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May 4, 2015It Had to Be You: Cavaliers Eastern Conference Semis Preview
May 4, 2015I love the direction of the Cleveland Browns after seeing the results of the 2015 NFL Draft, but I’m almost too afraid to say it. The fear of thinking positively or being delusional is too great within me and my past as a Browns fan and commentator for me to just embrace complete positivity. That being said, I am in love with the Browns moves this weekend. I am not a scout, so I can’t say that the Browns picked all the right guys, but it based on the way I know the Browns are going to have to build their team to compete, that their strategies were sound overall.
That last sentence just goes to show how hard it is to put the fear to the side. Even when praising the 2015 NFL draft by Ray Farmer and the Browns, it reads like the hedgiest of all hedges. Regardless, as I sit here with the dust starting to settle around the 2015 NFL draft, I’m left impressed by the Browns’ process and hoping that they picked more right than they did wrong.
There will be some busts in the 2015 draft class. It’s inevitable in any draft class, but certainly one that features twelve players. It would be nice if those players selected at the top of the draft would produce because they’re supposed to have the highest ceilings, but it’s not always so easy.
Imagine a draft class is a big bucket full of water. The water represents all the potential of all the players drafted. Then you have to take that bucket and pour it into just five juice glasses. You hope to fill five glasses, but you now you’re going to spill a ton. NFL teams give players an opportunity to become NFL players, but there are only so many roster spots and coaches to try and fold into the system. Additionally, you’re going to have some guys who just don’t react well at all to being handed more money than they’ve likely ever had in their lives. NFL teams can try as hard as they want to figure out which guys will handle the massive life transition well, but it’s not a perfect science.
The big knock on the Browns over the last decade-plus has been that they didn’t have an environment conducive to making the most of their draft picks. While some young players have excelled like Joe Haden and even departed players like T.J. Ward, those guys had some rocky moments early on in their careers. We used to hear about general tardiness and a lack of discipline in the Pat Shurmur reign. And while it worked out for both of those guys in terms of getting their big contracts, you have to wonder how either of those turns out if they are drafted by different teams with established cultures that wouldn’t have put up with the same level of immaturity.
Say what you want about the 2014 Browns, but the culture was improved. It wasn’t perfect, mind you, but the franchise didn’t sit idly by while Justin Gilbert and Johnny Manziel disappointed everyone with their rookie years. The Browns didn’t completely toss their guys under the bus, but the veterans weren’t quiet about it either. And when Josh Gordon finally came back from suspension and loafed his way through some games, that it was completely unacceptable didn’t go unspoken in the Browns locker room.
It’s really far from perfect. If it was perfect then the Browns wouldn’t have had any issues whatsoever, but it’s hard for us to realize what improvement looks like because our antennae are up all the time for anything negative. It’s worth noting that even a model franchise like the Steelers had Le’Veon Bell and LeGarrette Blount arrested with pot in the car before a team flight to a pre-season game. At some point regardless of strong leadership and culture, a roster is a numbers game and you’re going to lose here and there.
You just need to win more than you lose, both in terms of drafting players and on game days. It’s easy to forget that the Browns won seven games a year ago, just like it’s easy to forget that they got production out of Joel Bitonio, Chris Kirksey, K’Waun Williams, Pierre Desir, Terrance West, Taylor Gabriel and Isaiah Crowell. They were so overshadowed by the struggles of Johnny Manziel and Justin Gilbert. And while the good stories were overshadowed, so was the win total by the losing streak to end the year. And then it was overshadowed by the Kyle Shanahan mess, which leaked into the texting investigation and Ray Farmer’s suspension.
I get it. I was down on the Browns too. Nothing felt good for quite a while, pretty much since November 23. That was the day the Browns beat the Falcons in the final seconds of the game. The team was 7-4, but that didn’t even feel good. The team played awful for the large majority of the game as the clamoring for Johnny Manziel grew louder and louder. So really, the last exciting, fun moment with the Browns was November 6 when the Browns crushed the Bengals 24-3 on Thursday Night Football. That’s almost half a year ago. Five months and 25ish days depending on when you stop the clock.
And even before we get to the first preseason game of 2015, there will be some more disappointments. It’s guaranteed. Someone might get hurt. Someone might get arrested. Someone won’t take to the Browns’ way of playing and will get cut even though we thought we were going to be able to root them on as a player for the Browns for a long time. That will be our own story to tell if we want to tell it that way, though.
Browns fans expect the worst and not without good reason, but you need to recognize it as a storytelling choice this time of year. The proof for all recent memory is pointing toward the Browns stinking, but if you think they might just get better, you might start to focus on the little bright spots and happy stories. I can’t guarantee the Browns will be better, of course, but of all the chances they’ve taken in the last 15 years, I think this is one of the best teams that the Browns are going to put out there in a long time.
I used to be optimistic with the Browns by default and wouldn’t ever dare to be that way again. But even with my most critical hat firmly planted on my head, I can’t help but think the Browns likely accomplished a few things over the weekend in the draft. Obviously it would be best if the Browns find a future Pro Bowler with guys like Danny Shelton and Cameron Erving, but that’s not the only thing that would make the Browns better. There’s Duke Johnson and Nate Orchard and Xavier Cooper all the way down to a savvy maneuver in drafting Ifo Ekpre-Olomu from Oregon who dropped off the radar due to an ACL injury.
I know the Browns didn’t draft a stud receiver or tight end, but this draft is in the context of the team signing Brian Hartline and Dwayne Bowe. (I do fear Bowe might be the Browns equivalent of Nick Swisher, but we’ll see.) The draft supplemented a Browns team bringing back Alex Mack and Armonty Bryant as well as the rookies who did contribute a year ago. The Browns will likely get a deal done with Tashaun Gipson. And who knows, maybe Justin Gilbert, who looked like a beast in training camp before falling victim to his own immaturity, will be able to become the player the Browns thought he would be when they picked him in the eighth spot of the 2014 draft.
I know it’s historically been a winning proposition to predict the Browns were going to be losers. I know they still don’t have much, if any clarity in terms of their quarterback position. I know they don’t have what anybody seems to think is an “easy” schedule. Despite the negative things – many of which all NFL teams deal with annually – the Browns put a focused draft together that seemed cohesive with the stated desires of the team to run the ball and play premier defense. It seems that a coach and GM might actually be on the same page for the first time in a very long time. And unlike the last time we could honestly say that, the coach isn’t Pat Shurmur—at all.
I still think it might be difficult to win initially, but it seems after the 2015 NFL draft that the Browns likely got better by selecting all twelve of their picks. They appeared to operate like adults, letting the draft come to them and not overpaying to jump up or down. All the old cliches that I used to spout apply about Rome not being built in a day, except this time I can say almost definitively that Eric Mangini didn’t just execute the worst second round in the history of the NFL draft.
And that’s the instructive part of this experience of being a Browns fan. Just because you can draw parallels to an awful past where the Browns never snapped out of it and lost lots and lots of games, doesn’t mean there’s anything particularly compelling about the relationship of that past to this future. This experience feels different to me. I’m trying not to be scared to believe that maybe, just maybe, the Cleveland Browns are building something and putting themselves on the right path.
As they say: If you’re scared, get a Dawg.
172 Comments
Mack definitely wants out, he wouldn’t have signed the deal and had the clauses put in if he didn’t. Furthermore, Ray knows it, hence the Ewing pick. No one is saying fire Farmer. Just saying that your praise is completely unwarranted at this point.
i already predicted a minimum of 7 wins … even with the tough schedule & not the greatest QB situation. the ravens lost many players to free-agency & a third of the steelers defense retired … i am fully expecting the browns to contend for the division title this season.
a little unrealistic , maybe … but this will be a better team than most think.
okay JAMES … you are probably right about my opinion of farmer. however , right or wrong , i strongly believe he will do a fine job & be around for quite a while.
only time will tell … have a good one.
Way to pull something out of context. You work at Fox news? Do I have to explain the spirit of that post? the one about people, maybe not you, who want sing praises now, but when the team wins 5 or so games will be calling for Rays head? Obviously you won’t be one of them, you love Ray. I am sorry that you cannot see how my honest opinion/assessment of this team can be what it is. Especially when history says I will probably be way closer to the mark than you. Oh wait, you haven’t made a prediction yet. Ill ask again, how many wins next year? Or are you just gong to say that I am without putting any skin in the game?
A minimum of 7 and you fully expect them to contend for the division, all that and then you admit that it is unrealistic?!?! HAHAHA, then why do you keep telling me that 4-6 is negative? You are out of your mind my friend. I give up.
Not the “playmaker” thing again. I just said that I think this is a nebulous term that can only be defined in an individual’s mind. No matter what I say, if it doesn’t fit with what’s in your mind, it won’t qualify. This discussion is proof positive of that. I think Johnny Manziel with a head screwed on tight performing to his potential is the definition of a playmaker. You don’t. You’re right, I’m wrong, even though I think I’m right. As Dana Carvey famously said with a George H. W. Bush accent, “not gonna do it.”
I could go line by line and address things you’ve said, but won’t. It’s equally futile. You make absolutely great points. There are equally great counter-points, but it’s not worth it. We will just have to see how this plays out. I hope for, but don’t at all project or predict, the best.
As for agreeing on a 4-6 wins, though, I’m not sure how you got that from my last sentence. I think the Browns are, right now, a slightly better team than they were last year. I think if Johnny Manziel shows up in his mulligan season, the Browns could be a MUCH better team. I have no idea what that translates into in terms of wins or record. The NFL is weird. Worst case, maybe 5 wins? Best case, maybe 10? Regardless, we seem to agree (would have to be fools not to) that QB is absolutely the key. And I guess to put a finer point on my poorly-worded, confusing last paragraph above, that is the only real, tangible thing that I take away from this draft. The Browns did not see the QB answer in this draft, or if they did, they were unable to get him. Apart from getting that QB, there is nothing they could have done that would have made this draft a game-changing draft. To that end, the QB gamble remains with Johnny Manziel. Given the draft options at QB, I’m absolutely okay with that. That QB thing aside, I think the draft was okay, and there is no reason in my opinion for angst or worry.
I don’t want to live in a world where realistic=negative and positive=unrealistic. I’m so confused. And I still think you are just Ray Farmer himself, here in disguise trying to sway public opinion, lol. cheers. He wasn’t just texting during games, he was posting comments to WFNY.
yes, i am out of my mind & we will touch base again before the end of the season …
Im not right, yet. I hope I won’t be. I think thats what you miss with me. I just can’t help but call it like I see it with this team, weather I like it or not.
previously , you accused me of being ray’s mother … LMAO !!
okay , last post on this thread … yes, i do respect your opinion & you may be the one who ends-up being right.
i’m just calling it like i see it …
lol, I agree this is all point vs. counterpoint at this stage. I was not trying to re-hash the playmaker definition. As I already stated, without the original context its pointless. which is why I tried to bring it back to the actual post of playmakers that get you to the SB. I still feel that none of the players you listed in response to that post apply. Just my opinion, as I’ve already rambled on about enough. Thats why the debate is fun with people like yourself, who know this team. I admit that I’m more than just a little starved for Browns talk living in CT.
The number of wins came from you saying it would be impossible for the browns to go from 7-9 to a playoff team in this one draft. To me, 9 wins puts us in the post season conversation at least. You said your worst case is 5, which is what i think will happen, and your best case is 10. That would most certainly give us a very good chance at being a playoff team. Yet you think its not possible to go from last years team to a playoff team in one year. You seem to contradict yourself. Unless I missed something, in that case I apologize.
okay , okay … my early prediction is 8-8. care to share your prediction ?
5. Remember? Isn’t that what started this whole thing? You think that my honest opinion is just me being unfairly negative.
History of what winning teams do and don’t do. Not the history of the Browns.
Like I said before, I guess I have a hard time telling the difference between what some fans hope and wish will happen from what those same people actually think WILL happen. I tend to speak in terms of what I think is likely to actually happen, not what the Browns fan inside me wants to happen. The distinction should be clear in my opinion, with this fan base often times it is not.
No contradiction whatsoever. As I said, the key is the QB. The QB was not in the draft, therefore it was impossible to do it with this draft. If it happens, it will happen because Manziel is the real deal (certainly coupled with what we did in this draft). After all, we were (in my opinion) a QB (and a healthy Center) away from the playoffs last year.
Pity party was mostly aimed at all the detractors that look at our team the same as the last 5 years. (a lot has changed over the last year alone) I would point to a 7-9 record last year as a fact, and place to start to hope. I have no crystal ball, but to simply state that this team, this year, is going to win less than six games is a little premature,imo. The teams we play this year had good records last year. None of them bring the same exact team to the field this year, and some have changed coaches and philosophies in the off season as well. Injuries to key players happen to all teams, even the ones that went to the playoffs, so I think it is too early to poo poo this coming season based on taking the under when it comes to our ability to cope with the apparent up tick in competition.
Again, just my opinion, but I am hopeful that this FO and coaching staff has a plan and vision that is about to kick in. Season starts in 4 months, a lot can happen in that time.
You don’t THINK the QB was there, I do. Only time will tell. I still say you clearly contradicted yourself, but thats ok. In one post you say its impossible to go from last years 7-9 to the playoffs this year. Yet in another post you have Johnny doing just that. I must have missed something. Thats my exact point. Do you just hope that Manziel is the real deal or do you actually think he is the real deal? It kinda matters to the point of the debate. I thought this was a site to talk browns football? Not some fan boy Rah Rah chat board where we all sing the praises of “our guys” and everyone gets a participation certificate. Not sure thats you exactly, but you’ve been around long to know what I speak of.
My point is that Its almost impossible to win in this league without a franchise QB. How you feel about the ones on this roster and in the draft has a lot to do with our current opinions. Obviously our’s differ a great deal. And thats cool. If you don’t have a franchise QB you have to keep trying, I say draft 1 a year. You never know when and where you will hit. Its just that important. NFL limbo is a tough place to be. Finding the next sure thing ie; Andrew Luck has more to do with, well, luck than anything else. They come along once a decade. Waiting for that type to fall into your lap is not a draft strategy I want to employ.
So in spite of this being potentially a good draft we have holes at very important positions that tend to prohibit success. I think that last years 7 had a lot of things break right for us. We were very fortunate. To count those 7 again as a given is a mistake in my opinion. Yes we were a QB away from a playoff run, we are still a QB away if you ask me. Good talk.
You definitely missed something, but that’s okay. I don’t really care.
What do I think about Johnny Manziel? I think he was a fine pick at #22 in 2014. I think he has raw talent that hasn’t been seen in decades. I think he squandered an entire year due to stupid living, and accordingly looked horrible when we saw him play. I therefore think none of us really knows what he’s capable of doing in the NFL. I think that, for this football season and possibly for future seasons, Johnny Manziel as a year-2 pro is better than any rookie QB that we could have gotten in this year’s draft. I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for what he said (and others said) he accomplished in rehab, because that’s how I’d like to be treated. Still, I think that if I met him in person, I probably wouldn’t like him and he probably wouldn’t like me. I think that he may not be the answer at QB. I think that he may be the answer at QB. I think I’d like for him to start this entire season so that we can all find out. I think that the Browns should give him a grey jersey to wear, because as black and white as we all want to think Johnny Manziel is, the dude just screams “grey.”
Ok.
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