Chat with James Walker

[BernietheKid]

Chat with James Walker

Welcome to SportsNation! On Tuesday, ESPN.com AFC North blogger James Walker will stop by to chat about the NFL and what to expect from your team.
Walker joined ESPN.com in 2008 after three seasons covering the Cleveland Browns for the Columbus Dispatch.
Send your questions now and join James Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET!

Mike (Parma, Ohio)
Who will get the bulk of the carries this year, Hardesty or Harrison or will they split?
James Walker (4:16 PM)
Training camp will go a long way to determining that. Both players will get carries regardless of who wins the job. Jerome Harrison may have the job early, but I wouldn't be surprised if Montario Hardesty is the starter this year at some point.

Brandon (MD)
Hi James, thanks for chatting. Do you think Del Homme will bounce back this year and have a good season for the Browns? Or will it be another lackluster year for Cleveland QBs?
James Walker (4:19 PM)
When I talk to the Browns, they seem optimistic about Jake Delhomme bouncing back. I wouldn't rule it out, but I'm more skeptical than the team is.

Brandon (Ohio)
There have been reports that Joe Haden has struggled in mini-camp. Do you think he will start at CB?
James Walker (4:21 PM)
Haden was a step slow and unsure of himself in minicamp, in my opinion. That's what I saw with my own eyes. Unless he makes major leaps in training camp, which is always possible, I don't see him earning a starting job right away.

Chris (Broadview Heights, OH)
I know the season is still about a month and some change away but how important is it that the Browns are able to win at least one of their first two games vs. Tampa and KC? The schedule gets real rocky after that.
James Walker (4:22 PM)
It's extremely important, Chris. These are two games the Browns have a chance to win and may even be favored in. A 2-0 start would help a lot in terms of morale. An 0-2 start would go the opposite way, obviously.

Kyle (Cleveland)
Hey James what do you think of browns wide reciever Carlton Mitchell? Seems like he is pretty raw but he is a pretty big reciever and the depth at wide reciever for the browns is pretty thin.
James Walker (4:48 PM)
It's early, but I like what I see from Mitchell. He has good size and pretty good speed. I think he could be a sleeper in Browns camp as a sixth-round pick.

Patrick (Ohio)
How long till the Browns can contend. 1-3, 3-5?
James Walker (4:52 PM)
I'd say the Browns are at least two years away from contending. A big question is if they're going to start over with a new coaching staff next year? That would be another revolving door.

Ron (Ohio)
any word on how peyton hillis looks at running back for the browns?
James Walker (4:53 PM)
Hillis missed all of minicamp this year. So I will have to get a closer look in training camp.

Ron (Ohio)
if mangini can not get the job done in the first few weeks of the season do you see Holmgren stepping back on the field to take over?
James Walker (4:54 PM)
I don't envision Mike Holmgren taking the field this year. If he comes back to coaching, I think he would put more thought into it and start fresh, instead of taking over a losing team that would be going nowhere.

Chat: Chat with James Walker - SportsNation - ESPN

[Inspecta]

Interesting chat.

I disagree that it will be two years before we contend. If we have football in 2011 we will be contenders then. Just imagine one more offseason of churning talent and acquiring more picks/players.


Also per Riffer's suggestion I befriended Carlton Mitchel on facebook. The kid is a little on the vain side as he posts a lot of pictures of himself (but then again what WR isn't?) but that dude is effin' ripped. He's a raw specimen to be sure. If he can get some glue on those hands we might have our first true sleeper since Josh Cribbs rolled in as an undrafted FA

[golfer704u]

I think you have to define "contend". If you mean for a division title and a playoff birth. then yeah we will. But if you mean contenders in the larger sense of we have a legitimate shot to win the superbowl, then I'd agree with him that we are 2 years away. More if we get rid of Mangini after this year.

[Danamal]

Mangini and Dabs are the great unknown when it comes to contention.
All the distractions have been removed all the drama is gone all they have to do is win or instill the belief in the FO on down to Joe Fan that we are close but are still lacking a few key pieces to the puzzle.
If we come out of the gate looking like the keystone cops as we did last year they could be on the short bus out of town then contention and philosophies could really set us back.

While I have said Holmgren put himself in a great position no matter what in his decision to keep Mangini for this season it's quite possible if he falls on his face we as fans have lost a step or atleast two seasons while a new regime gets up to speed.

[Solon16]

Chat with James Walker.... OK go ahead....

I'm waiting!

There were 200 of us at key bank when I lived in OH

[Shep]

I loved the Mitchell pick, and loved seeing in an interview that he's a sharp kid. I'm optimistic that we may have stolen one there.

Seriously, I would rather be wrong about this where-there's-smoke-there's-fire situation on Haden. But you add it all up, and it's pretty clear he didn't exactly shine in shorts and tees. It's also clear that speed is his issue, so we'll have to keep an eye on that.

[Inspecta]

Shep, one of the Madden quotes I love to throw around is the following....

"90% of the game is half mental"

A lot of rookies come a bit wide eyed and aren't as sure about their first or second step. That's mental, and it will dissolve with repetition, practice, study and understanding.

I'm still not sure how speed is a clear issue. I'm telling you man, to start on Florida's defense, especially in the secondary, you have to have not just good speed, but great speed. He ran a 4.4, any faster and your in Deion Sanders/Darrel Green territory. A nice luxury but not necessary.

He's a physical guy, and while yes the rules now favor the WR heavily, you're still allowed to jam at the line, and for a physical corner you can jam effectively at the line it sets in motion the systematic disruption of the offenses timing.

I'm not concerned about bad or no reports coming out of mini camp, once training camp hits and then we start hearing bad things, then it'll be cause for more concern. Until then it's all of us still echoing our draft stances/positions on players....

[Shep]

I know this is probably tough to believe, but it's true: If we'd heard some really positive stuff about Haden out of the early sessions, I would've been thrilled to eat my crow (preferably with Tabasco).

It doesn't make me feel vindicated or happy when we read this report or Florio's or Mangini's lukewarm reviews. It makes me more irritated, actually. I want to be wrong. Hell, I wanted to be wrong about Frye so bad I bought a figurine of him from WV!!

I'll happily embrace good news now, soon, or later. But right now, I still don't like the pick.

[hammertime]

Originally Posted by Shep

I know this is probably tough to believe, but it's true: If we'd heard some really positive stuff about Haden out of the early sessions, I would've been thrilled to eat my crow (preferably with Tabasco).

It doesn't make me feel vindicated or happy when we read this report or Florio's or Mangini's lukewarm reviews. It makes me more irritated, actually. I want to be wrong. Hell, I wanted to be wrong about Frye so bad I bought a figurine of him from WV!!

I'll happily embrace good news now, soon, or later. But right now, I still don't like the pick.

come on, really.
have you contacted the front office with your displeasure?

all kidding aside, it just wasn't a sexy pick, nothing at 7 would of been.

[YtownBacker]

Originally Posted by Inspecta

Shep, one of the Madden quotes I love to throw around is the following....

"90% of the game is half mental"

A lot of rookies come a bit wide eyed and aren't as sure about their first or second step. That's mental, and it will dissolve with repetition, practice, study and understanding.

I'm still not sure how speed is a clear issue. I'm telling you man, to start on Florida's defense, especially in the secondary, you have to have not just good speed, but great speed. He ran a 4.4, any faster and your in Deion Sanders/Darrel Green territory. A nice luxury but not necessary.

He's a physical guy, and while yes the rules now favor the WR heavily, you're still allowed to jam at the line, and for a physical corner you can jam effectively at the line it sets in motion the systematic disruption of the offenses timing.

I'm not concerned about bad or no reports coming out of mini camp, once training camp hits and then we start hearing bad things, then it'll be cause for more concern. Until then it's all of us still echoing our draft stances/positions on players....

I agree with you 100% on Haden. He proved that speed isn't the issue. It's about rookie instincts. Minicamp is about installing schemes and teaching new players. It really isn't about evaluations. If he is having problems a few weeks into camp and following a few preseason games then I will say maybe there's some reason for concern (minor concern).

But, seeing him with my own two eyes at OTAs and minicamp I can tell you he is a football player. He has a great attitude and has a great work ethic. He only has been working 3 years as a CB and may be a little raw on technique which could make him think instead of react but that doesn't translate to being slow of foot.

Mangini gave him a great compliment. He said, "the kid is a football player and has great instincts. He'll be just fine." that's good enough for me from a guy who's speciality was DBs as a position coach.

[hammertime]

haden is a non issue at this point.

[Inspecta]

Hammertime hit the nail on the head. Haden wasn't a sexy pick, and when you're coming off a 5-11 season every urge in a fans being wants the sexy "turn it all around next year" type pick.

This was a blue collar grunt work pick. I get it.