Before the draft, the Browns tried to make everyone think they?d select Clemson receiver Sammy Watkins. That everyone included someone named Sammy Watkins. ?I met with [G.M. Ray Farmer] probably a week before the combine, so yeah, in my head I thought I was going to get drafted there because Josh Gordon got into some trouble. Yeah,? Watkins told Cleveland reporters in advance of Sundays game between the Bills and the Browns. Ultimately, Watkins was on the board when the Browns were on the clock. The Browns traded down, the Bills traded up, and Watkins now works in Buffalo. ?Being a first-round pick and having someone come up and get you, that?s the best feeling ever,? Watkins said. ?Having someone trust you and think that you?re good enough to come up and get.? The Bills gave up a 2015 first-round pick (and a 2015 fourth-round pick) to get Watkins. Does that add pressure? ?Not at all,? Watkins said. ?I think that I?ve met their expectations throughout the course of this year, and I?ve been getting better every week. I?m doing good, and I think I?m going to keep improving and getting better.? Watkins has been very good. But other receivers taken in the first round have played well, too. In hindsight, wouldn?t the Bills be in the same shape if they?d waited for Odell Beckham Jr. and saved the first-round and fourth-round picks? Still, Watkins and Beckham aren?t rivals. They?re friends. ?We?re very close,? Watkins said. ?I text him. We talk, and I wish the best for him. We all push each other every week. I push him; he pushes me. I watch him play; he watches me. Yeah, I try to go out there every week and beat his numbers and beat everybody?s numbers. That?s the ultimate goal ? to be the best. That?s what he?s been doing. He?s been proving to everybody that he?s an elite receiver, a top receiver, and I think I?ve been doing the same.? Watkins is right, but Beckham has done something that none of the other rookie receivers ? and few in league history ? have accomplished. If that pushes Watkins to make a highlight-reel catch for the ages, everybody wins.
[h]HAPPY THANKSGIVING LOUNGE HOUNDZ[/h] Enjoy your time with Friends and loved ones. Be safe in your travels. and as always GO BROWNS!!!
I am Thankful for my second family here on MnC . . . . . . . dysfunctional as it may appear at times. HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAWGS!!!!
For some, there's still plenty to complain about regarding 7-4 Browns. The Internet - and its first cousin social media - can be a very frustrating place, at times. You see, the Cleveland Browns are 7-4. This is the first time in six seasons the Browns will not finish with four or five wins - total. Instead, Thanksgiving has come and gone and the team is still playing meaningful football. You?d think all Browns fans would be happy that this team is in the thick of the playoff and AFC North hunt. You?d be wrong. There is a fraction, the size of this fraction isn?t entirely known, that is not happy. They let their opinions known on Twitter or on TheOBR message boards. This fraction is broken down into even smaller splints: ? Bench Brian Hoyer ? Yeah, but the Browns schedule is weak ? They?re still in last place First, the idea that Brian Hoyer needs to be replaced is confounding. For the life of me I can?t understand the impatience in Cleveland, Ohio, to bring in a backup quarterback. This has been a running theme since 1999 and each time the move to the young, unproven rookie has been an abject failure. Now, at the times of the move to quarterbacks like Charlie Frye, Brady Quinn or Brandon Weeden, the team was also playing crappy football. So, ?why not? right? Yet this time Hoyer is simply getting the job done. How he gets the job done isn?t the prettiest. Last week in Atlanta, his interceptions were bad throws. There is no sugar coating those mistakes. But with 44 seconds left, the Browns had one more chance and Hoyer delivered. Just like he did Week 2 against the Saints, three weeks later on the road against the Titans trailing 28-3 and just like he did Week 2 against the Vikings last year. Regardless of how you feel about Hoyer, what is the hurry to bring in Johnny Manziel? Currently the Browns are winning with Hoyer as a quarterback. No, they?re not winning consistently or even pretty, but this is the NFL. That simply doesn?t happen. Every team, yes even the Patriots, have games that are complete stinkers. This year, the Browns have a couple of those (Jacksonville, Houston). Yet here are the Browns at 7-4, a half-game out of first place in the AFC North - in late November. Second, the idea that the Browns schedule is weak. You can only play who is on your schedule. Yes it has included the crummy NFC South, but remember the Buccaneers beat the Steelers 27-24 on Sept. 28. In fact, never forget. Over the last six seasons it was the Browns that limped into games at this time of the season with one, two, three or four wins. And with each subsequent beat down, the opponent didn?t apologize because ?it was just the Browns.? All wins count the same. Finally, and this is just a temporary quirk, yes the Browns are 7-4 and technically they?re in last place in the AFC North. I prefer what I wrote earlier, ?a half-game out of first.? With five games remaining including one each against the Bengals and Ravens, the Browns future is in front of them. It begins this week in Buffalo. The Browns? performance after big wins this year has been less than spectacular. Have they finally learned their lesson? The Bills will either be a team playing inspired football after returning home to a battered region or a team that is mentally and physically tired from their lives being in disarray. It is unreasonable to ask the Browns to win five consecutive games to finish the season. It is unrealistic to sit here and try to prediction what games they?ll win and what games they?ll lose. Instead, try this. Sit back and simply enjoy the game. Don?t worry about the offseason, don?t worry about who is playing quarterback, just enjoy the fact that this week and the four weeks thereafter the Browns will play football with a purpose. Save social media for your hot takes on politics or religion. That always ends well.
Jordan Cameron (concussion) is listed as questionable for Week 13 at Buffalo. Cameron was limited in practice all week. He may have to clear one more hurdle in the NFL's concussion protocol to receive clearance to face Buffalo. If Cameron does play, we wouldn't expect there to be any limitations on his snap count after he missed the previous three games. Despite a disappointing 2014 season, Cameron will reemerge as a fantasy TE1 when he gets the green light.
So, 7 and 4. Only 2 teams in the AFC with more wins. Yeah, that sucks. Might as well stay home, tune in next year. As for me I will be tuned in, and pumped up for playing in the snow up in Buffalo. No you cannot bet the kid's education money on this Browns team, with any level of comfort, but man are they fun to watch. Talk about a blue collar bunch of guys who wouldn't be recognized by anyone who wasn't family, this is it. I't sCleveland, through and through. I suspect some of the Johnny Football hoopla entoxicated many and the media frenzy that followed somehow felt like success, but was just a mirage, with no substance. 7 and 4 that's substantive, hard won, and something to be proud of. Loving it, and excited about each week. That's just this Browns fan's joyous opinion.
Hope everyone had a safe and fun holiday. Got to see my grandson so was good for me as well. On to Buffalo and a big game tomorrow. Both teams in the hunt for a playoff spot. [video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIUsZbJuZCs&list=PL6873407A41CB62FD[/video] GO Browns! 8-4 would be pretty sweet come Monday.
Browns backup quarterback Johnny Manziel says in the wake of criticism for his involvement in a 2:30 a.m. incident that he rarely goes out that late, and that he?s not the only player who enjoys the occasional night out. A fan says he was punched by a member of Manziel?s entourage after approaching Manziel in the wee hours of the morning. Manziel says the fan?s side of the story is incorrect, and Manziel also says that it?s unusual for him to be out that late. He also says that he knows he has teammates who sometimes keep those hours as well. ?For me, I feel since I?ve been here, my lifestyle has changed dramatically,? Manziel said, via Cleveland.com. ?I think me, I?m usually in my home, not venturing out very much and I don?t get a lot of time to go out and see much of Cleveland. So one night that I did get a chance to go out and did stay out a little later on a decision that I made on my own I felt at the time was OK. I know there?s other guys around the league and other guys in this locker room that do the same thing and enjoy their time when they?re out of the building, and I know that at night when I go to bed I need to make sure that I?m ready and capable of going to work the next day and doing my job to the duties that I have being in this building the next day.? Manziel is surely right that there are other players who are out that late, but ?other guys are doing it too? isn?t exactly a sterling defense. Some of those other guys who go out late at night are able to do so without ever being accused of getting into an altercation with a fan. Manziel seems to find trouble. So while Manziel may have changed dramatically, it?s not surprising that the Browns want him to change a little more.
No Browns / Bills game on the tube tomorrow ]:-> 10TV out of Cowlumbus thinks the Bungholes game at Tampa is more important . time to switch back to Direct TV me thinks .I cant watch in a bar .I don't play well with others during Browns games *WASSUP*
bluez, i dumped directv about a year ago now (i didn't go to a competitor, i have no TV provider), and i've rarely had cause to regret it. if you've got a good internet connection, u can just stream the games online.
I haven't found a good site yet ? most have a grainy picture with lots of pop ups . firstrow is horrible .I know there are others but I haven't found one yet worth the effort . I guess it will be the red zone channel and the best radio crew in all of pro sports .
