Dawg Pound Lounge ,

In March, the Browns offered the Rams two first-round selections (Nos. 4 and 22 overall) and a first-round pick in 2013 for the right to draft Griffin at No. 2. The Washington Redskins, though, struck a deal by giving up their first- and second-round picks in 2012 (Nos. 6 and 39), plus a first-round choice in 2013 and another in 2014. The Browns reportedly tried to add their 2012 second-round pick (No. 37) with a second proposal, but the Rams had already decided to accept the Redskins' offer.

Then on April 26, Heckert traded picks in the first (No. 4), fourth (No. 118), fifth (No. 139) and seventh (No. 211) rounds to the Minnesota Vikings, allowing the Browns to move up to the No. 3 slot, where they nabbed Richardson. The Browns were also aggressive by picking Weeden at No. 22 because there was a chance he would have been available to them early in the second round, when they ended up taking Schwartz at No. 37.

as good as RGIII is and will be i am glad we didnt pull that trigger . it was to much IMHO to give up . the Rams are in a great postion because of it . watch out for the Rams next year armed with all those draft picks and a very good HC in Jeff Fisher .

the Skins are in cap hell with no draft picks for the future ..not the way to go IMHO .

Jake are you  running the playoff challange again this year ? if so we need to get that up and going . first game is Saturday ..- the Browns

looks like CBS did away with the free version of playoff challange if i am reading this right ? i am not paying to play .


if they did do away with it we can play on the official league site . its free to play there . i have a acount  over there same SN . i never post on the site as it seems to take forever to load anything .

let us know before i do anything . i am playing somewhere

I disagree Blues...Wash already in the playoffs, have their QB,RB and #1 WR in place and a very solid OL.  They will add to their defense with some FA's and other key players they lost to injuries like Orakpo, Carriker and Fred Davis...but yes Rams helped themselves as well.

 They will add to their defense with some FA's

They are already in salary cap hell . they cant be to active in free agency . you build through the draft first & foremost  . they overpaid for Garcon for starters .

yes they have a franchise QB in place . found a gem in RB Morris late in the draft . thats how Shanahan rolls . he is the master at finding late round backs who are good . i would take Morris over T Rich ..hate to say it but its true .

i think the Browns did the right thing by not overpaying .

the Goat will be very happy starting next year .

the NFC West isnt weak anymore with the Seawhawks & 49ers and now the Rams on the way up .

Well bluez, the Goat is happy about the Rams season and we do look like the future is brighter.  We lost to the Seahawks yesterday 20-13 in Seattle and could have won it but youth couldn't turn the corner.  The Rams record of 7-8-1 is far more than I expected and with all the Redskins gave up to get RGIII, we have a bunch of picks + a GM and HC willing to deal some of those for more picks. The Rams are in a great position but the 49ers and Seahawks are already pretty good so expections must be tempered


As for the Browns, some decent things this season, watched yesterdays game against the Steelers and thought for he most part Thad Lewis did OK and with another HC and GM, the Browns should continue to get better.  I know the 5-11 record is disappointing, but I have said before, I don't think the Browns are that far away from the Ravens, Steelers or Bengals.  In fact I think the Bengals are the ones that have improved the most in the division.  The Steelers didn't make the playoffs, I think the Ravens are 1 and done and the Bengals might just make the next step.  Dalton has been pretty good and Green makes a great case at being the 2nd best receiver in the NFL.  Law Firm was OK and the defense played decent.    


Bluez, I agree that the Browns were smarter not paying for RGIII but is Weeden the answer?  I didn't see Russell Wilson or Kap coming and the pick for Weeden might stun the Browns growth.  No QB at the top of the draft but maybe with a SMART HC and a deal making GM, guys will be found for the Browns.  I want a Browns-Rams Super Bowl soon.  I know, I know first things first, a winning record.  

Happy New Year DPL.

May 2013 bring us closer to a Super Bowl...........or at least competence from the new coaching staff/front office and a winning record.

Happy New Year lounge hounds!

Out with the old...In with the new!!

Go Browns 2013!!

Doug Marrone?  That would just be too easy...

 

The Sideline View's Adam Caplan reports that Oregon head coach Chip Kelly is the Browns' "clear No. 1 choice" for the team's head-coaching vacancy.

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam is ready to spend big and is willing to give the next head coach "final say" over player personnel decisions. That is exactly what Kelly has reportedly been seeking if he makes the jump from the college ranks to the NFL. This would seem to be bad news for Brandon Weeden's future in Cleveland as he doesn't seem to fit Kelly's mold for an athletic quarterback. The Browns roster is also viewed as one of the best - if not the best - among the teams with vacancies at the top.



Happy New Year DPL .. no hangover today . pretty much played it safe last night . its amature hour on New Years Eve so we just hung out here had a few drinks & dinner .my GF grandson was here so we played some PS3 . the kid is good ..he beat me in a couple games ..

i think he cheated

Well, one thing for sure, the new coaching hire will tell us a lot about Haslem and Banner.  We will see if they have a gravitas and huspah to bring in one of their "top men" as Banner put it..

They feel they have a situation in Cleveland that would attract "top men" but national pundits on EXPN rank the Browns job as the least desirable, specifically because they don't have a QB..

How about Weeden saying he can't (or won't) run the zone read...  I agree with him, that is not his game.

We need a coach who can coach up the players he has and adjust to hand he has been dealt.  You have to look at what Mike McCoy had done in Denver last year with Tebow of all people and then completely redesigning the system for Peyton Manning.  

The previous regime stubbornly tried to fit people into their system at all cost and did not take advantage of their individual skills and also stubbornly kept playing their people to develop them even if backups might have performed better (see #66 right guard).  PS How did he get that number?  

Wasn't Joe Banner the Incredible Hulk?

Say how about Happy Holmgren tossing his hat into the coaching ring..  All he had to do was step down onto the field in Cleveland and I would have loved to see that.  Here is hoping the Walrus gets his wish as coach of the Kansas City Chiefs..  or Buffalo..  He can install his WC there... (and probably be a winner)..  ugh  or aaarrggghhhh!
 

Wasn't Joe Banner the Incredible Hulk?

Dr. Bruce Banner.  (Just watched "The Avengers")

Doug Marrone?  That would just be too easy...

i read that . a few teams are interested in him ?

By Vic Carucci, Senior Editor

Jimmy Haslam and Joe Banner weren’t merely being polite Monday when they said the outgoing general manager and head coach of the Browns left the team in better shape than they had found it.

Haslam, the Browns’ owner, and Banner, the team’s chief executive officer, were stating a fact shared by others throughout the NFL.

The Browns have improved since Tom Heckert became their GM in 2010 and Pat Shurmur became their head coach a year later.

Obviously, it wasn’t enough of an improvement for them to keep their jobs. Fourteen wins in the time that Heckert had been with the Browns and nine in the time that Shurmur was with the team didn’t provide a compelling case for Haslam and Banner to stand pat, and on Monday they parted ways with Heckert and Shurmur.

But what remains of their brief legacy is compelling and is a significant factor in the search for a new coach, who will have a more expansive role than his predecessor, and someone to become either the new GM or director of player personnel.

There is a solid core of young players on the roster, some with exceptional talent that should only become more evident in years to come. There is a dynamic running back in rookie Trent Richardson, who should achieve elite status in his second season. There is, in Brandon Weeden, a quarterback who, at the very least, could sufficiently fill the starting spot for another year and, at the very most, could prove to be a long-term answer.

There is one of the league’s best cornerbacks in Joe Haden and a defensive tackle, in Phil Taylor, capable of being dominant. There is a team that, for the better part of 16 games, competed hard and held its own and very easily could have added about three more victories to its 5-11 record.

That’s a large part of the reason why, when Haslam said during a joint news conference with Banner that “this is a very attractive job,” it was easy to agree with him.

The new people who will join Banner in running the football operation won’t need to build something from scratch.

“There’s nobody that wants to have a winning team more than the two of us, OK?” Haslam said of himself and Banner. “But we’re going to do it in the right way and we’re going to build it in the right way, and we’ve got the core foundation. There were some good young players, and we need to add to it.”

Yes, as Banner pointed out, the Browns still have “a ways to go” on further enhancing the roster.

But the task isn’t nearly as daunting as it was or might be elsewhere.

The Browns also can sell to the best candidates available something that didn’t previously exist: stable ownership that is fully invested in doing everything it takes to make the team a consistent playoff contender. Haslam and Banner, with his wealth of experience of running a top-flight NFL organization from the 19 years he spent with the Philadelphia Eagles, can approach prospective coaches with every bit as much to offer as any of the other NFL clubs with such vacancies – and probably more.

The sales job shouldn’t be difficult.

As Banner said, “We go into this extremely confident that we can go after the top people available – at least the top people in our opinion – and that we have a very good chance of being successful in convincing them that this is the right situation. Most of these top coaches are focused on finding a place where they think they can win, and we think we can make a very good case why this is the best opportunity in the league right now.”

As Banner said, “We go into this extremely confident that we can go after the top people available – at least the top people in our opinion – and that we have a very good chance of being successful in convincing them that this is the right situation. Most of these top coaches are focused on finding a place where they think they can win, and we think we can make a very good case why this is the best opportunity in the league right now.”

[Discussing the fate of the Ark]
[Maj. Eaton]: We have top men working on it now.
[Indiana]: Who?
[Maj. Eaton]: Top... men. 

the Skins are in cap hell with no draft picks for the future ..not the way to go IMHO .

And they are NFC EAST champions with a home playoff game and a franchise quarterback like no other..

I would trade for that in a heartbeat... 

And they are NFC EAST champions with a home playoff game and a franchise quarterback like no other..

I would trade for that in a heartbeat... 


Great.  One helluva year for Washington.  

Now, beware of the dreaded sophmore slump.  Losing key players due to that cap issues.  Injury to that "franchise player".  

Just sayin'.  Putting all of your eggs in one basket it a risky proposition.  

as good as RGIII is and will be i am glad we didnt pull that trigger . it was to much IMHO to give up . the Rams are in a great postion because of it . watch out for the Rams next year armed with all those draft picks and a very good HC in Jeff Fisher .

the Skins are in cap hell with no draft picks for the future ..not the way to go IMHO .

Agreed 100%, bluez.  Not to mention that RGIII, while obviously a pure passer, also runs like hell.......going to be hurt often (likely).  I love the athletic QB's and all but.....well you know how I feel about B Weeden ;)