guy is a really good player. I don’t doubt that at all. I don’t doubt that (Colts QB Andrew) Luck is a good player. I don’t doubt that Manning is a good player. The reality is it takes a team to win. Those guys need the team to have success. Without the team, then you don’t see the benefits of what they produce.”


On his reaction to his four-game suspension from the NFL: “I messed up. I paid the penalty. That’s where it goes. I accept what’s happened. I accept my punishment. There’s really no further comment from me on it.”


On who will serve as the interim GM during the suspension: “That decision hasn’t been finalized yet. Jimmy (Haslam), myself and Pett will have some conversations about what happens, but at the end of the day, there’s not one decision that I make in this building that is made in a vacuum where I just walk out of my office and deem that this is what’s going to happen. To that degree, when I’m not around for that time, I would assume and I believe that they are going to continue to operate in a way that we’re collaborative and we work together and we make decisions that benefit the club and it’s not just my decision that rests autonomously over everyone else’s.”

link

Good words to hear! Hopefully this clears the air concerning any "dysfunctional" issue(s)...

What? How would it "clear the air." Or, did you mean "put to rest?"

Either way, actions speak louder than words and his decisions scream "dysfunction."

OK, either term. In my world they would be interchangeable...

didnt when banner said the same thing. why would it this time?

Well, he/they love Farmer because they hated Banner because they loved H and H because they hated Mangini.

Don't you see the perfect logic of it all?

2015 NFL Draft: Transcript from GM Ray Farmer, coach Mike Pettine wrapping up Browns' draft
By NATE ULRICH Published: May 2, 2015
Browns General Manager Ray Farmer and coach Mike Pettine wrapped up the 2015 NFL Draft during a news conference Saturday night. Below is a transcript provided by the team.

On who is bringing in all of the west coast players to the Browns in this year’s draft:
Farmer: ‘We had several people go through the west coast. We do things a little differently so a variety of scouts have made their way out there. I’d just like to give all that credit to our group as a whole.”

On whether this draft was meant to get back to the basics, rather than ‘making a big splash’ like last year:
Farmer: “I think from my perspective it’s more about… I think both drafts were the same. The splash is not from us. We took the players that we liked. It’s not about taking somebody with name recognition. It’s not about taking somebody for any other reason than besides we think the guy’s a good football player. From my perspective, I think we just take guys that we like and we think can play the positions they’re going to be asked to play.”

On the QB situation, and if Josh McCown has solved all the problems:
Farmer: “I don’t know which problems there are, and I would say ‘muddy at best’ is not really my words, but again, I like who we have. Now, whether or not they’re great or whether or not they’re (Colts QB) Andrew Luck or somebody else – (former Broncos QB) John Elway or whoever they’re supposed to be – I don’t think that’s the case, but I do know what we’re going to ask those guys to do, I think they’re capable of doing. Again, you’ve got to give guys an opportunity to demonstrate they can either play or they’re going to fail. In time, we’ll find out the answers to those questions.”

On DB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu’s availability to play next year:
Farmer: “Not really sure when Ifo’s going to be healthy, but we definitely feel that his talent is there. There’s not a better kid. We felt like we were getting the right kind of guy that we knew had talent and could play. He suffered an unfortunate injury, and we’re confident that he’ll get healthy.”

On the kind of grade Ekpre-Olomu would get, injury aside:
Farmer: “We felt like the kid, had he come out last year – there was a bit of talk that he might come out last year – again, special kid decided to go back to school and finish his degrees and live it out that way. Again, the way we grade is a little different from everyone else. We don’t get into the rounds or any of that, but we felt like this kid could be a starter when he was 100 percent healthy.”

On if Ekpre-Olomu reminds the Browns of anyone, based on the way he plays the game:
Pettine: “I don’t know if there’s one player, but he was productive. He was productive against good competition. He can press, he can get his hands on and he can play man coverage. Those are all obviously parts of the skillset that we’re looking for.”

On TE Randall Telfer’s status and availability to play:
Farmer: “Again, probably a better question for (head athletic trainer) Joe (Sheehan). We definitely feel like we got another player, that we like the player and he will be healthy. When he actually does clear and they feel like he’s able to go play, that kind of remains to be seen, but we felt like we got a good player; a player that was better than where he got selected because he was hurt. At some point, he’ll be healthy, and we’re comfortable with the guys we have on the roster until then.”

On summarizing what was accomplished in the past three days:
Farmer: “In the three days, I think we did a good job of sticking with the plan. We know who we want to be, we know where we want to go, and we know before you build the roof and you put the walls up, you’ve got to build the foundation. For us, that starts up front. We want to be great on both lines, we want to be able to dominate the line of scrimmage and we want to play Cleveland Browns football. That’s Play Like a Brown. I think we brought guys in here that will play like Browns. We’ve got guys in here that will compete and play relentless, chase the ball on defense and be aggressive on offense. I’d say the core of football is about imposing your will on your opponent, and we’re going to try to do those things.”
On WR Vince Mayle:
Farmer: “Big kid, very productive, had a lot of production. I would say he’s a former basketball player; he hasn’t played a lot of football, but we feel like there’s a tremendous upside there. That tremendous upside is what we’re looking for. We know he’s talented enough to play, and we like the fact the he is big, he can run and we’re excited that we got him where we got him.”

On whether not taking a QB shows the Browns are invested in QB Johnny Manziel:
Pettine: “The quarterback position was – I know there was a lot of speculation even during the draft that we were looking to move up and even a report for us looking to move up today. To me, it was all about having a game plan and sticking to it. It was evident by the picks that we ended up with. It’s nice to be able to sit back now and look at these names here in front of me and so many of them are guys that we’ve been talking about for a long time. I thought Ray did a masterful job of taking some calculated risks with some trades in moving up and moving back and knowing where guys were going to fall and where we could take them to get great value. There are so many guys we feel like we got great value on, and the quarterback position was just something that never really worked its way into the conversation.”

On if there was any truth to the report the Browns tried to move up to Jacksonville to draft QB Bryce Petty:
“I called every team at the beginning of the round trying to figure out how could I move up to get the guy I want to get. The inference came because the team that actually ended up taking the player thought we were going to take their player. I never mentioned a name. You never mention a name. There’s not a single trade where you call and say, ‘Hey, so and so from whatever team, I’m interested in Mike Pettine, you mind if I go up to get him’ It’s not that so how would they peg us to take whomever. You never say the name, you just say, ‘My guy’s there. I’d like to move up to the spot,’ and you work the terms out from that perspective. Yeah, I called a lot of teams. It seemed like I was on the phone all day today trying to figure out can we move up to ‘here?’ If so, what’s the cost? If we’re going to move back, what’s that cost and trying to weigh the two to come up with the right answer for us as a group? I did make several phone calls in that round. How they’d link me to any one player, for me I would probably say that it’s not fair to just guess as to who I’m going to take.”

On quarterbacks coach Kevin O’Connell’s report on Bryce Petty as a developmental prospect and whether he conveyed anything to Farmer:
Farmer: “I think that is probably a fair assessment. Again, I think very few guys, specific to the quarterback position, are not developmental prospects. Everybody is going to have a learning curve to some degree. They all do in my opinion. The league is different. Having some guys who had us and what we felt like what it would be, we had them slated at a certain spot, and at the end of the day, it was actually interesting that that wasn’t our place where we wanted to make that move. Kevin definitely had input, as well as Flip and the rest of our offensive staff.”

On if there were common threads running through all 12 of the players the Browns drafted:
Pettine: “We say ‘Play Like a Brown’ and that is something that we truly believe in and we have the words and the tangibles and you can go right down this list. You talk about guys that are competitive, guys that are relentless, guys that are tough. The one that jumps out, as well, and it’s been a theme throughout is productive. I think there is a lot of college production throughout this list of players that we took.”

On how the offense in 2015 will be different from last season:
Pettine: “That is hard to say because of the players that we just added and how we are going to look is something that Flip and I shared the same philosophy that we are going to fit our system to the players and not the players to the system. We have a playbook that might range in inventory like this. Depending on who are players are, this end of it might be highlighted, it might be highlighted in the middle section or over here. It just depends on who we have. We are going to do what we do well. Right now, we don’t know what we do well until we get our guys on the field and start to work some of his concepts. A lot of what we do in the spring is we are going to throw a lot of stuff against the wall and see what sticks.”

On what the team plans to do with the seven defensive draft picks selected:
Pettine: “Get them here and get to work. That is the nice thing about it is to get these guys in here. The staff is excited because so many of these guys are names that we identified as ‘Hey, this guy would make a great Cleveland Brown.’ That is why we are thrilled to have been able to hit on so many of them. It is a nice problem to have. It has upgraded our depth significantly with some of these, and guys are going to be competing. It goes back to what Ray has stressed and what we believe should be the cornerstone of any football team is competition. There is no better motivator than competition. You find out who is up for the challenge and who shrinks away from it.”

On Pettine’s earlier comments about not expecting anything extraordinary from Manziel this year:
Pettine: “Just come to work every day and perfect your craft. He shouldn’t feel any pressure to do anything more than that. It goes back to the old cliché that ‘All we ask of you is all that you got.’ He just comes in everyday and it is going to be very structured for him, as with all the quarterbacks in that room. I can see it already taking shape between the works of Kevin and of Flip and the way they have it structured for those quarterbacks. Just looking forward to him being here, putting the work in and seeing what happens.”

On if there will be room for all 12 drafted players on the roster:
Farmer: “We have room for the best players on this roster. I was raised as a scout in a time when I was taught you keep the best 53 guys for your team, regardless of how you got them or where you got them. There will be college free agents who come in here. There will be guys that are fined, that may get released from other teams. You never know where you find players or where they come from. At the end of the day, you keep the best 53 guys and you move on.”

On the difference between trading late-round picks during last year’s draft compared to keeping many late-round picks this year:
Farmer: “When I look at all of them, there is no easy answer. We moved picks so much last year. We look up and you are like ‘Man, we have this fourth, a five,’ and then we make a trade and then we are like, ‘We have this left.’ you just kind of keep making inventory changes. We made inventory changes in this draft and subtle backups got us trapped to where we didn’t have a fifth, and then at that fifth point, we could either combine two sixes or two sixes and a seventh to get back to the fifth and the fifth gives you a little bit more flexibility. It just seemed like it was the right spot for us. We kind of knew who we had targeted and kind of knew certain guys who would be around later. It didn’t really pan out to kind of get back into the fray for a minute so we just settled. Last year, we got to a point and then we got an offer at the end of the draft to move the seventh and to move to a sixth this year and so we took it. We got an offer again this year, for the same thing, where someone calls you on the clock, and someone says, ‘We will give you a pick for your pick now,’ and we decided we wanted the guy more than we wanted the opportunity to move forward. It is a constant balance of inventory and I think that is the fun of the draft, at least from my perspective is fielding all the calls and trying to decide what means more to me. Does it mean more to take my guy here or run the risk to drop back eight spots and still get him, while picking up another pick or another two picks?”

On if there is a pipeline with the PAC-12:
Farmer: “I don’t know if it is a pipeline. I would say that it is all about players. There were several guys from the SEC, there were guys from the ACC, there was guys from the Big Ten, and there were guys from all kind of conferences that we liked. It is a balance of who you like, who you want and who you have. Sometimes, who is available gets shut out before you get a chance to take your pick. We like the guys that we like and there are guys who can perform for another conference and you might not get a chance to select them. I laugh because I say it is like battleship. You are sitting there and you got 5 and get B15, and you say ‘oh man, you got me again.’ At a certain point, you take the guys that you get a chance to take and sometimes those guys happen to play in the Pac-12. It would be no different if there were guys in the ACC, but I don’t want to take guys from conferences just because they play in a certain conference.”

On the Browns’ new pipeline to the west coast after acquiring several Pac-12 players:
Farmer: “I don’t know if it’s a pipeline. I would say that it’s all about players. There are several guys from the SEC. There are guys from the ACC. There are guys from the Big Ten. There are guys from all kinds of conferences that we liked. It’s a balance of who you like, who do you want and who is available. Sometimes, that who is available gets shut out before you get a chance to take your pick. We like the guys that we like and there are guys that can perform from every conference, and you may not get a chance to select them. I laugh because we sit up there and we say it’s always like Battleship. You’re sitting there and you’ve got a bundle of five, and then it’s like, ‘B-15…(sigh) Got me again.’ At a certain point, you take the guys that you can get a chance to take, and it just so happened this year those guys happen to play in the PAC-12. It would be no different if we all took SEC guys, but I don’t just want to take guys from conference just because they play in a certain conference.”

On Bill Polian’s the assessment that the Browns are ready to beat teams on first and second downs but not third down:
Pettine: “I don’t see it that way. Defensively, I thought we made some great improvements last year on third down. Some of our bigger issues were on first and second down. Offensively, I don’t see any difference between first and second down and third down, especially when we put three wide receivers out on the field and you have the ability to put a player of Andrew Hawkins’ ability in the slot. The key for us – and one of the reasons that when you start to build through your lines – is you want third downs on offense to be manageable. You want your quarterback to look good? Be in third-and-2 to (third-and-) 5. Don’t be in third-and-7-plus. You want your secondary to look good? You want to get off the field on third down? Get them in third-and-7-plus. That’s why it’s critical. People talk about how third downs are so important, but what are those third downs? Defensively, if you’ve got them in third-and-long, you’re going to win a heck of a lot more than third-and-shorter. Obviously, the reverse is true on offense.”

On if having veteran WRs and TEs allows Mayle and TE Randall Telfer to learn at a good pace:
Pettine: “I don’t want to just overcomplicate it. These were good football players that we felt were going to make outstanding Cleveland Browns that we wanted to bring in and compete. The need didn’t necessarily steer the pick. It was the grade of the player and how we felt about them. It’s a lot of the intangible stuff, too. How’s this guy going to fit in when he comes here? Sometimes you don’t just look at the talent alone. You’ve got to look at the other part of it. At every one of these picks, we had reached a crossroads and decisions were made of guys that we felt played like Browns and would be able to come in here and compete.”

On how strong the group of veteran WRs and TEs are:
Pettine: “I know people on the outside like to knock our receiving group. I’m glad that we were able to add Vince (Mayle). Looking at whether it’s Malcolm Johnson or even Telfer, we have quality guys here that they’re going to compete with. We also have the type of character in the room that they’re not going to see these guys as, ‘Hey, this guy’s coming in to take my job.’ They’re going to accept these guys as Cleveland Browns. We’re all in it together.”

On if Pettine talked to OL Cameron Erving leading up to the draft:
Pettine: “Absolutely.”

On if Erving mentioned to Pettine if he spent time playing multiple positions along the offensive line:
Pettine: “To me, it just comes up in conversation. As I’ve mentioned before, when you interact with a player you want to see: How much do they know football? What’s their ability to learn it? How much do they enjoy it? Do they love it? When a guy starts talking about it and his light up and he starts getting into graduate-level details very quickly, you know, ‘Hey, this guy loves the game. He’s a gym rat.’ He’s a quiet guy. It takes him a little while to get warmed up, and then once he gets going, you can’t shut him up. Again, it was very apparent to all of us very quickly that this kid’s passionate about football.”

On if there was a point when the Browns could have taken a QB or if it was in the plan not to draft one:
Farmer: “I don’t think we ever rule anybody out. Everybody gets stacked on the board at an appropriate level. I can’t say that I would ever go past other players just to say I’ve got to take a quarterback. I think that’s kind of where you end up. Again where we were in the draft and where that guy got selected, No. 1, it wasn’t my turn to pick and it’s just like other players. Had the guys that got picked at the very top of the draft fallen to me, heck, I might have taken them, but they didn’t get there. The same way Bryce Petty didn’t get to me and other guys didn’t get to me for where I thought I wanted to take them.”

On how a GM processes a unique situation like LSU OL La’el Collins:
Farmer: “How do I process it? I look at all of the information that I have in front of me, and I decide whether or not it is advantageous for me to make that selection. Where there is uncertainty, you start to take a second look at it. You can’t say you’re dealing in complete known commodities because the reality is that all of these guys are unknowns. Every single guy that you take is an unknown. When I finally put it all together, I’ve got to determine I feel like I’m going to get to the point where I can feel comfortable with each player that I select and bring here. Whenever I get to that comfort level, then I can make that selection. If I can’t get comfortable, then I won’t make it.”


On the team’s current QB situation coming out of the draft:
Pettine: “We’re very confident in the guys in that room. We are. We’re very confident in the guys coaching them. I’m very confident in the plan that we’re going to build, and I’m thrilled with the players that we’re putting on the field around the quarterback. I’ve talked about this from the beginning that you want to minimize the importance of the quarterback so he doesn’t have to walk out there and ‘Here’s the whole game. Put it on your back. Go ahead and convert second-and-long. Go ahead and convert third-and-long. Go ahead and bring us back from [down] two scores.’ To me, when you play with leads and you’re in manageable situations, that job gets a lot easier.”


On if he notices a difference between this year and last regarding QB Johnny Manziel and DB Justin Gilbert reporting on time and showing more dedication:
Pettine: “I wouldn’t say last year that they didn’t show dedication when it was at this point. It’s early. We’re off to a good start, but it’s a long road.”


On past head coaches stating it can be beneficial to add a QB every year and why not just take a QB each year:
Farmer: “Again, I’m a firm believer in building the football team. You have to continue to build the ship. We’re not going to set sail unless we’ve got the right pieces on the ship. I get that the quarterback is exciting or people like it or people like to hear another name, but if I’ve got another credible guy who makes me better from 23-45 on my roster and I just took a quarterback just to take him and say that I have another guy that can go to practice, I’d rather take that guy who helps me get better between 23-45. When I do have an opportunity to take a quarterback that I think can actually come in here, compete and be better than some of the guys that I have, I’ll take him.”


On if the Browns will bring in as many free agents as possible in the next 24 hours:
Farmer: “Interesting. The free agent process will be a little bit different this year, but we plan to bring a lot of guys in. To that point, those guys will get a chance to compete against guys on our roster. We’ll make some determinations as to who should go to camp. Rookie Camp will be a little different. We’ll have several rookies there. We’ll sign guys, we’ll bring guys in on tryout basis and we’ll see where we can unearth the next guy. A good example last year, (WR) Taylor Gabriel came in here as a tryout guy. We liked him. We said, ‘Let’s keep him and let this other guy go.’ Unfortunately, that’s kind of the nature of the business, but then for us, that’s when you get a chance to find another young man that you like. Guys are going to have to compete and fight all the way through to see who is going to make this football team.”


On if the Browns planned to take WR Chris Conley prior to the Chiefs trading up to select him:
Farmer: “That’s an interesting one (laughter). It got reported that I had visited Chris Conley this past weekend. I think everybody had me pegged for taking Chris Conley somewhere, wherever they had him rated on their board. It’s my turn to come, I haven’t taken a wide receiver, people are getting antsy and that’s the great part of the draft. I hate to say this as a GM: When you want a guy and you think another guy has a need at a position that you’re thinking about taking, all you think about it, ‘Man, I know they love him. Matter of fact, it just got reported last week that he went and had dinner with him.’ You want the guy. Sometimes you make the jump to get in front of him and sometimes you’re right and sometimes you’re wrong. I did like the player. I did. I did think he was talented. Kudos to those guys for jumping up and getting him, but I don’t know if anybody will ever know if I really wanted him or I wanted somebody else.”


On WR Vince Mayle as an addition and that selecting a WR outside of the top-45 selections keeping it from ‘rocking the boat’ with WRs:
Farmer: “I don’t think it would have rocked the boat. To Pett’s point earlier, I think we’ve got a really good room of guys who are pros and professionals and understand what this game is about. It’s about getting better, finding the right guys and moving forward. Had we taken a guy earlier -- there were names that we liked at certain spots and some of those guys got gobbled up because we had different things that we were looking at and guys that were rated differently earlier in the draft -- and had the right guy gotten to us, there were other guys that we liked considerably. From our perspective, it was really about finding the right guy with the right value for the right price for where we were picking.”


On how the Browns QBs stack up compared to other AFC North QBs:
Pettine: “We go 11 against 11. We’re not just trotting quarterbacks out there at the 50-yard line and they’re thumb wrestling. To me, there are a lot of different ways to win football games and you just don’t force a situation. Do we look at it and say, ‘OK, if we perceive our quarterback room is not the best in the division, what does that mean? Do we call the league and cancel games?’ We’ve still got to play them. I don’t think we can emphasize it enough that we’re going to build a football team. We’re not going to over-prioritize the quarterback position.”


On if Manziel will throw at Rookie Camp:
Pettine: “I do not think he’s eligible to be in the rookie camp.”

link