Seahawks sign former Browns linebacker to be fullback
October 23, 2014Uber, Browns, sports talk radio and more – WFNY Podcast – 2014-10-23
October 24, 2014It’s Friday. It’s been a long week since the Browns lost to the Jags. Here’s hoping things turn up from here.
The idea that the Browns have “problems” with their QB situation…
I’ve heard a lot of talk this week about Johnny Manziel and whether or not it’s possible to regret that draft pick already. The feeling seems to be that we’ve seen Blake Bortles, we’re about to see Derek Carr when Oakland comes to town this weekend. We’ve even seen Teddy Bridgewater already play for the Vikings. The fact that Johnny Manziel couldn’t beat out Brian Hoyer and that we haven’t really seen him much seems to be giving some fans and commentators a bit of consternation. Not me. I’m pretty patient.
It’s easy to forget once draft seasons depart just who Johnny Manziel is as a player. Granted he red-shirted for a season, but Johnny Manziel is supposed to be a junior playing his third college football season right now. It’s not like he’s got tons and tons of experience in college, let alone the NFL. I do think he’d accomplished all he needed to in college and I think it made tons of sense for him to go to the draft, but that doesn’t mean we need to try and judge him this second because he hasn’t been on the field yet.
That’s the benefit of having Brian Hoyer. There’s a chance – albeit a small one – that Brian Hoyer could become a franchise quarterback, but in the meantime his competence is worth a ton. While everyone talks about the “problem” the Browns have coming up with regard to their quarterback position, I don’t know why that’s the case.
People want to go back and look at Derek Anderson and say that was a problem, and I agree that it felt like a problem in the end, but all he did was help deliver a ten-win season. Of course it was disappointing that he couldn’t repeat that performance, but it wasn’t a problem, per se, that the Browns paid Derek Anderson and continued to have Brady Quinn on the bench behind him. Having options with potential is a good thing.
The only problem is if neither of the guys can be a franchise quarterback. That’s all I really care about in the end. If Brian Hoyer can buck the odds and make it so, then I say great! If Brian Hoyer falters and the Browns let him leave via free agency, I just hope Johnny Manziel is more capable and successful than Brady Quinn.
But to say Johnny Manziel is a failure already or that the Browns have a “problem” at quarterback right now seems unnecessarily harsh. Sure, the Browns might not have anyone on this roster who is going to work out for them, but I’ll take my chances with Brian Hoyer and Johnny Manziel. And maybe there are those of you who like Bridgewater, Bortles or Carr better than Manziel, but none of us know for sure which QBs are going to work and not at this point. I just wouldn’t bury Manziel’s chances or call the Browns’ QB situation a “problem” just yet.
Lobbying for optimism…
This isn’t sports-related, and I’m really not into “self help” books or going too heavy in modern philosophy, but this hit me in a good way. I do constantly try and reflect on myself and try to figure out where I am as a person versus where I was in the past. I find myself trying hard to be positive and optimistic. It was good to read an interview with Netscape founder, Marc Andreessen, and see him be a proponent for optimism.
But clearly you don’t think everything’s going to work.
No. But there are people who are wired to be skeptics and there are people who are wired to be optimists. And I can tell you, at least from the last 20 years, if you bet on the side of the optimists, generally you’re right.
On the other hand, if there’d been a few more skeptics in 1999, people might have kept their retirement money. Isn’t there a role for skepticism in the tech industry?
I don’t know what it buys you. Let me put it this way. If you could point to periods of time in the last hundred years when everything just stabilized and didn’t change, then maybe yes. But that never seems to actually happen. The skeptics are wrong all the time.
Maybe it’s because of having kids that I’m feeling like optimism is the best way. It would be psychopathic to think about having kids in the world who will outlive me and think that things are just going to be worse. I’m sure there are lots of people who would want to make that case, and there’s no doubt that things are always going to be different. If you get too precious about your traditions, there’s no doubt that you might even perceive a worsening of the world. But it really is up to an individual perception.
So maybe it’s the kids. Or maybe it’s just how much I despise anyone who plays the “don’t pass” bar on a craps table.
Your weekly moment of soccer zen… Robben
Long-awaited album from Pompeii called Loom…
This is the modern world of music where our access to bands can make them giants in our lives even if they’re still somewhat unknown. I love the band Pompeii. They’re from Austin Texas and they started in 2004. They had two albums that I was absolutely infatuated with – 2006’s Assembly, and 2008’s Nothing Happens for a Reason – and now they’ve finally (FINALLY!) gotten their new album together with Loom.
They’re a band that makes really pretty, engaging music. The vocals are more tasteful and refined than “emo,” but it’s still got that vibe as an almost post-emo sound. The effects are not spared on the guitars and vocals, but the songwriting and construction shines through just the same. That’s what makes Pompeii different than some other bands. Every song you listen to, no matter how much it has been layered with effects or other atmospherics, is still possible to imagine as a song constructed with just a single guitar and vocalist.
I’ve only listened to Loom a handful of times, and it’s not the same as their previous material, but I can tell I like it already. So happy to have Pompeii back with new material.
Enjoy the weekend folks! Go Browns. Hopefully we can enjoy a winning week this week.
24 Comments
In keeping with the anticipated new releases musical theme…
Monday!…
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e1/Rancid_Honor_Is_All_We_Know_Album_Artwork.jpg
Have you heard this yet? It is SO good. Tim and Lars are one of the most vastly underrated and overlooked songwriting partnerships in music.
I’ve only heard the early release samples.
are we talking Josh Gordon again?
1) I can’t see “Pompeii” without thinking of Bastille. I actually enjoyed that song until it got overplayed, and even got the album only to find out that every song sounded the exact same.
2) “that doesn’t mean we need to try and judge him this second”…and you call yourself a journalist! If a QB gets drafted in the first round and doesn’t immediately play, it was a “wasted pick.” And if he does play and doesn’t immediately lead the team to a Super Bowl, he’s a “bust.” Everyone loves to expect Russell Wilson and forget about Aaron Rodgers. I am most certainly not saying Manziel is either (nor am I AT ALL putting Hoyer in the same breath as Favre), but the point remains: in the “What Have You Done For Me Today” world we’re living in (lately isn’t recent enough), we all subconciously agree with Ricky Bobby – “If you ain’t first, you’re last”
3) I’m seriously considering dropping Supernatural from my DVR rotation. After watching this week’s episode, this season has just been an insult to the viewer.
Re Manziel, this anxiety is more evidence of fan impatience and selective amnesia. We were all saying that even with his playmaking he was hardly NFL ready, that he would need to learn how to play in the pocket, learn a playbook, read a defense. Judging him on the progress timeline of other QBs trained in systems closer to pro style, or QBs with worse starters on the roster, is just petulant fan reaction. A few months ago most were saying it’s good for him to sit, and maybe not so great that he start the fourth game of the season.
This reminds me of the NFL draft. As soon as the season ends we all talk about what the team really needs. But as the draft draws near months later people get totally enchanted with scouting reports about skill players or whatever and totally forget what they were sure about when they watched their team. I think Johnny’s intriguing, but even Johnny has recently said he isn’t ready. I have no idea how well he’ll do when he starts. And neither does Pettine. And neither does Johnny.
anyone who wants to complain about Manziel sitting for the year just needs to be reminded about Carson Palmer, Philip Rivers, Drew Brees, Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers.
anyone who complains if Manziel comes in and starts later in his rookie year needs to be reminded of Eli Manning or Ben Roethlisburger.
if he would have started right away, then we could have pointed to Russel Wilson, Matt Ryan, or Matt Stafford.
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that’s the thing. it doesn’t really matter all that much. if he’s good enough, then he’ll get to show it at some point in the future. there’s no reason to worry about it right now. right now we need Hoyer to make adjustments and come out looking more like the early season QB we saw.
It would be psychopathic to think about having kids in the world who will outlive me and think that things are just going to be worse.
I have no idea if things are going to be better or worse for my kids. I do, however, hope that I am raising them in a way that they can help make it a better world for the people around them regardless.
also, that interview is fantastic. it absolutely lays out the tech industry accurately and poignantly.
it hits on so many things and so many layers that bleed into everything. absolutely great find and read. thank you for including it.
Not related to anything in Craig’s post, but did anyone watch the Grantland Basketball Hour? I loved the return of “Roundball Rock” and I thought the segment with Zach Lowe was great (it was about the Cavs and he’s a great hoops mind). I can’t stand Van Gundy as a color commentator, but his segment was fine (though he is such a blind Dwyane Wade supporter – didn’t he witness the Finals firsthand?). I could take or leave the Doc Rivers part, though he did give some interesting insights into the Sterling playoff crisis the Clippers went through. The Michelle Beadle part at the end was pointless. Yes, we understand the Spurs are great, but how about some facts to back up your prediction?
I’ll probably continue to DVR it, but I don’t know if I’ll watch every week.
“it doesn’t really matter all that much. if he’s good enough, then he’ll get to show it at some point in the future.”
Completely agree. We’ve seen the opposite of this too. Through all our terrible QBs, there’s always been this weird opinion that Brady Quinn, Colt McCoy, Derek Anderson, etc. were really good QBs who just didn’t have a chance to succeed because of our personnel or the system or whatever. But all of them have been kicked around the league and all of them stink. Cream rises.
I’m still going to watch, but it’s become the show we put on when it’s late, we’re drunk, and not really interested in paying attention all that much. At this point, it’s just boring. So no, not talking you off any ledge.
http://i.imgur.com/himZD0M.gif
Like Smallville and HIMYM, I feel like I’ve invested too much to stop now, and I’m too much of a masochist anyways. I’ll watch, but it will be like Mystery Science Theater where I’m just making snide remarks the whole time.
I thought so too. So good.
I tried…I lasted until the segment just after LeBron and that was enough. I liked the skits and cartoons but it got old especially the part where Jalen Rose held a baseball bat against his shoulder for what, the entire show? Instead I watched #1 Mentor take on #2 Hudson in a great HS football game.
I’ve said if before probably ad nauseum but I’m sorry ESPN has the worst basketball coverage and broadcasters that I’ve ever seen or listened to in my lifetime. Other then Hubie Brown and one or two others it’s just plain dreadful.
Speaking of shows anyone catch Real Sports with Bryon Gumbel on HBO this week? Last week they had a piece on Urban Meyer but this week they had a piece on electronic gaming not only becoming a sport but a collegiate scholarship worthy thing. I used to be a gamer, I’m intrigued by the graphics and creations as well as stories but a college scholarship worthy thing I’m not so sure about. Sign of the times my grandfather used to say, sign of the times!
That band Bastille is just not for me. From the moment I heard their “beh dem beh dem” vocal instrument singing on Pompeii, I knew that wasn’t going to be a band for me. I know a lot of people who absolutely love it, and I can’t condemn it as music. It’s just the totally wrong vibe for me.
I’m afraid I can’t be much help there, either. With the number of things I’m liking so far this TV season, it’s just not appointment viewing at this point. The pacing is too slow, the story dull to this point, it’s just…disappointing thus far. There’s still definite potential there, and I’m not going to rule out the chance that it gets there, but that’s needs to happen sooner rather than later. I’m with nj0: it goes to the DVR for filler on the slower TV days until further notice.
It really has been ideal for the MST3K treatment so far, so it’s got that going for it. Which is nice.
I have a couple of friends that we would get together and watch Smallville mainly for that reason. It’s like the writers knew this and were just lobbing us softballs.
I could have gone to Harvard on a Goldeneye scholarship.
Speaking of NFL trades…what about moving West possibly to Carolina for either an OL or DL depending on who? Panthers can’t keep anyone healthy and the Browns could use an interior lineman bad on both sides. Not giving up on West like I said it would depend on who came back but he does seem like the odd man out in the backfield.
Sadly the academic institution wasn’t Harvard. I wanna say it was James Madison but I don’t remember.