THE DAILY BLOVIATION
I am not a very fair person. I am also a very busy person.
Since I started this Newswire years ago, every morning, I typically read news off every conceivable Browns site every morning. I’ve gone to great lengths to create a command center, scraping sites that don’t have feeds themselves, tracking Twitter posts, and always waiting for the latest news.
A long time ago, however, I decided that if I was going to finish this thing each morning and avoid banging my head on my desk in frustration, I needed to separate the serious sites, generally credentialed and with a balanced advertising and subscription business model, from the ones that trafficked in clickbait and sensationalism. So, the infamous “Crap Pile” of sites was born. It has grown over the years, especially the last three, and I refuse to divulge which feeds are in it and which are not. There are more than a dozen Browns sites in the Crap Pile now, churning out story after story without once visiting Berea or going into a locker room. I don’t take them seriously, and I won’t name or link them. But I read them so you don’t have to.
I mention this because yesterday was a Victory Monday. Victory Mondays are often short on news, which is a problem if you get paid by the click.
At 4:24 p.m., NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo posted a breaking story in eight words: “The #Browns activated QB Dillon Gabriel off IR.” A minute later, Daryl Ruiter added the other half: tight end Carsen Ryan was waived to make room. Shortly thereafter it hit the OBR’s LiveWire. That was the news. The third-string quarterback came off injured reserve with one day left on his practice window, and the Browns kept all four quarterbacks, which multiple reporters had already reported was the plan.
Most informed fans knew the plan was to keep all four quarterbacks and not move one unless an overwhelming offer came in. The depth chart order for the QBs appears to be the same as it was in August.
Pro Football Rumors told you something you probably didn’t know: the move doesn’t cost the Browns one of their eight IR returns, because Gabriel’s designation already counted, and they have five left. Then it shrugged that “this activation does not register on the same level it would have at this point last year.” PFT gave it four short paragraphs and noted that Todd Monken had said again Monday he was fine with four quarterbacks. ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi ran Gabriel’s career numbers and noted Taylen Green has been the emergency quarterback on game days. Scott Petrak filed it in a few sentences under “FOUR’S COMPANY,” including that Gabriel has been a full participant in practice.
But then I made the mistake of looking at the crap pile.
Since Oct. 6, the Crap Pile has produced eight headlines with Gabriel’s name in them. On Oct. 6, the quarterback room “faces shakeup.” On Oct. 9, it was “officially time” for a Gabriel decision. The decision came 17 days later, one day before the rules required it. Last week, the Browns were “shamelessly squeezing every last drop” out of a Gabriel “loophole.”
When the move finally came Monday, the Crap Pile went to work.
It was often referred to as a “major move.” One story credited the news to a national insider, spelled his name two different ways within a few lines, and closed by assuring us, “It will be worth watching how all of this sorts out.”
Another called it an “abnormal” and then explained a few paragraphs later that, by its own count, four teams opened this season with four quarterbacks, including the Steelers. So abnormal that our next opponent did it first.
A third said the move created a roster dilemma, complicating the offense “at a position of need.” The dilemma turned out to be tight end depth, after the Browns waived a seventh-round rookie who played almost entirely on special teams and is expected back on the practice squad. The piece allowed that carrying four quarterbacks “at the expense of running a sound offensive game plan might feel silly.” This was the day after the offense piled up a season-high 491 yards.
I run a website too, so I get it. Nobody clicks on “Browns activate third-string QB, as expected.” So the move becomes a major move, and somebody has to win and somebody has to lose, even if they weren’t involved. And I know that our crazily busy website makes mistakes, too. No one is perfect.
The problem is that many Browns fans get their information from these sites, especially if they get their “news” from social media like Facebook and Twitter. My wife, for example, has her whole family on Facebook and cruises around it every day. At least once a week, she asks me if the Browns did such and such a thing. I answer, “Did you see that on Facebook”? She says, “yes”, and I explain to her what actually happened. Between the ersatz Browns news sites and people looking for engagement on social media, a huge section of the fanbase is getting bad information trying to create fury over things like this shrug of transaction.
Imagine if the same forces were at play twisting the narrative on important things, like the real news. (Shudder). That would have consequences. Yep. That would be a problem.
Around here, I posted the team’s release in the Watercooler, and the first reply was “ruh-roh.” In Ask the Insiders, someone asked Jack Duffin whether Gabriel gets his shot now. Jack figures the Browns ride it out with four until they sort out the pecking order behind Watson, and then put it in perspective: “Working out the future QB room matters more to me than player 51-53 who is a game day inactive.” That’s the right size for this story.
Monken was asked Monday whether four quarterbacks was feasible when two of them won’t have a game-day role. He gave it the gravity it deserved: “Sure, it’s possible. Hell, it’s possible we’ll pick one more up and have five. Hell, I don’t know.”
If they do sign a fifth, you’ll read about it here in a sentence. Somewhere else, it’ll be a major move and an existential crisis for the franchise. Click here.
This and that...
KALIA DAVIS: Oyefusi reports the Browns won’t activate defensive tackle Kalia Davis (quad) off IR, which ends his season. He signed a one-year deal this offseason and only practiced a few times.
PITTSBURGH WEEK: Cabot has Monken cautioning against “Browns hurting Browns” after the chippy first meeting and Jared Verse saying the Steelers played dirty. Monken on the trip: “It’s fun to play at Pittsburgh. Got a great fan base. It’s a fun place to go play, man. It’s where you want to be. You want it to be loud. Means the game matters.”
RIP: Pittsburgh music legend Donnie Iris died Monday at 83. Pittsburgh week or not, he was one of theirs we liked. His first album with the Cruisers came out on a small Cleveland label before MCA picked it up, and topdawg29 shared in the Watercooler that he knew him through Michael Stanley.
QUICKLY: Asked in Ask the Insiders whether the Browns are really that good, Pete Smith said they’re not as good as their record, “However, the 5-2 record affords them the opportunity to fake it until they make it.” Cleveland 19’s Off the Leash crew did true or false on whether the Browns’ way of winning is sustainable. And Terry Pluto reports Jaguars fans can now pay to store their ashes outside the team’s new stadium, with the top tier at $5,904. Pluto: “They want twice as much to put your thing in there as it costs to get cremated.” Please, nobody forward this to Brook Park. Me, I want to be planted under a tree or something where my dead carcass can serve a useful function.
Have a good one! GO BROWNS!
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Browns Activate QB Dillon Gabriel
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THE LIFT
Positive news from the world of sports and beyond...
Why Your Boss Might Live Longer Than You - Researchers at the Stevens Institute of Technology looked at more than 27,000 Americans over 50, tracked from 1998 to 2020, and found that the self-employed had a 10 percent lower risk of dying during the study period than people working for a wage. The longer someone worked for themselves, the bigger the benefit, and it went mostly to people who chose to strike out on their own. Those pushed into it by a layoff didn’t see the same boost. The researchers think autonomy and a sense of purpose are doing the work, and they caution it’s an observational study, so healthier people may simply be likelier to start businesses. “Whether you’re an entrepreneur or an employee, finding ways to have ownership of your work and a reason to be excited about what you do every day is important for long-term well-being,” said Stevens professor Cristiano Bellavitis. As a guy who runs an independent Browns website, I’m taking this as proof that five fourth-quarter comebacks won’t kill me. Six might.
WRAPPING UP
When not refreshing a feed reader folder whose contents he refuses to name, Barry McBride is the Publisher and Founder of the OBR and bloviates this nonsense every morning. You can follow him on Twitter @barrymcbride or write him at barry@theobr.com if you are so compelled.
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