Cleveland Browns Offseason Talk

• Wooball

  

  BR1986FB;389484 wrote:Per a poster on the OBR, Mangini apparently said on a local radio show that ALL of the RFA's have now signed their 1 years tenders. Official announcement should come soon.

  
  That's good news. Those guys need to be in there come training camp, but it probably wasn't bad for guys like Veikune, Benard and others to get some extra reps this spring.
• Al Capone

  BR1986FB;389353 wrote:The hero of the day....Mangini offered the team a chance to get out of meetings if one of the defensive players could throw the ball through the smaller goal posts from the 50 yard line. DL Brian Schaefering (6'4" 295 lbs) lined up at the 50 and threw the ball approximately 70 yards in the air right through the goal posts. He ran off the field with his arms raised high yelling something to the effect of "I knew I should've been a QB."

  
  Sounds like he has the best arm on the team.hahaha
• jmog

  Al Capone;389586 wrote:Sounds like he has the best arm on the team.hahaha

  Better than any QB that will be playing for the first 6 games in Pittsburgh
• BR1986FB

  jmog;390276 wrote:Better than any QB that will be playing for the first 6 games in Pittsburgh

  
  What are you talking about? THIS guy will make a FINE starting QB for the first 4-6 weeks. Only thing he'd "violate" would be a buffet.
  
  
• BR1986FB

  Colt McCoy mainly watching, learning at Browns minicamp
  
  Filed by Scott Petrak June 15th, 2010
  
  
  
  The Browns’ plan for quarterback Colt McCoy to sit and watch in 2010 hasn’t changed.
  
  But for those anxious to get a glimpse of the future, McCoy shared a huddle with Joe Thomas, Eric Steinbach, Mohamed Massaquoi, Ben Wat*son and the rest of the first*team offense Sat*urday in a two-minute drill during the final minicamp prac*tice. It was the first time the rookie third-round pick had taken a snap with the starters.
  
  “It was great,” McCoy said. “I got in the huddle, I was a little nervous. But once we got rolling, we got rolling.”
  
  With Jake Del*homme getting the first-team repeti*tions through organ*ized team activities and the minicamp and Seneca Wallace working with the twos, McCoy and Brett Ratliff split the scraps. Coach Eric Mangini said McCoy’s appearance with the starters wasn’t by design, just how the practice schedule fell.
  
  “But it’s good to see what he’s going to look like operating with those guys,” Mangini said. “They’re all used to dealing with Jake and Seneca and you have to go in and establish that you belong.
  
  “The drive didn’t continue, but mechanically it looked fine.”
  
  McCoy completed four short passes against the No. 1 defense and picked up one first down before the drive fizzled. President Mike Holmgren, who made the McCoy pick at No. 85, watched intently from just a few yards behind the line of scrimmage.
  
  McCoy said the jog from the sideline sent him back in time to a practice field in Austin, Texas.
  
  “I can remember the first time I stepped in the huddle in spring ball after the five starting offensive linemen had just won a national championship and they had come back for their senior year and I was a freshman stepping in the huddle calling plays,” McCoy said.
  
  “I kinda had a little flashback just then.
  
  “It was good. Those guys knew what I was calling. We executed it pretty good. I’m learning and that’s only going to help me.”
  
  Mangini is all about situations. The Saturday practice was almost entirely devoted to endof- game scenarios, and McCoy’s turn came with the offense trailing by eight points at its 30-yard line with 1:55 left. He didn’t know the chance was coming.
  
  “In my mind, I’ve got a pretty limited number of plays that I really know off the top of my head,” he said. “You got to understand in a two-minute situation, head phones are off, no coaching, it’s all me running the show.
  
  “It was fun. I got to the sideline, all those guys patted me on the butt, said great job.
  
  Once I feel comfortable with the offense, you can look back in college, we didn’t ever fail in two-minute situations. We went boom, boom, boom right down the field.”
  
  After a redshirt year with the Longhorns, McCoy started for four years and won an NCAA-record 45 games. So taking an understudy role is an adjustment. As is getting only a few reps during team drills in a two-hour practice.
  
  “It’s hard,” he said. “But I think all quarterbacks go through that at some point. I don’t know enough to go out there and get all 12 reps. I feel like I could go out there and do it with practice, with time, and I would feel confident. But right now, that’s not my role.
  
  “My role is to get in the playbook, watchin’ film, picking up on things I can pick up on. Then obviously getting as much coaching as I can.”
  
  If McCoy were expected to play a significant role as a rookie, he’d be force-fed reps and fast-tracked through the offseason. But the Browns have committed to bringing him along slowly.
  
  “It’s a unique situation, it’s one that I’ve never been in,” he said. “It’s tough at times.
  
  But you’ve just got to embrace that and really control what you can control. What I can control is in the four or five reps each period that I get, I need to produce, I need to do well, then those reps will start increasing.
  
  “I feel like I had a really good minicamp and the reps I did have we produced.”
  
  A strong mental approach is considered one of McCoy’s strengths. He’s constantly talking to the coaches and quarterbacks as he tries to get a veteran’s grasp on the offense.
  
  He was pleased that he didn’t miss any hot reads or sight adjustments. Arm strength is less of a given, but he showed adequate velocity.
  
  “I feel like I’m getting on those guys’ nerves I’m asking them so many questions,” he said of Delhomme and Wallace. “That’s my role right now is to come in here and learn as much as I can and compete.
  
  “I feel like I’m getting the hang of it, but still understanding that I have a long ways to go before I’ve mastered anything. But I do feel confident at this point, I feel comfortable and I just got to keep working.”
  
  http://medinagazette.northcoastnow.com/2010/06/15/colt-mccoy-mainly-watching-learning-at-browns-minicamp/
• BR1986FB

  Sporting News has the Browns projected as a 2-14 team with the Jets beating the Cowboys in the Super Bowl. I'd like to hope we jump out to a 2-0 start....0-14 after that would REALLY suck.
• thedynasty1998

  

  2-14? I don't think it's possible for the team to be any worse this year.
• BR1986FB

  That's what I'm saying. People can bitch & moan about Delhomme and Wallace at QB all they want but I'd rather have two Special Olympians under center than Anderson or Quinn so we upgraded there. Hell, I'm hearing that McDaniels may only dress TWO QB's on Sunday and Quinn's NOT one of them (to show you how highly he is thought of).
  
  I think this team has anywhere from 6-8 wins in them.
• BR1986FB

  Browns Sign Second-Year Guard
  by Site Staff of theOBR.com, June 15, 2010 at 7:16pm ET
  
  Paul Fanaika Profile
  
  The Browns today signed OG Paul Fanaika, according to Adam Caplan of Scout.com. Fanaika was a seventh-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2009, when Browns GM Tom Heckert was helping to run those selections. Fanaika also spent time with the Redskins organization, and was cut on Monday. Fanaika is a big guard, at 6-5 and over 330 pounds.
  
  http://cle.scout.com/a.z?s=149&p=9&c=2&cid=977633&nid=5021110&fhn=1
• BR1986FB

  Cribbs: Browns offense has something up its sleeve
  
  By Steve Doerschuk
  CantonRep.com staff writer
  Posted Jun 15, 2010 @ 06:58 PM
  
  BEREA —
  
  You can be half blind sitting in the outer limits of the nosebleeds and still recognize Joshua Cribbs in the crowd on a football field.
  
  He walks a certain way.
  
  “It’s confidence,” he said. “I guess it’s a swag.”
  
  Then the action starts. You notice him then, too.
  
  Counting returns, runs and catches in 2009, Cribbs gained 2,510 yards for the Cleveland Browns. Nice, but numbers just don’t explain his magic.
  
  Even now, as he awaits his sixth NFL season, you wonder. Is there more?
  
  Now that the grow-a-kid-at-QB program is over and 35-year-old Jake Delhomme is the man, will there be new chances for Cribbs? With wild-card quarterback Seneca Wallace also in the house, will it be harder than ever to decipher what Cribbs will do in the offense?
  
  Why shouldn’t he have a career year? Shouldn’t Mike Holmgren’s influence mean something? Having turned 26 this month, shouldn’t Cribbs be at the peak of his prime?
  
  If you asked him, he would say — with that warning of a glint he gets in his eye — why not?
  
  As the first day of summer nears, Cribbs is coming off a spring in which one of the biggest buzzes around the offense was what Wallace, Cribbs and Delhomme might accomplish when they are on the field together.
  
  Left guard Eric Steinbach is among those intrigued by Wallace, a quarterback with dangerous feet.
  
  “He put Iowa State on the map,” Steinbach said. “He beat us (Iowa) four times when I was in college.”
  
  The Browns beat Pittsburgh for the first time in a long time in 2009, largely because of Cribbs. Maybe the Steelers will adjust to what he did in two games against them last season, when he rushed 14 times for 132 yards. But what are they to think when he is on the field with Wallace?
  
  Even if his coaches have been scared to let Cribbs throw, the former star Kent State QB has never stopped believing he can.
  
  “My role is going to be the same to some extent but adding on things to it, especially with the addition of Seneca,” Cribbs said. “It expands my role because the defense has to worry about another threat.
  
  “Any time Seneca and I are on the field at the same time, it’s not just ... ‘Watch out for Cribbs ... he might get a screen.’ Now, they have to look at Seneca, too. He might get a screen. He might make a run. He might throw me the ball. I might throw him the ball.”
  
  It could be a blast, except ...
  
  America has ignored last year’s 4-0 finish, concluding the Browns will be a bust. Peter King of Sports Illustrated ranks the Browns at No. 29 among 32 teams. ESPN has them at No. 27. Sporting News predicts Cleveland’s 2010 record will be 2-14.
  
  Mention this to Cribbs. There’s that glint.
  
  “We love it,” he said. “The worse they rate us, the better it is for us. It gives teams the false hope that, OK, we can count the Browns as a win.”
  
  As much as is possible for such a dynamic player, Cribbs faded into the crowd during minicamp. It has been three months since his contract dispute was settled via a new three-year deal worth a potential $18.5 million, including $7 million guaranteed.
  
  It was quite a deal considering Cribbs had been under contract to make about $1 million a year from 2010-12. It’s funny how money changes some players. Cribbs?
  
  “I’ve always had a chip on my shoulder,” he said. “I still have a chip on my shoulder, because some people think I shouldn’t have got paid like I have.
  
  “Now, I’ve got to prove it to ’em. This is why I got this money. This is why I should even get more, probably.”
  
  Look for Cribbs to stay on as the kickoff and punt returner. He made All-Pro as such in 2009. It would be hard for him to be much better on special teams.
  
  Offense?
  
  “I want to score more touchdowns on offense this year,” he said. “So ... more to prove.”
  
  Cribbs on LeBron
  
  Joshua Cribbs, who regularly attends Cavaliers games, was asked to weigh in on the question of the season:
  
  Will LeBron James stay in Cleveland?
  
  “I believe so,” Cribbs said. “I would want him to stay, but any way he goes, I’ll cheer for him the same.
  
  “But he’s king here. I tell him to stay. But it’s up to him. He’s got to make his choice and … you never know. It’s up in the air.”
  
  http://www.cantonrep.com/browns/x1389573543/Cribbs-Browns-offense-has-something-up-its-sleeve
• BR1986FB

  Only Jerome Harrison, Lawrence Vickers look like winners among Browns' unhappy free agents: Terry Pluto
  
  Published: Tuesday, June 15, 2010, 6:34 PM
  
  
  
  CLEVELAND, Ohio -- If you're a Browns fan, you should be very happy with Jerome Harrison and Lawrence Vickers.
  
  Those two restricted free agents were smart enough to show up for most of the voluntary off-season OTAs and last week's mandatory minicamp. They delivered this strong message to their teammates and coaches: We aren't happy with our contracts, but we believe in what the team is doing.
  
  Neither displayed a sense of entitlement. Both understood that nothing is guaranteed for them, despite a strong finish to last season. Harrison rushed for a stunning 561 yards in the final three games. Vickers was a powerful fullback whose blocks opened some of those holes for Harrison.
  
  They were among the five restricted free agents signed their contracts Monday -- a day before their offers could be reduced by 10 percent. All five had to know it could come to this point -- where they'd be facing a take it or leave it offer.
  
  The question is why didn't Abe Elam, Matt Roth and D'Qwell Jackson take the same path as Harrison and Vickers?
  
  They signed a type of insurance form and showed up for at least some of the OTAs and minicamps. Even wiser was Jason Trusnik, the Nordonia product who signed his $1.7 million offer a few months ago. He realized the key word in restricted free agent is "restricted."
  
  That means you ain't going anywhere, because the Browns could match any offer you receive. Because the Browns had the right to match any offer ... well ... there would be no offers.
  
  So sign the one-year deal, have a good year and then cash in when you're unrestricted and teams could freely bid for you. That's how it works. In the meantime, all are being paid about $1.7 million.
  
  If you're Elam, didn't you notice that the Browns drafted not one, but two safeties? That happens to be your position. You also are playing for a coach in Eric Mangini who is one of your biggest supporters.
  
  Abe, you should have been in camp. You're not good enough to hold out. You were cut twice before Mangini signed you with the Jets. You had 17 career starts before Mangini brought you to the Browns last season.
  
  You are a guy who will always have to battle to stay in the lineup.
  
  If you're Roth, you played a grand total of six games after the Browns picked you off waivers. That's right, you were cut by Miami, claimed by the Browns.
  
  Yes, there were four sacks in six games. But Matt, six games doesn't make a career. Your agent's trade quest was silly.
  
  The Browns signed two veteran linebackers in Scott Fujita and Chris Gocong. You started 23 games in your first four years with Miami. That doesn't make you another Jim Houston or Clay Matthews.
  
  If you're Jackson, it is easy to believe you deserve a new deal because you've started 48 games for the Browns. The problem is you played only six last season, and then went down with an injury.
  
  D'Qwell, the truth is the Browns looked stronger at inside linebacker when David Bowens took your spot leading the defense. You are a solid player, but there's a reason the Browns added Fujita and Gocong. They needed to improve at the position.
  
  There are now rumbles that some of these guys may not show up for the start of training camp later this summer. Don't even think about that.
  
  None of this is to attack the character of Elam, Jackson and Roth. But it is to question their judgment, and especially their agents. These guys still have a lot to prove in their pro careers, and they need to be on the field to do it.
  
  http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/blog/index.ssf/2010/06/only_jerome_harrison_lawrence.html
• Al Capone

  BR1986FB;390461 wrote:Sporting News has the Browns projected as a 2-14 team with the Jets beating the Cowboys in the Super Bowl. I'd like to hope we jump out to a 2-0 start....0-14 after that would REALLY suck.

  
  You Clown fans thought I was mean. I gave em 5 wins this season.
• BR1986FB

  Good call on Lauvao being a starter. That would be my early guess. REALLY liked that pick...
  
  Cleveland Browns offseason has arrived, but not for long -- Tony Grossi's blog
  
  Published: Wednesday, June 16, 2010, 1:01 PM
  Tony Grossi, The Plain Dealer
  
  
  
  
  
  CLEVELAND -- Most pro sports have an extended offseason. Not the NFL.
  
  That takes us to now -- seven weeks before the opening of training camps. This is the closest thing to an offseason in the NFL. Coaches and players take their down time now, but GMs and business executives generally are on the job, trying to negotiate rookie contracts and amp up ticket sales.
  
  Then it starts all over again the last week in July.
  
  Until then, I am wondering about some things with the Browns. Such as:
  
  * Eric Mangini's hesitance to name Jake Delhomme his starting quarterback for the opening of camp.
  
  I get that the coach might not want to deflate the morale of Seneca Wallace, who looks capable of at least competing for the job. But Delhomme was paid to be the starter this year. That doesn't mean Delhomme can't lose the job if he hasn't cured his turnover-itis.
  
  But, please, no more open competitions. Spare us the daily grind of assessing every dropback in every drill on every day of training camp.
  
  Delhomme should go into camp as the starter so that every player can invest his confidence in him. For the most part during OTAs, Delhomme has demonstrated sharpness in his throws, expertise in his decision-making and professionalism on the field and off. There's no evidence at this point that his bad 2009 season has stuck to his psyche.
  
  Again, if he stinks it up, Wallace takes over. Delhomme knows that.
  
  * The morale of the restricted free agents who came to their senses and signed their one-year contract tenders.
  
  As new President Mike Holmgren once stated in a different context, "This is the big boys league." Suck it up. Four of the five players got huge raises for 2010. The roster is improved from 2009. Each of the players is replaceable. Just play.
  
  * The morale of kicker Phil Dawson.
  
  The club is concerned about this and has made overtures about a modest raise. The cold response was shocking to team officials.
  
  Dawson has toiled for the Browns for 11 years -- nine of which have been losing seasons. At 35, he might have two or three solid seasons left in his right leg.
  
  Dawson might be yearning to seek greener pastures in hopes of experiencing a championship team. If that's the case, he just has to play through 2010 and he'll become an unrestricted free agent. He can't do that hanging his head.
  
  Usually, a player has to agree to a contract extension to receive more money. Maybe the Browns should offer a modest raise without extended years as a token of appreciation for Dawson's longevity and performance. The Eagles did it a few years ago with Donovan McNabb.
  
  I'm thinking that the Josh Cribbs precedent -- giving him a big, new deal with three years remaining -- is having an effect on the Dawson dispute. Certainly Cribbs outperformed his old deal. But same is true with Dawson.
  
  * The likeliest rookie draft picks to start from Day One.
  
  Not first pick Joe Haden. Not second pick T.J. Ward. My best guess would be third pick Montario Hardesty and fifth pick Shawn Lauvao.
  
  If Hardesty has an injury-free training camp, I don't see him getting beat out by Jerome Harrison or anyone else as the feature back. Hardesty is the one player that can earn Tom Heckert's first Browns draft an A in Year One.
  
  Lauvao is big, strong, smart and agile. What's not to like about that for an offensive lineman? Veteran Floyd Womack offers stiff competition at right guard, but my money is on Lauvao, barring something unforseen.
  
  http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2010/06/cleveland_browns_offseason_has.html
• fortfan

  Read the article in Sports Illustrated last night. The writer mentioned that the Browns QB situation may have gone from "bad to worse" with the addition of Delhomme......makes me wonder if he watched even a quarter of Browns football last year.
• BR1986FB

  fortfan;392557 wrote:Read the article in Sports Illustrated last night. The writer mentioned that the Browns QB situation may have gone from "bad to worse" with the addition of Delhomme......makes me wonder if he watched even a quarter of Browns football last year.

  
  That's bullshit. Quinn may not even be active (heard that Orton & Tebow may be their gameday QB's) on Sunday's and Anderson probably isn't going to beat out the craptastic Matt Leinert. If anything, they upgraded the QB position by leaps and bounds.
  
  Cracks me up how Delhomme has one shitty year and suddenly he falls in the Akili Smith/Kordell Stewart category. Quinn & DA were SO bad that Cleveland, maybe Oakland, were the ONLY teams in the NFL that they'd start for.
• pkebker

  i was in the store yesterday reading 2010 football/fantasy football previews about the browns, and they all said similar statements. They said the browns aren't any better than last year, and they gave bad ratings at every position. I laughed because most of them gave the browns O-line a grade of C
• thedynasty1998

  

  Obviously Delhomme isn't the answer and I didn't like the signing originally, but the more that I've thought about it, the more I like it.
  
  The Browns are not winning the Super Bowl this year and needed to wash their hands of Anderson/Quinn. So why not bring in a veteran who has been through the ups and downs and can provide some leadership, rather than having two young guys who are highly inconsistent and haven't done squat in the NFL to command anyones respect.
  
  The Browns still need to find a QB of the future, but in the meantime I don't mind Delhomme.
• BR1986FB

  Delhomme's definitely not their future. He's a stopgap/game manager until they figure out if McCoy is their guy (which I'll be surprised if he is).
• thedynasty1998

  

  Next years QB class is loaded and I want to believe that Holmgren had that in mind going into the draft this year. Built up other positions and we will get a steal in the draft the following year. I'd be happy with Locker, Luck or Mallett.
• Wooball

  

  thedynasty1998;392646 wrote:Next years QB class is loaded and I want to believe that Holmgren had that in mind going into the draft this year. Built up other positions and we will get a steal in the draft the following year. I'd be happy with Locker, Luck or Mallett.

  
  I don't disagree completely with this, but the fact that Holmgren stepped in on draft day and urged the team to take Colt McCoy makes me believe that Colt is at least going to get a chance to play for this team. If they take a QB in rounds 1 or 2 next year, then why did they waste the pick on McCoy when they could have grabbed another potential starter on defense?
• thedynasty1998

  

  It's low risk/high reward with McCoy. Why not take a chance on him in the 3rd round when you don't have to pay him much and see if he can show some promise. If McCoy does show promise this year, then they don't have to worry about a QB next year.
• BR1986FB

  Wooball;392659 wrote: If they take a QB in rounds 1 or 2 next year, then why did they waste the pick on McCoy when they could have grabbed another potential starter on defense?

  
  Gotta have a backup QB.
• royal_k

  

  2-14????
  
  This made me laugh out loud.
• Al Capone

  royal_k;393762 wrote:2-14????
  
  This made me laugh out loud.

  
  What's so funny about it?
• BR1986FB

  Raw, But Learning Fast
  
  By The Sports Xchange
  
  Posted Jun 18, 2010
  
  
  Carlton Mitchell's progress depends on learning to relax. Here's the latest on this intriguing wide receiver prospect.
  
  Browns rookie receiver Carlton Mitchell is raw, but he is learning quickly.
  
  Mitchell was a baseball player until his sophomore year at Gaither High School in Lutz, Fla., and then he decided to give football a whirl because his friends played football.
  
  Mitchell started as a punter; catch the snap, punt the ball high and far. Do that well enough and he would make the team.
  
  Then one time the long snapper snapped poorly. Mitchell scooped up the ball and acted instinctively.
  
  "I took off running," Mitchell recalled. "The coach said, 'You want to play wide receiver?'"
  
  Mitchell did not have to be asked twice. He also ended up playing defensive end and defensive back (a strange combination) in high school. Rivals.com ranked him as the 55th best receiver coming out of high school in 2007.
  
  Being No. 55 isn't the kind of recognition that attracts attention from schools like Florida, USC and other traditional powerhouses, but it was good enough to get a call from South Florida.
  
  Mitchell played only three seasons of college football and then, against the advice of friends, left a year early after catching 105 passes for 1,648 yards and nine touchdowns.
  
  The Browns drafted Mitchell in the sixth round in April, No. 177 overall. Nineteen wide receivers were drafted before him.
  
  "Carlton has gotten a little better every day," coach Eric Mangini said. "He's a hard worker. He has good speed and good size. He's making progress in terms of his assignments and adjustments."
  
  The coaches like the way Mitchell runs and they say when he is running a go route he looks smooth and comfortable. On those plays he catches the ball with his hands. The coaches want him to relax more when he is facing the quarterback and the ball is thrown to him, whether he is moving across the field or running back toward the quarterback.
  
  How quickly Mitchell learns to relax and make those catches consistently could determine whether he ends up on the practice squad or grabs a spot on the 53-man roster.
  
  Mohammed Massaquoi, Brian Robiskie, Chansi Stuckey and Josh Cribbs seemingly have locked up roster spots. Mitchell is competing with Jake Allen, James Robinson, Syndric Steptoe and Johnathan Haggerty for a job.
  
  Mitchell has been told to catch 150 passes a day from the Jugs gun and is complying with that order and getting better.
  
  "In the NFL the speed is a lot different," Mitchell said. "They throw a lot of information at you, but if you sit down and study and have a strong mindset, things begin to fall into place. I'm learning on the run. Every day I try to take five or six things with me."
  
  Mitchell said he is working on a stutter-step before making a cut on his pass route rather than just trying to beat the defender with sheer speed. He said he is also working on staying in his assigned lane when being used on special teams.
  
  
  http://cle.scout.com/2/978420.html