What do you all think of the new owner? I'm excited to see an owner that might provide a little more passion and direction to the franchise. I like european soccer myself, but I didn't like an owner who preferred his soccer team over his football team.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8225861/randy-lerner-sells-cleveland-browns-more-1b-sources-say
Also, what do you think of this offseason? I'm hopeful with the additions of Richardson, Weedon, Gordon, Benjamin, and Schwartz that the Browns will actually have a watchable offense this year -- last year was terrible, worst ever. The schedule is too tough for the Browns to win more than seven or eight games, but I'd take even six wins where the team is playing well over last year's debacle.
I'm fine with the new owner, I just hope he doesn't gut the coaching staff and front office right away and they let the season unfold before making any decisions. I feel the same as for W&L's, if the browns can win 6-9 games with this schedule, then I'll be happy with the direction of the team.
ABL....Anyone But Lerner = a happy browns fan
Thank god now we just need Larry Dolan to sell the Indians and it will be a great summer.
It's good to be home.
as a bengals fan i could care less.... however, i will say drafting brandon weeden in the first is about the most laughable decision ive seen over several drafts
mark may wins douchebag of the year... again
@SIR He's old, yes, but I've attended a few camps already, and he's head and shoulders above Colt McCoy already. He makes the throws that Colt made 1 of every 10 times look easy. For that, I'll trade longevity issues, thank you
i just meant if thats the guy they wanted they coulda got him in the third round. I believe you, colt had a noodle for an arm, and as a bengals fan i was hoping to see him around another 7 yrs...
mark may wins douchebag of the year... again
Well yeah, but name me a year the Browns didn't do something boneheaded in the draft. But you can tie a lot of it back to terrible ownership, which will hopefully change now
hey i mean i had to live threw ki-jana carter david klingler akili smith i wont say dan cuz he was a great buckeye... but i think ive had my fair amount of draft day disasters that i wish upon no man or organization lol i just want the ohio teams to start thomping pitt and balt... but pitt drafts so good yr after yr
mark may wins douchebag of the year... again
I read a recap of the Browns' draft which said that they heard rumblings about other teams interests in Weeden and the very real possibility that he was going to be off the board by their next pick. That is why they took him when they did and I'm OK with it. You go after your needs and the people that best suit them. If the Browns don't get Weeden, we're destined for another season with a terrible record, playing like crap, and no one improving. By getting Weeden, we will still have a terrible record, but hopefully our loses are closer and the young talent gets better.
lol everyone already had their qbs though... whatever glad its not my team
mark may wins douchebag of the year... again
Again, you can say what you want, but the Browns organization has been quoted as saying this. Their actions speak to it as well.
I would say it too if I looked like an idiot taking the tradeup for Richardson, and then again taking Weedon too early
That's awesome that you both are able to know exactly what happened and why without even being inside the room. I wish I had your talent.
That's funny considering that's exactly what you're trying to show that you know. Point is, no one knows and the staff looked bad overall. No disputing that
The important point is, if Weeden pans out as a legit NFL quarterback, who would you have rather drafted in his place? These are the guys picked between the Browns's second and third picks (third pick was Mitchell Schwartz, who looks to pan out as a starting right tackle, a position of need, but you can argue whether he was drafted too high):
23 Detroit Lions/Riley Reiff OT
24 Pittsburgh Steelers/David DeCastro G
25 New England Patriots/Dont'a Hightower LB
26 Houston Texans/Whitney Mercilus DE
27 Cincinnati Bengals/Kevin Zeitler G
28 Green Bay Packers/Nick Perry LB
29 Minnesota Vikings/Harrison Smith S
30 San Francisco 49ers/A. J. Jenkins WR
31 Tampa Bay Buccaneers/Doug Martin
32 New York Giants/David Wilson RB
33 St. Louis Rams/Brian Quick WR
34 Indianapolis Colts/Coby Fleener TE
35 Baltimore Ravens/Courtney Upshaw LB
36 Denver Broncos/Derek Wolfe DT
Which one of these guys would you rather have than a legit starting quarterback? Of course, if Weeden busts then the Browns screwed up big time.
"Paralyze resistance with persistence." -Woody Hayes
I agree that time will tell if the decisions that were made will pay off. My opinion is that, even if the decisions don't work out, I'm OK with them because the Browns evaluated the available talent, and took the players that they liked the best and addressed team needs. They knew what they wanted and went for it. I'm OK with that.
However, my comments are moreso directed at the lack of logic being shown. The whole point of my initial comment and those comments that followed were to point out why the Browns did what they did. This being that the Browns thought (or didn't want to risk) people were going to trade up for Richardson and Weeden and therefore they made a move. I can support my statement with direct quotes from the people that made these decisions (found here: http://www.cleveland.com/ohio-sports-blog/index.ssf/2012/04/cleveland_br...). Furthermore, the actions of the Browns are consistent with this thought. Whether or not people were not going to do this is irrelevant because it is stating the organizations decision-making logic. Both of you are saying things in direct contrast to what the people who made the decisions are on the record saying. Therefore, unless you were behind the closed doors or have some insider information, your statements about why the Browns did what they did are based purely on opinions of "avoiding looking like an idiot" and events that were not going to happen ("they could have gotten him later in the draft") in their mind.
Its funny that this thread was about the Browns new ownership and then a Bengals fan says he could care less, but still reads the post and leaves comments.
because im entitled to give my opinion funny how that works huh
mark may wins douchebag of the year... again
lol, ok bro
@Sir Rickithda3rd: My impression has been that Bengals fans hate their ownership; is that still true with the good season you all had last year?
"Paralyze resistance with persistence." -Woody Hayes
The Bungles and the Clowns.... Ohio should merge both teams move it to Canton and call them the Bulldogs. Then again, they would probably still never win a SuperBowl.
I'm a Browns fan, they choked on the Weeden pick. Weeden will have more Ints than TD's and he's almost 30. They should have gone with best availabe to strengthen team, given Colt/Wallace one more year, and went after a legit young QB prospect with their annual top 10 pick in the next draft.
Couch, Holcombe, Frye, Anderson, Wynn, Quinn, (old man) Garcia, Trent (weak arm) Dilfer, McCoy, Wallace and now Weeden 3 first round picks by the Browns on that list and Garcia is the best they have had.
i still hate mike brown just a lot less lol... believe it or not i think its his daughter thats helping. They just hired like 4 scouts( i think thats why we finally have been making descent picks). Got a great offensive and defensive coordinators (who will prolly be gone soon) yes im aware they just signed extensions. I like the direction i was just kinda upset we took zeitler over decastro. Even though zeitler is suppose to be a better run blocker.... i thought cleveland shoulda took decastro after the bengals whiffed but of course pitt picks him up. The great picks in the 2nd 3rd 4th 5th rounds all made up for it though
mark may wins douchebag of the year... again
I'm just a delusional brown's fan but JC I hope it helps! We F♥*&ing suck! These clowns need something. Born and raised in and around Cleveland so I stopped paying attention a long time ago I really would like something competitive in town.n
Wherever you are, there you be!
JohnBlair - You forgot a few QB's.
if we win 3 games it will be a miracle.
Won't matter...they'll still suck. If they don't do something this year, then it won't be long before they're sold again...or moved this time.
"There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you."
"I love football. I think it is most wonderful game in world and I despise to lose."
Woody Hayes 1913 - 1987
@OPtimistic I understand and respect your view, but you're reading too far into what I said. I just said that if I made draft choices that made the organization look dumb, whether they were or not, I would say something similar to save face. Didn't say that actually happened, because no one knows obviously.
I was joking about it, because we are clearly both Browns fans, but then you went and overreacted and made it something else. Don't think I'm trying to imply that I'm right and you're wrong, I've read the staff's comments, and just made a joke about what happens every year, no reason to get worked up over it.
^The Browns will never be moved. The team has a lease with the city of Cleveland until 2029. Also the team perenially sucks yet they always draw large crowds, if that isn't a stable NFL Market, what is? I liked most of the draft, with the exception of taking Hughes so early. The Browns are going to have arock solid O-line for the next 5-8 years and have a stud at RB. I like Weeden, he beat Luck, Tannehill, Foles, Griffin III and Jones in college.
As a Browns fan, what troubles me the most is consistency. This is what all championship teams have had, same FO, same coach, same systems. I just hope they don't blow it up and try to start over from scratch once again.
~Because we couldn't go for three~
On a side note, Tannehill is going to be a dumpster fire in Miami.
~Because we couldn't go for three~
@Jester Does it really matter when the owner didn't care about the team, and the GM will probably retire after this season? I don't think rebuilding from the ground up would be the worst option. Not much there to "blow up" at the moment.
@LAMPLIGHTER
I'll take the over 3 wins on that bet...
@william-
not to be picky, but McCoy beat Weeden in college.
No, he beat Zac Robinson..
@ william-
oops. my bad. should have looked that up.
Buck-I, I didn't make it anything else, just pointed out that you (and another poster) were coming up with theories that went against everything the Browns management had said and did. You did this despite both of us agreeing that no one knows if the picks made will be good or bad. So we have a perception problem of the organization being dumb and making selection mistakes for decisions that no one knows the consequences of. It's just not logical.
I hope the selections pay off though. I actually think the Browns have had some solid drafts resulting in some really good talent on the team. I don't think Weeden is the end-all, be-all answer at QB, but he is an upgrade. Hopefully the team can get a little better this year and win some of the close games that we lost last year and not choke as much. In two to three years and a few more strong drafts, who knows how our division will cycle.
I dig the Browns and have to agree that their drafting appears dumb. That's probably an understatement too. Not only that but their management of hiring and firing coaches after giving them extensions and guaranteed money appears dumb. Maybe it's too late now but I want them to bring back Marty Schottenheimer in some capacity. Kind of glad they have a new owner.
Now if only someone will buy the Tribe....I'm sure Mark Cuban is a fan of Major League, maybe he will.
It almost seems like the Browns are the Notre Dame of the NFL. Great fans, great tradition, but so much turnover in the front office and coaching. Too much expected in the short term...they need some consistency. BTW, I'm a Browns fan and I hate ND!
"Michigan and "huge mistake" are synonymous"
-Mark Titus
@ is it saturday
He tried to buy the Cubs and Selig wouldn't approve it...unlikely he'd say yes for another team
Those who stay will be CHAMPIONS!
~Bo Schembechler
As far the Browns are concerned...any change is a welcome change. Can anything really get any worse??
@Optimistic, Again, I didn't make a "theory". I made a joke. Because the Browns front office is historically terrible. I never claimed to have any idea what happened, but I tried to lighten it up, because you came out like I was trying to ruthlessly convict the coaching staff of the team I root for.
Even if i had been spouting a 'theory", it went against what they said, but not what they did. It's almost common knowledge that the Rams were bluffing in saying that other teams were thinking of trading up for Richardson. That makes the staff look bad.