Not the way you wanted to start your week, but this morning we found out that former New England Patriot Pro Bowl Wide Receiver, Terry Glenn, passed away at the age of 43.
Dallas County medical examiner's office said former Cowboys and Patriots WR Terry Glenn died at Parkland Memorial Hospital at 12:52 a.m. They said the cause was a "suspected motor vehicle accident." Glenn was 43.
I’m speechless. My @Patriots Class Of ‘96 teammate and hands down most talented natural athlete I’ve seen in person. Terry kept to himself but was a good Dude with a big smile that lit up the room when it came out. #RIP#Patriotshttps://t.co/xk5HCng1gj
He was an incredible talent on the field, an Ohio State legend and a 2x Pro Bowler in the NFL. Glenn was named to the Patriots All-1990’s Team.
Terry left behind his wife and three children. He was promoted to Offensive Coordinator for the Texas Revolution of the Champions Indoor Football League on April 3, 2015 and coached up until his death.
Moving towards the end of another miserable year, it is time to start evaluating the Browns roster, and identify spots in which they need to add depth during the offseason. There is no position more glaring than Quarterback. Or is there?
Kizer’s rookie stat line is not pretty at all. No Browns Quarterback since Bernie Kosar has had a pretty stat line, but that’s neither here nor there. The problem with evaluating Kizer, is the fact that Hue gets trigger happy, and yanks from some games.
Hue likes to call one of the more complex offensive schemes in the NFL. That doesn’t help. It’s a hybrid of the West Coast offense, which is pass heavy. Hue loves to motion 7 guys pre-snap, have a billion fakes, and make it so Kizer has defenders on his throat faster than most.
It doesn’t help that DeShone has the worst collection of offensive skill players in the league. This past weeks game was Kizer’s best. He was 21 of 37 for 232, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. He rushed for 57 yards, and a score on the ground.
It was a performance that I had expected from Kizer for most of the season. After his strong start against the Steelers, I expected similar performances games with around 200 yards, a score, and an interception.
Browns officially activated WR Corey Coleman off IR.
Hopefully in the coming weeks Kizer’s game can grow. Help is on the way with Corey Coleman back this week, and Josh Gordon along the horizon. I would LOVE to have Kizer play the full 7 games remaining. Lets see if he’s got anything in him. If they compete to win 2, 3, maybe even 4 games roll with the kid in 2018. Use the draft to re-stock the talent pool, and build on what you have. If he goes 1 win or less it’s time to move on. BY move on, I mean bring either a vet in, or draft a rookie high. Kizer would then be relegated to backup duties, and I think it would make a for a fantastic backup plan.
What scenario do I want to see play out? Well, I would love to end the QB discussion in one foul swoop. Enough, is enough……..
Kirk fucking Cousins. That’s right. You hate Dan Snyder? Oh no worries! Our team sucks so bad we’ll have over $70 million in cap space to offer you a monstrosity of a contract. I am as big of a Kirk Cousins supporter as there is out there. He gets the job done on mediocre teams. Hell, last year on a bubble playoff team he threw for nearly 5,000 yards. I’d love to throw a whole shitload of money at him, and use our absurd number of picks to build on the talent already in the room. Couple that with a few more free agent veterans to supplement the rookies Hell, maybe we could kick the tires at a Terelle Pryor return to Cleveland?
Kirk brings experience, leadership, and continuity to the Browns QB room for the first time in years. If he somehow doesn’t pan out, you’ve got Kizer in the wings as an insurance plan. Not bad at all.
Backup plan if he re-signs in Washington, or is traded out west? There was a very good Quarterback relegated to the bench this past week in Buffalo. Tyrod baby. Most of all the same logic applies. He would be less money, but still a healthy amount.
I mean look at those stats? Buffalo is benching a guy with an overall QBR in the 90’s. I would absolutely love for the Browns to kick the tires on him if he hits the open market. I wonder what the Browns record would be if we had a Quarterback with that stat line?
When it comes to the 2017 draft class that was hyped to be a god send, I would love to stay away from it. We passed on Wentz, Goff, Watson, Trubiski, Mahommes, and others. Again I think it would best for all parties involved, to not draft a QB high. It allows the Browns to sign a vet, and develop what they have int he system already. What is the point of drafting a guy from college who has a high probability of becoming a bust? Sam Rosen? Pass. Sam Darnold? Since when has USC EVER developed a good to very good NFL QB? Palmer is the only one the comes to mind. Whats John David-Booty up to these days?
If the Browns draft a QB, I would love to see them take a shot on Baker Mayfield, but I admit he will be boom or bust. He’s a 6’2 220 lb Manziel.
FINAL VERDICT: Cousins, or Taylor coupled with sophomore DeShone Kizer.
Un-fucking-believable. According to Will Burge, Mike Singletary was hanging around Berea interviewing with the Browns. It is still unclear what exactly he was interviewing for. All that’s known is he had a huge binder with interview material. Not good. Definitely not good.
^ This is good news. Singletary turned himself into a complete laughing stock as Head Coach of the San Francisco 49ers. His record as their head coach was 18-22. Not bad, but certainly nothing to write home about in any way. He is probably more known for his media rants than wins and losses.
So what exactly could this clown be interviewing for? Well, there are a few theories being workshopped on the matter:
Singletary was a Defensive Assistant with Gregg Williams for the Los Angeles Rams in 2016. The Browns could be looking to hire him in the same capacity.
There seems to be a gap between the Front Office and Coaching Staff. The two Front Office Guys (Depodesta, and Sashi Brown) are not from a Football background. It is possible they are hiring a “Football Mind” to be the bridge from Front office to the coaching staff.
Head coach is still a possiblity- or maybe coaching in the interim capacity, if Jimmy and Dee Haslam decide to axe Hue Jackson.
Perhaps Hue Jackson will be fired, and Gregg Williams will be promoted to HC, while Singletary takes over as DC.
Personally, I see the second option being the most plausible. The reports of the gap between the two groups within the two groups inside the organization have been damning. I believe the Haslam’s are working to hire that “football mind” that would be able to work with both the Geek squad, and Hue and co. I can sadly see options 3 and 4 being legitimate as well. Lets hope for the best here, but I have a sinking feeling.
Another week, another loss for the 2017 Cleveland Browns. The Browns traveled to Detroit this Sunday to make some NFL history. They haven’t won a game on Sunday since, well a long ass fucking time.
The Browns have set an NFL record with their 26th consecutive loss on a Sunday. pic.twitter.com/aeuuwfs1X5
Last years win over the San Diego Chargers was on a Saturday, so that one doesn’t count. The Browns have failed to win on a Sunday since 2015. Miserable is the only way to describe it. Being a fan of a bad team is hard. Being fan of a team as bad as the Browns? 1000 times harder. It flat out sucks.
This one started out great. The Browns got up on the Lions early. The defense dug in to make stops, and the office was able to piece together two scoring drives. It wasn’t pretty, but they were up 10-0 through the first quarter of play.
At the end of the first quarter Matt Stafford engineered a field goal drive to cut the lead to 10-3. Later, Ameer Abdullah rushed 8 yards to tie the score at 10. Just like that the lead was gone. On the ensuing possession, Seth Devalve caught a laser from Kizer, cut up-field, and Lions defender Kevin Lawson punched the ball from Devalve’s arm. The ball bounced right back into Lawson’s hands, and he took it 44 yards up the sideline to the house. 17-10 Lions.
Things seemed like they could be different on this Sunday, as rookie DeShone Kizer lead a two minute drive down to the Detroit 2 yard line with about 20 seconds left in the half. What happened next cannot even be made up. The Browns were out of timeouts, it was second and goal, and Kizer decided to sneak it up the middle. He was stuffed. Not only was he stuffed, but there was a massive pile of players on top of him. The clocked ticked as the wreckage cleared. They were not able to make it back to the line of scrimmage in time to spike the ball. 31 of 32 NFL teams manage points in that situation. The Browns got 0. 17-10 Lions at the half.
Still, all was not lost. In the second half the Browns continued to fight hard. They even regained the lead at one point in the third quarter. With the Browns up 24-17 the Lions rattled off 21 straight points to close the game.
This one hurt. They all do, equally. Each loss adds weight to the pain. There is a silver lining for some fans who want the number 1 overall draft pick, however fuck that. I don’t want the number 1 pick. I want a competitive football team that can win some fucking football games. It’s definitely nice to have high draft selections, but teams like the Patriots, and Steelers continuously prove that you can draft in the 20’s-30’s consistently and win.
5 positives:
Defense is still decent enough. They struggled at times in this one, but in general made enough plays to get a win. Jamie Collins got an INT, and Jason McCourty continued his Pro-Bowl calibre play. (Th
DeShone Kizer registered his best performance as a pro. He went 21-37 for 232 yards, and 1 touchdown. Kizer also added 57 yards, and 1 td through the ground.
The ground game got going a bit. Crow registered his best game of 2017 with 90 yards on 16 carries. He averaged a shade under 6 yards a carry.
Kenny Britt caught a touchdown pass? I guess that was cool?
Hue Jackson apparently fell on the sword for his young rookie QB. Hue took responsibility for the QB sneak debacle. After the game Seth Devalve was quoted in saying, “”We had a different play called, and DeShone took it upon himself to sneak it,” DeValve said. “That wasn’t a bad thing to do, but we didn’t get it and that’s unfortunate.” How nice of you Hue.
To finish it off lets take a quick glimpse at what hurts the most for a Browns fan after another brutal loss:
Lions S Glover Quin, in explaining why the game was so close, said the Browns have better athletes than probably 24 of the 32 NFL teams
WHAT THE FUCK MAN?!? I think Glover needs to be checked into one of those sideline medical tents. I think being in the top 8 is a bit of a reach, but seeing other compliment on the teams overall talent in this way makes me sick. What the fuck is it then?
In a surprising move, the Green Bay Packers have released tight-end Martellus Bennett. The 10 year veteran signed a 3 year, $21 million deal this off season. Bennett, has under performed this year ]– played 7 games for the Packers hauling in 24 catches for 233 yards and 0 touchdowns.
The #Packers have released TE Martellus Bennett, according to the transaction wire, with a failure to disclose designation.
The #Packers paid TE Martellus Bennett $8M of his 3-year, $21M contract. The only tangible benefit to cutting him with the failure to disclose is if they argue his entire contract is void & go after his money. This isn’t over just yet.
Bennett has indicated that he would retire at the end of this year, but this move is still surprising. Now that he is a FA, a possible landing spot/reunion could be in New England, where they are running out of healthy WR’s and could benefit from running a two TE set. If NE were to bring back Bennett, I would imagine they would release Dwayne Allen who has been a no show all year and keep rookie Jacob Hollister as the #3 TE. With that said, him landing back in NE is a long shot. A more likely landing spot is a team like Pittsburgh or Jacksonville.
Well. How have we gotten here? How has it gotten this bad? It’s been awhile since I’ve last written about my beloved Browns. This year has been extra painful. The signs of a competitive team were there. It all came crashing down thanks to Jacoby Brissett and the Indianapolis Colts. In the second quarter of the Browns week three matchup with Indy, the Colts rattled off 21 unanswered points in the second quarter. The halftime score was 28-7 Colts. The Browns were able to make it a game but ultimately ended up falling short, mostly in part to the fact that Hue Jackson is quite simply the worst head coach of all time. The Browns were mounting a comeback in the second half, slowly chipping away at the game — when this asshole blows all his timeouts prior to the fourth quarter even starting. They managed to get within one possession, but it was simply too late. Without any timeouts, Brissett ran out the clock for a 31-28 Colts win.
Week 3 was it. That was the game that put it all in perspective. They suck. Miserably. At times they look worse than last years 1-15 squad. The talent is so barren at many crucial positions.
Last week was turmoil to the 10th degree. The Browns allegedly botched a last minute trade deadline deal for AJ McCarron. There has been a reported riff between the front office and coaching staff. It all came to boil when the Patriots traded Jimmy Garappolo to the 49ers. The Browns wanted him badly, and the coaches were upset that the front office was apparently home unaware of the Jimmy G trade.
Luckily last week was their scheduled bye week after a beatdown in London. 0-8 is where this squad stands. No end in sight, or is there?
Josh Gordon is back! The only good news of the season to date. Gordon has been conditionally reinstated, and allowed to participate in team activities. He’s able to hit the practice field on 11/22, and eligible to play by week 12.
Boy do we need a weapon. A guy who can run the fuck by you, around you, or through you. Gordon can do it all. He’s just a supreme athlete. Naturally better than everyone else.
The last time Josh attempted a comeback was in 2016. He attempted to comeback after missing two seasons due to suspension. He played in one preseason game — and he made a miraculous catch with Brent Grimes all over him.
After two years of sitting on his ass:
I’m not expecting Josh to return to his 2013 form. It was that year, in which he looked like a future hall of famer. However, I do have hope that he can still be very good and contribute. He has natural gifts, and he’s not going to be stoned this time (allegedly).
The Browns will have second year wideout Corey Coleman returning by week 11 to solidify the beat up receiving group. Lets hope that Njoku, Johnson, Crowell, Coleman, and Gordon can be true weapons for Kizer. Kizer has all the ability, and none of the talent around him to succeed. The group isn’t great, but those guys are all weapons. They should all be able to contribute and carry a portion of the load.
This season has been miserable so far. 8 weeks to go, and a shot to wipe the slate clean. The Browns will open up the second half against the Lions this week, at Ford Field. Should be a tough game considering the Lions are coming off a big (not really) win at Lambeau Field. It’d be great if they could squeak out a couple of wins to end this thing off right, but I won’t hold my breath. The goal is 4. Get to 4-12 if it all possible. If not, go 1-15. 2-14, or 0-16 to lock up the first pick and go from there.
I don’t remember much from my Economics degree in school, and I use even less in any given day. But one thing I do remember: timing is everything. If you want to sell something at a high price, you need to do it when demand is high and supply is low. Conversely, to buy a player for great value you should strike when demand is low and supply is high.
Trading, at least in most leagues I am in, is a seemingly impossible thing to do. Everyone wants the big win. At the beginning of this year someone offered me a soon-to-be suspended Zeke for Tom Brady and OBJ. Luckily, down the road of offensive offers and selfishness, I do believe there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
People, far too often, think about trades on a player by player basis; as opposed to addressing them situationally. Often I hear people saying “I need to get rid of x” or “Y had a really good game, I want to target him”, but all that’s doing is chasing points. Instead, you should address the situation as a whole, and manipulate good timing to your advantage. Here are a few examples I went through this year.
I was an OBJ owner, if you are grieving as well I understand your pain. As soon as he went down, I had to upgrade my WR core. I did not chase a particular player, instead I looked at my situation. What I did have, was Duke Johnson Jr., who had scored three touchdowns in the last three weeks, before that he only has scored three in his previous two years. Looking at what is most likely to happen next, I traded Duke for Doug Baldwin, a historic slow starter and potential top 10 WR every week. Here are their outputs before and since the week 5 trade:
These don’t always work out. Similarly, I was struggling at RB, so I looked for more depth. I traded for C.J Anderson in week seven only giving up Sammy Watkins. He had a few bad games, but so did the offense as a whole, and I think he is the best running back on Denver. It has not served me well thus far, but I think the trade was the right move at the time, and am more optimistic about C.J. becoming fantasy relevant again before Sammy Watkins.
I’ll give one more example. Zeke got ‘suspended’ in week 9, supposedly keeping him out until the last two weeks of the fantasy playoffs. There is one team in our league that has a dominant roster, and plenty of skill to spare. He traded Doug Martin, his fourth best running back on his roster, for Zeke straight up. A trade like this would only be possible with this timing, because he traded a starter now for a league winner later.
Rarely, in competent leagues, can you outright rob someone in your trades. The best way to upgrade the strength of your team is to trade based on situations, not players.
Things are going south in Tampa Bay fast. After a predicted NFC South champion by most media outlets, the Bucs find themselves at 2-6 in a suddenly stacked division. Hopes are definitely low and according to some people, the team has already quit.
Apparently word around NFL is #Bucs have already given up. "Everybody in the league knows they quit." https://t.co/CTPES6oLCH
I’m a huge Jameis Winston guy — but this was embarrassing. Nobody had any clue what the hell he was doing. DeSean Jackson has never looked more confused in his life in the background. Winston, of course, did not finish this game due to injury, looked horrible in the first half, and started a fight that ultimately sees Mike Evans suspended for one game. Tampa lost 30-10 and somehow Ryan Fitzpatrick manages to find himself starting on yet another team.
Winston needs to focus on his performance on the field and stop trying to have a gimmick pregame speeches. To add insult to injury, Golden Tate even had something to say.
Office Chatter 