Where did Ray Farmer go wrong?

NOTE: On NNR Samantha Bunten of NBC Sports and I discussed the news of the day, injuries from the previous week, and previewed all of this week’s games including a detailed analysis of the Browns game.

It is my experience that when someone in the room thinks they are the smartest person there, they are not even in the running for that honor.

I think that is part of Browns GM Ray Farmer’s problem. He thinks he is smarter than the other NFL General Managers.

Ray was too busy to bother to go to the pro day of CB Justin Gilbert. If he had he might have over heard Gilbert tell a team scout that asked him to return some punts “watch the film.” That scout took Gilbert off his team’s board. Ray would have been more secure in his position to have done the same thing.

Ray was too busy to bother to go to the pro day of QB Johnny Manziel. If Ray had taken the time he might have found out about Manziel’s attitude about blow up swans, liquor and parties in front of people taking videos.

Gilbert has been a healthy scratch despite multiple injuries at … Read more at FryingPanSports

Browns should forget drafting WR or TE.

Roadkill

There is no reason the Browns should waste their 2015 draft picks on “skill” positions of WR or TE. Instead they should draft those positions that will be productive in 2015 like a pass rusher, a run stopping NT and of course a right tackle so they can move Mitchell Schwartz into RG.

Why do I suggest that? It is simple. The Browns do not have a QB on the roster. The best QB on the roster is Thaddeus Lewis but he will not be on the final 53. Without a QB, why would you waste picks on a WR or TE? Focus on defense and the O line and a quality FB so that the team can run the ball. They will have to be able to block 47 guys in the box because no team will take the pass threat seriously given the QB roster.

Of course the Browns front office could begin to listen to me and actually draft Brett Hundley QB UCLA in the 2nd round. I strongly suggested they draft Russell Wilson in 2012. I recommended that they take Teddy Bridgewater last year. But they took Johnny Manziel.

So I have no doubt they Read more at FryingPanSports

Beware of the Workout Warrior QB prospect.

NFL Draft

Note: Due to Good Friday, there will be no NNR show tonight. From all of us at FPS and NNR, have a wonderful Easter. We will see you Monday.

Scouts raved about the pro days of Johnny Manziel, Derek Carr and Blake Bortles. Buyer beware. What you see is not necessarily what you get.

Manziel is short. OK, he is very short. He does not have the patients to stay in the pocket and look through the trees to find an open receiver. If he does not see his first read open, he leaves the pocket to throw or more likely run.

A comparison is often made with Russell Wilson. That is totally false. Wilson moves to pass. Manziel moves to escape and most likely run. Wilson is a pocket passer that has the speed to run if necessary. Manziel is an out of the pocket guy that moves to run as often as he does to pass. Wilson protects himself when he runs. Manziel will have to learn to do that or get hurt often.

The biggest question about Manziel is can his game translate to the NFL? While he was able to get out of the pocket in … Read more at FryingPanSports

A different view of Stanford QB Luck’s decision and the “Cutlering” of Miami coach Spirano.

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There has been a lot of talk about why Andrew Luck and his golden arm will stay at Stanford for another year when every NFL draft analyst agrees he would be the #1 selection in the 2011 draft.

Some believe that he just really likes the college life style.

Some think he wants to work a little more on his game. He is a redshirt sophomore and has 2 more years of eligibility. He has only started 2 years for the Cardinals.

I have no idea why he decided to stay but it raises a HUGE red flag to me.

I have serious doubts about how important his NFL career is to Luck. If I was the owner of the Carolina Panthers, I would not want to spend 50 million dollars on a guy that may or may not be committed to the game and the team. Payton Manning went back for a final year at Tennessee but it was clear that his goal was to beat the Gators for once in his career.

This will be the last draft in which the first pick will get 50+ million dollars guaranteed. As soon as there is a new Collective Bargaining … Read more at FryingPanSports

EDITORIAL: The NCAA declares Auburn QB Newton eligible

2010 BCS National Championship Game
Image via Wikipedia


To protect their backsides, the Auburn administration declared QB Newton ineligible and then asked the NCAA to make him eligible for the SEC Championship game.

The NCAA obliged like the faithful dog it has become for the power conferences and granted eligibility. There seems to be little doubt that Newton’s Dad tried to extort $180K from two other schools for his son’s services.

The NCAA said there was “no direct evidence” that Newton Jr. had any idea that his father was trying to sell his services. That is crap and everyone knows it.

If the BcS was threatened by a QB with eligibility issues from a 1st place Boise State or TCU team, you can bet the house, the car, the wife and your first born that the NCAA would suggest that the QB be held out until the full investigation was complete. Given its history for prompt action in the Reggie Bush case, that would occur in 2099.

The NCAA should complete the investigation immediately. To assume that the child knew nothing about the father getting nearly 200K is ludicrous. The NCAA needs to release the evidence of innocence.

This organization is totally incompetent when it … Read more at FryingPanSports

Saturday Niblets from around the net for 03/28/09

Fryingpan Sports

Saturday Niblets from around the net for 03/28/09

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By Bill Smith

Best comment of the last 2 weeks:

Acai Burn’s comment on Don’t get too excited about a 3 team deal involving Jay Cutler and the Browns.

The Browns have two serviceable quarterbacks on the team at this time and to make a move at the qb position when they have other needs is a waste.

The problem is that in a three way deal, there is no way to compensate the Browns for the loss of Quinn. The Broncos will demand more than Quinn in return for Cutler. The question I posed boils down to where will the draft choice(s) for the Browns come from to compensate them for giving up Quinn?

Updates on previous columns:

Thoughts about the first 2 rounds of the NCAA Tournament. – CBS has done a little better job limiting the switches in games. The officials must be reading my site. There have been very few visits to the scoring table replay TV since I commented on the issue. The top seeded teams are still in control of the bracket although Xavier gave Pittsburgh a tough game on Thursday night. … Read more at FryingPanSports