Browns commissioned expensive, analytical study on quarterbacks
May 7, 2014Indians 4, Twins 3: Bad defense assists Tribe walkoff win
May 8, 2014Draft rumors galore. — Jay Glazer’s report about the Browns not drafting Manziel at No. 4 caused ESPN to delete its previous report, which said the exact opposite, per Awful Announcing.
In the Dawgs By Nature staff big board, Manziel is actually ahead of Teddy Bridgewater for everybody. That’s somewhat surprising to me, no? At the same time, Mike Maycock’s mock draft has Blake Bortles (at No. 11) as the only QB in the top 15.
But if you really want my recommendation for a tool to use to mill the draft rumors, check out Brian Burke’s neat visualization of draft odds. It shows the percentages a player might be available at a certain pick, based on the top mock drafts out there. It’s pretty neat.
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Local media roundup — A shoutout: Being a local sports beat report is a thankless act. On draft day, I hope to give a loud shoutout to those in the local media that have covered this draft with hundreds and hundreds of reports for their paid job. It’s easier and more relaxing to just do this blogging thing with no commitment. But dang, I really do feel for all of these folks. It’s a tough life.
Here’s what I’m seeing on the Twitters from our Browns writers right now: Tony Grossi’s 12th mock draft discusses trades that could lead to a cornerback. Nate Ulrich gives his five bold predictions, including no QB at No. 4. Mary Kay Cabot’s top scenario features a Wakins-Carr-Roby haul. Zac Jackson wrote that it’s risky to leave the QB selection up to chance. And that’s why Jeff Schudel has Bortles as his pick.
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On math and QBs — As you read yesterday, the Browns reportedly spent $100,000 for some fancy analytical review of the quarterback prospects. That has led them to a reported infatuation with Bridgewater. Ironically, however, there are actually some Internet articles that agree. It’s crazy, I know!
From the mathematical articles I’ve seen: NumberFire’s Jim Sannes has Bridgewater as his top guy, noting his games played make him a bit more confident rather than Manziel. RotoWorld’s Greg Peshek also had an excellent charting article in January, showing how Bridgewater threw more difficult passes and completed them at higher rates. DraftMetric’s complicated risk analysis has Manziel higher.
So some sites could buy into that Bridgewater analytics narrative and wouldn’t have cost the Browns $100,000. It’s kind of a silly narrative at the very last minute. Again, as I’ve quoted before, analytics isn’t a strategy.
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The Shot turns 25 — I know, I know. This is the last thing you probably want to relive. But Esquire’s Sean Manning has an article about 10 things you didn’t know about that infamous Jordan-Ehlo play. Here’s just one tidbit.
7. Jordan wasn’t yelling in euphoria after “The Shot.” He was trash-talking Cleveland fans.
A second after Jordan’s shot went in and the final horn sounded and Ehlo despairingly collapsed into a heap on the court, Jordan again leapt in the air, fiercely pumping his fist. He gave several more fist pumps and yelled, “Go home!” at the dumbstruck Cavs fans, of whom Wilkens wrote, “I’ve never heard 20,273 people so painfully silent.” It was a surprisingly emphatic reaction considering he’d been so confident in the outcome.
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Tweets of the week — And my usual favorite segment is back. Here are some of my favorite tweets of the week. These aren’t necessarily endorsements, of course, but just a random collection of interesting Cleveland-y things.
Ryan Shazier:
4.36 40-yard dash
42 inch vert
130 inch broad jump
6.9 sec 3-cone drill
4.2 20-yard shuttleCornerback numbers. At 240 lbs.
— TCB (@TenCentBeers) May 3, 2014
"Much like many of his fellow Canadians, Kottaras is a left-handed batter." http://t.co/z6Ol1vOJyy
I love that sentence with all of me.
— jon (@nowimjon) May 3, 2014
https://twitter.com/ShaneRogers709/status/463018730856120321
As noted by @GregABedard, Ray Farmer picks #4 & #26 after replacing Mike Lombardi, exactly the same position for Ozzie Newsome back in ’96.
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) May 4, 2014
I could never root against John Axford simply because he's Canadian. #CanadiansAreNice
— Rachel (@racmar10) May 6, 2014
#CAVSTACOS I just assume every NBA team has a weekly blogger taco meeting, no?
— 2020 CAVS BELIEVER (@WayneEmbrysKids) May 7, 2014
Francisco Lindor last 10 games: .324/.400/.500. He good. @Gotribe31. #indians
— CJ Wittmann (@CJWittJr) May 7, 2014
https://twitter.com/FightCIubs/status/464151414194044928
"We think Andrew Bynum has cast some sort of voodoo spell which is sucking Roy Hibbert's will to live."
"Cut Bynum. See if that helps."— John E (@jermsguy) May 7, 2014
#cavstwitter @ the @indians game. @WFNYJacob @WFNYKirk @DavidZavac @Nominataur @CavsFangelo pic.twitter.com/CHVTkNovh0
— Ben Cox (@WFNYBen) May 8, 2014
https://twitter.com/RS64mikemayer/status/464371210579480577
https://twitter.com/MattNaugle/status/464371985066496000
116 Comments
I thought it was our last chance to be able to post GIFs for all 350 NFL draft prospects rather than just the 11 we draft (+18 UDFA’s we sign).
She said, in discussing people.
I’m going to take Eleanor Roosevelt out to a nice seafood dinner and NEVER CALL HER AGAIN!!!
That’s just amazing. Love it.
I just found out that we’re escalating this issue to our business partner’s VP level and I have to lead the discussion in a 3pm meeting with the head of our office and other big wigs. Is it 8pm yet? Go Browns!
Eleanor Roosevelt is SAINT! Also, if you’re like me and trying to count down the day, here’s a way to kill another 3 mins:
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/6c5558b3d6/the-people-s-court-champ-kind-vs-dorothy-mantooth
Good luck and remember that blessed is the man who perserves under trial. So, you cannot be blessed without the trial. See, being a Brown’s fan has prepared you for this meeting. Go get them!
I had not seen that before and need to thank you for bringing it to my attention. That is great.
That is not at all how I pictured you in my mind
Is it a bad sign if our draft pick walks up to this one then?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gpc5_3B5xdk
I was surprised he was wearing pants too.
I believe that Mister Belle rang him up!
It’s 8pm in London. The NFL hosts games in London. So, you should have started 3hrs ago.
I’m still at work.
I’m not quite that tall.
Ah, you want to avoid road rash; makes sense.
http://cdn.hitfix.com/photos/4780877/Michael-Knight–KITT-Knight-Rider.jpg
That’s the Weeden theme song.
Thanks, now it’s stuck in my head for the rest of the evening…