How Close We are

The Gipper

Perhaps the best punters in Browns history have played Wide Receiver:

Gary Collins leads the team in best punting average in a season.....and also in most career TD catches

Horace Gillom, a productive WR, was next..

OldBrownsFan

I read a comment I thought was interesting. Does continuity breed success or does success breed continuity?

I think continuity does breed success when you have the right people in place. If not you are just spinning your wheels. I think we have the right people in place. Using wins and losses as a gauge we beat expectations last season. We haven't had any continuity since coming back in 99. I hope that is going to change.

It should go without saying that success breeds continuity but it is not necessarily so in the NFL (but it is usually the case).

miktoxic

@oldbrownsfan said:
I think we have the right people in place. Using wins and losses as a gauge we beat expectations last season. We haven't had any continuity since coming back in 99. I hope that is going to change.

i REALLY REALLY REALLY hope so too.

i think haslam>farmer>pettine work well together, and that 3 day 'meeting' or 'summit' leans me to believe that the owner has faith in these guys. hopefully, no matter what the outcome of W-Ls this coming season he doesn't grow a hair trigger like most owners we see nowadays.

no one can gauge growth if you keep cutting the knees out from under them.

OldBrownsFan

@miktoxic said:

i REALLY REALLY REALLY hope so too.

i think haslam>farmer>pettine work well together, and that 3 day 'meeting' or 'summit' leans me to believe that the owner has faith in these guys. hopefully, no matter what the outcome of W-Ls this coming season he doesn't grow a hair trigger like most owners we see nowadays.

no one can gauge growth if you keep cutting the knees out from under them.

That is how I see it too. These guys seem to respect each other and work well with each other. Patience is a word nobody likes but you have to give these guys a little time. We have been running the team too long like a farmer after planting seed continually digging it up to see how it is doing. Give it some time. The important thing is good seed planted. I think we finally have the right coach. I still have confidence in Farmer.

Mark O

@oldbrownsfan said:
Los Angeles may yet get another team but how frustrating would that be to live in one of the largest cities in the U.S. and see your team move out in 1995 with no replacement in all these years?

Trust me... The number of people who truly care about LA getting a NFL team wouldn't fill the Q.

OldBrownsFan

@mark-o said:
Trust me... The number of people who truly care about LA getting a NFL team wouldn't fill the Q.

I know you are right but you have to pity the ones who do.

Mark O

@oldbrownsfan said:
I know you are right but you have to pity the ones who do.

They'll have the Chargers to ignore soon enough.

The Gipper

@mark-o said:
They'll have the Chargers to ignore soon enough.

Why don't they just call them the Southern California or Golden State or the LA Chargers of San Diego or some such nonsense and put them in Orange Co.? Halfway between SD and LA. Solves both cities problem.

Mark O

@the-gipper said:
Why don't they just call them the Southern California or Golden State or the LA Chargers of San Diego or some such nonsense and put them in Orange Co.? Halfway between SD and LA. Solves both cities problem.

Certainly could. I always thought that's what the Clippers should do to get out of LA and under the Lakers. For the Chargers though, there's no way a stadium gets built anywhere in OC either. LA is the only option in terms of land and where the NFL wants the team.

Tim Couch Pulls Out

@westside-steve said:

And the best wr in the NFLwho won us how many games?

And where are our last 12 1st round picks?

WSS

Let's trade out of the first round from now on.

Westside Steve

@tim-couch-pulls-out said:
Let's trade out of the first round from now on.

Ok.

Would you take 5 second rounders for our two first rounders?

WSS

miktoxic

@westside-steve said:

Ok.

Would you take 5 second rounders for our two first rounders?

WSS

hmmmmm?

good question.

Tour2ma

Easy to do on First-Pick...

Tim Couch Pulls Out

@westside-steve said:

Ok.

Would you take 5 second rounders for our two first rounders?

WSS

Is there a team that can offer us 5 second rounders this year?

D Bone

@westside-steve said:

Ok.

Would you take 5 second rounders for our two first rounders?

WSS

In a heart beat. We are not 1 or 2 players away, and that combined with our recent "success" in the 1st round, yea, done.

The Gipper

@mark-o said:
Certainly could. I always thought that's what the Clippers should do to get out of LA and under the Lakers. For the Chargers though, there's no way a stadium gets built anywhere in OC either. LA is the only option in terms of land and where the NFL wants the team.

I don't know about the land part. I suspect there is some land somewhere in the OC that could suffice. A Disneyland parking lot perhaps.

But maybe the NFL does want it in LA......and are they willing to abandon San Diego to do that?

Mark O

@the-gipper said:

I don't know about the land part. I suspect there is some land somewhere in the OC that could suffice. A Disneyland parking lot perhaps.

But maybe the NFL does want it in LA......and are they willing to abandon San Diego to do that?

Disneyland doesn't have much land left around it. The Chargers will be abandoning San Diego because their stadium is a dump and there is no hope of getting a new stadium built in San Diego. The city and team haven't been able to even agree on a location ton consider for a new stadium and they've only been talking about for the last 17 years.

The Chargers are moving somewhere and I'm willing to bet a lot that they won't let two teams move into LA and leave them stuck without a place to go.

Mark O

The San Diego Chargers can hear the clock ticking, and they don't have the luxury of time..

With the St. Louis Rams mulling a relocation to Southern California, the Chargers are turning up the heat on the city of San Diego to determine whether they can finally get a new stadium in that city, or if they too need to make a play for Los Angeles.

Chargers set sights on L.A., push San Diego officials for action on stadium

Tensions flared Tuesday when Chargers special counsel Mark Fabiani wrote a letter to San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer that essentially questioned the seriousness and effectiveness of yet another stadium task force, and the mayor answered with a letter questioning the helpfulness of Fabiani's critique.

"His divisive tone and criticism of this group of volunteers, civic leaders and the city of San Diego as a whole are not conducive to developing a plan for a new stadium," Faulconer wrote. "I hope his behavior is not indicative of our ability to find a solution."

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The Chargers have made no secret of their disappointment in the mayor's forming a task force to address an issue they have been working on for almost 14 years. They met with Faulconer in November and tried to convince him to appoint a stadium czar who could work directly with team executives on finding an eventual replacement for aging Qualcomm Stadium.

Instead, the mayor appointed a task force, which the Chargers argue has no resources or authority to get anything done. Their position is that such an advisory group only allows the mayor to kick the can down the road and not deal with the problem at hand.

"Simply put, we have no intention of allowing the Chargers franchise to be manipulated for political cover," Fabiani told the task force in a letter Monday, "and we will call out any elected official who tries to do so."

c Comments

@Batcavern- Maybe you should know a little about the subject before opening your mouth. Over 30% of the Charger's season ticket holders are from LA and OC. Has been that way for years, especially since there is NO TEAM IN LA. There's an old saying. "It's better to keep...

temporarycalifornian

at 6:47 AM February 18, 2015

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5

In voicing their displeasure, the Chargers are talking not just to the mayor and city. More important, they are talking to the owners of the NFL's 31 other teams, trying to underscore the effort they have made to find a solution in San Diego and how difficult that process has been.

Convincing the other owners of that is essential, because the NFL is intent on exerting its control of the L.A. market — including which team or teams can move there, and where a new stadium would be located. How much control the league has in those matters is up for debate.

But the Chargers are trying to play by the league's rules to send the message that if it comes to a team moving back to the nation's second-largest market, they have fulfilled their relocation requirements and have done so by the book. Then, if it comes to a vote of owners, that presumably will weigh in their favor.

What Fabiani specifically questioned the mayor on Tuesday was whether the task force was truly independent of political influence. Fabiani asked why a political consultant to Faulconer, Jason Roe, attended a task force meeting that was closed to the media and the public. Fabiani also noted Roe is a lobbyist for a firm bidding to be a concessionaire at Qualcomm Stadium.

"Putting the legal and ethical issues aside for a moment," Fabiani wrote, "what sense does it make to have someone who is your chief advisor on political matters, and who advises a potential stadium vendor on business matters, play any sort of role with the 'independent' task force?"

The gist of Fabiani's question: Does the task force truly represent a good-faith effort to find a stadium solution, or is it an effort to continue to run out the clock on the problem?

Roe answered in a written statement that made reference to the Chargers' drafting a quarterback in what turned out to be one of the biggest flops in NFL history.

"Ryan Leaf is no longer the worst personnel decision in Chargers history," Roe responded. "In 14 years of failure, Mark Fabiani has done nothing but make excuses, lay blame, and pick fights. The mayor's advisory committee is just that — the mayor's advisory committee, and Mark does not get to dictate how the mayor organizes his advisory group."

Beyond the bickering is this undeniable truth: The pressure is rising in San Diego, and the Chargers are getting nervous and restless about protecting what they believe is their turf.

At some point soon, they might feel the need to take the next step. And that could be a step north.

The Gipper

What is wrong with the current site? Just build a new stadium in the parking lot...then convert the demolised stadium into parking. I have seen aerial photos....it seems doable.

Mark O

That makes sense but for some reason they don't want to do that. I'm guessing part of the issue is where would they play in the meantime or where would people park?