The decision from the NFL has finally come; Josh Gordon will be suspended for the entirety of the 2014-15 NFL season for his third recorded failure under the NFL’s substance abuse program. The sentence was handed down yesterday, on the eve of Cleveland’s final preseason game before the first week of the NFL season.
The Pro Bowl wide-receiver is technically suspended indefinitely, which puts the Browns in a somewhat precarious position going into the regular season without their best playmaker. It would actually be more apt to say that the development is devastating to Cleveland’s offense going into the season. They’re 0-3 in the preseason, and go into Thursday night’s game against the Chicago Bears needing some confidence before the start of the regular season.
Quarterback Brian Hoyer has been declared this year’s starter, and is expected to play most of the first quarter before handing the reins on over to rookie backup Johnny Manziel as Cleveland’s first team offense tries to get it’s act together before it’s September 7th season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Hoyer has expressed enthusiasm about the upcoming season, despite his team’s slow start in the preseason. He’s convinced that things will get better, and that many of Cleveland’s issues are self-inflicted, as opposed to stemming from being outplayed in their last three match ups.
“I don’t feel we’re down on ourselves,” he said. “The most frustrating part to us is that we do some things really well and then we shoot ourselves in the foot.
“It’s not like we’re going out there and just going three and out, three and out, three and out. That’s the frustrating part. If we just (stunk) then I think we would kind of just be down on ourselves, but we realize what we can be.
“That’s the most frustrating part and that’s why we’ve been coming out of these games feeling mad at ourselves. Obviously we want to go out and play and execute Thursday night really well, but I don’t think there’s going to be any type of hangover whether it’s positive or negative going into regular season. I think it’s a whole new ball game when that comes around.”
Hoyer, as long as he hangs on to the starting job, won’t have Gordon as a target for the entire season. Nate Burleson could be of some help going forward, however he has yet to prove that he can remain healthy to be productive to the entire season. He’s been sidelined with a hamstring issue, and will be making his preseason debut this evening. Because of his injury, Burleson isn’t a lock to make the final roster – however, Hoyer has stated that Burleson’s veteran knowledge can help Cleveland’s rookie quarterbacks and young receivers acclimate more quickly.
“It’s great to have Nate back out here,” Hoyer said. “Obviously, we got to see him out here earlier in the spring and to have him back out here another veteran guy who knows what he’s supposed to do. Nate has had a great career, to have a guy like that around us is only going to benefit us.”
from Lee Krahenbuhl’s History and Sports Page http://ift.tt/1zKZGnW
from WordPress http://leekrahenbuhl.wordpress.com/2014/08/28/browns-wr-josh-gordon-suspension-upheld/
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