#Browns Preview 1.3.16: Pittsburgh #Steelers @ Cleveland Browns

By @mrgroce

Happy New Year Browns' fans!!!! We have finally reached the final week of the season and it could not have come at a better time. For the third season in a row the Browns will be have their third string quarterback behind center. Austin Davis gets the opportunity to keep the Pittsburgh Steelers out of the playoffs. Pittsburgh needs a victory and a Jets loss to make clinch a spot in the postseason. Since 2008, the Browns and Steelers have faced off against each other five times with Pittsburgh winning every single contest. 

The Browns will be without both of their starting corner backs this week and might be forced to start Justin Gilbert and Pierre Desir against Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant. That's gonna get ugly. The last time these two teams faced each other, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger came off of the bench and threw for 379 yards and 3 touchdowns. Running back DeAngelo Williams was held to 54 yards on 17 carries, which was one of the best performances by the Browns' run defense this season. 

As stated earlier, Austin Davis will get his second start of the season. In his lone start against the Bengals in early December, Davis threw for  230 yards with one interception. Like the other quarterbacks before him, it's really hard to get a read on the man behind center when he doesn't have any weapons to help him win. Add Marlon Moore to the list of receivers who who will be out this week for the Browns. That could lead to more playing time for Terrelle Pryor or Dwayne Bowe, maybe. One thing to look out for is the fact that Travis Benjamin is only 87 yards short of the 1000 yard mark. 

Personally, I'll have my eyes on Cameron Erving, Danny Shelton and Nate Orchard. They are the rookies who've had the most playing time lately and I'd like to see how hard they compete in the final game that means nothing overall, but hopefully will one day in their futures as members of the Cleveland Browns. Rumors have swirled all week stating that GM Ray Farmer will be fired and coach Pettine will be retained followed by another rumor that both men will be let go after the season ends. I'm not a fan of either guy but whatever happens I don't wish for any man to lose his job. I am a fan of the Cleveland Browns though, and whatever is best for the team will hopefully get figured out by Jimmy Haslem quickly. 

What: Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns
When: Sunday January 3, 2015 1:00 PM
Where: FirstEnergy Stadium Cleveland, Ohio
TV/Radio: CBS/ 850 ESPN Cleveland, 92.3 The Fan, 98.5 WNCX

Fresh Squeezed Juice 12.21.15: Twas the Week Of Browns Christmas #Browns

By @JuiceKovacs

Twas the week of Christmas and all through Berea,
The Browns were practicing their football diarrhea.
The 1960's Championships banner were hung with care,
In hopes a Lombardi Trophy would soon be there.
Joe Thomas was nestled all snug in his bed,
While Johnny had visions of coke and teens dancing in his head.

And Dan in his Bernie jersey, and I in my Cribbs,
The season is over, and we still never saw EJ Bibbs.
When out on the practice field there arose such a clatter,
Oh, It's just Johnny carrying his ladder.
He jukes to the right, to the left he makes a dash,
Then we all yell “Hey It's Gordon!, First name Flash”.
Josh puts out the Blunt on the turf below,
Johnny cancels his appoint with Bae to do blow.
When what to my wondering eyes did appear?
The O Line coach beating his wife while drinking beer.
Justin Gilbert the driver so lively and quick,
Look it's Dwayne Bowe, his obesity makes me sick.

Then Pettine and Farmer, they too then came,
And went over draft picks and shouted them by name.
“Now Gilbert! Now Manziel! Now Bitonio!
Let's draft a guy to back up Greco!
To the top of the draft! In the division we fall!
Give us more draft picks! We can trade them all!”

And then, in a twinkling, I heard of the roof,
A man with white hair, so rich he's bulletproof.
As I drew my head, and was turning around,
I saw old man Haslam, dressed in orange and brown.
Holmgren, Shurmur, Heckert,, all got the boot,
Chud came in and quickly followed suit.
Everyone gets fired, or stabbed in the back,
On to Banner and Lombardi, soon their bags would be packed.
Next is Pettine and Farmer, bald men that look scary,
2 years in, and their best work is a Tight End named Gary.
Jimmy has more money then we will ever know,
So much he gave ten million dollars to Dwayne Bowe.
“I wont blow it up”, Jimmy lies through his teeth,
The fans deserve better than this orange and brown queef!

We're tired of drafting guys with big bellys,
We're tired of Pittsburgh making us jelly.
I'm tired of the 60's and that dumb little elf,
Yet I still watch every week, in spite of myself.
All I want is one season with minimal dread,
I fear I won't see a Super Bowl before I am dead.
Draft some players who aren't scared to work,
Hire a coach who isn't a high-school clerk.

I'm tired of hiring inexperienced dopes,
“Save us Ozzie Newsome, you're our only hope.”

So there you have it, a Browns poem to sing,
To bring you some joy because we'll never get a ring.
Pressure is on you Lebron, make us the champs,
And don't you start with those lame ass leg cramps.
We have had enough, our sports owe us more,
The Browns front office is a revolving door.
And as another regime rolls out of sight,

“Merry Christmas to Cleveland, I'll see you draft night!”

On The Mark 8.29.14: Browns React (By @MarkW2112)

Browns win their final preseason game 33-13 over the Bears, now prepare for cuts and the Steelers
By @MarkW2112

As the Browns played their final preseason game Thursday night against the Chicago Bears, they needed to come out and make a big splash in order to bring a positive vibe going in to their first game against the Steelers in Pittsburgh on September 7. Thankfully, there were a few more positives than negatives during the Browns 33-13 victory over the Chicago Bears at First Energy Field.

The Browns 1st string offense had an 85 yard drive (albeit against Chicago’s backup defense) capped by a 2 yard touchdown run by Ben Tate. The most impressive part of the drive was Taylor Gabriel who may make the team as the slot receiver with Andrew Hawkins starting opposite Miles Austin this season.

After the successful first series, Johnny Manziel and the second team offense came in and were hot and cold, with a dropped pass by Gary Barnidge and then a fumble by Terrance West on their first drive. After that, Manziel was able to make some dynamic plays, including a 27 yard pass to Nate Burleson after doing what he does best, weaving and avoiding defenders before making the throw. It was probably the most dynamic play Manziel had in the 4 preseason games this year, leading the Browns to a touchdown and a field goal before the end of the first half. The only downside were JFF’s long ball, which looked like wounded ducks more often than not.

Defensively, they were not as bad on third down as they were against the Rams last Saturday night. However, Leon McFadden yet again looked to be a bubble guy who won’t make the team. Justin Gilbert, like he did many times last Saturday, got burned on pass plays, with his most poignant on a catch by Santonio Holmes in which he ran 32 yards for a touchdown where Gilbert went inside instead of outside to stop Holmes. Hopefully Gilbert will learn but his struggles are slightly worrisome for the number 8 pick in the 2014 draft. After that touchdown, the Browns second and third string defense played with much more passion, with guys on the bubble making a case to make the team.

Probably the biggest surprise of the night was the explosiveness of Isiah Crowell, who really hasn’t been on the field that much during the preseason. His 48 yard TD run was absolutely incredible. He ended his night with 102 yards on 13 carries. He absolutely made a case for himself with his burst off the line of scrimmage and tough running, plowing over defenders for extra yards. It’s obvious Dion Lewis will make the roster but Crowell may make it difficult for the Browns to cut him and hope he doesn’t get picked up before going on the Practice Squad.

Now the Browns have some tough choices to make before the final cuts. Do they keep receivers like Nate Burleson, Taylor Gabriel and Willie Snead or go after some cut veterans? Or do they trade one of their linemen (perhaps Ahtyba Ruben) for receiver help? Also, with the emergence of Isiah Crowell tonight, do they keep 4 running backs? A lot of decisions to make it the 53 man roster.

This may have been the final preseason game for the Browns, but it’s now time to get to work.

Leadoff with Lee 6.1.14

-The Indians got their second straight win against the Rockies yesterday afternoon with a 7-6 victory. The bat of Mike Aviles was on fire yesterday as he drove in four runs. Aviles hit a 3-run homerun in the second inning and then followed it up with a single in the eighth inning to break the 6-6 tie for the game winning run. Lonnie Chisenhall's bat continued to cooperate, letting him go 2-3 with a homerun and 3 RBI's. Trevor Bauer got the start for the Tribe, but pitched a no decision after having a 4-0 lead at the end of the second inning. Bauer did have a good outing going 6 innings, striking out 8 and allowing 2 runs on 4 hits. Bryan Shaw came in as the setup man, pitching 2 1/3 innings and Cody Allen pitched the 9th inning for his 3rd save of the season. The Indians will be back on the diamond this afternoon to close out the set versus the Rockies at 1:05. Josh Tomlin is expected to get the start.

-"How ya doing Johnny?" Johnny Manziel and fellow first round pick Justin Gilbert will throw out the first pitches at Wednesday's Tribe game against the Boston Red Sox. Running back Ben Tate will throw out his first pitch a day prior on Tuesday. It's about time that the Browns and Indians P.R. departments got together to unite the fan bases.

-More of Johnny. He was in L.A. this weekend for the trading card company, Topps, taking pictures for his football card and signing autograph inserts. Best believe this is going to be the most sought after card on the market this year.

-Despite Russell Westbrook's epic 34 point, 8 assist, 6 steal, 7 rebound game, that was not enough to overcome the Spurs. San Antonio closed out the Western Conference Finals with a 112-107 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, in overtime. Spurs point guard Tony Parker missed the entire second half of the game with ankle soreness, that was seen during pre-game warmups. Boris Diaw led the Spurs with 26 points and Tim Duncan contributed 15 in his effort. The Spurs will have a rematch of last year's NBA Finals against the Miami Heat which will start Thursday on ABC.

-I will also be covering the Women's College World Series on Tuesday, June 2nd. If you haven't been watching, you don't know what you have been missing!

Browns Draft React, 5.8.14: 1st Round

Here comes the money!

The Browns and Johnny F'n Football made headlines nationally on all the major networks and newspapers this morning. The Browns were definitely the most active team in the 2014 NFL draft yesterday by making 3 trades and getting arguably the best cornerback and quarterback in the draft.

The night started with the Cleveland trading out of the 4th overall pick with the Bills, moving down to 9th overall. With that trade, they gained Buffalo's 1st and 4th round picks in the 2015 draft. Then, the Browns moved up one spot by trading this years 2014 5th round pick to the Vikings, to select cornerback Justin Gilbert of Oklahoma State.

The third trade came when Cleveland traded with the Phildelphia Eagles, moving from 26 to 22 and giving up the 83rd pick in the 3rd round to select quarterback Johnny Manziel. Just so we are all on the same page, Cleveland gave up a 3rd and 5th round pick in this years draft and gained Justin Gilbert, Johnny Manziel, a 1st round pick and a 4th round pick in the 2015 draft.

Ray Farmer made some great moves, while adding 2 areas of need and the best players on their board yesterday. What's wrong with having 2 first round picks in 2015? NOTHING! It's obvious that the Browns will build this team through the draft. Getting Manziel at 22 saved the Browns a lot in guarenteed money and salary. What's in store for Round 2 today? We will find out when the Browns will be picking early again If today was anything like yesterday, we are in for a treat! Give me your reactions by commenting below and come back tomorrow for thoughts on the 2nd and 3rd rounds.