I agree to a certain extent, but you also must have a reliance on your ILBs to cover run support. Take this 2015 class for example, Gregory from Nebraska is only 240, but plays the run well...Dante Fowler from Florida is 270 and at this point of his career, struggles...So do you take a guy who has shown a penchant for a skill that may be needed in the NFL, or take a bigger guy who moves off the edge surprisingly well for his size and hope to be able to teach it to him? I don't think they will make a splash in this draft for a pass rusher... I believe they will roll with Kruger and find a way to re-sign Sheard.
Oh, absolutely. You also need linemen that are capable of occupying the OL so that the LBs get clean shots at the runners who have their cutback lanes cut off. That's what I love about football, it's the ultimate team sport! I agree that we should roll with Kruger/Sheard and use Mingo as a situational player. In your scenario, I would choose Fowler as both seem to have comparable speed if Walter Football is to be believed. I know that many would jump on Gregory, but being 6'6" and only in the 240s makes me have nightmares of LaGarret Blount trucking him. Can he gain another 15-20 pounds without losing his edge speed? In this draft, I'd think more about a guy like Shilique Calhoun. He does both well, not outstanding at either, but not a liability in either situation. He is descent in coverage as well for the times that he is asked to drop into coverage as the defense seems to like it's OLBs to do. LOL, with Fowler and Gregory rated as going higher than we are likely to pick anyway, it's all academic. You're right though that we will probably not look at OLB much in this draft.
The NFL has confirmed that Josh Gordon will resume football activities "without restriction" when his suspension expires on Monday. In other words, he'll be all systems go for Week 12 against the Falcons, and beyond. "(He) will be clear to resume normal activities without restriction," AFC director of football communications Jon Zimmer said. Gordon will immediately slot back in as a WR1 in fantasy leagues. We'll get a better feel for whether Gordon is a high- or low-end WR1 when we see how he's utilized and how often he's targeted. The Browns are playing run-heavy football this year, after leading the NFL in 2013 pass attempts.
Someone asked the other day,, 'What was your favorite fast food when you were growing up?' 'We didn't have fast food when I was growing up,' I informed him, 'All the food was slow.' 'C'mon, seriously. Where did you eat?' 'It was a place called 'at home,' I explained! 'Mom cooked every day and when Dad got home from work, We sat down together at the dining room table, & if I didn't like what she put on my plate, I was allowed to sit there until I did like it.' By this time, the kid was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to suffer serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part about how I had to have permission to leave the table. Here are some other things I would have told him about my childhood if I figured his system could have handled it: Some parents NEVER owned their own house, wore Levis, set foot on a golf course, traveled out of the country or had a credit card. My parents never drove me to school. I had a bicycle that weighed probably 50 pounds, and only had one speed, (slow). We didn't have a television in our house until I was 10. It was, of course, black and white, and the station went off the air at 11, after playing the national anthem and a poem about God. It came back on the air at about 6 a.m. and there was usually a locally produced news and farm show on, featuring local people... I never had a telephone in my room. The only phone was on a party line. Before you could dial, you had to listen and make sure some people you didn't know weren't already using the line. Pizzas were not delivered to our home... But milk was & so was bread. All newspapers were delivered by boys and all boys delivered newspapers -- my brother delivered a newspaper, six days a week. He had to get up at 5AMevery morning. Movie stars kissed with their mouths shut. At least, they did in the movies! There were no movie ratings because all movies were responsibly produced for everyon e to enjoy viewing, without profanity or violence or most anything offensive. If you grew up in a generation before there was fast food, you may want to share some of these memories with your children or grandchildren. Just don't blame me if they bust a gut laughing. Growing up isn't what it used to be, is it? MEMORIES: My Dad is cleaning out my grandmother's house (she died in December) and he brought me an old Royal Crown Cola bottle. In the bottle top was a stopper with a bunch of holes in it. I knew immediately what it was, but my daughter had no idea. She thought they had tried to make it a salt shaker or something. I knew it as the bottle that sat on the end of the ironing board to 'sprinkle' clothes with because we didn't have steam irons. Man, I am old. How many do you remember? Head lig hts dimmer switches on the floor. Ignition switches on the dashboard. Pant leg clips for bicycles without chain guards. Soldering irons you heat on a gas burner. Using hand signals for cars without turn signals. Older Than Dirt Quiz: Count all the ones that you remember, NOT the ones you were told about. Ratings at the bottom. 1. Candy cigarettes 2. Coffee shops with tableside juke boxes 3. Home milk delivery in glass bottles 4. Party lines on the telephones 5. Newsreels before the movie 6. TV test patterns that came on at night after the last show and were there until TV shows started again in the morning. (there were only 3 channels!![ if you were fortunate]) 7. Peashooters 8. Howdy Doody 9. 45 RPM records 10. 78 rpm records 11.Hi-fi records 33 1/3 rpm 12. Metal ice trays with lever 13. Blue flashbulb 14. Cork popguns 15. Studebakers 16. Wash tub wringers <> If you remembered 0-3 = You're still young If you remembered 3-6 = You are getting older If you remembered 7-10 = Don't tell your age, & If you remembered 11-16 = You're older than dirt !!! ******** We might be older than dirt but those memories are some of the best parts of our lives?. Don't forget to pass this along!! Especially to all your really OLD friends
It really could get positively interesting for the Browns come draft day....hopefully not so much from our original pick, but with the Bills losing yesterday, their season could get ugly in a hurry... Currently 5-5 Games left to be played: NY Jets "SHOULD" Win Browns LOSE, *THIS* @Denver LOSE Green Bay LOSE @Oakland "SHOULD" Win @New England LOSE It is a very real possibility that they end up 7-9 or even 6-10, which could put them in the 11-15 pick range...That would be very good for our off-season draft talk. *THUMBSUP*
Browns FS Tashaun Gipson (concussion) has been upgraded to probable after completing the league's concussion protocol. Gipson was always optimistic he would be able to play. With four interceptions over his last four games, Gipson is a good bet to pick off first-time starter Ryan Mallett on Sunday.
Irish I totally agree with your " Wish List" there. I want Mckinney! He is a beast and dominates the best conference in college football. I agree with him moving to MLB. Perryman is a guy I forgot. I'll tell you what White is a baller also. I like the size. I love those big wide outs. My only knock on Cooper is his size. He can play the game. Great ability, I just prefer tall WR's. Plus I think Robertson is either a FA or RFA I could just imagine pairing Kirksley with McKinney! MAN! I think right now we will be drafting at the back end of the draft with our pick. Hopefully that Buffalo pick will be in the top ten. If so I want that pick used on McKinney! Our pick used on best player of position of need. WR, DT, DE. Then build that depth man. TED,G,OLB where ever.
Got a game tomorrow, and Phil Taylor is out. What a shame. The guy was a difference maker last week. How many D linemen can be lost in a single season? Thankfully we have been dealing with that basically all year, and have guys who have been tested. We are going to need all they have to give, if this magical season is to continue. I'm a little anxious about Gordon's return. We can use his talent and his ability to expand the defense, but I don't want him rushed. An injury for him right now would be disasterous for him, maybe not for the team, but I would hate to see him on the outside again, testing his resolve to keep working on his game, and avoid his weaknesses. His being part of the team is probably more important to him than he is to the team right now. Big game tomorrow. A Win shows the team has learned and matured since the post Pittsburgh implosion. Like Pettine always says, you don't win any awards in week _____, Go to work tomorrow with all the energy and committment you showed in Cinci, and we can all go home happy.
Happy CLEVELAND BROWNS football Sunday Loungers!!! Time to take it to the Texans and move to 7-3!! HERE WE GO BROWNIES. HERE WE GO WOOF WOOF! That's what I love about this roster, that I feel is almost there. Position of need takes on a whole new meaning from what it was 2-3-10 years ago.. I love the fact you listed WR, DT and DE...all of which I also feel are the positions of need along with ILB, CB, G/C and S... HOWEVER...by "need" we are talking about upgrading; WR Josh Gordon, Andrew Hawkins and Taylor Gilbert...three WR MAY start... DT Ishmaa'ily Kitchen and John Hughes...ONLY ONE starts DE Billy Winn, Phil Taylor and Armonty Bryant...Two start This is without listing potential current roster holders who will be entering free agency. My point is, the group as it sits, is still pretty strong barring injuries. To be able to improve upon that is merely a testament to what has happened with this roster the past few years. Honestly, I don't know that there is a first round draft pick that is NEEDED to start immediately game one of 2015, unless of course we lose a couple of key free agents and are not able to supplement in free agency.
Morning Irish. Sunday morning and I am very excited about being 7 and 3 by the time the sun goes down. This morining I am thinking the Browns can only lose the game / Houston cannot win it. If we don't make the big mistake we get the W. Another test of our depth as a team, so I'm not looking for a blowout, but another steady Hoyer game, and the D keeping them out of the end zone could be enough to become one of the teams to talk about, when talking playoffs. The division is going to be up for grabs til the final week, it seems, so there are no schedule breaks, and no places to let off the gas. If we can prevail, it sets us up as a truly battle tested group, who will be dangerous to play in a one game elimination. May the football Gods smile upon us today. Let the Dog Pound roar like never before, and bring down the house on Houstom!
we will also need a TE in this draft . we cant trust Cameron to stay healthy . Barnridge & Day are both serviceable but not the type to stretch the seems . armed with plenty of draft picks make it happen Farmer . this roster is far from a finished product but like Irish has already stated we are not that far off ...for a change . WOOF WOOF WOOF ..the future truly looks bright *BRAVO*
he Cleveland Browns are doing so well these days that one of their biggest fans never wants to show his face.. Gus Angelone, who goes by "Pumpkinhead" and wears a maniacal jack-o'-lantern painted like a Browns helmet, almost wishes he never had to take it off. And can you blame him? Cleveland is alone atop its division for the first time in 19 years. "Coming to work on Monday, I don't have to hold my head low," said Angelone, 38, a forklift operator for General Motors. "We're high-fiving each other, talking about the great plays, 'Did you see that?' It's just watercooler talk all week long, not just getting over that tough loss on Monday. That's what we're used to, so this is a pleasant surprise for us." Related: Ask Farmer, Why the Cowboys get preferential TV treament Related: Ask Farmer, Why the Cowboys get preferential TV treament by Sam Farmer The 6-3 Browns, who play host to the Houston Texans on Sunday, have even eclipsed LeBron James as the biggest story in this city. Three days after pounding Cincinnati in a Thursday night game ? a drubbing that won over a lot of doubters ? the Browns secured first place in the AFC North last Sunday when Pittsburgh was upset by the New York Jets. Staying on top won't be easy for the Browns, as every team in the division is at least two games over .500, with Cincinnati at 5-3-1, and both Pittsburgh and Baltimore at 6-4. That hasn't happened since 1935 when the Western Division had Detroit, Green Bay, and both the Chicago Bears and Cardinals all at two games over .500. But at this point in a typical season, Browns fans already would be talking about the next spring's draft. 8 "People say, 'The Browns are never going to win. They're never going to do anything. They might start off hot, but they'll go ahead and fade away,'" said safety Donte Whitner, who grew up in Cleveland. "The perspective I've gotten since I've been here is we've got a bunch of hard-working guys, guys who really want to get the job done. All they needed was a little guidance, a little perspective on how to win football games." It's working so far, and almost in fairy-tale fashion. Quarterback Brian Hoyer, another Cleveland kid, overcame a knee injury that ended his 2013 season, fended off first-round pick Johnny Manziel to hold on to the starting job, and has helped his team to five wins in six games. "He's impressive," left tackle Joe Thomas said of Hoyer. "To go from not being drafted, to being cut a bunch of times, to then have them say, 'Sorry, we're going to draft a quarterback in the first round.' By the way, there's never been a franchise in the world that drafts a first-round quarterback and doesn't play him. You look like an idiot if you draft a first-round quarterback and he never plays. Fans hold large cutouts of Cleveland Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer before an NFL football game against the Oakland Raiders on Oct. 26. (David Richard / Associated Press) "So basically they had written Brian off, and he wins the job, which no one expected, keeps the job, and then we're 6-3. People probably didn't think we'd win four games the whole year. So that's a testament to who he is, his work ethic, the studying he does ? I teased in training camp that he's a lot like Tom Brady, and everyone was like, 'Ha ha ha! That's crazy!' But he really is." That comparison has some merit, as Hoyer backed up Brady in New England from 2009-11, learning at the elbow of the future Hall of Famer and gaining the kind of perspective that can keep these Browns focused on the task at hand. "For me, coming from New England, this is nothing ? 6-3 doesn't get you anything," Hoyer said. "I realize that we've got seven games to play, and the best thing we've done to this point is put ourselves in position to control our own destiny. When you do that, that's all you can really ask for." Still, it's hard for the long-suffering people to contain their enthusiasm about a franchise that has made the playoffs just once since relaunching in 1999. For the last 11 seasons, at least one NFL franchise has gone from worst to first in its division from one season to the next, and these Browns are in the best position to do that. "I'd be hard-pressed to find people in any other NFL city who care more about their football team," Thomas said. "Even when we were bad, that's all anybody wanted to talk about. Most cities, if the team is bad in town, they'll just forget about it. They'll turn the TV off, and they don't even want to talk about it. But here, even if you stink, that's all they want to talk about." First-year Browns Coach Mike Pettine has tried to find a happy medium for his players, encouraging them to appreciate what they have accomplished in the first half of the season while not allowing satisfaction to creep in. "The couple days off after Cincinnati let us hit the pause button a little bit and enjoy it," Pettine said. "It's hard to have the perspective that our fans do, having not been here and experienced it, not knowing what it's been like to be a Browns fan. "But as a team and an organization, we understand it. But at the same time, there's no award for anything we've done so far. The only thing we've earned is the right to play meaningful games in November and December." Angelone, who has crafted two foam pumpkinheads ? one that he wears, another that his young sons share ? hears Pettine and yet he doesn't hear him. He's out of his gourd for this team. "I know the head coach is trying to keep the players grounded, which is great," he said. "But I'm not a player. I'm a fan. I'm enjoying every moment of this. You're not going to tell me not to be happy or excited." ADVERTISEMENT So he will be there early for Sunday's home game, setting up his elaborate Pumpkinhead trailer for a massive tailgate party; blowouts that draw crowds of 2,000 fans or more. He has smoke machines, a T-shirt gun, and fellow superfans such as Captain Cleveland and "The Macho Fan," an orange-and-white-clad version of wrestler Randy "Macho Man" Savage. On fall Sundays, there is no disputing this ? Cleveland rocks. And smack dab in the middle of town is the Terminal Tower, a pointed, 52-story skyscraper that pierces the sky. When the Browns play home games, that building glows burnt orange, illuminated by 508 lights that transform it into an eye-catching exclamation point. "Right before the start of the season, the Browns projected a large dog face on the south elevation of the building," said Don Beck, Terminal Tower operations manager. "I tell people all the time, anybody could be a Denver fan, anybody could be a Steelers fan. That's easy. Try being a Cleveland Browns fan. Now, the city can look up at the tower and say? 'Yeah.'" In other years, the Browns were reliably terminal. Now, they simply tower. sam.farmer@latimes.com Twitter: @LATimesfarmer Copyright ? 2014, Los Angeles Times
how many blockers will it take to slow down JJ Watt ? your not going to shut him out he is a true BEAST ! normaly I like watching his highlights . pound the ,control the clock pressure Mallet head who is making his first start and is not at all mobile . do not turn the ball over . WE WIN !
I agree Bluez. Get the pressure on Mallett! He moves awkwardly, not quite as bad as Kosar, but kinda the same.... I see a big day coming for the Browns D! WOOF!!! It's been pretty amazing what Brian Hoyer has done since getting his first real NFL starting shot in Cleveland...My faith continues to grow in this young man by the week. I think I was too critical of him earlier in the season if anything. He's now 9-3 as the Cleveland Browns starting QB...and he's a class guy. That's something that just shows. Good things come to quality people. It is easy to see why the team rallies around Hoyer.... ....and if Johnny is the smart football player that I think he is, then he should be all in on this in support of Hoyer too. He know's he's only a play away from having it all on his shoulders. Since training camp started, Johnny has been all business and ya gotta give him credit for that. Nothing crazy happening off the field, is good. If and when he's called upon, I think he'll be ready.. Im fired up! Go Browns!!! WOOF WOOF WOOF!!!
Here we Go Brownies Here we Go!! WOOF WOOF!!!! Time to round up them Texan Longhorns Brand them and then send them back to pasture *THIS*
OK, come on Hoyer, let's get these balls to the receivers!! Got to complete some of those to open up the run game!
afternoon fellas WOOF ! Bad start ..DEFENSE SUCKS *WALL* ..that is all . Hoyer needs to start quicker JJ Watt is a beast on both sides of the ball
Looking early on in this game it is plain to see that Watt is the best player on the field. They are reviewing his TD catch now. It is also glaring that we are having trouble stopping the run. Which Irish was our topic this week with the need of a DT and ILB. GOOOO BROWNS!!!!
