While true, Manziel's physical stature and style of play increase his odds for a ride in the Cushman. Been thinking about the Grossman waiver . . . Could it be the Browns wanted to find out if Conner Shaw made it to the practice squad before they waived Grossman?
On Monday the Cleveland Browns announced that they have signed OL Patrick Lewis, OL Karim Barton and WR Charles Johnson to the practice squad. Lewis spent 11 weeks on the Browns' active roster last season. He dressed but did not play in three games and was inactive for eight more. He also spent three weeks on the club's practice squad before being signed to Jacksonville's active roster. Johnson, a seventh-round pick by Green Bay in 2013, was signed off the Packers' practice squad to Cleveland's active roster in Week 6. He missed the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. Johnson caught six passes for 65 yards during the preseason. Barton, a rookie who initially joined the Browns via waivers from Philadelphia on Aug. 25, appeared in three preseason games with the Eagles and the finale with the Browns. The practice squad now consists of nine players including OL James Brown, DL Jacobbi McDaniel, TE Emmanuel Ogbuehi, LB Keith Pough, QB Connor Shaw and LB Justin Staples.
Or...They could re-sign him after week one and none of his salary will be guaranteed. If he was on the roster for the first game, the rest of his contract became guaranteed.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- At the start of preseason, Browns cornerback Justin Gilbert scanned the inaugural depth chart and discovered that he was listed No. 2 behind Buster Skrine. Undaunted, Gilbert took it as a challenge. "The season hasn't started yet,'' he said confidently. Gilbert moved to the front of the depth chart for the final two preseason games while Skrine was nursing his surgically-repaired thumb, but the No. 8 overall pick got rocked against the Rams and gave up another long touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes in the preseason finale against the Bears. Not surprisingly, when the first real depth chart for the season came out Tuesday -- for Sunday's opener in Pittsburgh -- Gilbert was back in the second-row behind Skrine again. Coach Mike Pettine said Monday that Skrine and Gilbert will jobshare at right cornerback, what with Gilbert still getting acclimated and Skrine coming off the thumb surgery. "I just to control what I can control,'' Gilbert said Monday. "I know where I am on the depth chart and my role on this team right now. I just want to try to make plays and put myself in a good situation to where I can get a lot more playing time as the season goes on.'' It didn't help Gilbert that both Skrine and Pro Bowler Joe Haden (foot) missed the bulk of preseason, with Skrine missing the final three games and Haden the final two. In their absence, starting quarterbacks and backups alike feasted on Gilbert and Leon McFadden, who was ultimately released. "They threw me in the fire, but it was a good learning experience for a rookie to get out there and get a taste and see what it feels like,'' said Gilbert, the former Oklahoma State star. Gilbert's biggest nightmare came against the Rams in third preseason game, when he surrendered a 32-yard pass to Kenny Britt, a 19-yard pass and a 75-yard TD to Chris Given (on which he got beat and then missed the tackle) and a 6-yard TD pass to Brian Quick. The following week, he surrendered a 32-yard TD to Bears' veteran receiver Santonio Holmes. Still, the former first-team All-American emerged from the rubble with his psyche intact. "I never let my confidence get down or get down on myself about anything,'' said Gilbert. "I know what I'm capable of, and one thing I know I didn't do to the fullest was study the film, study the receivers like I should've. I pretty much knew the route concepts, but I didn't know the personnel.'' Gilbert was immediately consoled by starters Haden and Skrine, who's slated for nickelback when Gilbert's ready to start. "Justin's still learning, but he's a good corner,'' Skrine said. "He shows a lot of good flashes. Stuff like that just happens. But he's going to learn from it and he won't let those things happen again because that's the type of player he is. Stuff like that happened to me, so I already know what he's going through. But he has a lot of confidence, and I know he's going to just continue to get better." Skrine, who finished fourth in the NFL last year with 23 pass breakups, told Gilbert some of his own horror stories, how folks wanted to run him out of town after some games. "I just told him early in my career I made a lot of mistakes,'' he said. "But the good ones, they come back and then they improve and don't let it happen twice." Haden reassured him that it's better to happen in preseason than with Ben Roethlisberger rumbling around the backfield, waiting to pounce on some unsuspecting young corner. "It's NFL caliber players out there and everybody's getting a paycheck so it's going to happen,'' said Haden. "(You have to) have a short term memory. I remember my rookie season, I was getting burned up sometimes. It happens. You have to take your nicks and your bumps and bruises and just know that coming into the season, you have to have thick skin and you have to be able to make plays and don't worry about it." After the Rams game, Pettine acknowledged that his rookie "took a step backwards'' and needed to regroup. "The NFL is a tough road now for a rookie corner and the only silver lining is that he had a night like that heading into the regular season, that he sees that playing corner in the NFL is very much a 'what have you done' business and you've got to be prepared and focused every time you step on the field," Pettine said. "He needs to get some things cleaned up from a technique standpoint. I think there were a couple of plays where he kind of got away from things that he had been doing well and that he needs to step it up and know that every time he takes the field that he has to be 100 percent focused." After the preseason finale and the TD by Holmes, Pettine urged Gilbert to press more and be more aggressive. "He needs to test his limits more," Pettine said. "Of all times, it's the preseason. Go ahead and challenge and see where you stand with guys." Pettine agreed with Gilbert that he shook it off well and is ready to venture back out against the Steelers with his head held high. "The preseason was a good experience for him in that he saw the good and the bad and what can happen in the NFL,'' said Pettine. "I'd rather that happen this way than everything just have gone perfectly for him, then all of a sudden have to deal with the reality of an NFL season. The preseason was a positive experience for him, and I certainly think he's confident heading into the year." Browns sign Painter: The Browns offensive lineman Vinston Painter off Denver's practice squad. In addition the club waived/failed physical offensive lineman Caylin Hauptmann. Painter (6-4, 310) was originally a sixth round pick of the Broncos out of Virginia Tech in 2013. He spent most of his rookie season on the Broncos practice squad, and was promoted for the final two postseason games, but was inactive. He started 13 games at Virginia Tech. The Browns also signed fullback Kiero Small (5-8, 245) to the practice squad. He was a seventh-round pick of the Seahawks out of Arkansas.
CLEVELAND, Ohio ? Any fan who walks into the Western Reserve Historical Society's exhibit on the 1964 Browns will be greeted by a nostalgic array of displays ? photos, interactive posters, collectibles, jerseys and more. But there is one memento that jumps out. Jim Brown's cleats. "This is the artifact that defines the whole exhibit," said Ed Pershey, director of special projects and exhibits, reverently pointing out the shoes the Hall of Fame running back wore in the championship game 50 years ago. They are caked with dust and dirt, remnants that bring memories to life of Cleveland's 27-0 victory over the Baltimore Colts in the old Municipal Stadium on Dec. 27, 1964. How the cleats landed in the exhibit is so, well, Cleveland. A young Casey Coleman, the late and longtime radio man, saw Brown toss the shoes aside in the locker room after the game, Pershey said. Coleman was there because his father, Ken, was doing play by play. "That's the dirt on the shoes ? from the game!" said Pershey, who said the younger Coleman donated them to the museum about 10 years ago. Like an NFL team that begins preparations in the spring, the crew at the historical society couldn't wait until this week to create the exhibit, which opens to the public Saturday. Pershey and company began work back in March. Slowly and surely, like a team plodding downfield on a scoring drive, they have created a respectful and interesting exhibit called "1964: When Browns Town was Title Town." It marries memories of the past that Clevelanders are so inclined to hang on to with elements of the future. Interactive components lead museum-goers to learn more information about players and the game by scanning QR codes on various placards. What's there Images of the '64 team's five Hall of Famers greet patrons with giant info-posters. A special beacon signal allows visitors to learn more about Brown, Lou Groza, Gene Hickerson, Leroy Kelly and Paul Warfield. Details are excellent: The 20-foot tall goalposts that frame doorways are striped in black and red, just like the ones that stood in the old stadium. The exhibit does what all good museum exhibits should do; it informs through sensory experiences. Hear Gib Shanley's call. Watch footage ? NFL Films and private-collection movies ? shown on video kiosks. Read about the Browns training sites (summer at Hiram College, in-season practice at Fleming Field near E. 118th street). Check out a turnstile, look at a stadium seat. Enjoy the nostalgia of it all: A collection of Coke caps with Browns players' images. Ticket stubs, a watch, a tie clasp. A locker is recreated. Playbooks, complete with tabs marking pages with multiple offensive and defensive diagrams, are displayed. "That was kept close to the vest," Pershey said about playbooks, which still holds true today. "Very unusual. It's not often shared with the public." How it came together The historical society had help in pulling together the exhibit. Banners in Browns colors hang to recognizing the efforts of supporters and sponsors. The Browns lent items. Private photos from the collection of Charles Proctor -- an individual photographer credentialed to cover games that season -- are included. A shelf and area devoted to Brown includes sports cards with the image of the man who rushed through defenses for more than 100 yards per game over a nine-year career. Plain Dealer pages are reprinted and highlighted to show not only accounts of the season and the game but of news events of the day. Media coverage includes Sports Illustrated on the game -- a black and white shot of quarterback Frank Ryan because the magazine, Pershey says, was caught by surprise: It had expected the Colts to win and had color shots of Baltimore's star quarterback Johnny Unitas ready to go. The exhibit came about not only because of borrowed items but also because of the memories of people like Pershey, who used to work at the old stadium in the 1970s. "I think people will learn a few things," Pershey said, "and there will be some 'a ha!' moments."
We already knew Merril Hoge was not a fan of Johnny Manziel. Prior to the draft, Hoge said Manziel has ?bust written all over him? and that he has no pocket presence or awareness. Now that we have seen Manziel play in the NFL, Hoge is even more down on Johnny Football. Hoge appeared on 102.5 WDVE with Randy Baumann and the DVE Morning Show on Wednesday and ripped Manziel to shreds. The ESPN analyst referred to Manziel as a ?juvenile punk? and said he has no business playing in the NFL right now. ?There is nothing that he does that transitions to the NFL,? Hoge said. ?There?s not one skillset he has that you say, ?Gosh, he?s a first rounder?? This guy has no business playing. If they put him in, quite honestly, it?s not helping their chances to win. It?s jeopardizing their chances to win. ?He has no business being on the field right now.? Hoge repeatedly pointed out that the Browns have given Manziel an ?elementary? playbook to work with and he still hasn?t been able to handle it. He also said that Manziel infuriated coaches around the league when word surfaced that he texted the Browns telling them to draft him so they can ?wreck this league? together. ?When he texted the Browns and said, ?Let?s wreck this league,? that didn?t just burn players ? it infuriates coaches,? said Hoge. ?Coaches are like, ?Really?? Peyton Manning hasn?t wrecked this league. (Aaron) Rodgers, Adrian Peterson ? nobody wrecks this league. This league is a hard league to play in.? Hoge, a former NFL running back, then compared Manziel to Tim Tebow. ?This will be the saddest, quickest ending we have seen in quite some time. It?ll be like a Tim Tebow (situation).? While we don?t always agree with his analysis, it should be noted that Hoge has a pretty good track record of spotting busts over the past few years. He was highly criticial of Tebow back in 2012, and we all know how Timmy is doing at the moment. He also ripped Matt Barkley, who has struggled to keep his backup job with the Eagles. Manziel is going to get his chances with the Browns. He probably has to learn to run less and pass the ball more accurately from the pocket, but we?re obviously not going to write him off. Apparently Hoge is.
More on the Browns exhibit opening at Case Western: Event Name: Tailgate Party - 1964: Browns Town Event Type: History Center Organization: WRHS Description: The grand opening of 1964: When Browns Town Was Title Town will take place on Saturday, September 6 with an Opening Tailgate Party at the WRHS History Center. This throwback tailgate will kick off a celebratory exhibit highlighting the 1964 World Champion Cleveland Browns during the 50th anniversary of Cleveland's last championship title. Toss around a football, grab some tailgate grub, and check out the exhibit during its first day open to the public. Fans can test their arm with ESPN Cleveland's Quarterback Challenge Inflatable and challenge each other to Cleveland Browns cornhole. Chomps and Brownie the Elf will also be on site. Online tickets available below. Location: History Center Address: 10825 East Boulevard Cleveland OH 44106 Start Date/Time: 9/6/2014, 10:00 AM End Date/Time: 9/6/2014, 3:00 PM Adult Admission - $10.00 per ticket Child Admission (3-12) - $5.00 per ticket WRHS Member Admission - $0.00 per ticket Senior Admission - $9.00 per ticket
Reports: NFL, NFLPA close on new drug-testing program By Ryan Wilson | CBSSports.com September 3, 2014 9:46 pm ET Reports: NFL, NFLPA close on new drug-testing program By Ryan Wilson | CBSSports.com September 3, 2014 9:46 pm ET The NFL and the NFL Players Association are close to a new drug-testing program, which will include hGH testing, ProFootballTalk.com's Mike Florio reports. CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora points out that the two sides have been close to a deal several times, and many of the issues have been verbally agreed on since last year (higher marijuana thresholds, stronger DUI penalties, reclassifying amphetamines). The NFL and NFLPA still haven't resolved the issue of appeals. And while they get "close" every year right before the season, hurdles remain. Until they sign off on every detail, close remains a relative term. Regarding hGH, Florio writes: "The hGH testing agreement is expected to grant an independent arbitrator the authority to resolve appeals of positive tests. The last major sticking point related to the question of whether the Commissioner or an independent arbitrator will handle the appeals of discipline imposed for violations unrelated to a positive test." According to the Washington Post's Mark Maske, Wes Welker's four-game suspension for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances has expedited discussions. ________________________________________________________________________________________ So if they DO come to an agreement in the coming weeks, where does that leave Gordon? Does he have to serve a suspension while everyone else in the league is subject to a double standard? It seems part of this deal will include a higher tolerance of MJ in the blood system. Presumably the 150 ng/ml that the rest of the free world exercises and a 100 times higher than Gordon. Wouldn't it behoove Gordon to sue right now in the event this is changed? That way the process is ongoing while theu decide this. Could it also be, they had a handshake in place to go get his DWI taken care of while off, so that he can take time served when the policy is changed? Would the DWI call for a year suspension anyway? They are also looking to raise the driving under the influence policy to make it more stringent at the same time. However, if Gordon pleas down and they drop the alcohol offense, then he could get out of this all together, couldn't he? The fact they are discussing this policy pisses me off that they went ahead with a full season suspension. Although, it could explain why it took so long for Gordon. The league may have been pressuring the players union to discuss it and when they drug their feet, they no longer had a choice but to uphold the suspension as the CBA is currently written. It would certainly explain what took so long. So the question is, anyone with a legal background, would Gordon's suspension be lifted if they change this policy now? A second question, why does it take Wes Welker, as the article suggests, to get them to the table to begin with?
Irish- I think the article is gilding the lily a tad if they suggested it was Welker's infraction that brought all sides to the table just because he's "Mr. Clean-cut" and swears that he in no way would ever do such a thing. I think Gordon's contradictory A and B samples threw quite a bit of gas on the fire. If you ask me, this has been in the works quite awhile with the NFLPA comparing themselves to what other sports associations are doing. It was just a few years ago the CBA was being hammered out and most of that was over how to split the pie up. Drug testing always seems to be an after-thought especially if the sides aren't in agreement and they both realize it's going to tank the season if the CBA isn't finished. At which point, they cobble together a mess and live with the results.......until the next CBA and then they swear they'll work the drug testing out but............... I enjoyed your Freudian slip there. Rather fits the situation well.
Cable/internet is still out The rat-basturds cancelled on me again with the same "network problems" B.S. Beginning to think they don't have lines in my neighborhood yet. Off to go rattle their cage a bit and threaten to go with someone else if they can't get it done. At least I can chat a bit with you guys while at work.
Keep your ears open for a live stream provider for the Browns game this Sunday. CBS and DirectV are in the middle of a pissing contest over rebroadcast fees and DirectV suspended CBS programing. When I called DirectV to see what their plans were to resolve the issue, they basically said the decision ($$$) is totally in CBS's court. When I asked what my options were for CBS provided NFL programing (hoping they would throw in Sunday Ticket for free as a temporary stopgap) their answer . . . You can buy a digital antenna and watch the game(s) via the over the air broadcast. R I g h t . . . Like I'm gonna hook up a set of phuquing rabbit ears to a 60" High Def flatscreen. {grumble} {grumble} {grumble}
Call them back and tell them you have an appointment with Time Warner next week unless they give you the Sunday ticket. Tell them the Browns are more important than which provider you use. They are giving the Sunday Ticket to every knew subscriber, why shouldn't they give it to keep a long time subscriber? I know it's a bluff, but what have you got to lose?
I actually almost put "no pun intended" in brackets, but I too thought it fit, so I didn't... One of the problems with the CBA as written is at the time not enough was understood about the content level of Marijuana. At that time ALL governing bodies, be it sports, government at all levels, most businesses used that same 15 ng/ml threshold. However, it wasn't long after that it was medically proven that second hand smoke was closer to a 150 ng/ml level and that is when EVERYONE, except the NFL, changed their threshold. It is time for an amendment, but the NFL is holding the players union hostage to completely re-write the whole drug policy rather than amend pieces at a time. No where in any lawbook does it say you can't amend pieces at a time and as many amendments as needed as long as both sides agree. Yet instead of fixing egregious issues immediately, they choose to "fight it out" over every detail of the entire section of the agreement. It is ridiculous and Gordon probably does have a legal argument if he decided to go that route as the marijuana level is one point they reportedly agreed to months ago. If they can some how prove that, he could win his case.
If it wasn't a bluff them call Time Warner and tell them if they can get it hooked up by Saturday, then you will switch...If they can, then call DirecTV back and give them your shutoff date of Sunday 9/7 due to their lack of concern with CBS/loss of Browns programming and see if they budge then... If not, welcome to cable TV, I guess...
Actually, I found out that DirectV is offering Sunday Ticket for free this Sunday (9/7) as a promotion. So that gives me until next week to get cable (Time Warner not available where I live) hooked up if need be. {grumble} {grumble} {grumble}
if anyone needs info on streaming sites, let me know ps: "digital" antenna is a scam. i've seen plenty of credible sources (read: not those trying to sell u something) that say there's no difference to an antenna between digital and analog signals. an antenna is an antenna.
Johnny Manziel has yet to play in an NFL game for the Browns, but he's ready to proclaim himself "Johnny Cleveland." The rookie quarterback has applied for a trademark to the nickname, according to Darren Rovell of ESPN. Records with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) show that last month, Manziel's company, JMan2 Enterprises LLC, filed for the moniker with the intention to use it on athletic apparel and footwear. Manziel applied for the trademark after two other people attempted to file for the mark, but were denied since the name is tied to Manziel, who had not given his consent. Fans have also attempted to trademark "Money Manziel," "Johnny Be Good," and "Johnny Browns," but were denied on the same basis. The phrase "Johnny Cleveland" makes for the 10th trademark Manziel has filed for associated with his brand. Manziel's other trademarks include "JFF," "ManzIIiel" and "The House That Johnny Built," in reference to the renovated stadium at Texas A&M. Manziel is also still awaiting approval for a trademark on the famous "Johnny Football" nickname. is this really needed ? he hasn't played a down yet *WALL*
