Browns surrounded by many questions which might not be answered until August

[BernietheKid]

Cleveland Browns surrounded by many questions which might not be answered until August

By Tony Grossi, The Plain Dealer

May 19, 2010, 3:20AM


John Kuntz / Plain Dealer file photograph
Although there is a lot of fan excitement about rookie quarterback Colt McCoy, above, the Browns are in no rush to put him in the starting lineup since they have both Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace on the roster.

BEREA, Ohio — No news is the best news for an NFL team during the period on the NFL calendar between the draft and the opening of training camp.


Generally, anything newsworthy that happens is bad -- holdouts, injuries, boycotts of off-season practices, motorcycle accidents.

The Browns began their organized team activities (OTAs) this week with five unsigned restricted free agents absent. Kicker Phil Dawson is the only player under contract boycotting the "voluntary" practices. Dawson has a year left on his contract. He deserves a big bonus just for surviving as the only player left from the 1999 expansion season.

Certainly no championships are won in the months of May and June. No players win roster spots. No rookies nail down starting jobs this time of year. So any "good" news is of the fabricated kind.

Contact is supposed to be only incidental at off-season practices. Players wear helmets, light pads and shorts. Linemen don't engage in blocks, ball carriers aren't tackled and receivers aren't popped by safeties colliding from the opposite direction.

The setup really is gravy time for quarterbacks and receivers. It's like an extended "pro day workout" for quarterbacks, and the ones with experience should complete 80 percent or more of their passes in this "touch football" setting. When thrown balls hit the ground at this time of the year in team drills, it can be a tipoff of troubles ahead.

The media will be invited in for four Browns OTA sessions over the next four weeks and then the three days of mandatory minicamp June 10-12. Here are some questions that need to be raised but probably won't be answered until well into August:

•Does quarterback Jake Delhomme look physically and mentally refreshed from his worst NFL season with Carolina?
The Browns have expressed the utmost confidence in Delhomme rebounding in 2010.

•What exactly does quarterback Seneca Wallace bring to the table?
He may be the most intriguing new veteran added in the off-season. He has filled in at receiver in NFL games and has some qualities at quarterback that the others on hand don't possess.

•How much opportunity will the Browns give Colt McCoy to foil their initial plans to sit him in 2010?
With Delhomme and Wallace both being new to the Browns and their offense, there's no urgency in developing McCoy in one training camp.

•Is receiver Mohamed Massaquoi's optimism about the receiving corps warranted?
Let's face it: the switch at quarterback has to help the receivers. Last year's quarterbacks completed 49.5 percent of their passes -- an almost unfathomable low figure in today's pass-happy NFL game.

•Can rookie Montario Hardesty be a feature back as a rookie?
GM Tom Heckert said on draft day that he considered him a feature back. What a needy dimension that would bring to the offense.

•Can free-agent tackle Tony Pashos solidify the right side of the offensive line?
Forget about Pashos playing guard. That's only an alternative if injuries hit.

•At which position will the Browns break in rookie guard Shawn Lauvao -- left guard or right guard?
It may come down to which veteran looks better in training camp -- Eric Steinbach or Floyd Womack.

•Is "monster" defensive end Clifton Geathers a legitimate candidate to contribute as a rookie, or does he need a few years of development?
This guy could be a great NFL nickname waiting to happen. He's all arms and legs and, at 300 pounds, looks thin.

•How will the Browns position new linebackers Scott Fujita and Chris Gocong?
Coach Eric Mangini likes to keep quarterbacks guessing from game to game, even play to play. Fujita inside and Gocong outside could be their temporary spots.

•Is rookie No. 1 pick Joe Haden capable of displacing Eric Wright at starting cornerback opposite Sheldon Brown?
The Browns didn't redo Brown's contract with a $5 million bonus after trading for him to come off the bench. Haden is still "green" at the position, but Wright's starting job is no lock.

•Is rookie No. 2 pick T.J. Ward capable of covering the field at safety? What about fellow rookie safety Larry Asante?
Both players pack a wallop, but one or both have to prove they can read pass routes and stay with NFL receivers in coverage.

•What frame of mind is Shaun Rogers in, and where will he line up on the defensive front?
Rogers displayed remorse after his gun-related arrest at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport on April 1. Even before that unfortunate incident, there was discussion of moving him to right end to plug in emerging run-stopper Ahtyba Rubin at nose.

•How much better does receiver Brian Robiskie look in his second year?
If Robiskie is closer to the player everyone expected coming out of the 2009 draft, the situation at receiver improves considerably.

Kicker signed: The Browns signed veteran free-agent kicker Shaun Suisham, which only can be viewed as insurance against a possible training-camp holdout by Dawson.
Suisham, who finished his college career as Bowling Green's all-time leading scorer, has appeared in 57 games with Dallas and Washington. To make room for Suisham, the Browns waived undrafted rookie Leigh Tiffin, whom they signed Monday.


Cleveland Browns surrounded by many questions which might not be answered until August | cleveland.com

[ramrod]

Every time that I think about it, the Haden pick gets worse and worse.

We traded for Brown and gave him a raise. No way does he not start. He is a good vet and will be one of our CB's for a couple of years. Maybe he switches to safety in a couple of years but it is what it is right now. So if our plan was to replace Wright with Haden, is that a unbelievable upgrade? I dont think so. Now if we would have got McClain or Spiller or Dez Bryant would that have upgraded what we have? Absolutely. Heckert, your first draft as a Cleveland Brown didnt make to much sense. Could have had a Spiller/Bryant/McClain and Clausen in the first two rounds and instead of trading up to get Hardesty we could have had Golden Tate. But we got Haden and Ward. Not very smart. This Asante guy looks just as good as Ward.

[Shep]

Haden isn't big or crazy fast. I just don't quite buy him as a top 10 corner. Seems to me that we could've picked a corner in round 2 to groom behind Brown and Wright.

Don't get me wrong: He's good. I watched Alo's film. But we've drafted a center and a corner the past two years, like we're the freaking Patriots or Steelers or something, all stocked up on superstars.

[ramrod]

Originally Posted by Shep

Haden isn't big or crazy fast. I just don't quite buy him as a top 10 corner. Seems to me that we could've picked a corner in round 2 to groom behind Brown and Wright.

Don't get me wrong: He's good. I watched Alo's film. But we've drafted a center and a corner the past two years, like we're the freaking Patriots or Steelers or something, all stocked up on superstars.

Hes not even going to start on the Clevelend Browns..... That wsa a must have pick at #7. New regime, same old shit. HOLMGREN, LETS GO MOTHA TRUCKA!!!!!!!

[mz.]

Originally Posted by ramrod

Hes not even going to start on the Clevelend Browns

There's no way he doesn't start, ram. Sheldon will either shift to S or man the nickel. We have zero FS on the roster currently, do we?

[TheBestPlayersPlay]

Originally Posted by ramrod

Every time that I think about it, the Haden pick gets worse and worse.

We traded for Brown and gave him a raise. No way does he not start.

I really just don't get this line of thinking. Our secondary was absolutely ATROCIOUS, it was beyond the pale ...it was one of the worst secondaries I have EVER seen. How we can complain about a blue chip, shut-down corner being our #1 pick is mind boggling to me.

And whether he is a "starter" or not as rookie ....I mean how often do we see 3+ WR sets in the "pass happy" NFL. He'll be getting "starter" minutes no matter where he lines up.

We get better as a team more-so with Haden than at any other pick that was available to us @ 7. I liked McClain as well, but we already have a stockpile of average LBs , and some promising young LBs to work with ....where-as our CBs were HORRIBLE. Even Wright is vastly over-rated imo. We picked up what Heckert has referred to as a "Franchise" back in the second round, and imo is more of the type of back we need. (big, fast, bruising, good blocker) So we passed on a problem child in Bryant who fell to what ...18?

We can't fix this team in the blink of an eye ...Haden should prove to be a major part of bringing this franchise back to winning ways, and increasing the over-all performance of the defense by a wide margin... in turn giving our offense more time on the field of play.

[Sez.EJ]

I disagree with all the above commenters about our seconday..

I love that we will now have such a deep secondary as Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Cinci all loaded up with new recievers this year. Not sure how you guys see adding high talent depth to the secondary as something bad.. I am especially surprised with you Shep.." Mr. This is a passing nfl now" .. teams are running 3-4-5 reciever sets all the time and all 3 division teams have tight ends who are pass catchers, and pretty good QB's..

.How do you expect us to stop the other teams without a heavy dose of talent in the secondary???? IMO this is a VERY good situation.. Brown is no spring chicken.. and guys seem to lose "it" from one season to the next quite quickly in this game... and guys get hurt during the season..

Jets had one of the best secondary's in the league..what did they do in the draft??? ..draft high in the secondary.. hmmm.. maybe we are doing the right thing here.. seems like smart minds are thinking alike..

[YtownBacker]

Originally Posted by ramrod

Every time that I think about it, the Haden pick gets worse and worse.

We traded for Brown and gave him a raise. No way does he not start. He is a good vet and will be one of our CB's for a couple of years. Maybe he switches to safety in a couple of years but it is what it is right now. So if our plan was to replace Wright with Haden, is that a unbelievable upgrade? I dont think so. Now if we would have got McClain or Spiller or Dez Bryant would that have upgraded what we have? Absolutely. Heckert, your first draft as a Cleveland Brown didnt make to much sense. Could have had a Spiller/Bryant/McClain and Clausen in the first two rounds and instead of trading up to get Hardesty we could have had Golden Tate. But we got Haden and Ward. Not very smart. This Asante guy looks just as good as Ward.

My question would be when have you seen any defensive backfield make it without any injuries? Do you honestly think having 2 DBs would be all we need? Am I to believe you were stisifed with Poteat or Mike Adams as a nickle back last year? Satisfied with the defense never being able to get the other teams offfense off the field. Our defensive backfield was torched almost every game starting with McDonald and then Poteat as the nickle and then Adams (a backup safety) as a starting corner. then Wright got lazy because he felt entitled and forgot he had to tackle guys. Elam was invisable most of the season. He couldn't cover and didn't do shit in run support.

So, just when would you think it would be time to address this position? You think adding a 32 year old veteran was an answer. The defensive backfield was far worse then any position, except maybe QB. But, you would rather have a LB in McClain or a undersized running back that is a clone of Harrison (instead of Hardesty..........WTF) or a WR whose own coach said be careful, the guy has baggage and maturity porblems.

Come on man............................

[ramrod]

Originally Posted by mz.

There's no way he doesn't start, ram. Sheldon will either shift to S or man the nickel. We have zero FS on the roster currently, do we?

No way he doesnt start? I think that there is a pretty good chance that he doesnt start. We traded for Brown and immediately gave him a 5 million signing bonus and a hefty raise. There is no way that Brown doesnt start. Heckert already said that Brown is a CB and not a safety. And I agree, at least not yet. Im pretty sure that Elam and either Ward or Adams will be our safties. Haden will play the nickle and will probably be on the field a lot. But Wright and Brown will start. Watch. I'll bet you a jack and coke that they will.

So spending QB money on a CB that wont even start is just dumb. Hell Wilson is probably better than him and the Jets got him at 28? We could of upgraded more important positions with better players.... Like the ones I mentioned before. I just dont get it. Then we go do the unthinkable in taking Ward in the top of the 2nd? WTF. Thank god for the picks after that or this would have been a debacle.

[ramrod]

Originally Posted by TheBestPlayersPlay

I really just don't get this line of thinking. Our secondary was absolutely ATROCIOUS, it was beyond the pale ...it was one of the worst secondaries I have EVER seen. How we can complain about a blue chip, shut-down corner being our #1 pick is mind boggling to me.

Brandon McDonald was terrible last year. Thats what you seen week after week. Worst Ive ever seen. Isnt that why we brought in Sheldon Brown? I gaurantee you that with Wright (who is a pretty damn good starter) and now Brown we are already improved x10. Why pay a CB QB money and have him play the nickle? Doesnt make sense to me. I dont get that line of thinking. We are not the elite teams that do this kind of thing. We are the Cleveland Browns. Having a Spiller, Bryant or McClain would have help OUR team way more than a Haden could any day.

And whether he is a "starter" or not as rookie ....I mean how often do we see 3+ WR sets in the "pass happy" NFL. He'll be getting "starter" minutes no matter where he lines up.

Whether he is a starter or not? What? He was the 7th overall pick TBPP. Not he 4th round. I do agree with he will probably see a lot of minutes, especially with the packages that Ryan will run but still, he should be in there every play being the 7th overall pick.

We get better as a team more-so with Haden than at any other pick that was available to us @ 7. I liked McClain as well, but we already have a stockpile of average LBs , and some promising young LBs to work with

No way are we a better team with Haden then a Bryant/Spiller/McClain... Just no way.

So we have a bunch of average LB's so we dont want to upgrade that position? What? Maybe I misunderstood that right there.

We can't fix this team in the blink of an eye ...Haden should prove to be a major part of bringing this franchise back to winning ways, and increasing the over-all performance of the defense by a wide margin... in turn giving our offense more time on the field of play.

We will just have to agree to disagree. A CB bringing this franchise back to winning ways is laughable to me.

[mz.]

Originally Posted by ramrod

So spending QB money on a CB that wont even start is just dumb.

And, above all else, that's why I cannot see him not starting. Holmgren ain't dumb.

But you're right insofar as much as we have three starting-calibre CB's. Which in and of itself is pretty cool...

[ramrod]

Originally Posted by Sez.EJ

I disagree with all the above commenters about our seconday..

I love that we will now have such a deep secondary as Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Cinci all loaded up with new recievers this year. Not sure how you guys see adding high talent depth to the secondary as something bad.. I am especially surprised with you Shep.." Mr. This is a passing nfl now" .. teams are running 3-4-5 reciever sets all the time and all 3 division teams have tight ends who are pass catchers, and pretty good QB's..

.How do you expect us to stop the other teams without a heavy dose of talent in the secondary???? IMO this is a VERY good situation.. Brown is no spring chicken.. and guys seem to lose "it" from one season to the next quite quickly in this game... and guys get hurt during the season..

Jets had one of the best secondary's in the league..what did they do in the draft??? ..draft high in the secondary.. hmmm.. maybe we are doing the right thing here.. seems like smart minds are thinking alike..

The Jets had the luxury of picking a CB as we dont. Name a weakness on their team? QB, thats it. Even with all there GREAT defensive players it all rides through Sanchez. WE DONT have the luxury of picking a CB at #& and giving him QB money so he can play the nickle. Stupidity. Especially when there are other great players on the board.