SB Nation - Noah Herron

Cats Gettin Paid

Rodger Sherman — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:04:02 -0000

More photos » by Patrick Semansky - AP

Five Saints, one Tyrell Sutton.

So, the way this works is that this week, I'm just continuing my really random posting schedule, but next week is Auburn week. It'll be good.

As for today, t's time for a roundup of professional football playing ex-NU students, and how they're faring so far this fall. All 15 or less of them. And only 13 weeks into the regular season!

And no, I couldn't come up with a better title. Plus, a google search reveals the phrase "Cats gettin paid" was said by Akrobatik in this song featuring Little Brother, and if you don't know about Little Brother, well, hear about them. I'm not sure how combining two great lyricists with one of the best producers in the game doesn't create mainstream waves, but The Listening and The Minstrel Show are top ten albums of the decade in my opinion, just sayin'.

So yeah, Cats gettin paid.

Let's start out with the people in the NFL: 14 ex-Cats are being payed by NFL teams to play football. Of these, two are on their respective teams' active rosters but have not yet played, and two are on practice squads, leaving ten players who have played downs in the NFL this year.

I'ma make you hit the jump for it, though:

Luis Castillo is probably the most prominent NU grad in the NFL, having signed a $43 million dollar contract in the offseason. As you probably know, Luis is San Diego's starting right defensive end, but he's had a pretty off year - in the first 10 games of the year, he had 20 tackles and only two sacks, which seems kinda low, don't it? - and then a calf injury in week 11 has had him out since and he's doubtful right about now. Also, he still has the same name as a baseball player.
Barry Cofield as he has been for the past few years, is the Giants left defensive tackle, and one of NU's vastly important Super Bowl champs. The Giant's defense has fallen off a cliff this year and the team has lost five of seven, but it's not Barry's fault. (And if it is Barry's fault... well, wow, he's pretty bad. But it probably isn't.) In fact, reading briefly about what the Giants blog on this here SBN has said about him, he's been doing pretty decent.
Nick Roach has had a pretty decent sized role for the Bears this year, since Brian Urlacher had a season-ending injury way back in week one. Roach has been starting all over, including a few games at middle linebacker, which is a pretty hard position to randomly move into, and has since swapped out to strong-side linebacker, where he's been great from what I read. He's 3rd on the team with 61 tackles and in a 30-6 win against Cleveland, forced to fumbles. So that's aight.
Trai Essex, NU's other active Super Bowl Champ, has started every gosh-darned game of the season at right guard for the Steelers. Yeah. Oh yeah.
Kevin Bentley, everybody's favorite linebacker for the Houston Texans (depending on your feelings on DeMeco Ryans), is a linebacker for the Houston Texans. He don't start, but he ain't doing too bad. In other "me potentially making things up" news, I thought I remembered seeing him recover a fumble and being like "hey, he went to NU!" but a quick check of the actual stats shows that this never happened. Sippinonpurple.com: where my journalism professors' fears of blogs killing real journalism come true!
Ike Ndukwe got traded from the Miami Dolphins to Kansas City right before the season started. Although initially super excited to go from a potentially decent team in a crappy city like Miami to a terrible one in a gorgeous metropolis like Kansas City, Ike saw he might not get any playing time. Then KC's starting right tackle got injured, and Ike started the first three games of the year, earning the love and friendship of many Kansas City natives. He's back on the bench now, though. You might think this is all totally boring, but it somehow started a 44-comment thread over at the Chief's SBN site.
Zach Streif totally started a game at left tackle for the Saints. I remember this, because they were playing the Jets, and I was watching because I'm a Jets fan, and I got really happy when I saw his name and "Northwestern" on the starting lineups, and then got really sad when I saw him celebrating in the end zone against my team. I may or may not hold a grudge. Anyway, he's played in every game this year, but is still generally a backup behind ex-Towson Tiger Jermon Bushrod, whose apparent only goal in life is proving that the Tigers' 47-14 loss to Northwestern earlier this year was a fluke, considering which school produced the more prodigious New Orleans Saint left tackle.
Tyrell Sutton is a player I pay special attention to, because he's the only person to fall into the middle of the Venn diagram for "Players in the National Football League" and "People Rodger Sherman has had a class with." He was signed by the Packers out of training camp, but they cut him, which turned out to be a smart decision, because injuries and a terrible-to-begin-with running back corps has forced the Pack to give heavy reps to the exhumed corpse of Ahman Green, and if he gets hurt, I hear their GM has Samkon Gado on speed dial. (The Ahman Green part wasn't a joke. He's playing for them. It's 2009.) Anyways, Tyrell caught on with the Carolina Panthers, where he was a fourth-string running back for a long time, but when fullbacks Brad Hoover and Tony Fiametta both got simultaneously injured, that guy who was supposedly undersized to be a Big Ten running back had to see playing time as an NFL fullback, getting three rushes for 15 yards and a catch for 11. And this past weekend against Tampa Bay, with DeAngelo Williams out, we was second-string, earning 6 carries for 38 yards, including a 20 yarder. He's generally been a kick returner - a pretty good one at that - and an occasional third-string back. I saw him get some late-game tick against the Jets a few weekends ago. Him blocking people isn't pretty, because he's like, 5'8, but I think he can stick in the league. He's clearly got the skills to elude people like he did in college, be it returning kicks or running, someone's just gotta give him a chance. For those of you intrigued, here's what he looks like in an NFL uniform - weird that they let him use the LaDanian visor, he never got one of those in college.
Jason Wright has barely played as a third-string running back for the Cardinals behind Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower- two rushes for eight yards, six catches for 38 - but two of those receptions were for touchdowns. This leads me to believe they're probably bringing him in as another blocker or random backfield body on goal line sets and every once in a while he swings out and happens to get open in the end zone. We at NU call this "The Brendan Mitchell".
Marquice Cole has caught on with my Jets. I noticed this when he had a pick in the preseason, and the announcer was like "he went to Northwestern" and I was like "word?" and then the announcer didn't say anything because he couldn't hear me. Anyway, after being cut by three teams in the offseason in the two seasons since he left NU, Cole finally caught on with the Jets after a preseason perfomance that included that pick I mentioned, as you can see here. But as you can see here, he got cut like three days later. But as you can see here, he got signed again like a week later, and has recorded six tackles on special teams. (at least I think they're on special teams. Haven't seen him on the field in actual play yet, then again, I don't get to watch every Jets game out here in Illinois.)

Now, the practice squadders, because being a technicality on an NFL roster is better than being nothing at all:

Brett Basanez, Northwestern's practice squad hero and the one person you can point to if someone ever says there are no NU QB's in the NFL, is spending his third year primarily on the practice squad of an NFL team. His first two were with the Panthers, but you can't spend three years on the same team's practice squad apparently, so he had to move on, and he did, to Chi-town. It doesn't look like he'll break the iron grip Jay Cutler has on throwing passes to Chicago's opponents anytime soon, and second-string Caleb Hanie has only thrown two passes on the season, so Basanez is deep bench.
John Gill has been rocking the Indianapolis Colts' practice squad all season long, making me wonder whether practice squads get rings.

The NFL may have a virtual monopoly on the football world, but that doesn't mean that there aren't other football leagues out there. Northwestern basically runs the UFL, after all.

Prince Kwateng was basically a star for the California Redwoods (jesus these team names are awful). The Prince picked up 20 tackles on a team coached by ex-Northwestern coach Dennis Green. The Daily covered it and stuff.
Tim McGarigle, the guy who somehow holds the NCAA record for tackles, purportedly had a great season for the Florida Tuskers (again with the names!) who went on to the UFL Championship. (then again, there were only four teams, so he had a one in two shot.) There were articles written about him and stuff.
A lot of people heard CJ Bachér was in the UFL and talked about it because the concept of your recent starting quarterback being in the UFL is inherently disappointing. What they didn't know is that Bachér didn't hang on in the UFL - after what was apparently a pick-filled preseason, Bachér got cut by the New York Sentinels, who opted to go with NFL has-beens Quinn Gray and Ingle Martin at the quarterback slot. However, this Sentinels blog (a concept even more depressing than the UFL itself) reports that Bacher got resigned towards the end of the season. Although lord knows whether or not they put the accent aigu on his jersey.
After being cut by the Browns, Noah Herron decided to play for the Sentinels about halfway through the season, and although he suffered a pretty gross injury apparently, he's doing fine. No word on whether or not he stuck out the season. The biggest thing I found searching for news on Noah on google is that he really got screwed over by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in terms of salaries last season.

And now, for my final act, I'll discuss what was in my opinion my weirdest post of the summer: this one, originally written back on my blogspot account about how three ex-NU players - David Oredugba, Demetrius Eaton, and Deante Battle were playing professional football in Finland, of all places. No updates on Oredugba - for all I know, he's still balling in Finland - but I did receive a very cryptic message from Eaton a few weeks after that post.

No hit me up, I have all the answers you need. This is Demetrius. I've been back for the last month and Deante is actually still out there and wont return until the 14th. Some bs happened out there which sent me packing. Hit me for the exclusive!

I hit Demetrius up for the exclusive, but didn't get any further information. According to this post, Battle was back in Evanston tearing up IM football, but I wasn't there to witness it.

So that's that. If you made it through this whole thing, you're a champ. I stay grinding, so, keep coming back for more.

Cleveland Browns Announce Roster Cuts; Few Surprises As Jamal Lewis Makes It

Chris Pokorny — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 22:31:32 -0000

More photos » by M. Spencer Green - AP

It's a "no" for veteran WR David Patten, who won't be able to play for the Browns for the second time in his career.

Browse more photos »

The following players were cut by the Cleveland Browns, trimming their roster from 75 to the league required 53 players:

(Key: Expected Cut, Highlighted/Notable Cut, Shocker Cut)

OFFENSIVE PLAYERS CUT

QB Richard Bartel
FB Charles Ali: I'm sorry to see him go. I really like having at least two players at every non-special teams position, and Ali was a pretty good backup fullback. We didn't keep Herron either, so who will serve as the backup fullback remains a question.
RB Noah Herron
RB Chris Jennings
WR David Patten: I'm sure he'll catch on elsewhere. We really would have had too many receivers on the team if we kept him.
WR Jordan Norwood
WR Paul Hubbard
WR Lance Leggett
TE Aaron Walker
OL Dustin Fry
OL Kurt Quarterman
OL Pat Murray
OL Branndon Braxton
OL Isaac Sowells: It's party time!

DEFENSIVE PLAYERS CUT

DL Brian Schaefering
DL Adam Hoppel
DL Santonio Thomas
LB Titus Brown: An early injury in camp foiled his roster chances. I thought there was an outside chance he might end up on the practice squad.
LB Beau Bell: Phil Savage's fourth-round pick goes down the drain. He might not even be practice squad eligible.
DB Brandon Anderson
DB Corey Ivy: I guess this means Coye Francies is going to receive a lot of playing time this season.
DB Tra Battle
DB Hamza Abdullah

The team also reached an injury settlement with DL Melila Purcell, so he is no longer with the team. To be more specific about some of the players, we didn't "waive", but rather "terminated the contract of" Abdullah, Patten, Herron, Ivy, and Walker. The Browns actually waived one more player than required, so we should be signing someone soon to the 53-man roster.

Now, it's interesting to take a look at which bubble players did make the team. Here is a brief list of the players we can congratulate:

POTENTIAL "SURPRISES" TO THE TEAM

TE Martin Rucker: He might have made the team by default, because Aaron Walker really wasn't an upgrade over him. On the same note, the fact that he did not drop any passes against the Bears might have been the difference too.
OL Corey Hilliard: Who? He was a sixth-round pick by the Patriots in 2007 and spent the past two years on the Colts as a backup/practice squad type player. We didn't get a chance to evaluate his talent much, but I'm happy to see Isaac Sowells finally go. For the record, Hilliard will serve as the team's backup offensive tackle.
LB Marcus Benard: The undrafted free agent out of Jackson State did it. The first preseason game against the Packers was his best game by far, although I wonder if Titus Brown would've made the team instead had he stayed healthy.
LB Leon Williams: The veteran hasn't really been seeing reps with the first-team defense, but he's still on the team. Perhaps his versatiliy of playing the inside or the outside helped his cause. Either way, I really don't see him getting much playing time this season.
LB Blake Costanzo: Not a surprise to me. I welcome his special teams abilities this season.
DB Gerard Lawson: His kick return abilities against the Chicago Bears this past Thursday might have saved his job. He doesn't have a huge role on the Browns, but maybe that'll change with us waiving both Hood and Ivy.
DB Bret Lockett: It's funny how us as fans can pick out players like Benard and Lockett and say, "if someone is going to make the team, I can see it being these players". Lockett adds some depth to the safety position.
DB Nick Sorensen: Again, not necessarily a surprise, but he is mainly a special teams contributor.

Many of the players we cut could still end up on our practice squad.

For those curious, here is a list of former Browns players that have been cut/waived recently:

FORMER BROWNS PLAYERS WAIVED

QB Jeff Garcia
RB Marcus Thomas
RB Allen Patrick
WR Steve Sanders
WR Brandon Rideau
WR Travis Wilson
WR C.J. Jones
OT James Lee: This is a guy I'm sure we'd take a look at if Crennel was still here. He was the young prospect who we tried to sneak on the practice squad last year, but the Buccaneers signed him to their 53-man roster.
C Melvin Fowler
DL Shaun Smith: Gotta love this one.
LB David Holloway
CB Travis Daniels
CB Rod Hood
S Nate Ness
S Brian Russell: This would be too good to be true if the Browns were able to bring him back. He's been gone the past few years, playing for the Seattle Seahawks.

Browns Cut CB Corey Ivy, RB Noah Herron

Chris Pokorny — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 18:43:13 -0000

According to the National Football Post, the Cleveland Browns cut CB Corey Ivy and RB Noah Herron.

The release of Ivy is particularly surprising. When Eric Mangini took over the Browns, the team was lacking depth at cornerback, specifically the nickel back position. Corey Ivy, Roderick Hood, and Hank Poteat were brought in to contend for that role, and the team has waived the frontrunners in Ivy and Hood already. This seems to increase the roster odds of DB Gerard Lawson to make the team.

The release of Herron helps the roster odds of FB Charles Ali. The remainder of the cuts should be in later today before the 6 PM deadline.

WR Jordan Norwood, via his Twitter feed, stated yesterday that he was released.

Stay tuned to Dawgs By Nature for all of the latest on the Browns cuts.

Cleveland Browns Training Camp Report: Day 24 - Pool Absent, Foster Waived

Chris Pokorny — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:50:10 -0000

It doesn't really feel like training camp anymore, but a few sessions still remain. The team hit the field Monday for one of their final three public sessions; after that, everything will be closed off and geared especially towards preparing for the regular season. Rapid Reports indicates that only about 300 fans attended practice on Monday.

TRAINING CAMP REPORT - DAY 24 (8/24/09)

Pool's Injury: If you recall, S Brodney Pool left Saturday's exhibition game after getting dinged. Let's hope it wasn't a concussion, but it wasn't a good sign that he was no where to be found on the practice field Monday. The team did not offer any comment on his absence either. Veteran S Mike Adams took Pool's place on Monday. Safety Hamza Abdullah has a broken finger and sat out of practice too, so the roster odds of S Bret Lockett just shot up.
Getting Some Depth Soon: It was good news to hear that OL Rex Hadnot was out on the field again. He wasn't practicing, but him being on the stationary bike is an encouraging sign that he's on schedule to return from his MCL injury within the first few weeks of the season.
Goodbye Foster: The Browns waived offensive tackle George Foster after he had a disappointing camp. It was clearly evident why the former high draft pick could not stick around with other teams. This past Saturday, he completely failed to block a rusher that caused Brett Ratliff to get drilled and fumble the football.
Purcell Gone Too: After suffering an injury, DL Melila Purcell was waived/injured. If he clears waivers, he'll revert to the injured reserve. The team also released TE John Madsen, who rarely appeared in training camp reports.
Roster Replacements: With three people gone, three people were signed, presumably only to be waived in a few weeks too. They are OT Corey Hilliard, TE Nate Jackson, and S Tra Battle.
Massaquoi's Role: He got early reps in Saturday's preseason game, and rookie Mohamed Massaquoi was lined up opposite Braylon Edwards as the No. 2 receiver Monday. The race continues between him and Joshua Cribbs, with Mike Furrey likely seeing consistent action at No. 2 and No. 3.
QB Edge to Anderson: For Monday's session, Brady Quinn had some struggles while Derek Anderson was fine. On Quinn's first attempt in a game simulation, he was intercepted by S Mike Adams on a pass intended for TE Robert Royal. Later on, he had a pass batted away from DB Rod Hood. Anderson, on the other hand, was able to roll out and fire a touchdown pass to Mohamed Massaquoi. Later on, on perhaps the play of the day, he completed a 50-yard pass to Brian Robiskie. Robiskie laid out on the play to make the reception.
Bubble Watch: As Jerome Harrison continues to sit out with injuries, RB Noah Herron is doing well, seeing some action near the goal line in drills.

Monday's Links/Camp Sources

Pool absent, Hadnot spotted (Akron Beacon Journal, Ridenour)
QB leader in the clubhouse? None yet. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, Cabot)

Cleveland Browns Training Camp Report: Day 20 (Leonard Mix-Up)

Chris Pokorny — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 03:30:25 -0000

More photos » by Mark Duncan - AP

4 months ago: Cleveland Browns safety Mike Adams (20) blocks a punt by Dave Zastudil (15) during practice at the team's NFL football training camp in Berea, Ohio, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

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With the Cleveland Browns set to do battle with the Detroit Lions this weekend, defensive lineman Louis Leonard got into a scuffle with defensive line coach Bryan Cox. The last person who did that was Shaun Smith. He now plays for the Detroit Lions.

TRAINING CAMP REPORT - DAY 20 (8/20/09)

The Incident: ~~It happened at the Swan.~~ Whatever happened, Louis Leonard apparently cursed at Cox. As a punishment, Cox told Leonard to run a lap and to not stop running until he told him to. Leonard ran four laps in a row, something you can imagine being exhausting to a big man like that. Leonard seemed to have a cordial attitude about it afterward though, so I don't think we'll see him waived before regular cuts.
Update on the Lions: Lions top receiver Calvin Johnson will sit out against the Browns. On top of that, our first-string defense won't know which quarterback they'll be facing until close to game time. It could be Daunte Culpepper, Drew Stanton, or Matthew Stafford.
Bring Out the Cart: The third player of training camp has received the cart. Following in the footsteps of OL Rex Hadnot and WR Syndric Steptoe, DL Melila Purcell was carted off the field with an apparent ankle or Achilles injury. You might see another situation in which the team injured/waives him.
Transactions: Gone are OL Branndon Braxton and WR Edward Williams. Replacing them are OG Patrick Murray and LB Robert McCune. Information on the new players here.
Injury Updates: OL Ryan Tucker returned to practice today. DL Shaun Rogers still isn't practicing, and neither are LB Titus Brown, RB Jerome Harrison, and LB David Bowens. With Bowens and Brown going down, LB Alex Hall will probably start against the Lions Saturday.
Mangini's a Comedian: This comes from Rapid Reports: "Browns coach Eric Mangini said he has peaked at the notebooks compiled by players from meetings. When asked if there were any doodles on them, he joked that he saw one with a drawing of his face with an "X" through it."
No Huddle: A good portion of practice focused on running the no-huddle offense.
Brownies: RB James Davis caught a touchdown pass from QB Brady Quinn...QB Derek Anderson overthrew RB Noah Herron on a flat pass in goal line drills...WR Braylon Edwards is having a great camp minus his drop against Green Bay.
Around the League: If you didn't catch it, Chad Ocho-Cinco kicked an extra point for the Cincinnati Bengals after their kicker went down with an injury. Ben Roethlisberger limped away from practice, but it isn't believed to be too serious.

Thursday's Links/Camp Sources

Louis Leonard learns lesson with laps (Cleveland Plain Dealer, Cabot)
Pucell hurt, Leonard hot (Akron Beacon Journal, Ridenour)
Thursday camp notes: Royal flush (Orange and Brown Report, Greetham)

Cleveland Browns Training Camp Report: Day 18 (Evening) - Positives Come Back

Chris Pokorny — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 03:40:31 -0000

More photos » by Mark Duncan - AP

The offense ran a little smoother for both quarterbacks in the evening session Tuesday.

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After a preseason game and a few practices of the quarterbacks struggling, they fared a little bit better in the evening session Tuesday. If you missed the recap from this morning's practice, click here.

TRAINING CAMP REPORT - DAY 18 [EVENING] (8/18/09)

Setting the Stage: Here's the main drill to talk about: it was 1st-and-goal from the 9 with just 23 seconds on the clock. Each quarterback would be down 28-20, meaning they would need a touchdown and a two-point conversion. Here is how things turned out for each quarterback...
Drill for Anderson: On the very first play, Derek Anderson fired a nine-yard touchdown pass to TE Robert Royal. Anderson then took it himself for a two-point conversion.
Drill for Quinn: Although it took him four plays to do it, Brady Quinn also scored a touchdown. His first two passes were pretty poor, and after a shuffle pass to RB Noah Herron got him to the two-yard line, Quinn snuck it in for the score. On the two-pointer, he connected with WR Lance Leggett to complete the drill successfully.
Titus Brown Injured: After getting some reps with the first team recently due to LB David Bowens riding the stationary bikes, Titus Brown suffered a leg injury and was seen being attended to by trainers, according to Steve Doerschuk. After practice, it's been reported that he was wearing a walking boot. While Brown was out, he was replaced by LB Marcus Benard.
Mistakes Force Laps: Practice wasn't perfect. Derek Anderson fumbled snaps on back-to-back possessions and had to run. FB Lawrence Vickers dropped a wide open flat pass and paid the price.
The Trick Play: In a goal line drill, on a tackle eligible play, LG Eric Steinbach caught a touchdown from Brady Quinn, according to Rapid Reports. In the same drill, Quinn also tossed a touchdown pass to backup FB Charles Ali.
Back to the Backseat: Now it's the defense making plays on rookie RB James Davis. In a red zone drill, Davis was stopped behind the line of scrimmage by LB Beau Bell. Later on, DE Kenyon Coleman broke into the backfield to stuff Davis again. RB Jerome Harrison missed practice again.
Hurry Up: According to Rapid Reports, P Dave Zastudil practiced punting the ball while running. You never know when that might come in handy -- a bad snap or a dropped snap in a wet game could force that situation.
Starting Line: The first-string line was LT Joe Thomas, LG Eric Steinbach, C Hank Fraley, RG Floyd Womack, and RT John St. Clair.

The Browns will have an afternoon session the next two days to get ready for the Detroit Lions this Saturday at home.

Tuesday Evening's Links/Camp Sources

Tuesday PM: Situational work (Akron Beacon Journal, Ridenour)
Trouble at outside linebacker (Canton Repository, Doerschuk)
Training camp log: Day 18 (Cleveland Plain Dealer, Grossi)

Cleveland Browns Training Camp Report: Day 12 - Two Days from Gameday

Chris Pokorny — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 02:36:37 -0000

The Browns offense is ready to take on the Green Bay Packers this Saturday.

View full size photo »

If you look around at other media sources, they are referring to practices one day later than I am, which probably takes into account an off day. I guess you can look at it that way, but to me, I am meaning "Day" to be synonymous with "Practice". I might end up jumping to something like "Day 15" the next time the Browns practice just to stay in line with the media; I'll have to see.

The Browns had their final practice before facing the Green Bay Packers this Saturday. Eric Mangini held a rare session without pads, as the team prepped for the Favre-less Packers.

TRAINING CAMP REPORT - DAY 12 (8/13/09)

No Sweat for Braylon: After sitting out one practice, WR Braylon Edwards returned to the field and was ready to go. He will play in this Saturday's contest against the Packers. Also returning to action were WR Lance Leggett and RB James Davis.

Which QB will start against the Packers? Probably not the guy in the middle, but maybe the guy on the left or the right.

Anderson Strikes: In the two-minute drill, Anderson hit WR Mike Furrey for a 50-yard touchdown despite the fact that DB Corey Ivy had solid coverage. Prior to the pass, Anderson had reportedly missed a wide open TE Robert Royal after he had beaten S Brodney Pool.
Quinn, Not So Much: In Brady Quinn's shot at the two-minute offense, his drive only lasted four plays. After a short incompletion to TE Martin Rucker, he threw two incompletions that weren't great throws to WR Brian Robiskie. He couldn't covert the fourth down when his deep pass to WR Jordan Norwood fell incomplete.
Edge to Anderson? If you look at Dawg Scooper, Brady Quinn had the best day statistically, tossing two touchdowns while Derek Anderson and Brett Ratliff each tossed three picks. However, you have to consider that those stats were combined from a variety of different drills. Eric Mangini would not announce which quarterback would start in Green Bay, but if today's walkthrough was any indication, it'll be Anderson since he was working with the No. 1 offense.
Can't Wait to Hear Bernie: The best thing about the Browns preseason isn't the game itself. It's the opportunity to hear former Cleveland QB Bernie Kosar in the play-by-play booth. He doesn't have Ken Dorsey to spew his love for this year, so I wonder which quarterback he'll decide to favor. Kosar attended the team's practice Thursday, the first time he's done so this camp.

Ryan Pontbriand looks lonely.

Phil Dawson Lifts Spirits: Mangini put it all on K Phil Dawson to end practice. If Dawson was able to connect on a 50-yard field goal, the team would have the night off from meetings. Dawson connected, springing cheers from his teammates.
Defensive Props in Secondary: Among the defensive players who stood out Thursday were S Brodney Pool and CB Coye Francies, according to Dawg Scooper. Pool had two interceptions and was contributing all over the field, while Francies picked off an end zone pass intended for Braylon Edwards.
Down Day for Cribbs: After strong practices left and right, WR Joshua Cribbs finally lagged behind. A few passes went off of his hands, with at least two of them being intercepted by the defense.
97 Yard Touchdown: Two days ago, Brett Ratliff made headlines by getting some reps with the first team. Yesterday, he made headlines for having his "spike" pass bounce off a player's shoe and into the air for an interception. Thursday, he had another play that stood out: after WR Brian Robiskie beat his man, Ratliff launched the ball about 60 yards in air from his own 3-yard line. Robiskie caught it and ran the distance for about a 97-yard touchdown.
Walking Wounded: Missing practice were DT Shaun Rogers, LB David Bowens, RB Jerome Harrison, TE John Madsen, and WR David Patten. With Bowens out, Alex Hall and Titus Brown received more reps. He is still a longshot, but Brown has received a lot of praise in camp, including again today from the powers that be over at the OBR. Rogers was reportedly just getting some rest.
Trickery? I'm not sure on the details of the play, but Rapid Reports says that DB Mike Adams intercepted a halfback option pass. My guess would be that...maybe Noah Herron threw it? Just don't tell me that it's Lawrence Vickers, please.
Side Note: For those who missed it, QB Michael Vick has signed with the Philadelphia Eagles.

The team is off Friday before their preseason game Saturday. Be sure to tune into Dawgs By Nature on Friday though, as we'll have a nice little interview up with the guys over at Football Outsiders.

Thursday's Links/Camp Sources

Training camp report: 8/13 (Dawg Scooper, Wolf)
Thursday camp notes (Orange and Brown Report, Greetham)
Dawson the hero (Akron Beacon Journal, Ridenour)
Berea Report: No call at QB (Orange and Brown Report, Greetham)

Cleveland Browns Training Camp Report: Day 11 - Off the Shoe

Chris Pokorny — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 02:34:25 -0000

More photos » by Tony Dejak - AP

4 months ago: Cleveland Browns running back Noah Herron, right, runs past the defense at the Cleveland Browns NFL football training camp Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009, in Berea, Ohio. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

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The Browns are getting ready for Saturday's first preseason game against the Green Bay Packers. The number of training camp practices for the public are going to start dwindling, but a few will still be there as the regular season approaches. Today, there were more updates on the injury front as well as the latest word on how the quarterbacks are doing.

TRAINING CAMP REPORT - DAY 11 (8/12/09)

Braylon Edwards - Undisclosed Injury is Back: After several outstanding practices for the Browns No. 1 receiver, Edwards rode the stationary bike after initially coming out for practice. The Plain Dealer is reporting that he tweaked his ankle in one-on-one drills early in the practice and then had it taped up by a trainer. It doesn't appear to be serious at this point.
Toothache for Davis: The mystery surrounding the whereabouts of rookie RB James Davis was solved when Mangini revealed he had a toothache and has had some dental work done.

LB David Veikune was all over the quarterbacks Wednesday with three sacks.

Breaking Out for Veikune: Rookie LB David Veikune had a great practice, getting pressure all afternoon long. Dawg Scooper reports that he was playing middle linebacker with the second unit and ended up recording three sacks.
Tight Ends Utilized: The Browns might not have an elite group of tight ends, but they are doing their best to utilize them in practice. TE Robert Royal caught two touchdowns in goal line 11-on-11 drills -- one from Anderson, and the other from Quinn. TE Steve Heiden caught a touchdown pass earlier from Quinn, and TE Martin Rucker came up with a diving catch on an Anderson pass. While rolling to his left, Anderson also hit TE Aaron Walker for a nice completion.
Shoe Job: For the second practice in a row, the playing time of QB Brett Ratliff increased. There was an unusual play that occurred during one of his series though -- in an attempt to throw the ball down to the dirt to stop the clock, the pass accidentally hit the foot of RB Noah Herron instead. The ball then bounced up into the air and was snagged by S Nick Sorensen, who took it the distance for a touchdown. On the day, Sorensen picked two of Ratliff's passes.
Making His Claim: CB Roderick Hood has been getting progressively better on the Browns defense, coming up with another interception in camp today, this time on QB Derek Anderson. The play wasn't necessarily Anderson's fault, as it was first tipped by WR Jordan Norwood.

DB Roderick Hood returns an interception here. Also pictured is WR Joshua Cribbs. Both players have been picking it up in camp.

Still Behind: Rookie C Alex Mack is still behind veteran Hank Fraley it appears. With Rex Hadnot down still, Fraley's roster spot seems to pretty much be guaranteed at this point.
Trickery: WR Joshua Cribbs ran a reverse for a ten-yard gain with Anderson as a blocker. This note was kind of interesting from the OBR's Twitter feed: "Browns ask media not to give up specifics on specialty or trick type plays - but the packages on stunt drill is intriguing."
Bubble Watch: This is a note just in general from the OBR regarding LB Beau Bell: "he hits a ton moving forward but lateral quickness is below average." With Davis still out, RB Noah Herron continues to make a strong case for being on the final roster. I'm really starting to believe that Herron will make the team as the backup fullback/fourth running back. He's not a bad player and he has some veteran experience. With RB Jerome Harrison also not practicing, RB Jamal Lewis and Herron got all the running back reps. CB Hank Poteat was burned by WR Brian Robiskie for a touchdown.
Stepping Up: It's getting repetitive, but that's a good thing in this case: once again, WR Joshua Cribbs had a good practice as a receiver. It doesn't sound like he's seen any work in the secondary this camp, but from what it sounds like, we won't need him there.

The Browns will have an afternoon practice again on Thursday.

Wednesday's Links/Camp Sources

Wednesday 8/12 Practice (Dawg Scooper, Wolf)
Lane's camp notes, Twitter style! (Orange and Brown Report, Adkins)
QBs debunk cheating story (Akron Beacon Journal, Ridenour)
Wednesday evening camp notes (Orange and Brown Report, Taylor)

Cleveland Browns Training Camp 2009: Fullback Preview (Will Ali Make the Cut?)

Chris Pokorny — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:00:20 -0000

With the running back training camp preview, you sort of get a two-for-one. With only two fullbacks on the roster, it wasn't worth giving the position its own three-to-four-day period. Nonetheless, you'll still have two full days to talk all you want about Lawrence Vickers and Charles Ali, as well as continuing the discussion on the running backs.

Romeo Crennel did a horrible job utilizing the roster he was provided with. The fullback position was included in that. Vickers was once praised by Crennel and Savage as a huge asset to the offense -- yet how many times did we run the ball with Jamal Lewis without Vickers in the backfield? Or, how many times were we struggling to protect the quarterback, but Charlies Ali would motion out of the backfield to the top of the screen?

Eric Mangini had a reliable fullback last year in veteran Tony Richardson. Richardson mostly did what he has always done -- blocked. It should be noted that the Jets only carried one fullback on their roster though, which could leave Ali shafted.

1. LAWRENCE VICKERS - STARTING FULLBACK

Lawrence Vickers (#47)
Height: 6-0
Weight: 250
College: Colorado
Experience: 3 years
Stats: 5-of-6 in short runs

Is Vickers still a future Pro Bowler, as he looked to be two years ago? That'll depend on how he is utilized by Mangini. Vickers missed four games last season, allowing Ali to gain some experience in his place. People have suggested before that Vickers should be given more carries as almost a "third running back", like some teams do. He has the speed to pick up some nice yards, but I see Mangini keeping his non-blocking offensive involvement to a minimum.

I'm not going to do a specific worst attribute/best attribute for the fullbacks; I tried coming up with something, and the categories I came up with seemed a bit "forced" just for the sake of trying to find something.

Vickers seemed to improve upon his third-down situations last year.

1. 3rd-and-1: 2 yard gain (first down)
2. 2nd-and-1: 4 yard gain (first down)
3. 3rd-and-1: 2 yard gain (first down)
4. 3rd-and-1: No gain (led to punt)
5. 4th-and-1: 1 yard gain (first down)
6. 2nd-and-1: 2 yard gain (first down)

Five out of six isn't bad, and if I recall correctly, that is better than his 2007 campaign. Vickers also has pretty good hands; although we might not be running fullback screens as often as I'd like, his hands are definitely an asset when you get down on the goal line off of a playaction pass.

Job Security: A+
Player Quality: B+
Final Roster Odds: 100%

2. CHARLES ALI - BACKUP FULLBACK

Charles Ali (#41)
Height: 6-2
Weight: 255
College: Arkansas-Pine
Experience: 2 years
Note: Special teams

As an undrafted rookie free agent two years, Ali made the roster. He returned last season and ended up playing in all 16 games. Most of his action came on special teams, but when Vickers was hurt, he gained some starting experience. As a blocker, he wasn't elite, but he wasn't a weakness either. Throughout the season, Ali was praised by the coaches as another coveted player.

With a new coaching staff, it doesn't come down to talent as much as it does a numbers game. Personally, I am in favor of having two fullbacks on the roster. In a big game, I always want the luxury of having a backup ready to enter the game. A player like Noah Herron might be able to fill that role temporarily, but he doesn't have the same bulk that Ali does. Mangini carried one fullback when he coached the Jets last season; it's hard to believe that he'd change his mind and definitively want two fullbacks. Ali's chances will likely come down to whether or not special teams coordinator Brad Seely wants him on the roster or not. I say he'll make it.

Player Quality: C+
Final Roster Odds: 60%

FB Position Quality (Overall): B

Expanding more on keeping two fullbacks, another option is to just consider one of your tight ends a backup fullback. Darnell Dinkins could have been an emergency fullback last year; could Robert Royal or Steve Heiden be given that consideration this year? Two years ago, the Jets did have two fullbacks on their roster, but both of them were listed as hybrid fullbacks/tight ends.

Poll

Who will be our backup fullback this season (and "who cares" is not an answer!)?

Charles Ali

190 votes

Noah Herron

64 votes

One of our TE's

60 votes

314 votes | Poll has closed

Noah Herron: Quick Thinking at the Right Time

Chris Pokorny — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:43:03 -0000

You are sleeping at home by yourself. A little before midnight, you are alarmed by the sound of glass shattering somewhere downstairs. Either someone has thrown a rock through your window, or there's an intruder in the house. Someone starts approaching the upstairs portion of the house. Do they have a knife on them? A gun? What in the world are you going to do?

If you're Cleveland Browns RB Noah Herron, you become a movie star badass -- unscrew a bedpost and proceed to beat the living hell out of the person. That's exactly what happened back in June of 2008, as Herron took necessary action to defend himself:

"Noah Herron used necessary, reasonable and justifiable force in protecting his life and property," Kocken [county sheriff] said in a statement. "Herron, the victim in this random home invasion, is cooperating with law enforcement."

Link

There were two men involved in the burglary: Joel Mullin-Romo and Yeshua Tate. Tate was the person who Herron knocked unconscious with a bedpost to the face. Mullin-Romo was arrested trying to flea the scene. A ruling from May 2009 says that he will be sentenced to three years in prison. Tate is still on trial due to being involved in many other similar incidents.

Nonetheless, it had to be a scary situation for Herron. At the time, just several months earlier, Sean Taylor had been shot and killed in a burglary. After not seeing much NFL action in 2008, now Herron has to be looking forward to getting back into football. To start this year, he'll try to find success as a member of the Cleveland Browns.

Mangini is not new to the possibility of having a veteran settle in as his third running back. Last year, with Thomas Jones and Leon Washington being the two feature backs, veteran Jesse Chatman was on the roster. Due a suspension and an injury, Chatman's action was limited during the season, but it sounds like a similar approach that Mangini is taking. Compare that to former head coach Romeo Crennel, who did not really bring in any free agent running backs with three+ years of experience for training camp tryouts.

It'll be interesting to see how Herron does this training camp. Not counting our fullbacks, he might be the best blocking running back on our roster, and he's shown the ability to run solid routes on third down out of the backfield. This has led some to believe that backup fullback Charles Ali could be on the way out for a more versatile player in Herron. Herron fought his way out of a threatening home invasion, and now he's going to have to fight his way onto Mangini's Browns. Without a bedpost this time, of course.