We have been a Cleveland sports fan our entire life. And while there have been more disappointments than triumphs, we’ve never thought about being anything other than a Cleveland sports fan.
It hasn’t been easy, of course. And looking back over the decades, the level of sub-par play from the local sports teams has, if we’re being honest, rather depressing more often than not.
“There is something un-American about a young man not wanting to spend time with the ladies.” – Joe Namath
When the Cleveland Browns selected quarterback Johnny Manziel in the NFL Draft a few weeks ago the team knew what it was getting itself into with Manziel, who is a modern-day Joe Namath in terms of publicity.
Last week it was Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback report that Manziel “never had a playbook” while at Texas A&M. Of course, the Aggies had a weekly game plan with actual plays that Manziel was expected to learn and execute, which, as Eric Davis pointed out one morning on the NFL Network, is the same as having an actual playbook! (That is one of the reasons we enjoy the NFL Network over ESPN; instead of trying to be the loudest (and stupidest) person in the conversation, Davis, Steve Wyche, Terrell Davis and the rest of the rotating panel on NFL A.M. actually talk to one another in an effort to make sense.)
Then, over the weekend, came the news that Manziel spent his holiday in Las Vegas; hanging out with New England’s Rob Gronkowski, attending a UFC fight, joining in at a pool party and generally doing the kinds of things that people do when they visit Las Vegas.
Manziel also did one more thing over the weekend (at least according to him) – he studied his playbook as he prepares for the next round of OTAs with the Browns.
The Cleveland Browns continued to rebuild and reshape their wide receiver corps this week as they wait for official word on the future of Josh Gordon.
The Browns released fourth-year wide receiver Greg Little on Friday in a bit of a surprise move, if only because the position chart is a bit questionable right now. Little had a disappointing three seasons in Cleveland after being drafted in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft out or North Carolina. While he came across as a player who always gave a good effort on game day, Little just wasn’t very productive.
He finishes his Cleveland career with 155 receptions (and seemingly almost as many drops), 1,821 yards and eight touchdowns. Both his receptions and yards decreased each year he was with the Browns, and his 14 dropped passes as a rookie with the second-highest in the league. He also ran the second-most pass routes in 2013, but somehow 102 players managed to gain more receiving yards than him.
It has been less than a week since the Cleveland Browns drafted Johnny Manziel, but the noise surrounding the rookie quarterback has not dulled for a moment.
Consider that, since last Thursday night:
And to think, this has all occurred before Manziel has actually done something that means anything for the Browns. It is hard to imagine what it will be like once Manziel is actually on the field this fall. (Actually, it’s not. It is going to be either incredibly awesome or incredibly horrific.)
This man has every reason to smile after the weekend he just had.
Wrapping up a few items relating to the Cleveland Browns while also wondering how Mike Pettine became the second-longest tenured head coach in town before he even coaches his first game.
We went over what we liked about the Browns two first-round picks on Friday, and now that the entire draft is in the books its hard not to like what the Browns did over the weekend. (Of course, we thought we liked the 2012 draft as well, so …) In looking at the players the Browns picked, its clear to see what general manager Ray Farmer and Pettine have in mind for how they want the Browns to look.
Are you ready for some (Johnny) football, Cleveland?
It’s been almost 24 hours and we’re still wrapping our head around the fact that the Cleveland Browns walked out of the first round of the NFL Draft with not only the top cornerback, Justin Gilbert, and one of the top quarterbacks, Johnny Manziel, but a second No. 1 pick in next year’s draft. It was a performance by general manager Ray Farmer that was befitting the setting of Radio City Music Hall. (And one that, given a 100 chances, former general manager Mike Lombardi could never pull off.)
In Gilbert, the Browns are getting a player that Mike Mayock describes as “the prototype cornerback in today’s NFL,” one who is reportedly “explosively quick and a natural interceptor with very good hand-eye coordination, leaping ability and overall ball skills.”
When we started our series on the quarterbacks the Cleveland Browns have selected in the first round of the NFL Draft since the franchise entered the league in 1950, we thought we knew what we were going to find.
But after working our way through the project, we were surprised to learn a few things.
For starters, we never knew the story of Harry Agganis; he had always just been a name on a piece of paper. We had no idea how good he was, his tragic death or the impact he still has on Boston University.
We knew about Bobby Garrett and his stuttering; it is a part of the team’s history. But it turns out that his speech impediment may have been over-exaggerated by head coach Paul Brown as a way for Brown to save face.
We’ve always associated Mike Phipps with Paul Warfield, and while it was a bad trade and Phipps had a disappointing career, it turns out that it wasn’t his entire fault.
And Tim Couch was better than we remember.
The biggest realization is that, with the exception of Brady Quinn and Brandon Weeden, these were draft picks that didn’t work out, rather than ones that were bad picks. Agganis, Garrett, Phipps and Couch all had the credentials coming out of college. They ended up not working out for a variety of reasons, some within their control, some not.
But they were not, essentially, bad picks.
So what does that mean for Browns general manager Ray Farmer, the holder of five selections in the first 85 picks (and 10 overall) as he prepares for this weekend’s NFL Draft?
Mainly, just because the Browns as a franchise have continually swung and missed when it comes to drafting a quarterback, that doesn’t mean that Farmer should not give it another shot this weekend.
As to when he should make that pick … well, that’s a different story.
The Cleveland Browns have 10 selections in this weekend’s NFL Draft, which kicks off Thursday night in New York City.
The Browns hold two picks in the first round, three picks in the first 35 selections and five in the first 85. While there are plenty of holes still to fill on the roster, the draft also provides plenty of opportunities for general manager Ray Farmer to something about that.
We’ve made our way through the NFL Combine, the various Pro Days and mock drafts; it’s now time to get real.
To try and figure out just what the Browns may be cooking this weekend, we’ve pulled together a panel of Browns thinkers worthy of the Algonquin Round Table.
Taking their seat at the table are:
Murray Alexander, a Scotland-based writer at East of Ehlo and The Factory of Sadness. He can be found on Twitter @SadFactory. (He’s also an Arsenal fan, but we’re willing to overlook that.)
Ryan Alton, a writer at DraftBrowns.com who can be round on Twitter @RyInCBus.
Matt Gerber, a member of the History Department at Western Reserve Academy and defensive coordinator for the Pioneer football team.
Mike Burgermeister, the author/proprietor of jimkanicki.com and can be found on Twitter @jimkanicki.
Dave Kolonich, the former writer of Cleveland Reboot. He has also written for The Orange and Brown Report, Scout.com, Fox Sports Ohio and a variety of websites. He can be found on Twitter @DaveKolonich.
Mike Krupka, a writer for Dawgs by Nature and contributor of college scouting pieces to The OBR. He can be found on Twitter @MikeKrupka.
Jeff Rich, a writer at More Than a Fan – Cleveland and co-host of College Football Roundtable and Time & Change. He can be found on Twitter @JRichRadio.
The Cleveland Browns hold two first-round draft picks in Thursday night’s NFL Draft.
While many expect the Browns to use one of those picks on a quarterback, history shows that drafting a quarterback – especially one in the first round – has been an exercise in futility for the Browns
Since joining the NFL in 1950, the Browns have drafted six quarterbacks in the first round and none of them have worked out. The list includes:
Today we take a look at the old cowboy, Brandon Weeden.
While Manchester City’s Edin Dzeko may not have officially buried Liverpool’s title hopes on Saturday, he went as close to putting the final shovel of dirt on the dream as possible.
Dzeko’s two goals helped push City past Everton, 3-2, at Goodison Park and level with Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table. Most importantly, City had a nine-goal lead over Liverpool in goal differential, so it will take one more miracle from Brendan Rodgers’ squad to finish off the dream season with a league title.
Even though his team is in control of its own destiny, Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini is not ready to make room in the trophy case just yet.
Red Right 88 