2015 NFL Off Season Thread

[GoGo Yubari]

gonna study the names in mock drafts so I'm prepared to offer my expert analysis on draft day.

I'm never gonna top my Ha-Ha Clinton Dix joke though

[Mofoticon]

Oh hey, the Browns have 2 first round picks again! And they're not picking from the top 10 for once!

Eh, gimme a pass rusher and a competent WR for starters. Eventually we're going to have to figure out our QB situation, but I think we'll be able to get by with Hoyer/Shaw/Manziel/Tebow/etc... if it comes down to it as long as our O-Line stays intact (could do with some C depth though, losing Mack was brutal).

Defensive line is the biggest team need (outside of QB obviously). They were dead last in stopping the run and Rubin will be gone (and should be as he's declined) and Taylor/Winn are too unreliable injury wise. I think they may end up going dline/oline with those first 2 picks (I don't sense drafting WRs high is in the GM's mindset).

[DMN in the House]

Also, I really want Leonard Williams to drop to Oakland in the draft.

[TCO]

Too early to speculate on the draft but Beckham on the outside with Cruz in the slot should be hella fun next year!

[Dan]

Also, I really want Leonard Williams to drop to Oakland in the draft.

I'd be surprised if he's still on the board at #4. Wouldn't surprise me to see the Raiders trade up with the Titans to get him if Tampa Bay doesn't pick him.

[Adam]

Not sure what I can ask for out of this off-season other than that Larry Fitzgerald remains a Cardinal. I literally do not know the franchise without him, and don't want to.

Big questions marks over the return of Carson Palmer and D-Wash. I would like to see a decent QB come in from free agency if possible, and the linebacking group will need a boost if Washington and Abraham don't come back.

[Your Mom]

Johnny Football is in rehab. Good for him. Hope it actually works out

[DMN in the House]

Not sure what I can ask for out of this off-season other than that Larry Fitzgerald remains a Cardinal. I literally do not know the franchise without him, and don't want to.

Big questions marks over the return of Carson Palmer and D-Wash. I would like to see a decent QB come in from free agency if possible, and the linebacking group will need a boost if Washington and Abraham don't come back.

Highly doubt you'll find a better QB than Palmer available through free agency.

[TCO]

Why exactly is Manziel in rehab? From what I gathered he's rehabbing from being a bit of a knob.

[Meacon Keaton]

He's a party boy.

[Adam]

Not sure what I can ask for out of this off-season other than that Larry Fitzgerald remains a Cardinal. I literally do not know the franchise without him, and don't want to.

Big questions marks over the return of Carson Palmer and D-Wash. I would like to see a decent QB come in from free agency if possible, and the linebacking group will need a boost if Washington and Abraham don't come back.

Highly doubt you'll find a better QB than Palmer available through free agency.

Oh I know, I should've worded it differently. I meant as a back-up. If we have to suffer the same QB situation as this year again I'll cry, though it is very unlikely. There are going to be worries about Palmer if he does manage to get back and I don't know about Stanton as the #2.

[PatDaMan]

Hope so, because I heard the Eagles are going to move heaven and earth to get him.

I think it's just a media thing. No shot we have enough ammo to trade all the way to 1 or 2. It's a terrible idea.

And on Manzeil, I really hope he gets his shit together. He seems like a he could be a good dude if he got his head on straight.

[Your Mom]

According to Schefter, Josh Gordon is gone at least a year

[Mofoticon]

To sum up the Browns off-season so far:

1. Johnny Manziel enters rehab

2. Josh Gordon gets suspended for a year

3. The GM is going to be suspended and the team will lose a draft pick due to texting play calls during games.

4. This article http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer/jason-la-canfora/25038103/browns-mess-with-gordon-manziel-starts-with-owner-haslams-mismanagement comes out basically labeling the Browns as the most dysfunctional franchise in sports. Among the highlights from this article:

The culture in the Browns building is toxic, I'm told. Morale is beyond low. If you can flee, you are fleeing. There is no shortage of individuals throughout that organization who would, like former offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, get the hell out of there if at all possible. There's an overwhelming sense of dread about the future and a fear that, come the end of the 2015 season, Haslam will do the one thing he has managed to do with any consistency during his three-season reign -- that is, blow up his entire building once again and fire everyone, in essence blaming all but himself for his sweeping failure.

Alec Scheiner, the team president who grew in power and influence a year ago after Banner and Lombardi were shown the door after just one season together, has become a divisive figure in the organization as well, gaining an increasing voice in personnel matters, well beyond just analytics. At 6 a.m. every Monday, Pettine is joined by Farmer and Scheiner to watch film, with the division between ownership and day-to-day coaching decisions becoming increasingly blurred.

"Jimmy is way too hands on," said one team source. "He's like Jerry Jones, only without the football knowledge.

The owner wanted to make a splash, add some pop to his franchise, sell some tickets and jerseys. "That was a business decision," said one source with direct knowledge of the situation. "That's on the owner."The board in Farmer's office leading up to the draft had three names atop it -- Derek Carr, Teddy Bridgewater and Manziel, in that order, sources said.

At season's end Shanahan, the lone bright spot on offense, perhaps, presented Pettine with a 32-point presentation on why he wanted to get out of his contract, sources said.

It is not fun to be a Browns fan.

Edited February 4, 2015 by Mofoticon

[Schlitzbrille]

Guys I'm gonna start a Kickstarter campaign to buy the Browns.

[GhostMachine]

I'll contribute 75 cents if I can be their new GM for two years.....

[Your Mom]

I don't exactly disagree with the Gordon suspension. I mean if it was all just weed then it shouldn't be a rule but it is and he has broken it multiple times.

[gunnar hendershow]

Yeah the thing with Gordon isn't that "he just smoked some pot" it's that the guy has time and time again broken a very simple rule to follow. If these suspensions aren't helping him realize that he needs to make a lifestyle change than not much will.

I'm not a big fan of punishing guys for smoking or drinking off the clock, but it's still pretty silly for Gordon to repeatedly break this rule.

[Mofoticon]

Gordon's never gone a full football calendar year without failing a drug test dating back to college, so it's no surprise at all he's suspended, but they had the chance to trade him for a 2nd in 2013 and Haslam vetoed it. Just another example of the damage Haslam has done to the Browns in such a short amount of time.

Edited February 4, 2015 by Mofoticon

[TCO]

Gordon's suspension isn't for pot. He agreed to not drink alcohol for the season as part of the punishment for his DUI. He drank on a plane in January after his season was over and got suspended because the NFL season wasn't over:

Josh Gordon is an idiot and very immature but this is a league where Ray Rice will be playing in next year. Gordon losing a season is bullshit.