BTW; for the record; I'm not sure how impressive it'll be, but it wouldn't surprise me a bit if Wentz had a very similar performance Monday Night in Chicago....He's obviously poised beyond his years, and that Bears defense isn't going to scare him....There's no doubt in my mind that this kid is for real. Philly went all in for a reason...A very good reason.
Haslam: "Everyone on same page for the first time" 11:29 AM? Browns owner says 'everybody's on the same page' for first time since he bought the team http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/...or-first-time-since-he-bought-the-team-091416
Browns Coach Hue Jackson knows what Browns fans have been through, and he knows external expectations for his team weren?t high even before last week?s 29-10 loss to the Eagles. Jackson isn?t just promising better. He said during his press conference Wednesday that, eventually, the Browns will win a championship. Like, an actual championship. He actually said it. ?I don?t know if there?s going to be a ton of struggle before there?s a ton of great times, but I don?t worry about people not being happy right now,? Jackson said. ?I?m going to do the best job I can with our staff and these players and we?re going to keep working at it. ?My point is eventually they will love me because we?re going to win. We?re going to win a championship here for the Cleveland Browns.? The Browns last avoided a last-place finish in 2010 and last had a winning record in 2007. Jackson isn?t fazed by all that. He said he ?didn?t come here to be average? and though he didn?t promise an instant turnaround, he?s not wavering from his belief. ?The fans might not like me for a while, but they?re going to love me here pretty soon,? he said. ?That?s OK. Eventually they will love me. I promise you that, because I do plan on winning here and I do get it. I know with every loss there?s another dagger that drags you down another few feet deeper. ?That?s OK. I?ve been there before. I?m a fighter. We?re going to get back up and we?re going to keep swinging. We?re going to be fine.?
Can I get a heads up next time? I need to have my nitro pills within arms reach when you post something like this.
Gotta like Hue Jackson's confidence and enthusiasm....I just hope "The Factory" doesn't wear him down before he can achieve those goals. One game in, and he's already lost HIS quarterback..That's rough..Things go that way around here. I don't think any true Browns fan was shocked at the news that Griffin was hurt seriously, but it's almost to the point now where Browns fans are just numb to it. We expect the worst around here. I would have been shocked if they said he was fine, to be honest.... Hopefully coach can block all those negative vibes out and truly change the culture of Cleveland football....I love the things that our coach says about eventually winning championships here, but that is stuff we've heard from every regime. Nobody comes in saying, "we are striving for mediocrity!"....We'll see if he still has that same spirit going into year three. For the sake of our Cleveland Browns I sure hope so....Don't want to see another coach get overwhelmed by it all...I know this much, he can't do it alone....He must find a QB.
Losing your starting quarterback to a Week One injury is never a good thing. Except in Cleveland, where some in the Browns organization think it could be. That?s the word from Adam Schefter of ESPN, who reports that some in the Browns building think Robert Griffin III?s injury could turn out to be a good thing for the franchise because coach Hue Jackson was too focused on fixing Griffin. Those (unnamed) people think that with Griffin hurt, Jackson will move on to building for the future, and Griffin is not part of that future. If that?s the case, it suggests that Jackson isn?t on the same page as the analytics gurus in the front office, which has been reported before. It sounds like Jackson believed that Griffin could be the Browns? long-term franchise quarterback, but the front office saw him as a stopgap until a long-term franchise quarterback can be identified. Could that long-term franchise quarterback be third-round rookie Cody Kessler? The report says that Kessler ?is not close to being ready to play,? which means that it would be a while before the Browns would consider benching Josh McCown to give Kessler some playing time. So for the foreseeable future, the one quarterback who definitely is not the long-term starter ? McCown ? will be starting, while Kessler watches from the sideline and Griffin recovers from his injury. Eventually the Browns need to identify a franchise quarterback, hopefully one that everyone in the building can agree on.
The plan this year is to tank, develop young drafted players, cut payroll and doing it under the radar. The fan base is going nowhere. Thomas will get traded. They should of done this type of rebuild when they drafted him. This draft they will draft O-line, LBs and DBs. By trading Thomas they will get a late 1st rd pick. That will give them 3 1st rd picks. Thomas is no longer the LT of the future. Plus he makes mad money. So he will be traded.
The future QB is not on the roster. They will draft that in year 3 of this rebuild. That QB is not in this draft.
What makes you think he is in the 2018 draft? If the Browns are in the #1 overall position in 2017, they better take DeShone Loser. As they might never be in position again to take a franchise caliber QB. Kaiser had improved leaps and bounds from 2015-16..the only thing that would bar me from this position is injury or him staying for his senior season, which is a real possibility. If the Browns have a top 2 pick two years in a row, this front office/coaching staff will be fired...and they will have to start over yet again. I expect an increased production next year that may get us out of the top ten picking...that would go against everything they believe in if they have to mortgage future picks to move up to a position to draft that QB. Not to mention Harlem probably won't let them off the hook of possibly missing on another Wentz.
Els, you could be right in that the QB of the future isn't on the roster today. But, he could be on the Practice Squad.
Kirk Cousins will be available at the end of this year. I have a feeling he will never sign a contract to stay in DC.
Hopefully, where the Browns pick in the next draft isn't going to be a huge determining factor for him as far as whether or not he should return for his senior season.... How far do you guys truly think we are away from starting Cody Kessler? The way McCown plays, if we don't make a move, week 3 could be his first start....Nothing against McCown, I know he's a gamer, but his age and style don't generally coincide with staying upright in this league..... I heard a rumor yesterday the Browns were not comfortable with Kessler at #2 and might go after Michael Vick...Yay. I might finally get my wish...Oh wait. it's about 6 years too late..lol! .I know how most of you guys feel about Vick, so we don't even need to discuss this. I heard Vick would only sign with a team if he's named starter, so I doubt this will happen anyway. He also wants to go to a contender, sooooooo....... The other name I heard mentioned was Jake Locker....Didn't he retire because of a neck injury? That doesn't sound like a good idea.....Actually neither of these guys sounds like a better option than McCown. But where are we if McCown gets "helicopter" smashed through another end zone?
Really doesn't matter, if McCown goes down, we might not win a game in 2016. With McCown, after watching last week, we still might not win one...Without him, you throw Kessler to the wolves and see if he can fight them off to become a QB by the end of the season. Nothing like game time to learn...if he doesn't even come close to looking like a starter after 4 games or so, Bring in Hogan to see what he has...Nothing, then you get one in the draft that you know you have the ammunition to get one in... There are three worthy prospects in this draft, Kizer, Watson and Kaaya. All three are at a level, at this point, higher than anyone had either Goff or Wentz going into the draft. All have just as good a chance to become starting caliber than any that will be available in 2018...unless of course Lamar Jackson comes out, I think that kid is going to be a baller. I think the top of 2018 will be Rosen (who is the same age as Jackson)... However, neither are any more qualified than the 3 mentioned above, that I believe will be in the 2017 draft.
it's interesting to speculate about the QB, but God help us if we really had to go through all 4 guys. A very young team that needs some stability at the QB position in order to get their own positions down. I know Josh won't make anyone forget Joe Montana, but I sincerely hope he can go at least 8 games, so we can see what we have at the other offensive positions. I'm not opposed to seeing what Kessler or Hogan can do, but I don't hold much hope for either, but who knows, maybe there's a diamond in there. It's game Tue of Hue, so let's hope we see some growth. It would be nice if our powerhouse D wasn't asked to spend 40 minutes on the field, but if they do then that's just more playing time and learning. I guess. I'm hoping the boring Josh McCown brings us some first downs and drives. It's nice to hit the long ball, but it doesn't do much to help the team gain reps and learn the bread and butter. Hey Josh is pure white bread anyway, so slap on some butter and lets eat.
I agree 100% Ken, it simply comes down to how Josh plays, like Lym said. He doesn't respect his 37 year old body enough to know he can't be diving into a pile of defenders to get a TD, or even a 1st down. While I respect the effort, I would rather have him for 8+ games than a single TD and then out for the year. I don't believe in Kessler...first to admit it. First impressions are lasting and from what I saw in pre-season...A HIGH SCHOOL QB should know where he is on the field and not run out of the back of the end zone...are you kidding me??? That is not the sign of a guy who is just going to "get it" any time soon. It is the sign of a guy who panics..Not even a good trait for a career backup QB in this league. I worry about Hogan, simply because he is a 2016 5th round draft pick that was cut due to performance, not injury, before his initial season ever began on a team that utilizes a system QB that only has to control the game. He isn't asked to provide spectacular plays, just run a simple offense...he must've failed miserably to not even be asked to sign to the practice squad, unless of course he CHOSE the Browns over the Chiefs....That would throw every theory that stopper and Els have ever wrote about players view of the Browns... I don't have high hopes for this season now that Griffin has once again bucked the warnings to slide and is now out for a significant time. I think we can win some games IF and only IF McCown stays upright. The competitor in him has me doubting that is possible... If nothing else, I hope to see a win in the home opener this week to keep our home opener streak alive and well at 3.
I have not read anything regarding how Hogan ended up with the Browns instead of being on the practice squad with the Chiefs, but it would not surprise me in the least if he opted to go to Cleveland in the hopes of getting a better chance to get on the field. Hogan, by all accounts, is a high character player and extremely competitive. I doubt that he failed miserably. Most reporting on him put him squarely in the mix for the third job until the signing of Nick Foles. I think the more likely scenario is that when Nick was signed, the obvious back-up and potential successor to Alex Smith was now in place. The third spot would be filled by a player that already has knowledge of the system and has been on the roster previously. That would mean that both Tyler Bray and Aaron Murray would compete for that last spot making Hogan the odd man out. With 3 quarterbacks carried on the roster filling all 3 needs in what a coaching staff looks for in reserves, there was little reason for the Chiefs to sign a quarterback to the practice squad. It makes more sense to develop talent at other areas to build depth. As for Hogan, he was one of 3 later round quarterbacks that I viewed as potential NFL starters (Dak Prescott and Jacoby Brissett). I would take him over Kessler every time, without blinking, and I believe he can be a starter for the Browns if opportunity grants him a chance.
So what you are saying is, the Chiefs SHOULD NOT take a chance on their newly acquired 5th round QB to learn a system as the 3rd string guy, but instead keep a player over him that has spent his past two seasons on IR for separate injuries? Sorry, that doesn't make any sense to me. If the player is better, and by all accounts he must not have been, then he stays and learns the system. 5th rounders get cut all the time, I get that, but when he is cut going against a guy who hasn't been available due to injuries for over two years...well, that also says a lot about their evaluation of that player. Hey, I have MAD RESPECT for my own evaluations as well of college players prior to their NFL career actually beginning, but the real pro scouts didn't have him evaluated higher than a 5th round draft pick...and now practice squad member on his second team in his initial year as a pro...At least the Browns think enough of Kessler to keep him over their own QB that has been on the team in Austin Davis...who has been available to play the past two seasons, not injured. I don't know what about his Professional career would have you still believing in him...For me, it is telling and I really don't want to rely on him in any capacity to be a starter for my Browns.
That's not what I said. I am saying that it should be no shocker, or some kind of extreme indictment on what Hogan has to offer at the professional level, that the now 3rd string QB was on the roster prior to the drafting of the 4th option (Aaron Murray) and gets the nod over a rookie that had little opportunity in the preseason to compete. If it's a strong indicator of any single player in that particular quarterback competition it would be that Aaron Murray's arrow is pointed down. Kessler was Hue's hand picked quarterback that went 4 rounds early. The only way he was not making the roster was if he was injured. The fact that Hogan has had no professional career to speak of means that there is nothing to point against him having an opportunity to learn and develop into a starter in the NFL. He simply hasn't had an opportunity to step in and have a real chance. And for the record, this isn't a player that I believed could come into the league as a rookie and be an every down starter. He has some traits that I like to see in a starter quality quarterback. The Chiefs are not in a situation where they need to continue to develop a QB or else Aaron Murray would have landed on their practice squad ahead of Hogan.
