I just don't have the stomach for it. Guess I must be a spoiled sport, or maybe a sissy. Oh well.
Anyway the Garropolo thing might or might not have been a screw-up, but the attempted McCarron trade was very likely the result of angry pressure from Hue Jackson (and maybe Haslam). I doubt it was Sashi's idea at all.
I like A J McCarron, and even think that right now he'd be the best quarterback on the roster temporarily. He might be just good enough to win one or two meaningless games in 2017.
But he's not the answer, and I'm glad it fell through.
Every Head Coach needs to win right now. Especially Hue Jackson, who is watching his career flash before his eyes. (Maybe that's why he's so afraid of being unconventional).
Every Front Office wants to build a dynasty through young talent. This sort of conflict is actually quite common.
The Coaches want veterans who won't make mistakes (you know, like KENNY BRITT😨?), and don't want to give young guys a chance...well until they're forced to by injuries.
It really is way too early to give up on any of these Browns' quarterbacks...
Hue Jackson can't let himself think about possibilities or hypotheticals, but Sashi Brown and Andrew Berry do that for a living.
Right now, they're thinking about the Savior: Josh Gordon.
Preamble: The rule of thumb is that great quarterbacks make great receivers, rather than the reverse:
You can see this with Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, and (yes) Ben Rottenburgers. Check out what happens to Antonio Brown when Ben is out. Look at what happens to Tom Brady's receivers after they go somewhere else.
Ah, but there are exceptions to this rule!
For a few years, everybody except me thought Daunte Culpepper was a great quarterback. Then Randy Moss left. (In fairness, Daunte was subsequently injured badly, and may never have fully recovered. And he was a good quarterback.)
Well, in 2013, playing just 14 games, in his second NFL season, Josh Gordon's three quarterbacks were Jason Campbell, Brandon Weedon, and Brian Hoyer.
He caught 87 passes for 1,647 yards and an 18.9 average yards per-catch, with 9 touchdowns. He was not one of the best wide receivers in football, but THE best, by a respectable margin...again in 14 games.
That was historic, and Josh Gordon is a transcendental talent. Transformational, as well:
Every opposing defense's top priority was to at least slow this guy down. Nobody could. Third and long: It's going to Gordon. Bracket him.
Didn't matter. He caught it anyway, and got the first down.
He ran every pattern in the book. He slanted, crossed, came back, quick-outed, went postal. He made as many "big plays" off short and intermediate passes as he did on bombs.
This is why the athletic freak Terrelle Pryor is failing now. He has trouble separating, mainly because he's both tall and top-heavy. Josh Gordon was born to play wide receiver.
When Gordon did go deep, no cornerback could "trail" him, because he'd pull away from even the fastest one, and even if a pass was underthrown, and he had to slow down, he'd often draw an interference flag--and catch it anyway.
Every quarterback had a HUGE margin of error with Josh Gordon (except on slants and crosses--you just can't throw behind a receiver on these, and have to hit him hard and low when he has to "sit down" vs zone coverage but I digress).
It's hard to overthrow him, so every quarterback quickly learned to err on the side of aggression on vertical routes.
Brian Hoyer actually made the most of him, because he didn't have the arm to overthrow him, and just let 'er rip the instant he saw...well really just anytime he wanted (on those vertical routes).
I forgot to mention, Gordon also gained 88 yards on the ground. Just sayin.
Hue Jackson can't even think about Gordon until he is actually at his practices, but Andrew Berry can, and he is the "football guy" in the front office.
Berry played cornerback. He gets it.
Sadly, if Josh Gordon comes back and Shane Gonzalez gets a head-extraction, the Browns will win too many games to draft first overall again (assuming Josh straightens up and flies right).
Of course, Culpepper's Vikings had a nice run with Randy Moss, and by the end of the season everybody (except probably me) will have DeShone Kizer pencilled into the Hall of Fame.
You people!
You think you're Vince Lombardi too, so you won't like hearing these "excuses", but Shane Gonzalez cost this team three victories (although Hue himself helped a lot when he declined that 15-yard third down penalty).
Despite absolutely horrific quarterback play, DeValve and Njoku rarely on the same field at the same time, no Corey Coleman, no Myles Garrett half the time, no zone-blocking for Crowell, and
3-5 better reflects where this team (except for Gonzalez) is at right now.
If you (in your superficial Lombardi impersonation) want to dismiss reality on one right foot, knock yourself out, but this team is improving.
Leaving out Myles Garrett, find me a below average player here:
Either Coleman, Schobert, Collins, DeValve, Njoku, Calhoun, McCourtey, Peppers, Drango, Tretter, Zeitler, Vitale, Ogbah, Nassib, Burgess, Dayes (ok well that's 17. I could mention guys like Kasen Williams, Bryce Treggs etc and remind you of an injured draft pick named Wilson. But--unlike some people I know, I can't be sadistic once my opponent has been rendered helpless.)
In view of this PR nightmare (ie lynch-mob), Jimmy is under pressure to fire Sashi Brown. But if he's smart, he'll wait for Josh Gordon.
Josh could appease you unwashed masses. You could tell yourselves that Kizer (or any quarterback) "turned a corner" and is suddenly a great draft pick or signing, and make you forget about Garropolo and the great A J McCarron.
Talk about deodorant: Suddenly guys like Treggs and Williams are wide open, and Crowell is in Beast-mode (despite Hue's cave-man blocking scheme).
Why, in the last eight games, Kizer might crack the 55% completion barrier, and miraculously pile up a bunch of touchdown passes! His third down efficiency might spike up for some strange reason!
Listen to me: If Josh Gordon comes back, and can stay healthy, he can save EVERYBODY's jobs!
Not that YOU guys will comprehend it...
UPDATE: Gordon is reinstated, but can't even practice with the team til 11/20...well ok the Browns can still draft pretty high and you can still think the quarterbacks don't suck anymore and nobody needs to get fired.
THIS JUST IN from the only other sane person in Cleveland (Thomas Moore). Click the link.
No matter how many of you there are, or how few of us, you are just as clueless.
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