Justin Gilbert late for team meeting, will be inactive for Week 17
December 28, 2014Detroit Brick City – Pistons vs Cavaliers: Behind the Box Score
December 28, 2014The Cleveland Browns ended their season, on the field, with a pretty ho hum 20-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. After a game lead-up that included a suspension of Josh Gordon and rumor of fines surrounding first rounder Johnny Manziel, it was almost peaceful to just watch the Browns lose on the field while putting up a decent fight. Despite leading by a touchdown in the third quarter, the Browns limped to the finish with their third-string QB at the helm, with a 20-10 scoreboard deficit.
Terrance West was back in action after being in the doghouse for much of the year and he and his offensive line put together a pretty good game. West had 94 yards and a TD averaging 5.2 yards-per-carry as the Browns found some gaps in the Ravens D. Connor Shaw wasn’t spectacular, but all things considered, he represented very well as the third string quarterback thrust into starting duty from the practice squad. Joe Haden, with absolutely nothing to play for or prove, gutted out a pretty decent day on the field despite a shoulder injury that he easily could have pointed to as the Browns engaged in mostly meaningless battle. Steve Smith went for 90 yards and Torrey Smith went for 83 and a touchdown, but it didn’t feel like the Browns defense had anything to be ashamed of this day.
The Browns finish the year with seven wins, which isn’t so bad. They finish the season losing six out of their last seven which is not so good. They finish the year making far more noise off the field than they do on the field, which is typical of Cleveland Browns teams since 1999. That’s troubling, but the real story is in how the Browns react to these issues going forward, at least for me. So, we’ll see what Ray Farmer and Mike Pettine do with Jimmy Haslam watching over them. In the end, it’s a season that will be diagnosed far more down the road, so I’ll try not to obsess on the future too much today. Too much.
The Browns had a chance to mess with the Ravens’ playoff hopes. In the end, the Browns are the fourth team in a four-team division that sent three teams to the playoffs. The Ravens found their way to the wild-card via a victory over the Cleveland Browns as the Bengals and Steelers will decide the order at the top on the field as well. On the one hand, it’s nice to be a seven-win team in a division that sent three teams to the playoffs. On the other hand it’s frustrating to be the only team in the division not to head to the playoffs, even if they weren’t going to advance far.
On the bright side, this is the latest I can remember the Browns talking about the draft in recent history. On the bright side, the Browns were able to gut out a season where they didn’t seem to quit, while also dealing with major adversity via injury. On the down side, the Browns exit the season with the starter from the majority of the season heading into free agency and very little agreement as to whether the Browns even want Brian Hoyer back. They exit the season knowing very little good about the incumbent quarterback Johnny Manziel. Regardless of your hopes for Manziel’s future – and I’ve been a proponent of Manziel’s – it’s hard to think he did anything (ANYTHING) this season that makes you feel good for next year or any year beyond that.
Almost every NFL team exits a season with more questions than answers. The question for Browns fans is whether or not the Browns have more questions than they had a season ago. That’s a debate we’ll have from now until the beginning of the 2015 NFL season. The Cleveland Browns finish the year with enough wins to seemingly keep them out of the bottom five of the league by that metric. The final question is whether or not they’re a team trending upward or not. I certainly thought they were trending upward in terms of roster a year ago, even as they faced an off-season without a head coach.
Maybe the Browns and their seven wins are enough to go into a second year (presumably) with Mike Pettine that will yield benefits from continuity. Or maybe the seven wins won’t mean much to a fan base that’s been trying desperately to find a quarterback and seems just as far from answering that question as they’ve ever been since the team returned to NFL action in 1999.
As always, we’ll see.
Thanks for joining us this year. Regardless of the team, the trip is more rewarding with friends. We appreciate you coming along for the ride.
81 Comments
There’s zero chance of this. Hoyer is going to get paid this off-season.
I know you’re thinking “but he was awful to end the year”, but he still remains the best free agent QB out there. Seriously, look at this list of QBs:
Mark Sanchez, Mike Vick, Matt Flynn, Matt Moore, Austin Davis, Shaun Hill, Jake Locker, Colt McCoy
Sanchez looked okay in a system that made Nick Foles look like a pro-bowler, but realistically he’s roughly *as* good as Hoyer, in that he’s still hugely flawed. About the only person I’d really want on that list is Jake Locker, and that guy can’t stay on the field.
Winston will be better
Hoyer is still going to be a backup in the league next year, but I’m pretty sure every one of those guys you listed turned in a better season than Hoyer with maybe the exception of Vick. That’s not just the end of the season…that’s ALL season. The version of Hoyer that won games did so by not throwing picks. His completion percentage and rating were still below average in the early going. Don’t trust me on that…look at the numbers.
I like Hoyer. I really do. But he started and kept the starting job as long as he did only because he was the best option on on a roster full of C- or worse QBs. He’s got a mind for the game, and I think he can teach. But the physical ability isn’t there, and it showed over 13 games.
http://img.pandawhale.com/post-36877-agree-to-disagree-gif-Anchorma-kFLi.gif
Barnidge has made some clutch catches too.
Johnny says he loves Cleveland and the fans but I am now convinced but those words are, just like the “I’m a changed person” empty platitudes meant to charm the media. That will work up to a point but after his weekend I think he is going to start “feeling the hate” from Browns fans. That is, if he stays around his “new home” (his words). I bet there will no sightings of him until he is required to be here.
I propose that Johnny change his “money sign” to this. It’s more accurate. Get rid of him I see no upside to keeping this entitled punk on the roster.
DB depth changes in a hurry. There’s going to be a big market for little Skrine.
let’s clear up a few things.
(1) We are not trading up for Mariotta or Winston unless one of them drops, significantly. We are too low in the draft order and it just costs too much to get up that high.
(2) Manziel is very likely not getting traded. We need him to grow up and quickly, but the trade market will be dead for him because if we’re willing to give up so quickly it’ll sour the market. We got lucky that Indy was desperate at RB during the season for Trent. In the offseason, there is no such desperation.
**If Haslam can go Dez Bryant watch-party like the Cowboys did there, then I am all for it.
(3) Quite doubtful that Hoyer comes back unless we give him starter money ($6-8mil/year) and a head-nod that he’ll be the starter and we won’t be just trying to see what we have in Manziel next year. Sadly, he did not earn any of that this season. He did earn a chance to go and compete for a starter job for a team desperate for a starter (StL, Tampa, Houston, Jets?), but I do not think it will be here. We’ll have to be on the market for our own reclamation project as a backup and possible starter if Johnny doesn’t learn to remove his head from his rear.
(4) I can see the team trading Gordon just to be rid of the headache, but it’s going to be a paltry return. Get visions of a 2nd rounder out of your head and place them firmly lower. The only way we get higher (pun intended) is if we delay the pick to 2016 and put in escalators based on on-field performance and off-field behavior (including *tests*).
(5) Busy offseason with a ton of players set to hit the market and many decisions to be made. Interesting times have remained whether it be a blessing or a curse.
Locker, Bradford (just wait), and Cutler (quite possible in trade) are 3 QBs with much more renown than Hoyer on the list.
Other than them, I can see Hoyer slotting in to compete as a starter somewhere on a mostly non-guaranteed contract unless he starts X number of games. We are not the only team on the QB-merry-go-round.
Cutler plays like anything but “a Brown” as Pettine likes to say. Last thing we need to do is replace an immature, selfish kid with an immature, selfish adult.
“find some offensive players ASAP…”
We’ve got too many of those. I think it’s time we find some inoffensive players.
I’m not sure I agree with trading for Cutler. He was throwing to Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, Martellus Bennett and had a top 5 back in Forte, yet still had subpar numbers. He’s turnover prone, has a bad attitude…he’s basically Johnny Football all grown up but with less mobility.
I think our DB should be a strength next year. I like skrine, but for petes sake, how many penalties does he get a game. I can see them finding someone else for his role esp with Williams, Desir and hopefully Gilbert
RFA Gordon? Wouldn’t that get us a potentially high pick if someone wants him?
RFA in 2016 if I read correctly and we suspended him without pay and it holds up after appeals. Still, I suspect it will have top be delayed for a good pick return
Yeah, I hope the CB play continues, just noting that depth there changes quickly
With the Gordon and Manziel issues, there is NNO WAY the Browns take a chance on Winston.
What I read is that he and Gilbert were asked to watch the game from the locker room as to not be a distraction. It was while in the locker room that Johnny liked a tweet while the game was going on.
End homelessness, save the Browns!
“Has anyone let a player rot on the bench despite being talented enough to play?”
Yes. Marcus Allen.
OMG…Cry me a river. You know you are free NOT to watch the Browns? You are also free to take your fan loyalties and place them with any other NFL team you choose.
Are you kidding? Winston will be as big a distraction in a locker room as Manziel.
Cutler is not the answer to any QB questions. Try again.
He was tweeting during all four quarters. There were tweets about Chris Rock’s divorce that were more interesting to Manziel than what his teammates were doing out on the field. What a worthless, spoiled punk. He never should have been drafted by the Browns in the first place.
Today I have heard fans advocating for Jake Locker, Jay Cutler, Mark Sanchez, and….. Mike Glennon… Speechless
That turd is 10-6 for this team….I’ll take that after 15 years of ineptitude
Eh. I don’t put much stock in attributing won-loss records to individual players, such as QBs. It’s a team game. After all, Joe Thomas’ record would be 44-84.
Why? He’s actually got talent.
Just like Manziel had talent? Winston has had too many issues in college and would be just like the 3 stooges the Browns are dealing with now.
Whoa. Step back and read a scouting report. Winston is no midget, can throw to either side of a defense, and actually reads a defense pre snap. Plus he wouldn’t get sidelined with such a pansy like hit that took out Rotten since he has a body that is much more NFL like.
Whoa. Do you read anything other than a scouting report? Manziel is a a bust. All ego and a 5 cent head. I don’t care what Winston’s stats are on the field. His problem is the baggage that Jimbo Fisher has turned a blind eye to, or tried to protect Winston from the consequences for his actions. He’s been the subject of a rape allegation, cited for theft, suspended for a game for standing in the middle of the campus and shouting profanities. And that’s just the antics that have been reported in the media.
He has played in a college program with many players that have been arrested on suspicion for a variety of crimes and dozens have been implicated in incidents involving firearms. The Tallahassee PD has looked the other way when it came to Seminole players, and the coach has been an enabler for the bad behavior. That’s the culture Winston has been a part of in college. What makes you think the Browns want or need another liability to deal with in their locker room. They’ve got Manziel and Gordon already. They don’t need to draft another d-bag with big man on campus syndrome and a sense of entitlement, who can’t save himself from ruining his chances at a successful career in the NFL due to stupid and/or criminal off field antics. Cut the current cancer out of the locker room, don’t bring in more.