Is GM Ray Farmer too slow to make decisions?

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Note: On NNR today Samantha Bunten of NBC Sports & I reviewed the trades and free agent signings. The podcast is on https://fryingpansports.com/radio-show/.

So far in the Browns off season from hell they have signed a backup QB and yet another #2 wide receiver. At least Brian Hartline is taller than most of the receivers on the roster.

There is almost no chance that the Browns can land an above average WR with the list of quarterbacks on the roster. Wide-outs want a stable offensive system with a QB that they trust to get them the ball. The Browns have neither of those qualities.

GM Ray Farmer missed a chance to bring in a true #1 WR in Kenny Stills. He has speed and size. Since the team has struggled to bring in FA wide-outs, getting a young player with 2 years left on his 5th round salary by a trade would have been huge. But the Dolphins got the deal.

The frustration of Browns fans everywhere is that despite having a ton of cap space, the Browns seem to be hording it. There is no question that the Browns lack of stability means that they will have to … Read more at FryingPanSports

News, Notes & Rumors for 9/9/14

News:

The best news possible for Bills fans is that Sabers owner Terry Pegula has reached agreement to buy the team. Pegula will keep the team in Buffalo.

The NFL claims they never saw the elevator video of Ray Rice knocking his girlfriend out. I find that not believable. To think that the most powerful sports league in the country couldn’t get a video that TMZ had no problem finding is a lie of the worst kind. It is an attempt to cover up the most ludicrous miscarriage of justice in the history of the NFL. If Roger Goodell had any guts at all he would have changed the suspension when he realized how unfair it was. But he doesn’t and won’t any time soon.

A prosecutor said that the feelings of the victim are taken into consideration when deciding how to proceed with a domestic violence case. In this case it is clear that Janay Palmer wanted Rice to get the minimum punishment. That would explain the decision to place Rice in a diversionary program.

Flag-mania was not prevalent in week 1 of the season. It was good to see that the zebras finally figured out that the DB … Read more at FryingPanSports

News, Notes & Rumors Week 1

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News:

The running game in week 1 was WAY down in part because lots of NFL teams have major O line issues.  The Seahawks struggled to score 12 points against the Panthers.  The Browns could not run or pass in a loss to the Dolphins.  The Steelers lose their C Maurkice Pouncey and score only 1 TD.  There was only one RB that got 100+ yards (Shane Vereen of the Pats). and he has a broken bone in his wrist.

 

Colin Kaepernick QB of the 49ers was outstanding against the Packers.  He was 27-39 412 yards with 3 TDs and no picks.  His new best friend is former Raven WR Anquan Boldin who caught 13 passes for 208 yards and a TD.  Despite only running for a total of 90 yards the Niners beat the Pack.   Jim Harbaugh is going to owe brother John a REALLY nice Christmas gift for the trade of Boldin.

 

While the Bills D played well, the Pats are clearly hurt by the loss of targets for Tom Brady.  Of course the two fumbles by RB Stevan Ridley did not help the O.  The same can be said for the Ravens losing … Read more at FryingPanSports

Josh McDaniel is the wrong choice to coach the Browns.

Josh McDaniel is the wrong choice to coach the Browns.

 

Those of you that have been reading this site for awhile know I am not a fan of Josh.

 

On Mar. 17, 2009 after Josh was caught trying to trade for QB Matt Cassel (NE) and caused his pro-bowl QB Jay Cutler to demand a trade, I wrote the following:

 

Bowlen blew it when he fired Mike Shanahan and blew it again in hiring the 32 year old McDaniels. McDaniels is not mature enough to be a head coach in the NFL. It was a bad hire and this is only the first screwup for which McD will be responsible.

 

I was correct.  Following that debacle, Josh was forced to give pro-bowl WR away for next to nothing and would have lost pro-bowl DE Dumerville to free agency if he had not been fired.  McD implemented a 3-4 forcing Dumerville to play OLB.  That is not the best way to use his talent.

 

To the credit of Bowlen (owner of the Broncos) his next hire was a good one.

 

Now the most persistent rumor about who will replace Shurmur is—wait for it—Josh McDaniel.  That would … Read more at FryingPanSports

Tonight on the radio version of News, Notes and Rumors

Ken Becks of 1stdownscouting.com/1st down joins us to talk about the Browns and the rookie news around the league.

Don Davey former NFL player joins us to discuss his career and the plight of the retired players.

Brian Skinnell sports editor for WSHC radio Washington DC joins us to discuss the Redskins, RG3, and the Wizards draft choice.

Jason Clary, Knightcast radio sports host joins us to talk about the off seasons for the Bucs and the Dolphins.

Our NNR Sportsims.net football league will start in June.  The league is free to our listeners and readers.  Email me at [email protected] to register.  The draft order will be determined by the date of registration.

NNR at 6PM EDT follows the Moohead show at 5PM on http://mooheadradio.com/2.0/.  Press the Green arrow at 6 for NNR.

The archive of the show is available the following day at https://fryingpansports.com/radio-show/.

Be part of the show by calling our SportSims.com hotline at 216-539-0607.

Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams, has officiated both football and basketball, done color on radio for college football and basketball and has scouted talent. He edits https://fryingpansports.com and was a senior writer for .  He has also 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