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Scraping the barrel's bottom
That’s right, Browns front office. Why not wait until
Christmas week to ask Rex Grossman if he’d like to make about 50 or 60 grand
and sign what amounts to a one-week contract?
Great timing.
Shouldn’t be shocking to learn Grossman said no thanks,
although there are those in the media community who look snarkily at the
decision and make fun of the Browns.
I’ve got plans to spend time with my family this week,
Grossman sorta kinda told the club, and the thought of working out this week
with you guys doesn’t exactly sound appealing.
OK, I made that last part up. But Grossman’s snub gives you
some idea of just how miserable this season has become. It has devolved into
one gigantic mess. Thank goodness there is only one game left.
With Johnny Manziel gone for the season and Brian Hoyer
finding it difficult to raise his hand to go to the bathroom, the front office
scrounged to find someone, anyone, to back up Connor Shaw, who has come off the
practice squad and is the odds-on favorite to start Sunday in Baltimore against
the Ravens.
In their exhaustive search to find anyone who would say yes,
they remembered Tyler Thigpen, who spent about a week and a half in training
camp before being let go last
summer. He remembered them, too, and couldn’t say yes fast enough.
Yep, he’s the same Tyler Thigpen who was arrested a month
ago in Myrtle Beach, S. C., and charged with driving under the influence after
being found asleep in his car in a fast food drive thru.
So the Browns, all alone in first place in the AFC North
after week 10, will play the 2014 finale with a third-string quarterback backed
up by the season’s starting quarterback who is backed up by training-camp
fodder.
Just when Browns fans thought things couldn’t get worse . .
.
Rich, how are things any worse? Hoyer has clearly proven he's not the answer, and Manziel hasn't had time to prove anything, although he certainly hasn't won any confidence votes with what he has shown - so how much worse can they be with Shaw taking the reins for a game? He couldn't be any less prepared than Manziel, could he? And if they need to go to the backup, Thigpen's much more mobile than Hoyer and doesn't have a noodle arm and might come within ten yards of Gordon or Benjamin if they break past the Baltimore secondary. Even if they lose - which is not unlikely - they'll wind up 7-9, better than nearly anyone predicted, and that's with seemingly half the starting defense on IR. No complaints from me on the season (except I said before the draft that I'd take Carr above all other QBs and it sure looks like that would have been a better choice than Johnny Goodtime).
ReplyDeleteDW
Hi DW,
ReplyDeleteNothing wrong with 7-9 until you realize six of the victories came against losing teams and they were 7-4 at one point. And next season they again will have a last-place schedule.
I'll be surprised if Hoyer is back and Thigpen is just a stopgap. How interesting would if be if Shaw somehow manages to have a good game and at least make Sunday's game competitive, if not close. More ammunition to take into the offseason.
DW,
DeleteMake that five of the victories were against teams with losing records. My mistake.
Quit being upset over something we have no control over and in the big scheme of things, means nothing.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas.
Evidently nobody has control of anything. Based on the latest media ramblings our top two draft choices turned out to be two immature punks who didn't want to put in the time and work required at that level. Its sad when your team requires more babysitting than coaching. The entitlement generation has infiltrated the NFL.
DeleteRight back at ya, Tim. And I'm not upset. It takes a lot more than anything the Browns do to upset me. After all, aren't sports the toy department of life?
DeleteYes there's a lot to be thankful for. Too bad most of my teams aren't on that list.
ReplyDeleteAnd whatever the media reports means almost nothing. They don't report the news. They all have an agenda and a narrative. Most of the media are sub-humans.
Having spent more than 40 years in the media, I'll take issue with that. At the risk of being defensive, a great majority of those in the media do a very good job. In most cases, it is their job to report the news.
ReplyDeletePlease do not confuse those who write much more subjectively, such as yours truly, with those who do a solid job reporting, which is more difficult today than ever.
Mass media today is nowhere the same as it was as recently as 10 years ago. We live in the age now of Twitter and immediacy.
Because of the slow disappearance of the print medium, a much greater emphasis has been placed on getting the news right now. Not 10 minutes from now. Right now.
And no, most of those in the media are not subhumans. That's too harsh, even for you. It's true they have an agenda, but then don't we all?
Whatever the media reports does mean something. I'd much rather have the media than not. Freedom of the press and expression are golden in this country. Stop and think where we'd be without the print and electronic media.
I don't know about you, but it would leave a deep void in my life.