http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/article-1/Cleveland-Browns-Head-Coach-Mike-Pettine-has-clear-vision-to-build-team-into-winners/bbcd7b06-d842-4431-8ea9-b84cf2d1fe3e

Stuart said:

Couldn't disagree more.....NOW is the perfect time.....New players, new staff and raised expectations....

and the mantra, as you call it, is simply a way of establishing standards and clearly defining them for all to see.....most great organizations do that......then you win points for practicing what you preach.....simple....

So, while I wouldn't compare it to an old college tradition(it's really more like a new corporate slogan), it's certainly a good way to define who they want to be & articulate that to the players and the masses.....and hold it out there for everyone to see.....Im down with it 100%.....

Stuart said:

you both are comical.

@tim-couch-pulls-out said:

Have to start somewhere.

True, but perhaps now is not the time.

Any outsider upon hearing "play like a brown" would find that rather comical.

The "play like a brown" mantra should be earned. Should the 2015 Browns put together a superb season and demonstrate to the rest of the NFL that they have established themselves a force to be reckoned with, then yeah Pet, go with it to motivate players toward maintaining a winning culture.

@wargograw said:

Here are the Browns they want them to play like:

@tour2ma said:

Right.....Gordon = Zero.....to this roster

He's gone in my mind..."poof"....not even a thought....he wont make one difference to anything thats gonna happen....

Next year?...who knows...but wont even give it a thought until then...he'll just be a bonus "if" he ever see's the field again(for us)

@wargograw said:

No comparison between hundred year old Aggie traditions and a phrase they just made up this year.

My point was the difference is time. That was the comparison.

@wargograw said:

I wonder if a lot of the low-key movement (or lack thereof) at receiver is a product of a belief Gordon will be back. That, and the idea that having elite receivers isn't that important. Of course to us, it looks like he's a lost cause, but they COULD know something we don't and view him as effectively a great 2016 draft pick. Who knows.

I doubt Gordon is much of a consideration. If he comes back and adds value, great. If not, we move on... same as other disappointments.

@wargograw said:

No comparison between hundred year old Aggie traditions and a phrase they just made up this year.

Have to start somewhere.

@wargograw said:

I think Farmer is anti-measurables which is his perogative

Gilbert has promised it will be different this season and Manziel is doing all the right things after rehab. I hope Gordon can straighten himself out as well.

That being said I have to agree with this "play like a Brown" and "we don't draft names" is nonsense. You drafted Johnny Maziel for shit's sake and that was a fucking reach at 22 and a debacle.

@flugel said:

Is it safe to say thanks today?

You know what a smart philosopher like WunDumSon never figured out? How does a band that called itself War end up with "Why Can't We be Friends?" as their biggest hit?

Let's talk football...

@wargograw said:

Any thoughts, Tour?

First, there are a lot of Aggie traditions that seem "gay" to the uninitiated. Only later do you find out about their roots in tradition.

Second, I think cal nailed it. Our staff actually spent time and effort on distilling to a simple phrase their desire to reconnect their team to this franchise's winning traditions and great players of the past.

It's going to take time for any whiff of contrivance to fade away completely... and we are all on our own schedule.

As for their comments on the draft and team...

Yes, going to see names we know leave us later this summer. It's all about the competition. Some may be big enough and go early enough to garner some trade value.

I think they are "OK" with their QB room. But I found Farmer's Petty discussion difficult to follow. They seemed to be the questions Farmer was most careful in answering. Personally I think he had no real interest in Bryce and was just trying to make me feel better.

@tour2ma said:

Is it safe to say thanks today?

You know what a smart philosopher like WunDumSon never figured out? How does a band that called itself War end up with "Why Can't We be Friends?" as their biggest hit?

be a great teammate, smart, etc etc etc etc". Why expect them to go into a five minute oration explaining

it every time?

I LOVE listening to real answers to questions - Farmer and Pettine are flat out honest, and they

know what they are talking about.

LOVe the draft.

Liked what they had to say about the guys they got. I like how they handle the tough questions. Seem to have a lot of faith in their QB room. Seem highly confident in the guys they got and were adamant that they "stuck to the plan." Farmer certainly left the door wide open for some of these very guys to be cut this summer.

Any thoughts, Tour?