DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Roster/etc moves in Cleveland..

I gotta say, firing the QB coach for not holding Johnny accountable and firing the WR coach for bieng on the party plane that led to Gordon suspended again, earned my respect.

While I do admit his progress looks hopefull, his performances against 2nd team D's does very little to instill confidence. None of his progress or rehab this year has made him faster, stronger, taller or bigger. I'm taking a very cautious "we'll see" approach at this point. However, I do not begrudge you your optimism.

Yeah, I hadn't even thought about that. Good moves, definitely.

Those are all fair assessments, tab. I'm just not ready to anoint him franchise QB. Especially not until I see the technique, footwork, audibles and line calls against the Bengals, Ravens, Steelers, Bills and Jets... to name just five. Regardless of what you saw, you haven't yet seen it against teams with ferocious D's.

I get it, and honestly I hope you're right. My secret thought the day we drafted him was, "Man, we may have something special here." But he has a very small frame, is not that fast, and doesn't take hits well. Those are my main concerns, and until he shows he can mitigate those things somehow, I have to remain cautious.

He's not fast but he's quick with the first step, and has escapabilty.

Not to open this can of worms but...

Loggains sealed his fate when he went on Arkansas radio after the draft and made Haslam look like a boob in undermining the GM and making the call on Manziel.

Loggains: "This is one of those interesting stories about the draft. We're sitting there, and they keep showing Johnny on TV, and Johnny and I are texting back and forth. He sent me a text saying, 'I wish you guys would come get me. ... Hurry up and draft me because I want to be there and I want to wreck this league together.' When I got that text, I forwarded it to the owner and the head coach. I'm like, 'this guy wants to be here, he wants to be a part of it. As soon as that happened, Mr. Haslam said, 'pull the trigger, we're going up to get this guy.'"

Host: "When did you know for sure that you guys were going to pick him?"

Loggains: "As soon as I took this job in Cleveland, I knew that the owner liked Johnny a lot.

Link to Transcript of Loggains Interview

I don't see Pettine having any problems with entitlement issues. Not even a little. He's been decent (in the press) to everyone but nobody is on this team because of where they were drafted.

I remember Fran and understand the comparison, and you would love to see that type of production from Manziel. What you don't want to see is him never winning a Super Bowl.

This tells the story that so many refuse to admit to.

I have always believed Manziel was Haslam's pick. There were many reports before the draft about Haslam wanting Manziel. I tend to give Farmer a pass on the Manziel pick. I don't know if Haslam ordered the pick of JFF, or if there was behind the scenes pressure, or if the simple knowledge that he liked Johnny that influenced Farmer's pick. But there is little doubt in my mind that the Manziel pick was made for the boss.

Haslam's pick all the way. I will never be convinced otherwise.

*Only one teenie tiny problem with the story. Loggains was not in the draft room when the selection was made.

Well, That's Loggains talking and I don't know if he's telling the truth or not.

Honestly, I don't care, the Cleveland Browns picked Manziel and the Cleveland Browns are Stuck with him, for better or worse. I sure hope it's for the better.

Yes, but there would certainly be stories told about how Haslam made the decision.

I think that's way he forwarded the text to them. He wasn't in the room with them. I dunno.

And if you are 27 and somebody hands you a 5 mil check, you might not be able to retire, but you will have a pretty sweet life and can be pretty selective in what it is you want to do for the next 25 years.

How much easier would any of you have been had you been able to buy a 350K home outright in a nice burb and not fought a house payment or rent payment every month for 30 years? Not that he should do that, but that is a deeper conversation for another time. If Phil has half a brain he will end up living a very nice life with minimal pressure. I hope it goes that way for him.

Still shaking the rust off since the end of the 2013 season, eh?

lol Exactly! What is not near good enough anywhere else is great in Cleveland.

That one reception really changed people's minds.

I'm not a Johnny follower, but he is winning me over. He has his head on right, has the skill set, and completely changed his work ethic to become the best QB possible. IMO the game speed has slowed down for him and it shows in his performance...and he's only 22! My only SERIOUS concern is his elbow soreness. Need to get that under control and the Browns will be set.

There is no reason to keep Bowe. He is not even as good as Austin was last year. Nothing left, has not been good in years. Eat the money and go with people who want to play.

its tough to eat a combined 14 million between bowe and taylor

Golden Corral. Solid gold.. All you can eat . . .or all you can stomach of them.

Apparently we came to an injury settlement with Phil Taylor:



http://www.profootballrumors.com/bills-pierre-thomas-browns-jay-ajayi/

That's good news.

why would he do that?!

i guess he thought it was worth 4.4 mil to get away from the browns?

Would there be an incentive for him to do it? Very weird if not

They told him his bike was broken.

now that was funny!!!!!!

most likely scenario Browns wanted him to go on IR and have another surgery. He felt he didnt need it and asked to be released so he can sign somewhere else. Thus injury settlement was reached.

Maybe that was the deal that was struck in order for us to grant him his release...

Solid move by the front office.

There was a report that he did not want to be a part time backup, which he was destined to be behind Shelton .... or maybe they even were prepared to out him on IR for the season, so he asked for his release.

The Browns were evidently very smart in negotiating the injury settlement, because that lets them completely off the hook. Taylor evidently thought that he has a chance of grabbing a starting job elsewhere ..... but that knee issue, especially with the Steelers indicating it is serious, may derail those plans.

It is also possible that Taylor hoped/hoped to get a long term deal somewhere else before his knee went completely. Who knows?

Browns DL Billy Winn makes big final push for roster spot

Link

4th-year pro stands out vs. Bears

Billy Winn said he won't sleep tonight. Tossing and turning has actually become a nightly ritual the last few days for the Cleveland Browns defensive lineman.

In a final effort to prove he belongs on the 53-man roster, Winn played with his heart on his sleeve Thursday night in Chicago against the Bears, registering two tackles and blowing up a few other plays in the backfield.

Will it be enough?

"There's only a few spots left on this team," Winn said in the locker room after the 24-0 preseason loss to the Bears, "and I want one of them."

When the Browns added a bevy of defensive linemen via the draft and free agency back in the spring, Winn's antennas were raised. He knew he would be fighting for his job in the preseason. He knew this day was coming down the pike.

Some speculated his days would be numbered after an ankle/knee injury pushed him to the sideline at the beginning of training camp. But two veterans, Phil Taylor and Ishmaa'ily Kitchen, were waived on Tuesday, signaling Cleveland's coaching staff is giving Winn more than a fighting chance to hold onto his role.

Winn has been incessantly analyzing, and sometimes scrutinizing, his every move from practice and the preseason when watching the film on his iPad late at night.

"There's more pressure this year because our level of competition has gone up so high," Winn said. "The guys that we've brought in are playing lights out. It's going to be hard for these coaches and the guys upstairs to decipher who they want to have on this squad."

A Las Vegas native and Boise State alum, Winn had never been to Ohio before the Browns selected him in the sixth round of the 2012 draft. Over the years, he's been a pleasant surprise for the franchise.

Winn's been counted on the last three years as rotational energy player and spot starter. He can pressure the passer and level running backs.

And during the time he's become a lovable fixture in the Cleveland community, often mingling with Browns fans at restaurants and Indians and Cavs games.

"This is where I want to play," Winn said. "These are the fans I want to be around. For Cleveland to take a chance like they did on me in the sixth round -- hopefully they're going to get four years from me."

Winn will know his fate by Saturday. The Browns cuts are due to the NFL league office by 4 p.m.

If the Browns are stupid enough to cut Winn, he won't have to lose sleep for long, because he will be quickly have another day job as a d-lineman in the NFL.