FanPost

Postseason Wish List

1. Brian Hoyer is not resigned

I was and never will be a Hoyer hater, but as much as I like Hoyer and would like to see him succeed, I want the Browns to succeed more. Coming out of his unexpected success in 2013, there was plenty of excitement and captivation around him. Halfway through the 2014 season it seemed like he had built on that, but everything slowly seemed to collapse following that game at Jacksonville, the Cincinnati game aside, there were no games in which the offense played very well. This entire season I haven't been able to be impressed by Hoyer and the longer the season went on the easier and easier it seemed for defenses to figure him out and make him a non-factor. All of 2014 I never saw the "That's not Hoyer, that's Houdini" version of Brian Hoyer that made him a beloved son of Cleveland. I wish he had panned out, but he didn't. Now it is time to see if Manziel can provide the future and keeping Hoyer in the situation would be toxic. If the Front Office determines that he should be kept around I would at least hope that Manziel would be the official starter and that if issues arise with him that they will turn to Conner Shaw before they turn to Hoyer.

2. Front Office doesn't give up on Gordon/Gilbert/Manziel

I think coming into 2014 we expected a lot of turmoil with Josh Gordon and that is what we got. Though he's continued to have off-field issues I would really like to see him have one more chance for 2015. He's a remarkable talent and I can't bear to see us lose him. If he can avoid another suspension and gets in a full off-season of practice we could see another season from him like we did in 2013.

Gilbert's situation surprised me. When we was drafted I don't think I had ever seen someone so excited to be a Brown. I thought he would be a huge success full of energy, though its clear that's not what happened. We still saw bursts of what he could be with his Pick-6 against the Colts and his game winning deflections against Atlanta. Hopefully he develops, though thankfully his fellow rookie corners have played very well.

The morning of May 8, 2014 I was praying that the Browns wouldn't take Manziel, but by the end I had to realize that I was incredible excited about him. The season that followed wasn't quite what I expected. He looked like a rookie and an unprepared one at that. The first look we got of him was amazing, that drive against the Bills was near perfect and his passes were dead accurate darts. Then he was denied the starting job the following week, something that I think may have killed his momentum. Then against Cincinnati, he and the team played terribly. I don't know what happened there, I think a large part of it was the playbook, Manziel and the offense around him played better in the Hoyer playbook than the "Johnny" playbook. I still think he can and will succeed as an NFL QB if we utilize him right, as a scrambling passer rather than a running QB. He's been immature off the field at times and I think he will realize his mistakes at some point soon. Football is his life and at I think he'll realize he's putting that in jeopardy. At least I hope so... No matter what I don't want to see a "One and Done" season for one of the Brown's most high profile draft picks in recent memory.

3. There are attempts to make a splash in FA, but only if we can retain star players.

I definitely want to see us pursue at least one big name free agent, but before Ray Farmer does that I really hope that they will work to retain both Jordan Cameron and Buster Skrine. Both of them can still serve the Browns very well if we keep them and in the case of Cameron we definitely don't need to see the loss of an passing game target. If that can be achieved I would love to see the Browns pursue a player like Suh. I'd say the top areas for improvement are the passing game and the run-defense/D-Line. So if we could get Suh and/or Randall Cobb/Torrey Smith/Charles Clay(?) I would definitely call the FA Off-season a success.

4. The Draft is Solid, but not Flashy

Last years draft was definitely exciting and full of surprises and trades. I think that excitement was good for the Browns, but now I think they need to have a quiet, but substantial draft this year using both of our two Round 1 picks. My vision of a successful draft would definitely include a 1st Round Wide Receiver. Amari Cooper will likely certainly be gone by #12, but either Davonte Parker or Kevin White would be solid pick. The other should be used on the D-Line. Personally I'm really interested in Washington DT, Danny Shelton or Mizzou's Shane Ray, but any solid D-Line pick would be great. I would like to see Farmer focus on the O-Line in the second round. Beyond that if they can continue to make solid later round drafting like in 2014 I will be satisfied. If either Michigan's Devin Funchess or Rutgers' TE Tyler Croft (Especially if Jordan Cameron isn't retained) falls in Rounds 3-7 they would also be solid picks in my view.

5. Pursue a Quiet QB Late or in UFA

Taking another upper round Quarterback would give the Browns the same situation as they would by keeping Hoyer. That said I would like to see the Browns take a late-round prospect either in the Draft (6-7?) or as an undrafted free agent. The three that I'd like to see get a try out are Rakeem Cato at Marshall, Nick Marshall at Auburn, and Brandon Doughty at Western Kentucky. I'm not saying they should be signed, but if they could prove themselves I suppose you never know. I'm sure there are plenty of former QB's who were passed over, but could have become solid pros.

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