Watson Suspended for 11 Games and Fined $5 Million / and a bit OT and back.

[SdBacker80]

12 hours ago, Westside Steve said:

Sorry I just don't see enough to give me a good idea of which way she might lean in this particular issue. Doesn't matter but I am curious.

WSS

I don’t see someone with an agenda either. 

I like that the NFL brought in a retired Judge.  She’s more likely to use the letter of the law and consider precedence for her decision…and she likely has a keen BS detector having heard mountains of it throughout her career. 

[calfoxwc]

She has so much to consider, to be fair. It's so stupid that this could have been avoided.

You know, we were watching the Indians play last week - and Tom Hamilton mentioned that (best I can quote) "If you try to find a bad character on this Guardians team, well, good luck to ya, because the Dolans take good character very, very seriously...."

   So here we are. The haslams just threw that all into the dumpster. Probably by now, they regret it. Watson lied to the browns...what a mess, ....they have paid so huge a price to be so desperate.

Almost August, and here we are....

All this now, and maybe Zombo said it best back on June 8th:

***********************************

On 6/8/2022 at 10:19 PM, Zombo said:

When we first signed Watson, I was happy. I defended him. "Ok, he's  REALLY into massage girls, likes happy endings, and while inappropriate,  his behavior is not criminal. This attorney has a personal vendetta for him and is very good at coaching these women that they have been wronged" 

The Browns said they vetted the hell out of the situation and that Watson was a good person and they wanted to build around him.

Watson said he did nothing wrong, and since we were in He Said / She Said territory, and there were no criminal charges ... I was all in on the new QB of the Cleveland Browns.

The NY Times article flipped things for me. I saw him as a different person: He manipulated the Texans, he lied to the Browns, and he lied to us at his press conference. 

No one needs 66 different massage women in 17 months. No one needs a luxury hotel room where different massage girls are sent. No one needs a massage girl to sign a NDA unless creepy things are happening.

We traded our future away and paid $243 M guaranteed to a lying creep.

Oh ... my Browns.

The draft picks are gone.

But we can sue Watson for lying and then Jimmy can sell the team to a fucking hands off owner and let the football people run the team.

He just keeps fucking up.

But that's probably not happening. We will probably have Briskett go 9-8 this year and then we will have to start letting some talent go because of Watson's back ended guaranteed contract and never get to the Super Bowl while we root for a team led by this creep.

Oh ... my Browns 😔

Z

[mjp28]

Friday July 29 coming up and nothing new so far.

  We are looking at Monday August 1 and just waiting for the other shoe to drop and get some kind of decision to happen.   Let's move this case along no matter what the decision is.....now is that too much to ask ?   * Dragging this thing out   at this time    isn't good or necessary for anyone.

So what's the under / over now on the big decision day ?  Wednesday August 3 at 12 noon.....sound about right to you ?  I'm betting on the UNDER there.

Shocking but this thing has to end......sometime.    That's  6.5 days or LESS  from midnight tonight.      Book it !         

 

.......* edit add,  7/29 noon,   hope this doesn't delay anything.     

[Bob806]

Shouldn't take so long, but remember the Josh Gordon stuff dragged on forever. 

I wouldn't be surprised if the decision happens after a pre season game or 2.

[Bob806]

On 7/29/2022 at 3:25 AM, calfoxwc said:

 

   So here we are. The haslams just threw that all into the dumpster. Probably by now, they regret it. Watson lied to the browns...what a mess, ....they have paid so huge a price to be so desperate.

Almost August, and here we are....

All this now, and maybe Zombo said it best back on June 8th:

***********************************

I am not a businessman, but your word "desperate" hits the nail on the head. 

Not sure if desperate is a good trait in business. I know the Haslams want to win, but they just seem to reach way too much.

[Flugel]

10 hours ago, Bob806 said:

I am not a businessman, but your word "desperate" hits the nail on the head. 

Not sure if desperate is a good trait in business. I know the Haslams want to win, but they just seem to reach way too much.

Well said Bob.  Again, I REALLY liked Watson when he was coming out of Clemson when he beat Ohio State 42-0 before he erased a deficit to beat Alabama in the National Championship Game.  All news about his character was 2 thumbs up as opposed to the 2 palms down solicitations (plural) we're waiting on a suspension length over.  We had the very 1st pick of the 2017 draft which also means there was a rookie salary cap and no desperate need to trade 3 1st round picks or guarantee 230 million $ of cap space (meaning cutting ties with important vets down the road).

As a QB - do I think Watson is a better all round QB in today's game than Baker?  Yes, and I was a huge Baker fan (that thinks this organization dicked him over risking further injury with zero intentions of keeping him when they saw he wasn't the same guy as the healthier version).  As a football player, Watson is almost as dangerous on foot as Lamar Jackson - but far more accurate on the improvise, progression reads and timing patterns.  

So what's my sour grapes in all this?  The way it was done.  Baker was starting to emerge (even if a little late like Drew Brees was) in the 3rd year with the 26 TDs to 8 INTs.  Not elite the critics will remind us but the progress was happening until the injury. In Brees' 3rd season, his team ended up with the worst record in the NFL (while he missed the last 4-5 games with an injury).  They had the 1st pick overall and ended up with Philip Rivers after swapping upper 1st round picks with the Giants.  IF Philip Rivers didn't hold out the length of training camp as a rookie - would we have ever seen a breakout year from Brees with a 12-4 record as the starter and 1st Pro Bowl earned?  But he wasn't a 1st overall pick - I think he went somewhere in round 2. He had the exact same height as Baker with many of the obstacles to overcome. Like Baker, he had a good running game to lean on.  BOTH guys needed all the right guys in order to make it happen. SD eventually got Brees TE Antonio Gates and WR Keenan McCardell to compliment that running game via LT.  The Browns gave Baker Jarvis Landry (who WANTED to be in Cleveland unlike one of his old teammates OBJ asking every opponent to get him out of Cleveland in his 1st 1-2 years).  Adding Nick Chubb to that and eventually K. Hunt to that was great.  11-5 plus a playoff win in January of 2021 reminds us of that.

People can call me a Baker boy, Wundumson or an apologist all they want; but I wasn't the one that extended him to a 5th and final year before deciding to trade him (only to see his salary eventually giving Cleveland the equivalent of a bag of stale potato chips and a Walmart Cola in return for this former 1st overall pick).  I've been pegging QBs wrong for Cleveland ever since all I have seen the Browns get right was Bernie Kosar in 1985. Then again, that wasn't even the regular draft - it was the Supplemental Draft.  I think this team was finally set up for a similar run they had the last year Baker was healthy.  Baker was Haslam's #1 overall pick investment he didn't see all the way through. So? Here we are with what Jimmy called the best research he has ever done on a QB - going after a guy that will be suspended.  Best research ever?  Really?  Again, if Haslam knew how to research such a football messiah - DeShaun Watson would have been our 1st choice overall in 2017.  Or, maybe he would have noticed his football program went from 1-31 the 2 years before Baker to 11-5 with a post season W by his 3rd year here.  Even Baker's 1st year, they were 0-1-1 and looking lifeless in the 3rd game vrs the Jets with a 10 or 14 point deficit well into the 2nd quarter.  Baker erased the deficit with all the same teammates; and this team went on to finish 7-8-1.  He set the record for TD passes as a rookie.  When he changes FO personnel, HCs and OCs as frequently as he changes his underwear - it means a young QB has to learn 1 offense then deprogram it, learn another offense then deprogram it, rinse and repeat. That's a knucklehead that invites growing pains as often as he can before questioning why they are here again.  I haven't seen the frequency of crack pipe logic like that since Ghoolie showed up a bottle of Tennessee stupid juice in him...  

The good news?  We look like we have good team on paper while we await the news on how long Watson will be suspended. If it's a lengthy suspension, is anyone really comfortable with Roger Godcomplex being in charge and the type of priority he will give toward getting it reduced/resolved quickly? 

Edited July 30, 2022 by Flugel

[Dutch Oven]

At the end of the day, everyone involved in this - from the Haslams to the rest of the NFL to us fans - seemed to know since March 18th, 2022 that the Browns just got a top 5 or so QB who will probably miss the first 6-8 games of his Browns career. 

So if the Haslams and the Browns front office knew this the day the trade was announced, and that is what Watson gets next week, why exactly would they regret making the move now? I'm not saying I would have made this move, but in the big scheme of things, the Watson scenario looks like it will play out exactly how the Browns knew it would all along. I highly doubt that the Browns ownership and front office is NOW regretting this move. 

[Westside Steve]

1 hour ago, Dutch Oven said:

At the end of the day, everyone involved in this - from the Haslams to the rest of the NFL to us fans - seemed to know since March 18th, 2022 that the Browns just got a top 5 or so QB who will probably miss the first 6-8 games of his Browns career. 

So if the Haslams and the Browns front office knew this the day the trade was announced, and that is what Watson gets next week, why exactly would they regret making the move now? I'm not saying I would have made this move, but in the big scheme of things, the Watson scenario looks like it will play out exactly how the Browns knew it would all along. I highly doubt that the Browns ownership and front office is NOW regretting this move. 

That's more than likely the case. I wouldn't say 100%, but a preponderance. Still he had to give Jimmy Haslam credit for being smarter that I think he probably is. And again I could be wrong. Everything up to now might just be a gigantic game of three-dimensional chess. On the other hand Jimmy might well have believed that all the charges against Watson or a nefarious scheme by the Texans interests as many have the members of this board seemed to think at one time or another.

Sacrificing the first year and then four more years of having a future Hall of Fame quarterback (albeit with an asterisk) is a gamble that may or may not pay off.

WSS

[gumby73]

It's still a living thing !

 Sue Robinson... has 2 questions to answer..

1.) Did DW break the NFL Conduct policy?

2.) a two sided (appeal'able) targeted games of suspension?

 

a.) Yes !

b.) 8 games / gives him 9/ by bye week..

 

see ya next week/month ! 🤓 

 

[Dutch Oven]

24 minutes ago, Westside Steve said:

Sacrificing the first year and then four more years of having a future Hall of Fame quarterback (albeit with an asterisk) is a gamble that may or may not pay off.

For better or worse, no one can say this ownership and front office doesn't have balls...

If it was Texas Hold Em, Berry pushed all his chips in, got up on the poker table, dropped his pants and took a massive shit, then looked at the other players and yelled: 

"I'm Rick James, bitch!" 

[Westside Steve]

Not much here but par for the course.

 

WSS

[D Bone]

10 hours ago, Flugel said:

.....I've been pegging QBs wrong for Cleveland......

Deshaun will teach you how. 

[Orion]

I had a guy, who found out I was a Browns fan, come up to me at work.  He told me that he admired us Browns fans for what we've had to endure.  He asked, But why did you give him so much guaranteed money?  

The answer:  is because it's Cleveland.  A northern city with a stadium along side a Great Lake.  Any game day in November through January could be cold with sideways rain or snow.  That in and of itself can make your stats suffer...if you care about how you personally rank against the stats of your peers.  We DO KNOW however that Watson does not like northern winters and that he played miserably in the bad Cleveland weather the last time he was here.as a Texan.  

In the days leading up to Watson's decision as to where he was going to go we heard from previous coaches of his and they all pretty much said that they'd be surprised if he came to us...and past coach said he was positive that he would come to the Cleveland weather.  THEN, the news broke that Cleveland was OUT of the running for Watson.  That it was either going to be Atlanta or New Orleans.  

So, what happened between THAT day...and the NEXT day...when it was announced that Watson WAS in fact going to Cleveland after all?  Well, that's how much money it cost to make Watson bite the bullet and forego the climates of New Orleans and Atlanta.  

Now, the Cleveland weather isn't such a big deal to a great many players.  Most players want a chance at winning (which we've had to deal with that issue a bunch in the last two decades) but there's more players than ya might think that would prefer working for a lot of money in a milder winter setting....and they'll need the pot to be sweetened...

[Vambo]

 

[Flugel]

13 hours ago, D Bone said:

Deshaun will teach you how. 

Does he know I only have 2 brain cells and they're not on speaking terms?

[Flugel]

10 hours ago, Orion said:

I had a guy, who found out I was a Browns fan, come up to me at work.  He told me that he admired us Browns fans for what we've had to endure.  He asked, But why did you give him so much guaranteed money?  

The answer:  is because it's Cleveland.  A northern city with a stadium along side a Great Lake.  Any game day in November through January could be cold with sideways rain or snow.  That in and of itself can make your stats suffer...if you care about how you personally rank against the stats of your peers.  We DO KNOW however that Watson does not like northern winters and that he played miserably in the bad Cleveland weather the last time he was here.as a Texan.  

In the days leading up to Watson's decision as to where he was going to go we heard from previous coaches of his and they all pretty much said that they'd be surprised if he came to us...and past coach said he was positive that he would come to the Cleveland weather.  THEN, the news broke that Cleveland was OUT of the running for Watson.  That it was either going to be Atlanta or New Orleans.  

So, what happened between THAT day...and the NEXT day...when it was announced that Watson WAS in fact going to Cleveland after all?  Well, that's how much money it cost to make Watson bite the bullet and forego the climates of New Orleans and Atlanta.  

Now, the Cleveland weather isn't such a big deal to a great many players.  Most players want a chance at winning (which we've had to deal with that issue a bunch in the last two decades) but there's more players than ya might think that would prefer working for a lot of money in a milder winter setting....and they'll need the pot to be sweetened...

Interesting!    Here's the strange thing, it's actually Atlanta and New Orleans that play in domes. 

Like you alluded to, Cleveland weather isn't a big deal to many while others demand more money to come play in it. FWIW about the bad weather in Great Lake climates, Josh Allen couldn't be playing any better in Buffalo right now. Jim Kelly made the HOF playing there.  Aaron Rodgers is putting together a HOF career in GB after Brett Favre and Bart Starr already made the HOF.  I'm not telling you anything you don't already know - but it's important to remind today's QBs that even harsh winters haven't stopped the stars from shining.

[TexasAg1969]

1 hour ago, Flugel said:

Interesting!    Here's the strange thing, it's actually Atlanta and New Orleans that play in domes. 

Like you alluded to, Cleveland weather isn't a big deal to many while others demand more money to come play in it. FWIW about the bad weather in Great Lake climates, Josh Allen couldn't be playing any better in Buffalo right now.

Ever been to a game in Laramie late in the season? Sometimes 30-40 mph winds with 20 F (or lower). He's had a ton of experience in an open stadium there. Plus it's over 7,000 ft above sea level. There's a reason one UW facility is named "High Altitude Training Center".😱🌬️🏔️

[Orion]

4 hours ago, Flugel said:

about the bad weather in Great Lake climates, Josh Allen couldn't be playing any better in Buffalo right now. Jim Kelly made the HOF playing there.  Aaron Rodgers is putting together a HOF career in GB after Brett Favre and Bart Starr already made the HOF. 

You've omitted the best of them all....Brady.  He set passing records in snow storms.  Of course, he HAS trundled off to tampa.   

[Flugel]

3 hours ago, TexasAg1969 said:

Ever been to a game in Laramie late in the season? Sometimes 30-40 mph winds with 20 F (or lower). He's had a ton of experience in an open stadium there. Plus it's over 7,000 ft above sea level.

Who said he didn't?  

[D Bone]

18 hours ago, D Bone said:

Deshaun will teach you how. 

 

5 hours ago, Flugel said:

Does he know I only have 2 brain cells and they're not on speaking terms?

Surprised my joke didn't blow up. I guess people have to Google 'pegged', but I highly recommend using an incognito browser and where only you can see your screen..... and for God sakes, don't do it at work or school. 

[Flugel]

53 minutes ago, Orion said:

You've omitted the best of them all....Brady.  He set passing records in snow storms.  Of course, he HAS trundled off to tampa.   

😄I didn't mean to.  You specified the Great Lake climate regarding Watson so I only mentioned the QBs that played/are playing in the Great Lakes Regions.   

If we open it up to other harsh winter climates we can definitely include: Tom Brady, Terry Bradshaw, John Elway (Rocky Mountains), as well as Eli Manning (who defeated Brady's Pats twice in the SB). There's plenty more if we go back further...

Edited July 31, 2022 by Flugel

[Flugel]

5 hours ago, TexasAg1969 said:

Ever been to a game in Laramie late in the season? Sometimes 30-40 mph winds with 20 F (or lower). He's had a ton of experience in an open stadium there. Plus it's over 7,000 ft above sea level. There's a reason one UW facility is named "High Altitude Training Center".😱🌬️🏔️

There's 1 Great Lake Team in the Windy City that hasn't had a lot of luck since Sid Luckman played there from 1939-1950.  They won a Super Bowl at the end of the 85 season with Jim McMahon; but he only threw 15 TD passes to 11 INTs in the 11 games he started that year without a loss.  That was also the only year he made the Pro Bowl.   That defense and running game deserved more Super Bowls.

Here's how many games McMahon started in each of the other seasons he played in Chicago: 

7 in 1982

13 in 1983

9 in 1984

6 in 1986

6 in 1987

9 in 1988

Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers were both drafted by the Bears in 1965.  Unfortunately, the Bears never made the playoffs during their careers.  That's gotta make poor Joe Thomas feel a little bit better that there's other HOF players that never got to play in the post season.  Having said that, the Browns were 10-6 during his rookie year so that was just real bad luck!  

Anyway, the Bears will be looking to change their passing game fortunes with Justin Fields while the Browns hade traded for DeShaun Watson to do the same....  

[stillmotion]

On 7/28/2022 at 6:25 PM, calfoxwc said:

She has so much to consider, to be fair. It's so stupid that this could have been avoided.

You know, we were watching the Indians play last week - and Tom Hamilton mentioned that (best I can quote) "If you try to find a bad character on this Guardians team, well, good luck to ya, because the Dolans take good character very, very seriously...."

   So here we are. The haslams just threw that all into the dumpster. Probably by now, they regret it. Watson lied to the browns...what a mess, ....they have paid so huge a price to be so desperate.

Almost August, and here we are....

All this now, and maybe Zombo said it best back on June 8th:

***********************************

Baker had so much heart. He was a dude you loved to root for. He made mistakes, but my god, he played his heart out and gave it his all. He had that fire and that passion. When Haslam is the leader, and he constantly second guesses his decisions, it creates uncertainty for everyone in the organization.

 

Trading Baker for nothing will be a regret. And as for Watson, it's hard to defend him. How can you build a community around someone who gets 60 massage girls and has them sign NDA's. Is that a role model for our children in Cleveland? A person the city can get behind and love?

 

I feel like Haslam might be the worst owner ever. Watson could potentially be suspended all season. This just ends up being a $200 million gamble to get an athletic premadonna. He wasn't our problem, but now he is. And way to go signing Josh Rosen. If Watson doesn't work out, Baker was still 10x the QB Rosen is.

[Flugel]

1 hour ago, stillmotion said:

Baker had so much heart. He was a dude you loved to root for. He made mistakes, but my god, he played his heart out and gave it his all. He had that fire and that passion. When Haslam is the leader, and he constantly second guesses his decisions, it creates uncertainty for everyone in the organization.

 

Trading Baker for nothing will be a regret. And as for Watson, it's hard to defend him. How can you build a community around someone who gets 60 massage girls and has them sign NDA's. Is that a role model for our children in Cleveland? A person the city can get behind and love?

 

I feel like Haslam might be the worst owner ever. Watson could potentially be suspended all season. This just ends up being a $200 million gamble to get an athletic premadonna. He wasn't our problem, but now he is. And way to go signing Josh Rosen. If Watson doesn't work out, Baker was still 10x the QB Rosen is.

Good to see you back in the mix again!

All of a sudden I'm a 58 year old teenager so I'm going to do what I did in the very beginning.  Forget about the owner, fall madly in love with the oline, running game and talent we have on defense.  Then, hope we we add 1 more veteran DT and pray this team doesn't have injuries to positions with the least amount of depth.

[Dutch Oven]

Rumors are that we will find out Watson's fate tomorrow. 

 

[D Bone]

19 minutes ago, Dutch Oven said:

Rumors are that we will find out Watson's fate tomorrow. 

 

I'll say 10 games when it's all said and done. 

[Dutch Oven]

26 minutes ago, D Bone said:

I'll say 10 games when it's all said and done. 

I'm thinking 6-8. 

[hoorta]

10 hours ago, TexasAg1969 said:

Ever been to a game in Laramie late in the season? Sometimes 30-40 mph winds with 20 F (or lower). He's had a ton of experience in an open stadium there. Plus it's over 7,000 ft above sea level. There's a reason one UW facility is named "High Altitude Training Center".😱🌬️🏔️

Never been to a game Tex, but been to the U. Wyoming campus several times.... 7,000 foot elevation?  Try 10,000 feet west of there in the Wind River Range in August.  Three inches of snow, and freezing temperatures.    
Last time we were out there (same August time frame) the clerk at the new hotel in Pinedale down the road told us she was a little surprised that they hadn't caught any snow yet.  

[Westside Steve]

https://clesportstalk.com/stupid-a-4-8-game-suspension-for-deshaun-watson/

Not sure how seriously I could take journalism with typos. I mean for me? Sure my stuff looks like crap but I kind of agree with this sentiment either slap him with a season or just let him go. Four or eight games doesn't serve any purpose.

WSS

[Orion]

Make him clean the ladies restrooms in the stadium.  One every other day (except Sunday) 'til they're all done.

This is the first ruling of this new ruling system.  There are people from either side of the fence ready to pronounce the ruling to be a poor one.  Including lawsuits and appeals.  Why, there could be rioting in the streets.  Cars set afire.  Looting Walmarts for TV's and pool supplies.  You name it.