Browns have completely overhauled their receiving corps from 2013. Davone Bess and Greg Little were disappointing last year and were released. Josh Gordon is expected to be suspended for part or all of the 2014 season for failing or missing a substance abuse test. Gordon had a breakout season in 2013 with 87 receptions for an NFL leading 1646 yards, including nine touchdowns, but the Browns will likely have to move on without him. Minus Gordon, the receivers from last year?s Browns roster totaled just five catches for 105 yards?all by Travis Benjamin before he tore his ACL and was lost for the final eight games of the season. The new veteran receivers are Nate Burleson, Miles Austin, Andrew Hawkins and Anthony Armstrong. Burleson had 39 receptions for 461 yards and one touchdown, despite missing half the season for the Lions in 2013 with a broken arm. Austin had 24 receptions for 244 yards an no touchdowns for the Cowboys in 2013 in an injury-plagued season. Hawkins missed half of 2013 with a leg injury and finished with just 12 receptions for 199 yards. In 2012, he had 51 receptions for 533 yards and four touchdowns. Armstrong did not play in 2013 and had three receptions for 12 yards in 2012. Current Receivers: Josh Gordon, Nate Burleson, Miles Austin, Anthony Armstrong, Travis Benjamin, Charles Johnson, Andrew Hawkins, Conner Vernon, Kenny Shaw, Chandler Jones, Willie Snead, Jonathan Krause, Taylor Gabriel #11?Travis Benjamin (5-10, 175, 24, 3rd year, Miami) ? Benjamin is coming off a torn ACL, which sidelined him for the majority of the 2013 season. With game breaking speed prior to his injury, Benjamin is a threat to go the distance any time he touches the ball, whether on a punt return, kick return or a pass reception. Benjamin said recently that he expects to be full speed by the regular season in his return from the surgery. #12? Josh Gordon (6-3, 225, 23, 3rd year, Baylor) ? Most everyone surrounding the Browns expect Gordon to be suspended for at least of this season, if not all of it. Gordon?s agent, Drew Rosenhaus said Gordon would have his appeal hearing ?in the near future?. Losing Gordon will be a big blow to the offense, to say the least, as he accounted for over 1,700 all-purpose yards on his way to his first Pro Bowl. #13?Nate Burleson (6-0, 198, 32, 12th year, Nevada) ? Signed as an unrestricted free agent to play opposite of Gordon, Burleson broke a bone in his arm during OTAs and missed the June minicamp. He is expected to be ready for the start of training camp and is being counted on to post quality numbers. Despite only playing half a season last year, his 39 receptions were just three less than Bess had and two less than Little had in a full season. #15?Kenny Shaw (5-11, 180, 22, Rookie, Florida St.) ? One of five undrafted rookie free agent receivers brought in to compete for a roster spot. #16?Andrew Hawkins (5-7, 180, 28, 4th year, Toledo) ? The Browns made signing Hawkins a high priority as a free agent. They paid him a lot of money so the Bengals wouldn?t match the offer as a restricted free agent. Hawkins has been very impressive in the off-season practices and is expected to be utilized the majority of time in the slot. #17?Jonathan Krause (5-11, 190, 22, Rookie, Vanderbilt) ? He is another undrafted rookie free agent in the mix for a roster spot. #18?Taylor Gabriel (5-8, 167,23, Rookie, Abilene Christian) ? An undersized receiver with great speed trying to catch the coaches eyes during training camp. #19?Miles Austin (6-2, 215, 30, 9th year, Monmouth) ? After news of Gordon?s pending suspension came down, the Browns signed Austin to give them a veteran presence. Austin was plagued with hamstring injuries with the Cowboys in recent years and sat out the OTAs and minicamp with undisclosed injuries. He had just 24 receptions for 244 yards and no touchdowns last year. #80--Charles Johnson (6-2, 215, 25, 2nd year, Grand Valley St.) ? One of the intriguing receivers in camp is Johnson, who has never been seen in a Browns uniform. Johnson was a highly touted player on the Packer?s practice quad last season when the Browns signed him. It turned out he had a torn ACL and immediately had surgery. He is scheduled to be ready for training camp and could land a roster spot with a good preseason. #83?Willie Snead (5-11, 195, 21, Rookie, Ball St.) ? One of the undrafted rookies trying to capture a roster spot. #85?Chandler Jones (5-9, 185, 22, Rookie, San Jose St.) ? Jones made some good plays during OTAs and minicamp and has a chance to get a roster spot. #86?Anthony Armstrong (5-10, 185, 31, 4th year, West Texas A&M) ? A veteran who is familiar with Kyle Shanahan?s system was impressive in minicamp and might have been the reason the Browns parted ways with Earl Bennett so quickly. However, Armstrong hasn?t played in the NFL since 2012 and he had just three receptions that season. #89?Conner Vernon (6-0, 200, 23, 1st year, Duke) ? Vernon was on the Browns practice squad in 2013 and will have to impress quickly to have a chance to make the team. Summary: The Browns are relying on veteran receivers, who all have an injury history to pick up the slack expected with the loss of Gordon to a league suspension. Burleson, Austin and Hawkins are all proven NFL receivers, but all three missed nearly half of the 2013 season with various injuries. Johnson, Benjamin or a couple of the undrafted rookie free agents will need to emerge to give the Browns a reliable pass receiving corps. Ray Farmer has said teams don?t need an elite receiver to win and cited the Super Bowl Champion Seahawks. Only time will tell if that is true.
Installment #4 is up and posted ( http://live4sportnetwork.com/frontend/author/lyman/ ) And they're still working on the "All posts by . . . " banner. Now it reads Tim Campbell.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Browns coach Mike Pettine told cleveland.com Monday that the Browns have no plans to cut troubled receiver Josh Gordon and that they expect him to report for training camp with the rest of the veterans on Friday. He also said he expects to hear something about Gordon's drug suspension within "the next 10 days to two weeks.'' Gordon is facing an indefinite ban for violating the substance abuse policy for at least the third time. If he loses his upcoming appeal, he'll have to wait a full year before applying for re-instatement with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. "We're expecting him to report on Friday and be on the field,'' Pettine said. "We have no plans to cut him I know there's been a lot of debate over that, but I don't see us having that debate.'' The debate began July 4th weekend when Gordon was arrested for driving while impaired in Raleigh, North Carolina. His blood-alcohol level was .09, over the state's legal limit of .08. Afterwards, Hall of Fame receiver Cris Carter called for the Browns to cut Gordon to try to motivate him to get clean, and fellow Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin sharply rebuked Carter for his remarks, saying the receiver's "ass is out of line.'' Responded Pettine: "I think we need to find the middle ground of what's best for Josh and what's best for the organization. I know Cris Carter came out and said that, but we think you can find that middle ground of what's best for our players and best for the organization. It worked for Cris, but cutting Josh might be the worst thing for him and the worst thing for us.'' Pettine confirmed that the club has reached out to substance abuse professionals to try to help Gordon. "If any of our players are in need of help, we'll do our best to provide it for them and also that we're going to do what we feel is best for the organization,'' he said. "By league guidelines, whatever help we can provide him, we're going to do it. A Cleveland Brown is a Cleveland Brown. If we feel we can help him, let's help him. Sometimes you're handcuffed by the situation, so until it plays out then there's really nothing tangible we can do at this point.'' Pettine said he hasn't talked to Gordon yet, but will do when he reports on Friday. "He won't be the only one,'' Pettine said. "I have a list of guys I'll have a state of the union address with.'' Pettine said he doesn't know what the league will decide in terms of Gordon's indefinite or something less severe. "It all depends on who you talk to,'' he said. "We've all gotten to the point where we have Plan A, Plan B and Plan C.'' Pettine acknowledged that the DWI was a concern with the club. "Anytime there are multiple things going on and there's a pattern, it's a concern, but at the same time, you need to allow that to play out. You don't want to have a knee-jerk reaction. You've got to cool down a little bit and look at each thing individually. I think we've just settled into a very patient mode of waiting and our plans are laid out and we're just waiting to hear from the league.'' Pettine made no guarantees the Browns will acquire another receiver. "I don't think you replace Josh, a guy of his caliber,'' Pettine said. "If you just look at what he did last year, he's arguably one of the top three receivers in the league. You can easily make that argument. You're not going to find somebody, so you just have to get creative in how you do it. We feel good about where Miles Austin is health wise, we're very pleased with how Andrew Hawkins came out of camp, and then Nate Burleson will be ready to go and then we have some guys we think will be ready to battle it out. "Charles Johnson's coming back, he's coming off the ACL, but he's now full-go. We hope to have Travis Benjamin back and ready to go. We might hold him at the beginning but that's more just being cautious than anything. He's almost fully recovered and we'll know a little bit better when he gets his physical. "So it will definitely be a committee approach and then you can do some things scheme-wise to make up for it. Maybe fewer groupings with multiple receivers. that's where adding a (tight end) Jim Dray and having a veteran like Gary Barnidge helps you. You can use the versatility now of Jordan (Cameron), moving him around a little bit. There's a lot of ways to work around it, knowing 'hey, we're not going to replace that guy but we're going to get creative in how we work around it.''' Gordon's agent Drew Rosenhaus said Thursday that the appeal hearing is coming up very soon and that he plans to meet with the Browns before camp about how the two sides can work together to best help Gordon.
Happy Humpday Lounge Houndz... Have a few moments so though I'd stop by I thought the same thing when I saw this... Once again Lym Nicely done, *THUMBSUP* *DRINK* You never know how long it will take the editors(admins) to give you the credit you deserve
There were 256 players selected in the 2014 NFL Draft and as of Wednesday, 255 of them are officially under contract. The Browns have signed eighth overall pick Justin Gilbert, the team announced, leaving Titans first-rounder Taylor Lewan as the only unsigned player from May's draft. Like all first-rounders, Gilbert will sign a four-year deal with a team-option for a fifth-year. Gilbert will make about $12.8 million in fully guaranteed money over the first four years of the deal, including an $7.65 million signing bonus. CBSSports.com senior writer Pete Prisco gave the Gilbert pick a C, noting that he thought there were at least two better corners than Gilbert in the draft. At eighth overall, Gilbert was the first cornerback taken, followed by Kyle Fuller going to the Bears at No. 14. Browns general manager Ray Farmer probably wouldn't give himself a 'C' for the pick. Back in May, Farmer said he's excited for his new secondary. "Joe Haden, Justin Gilbert, (free agent addition) Donte Whitner -- I'm getting excited," Farmer said. "I probably shouldn't go there. We're excited about having corners that we think can go out, play press, get after people and give us a chance to turn the ball over. We've improved our defense."
NEW YORK ? Hall of Fame football star Jim Brown is running out of time to retrieve his 1964 NFL championship ring and has sued a memorabilia dealer in New York. The Cleveland Browns legend has said the ring was stolen from him decades ago. The 78-year-old Los Angeles resident filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Manhattan federal court against Lelands.com and Lelands Collectibles Inc. The lawsuit seeks to halt the sale of the ring in an online auction that ends Friday. It also seeks unspecified damages over broadcast remarks that Lelands' founder, Joshua Evans, made about Brown. Evans said Wednesday that Brown's claims "are entirely without merit and we intend to vigorously defend against them." According to the lawsuit, the ring was stolen from Brown's Cleveland home in the late 1960s and the robbery was reported to police. The lawsuit also accuses Evans of making statements in print and broadcast interviews in recent weeks that implied Brown has diminished mental capacity as a result of taking thousands of hits as a football player. On at least one broadcast, though, Evans could be heard describing Brown as the greatest football player of all time and saying Brown was aware that a family member had sold the ring in the 1990s. The lawsuit said the ring is priceless to the former Cleveland Browns player. The highest bid was $58,948 Wednesday afternoon. Evans said Lelands' position is the paperwork over the ownership of the ring is "indisputable" and anyone who bought it would get a 100 percent guarantee. Brown, who works as a Cleveland Browns special adviser, rushed for 12,312 yards and scored 106 touchdowns in nine seasons before retiring at the peak of his career in 1965. In 1964, he rushed for 1,446 yards and scored seven touchdowns as the Browns won the title, the last for any major Cleveland sports franchise.
If any of you are planning to register to go to a Browns' training camp session in hopes of seeing Josh Gordon . . . You better hurry. His hearing is (finally) scheduled for August 1st.
Josh Gordon will appeal his one-year suspension in a meeting with the NFL on Aug. 1. Gordon's appeal doesn't have much teeth. Since the latest failed drug test that triggered this ban, a "passenger" in his car was cited for marijuana and he's been arrested in North Carolina on suspicion of DWI. It would be a shock if the 16-game suspension is reduced. The Browns are just hoping that they can get Gordon back on the field in 2015. He led the NFL in receiving yards last season and became the first player in league history with back-to-back 200-yard receiving games.
No he beat me to it . he caused some outrage others would like to buy the man a beer . I think you know which side I am on *DRINK* Nice work . thanks for the trip down memory lane
NFL Network reported this morning that Jaguars Wide Receiver Justin Blackmon, already serving an indefinite suspension for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy, was arrested Wednesday night for marijuana possession. (Maybe I should have posted this in the "Dumb-Ass of the Day" thread.
Seems Blackmon is following in the mold of Adam "Pacman" Jones. At least Jones got his act finally straightened out and is back to contributing on the field for the Bengals. Hope Gordon doesn't hit bottom so abruptly and irreversibly as Blackmon seems to be doing.
I think that's called "sexting". Impressive! That's got to be hard to do for a goat with no opposable thumbs. *BRAVO*
So suspended for a year from NFL for smoking weed. Losing a year's worth of NFL pay for smoking weed. Still smoking weed? Definitely should have been in the dumbass thread
At a time when the Johnny Manziel story should start to focus almost solely on football, some members of the Browns organization have turned it into another examination of his off-field life. Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote a story, citing anonymous Browns sources, saying the team is "alarmed" by his actions since the draft. Manziel has been seen at various parties this offseason. The story said the team was worried enough about a photo of Manziel apparently rolling up a $20 bill that coach Mike Pettine told Cabot that he called the rookie quarterback from his vacation in Hawaii to get answers. The Plain Dealer pointed out that tight-rolled bills are often used for drug use, although there was no evidence in the photo that's what Manziel was doing, Pettine reached out to ask him about it. According to the story, Pettine said he planned to address it again with Manziel face-to-face when he reported for camp with the other rookies on Wednesday. It isn't just the one photo, either. The Browns sources who talked to Cabot said the team was promised by Manziel before the draft that he would tone down his partying, and the Browns have been "stunned by his non-stop antics" since they took him. This is a big story for a few reasons. Cabot is one of the best and most respected voices on the Browns beat, so there's little doubt to the legitimacy of what she wrote. Also, take into account the timing and purpose of the story. The Browns knew the talk of Manziel's actions off the field would take a back seat to his quarterback competition with Brian Hoyer once training camp started. The Browns could have easily been quiet about their off-field satisfaction and let the narrative change to Manziel's progress as a player. The sources speaking to Cabot had to know how her story would play out, and they're likely aware that it would put the spotlight back on Manziel's partying on the day the Browns report to camp, when the media attention is high. Instead of protecting their young quarterback, some sources within the Browns set out to do the opposite. It has been less than three months since the Browns took Manziel with the 22nd overall pick, and some within the organization are already seemingly taking a combative stance with the former Heisman winner. And, there was a troubling football aspect to the story too. The story said Manziel "regressed in practice after the first week of organized team activities," and the team thinks he wasn't dedicated enough to learning the playbook because he was flying around the country and partying. The story said he has already lost ground in the quarterback competition before camp starts. Manziel has tremendous talent, which is why the Browns took him in the first place. His partying became a big story at Texas A&M, and he still was one of the greatest quarterbacks in college football history his two seasons there. All of this might blow over because Manziel gets his chance in the preseason and dominates on the field. But as Browns camp starts, the team's dissatisfaction with their rookie quarterback is in the spotlight. It seems like a message is being sent.
