BEREA, Ohio? Cornerback Joe Haden will not play in the preseason finale against the Bears, but Mike Pettine believes his Pro Bowl cornerback will be back for the season opener. Haden was on the stationary bike during practice Monday and Pettine was asked how serious Haden?s injury was. ?It?s an injury,? Pettine said. ?It?s something that gave him a little bit of trouble, so we did some further work and the recommendation was just go ahead and let him rest it the rest of the preseason. So, we?re going to go ahead and do that. ? Pettine did say that Haden could?ve played if it was the regular season. ?If this was the regular season he would have been able to play, but we?re just going to go ahead and be very conservative here with it and hold him out because we are on a short week and hold him out against Chicago, as well,? Pettine said. ?When we start practicing for Pittsburgh he should be 100 percent ready to go.? In addition to Haden, Buster Skrine has a broken thumb and Pierre Desir and Isaiah Trufant were also on the bike during practice. The Browns had six defensive backs sit out against the Rams with injury, but Pettine said he is hoping the group will be back by the regular season, with the exception of one. ?We?re hopeful. I think it?s looking that way,? Pettine said. ?Desir might be the only one who could potentially be out, but we?re hopeful we?ll be back at a full complement at that point.? K?Wuan Williams returned to practice after sitting out Saturday?s game with a hamstring injury. NOTEBOOK Cameron Excused: TE Jordan Cameron was not on the practice field during the time open to the media. Pettine was asked the reason but he wouldn?t divulge it. ?He?s dealing with an issue,? Pettine said. ?He was excused.? Cameron missed time in training camp with a shoulder injury, but Petttine wouldn?t say if it was personal or medical. He indicated he might be back as soon as Tuesday. ?He was excused,? he said. ?I?m not going to go into anything (more).? Other players who missed practice were: OL Michael Bowie (shoulder) LB Darius Eubanks (shoulder), LB Eric Martin (concussion) and NFI: OL Nick McDonald (wrist). Armstrong, Baker Lead First Cuts: The Browns announced their first waive of roster moves on Monday. The biggest names were RB Edwin Baker and WR Anthony Armstrong, who had his contract terminated. Besides Baker and Armstrong, the Browns also released DB Royce Adams, OL Randall Harris, DB T.J. Heath, DL Cam Henderson, WR Jonathan Krause, OL Ryan Lee, LB Caleb McSurdy, OL Keavon Milton, LB Keith Pough, WR Tim Smith, OL Jeremiah Warren and TE Martell Webb. In the preseason, Baker had three carries for nine yards, but missed last week with a hamstring injury. Last season, Baker scored two touchdowns and rushed for 171 yards in the final three games. Armstrong had three catches for 17 yards. ?(Armstrong) was just a move that Ray and I felt was appropriate to let some of those young guys (get time).? Burleson Back: WR Nate Burleson was back practicing for the first time since injuring his hamstring on Aug. 6. Pettine was asked about Burleson. ?He went through some individual work today,? he said. ?I?m not sure how he came out of it.? Pettine was asked if Burleson is in danger of losing a roster spot after missing so much time. ?I can?t speak on whether guys have certain roster spots first of all, that?s not my area, but that?s Ray (Farmer?s).? Pettine did admit that the missed time has hurt him. ?It does hurt your chances not being out there but well look at the entire body of work.? Pettine Defends Schwartz: OT Mitchell Schwartz has taken his share of the blame in the preseason, but Pettine defended him when he was asked about his play. ?I thought Mitchell bounced back against St. Louis,? Pettine said. ?We feel good about that offensive line. He?s not a guy we?re looking to replace I thought he?s had a good camp and you look at right tackles around the league a lot of people would agree he?s solid.? Gordon Update: WR Josh Gordon was back at practice after not playing against the Rams. Pettine said on the conference call that part of the reason because the Browns were assuming he would get some type of suspension. Pettine was asked if he had any information on Gordon. ?No, we kind of had a range of (the suspension would be),? he said. ?Probably, (I) shouldn?t have spoke on it.? Next Up: The Browns will practice on Tuesday and then have a walk through closed to the media on Wednesday before taking on the Bears at 8 pm Thursday night in the final preseason game at FirstEnergy Stadium. Pettine said the plan is to play the starters on both sides of the ball the first quarter.
Yup! And, Bluez . . . a little advise. Next time you stuff a potato in your speedos, put it in the front. You'll find it works better.
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Cleveland Browns' wide receiver Josh Gordon's DWI case in Raleigh was continued Tuesday, delayed until November 18. Gordon's attorney, Trey Fitzhugh, appeared briefly in court then met behind closed doors with the Judge. Gordon was arrested on Glenwood Avenue in July. Arrest warrants show he blew a .09. The legal limit in North Carolina is .08. Gordon was released a few hours later after posting a $500 bond. Raleigh police say an officer pulled Gordon over after spotting him driving 50 miles per hour in a 35-mile-per-hour zone, in a vehicle belonging to Charlotte Hornets player and former UNC standout PJ Hairston. Hairston claims the two swapped cars in the parking lot of a Chapel Hill grocery store. The DWI is not Gordon's primary concern. He is waiting to hear from the NFL regarding his appeal of a possible year-long suspension for again violating the league's substance-abuse program. A decision is expected as early as today. Browns Coach Mike Pettine said Sunday that the team is preparing to be without the All-Pro wide receiver for at least part of the season.
And the beat goes on Catching up with the Browns? latest embarrassment . . . As I watched Saturday night?s exhibition against the St. Louis Rams unfold, I found myself saying to no one in particular, ?Why does this team look just like last year?s team? And the year before?s team? And the year before that?? But didn?t that new video board at the stadium formerly known as Cleveland Browns Stadium sure look nice? It seems the only things that change with this football team are the names and faces. The lethargy, the inability to play representative football, the sleep-inducing offense . . . they are still there. The 33-14 loss to the Rams was just an exhibition, I know. I?m trying to convince myself that what we saw against the Rams in no way is indicative of what we?ll see once the Browns start playing meaningful games. Somehow, some way, Browns coaches will sprinkle magic dust over those fortunate enough to make the final roster and the team we see against the Steelers in Pittsburgh a week from Sunday will play a different brand of football. It was evident from the opening kickoff that the Rams were prepared to play a game of football, while the Browns were prepared to go through the motions. At least it seemed that way. The Rams were quicker, faster, hit harder and played smarter than the Browns, who controlled the ball for a whopping 20 minutes. If Mike Pettine isn?t at least looking for the panic button, then something is terribly wrong. That was an embarrassing display in front of the home folks, who had to be muttering ?same old, same old? all the way home. To rattle off the statistics in this one would be adding fuel to the blaze. Suffice it to say, with maybe one exception (rookie linebacker Chris Kirksey), the Cleveland defense was a step and a half, maybe two full steps, slow all evening. And the tackling ? what tackling, you ask? Well, so do I. The tackling, especially in the secondary, was abysmal. Let?s not forget the so-called strength of the defense, the guys up front. The Rams gained 142 of their 472 yards on the ground. They put points on the board seven times in their first nine possessions. It was an unfair fight because they came to play. The Browns arrived disinterested. They got beat by two quarterbacks ? Shaun Hill and Austin Davis ? who are second and third on the depth chart. After starter Sam Bradford left with what later was diagnosed as a torn ACL, Hill and David picked apart the Cleveland defense. This was supposed to be the dress rehearsal for the regular season. Brian Hoyer, anointed the starter for the opener, played listlessly and carelessly, and was inept and ineffective. And he will not get much of a chance to hone his craft in the final exhibition Thursday night in Cleveland against the Chicago Bears. That?s the game where the starters play one, maybe two series and then take off the rest of the evening. What Pettine should ? but won?t ? do is punish the starters and play them well into the third quarter against the Bears. This offense is not nearly ready to open the season. Its mind-set is decidedly out of whack. After the game, the coach took the high road and sort of pronounced himself satisfied with his quarterback. ?I think there are some plays (Hoyer) would want back,? Pettine said. ?He missed a few reads, but overall, I think he?s been solid.? Which makes me wonder? Were we watching the same game? Missed a few reads? Solid? Really? If that?s solid, perhaps consideration should be given to changing the meaning of the word. Overall, the Browns are in disappointingly miserable shape. They have no decent receivers to speak of, an offensive line that is vastly overrated and a quarterback whose confidence level cannot be anywhere near what it was when he took over for Brandon Weeden last season. The defense, thought to be the team?s strong point, was a rumor all evening against the Rams. The Rams converted one third and long after another. Third and 25? No problem. The Rams had the Browns right where they wanted them. Third and 11, third and 19? No sweat. The Rams converted every one of them, 12 of 19 overall. The loss was truly a team effort. The offense was awful. The defense was two beats slow all evening. With the final exhibition just a few days away and roster cutdown around the corner, there?s not much ?back to the drawing board? time left. But, hey, didn?t that new video board at the stadium sure look nice? The Browns stunk out the joint in high definition. No truth to the rumor that the stadium had to fumigated minutes after the last fan left. Posted by Rich Passan
63.5% completion rate, 308 yards per game, 84.2 QB rating with 5 touchdowns to 5 interceptions? Worst football? Sign me up. That stat line runs circles around Brian Hoyer's career! PS: The 6 fumbles didn't help... throw out that Bears game where he lost three fumbles himself (and added two more interceptions) and that's a pretty solid start. 0-4 couldn't have had anything to do with giving up 27.5 PPG, could it have? O
Anyone notice Pettine has said this 3 out of 3 games with regards to Hoyer? Wasn't he supposed to play "lights out" not having to worry about Manziel in the competition or with splitting first team reps?
Us Browns fans have to get it in our heads. Brian Hoyer wouldn't be a starting QB for any other team in the league. From Cleveland or not. He just isn't that good. All this Browns team is doing right now is 1. Trying to keep Johnny humble. 2. Buying more time for Manziel. 3. Giving Hoyer the starting job because he got hurt and shouldn't lose his starting job. This locker room is divided, I dont care what anyone say's or writes. Look how they look when each QB is out there. I personally dont like one package for Hoyer and 1 for JF. Now I do hope this team is 7-9 or 8-8. But the way this team has looked so far, it doesn't look like it. If we do end up a 1 or 2 win football team with the 1st, 2nd pick then I wouldn't be surprised if we drafted Hundley, Mariota or Winston. With Grossman on the team we will have a vet backup. Who knows the offense. Then with that Buffalo pick take a WR. Thats how I see at least.
Unfortunately SAS, you can read that any way you like, but Hoyer still gets the starting nod. Why? I don't know. But what I get from it is that Manziel is no better at this point (or worse in Pettine's and the coaching staff's eyes? Who knows). All things being equal, Pettine prefers the veteran and his "experience". Guess we'll just have to look forward to the game after the bye to see the kid get his shot. Hopefully Manziel gets a good grasp of the playbook by the time week 5 rolls around. Otherwise, it's gonna be a long season.
All moved into the new house fellas. Looks like a bomb went off though with all the boxes everywhere. Give me another week or two to get it all put away and if you're in the neighborhood, feel free to drop on by and I'll throw something on the grill. Gotta wait a week for the cable guy still, so no internet or TV. That may not be such a bad thing after last week's game.
It?s not known whether Browns receiver Josh Gordon will go the StarCaps route if/when he?s officially suspended for a year, filing a lawsuit attacking the arbitration decision and seeking a preliminary injunction that would allow him to play until the litigation ends. If Gordon chooses to go that route, the 22-days-and-counting lag since the completion of his appeal hearing could actually help his cause. Gordon may have a hard time conjuring an argument or two that would prompt a court to take the fairly extraordinary step of eventually overturning the outcome of a private arbitration proceeding, since private arbitration proceedings tend to keep plenty of cases out of the court system. But the NFL?s inexplicable failure to reach on a more timely basis what should be a very straightforward decision could make the judge who is asked to prevent the suspension from being implemented a bit more sympathetic to Gordon?s plight. The delayed issuance of the decision by hearing officer Harold Henderson will put more pressure the judge to whom the case would be assigned to process the facts, to research the law, and to make a fair and proper decision as to whether Gordon should be allowed to play pending a final ruling in the case. And the judge to whom the case is assigned could blame the NFL for dragging its feet, which could make the judge more favorable to Gordon?s cause. Which eventually could make Gordon available to play for most or all of the 2014 season. Again, it?s not known whether Gordon will choose to take the NFL to court. With each passing day, his case for an order allowing him to play until the case ends could be getting stronger. It?s definitely not getting any weaker. In the end, Gordon may still be suspended for a full year. However, like the StarCaps plaintiffs several years ago, Gordon may be able to delay indefinitely the start of the banishment.
Happy Hump Day Lounge Houndz *HI* Here's some cream for your coffee *DRINK* (for those that do) As rosters are whittled down. I'm not seeing any other potential WR prospects that are of interest. (Streeter was mentioned and at this point Despite how others feel about Hoyer. He is the starter and is in all likely hood the best choice at this point. Of all the top Rookie QB's in the draft JF looks like the least ready to enter into the NFL. Like a fine wine or good cheese. He definately needs to sit on the shelf(bench) and mature. Though I would have to agree with some of other comments I've seen regarding Shanahan's verbage in play calling. Hopefully in the next week or so they get some of those kinks worked out. Thankfully we made it through the majority of preseason without any major injuries. Sorry Goat that has to be rough for your guys. Despite gidion's consumption of Mano's LSD laced gumdrops and lollipops , I think the Bengals are the team to beat in the division. And the ratbirds not far behind. That will once again leave the Browns fighting to stay out of the cellar... again :rolleyes: I just hope that at some point soon one of the WR on the roster steps up and suprises us all. Like many of us I have no friggin clue what Herr Goodall is doing postponing Gordons sentence. Just phuqing get it over with so everone can move forward. *WALL* At this point I don't envision the starters getting many reps if any tomorrow... Duff, Bluez, hope you are settling into your new digs nicely. *SHADES*
Josh Gordon suspension upheld!! Statement: AlbertBreer @AlbertBreer Browns WR Josh Gordon statement via the NFLPA: ?I?d like to apologize to my teammates, coaches, the Cleveland Browns organization and our fans. I am very disappointed that the NFL and its hearing office didn?t exercise better discretion and judgment in my case. I would like to sincerely thank the people who have been incredibly supportive of me during this challenging time, including my family, my agent, my union, my legal team, and the Cleveland Browns staff.? 2014-08-27 So, there you go, unless he sues the NFL, we will be without Gordon until at least 8/27/2015
So I suppose this will mean that he is likely not only to miss this entire year but a part of next season as well, depending on the reinstatment process. *WALL* Plus he will have to deal with the DUI charges pending in NC.
