1: The Browns may well be talking to the Eagles about including Johnny Manziel in a trade for Sam Bradford.
BUT based on his performance and situation, Johnny could only be a small part of that trade, and Chip Kelly is still probably asking for at least #12 and a third rounder.
BUT Bradford's artificially-inflated contract expires at the end of this season, and
1a: It's 50/50 that he is unwilling to negotiate anything longer-term with the Browns. I could be wrong here, but if he or his agent ever said any such thing, I haven't heard it.
This rumor could as well be somebody like a more presumtuous, less objective version of me speculating about it and everybody repeating it as fact.
The speculation would be based on:
2: The front office "train wreck". Alex Marvez on NFL Radio said that the owner is meddlesome, and forced Farmer to draft Manziel.
This is ignorant as hell. Aside from this one comment: "Let's go get him", there is zero evidence that Haslam is any kind of micromanager, and ANY owner might have made this comment.
If you're a GM, you can't be a yes-man. Understand that. If you know that you will be blamed, and fired for, a draft pick who craps out, you "talk back" to the boss, and tell him "This is a bad idea".
If you don't, you have betrayed the owner, who hired you for your expertise to do this job, and you should be fired for that. Farmer was on-board with the Manziel pick.
Rob Chudzinski's Browns collapsed in the second half of it's season, and Jimmy fired him. I wouldn't have, but can certainly understand why Jimmy did.
Haslam is being blamed for a lot of stuff that happened before he ever got here. A bunch of people never gave him a chance.
3: The Browns have 90% moved on from Johnny Manziel. This one is absolutely true. But a lot of people don't comprehend what that means.
They still hope he can pull out of this and become a good or great quarterback, but because they can't depend on that, they have to assume the worst and proceed as if he's done.
All this is is common sense. Anyone who understands business--or war--gets this.
Back to 1a: Bradford won't sign a deal with the Browns: It's possible that this is bullcrap, because the Browns have an excellent backfield and offensive line. They NOW have an above average corps of wide recievers. YES THEY DO.
They'll have an excellent defense.
They'll run a West Coast offense which is tailor made for a smart sharpshooter like Bradford.
He's from Oklahoma, and probably isn't a SISSY about the weather, and he's an adult, so cost of living and stability are at least as important to him as strip clubs that stay open all night.
Back to 1: trade talks ongoing: IF Farmer makes any such deal without a new contract in-hand, he should be fired immediately. We can HOPE that Haslam "meddles" to the extent that he vetos it.
This is business. He's a businessman. Therefore, it almost certainly won't happen without that contract.
P.T. Kelly can't expect Manziel to be his guy, any more than the Browns can. He's a better fit for Kelly's offense, but he has yet to prove that he will put the work in, or can ever make the reads.
Kelly has to somehow want Marcus Mariota out of this deal, and has to be asking the Browns to give him the ammunition. That's #12 and then some, and it's too damn much for a quarterback who is made of fine china.
Therefore, this deal is unlikely.
4: The Browns have cooled on Marcus Mariota because they didn't get him in for a visit immediately.
Figure that one out. It's too obvious for me to bother with.
5: Hoyer wasn't re-signed because of Textageddon. Oh, puh-leez! Rightly or wrongly, they simply felt that Brian was not the man.
In other news, Mike Mayock has moved Mariota ahead of Winston in the quarterback derby. Bucky Brooks, another former NFL player who I respect, is sticking with Winston.
I favor Mayock due to the the fact that he was a defensive back, and as such studied quarterbacks even as a player. Also because I have a lot more experience with Mayock, and have found him pretty damn correct over time.
Mayock cites the fact that Mariota has indeed made multiple reads a number of times. I would never be able to see this on his tapes myself, but if Mayock says he did, then he did. Nor is he the only legitimate expert who's said this.
That, coupled with his four total interceptions, shows a whole lot of promise.
Gil Brandt doesn't think much of Mike Glennon, but Bucky Brooks does. Bucky thinks that if he has a strong supporting cast, he could be really good.
I lean towards Bucky on this one, because his QBR and statistics aren't bad, and he's only a third-year player. Also, Gil pushed for Johnny Manziel hard himself, so...
In truth, Gil's whole history with quarterbacks hasn't been that good for a long time. I'm sorry. But he's still great on every other position.
Based on all of this, I now believe that Plan A for Farmer is to pay the price, and go after Marcus Mariota.
Whether or not he can succeed is another matter.
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