Juan Castillo, who was the offensive line coach two years ago, was mysteriously named defensive coordinator before last season in Philadelphia.  Just the fact that you would change coordinators during a lock out was a little questionable, since the time you were going to have to install your new defense was going to be limited. The fact that the coach had never coached defense was even more questionable.  The Eagles were awful on defense last year, and wasted an explosive offense.  This year the Eagles are minus 22 in scoring ratio, and are allowing 5.1 yards per play.  For a team that has won 3 games by less than two points…this is not good.  Not sure who made the decision to make Juan a defensive coordinator, but now he is unemployed.

Mike Holmgren had a five year plan when he got to Cleveland, and four years later it took them till week 6 to win their first game.  With a new owner in Cleveland confirmed by the NFL today, his plan obviously didn’t include Holmgren.

ESPN is reporting that The Cleveland Browns have been sold by Randy Lerner to Jimmy Haslam for in excess of $1 billion. League sources told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter this information today.

Jimmy Haslam is president and CEO of Knoxville, Tenn.-based Pilot Flying J, the largest operator of travel centers and travel plazas in North America with more than 550 retail locations. He is the older brother of Tennessee’s Gov. Bill Haslam, who also worked for the family business before he was elected mayor of Knoxville in 2003 and again in 2007, then governor in 2010.

He also has described himself as a “1,000 percent” Pittsburgh Steelers fan.

The Browns have been owned by the Lerner family since 1999, when the franchise was reborn after the original club moved to Baltimore.

Randy Lerner, 50, who also owns the Aston Villa soccer club in England, inherited the Browns in 2002 following the death of his father, Al.

Some fans have been unhappy with Randy Lerner, long criticizing him as a disengaged owner of a club that has made the playoffs just once since it was recreated.

Information from ESPN.com news services was used in this report.

Jonathan Vilma

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell showed no mercy to the New Orleans Saints coaches and management and he is showing no mercy to the Saints players. He has finally come to a decision on the fate of Saints players who were involved in a cash-for-hits bounty system and these are some of the heaviest penalties in NFL history. Here are the penalties and the players who received them:

LB Jonathan Vilma: Suspended for all of 2012 without pay. This is effective immediately and runs through the playoffs and the Super Bowl. It is reported that Vilma placed $10,000 cash on the table in the team’s meeting room and said he would pay anyone who knocked Brett Favre out of the NFC Championship Game in January of 2010.

DL Anthony Hargrove: Eight-game suspension without pay. The NFL said that he targeted Favre in the NFC Championship Game. The NFL says, “Hargrove also actively obstructed the league’s 2010 investigation into the program by being untruthful to investigators.” Hargrove later confessed to his role in the bounty program. Hargrove is now with the Packers.

DE Will Smith: Four-game suspension without pay. Smith helped to create the bounty program with former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.

LB Scott Fujita: Three-game suspension without pay. He participated in the bounty program when he played for the team. Fujita is now with the Browns.

In the statement from the NFL Roger Goodell stated, “It is the obligation of everyone, including the players on the field, to ensure that rules designed to promote player safety, fair play, and the integrity of the game are adhered to and effectively and consistently enforced. Respect for the men that play the game starts with the way players conduct themselves with each other on the field.”

Goodell also stated, “In assessing player discipline, I focused on players who were in leadership positions at the Saints; contributed a particularly large sum of money toward the program; specifically contributed to a bounty on an opposing player; demonstrated a clear intent to participate in a program that potentially injured opposing players; sought rewards for doing so; and/or obstructed the 2010 investigation.”

Nov 8, 2009; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (left) and San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers talk prior to game at Giants Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim O

Take a look at this brief off-season quarterback carousel just so that you can understand where I’m coming from:

• The Indianapolis Colts cut Peyton Manning so they can draft Andrew Luck.
• Peyton Manning signs with the Denver Broncos after putting the NFL on a three year waiting list. Wait, what? It wasn’t three years? Sure seemed like it.
• The St. Louis Rams got a fortune in return from the Washington Redskins so they can take RG3 right after the Colts select Luck.
• Matt Flynn signs with the Seattle Seahawks after being Aaron Rodgers’ backup.
• Jason Campbell leaves Oakland after having his starting job taken away and signs with the Chicago Bears to become Jay Cutler’s backup.
• Kyle Orton does the same thing and goes to backup Tony Romo in Dallas after starting for two teams last year: the Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Broncos.
• Denver Broncos’ third string QB Brady Quinn moves to Kansas City to become that team’s newest backup QB.
• Chad Henne left the Dolphins to challenge for the starting QB job with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
• The New York Jets brought in Drew Stanton to be Mark Sanchez’s new body double.
• David Garrard comes back to the league after a one year absence to join the Miami Dolphins.

We have backups becoming starters, starters becoming backups, rookies being drafted presumably to start from day, guys out of the league for a year and one of the greatest QBs to ever play in the NFL cut for a player to have never played a down of professional football before. Confused yet? That’s because it is confusing to keep track of which quarterback is on which team now in the new quarterback driven NFL.

With the signing of Manning to the Broncos there is now another starting quarterback that could be had for the right price: Tim Tebow for a 5th round pick, presumably. The two teams with a most glaring need at a QB, if the 49ers don’t bring back Alex Smith, that is, are the Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins. You have to include Miami because a Matt Moore/David Garrard combo doesn’t scare anyone.

The Browns were never in the hunt for Manning but aren’t enamored with incumbent QB Colt McCoy and lost out on the RG3 sweepstakes. The Dolphins went all in on Manning but came back empty handed; then their second choice Flynn spurned them for the Seahawks. That leaves the potential of either one of those two teams signing Alex Smith, he of the 49ers, who has no idea of his job status thanks to the Peyton Derby, and the aforementioned Tebow.

Plus there are other potential first round quarterbacks besides Luck and RG3 that could be taken by the Browns or Dolphins like Ryan Tannehill or Brandon Weeden, both of whom, if you ask me aren’t worthy of being selected in the top ten of the draft but might be taken that early because the Dolphins (picking 8^th overall) and the Browns (picking 4^th overall) won’t have any choice other than dangling a future first round draft pick in order to trade back into the latter part of the upcoming 2012 NFL Draft.

By my calculations we might have a total of 11 teams with a new starting QB/quarterback question marks entering next season:

-Redskins – RG3, Vikings – Ponder/Webb?, Jaguars – Gabbert/Henne? Or maybe even Tebow?, San Fran – Smith/Kaepernick/Josh Johnson?, Arizona – Kolb/Skelton? Cleveland – McCoy?, Seattle – Flynn/T-Jax? Titans – Locker/Hasselbeck?, Indy – Luck, Miami – Moore/Garrard? and Denver – Peyton Manning.

11! That is a ridiculous amount of turnover at the most important position in football.

Now you can see why I’m pretty happy that the Giants have Eli Manning and we didn’t have to put up with the Peyton circus and the revolving game of quarterback musical chairs that teams like the Redskins and Dolphins plus players like Tebow and Smith have had to put up with this offseason. Heck, the Giants are even keeping their back-up QB David Carr.

Last week we looked at the AFC East

Baltimore Raves: My pre-draft ranking of the Baltimore Ravens franchise is NEUTRAL. As sad as it is, the Ravens have become very old on defense. Although they were only a Field Goal away from the Super Bowl, they are going to be a year older and a step slower. The defense is the strength of this team, but they need to target a way to get younger. The Ravens will have the 29th overall pick. Rumors coming out of the greater Baltimore area indicate that the Ravens are targeted a WR and/or LB. However, they will need to deep into free agency to help fill some of their voids. They do have the cap room to make these moves. One also has to wonder if the Ravens will look to switch kickers simply to appease some of the veterans on the team. Given their age and lack of offensive explosiveness, I believe the Raven are stuck in mud and thus a pre-draft ranking of Neutral. They are one or two good signings from being positive and they are one torn ACL for Ray Rice/Ed Reed from a ranking of negative. The draft is often not essential for teams coming off such a successful season; however, for the Ravens their season begins on draft night.

Pittsburgh Steelers:  My pre-draft ranking of the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise is a Downward Trend. Some people might be

January 8, 2012; Denver, CO, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison (92) during the first quarter of the 2011 AFC wild card playoff game against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-US PRESSWIRE

surprised by what I think of the Steelers, but they have tons of issues. They just released Ward, Harrison is always wanting to retire, and Troy Polamalu is not getting any younger. Big Ben has yet to talk to the new offensive coordinator and the Steelers may not be able to retain their best wide-out (Wallace). As I type this the Steelers are also over the cap thus having no room to make any positive changes to their team. Mock drafts have the Steelers looking for DL help or going an offensive lineman. Because of the new draft rules, those two positions should not cost the Steelers too much money. They should have enough to sign their draft picks but not much more than that. Mark this date down (March 7, 2012), the Steelers could be staring a sub .500 season straight in the face.

Cleveland Browns: My pre-draft ranking of the Cleveland Browns is NEUTRAL. The Browns are very hard to predict right now. Rumors are widespread that the Browns are going hard after the Rams 2nd overall pick. If they secure this pick, it is assumed that they would draft RG III. IF, and I mean If, this happens the Browns would take a huge leap forward. Pairing Brown and Hillis together would give Browns fans something to cheer about. Even if they do not make the trade, they still have the fourth and 22nd picks in the first round of the draft. Beyond that, the Browns also have much flexibility with their cap space and could be looking to make a huge splash in free agency too. If they draft RG III look for them to go hard after a WR and then safety help in the later rounds. With the right moves the Browns could go 11-5 or with the wrong moves could go 5-11 this upcoming season. They are a very interesting team to say the least!

Jan 1, 2012; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis (40) during a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns Stadium. The Steelers won 13-9. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-US PRESSWIRE

Cincinnati Bengals: My pre-draft ranking of the Cincinnati Bengals is an Upward Trend. The Bengals have a young dependable QB and a very young and talented WR corps. How can you go wrong with that? They also have a good amount of draft room and are drafting  in the number 21 position. They have flexibility with their pick. They can go for LB help or continue to build their offensive line. A recent mock draft had them going RB, LB, CB in the first three rounds of the draft. They have solid young talent all around the roster and may be looking one or two moderately priced veterans to help secure the foundation of the team. No matter how you look at it this team is on the rise.

Pre-Draft Prediction for AFC Central final year standings: 1) Bengals 2.)Ravens 3.) Browns 4.) Steelers

As always follow me on twitter @tom_brant

]]> http://gmenhq.com/2012/03/07/focus-on-afc-central/feed/ 0 http://gmenhq.com/2012/03/05/rams-trade-second-pick/ http://gmenhq.com/2012/03/05/rams-trade-second-pick/#comments Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:45:53 +0000 Tom Brant http://gmenhq.com/?p=10158 CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Browns are one of three teams with a top-10 draft pick that have had “very preliminary talks” with the Rams about trading up for the No. 2 pick to draft Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Tuesday. The trade has not happened yet but all signs point to [...]

Rams Trade Second Pick?!? - GMEN HQ - GMEN HQ - A NY Giants Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Browns are one of three teams with a top-10 draft pick that have had “very preliminary talks” with the Rams about trading up for the No. 2 pick to draft Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Tuesday.

The trade has not happened yet but all signs point to the fact that the Rams want to trade this pick. The Browns have the most to offer

January 17, 2012; St, Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams new head coach Jeff Fischer and owner Stanley Kroenke pose for a photo after a press conference at the Russell Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

the Rams but it appears at this point the Browns are unwilling to give up their 22nd overall pick. For more on that, click here. The Rams will eventually trade this pick to a team that needs a QB. As we get closer to the draft the heat will certainly turn-up on teams looking for a QB. Expect the Browns, Redskins, and Jets (Yes the Jets) to all be talking to the Rams about the second overall pick.

Stay tuned to Gmenhq.com for all the information you need on this story. It is bound to change on a daily basis. As always follow me on twitter @tom_brant

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