So the Browns have yet another 22nd overall QB! I think this is just to help verse JFF in the offense. Overall I thought the team looked good in the preseason opener. I wasn't expecting too much because after all, it was the preseason opener. Pretty vanilla play calling on both sides. A lot of the same plays called. To me the DL stood out and made good penetration. Pierre Dessir kept trying to grab guys by the arm when tackling instead of lowering a shoulder and wrapping up...so that was worrisome, but he is listed as the 4th/5th DB so its not a big concern. I thought McFadded played aggressive and that some of those penalties will not get called in the season but 3 almost consecutive calls against him might have sealed his fate (especially with Pettine familiars Barry and Trufant). Ogbannaya's monster tackle on special teams might help make up Farmers mind to carry 4 RB. The FB play was pretty good also. Besides the drop from Grey, he did just about everything. The backup looked pretty solid too. Im wondering if MG has worked in at all with the TE group? maybe he could maximize his roster spot since I didn't even notice the TE on the field. That kid returning kicks (Gabriel?) was fast! With all the question marks on our receiving corps, he did just the right thing returning and making a ST tackle to hang onto one of the last roster spots. If he is just as fast as Benji, can return, play sub package WR, and also tackle, then he is on the team.
My latest article, "Anatomy of a Dynasty - Part 1", is now up and available. You can find it here: http://live4sportnetwork.com/frontend/author/lyman/
IMHO they should have signed Grossman last Spring . he knows Shannys offense inside and out . he will be a very good teacher to both Hoyer and Manziel . the offense concerns me . the lack of WR other than Gordon concerns me . they cut the best route runner with the best hands in Connor Vernon *SCRATCH* . look for lots of 9 man fronts this season to stuff the run unless someone emerges .
I also saw today that the Browns have signed Grossman. I think this was a good move by the Browns. Lets face it, as we all know being Browns fans, if your 3rd string QB has to play more than likely your in trouble. He does know the offense and I believe he is better than Thigpen. Keep adding depth. Your team is only as strong as your weakest link!
Browns Camp Report: Day 12 Rex Grossman wasn?t too keen on the notion that at this point in his career he is more tutor/mentor than player. He said Tuesday there was "more to it" than him being brought to the Browns to be Johnny Manziel?s tutor. ?I don?t even subscribe to that,? Grossman said. ?I?m just coming here to play football, and if that helps out then good.? Grossman and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan are in the mutual admiration society. ?When he gets in a rhythm calling plays it?s the best I?ve ever seen,? said Grossman, who worked out for the Dolphins before joining the Browns. Miami signed ex-Brown Brady Quinn. Quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains called Grossman ?a veteran presence that knows the offense.? He added: ?We?ll see what he does and handles as he gets in there.? Brian Hoyer had a very good day throwing the ball with the backups against the backups. He was more accurate than Manziel and his throws were made quicker than Manziel?s with the ones. The best throw of the day came when Hoyer dropped a 20-yard out into the hands of Taylor Gabriel at the sideline. While the world tries to interpret every situation, statement and throw, Hoyer says he?s just continuing to play. Manziel, unofficially, was 12-for-27, per the regular report of Jason Gibbs of ESPN-Cleveland. He had at least five throws dropped. Manziel has been below 50 percent all three days this week. The NFL Network reported that the Browns-Lions preseason game had 2.82 million viewers, a 36 percent increase over the previous preseason high of Steeler-Saints in 2007. ?I think the phenomenon still surprises all of us,? coach Mike Pettine said of the Johnny Manziel factor. ?We want attention on this team because we?re a good football team and we?re winning games. It?s nice to have media attention here, but we want to get to the point where it?s for the right reasons.? Pettine reiterated that he will give serious weight to the feelings of Shanahan and Loggains when deciding the starter for the regular season. ?I?m making decisions based on what?s best for the football team and what gives us the best opportunity to win,? he said. ?Those guys are coaches. They?re right there in the front lines with them working with them every day. I think it?s important to take their input. I?m just not going to make a decision based on what I feel. If it?s unanimous then that?s easy, but if there?s a tie that has to be broken, I?ll do it.? Pettine talked up the play of rookie fullback Ray Agnew, saying he provides a toughness element he likes. ? CB Justin Gilbert returned to practice, but DL Desmond Bryant missed. Josh Gordon also returned after missing one day. ? WR Nate Burleson missed his second day with a hamstring.
Eight days ago, Josh Gordon?s appeal hearing ended. Hearing officer Harold Henderson has not yet issued a decision. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the news is there is no news. No update, no development, no ruling. The good news is that Gordon remains available to play until Henderson implements the suspension. The bad news is that, if Henderson eventually upholds the one-year suspension, Gordon will be gone for a full year. Not 16 games; a full year. If a decision comes today, Gordon becomes instantly banished until August 13, 2015 at the earliest. The Browns should be upset. If the suspension, levied before the draft, had been resolved expeditiously, Gordon would have been back for most of the 2015 offseason program. Now, he?ll miss the full 2015 offseason, much of training camp, and at least one preseason game before he can even re-enter the building. Of course, this assumes that Gordon will pass up to 120 drug tests during the 12 months of his suspension. If he doesn?t, it will be difficult for Gordon to be reinstated in time for the start of the 2015 offseason, if ever. Henderson is required to issue a ruling within a ?reasonable time? after the conclusion of the hearing. The term ?reasonable time? doesn?t have a specific number attached to it. In this case, it would have been far more reasonable and fair to resolve the case months ago. And it ultimately would be entirely reasonable and fair to not suspend Gordon at all.
Ive heard the media talking about Coach Pettine's updated depth chart, but I can not find it anywhere. I have heard that Marquis Gray has been taken off of the FB depth chart and added to the TE but once again, I can not find it anywhere.
Teams release their depth charts on Tuesday or Wednesday...None of the websites have them updated yet. Official rosters on NFL.com have him now listed as a TE, even though the team website depth chart hasn't been updated. The reports are coming from the the official list the team sent into league offices today or yesterday.
Grey is more of a H Back . he can play both positions . better question is who will play opposite Gordon ? someone else needs to step up
Finally got around to reading it Lyman. Thanks again, man. Keep 'em coming. I really enjoy reading your articles.
Browns Camp Report: Day 12 BEREA, Ohio -- A daily review of the hot topics coming out of the Cleveland Browns training camp: The Browns have gone a complete game and a complete scrimmage without a touchdown. Scores have been hard to come by in practice, too. So when the Browns scored two touchdowns it was noteworthy. First, Johnny Manziel found Travis Benjamin on a deep throw. Then Brian Hoyer ran a hurry-up/no-huddle drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Ben Tate. At that point it might have been time to stop the practice and award game balls. Hoyer was sharp and precise on the drive, and finished by making a nice read to find Tate to the left where he made the catch, turned upfield and scored. The absence of scoring and struggle to do so seems far more pronounced when Josh Gordon is not on the practice field, which he wasn't on Wednesday. For whatever it's worth, owner Jimmy Haslam had a lengthy talk with Gordon prior to the start of practice. The owner will occasionally greet players on days he watches, but the timeframe on this discussion qualified it as a lengthy 10 minutes. Photos, too, seemed to show Haslam was speaking with a stern look on his face. Haslam later went and spent a good 20 minutes with coach Mike Pettine, then stalked GM Ray Farmer to talk to him for 10 and then found team president Alec Scheiner for another 10. Nobody knows the topic of discussion, and it all may mean nothing, but none of this was typical. ?Just talking about the crazy Cleveland weather,? Pettine said. Benjamin had a big day, catching a deep throw from Manziel and making several other catches. Benjamin is coming back from ACL surgery, and his role in the offense seems to be growing -- especially when Gordon is out. Pettine praised Benjamin's work, and his role as a kick returner is secure. The concern with him continues to be injury given his size and slender frame. As for the rest of the receivers, it?s probably best not to mention them. There were at least five drops, with as many as six. And they were spread among the entire group, which when Gordon is not on the field looks more and more lacking. There have been drops all week after there were several in the loss to Detroit. ?It?s just you get into kind of the heat of camp, and you've just got to push guys through it,? he said. ?They've got to focus. They've got to make sure they?re looking balls in. I know the one day was the wet day or it was the first time we were trying to handle wet or heavier footballs. I?m not concerned about it.? Manziel went (according to the Great Jason Gibbs of ESPN-Cleveland) 12-20 with a touchdown, unofficially. In three days of practice since the game, he?s 34-for-68. That puts him at 50 percent for the week after he finished last week over 60 percent. ... Pettine said he expects the starters to play for the first half in Washington, though it could be altered by the quick turnaround before the third game. ... Safety Josh Aubrey has rebounded from an ankle injury that ended his 2013 season early with a strong camp. He is pushing Jordan Poyer and Jim Leonhard for one of the backup safety spots. ?He's really shown up when we?ve done live work,? Pettine said. ... Cornerback Justin Gilbert was back practicing after missing since last Friday with a shoulder issue. Joe Haden was given the day off, or what shall henceforth be known as the Joe Thomas Honorary Veterans Day Off.
BEREA, Ohio -- The Cleveland Browns players have the day off Thursday, but the coaching staff will decide which quarterback, Brian Hoyer or Johnny Manziel, will start in the second preseason game Monday night at Washington. Either way, coach Mike Pettine said that Hoyer and Manziel would get an equal amount of snaps with the first-team offense. However, one question that remains is how different will the offense look when Hoyer is on the field versus when Manziel is? Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan runs a West Coast system with play calls that can be as long as 17 words. It is a different system than Manziel ran in college. At Texas A&M, Manziel had three- to four-word play calls where he didn't have to call protections, which he will have to do now. And Manziel, who makes as many plays with his feet as with his right arm, is a different type of quarterback than the 6-foot-2 Hoyer, who is more of a dropback passer. Shanahan worked with another mobile quarterback, Robert Griffin III, while he was the offensive coordinator in Washington, so he does have experience tailoring his On Wednesday, I asked Browns general manager Ray Farmer this question about the quarterback competition: Are you, meaning the Browns, trying to fit the player to the system, or are you trying to fit the system to a specific player? "I think it's a blend," Farmer said. "It's always a blend. I think that coaches come in and have their schemes they want to run. Inevitably what happens is you know what you want to run, and you also know what talent you have and what they're capable of orchestrating. You kind of mishmash how that comes together. "So I think it's a blend. I think that's what Kyle's history has shown, that regardless of who he's had he's found a way to make the offense work with the talent he has." That is true, but it is also true that the offense will look at least a little different depending on who the quarterback is. "When Johnny's in there, obviously you're going to call a few different plays that are going to be able to take advantage of the way he runs, because he's such an elusive quarterback," Browns left tackle Joe Thomas said. "Maybe you won't see necessarily as many plays where Brian's going to be running a read-option or sprint-option, things like that that you might see more of when Johnny's in there. But other than that, I think they both do a great job and they're actually really similar." On Monday against Washington, we will get a chance to see how similar -- and different -- Hoyer and Manziel really are.
Browns to start quarterback Brian Hoyer in second preseason game Monday at Washington By Nate Ulrich Published: August 14, 2014 The Browns have named veteran Brian Hoyer their starting quarterback for the team's second preseason game Monday night at Washington. Coach Mike Pettine made the announcement Thursday. The Browns plan to give Hoyer and rookie Johnny Manziel about the same amount of reps with the starters as their battle for the starting quarterback job heats up in the team's upcoming nationally televised prime-time game at FedExField. ?It?s just something right now where we are comfortable with Brian going out there to start the game,? Pettine said in a news release distributed by the team Thursday. ?I think it?s a little overblown as to who the starter is going to be. The key component, as I?ve stated earlier this week, is that we are going to balance the reps. We will play it a little by ear as it goes on. We haven?t truly decided as far as the rotation, but the goal is, for when we look at the stat sheet at halftime, that they both have the same amount of repetitions, and hopefully they both get a good amount of work.? Pettine first revealed Tuesday the plan to give Hoyer and Manziel an equal amount of snaps with the starters in the second exhibtion game. He said Thursday the starters would play for about a half. Hoyer started the Browns? preseason opener Saturday and worked exclusively with the first-team offense in the 13-12 loss to the Detroit Lions. Manziel spent the night with the second unit. The second exhibition game will be different. ?Johnny?s going to get reps with the ones,?? Pettine said Tuesday. ?Just to me, the factor of starting the game I think is a little bit overblown in this situation because we?re going to try to balance the reps with the ones in the game. So I don?t think it was anything that, ?Brian came in ahead.? It?s a little overrated who trots out there for the first time. "The bottom line coming out of the game is that they both should get close to equal reps with the ones no matter who starts." Pettine, offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains met Thursday and decided to give Hoyer the starting nod. The same three coaches plan to pick a starting quarterback next week for the Browns' regular-season opener Sept. 7 at Pittsburgh. Pettine has said all along he wants to name a Week 1 starter before the third preseason game Aug. 23 against St. Louis.
Good old wonder boy Hoyer....give me a break and stop contradicting urself Pettine...1 sentence u say it doesnt matter who starts and the next we feel comfortable w Hoyer starting the game...I can already c it...well Manziel played well, but Wash took out some of their starters while Brian faced their 1st team...yadda yadda yadda... ya sure it was an open competition lol
Good old Stopper. What you said in short, "grumble, grumble, argle-bargle. Stupid Pettine, you liar." Ya ever think Pettine said it was an "open" competition to stoke a fire under Manziel? Or maybe, just maybe, Manziel isn't picking it up fast enough yet to start against Washington. And besides, what coach doesn't feed the press a line of BS when it comes to starting lineups, injuries, etc.? You're starting to remind me of: Feel free to update your avatar with this.
u can read into it whatever way u like, but this is far from a fair competition and if Manziel isnt ready no need to even give him reps w the 1's...he shuld just come out and say hes not ready and Hoyer is the starter for this week...like Jaworski said Hoyer shuld of locked up this battle by now leaving no debate and since he hasnt it that tells u hes not very good
I'm not reading a thing into it. Basically all I see is that a veteran QB is out-performing the rookie and is getting the start. You're the one reading all this hullabaloo about Manziel in the media and all these sensationalized accounts of how he just passed Hoyer up (and i believe it was you who referred to that "news" a few pages back too) after the first pre-season game. You're buying the media's BS which is simply trying to sell ad space because you read it on-line in print or listened to it on the radio or saw it on TV and simply assumed it to be true because it caters to your every wish and desire for Manziel to be the starter. Pettine has already been quoted as saying that rookies and backups have to earn the starting gigs by showing it. Apparently Manziel hasn't so far. And who in the heck said it had to be a fair competition where everyone gets equal time? What is this? Tee-ball, where everybody gets a trophy for participating? This is a "what have you done for me lately" league where players are only as good as their last game (or practice in this case). And Manziel hasn't climbed the hill yet. Let it go and pull that fish hook out of your mouth before the talking heads reel you in any further.
