Leadoff with Lee 8.29.16

By Chris Lee, @TripleThreatLee

- On Saturday the Dallas Cowboys announced that QB Tony Romo suffered  a compression fracture of his L1 vertebrae,an injury that could sideline him 6-10 weeks. Head coach Jason Garrett said should return this season. Best case scenario is that Romo returns by week 4 against the Houston Texans. Worse case he returns Oct. 30 vs. Eagles. Once cleared he may need a epidural. Remember in 2014, Romo played with a broken bone in his back.

- The Oakland Raiders have not officially made the move to Las Vegas, but a few trademark filings may serve as a sign for what is to come. On August 20, 2016, the Raiders filed trademark applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the mark “Las Vegas Raiders.” All of the filings, which span a variety of goods and service classifications, were filed with an intent to use the mark in commerce in the future. The Raiders  also have made little to no progress securing a new stadium in the Oakland area and have committed to lining up $500 million toward building a new one in Las Vegas.

Any team relocation needs the blessing of three-quarters of NFL owners, so developers are rushing to prepare their pitch by January, when the owners next meet. Along with releasing renderings of a new stadium in Vegas, proponents also promised it would house UNLV's football team, which has long sought a stadium closer to campus, and hinted that an unnamed Major League Soccer franchise was also interested in using the space. The price tag of the new  stadium is estimated to be about $1.9B

- "I'll continue to sit. ... I'm going to continue to stand with the people that are being oppressed. To me, this is something that has to change, and when there's significant change — and I feel like that flag represents what it's supposed to represent, and this country is representing people the way it's supposed to — I'll stand."

Those were the words from San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick 2 days after the media noticed he didn't stand during the National Anthem. But the #MajorKey here is he hasn't stood during the anthem the entire pre-season. The only reason why anyone even noticed was because he was making his first start of the pre-season. Kaepernick continued by saying " There are a lot things that are going on that are unjust," he said. "People aren’t being held accountable for. And that’s something that needs to change. That’s something that this country stands for freedom, liberty and justice for all. And it’s not happening for all right now." At the end of the day, if something happens, that’s only proving my point. Love it or hate it, I personally think Kaepernick has a point.

- Over the next few days the "cut-man" will be lurking the Browns Locker room and team hotel. Does the team finally cut ties with cornerback Justin Gilbert? But K'Waun Williams maybe on the bubble, he was suspended for 2 weeks and fined 1 game check for conducted detrimental to the team. At the same time Williams is recovering from ankle surgery after having bone chips removed. Will the emergence of Jamar Taylor impact the status of K'Waun? Here go the NFL key dates:                                                     

Sept. 3: Prior to 4 p.m. ET, clubs must reduce rosters to a maximum of 53 players on the Active/Inactive List.   

Sept. 3: Simultaneously with the cut-down to 53, clubs that have players in the categories of Active/Physically Unable to Perform or Active/Non-Football Injury or Illness must select one of the following options: place player on Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform or Reserve/Non-Football Injury or Illness, whichever is applicable; request waivers; terminate contract; trade contract; or continue to count the player on the Active List.                                        

Sept. 4: Claiming period for players placed on waivers at the final roster reduction will expire at noon ET.

Sept. 4: Upon receipt of the Personnel Notice at approximately 1 p.m. ET, clubs may establish a Practice Squad of 10 players. No club, including the player's prior club, will be permitted to sign a player to a Practice Player Contract until all clubs have received simultaneous notification via the above Personnel Notice that such player's prior NFL player contract has been terminated via the waiver system.

Sept. 5-9: In accordance with the 2016 Personnel (Injury) Report Policy, each club is required to file a Practice Report with its conference communications contact by 4 p.m. ET, (or as soon as possible after the completion of practice) every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for a regular season Saturday or Sunday game; Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for a Thursday game; or Thursday, Friday, and Saturday for a Monday game.

Sept. 5-9: Each club must also file a weekly regular season Game Status Report with its conference communications contact by 4 p.m. ET (or as soon as possible after the completion of practice) on Wednesday for a Thursday game, Friday for a Saturday or Sunday game, and Saturday for a Monday game. An update must be reported if there is any change in a player's condition after the initial Game Status Report is filed.

- Ohio State names 7 captains for the  2016 season. Which will include all six of Ohio State's returning starters on offense and defense from a year ago. J.T. Barrett, Raekwon McMillan, Pat Elflein, Billy Price, Tyquan Lewis, Gareon Conley and Joe Buger.

Leadoff with Lee 12.23.15 #Browns #ProBowl #Indians #Akron #Toledo

By @cleeverizon

Browns left tackle Joe Thomas and center Alex Mack were selected to the NFL Pro Bowl. For Thomas, this will be his 9th selection to the annual game and 3rd time for Mack. Special teamer Johnson Bademosi, tight end Gary Barnidge and wide receiver Travis Benjamin were selected as alternates. Pro Bowl players are voted in by players, coaches and fans, with each groups ballot counting for 1/3 of the votes.

In a All-Star game many consider to be tag football, the Pro Bowl has some rule differences from a traditional NFL game.

-Field Goal Post width will be 14-feet, down from 18.6-feet from the regular season
-PATs will be from the 15-yard line, making the kick 33-yards long.
-2 timeouts per quarter
-2 minute warning every quarter
-Change of Possession at the end of each quarter. Just to name a few. For the complete Pro Bowl roster click HERE.

- The Indians signed Ross Detwiler to a minor league deal with a spring training invite. The team also released Chris Johnson, but still owe him $17.5M. Johnson is scheduled to make $7.5M in 2016 and $9M in 2017 and the Tribe will be on the hook for his $1M buyout in 2018 with a contract worth $10M.

Ross Detwiler is a 29-year-old southpaw who posted a 7.25 ERA (6.12 FIP) in 41 appearances between the Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves in 2015. In 58.1 combined innings, Detwiler struck out 41, walked 36 and allowed 10 home runs. Left-handed pitchers Tom Gorzelanny and Joe Thatcher were also recently signed to Minor League deals with spring training invites by the Tribe.

- The Akron Zips defeated Utah State for their 1st bowl win in school history with a 23-21 victory in the Idaho Potato Bowl.

- Another Ohio team won a bowl game yesterday, as the Toledo Rockets won the Boca Raton Bowl over Temple, 32-17. It's the 1st time since 1969-71 Toledo has won a bowl in consecutive seasons.

- After announcing his retirement Monday, Ohio native Charles Woodson was named to his 9th Pro Bowl at the age 39. Woodson was a three-time, first-team All-Pro at cornerback for the Packers and Raiders. Named to the All-2000s Team by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Woodson was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year with the in 2009 season which featured nine interceptions and three touchdowns. He is also sixth on the all time interceptions list with 65 and is tied for the most career defensive touchdowns with 13.

Leadoff with Lee 12.11.15 #GaryBarnidge #Browns #Madden #UFC200

By @cleeverizon

Hard work pays off!

Prior to this season, Browns tight end Gary Barnidge totaled 44 catches for 603 yards & 3 TDs in 7 years.

Now, this season he has 60 receptions for 817 yards & 7 TDs and a new contract. Barnidge and the Browns agreed to a 3-year, $12M contract extension. Along with the new deal, Barnidge also recently won the teams' Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his off the field charity work and contributions.

- Wide receiver Travis Benjamin also said his agent and the Browns are about 75-80% close to a contract extension. This season Benjamin current makes $779K.  

- UFC President Dana White said the Ronda Rousey/Holly Holm rematch will be at UFC 200 on July 9, 2016.

In the mean time, it's possible Holm will have a fight before she meets Rousey with number one contender 16-0 Alexis Davis.

-Ohio State defensive lineman Adolphus Washington cited by Columbus police for solicitation, which is a first degree misdemeanor. He is due in court December 17th. Here is the apologetic statement he issued yesterday:

- Former Oakland Raiders coach and broadcaster John Madden recently underwent open-heart surgery, the NFL announced Thursday. The Pro Football Hall of Famer is currently resting in his home after being released from the hospital on Wednesday. The open-heart surgery was required in order to repair blockages. Madden, 79, is no longer broadcasting or coaching, but is still involved in the NFL's efforts to enhance the game. He is a co-chair with Ronnie Lott on the NFL Player Safety Advisory Panel and is chair of the Coaches Subcommittee to the Competition Committee.

- In other Raiders news, wide out Michael Crabtree signed a 4 year, $35M contract extension with the team, including $19M guaranteed. Crabtree will receive an average annual salary of $8.75M. In 2015, Crabtree will earn a base salary of $1.M a signing bonus of $1.3M a roster bonus of $250K and a workout bonus of $250K.

On The Mark 9.28.15: #Browns v #Raiders Recap

McCown starts slow, defense doesn't start at all in 27-20 embarrassing loss to the Raiders
By @MarkW2112

When Josh McCown was named starter after being cleared to play after a concussion suffered against the Buffalo Bills, Mike Pettine said that McCown gave the Browns the best chance to win.  Sadly for Pettine, that idea blew up in his face.  The Browns lost 27-20 to the Oakland Raiders at First Energy Stadium due to McCown slow start and interception at the end of the game to Charles Woodson.  In between, McCown, who was 28 of 49 for 341 yards and 2 touchdowns, missed his receivers many times and either over threw or under threw several long balls to Travis Benjamin, including on the game ending interception.  The running game once again was non existent with Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson being non-factors. 

But as bad as the offense was, it was the defense that was a true nightmare.  The secondary, which was supposed to be one of the best in the NFL, were sliced and diced by Derek Carr, who now has Amari Cooper to do a lot of damage against any NFL defense.  Carr ended the day 20 of 32 for 314 yards and 2 touchdowns.  He was barely touched at all day as the Browns did not sack him.  Cooper was spectacular, with 134 yards receiving yards on 8 catches.  With the exception of a fumble, the Browns had no answers for him.  Latavius Murray slashed through the Browns porous run defense for 139 yards and 1 touchdown.

My take:  The Browns are a disaster once again.  Can't stop the run on defense, can't run on offense.  Josh McCown was rusty to start the game but was able to find a rhythm near the end.  That said, he was sacked 5 times, and missed wide open receivers, namely Travis Benjamin.  It proved that perhaps Mike Pettine out thought himself once more by starting McCown over Johnny Manziel.  But what's really disturbing is the defense.  The Browns invested a ton of money and draft picks in to the defense and they still can't stop the run and still get beat on pass protection.  This is a nightmare scenario for both Pettine and Ray Farmer, who would appear to be on a very tight leash with Jimmy Haslam.  It appears that, once again, the Browns will have another losing season and have fans longing for the good old days.

Player of the game: Derek Carr, who was suburb against the Browns defense.

Play of the game:  Brian Hartline, making another spectacular catch, this time with his legs.

Turning point:  Josh McCown's interception to Charles Woodson to end the game when it looked like they could tie it.

Next game:  In San Diego against the Chargers

Lee's Keys 9.27.15: #Browns vs. #Raiders

By @cleeverizon

Have you ever wanted to know what the Browns coaches points of empathize is  to their players heading into a game? Come inside the mind of the coaches with Lee's Keys.

1. STOP THE RUN The Browns rank 32nd in the league which is dead last in run defense giving up 160 yards per game. With Paul Kruger being the primary edge rusher, Barkevious Mingo has the assignment of outside contain on his side. After reviewing the game a few times over, Mingo needs to create better angles while in pursuit of the quarterback and set the edge. He gets sucked to the inside way to often and running backs have been bouncing to the outside and picking up chunks of yards from the edge.

2. DON'T GIVE UP THE BIG PLAY Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree had over 100 yards receiving last week in the Raiders win over the Baltimore Ravens. The Raiders offensive line allowed Carr to have too much time in the pocket. The Browns defense needs to play tight press coverage on the outside with cornerbacks Tramon Williams and Joe Haden. Haden was solid last week, rebounding from a slow Week 1 start. Williams was the highest graded cornerback in the NFL from Week 2 with a +3.4.

3. PUSH, PUSH, PUSH! The offensive line needs to explode off of the ball and win the battles in the trenches to establish a good running game. The Browns are only averaging 3.8 yards per carry and have ONE rushing touchdown on the season. Isaiah Crowell needs to touch the ball 18-23 times to get into a rhythm. Using Duke Johnson on screens and flare patterns out of the backfield will also slow down the aggressive Oakland front 7.

4. SPEED KILLS! Use Travis Benjamin as a decoy downfield to keep the safeties out of the box. This will open up patterns underneath for Brian Hartline and Rob Housler. Most importantly, this will create space for Isaiah Crowell in the second level of the defense.

5. MINIMIZE PENALTIES! In the Browns first game of the season against the New York Jets, the Browns committed 12 penalties that resulted in 109 yards. Last week versus the Tennessee Titans, they improved to just 4 penalties for 40 yards. They need stay on that track since we all know that penalties can quickly kill a drive and the momentum of a game. Especially those committed on a 3rd down. Third and 3 can turn into third and 13 from a simple, avoidable, holding penalty.

#Browns Preview 9.25.15: Oakland #Raiders @ Cleveland Browns

Did coach Pettine go with what's best or with what's safe?
By @mrgroce

Last Sunday, Johnny Manziel led the Cleveland Browns to their first win of the season. It wasn't a spectacular showing by Johnny, but he did his job. Manziel was 8-15 for 172 yards and 2 td's. His performance was very "Tim Tebow like" in the sense of he made a couple of big plays but the rest of the game he looked less than average. Manziel has only played 14 quarters in his whole career so not much should be expected. Josh McCown passed the necessary tests that have made him available to play if called upon, and sure enough coach Mike Pettine has tabbed him as the starter for Sunday's game. 

The question is, did coach Pettine make the decision that's best or the decision that's safe.  It appears that by going with McCown, coach Pettine has chosen the safe route by choosing the quarterback that he feels gives the team the best chance to win against the Raiders. McCown, in his limited showing against the Jets led the team on a good long drive until he fumbled inside of the 10 yd line. He's a veteran who's seen it all, and won the job out of training camp. Manziel is young, still trying to figure things out, and does a better job of improvising than standing in the pocket and going through his progressions. 

What's going on in Berea is the complete opposite of the quarterback situation at The Ohio State University in which you have two very good play callers and you have no clue which guy you feel is best. The Browns QB situation seems more to me as though you have two bad play callers and you don't know which awful guy to put in. I don't think coach Pettine can make a bad call here, but I guess if it were up to me I'd go with Johnny. He's more of the unknown and he's supposed to be the quarterback of the future, play him and see what he's got. The Raiders have the worst defense in the NFL, giving up 33 points and 444 yards per game. I would like to think that Johnny could do some damage against that type of defense, while at the same time building up a little confidence.  McCown is a 13yr vet who has played for nine different teams, pretty sure he's not going to lead the team to the playoffs this year. In fact he's never led a team to the playoffs. 

McCown does a nice job of spreading the ball around so I would imagine that against the Raiders offense he will put up some pretty good numbers. I expect the running backs (Isaiah Crowell,Duke Johnson) to gain 120-170yds on the ground and with the Raiders best defensive back, Charles Woodson being 38 years old, I believe the receivers will be able to get themselves open. Offensively the Raiders best two players are QB Derek Carr and WR Amari Cooper. Carr, like Manziel is in his second year and seems to be improving. Expect the Browns to put pressure on him to see if he can make quick decision. I also expect Cooper to get at least one touchdown against Browns cornerback Joe Haden, because you know, everyone gets at least one touchdown against Haden. 

When the clock hits 00:00 I expect the Browns to come away victorious at home with a double digit win. My prediction, Browns 27, Raiders 13.

What: Cleveland Browns vs Oakland Raiders
When: Sunday 1:00 PM
Where: FirstEnergy Stadium Cleveland, Ohio
TV/Radio: CBS, WKNR Cleveland 850, WKRK Cleveland 92.3 The Fan, WNCX 98.5

On The Mark 10.27.14: #Browns & #Buckeyes Recap

Browns Do Their Job And Beat The Raiders 23-13
By @MarkW2112

The Cleveland Browns, coming off a very disappointing loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars last week, came back this Sunday and beat a team they were supposed.  The Oakland Raiders are a terrible team and the Browns were able to beat them 23-13 with just enough offense and a defense that continued to improve over the season. Brian Hoyer, Andrew Hawkins and Miles Austin were the stars on offense while Paul Krueger, Joe Haden and Donte Whitner were beasts on defense.

Hoyer, who did struggle again this week, was 19-of-28 for 259 yards and a touchdown.  Hawkins had his best game as a Brown, with 88 passing yards and a touchdown.  While the Raiders defense was able to keep the running game in tact, Ben Tate was able to rush for a touchdown after a fumble recovery within the red zone late in the game.  Billy Cunduff was 3-for-3 on field goal tries, which helped the Browns take a 9-6 lead in to halftime.

The defense were the real stars of the game.  Kruger sacked rookie Derek Carr 3 times, Donte Whitner made a punishing hit on running back Darren McFadden which caused a fumble that shot out of his arms in to Joe Haden's arms who returned it to the 50 yard line which lead to the Browns first touchdown of the game in the third quarter.  Speaking of Haden, he may have had his best game of the year, keeping pace with the receivers he covered and his fumble recovery was huge for the Browns to give them the momentum they needed.

My take: It wasn't pretty, but a wins a win.  The offensive line is struggling without Alex Mack but I do believe as time goes on it will get better once again.  The defense was just awesome tonight, allowing the only touchdown with 7 seconds left in the game during garbage time.  Derek Carr, who was 34-of-54 yards with a touchdown, has a bright future if he is put in to an offensive system that fits him with whoever is the new coach for the Raiders after this season.

Up next: The Browns face another winless team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, next Sunday at home.

Penn State Puts Up A Fight, But Ohio State Prevails 31-24 In 2 OT

It's never easy playing in Happy Valley for the Buckeyes.  Especially during prime time games as the Penn State Nittany Lion fans bring the noise and "white out" the stadium.  It can be extremely intimidating for any team.  The Ohio State Buckeyes, especially freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett, seemed affected by it all night.  Yet somehow, the Buckeyes defense and Barrett during overtime came away with the victory 31-24 that went to 2 overtimes before the game ended on an incredible sack by Joey Bosa as he pushed running back Akeel Lynch in to Christian Hackenberg.

Urban Meyer and Tom Herman went with a conservative play calling scheme, which gave big yards to Ezekiel Elliot, who had 109 yards on 26 carries and a touchdown.  Barrett added 75 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns, both of which came during overtime.  However, Barrett had a bad game passing the ball, throwing for 79 yards, a touchdown, but 2 interceptions, one a pick 6 and the other which lead to a Penn State score that brought them to within 3 points of the Bucks, 17-14.  The defensive line of the Lions had a great game, busting up running plays, sacking Barrett and pressuring him all game.

The Buckeyes defense were the big stars of the game. Hackenberg did throw for 224 yards and a touchdown but was also intercepted twice, one of those by Eli Apple in the end zone and sacked .  It may have been their best all around game of the season.

My take: J.T. Barrett proved he still has a long way to go yet he proved himself when he needed to in overtime.  Joey Bosa might just be the best defensive lineman in college football and last night was another showcase for his extraordinary talent. Penn State deserves a ton of kudos for their defensive play and making plays on offense when needed.  The Lions fans definitely deserve credit for disrupting the rhythm of the Buckeyes offense all night.  They are definitely some of the best fans in college. But thankfully none of that mattered as the Buckeyes prevailed in the end.

Next game: back in Columbus against the surprising Illinois Illini for another prime time Saturday night game.