Jimmy Haslam's Weird Fascination with Athletes in Street Clothes
Do you know why the New England Patriots won all those Super Bowls? Because Bill Belichick was a jerk with a one track mind. He didn't care if you helped the Patriots win last week, he didn't care if you could help the Patriots win in two weeks, he only cared if you could help the Patriots win THIS WEEK.
After Tom Brady's career ended, a reporter confronted Brady about being "relatively" healthy. Brady then ran through a laundry list of injuries he played through, including many that didn't end up on official injury reports. Brady's famous ex-wife claimed he had multiple concussions, none of which have ever been confirmed by the Patriots themselves.
The reason why Brady played through so much pain? He was worried that his coach would replace him like he had replaced Pro-Bowler Drew Bledsoe.
Former Cleveland Browns Beat Reporter Tony Grossi once said, "the best athletic, and most talented, wide receiver he ever saw, in practice, was Josh Gordon."
Josh Gordon was with the Browns for 6 full seasons and played 40 games. Why so few games? Every time the Browns turned their heads, Gordon was suspended due to drugs. As the Browns turned their roster over multiple times in those years, the guy Owner Jimmy Haslam stood by across multiple re-builds was the guy that couldn't play. Future Hall-of-Famer Joe Thomas played 10,000 snaps in a row for the Browns, then Haslam's braintrust tried to trade him to the Denver Broncos.
Editor's Note: The only reason that trade wasn't made was because the Broncos tried to UNDERPAY for Thomas. If the Broncos included that extra 2nd rounder, Thomas would have ended up in Denver.
Since the 2020 Covid season, DeShaun Watson has only played 21 games due to suspensions and injuries. But, not unlike Josh Gordon, Jimmy Haslam knows he has a player with Hall-of-Fame Talent.
Who can't get on the football field.
You say DeShaun Watson looked good last week? Aaaaarrrgggghhhh....
In the off season, the Browns had 3 quarterbacks:
DeShaun Watson
The much hyped Shedeur Sanders
And third round pick Dillon Gabriel
Then the Browns inexplicably picked Arkansas QB Taylen Green, who went 2-9 his senior year, because he had one of the best combines in NFL History.
But guess what? You can't play Watson, Sanders, Gabriel, and Green, all at the same time. One, in theory, should help you win. The other 3 sit on the bench and can't help you win. You put players on the filed that can help you win. That is Belichick 101.
You say Watson gives you the best chance to win today? Okay, then play him, keep the backup that gives you the best chance to win if Watson gets hurt, and trade the other two for players who can help you win next week.
It's not rocket science. The NFL is set up for parity and the Browns are 147-291-1 since 1999, the worst in the league in that time span.
Everything Haslam's Browns have done, between the lines, has been wrong. Haslam should just do things the way the rest of the league does....
And aspire for average.
Comments