May 24, 2013

NFL News: Browns sign Cleveland-native Brian Hoyer to two-year deal

May 16, 2013 by 10 Comments

The Cleveland Browns have reportedly inked a two-year contract with quarterback Brian Hoyer according to Adam Caplan of SiriusXM Radio.

Hoyer was released by the Arizona Cardinals earlier this week, immediately leading to speculation that the Browns would attempt to scoop up the 27-year old due to a longstanding link between the player and Browns general manager Mike Lombardi. When Lombardi was a member of the media and Hoyer was a member of the New England Patriots, the newly hired executive consistently spoke highly of the Cleveland, Ohio native.

Graduating from St. Ignatius, Hoyer took his talents to Michigan State where he would then go undrafted in 2009. He has since had stints with the Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers and Cardinals. Hoyer got the first start of his NFL career in a Week 17 loss to the 49ers last season. With Brandon Weeden all but locked in as the starter, e is expected to compete with Jason Campbell for the Browns’ backup job heading into Week 1. This signing will likely spell the end of Thaddeus Lewis, a holdover from the Pat Shurmur era in Cleveland.

[Related: In 2013 the Browns are betting on defense and hoping for offense]

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While We’re Waiting…Getting to know 7th round pick Garrett Gilkey

April 28, 2013 by Leave a Comment

While We’re Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com.

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“There was a small crater in the turf where the 314-pound Gilkey tried to dig in his cleats and stop the charge of John Jenkins, a 359-pound defensive tackle from the University of Georgia. Gilkey is an offensive lineman from Chadron State, an outpost in northwest Nebraska, and NFL scouts were gathered around to see if the player from a small Division II school could block a player from a Goliath of college football, a school from the mighty Southeastern Conference.
Jenkins thrust his powerful claws straight into Gilkey’s chest and it was an instant mismatch. Big beat little, for the moment.

It was a one-on-one drill at a practice for the Senior Bowl, a college football all-star game, which is the next step in the 2013 NFL draft process. Gilkey was shoved back by Jenkins and left standing on a white towel, which was the imaginary quarterback Gilkey was supposed to protect. This would have been a sack in a real game, the quarterback in a heap at the feet of Jenkins, and Gilkey humiliated. Gilkey, a small-college nobody, did not pick up that white towel and start waving it as a flag of surrender.He wasn’t going to be defined by one stinking play.” [Glier/CNN] [Read more...]

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The Browns and the First Round: Dion Jordan

April 22, 2013 by 9 Comments

We are less than a week from the NFL Draft, also known as the most important day of the year for your Cleveland Browns. With (another) new regime taking over the reigns and new schemes in place on both sides of the ball, it is crucial that Joe Banner, Mike Lombardi, Ray Farmer, Rob Chudzinski and the crew nail these three days. It all starts Thursday night with the primetime First Round. 

The Browns currently hold the sixth pick. Will they go with a defensive back? Could they turn to a pass rusher? Would they possible fortify the offensive line? Could they shock everyone and take an additional offensive weapon? Or maybe, just maybe, would they trade the pick to a team that wants to move up and snag one of those top offensive tackles?

From now until Thursday’s first round, a different member of the WFNY staff will take their look at one player in particular and tell you why the Browns, should they choose to, would go in this direction. 


Dion-JordanThe Player: 

Name: Dion Jordan
Position: Linebacker
School: Oregon
Height: 6-6
Weight: 248 lbs.
40-yard dash: 4.60 seconds

Whom he would replace: 

Jabaal Sheard?

[Read more...]

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Tom Reed talks NFL draft, Byron Scott, the Colt McCoy trade and the GOasis – WFNY Podcast – 2013-04-11

April 11, 2013 by 1 Comment

WFNY Podcast LogoTom Reed makes his first appearance on the WFNY Podcast to talk to me about his journey to the Plain Dealer.

  • Commuting from Columbus to Cleveland
  • The underwhelming NFL draft
  • The Colt McCoy trade
  • Joe Banner and accountability
  • Mike Lombardi’s hiring
  • The Cleveland Cavaliers’ abysmal defense
  • The silence from Chris Grant and Dan Gilbert
  • Byron Scott’s future
  • Hiring a defensive coordinator for the Cavs

[Read more...]

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The Browns are right to lay low with Lombardi

March 19, 2013 by 27 Comments

Screen Shot 2013-03-18 at 9.18.12 PMThere’s no getting around the fact that Michael Lombardi was a controversial hire for the Cleveland Browns. Lombardi’s previous history in Cleveland as well as his presumed track record – including a very long stint off of any team payrolls – is plenty of reason to give the fan-base and the Cleveland media pause at minimum. Even those who support the Cleveland Browns’ hire of Michael Lombardi have to admit that he has a lot to prove. With all that in mind, I couldn’t help but support the Browns’ decision to have Lombardi lay low for a while.

I said from the first moment that Lombardi appeared to be absent that it might make a lot of sense with so much tape out there of Lombardi commenting on teams, players, future draft picks and everything else that a media talking head might find himself (or herself) commenting on.

And boy did Lombardi comment. Even before he could cash his first check from Haslam enterprises in Berea, he found himself referencing comments he’d made about the most important battery in the Cleveland Browns offense of Brandon Weeden and Josh Gordon. The media was right to ask him those questions and now the Browns are right to let Lombardi do his work as GM and let Joe Banner handle the spokesperson duties while the expiration dates on his commentary approach and eventually pass.

[Read more...]

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NFL Free Agency: A 2013 Version of “Plan B?”

March 13, 2013 by 30 Comments

Cleveland Browns headquarters training campThe NFL hype machine is in full swing. NFL Live, NFL Total Access, SportsCenter, you name it – they all have been talking NFL free agent scenarios since the week after the Super Bowl. The buildup to the free agency period is as over-blown as anything you will see that doesn’t involve an actual game. You have to give the league credit though. Weeks and weeks of rumors and speculation lead up to a March 12th, 4 PM feeding frenzy. And they have us all hooked. Yesterday I was at the gym and ran into a friend who had parked himself in front of one of the TVs that had on ESPN. He said “I don’t want to miss anything as it comes down.”

Every Browns fan is so excited this morning. The new regime front office featuring Joe Banner and his trusty lieutenant Mike Lombardi struck early. Former Ravens 3-4 edge pass rusher Paul Kruger signed a five-year, $40 million deal with the Browns almost immediately after the clock struck four. Later in the evening, the front seven got another boost with the addition of former Oakland defensive tackle Desmond Bryant on a five-year, $34 million deal. This morning, Ray Horton’s defensive added one of his guys from Arizona, Outside Linebacker Quentin Groves for two years and $2.8 million. [Read more...]

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I don’t feel like it, but let’s talk Browns

February 27, 2013 by 51 Comments

Brandon Weeden huddle 2People are always talking about the Browns, it seems. Usually I’m one of the ones talking the most, but I don’t really feel like it right now. So to prove it to you, I’ll talk Browns just enough to tell you why it’s kind of boring to me right now.

Brandon Weeden’s name has been in the news because nobody can predict the future. Really, that’s what it comes down to, right? Brandon Weeden is under contract for the upcoming season. He didn’t play well enough for the Browns to not consider alternatives at the quarterback position. The Browns don’t know how all the pieces will land between the draft and free agency, so they’re not in a position to make guarantees. Frankly, unless they have one of the top seven to ten quarterbacks in the league on their roster, they shouldn’t be making anyone any guarantees anyway. So, it is natural to not have much to talk about regarding Brandon Weeden. He might earn the job. He might not. Depends on how he plays and who he ends up competing against. So what is there to talk about? [Read more...]

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NFL Rumor: Brandon Weeden could be traded

February 15, 2013 by 47 Comments

You never want to be a guy drafted by the previous regime when your future is in doubt. Brandon Weeden had a pretty typical up and down rookie year for a relatively bad team last season. He also played for a pretty questionable (at best) coaching staff and was surrounded by fellow rookies in key skill positions. Still, it seems that the new Cleveland Browns brass might have already seen enough. There are apparently some league rumblings that Weeden could be traded this off-season.

The tidbit from the National Football Post indicates that Joe Banner and Mike Lombardi “don’t think much” of Brandon Weeden. While, they haven’t said much about Weeden recently, we certainly know that Lombardi wasn’t a fan of the selection at the time Tom Heckert 1 made the selection. So that’s not at all unreasonable to assume that they “don’t think much” of him.

The Post also says that they could trade him “when they can get something for him.” Not if, mind you, but when. This indicates that either the sources of the rumor, or the writer himself still thinks that Weeden, coming off a very rookie-like season, might still be able to give them something back of value. Then again, “something” isn’t exactly indicative of anything substantial.

One thing’s for sure. Quarterbacks are always in demand in the NFL and someone will always give more than they are worth in trade. Still, it is highly doubtful that the Browns can get anything close to an approximation of the value of the 22nd pick they used a year ago to draft him.

[Related: NFL Draft: Browns should avoid selecting a quarterback early per Mel Kiper]

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  1. I still always assume Mike Holmgren made the Weeden pick. Sue me. [back]

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Expectations remain the same as Browns changes continue

February 11, 2013 by 18 Comments

Banner and HaslamI’m feeling surprisingly good about the Cleveland Browns right now. I know that sounds funny to say at this point in the year. I’ve been kind of down on them with all the unknown variables hanging in the air, but a week out of the loop 1 gave me a bit of perspective on the team and just what they’ve done so far this off-season. Let’s just say the word “rebuild” hasn’t come up much in my mind.

The Chip Kelly thing did a lot to skew perception of the Browns pretty negatively over the last few months. Because the Browns shot for the hot candidate and ended up losing out on him in the end, it distracted a lot of us (myself included) from the fact that the Cleveland Browns just upgraded their coaching staff pretty massively.

Rob Chudzinski is an unknown, but he’s already gone out and done what I begged the Browns to do with Pat Shurmur. He’s hired experienced coordinators, and wouldn’t you know it, he’s even decided to let Norv Turner call the plays. Imagine that? No, I don’t know much about Ray Horton, but I don’t know anyone who thinks he’s unqualified as a candidate. So, on paper at least, the Browns have upgraded the operation. [Read more...]

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  1. I was on vacation last week and only wrote one post in case you hadn’t noticed. [back]

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While We’re Waiting… More Lombardi Talk, Kenny and Hoops, and Greg Oden

January 20, 2013 by 1 Comment

While We’re Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com.

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Leading off, Chris Pokorny at Dawgs By Nature gives his take on Mike Lombardi joining the Browns, “Banner clearly liked working with Lombardi during their short time together in Philadelphia. I think Tom Heckert could have stayed with the team if he had been able to retain the general manager position in the same capacity, but I don’t think he was interested in a reduced, collaborative role that he would have had to play with Banner and others. Without question, I would have preferred Heckert over Lombardi. Heck, given the negativity surrounding Lombardi, I would have preferred a lot of other candidates over Lombardi. Given the fact that we knew this would be a reduced role, though, I just don’t think this is, “the end of the world.”" [Dawgs By Nature]

Former beloved Tribe centerfielder Kenny Lofton used to play hoops pretty well, you know. The Classical has a really great profile about it, “The Wildcats celebrated their coming out party with a good old-fashioned snowball fight, and Lofton played a starring role in that battle, too. “Basically, it was Kenny versus the rest of us because he had such a ridiculous arm. He was throwing snowballs like 100 miles per hour, just knocking guys off their feet,” Mason Jr. remembers. “Afterwards, we said to him, ‘Man, you should play baseball.’” Eventually, Lofton would take the suggestion seriously. But the East Chicago, Ind. native had some work left to do on the hardwood before he’d trade in his sneakers for spikes.” [The Classical] [Read more...]

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Mike Polk blasts Browns coaching search with (tragic) comedy

January 9, 2013 by 27 Comments

See if you can laugh through your tears with Mike Polk.

It only seems fitting to make this the related post.

[Related: NFL News: Browns interviewing Rob Chudzinski for HC vacancy]

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NFL Report: Lombardi already scouting free agents for Browns

January 4, 2013 by 12 Comments

While Browns fans remain fixated on the team’s coaching search (which will occur before a GM search), Adam Caplan dropped a bit of a bombshell on Twitter this afternoon.

Caplan’s tweet said that Mike Lombardi, already in the Cleveland-related rumor mill, reportedly has already been working on the free agent scene for the Browns. Caplan was quickly bombarded with replies, to which he said it’s not illegal, that Lombardi is just getting ready for the possible job and he’s not certain of possible free agent targets.

Specifically as well, one follower mentioned how he/she preferred hot candidate Tom Gamble, currently the personnel director for the San Francisco 49ers. But, as many have speculated, Caplan replied that the Browns opening isn’t really a true GM position. With Jimmy Haslam and Joe Banner already leading the charge, it’s likely the team is just looking for a salary cap expert.

[Related: NFL News: Browns ask permission to interview 49ers Tom Gamble]

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The Banner Takeover – Worrisome from the jump

December 19, 2012 by 21 Comments

Joe Banner’s presence is clearly already being felt in Berea. Nobody is safe.

I’ve been off the grid for a few days, tending to my real job (oh, if only I could be paid handsomely to work fulltime at WFNY!), but I have been monitoring things and as always, keeping my finger on the pulse of what is going on here in the wacky wide world of Cleveland Sports.

There’s never a dull moment in Berea. The uncertainty surrounding everyone from the GM to the janitors has everyone on edge. The fans are all excited about the Jimmy Haslam ownership era, but has some of the bloom come off the rose this quickly?

I was very disturbed to read that the Michael Lombardi rumors are becoming louder. Sure, you can say that it is Lombardi himself who is leaking these stories, but that really doesn’t matter at this juncture. I think we are seeing the start of something big. And by big, I am referring to CEO Joe Banner’s ego taking it all over. [Read more...]

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Grossi: Josh McDaniels and Mike Lombardi likely to become Joe Banner’s puppets

December 18, 2012 by 26 Comments

Fresh off of their soul-crushing loss to the Washington Redskins, it appears that the inevitable shake-up of the Cleveland Browns front office and coaching staff is starting to take more shape. From ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Grossi:

It is commonly believed that GM Tom Heckert and coach Pat Shurmur will not be back. Heckert, my sources say, knew it the day Banner reported to work in October as Haslam’s CEO. Shurmur surely knows it now, after that coaching debacle against Washington on Sunday.

Banner has diagramed an organization chart that calls for football operations to report to him. That means Heckert’s position will be replaced by a glorified player personnel director who will work closely with Banner. He may win some battles but ultimately he will have no real authority to establish a vision, pick players or make trades. Banner will set the agenda.

So who would accept these restrictions? Someone who has been out of the league for five years – Mike Lombardi.

Grossi continues by listing three coaching candidates who could join Lombardi in Cleveland: Alabama’s Nick Saban, Oregon’s Chip Kelly, and New England’s offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Saban is rumored to be on the receiving end of a 10-year, $100 million deal, but has no interest in coming to Cleveland, especially if it is Lombardi who is calling shots.

Kelly would be a serious candidate, but is rumored to want full control of the roster if he would accept a head coaching spot in the NFL. With Banner and, potentially, Lombardi in tow, this would not happen in Cleveland.

The third choice, and potentially the most likely to actually happen, would be former Denver Broncos head coach and current New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. A native of Canton, Ohio, there are ties to the area; at age 36, he is not considered to be much of a retread despite his failed attempt at Mile High. Grossi adds that if it were McDaniels who is hired, it would likely meant that Dick Jauron would be retained as defensive coordinator.

[Related: Did Brandon Weeden call the 69-yard TD pass to Travis Benjamin himself?]

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Jason LaCanfora: Mike Lombardi still leading candidate to push Heckert out

December 17, 2012 by 22 Comments

CBS Sports’ Jason LaCanfora wrote today about young executives ready to get a shot at GM positions in the league. In that piece, he referred once again to the rumors that Jimmy Haslam and Joe Banner are likely to remove Tom Heckert at season’s end and replace him with former Eagles personnel man Mike Lombardi-

“I continue to hear that it is likely the Browns do not retain Tom Heckert in their GM role, with sources saying former Browns, Raiders and Eagles personnel man Mike Lombardi is a top candidate for this job — something I first reported back in September. Lombardi worked for Browns CEO Joe Banner with the Eagles, and Banner respects his talent-evaluation skills. I also hear the new Browns regime has reservations about quarterback Brandon Weeden, who looks like he was highly over-drafted in the first round, and trading up for Trent Richardson in the top five, in an era of so much depth at that position, has raised some questions as well (Richardson has hardly been the most explosive back in this draft class).”

For more on Heckert’s future in Cleveland, be sure to listen to the WFNY Podcast featuring Craig and Scott.

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“Cleveland ’95: A Football Life” will be mandatory viewing for me

October 2, 2012 by 62 Comments

I’ve read countless tweets from Browns fans saying they won’t watch this documentary about the 1995 Cleveland Browns. Tony Grossi wrote about it and likened it to reliving a family member’s funeral. While those scenes depicting the stadium being torn apart might cause me to shed a few tears, after seeing the sneak preview, I think I’ll have to watch it because there is so much more there for someone like me born in 1979. I wasn’t anywhere near maturity as a football fan by that point in my life.

I know all the names of the guys in and around the Browns, but to say that I have vivid memories of Bill Belichick as Browns’ head coach would be a lie. It makes this story almost mandatory viewing for NFL fans when you consider that names like Bill Belichick, Mike Lombardi, Nick Saban, Kirk Ferentz, Scott Pioli, Eric Mangini and Ozzie Newsome were all at least partially built during this time period. Yes, it hits hardest for Browns fans who lost their team and in many ways still don’t have it back. Even still, part of being a Browns fan is understanding and wanting to explore the rest of the ecosystem that they exist in in the wider NFL view. 1 [Read more...]

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  1. One of the most difficult adjustments for Browns fans since the team has been back has probably been missing out on five years of game evolution in terms of on and off-field culture. In many ways, I think Browns fans are still fighting many of the changes that happened while we were… ahem… “away.” [back]

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