Brad Stevens, good coaching, and Wonderful vs. Alright: While We’re Waiting…
April 22, 2015Ball Played: Triumphant return for Indians Carrasco
April 22, 2015As we draw closer to the 2015 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns continue to be linked to Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota. The latest, coming from Tony Pauline states not only that the Tennessee Titans are looking to move the No. 2 pick, but that the Browns, owners of No. 12 and No. 19, are “front runners” to land the highly-discussed Heisman winner.
From Pauline via DraftInsider.net:
Expect the talk of teams wanting to trade up for Marcus Mariota to pick up intensity in the coming week. From all accounts I’m hearing the Cleveland Browns are the front runners and working hardest in the hopes of acquiring the quarterback. Early last week I was told the asking price from the Tennessee Titans was both of the Browns first round picks as well as their choice in the second round, to which Cleveland replied no. Understandable Tennessee would have a high asking price at this point and even more understandable the Browns would say no. I’m told the Browns may be willing to part with both first round picks for Maroita but want to hold on to the second round choice to draft a much needed receiver.
This assumes the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select Florida State’s Jameis Winston at No. 1 overall, something that has become less of a certainty over the last few weeks.
If the Browns believe Mariota to be worthy of the No. 2 pick, it’s evident that they view him as the most likely to be a “franchise” quarterback of the future regardless of noted shortcomings and risks. If this is the case, it is interesting that they would not part with a second-round selection in order to obtain him, showing that it’s more of a gamble than perhaps being let on. Pauline’s thoughts about a receiver being the target with the second-round pick would make sense given the preference to arm the new quarterback with additional weaponry, but would then leave a gaping hole at defensive and offensive lines.
Asked this week whether the Browns were open to trading up for Mariota, Browns head coach Mike Pettine replied “sure, why not?” They are, however, not without competition as Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole recently reported that it’s looking “stronger and stronger” that the San Diego Chargers will acquire Tennessee’s No. 2 overall pick, and draft the quarterback. In addition to the Chargers, Mariota has worked out for the Bucs, Titans, St. Louis Rams and New York Jets.
29 Comments
http://reactiongifs.me/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/talking-about-plans-infront-somoene-not-invited.gif
Not going to happen. Browns front office can’t have two first round QB busts back-to-back years.
Go with Brett Hundley later.
Oh boy. Just another fun end to April.
So this guy is basing his report on accounts he’s hearing. Whoa, he’s really got this nailed down tight. Book it.
I’m going to get a haircut now, and I’m going to leak this to my barber on condition of anonymity. He’ll spread it around, resulting in virtual confirmation of Pauline’s report. Man, I love silly season.
“From all accounts I’m hearing …”
Aah, with Spring come the wonderful, carefully calibrated wording trying to disguise the unattributed sources of Silly Season. Whose accounts? ALL accounts. Well, at least all the ones I’M hearing so, ya know, don’t come back at me later if my sources were three separate assistants working for Mariota’s agent trying to goose him up to a higher salary draft slot.
Not to say Farmer won’t try. He knows his career is on the clock, and he’d be foolish to tether it to Manziel, McCown or a third rounder with upside who needs a couple years of seasoning.
Major hypothetical here: what if the Browns acquired Mariota only to then flip him for Philip Rivers / Sam Bradford + draft picks? Could be that the Titans only really want early draft picks and not a QB, something the Browns have but Charges & Eagles do not.
http://media.giphy.com/media/I5xVnGJRHZZf2/giphy.gif
Why would we want a one year rental QB?
Will the Browns ever figure it out that football is a TEAM game? The best quarterback in the world can not do it alone, they need a line to give them time to make the play and either a runner to carry the ball or a receiver to catch it. Another necessary ingredient is a defense.
Even a so called mediocre quarterback (Hoyer) can win games with the right team around him.
So, Browns please draft to make the team better and not squander your picks to try and get a super hero that will save the day, because it will never happen. If you don’t believe me, look at your record.
“Will the Browns ever figure it out that football is a TEAM game?”
Don’t confuse the Browns for fans and media.
Tony Pauline, 4/4/2014:– Who could take Mettenberger before the Vikings are called on the clock in round two? The Cleveland Browns, that’s who. While many have the Browns taking a quarterback with the
fourth pick of the draft, most believe they’ll nab a signal caller with either the 26th or 35th pick of the process.If they don’t go quarterback in round one where does Cleveland look? Most believe it will be offensive tackle. Several sources tell me the team is hot and cold on Mitchell Schwartz and will look for an upgrade. In fact I’m told the Browns made a play for Eugene Monroe when he was on the trading block. Many claim “you don’t draft a right tackle with a top ten pick” but looking at the versatility and interchangeability of the tackle prospects excepted to be available at fourth pick its understandable why any team would go that route.
I’m half with you, but only because I don’t believe in Mariota enough to give up all that Tennessee is supposedly asking. The Browns have an excellent offensive line, excellent running backs, and excellent defensive backs. They need help in other spots, but the roster is not in so much disarray that finding a franchise quarterback shouldn’t be the most important goal for this front office. If there was a chance to get Andrew Luck with the 2nd pick of the draft, the Browns should most certainly give up what Tennessee wants and even more to get him.
Mariota sure doesn’t sound like Andrew Luck.
Nailed it.
Who does? That deep voice is so dreamy.
NO.
http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/whid.gif
I guess in the journalistic world of today, if you publish enough theories, one eventually has to be right. Might as well keep making everything up.
” …most believe … most believe …”
Most of whom, Tony? Those you text? Your drinking buddies? Draft pubs you subscribe to?
And their “belief” is based upon …?
Sad fact is that these guys and this content that currently passes for sports journalism will survive as long as it is read and disseminated. So long as no one holds the authors to standards of any type this stuff will just get worse. Clicks uber alles.
franchise tag is a beautiful thing. guess Rivers could retire ala Carson Palmer, but that would be his only recourse.
I’m surprised there isn’t (and maybe there is and I’m just not hip to it), a website somewhere that tracks all these predictions and mock drafts to show how full of it these sportswriters are.
I sincerely hope that’s not our only recourse to producing a winner.
Not knowing what the Browns are going to do in the draft scares me a bit. IF they mortgage the future and trade up to draft Mariota and he turns out to be a bust like Frye/Quinn/Weeden and maybe Manziel (too early in my opinion) then we would be an even bigger laughing stock. I would rather fill other holes on the team than trade everything to get a guy who may or may not work out.
gotta use whatever you have at your disposal IMO.
Has there ever been a team that bet the farm (multiple picks over multiple years) on a single player and had it actually pay-off? That by itself would argue for filling out the roster with best-available players, taking a project quarterback, and rolling with McCown this year.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that pre-draft bluster is just that.
http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/adventuretimewithfinnandjake/images/4/4e/No-no-no-HELL-NO!.gif#Hell%20NO%20GIF
The problem with this post is that the Browns really have tried to improve the team. We have not mortgaged anything to get QBs. Yes, we have spent 3 first round picks on 3 QBs in that last 7 years, but it’s not like we are trading multiple 1st round picks for one long shot. The real problem is that the Browns have failed on their other picks outside of Manziel, Weeden, and Quinn.
“Sports journalism” is an anachronism. Sports writers may once have applied journalistic best practices, but today it only looks like journalism to the untrained eye. It’s entertainment, pure and simple.
You could argue that Indianapolis did that when it deliberately tanked its season to draft Andrew Luck.