SB Nation - Shantee Orr

Pisa the Pat?

VanRam — Sat, 09 May 2009 14:23:26 -0000

Man, turn-about is a strange mistress...or something like that. Not even 24 hours after his release from the Rams, there are reports that LB Pisa Tinoisamoa is on the radar for the New England Patriots.

The main criticism of the Rams decision to release Pisa, hasn't been actually releasing "Hawaii 5-0" it's really been more concern about the Rams depth at the position - remember how thin they proved to be at LB last year after letting Brandon Chillar walk? - and specifically the lack of experienced depth. Some thoughts...

Had the Rams of yesterday made a serious effort to hang onto Brandon Chillar, they could have released Pisa without much concern. The youngster they felt could replace Chillar, Quentin Culberson, got off to a bad start and lost his starting job last season. The new regime has to get Culberson up to par, playing at a starting level. Fortunately, the Rams new coaches, particularly head coach Steve Spagnuolo and Ken Flajole, have loads of experience coaching, successfully coaching, linebackers. That's a huge plus, but no guarantee. If they can coax quality out of Culberson, the Rams could have a decent group of LBs, with Witherspoon, Laurinaitis, and Draft rounding out the top four.

That said, they still have some options on the free agent market, and will likely have more options available as teams make roster cuts in the days before the season starts. Now, realize that any of the Rams' options via this route will not be household names, just role players, but sometimes that's enough.

One name that might be of interest in Rocky Boiman. The 6'4" 236 lbs LB has starting experience on the strong side, with the Colts in 2007, and he became a serviceable starter as a mid-season acquisition for Kansas City last year, piling up 32 tackles in the month of November.

Paris Lenon, 31, hasn't missed a game in three seasons, spending the last three toiling with the Lions. He has starting experience at all three 4-3 LB positions.

Shantee Orr, 27, is another option with experience on the outside, and has some size at 6'0" 246 lbs.

Like I said, none of these names are going to blow anyone away, but they could be useful role players adding depth to the Rams LB corps.

And with the #36 Pick in the Arrowhead Pride Community Mock Draft, the Cleveland Browns Select...

Chris Thorman — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 18:00:17 -0000

Cincinnati DE Connor Barwin

HIV2Elway with the pick...

The consensus over at Dawgs by Nature was that the Browns needed to upgrade their linebacking core. With Curry off the board in round 1, the Browns went with Mike Crabtree to give Quinn a much needed second target. In round 2 Cleveland hopes to address their defense. Lets take a look at the projected starting linebackers:

LOLB	Shantee Orr	19 tackles
LILB	Andra Davis	90 tackles
RILB	D’Qwell Jackson	154 tackles
ROLB	Kamerion Wimbley	66 tackles

Not to shabby in the middle, but the outside could use some love. Enter Connor Barwin, the 6’4” 250 pound beast out of Cincinasty.

The guy is big, athletic, and has great hands. If needed he can sub in at TE (53 catches for 692 yards and 6 TD’s during his collegiate career). He could even compliment LeBron at small forward.

Round 1 is here.

Previous pick: DT Evander Hood

Read more: Scouting Report (Mocking the Draft)

On the clock for tomorrow: Seattle Seahawks (mikvogel) and Cincinnati Bengals (mistamic)

Click over for the schedule and current draft results.

Pick	Round 2	Selection	Date	Approval Rating
1(33)	Detroit Lions - UCrawford	CB Darius Butler	Weds., April 8th
2(34)	New England Patriots (From Kansas City) - connerman	DE Robert Ayers	Weds., April 8th
3(35)	St. Louis Rams - Lanier63	DT Evander Hood	Thursday, April 9th
4(36)	Cleveland Browns - HIV2Elway	DE Connor Barwin	Thursday, April 9th
5(37)	Seattle Seahawks - mikvogel		Friday, April 10th
6(38)	Cincinnati Bengals - mistamic		Friday, April 10th
7(39)	Jacksonville Jaguars - DThomasReigns		Monday, April 13th
8(40)	Oakland Raiders - mushin		Monday, April 13th
9(41)	Green Bay Packers - JasonM		Tuesday, April 14th
10(42)	Buffalo Bills - ArrowDread		Tuesday, April 14th
11(43)	San Francisco 49ers - Harry Feltersnatch		Weds. April 15th
12(44)	Miami Dolphins (From Washington) - shraggyj		Weds. April 15th
13(45)	New York Giants (From New Orleans) - ChiefsFan90s		Thursday, April 16th
14(46)	Houston Texans - ChiefsDude		Thursday, April 16th
15(47)	New England Patriots (From San Diego) - connerman		Friday, April 17th
16(48)	Denver Broncos (From Texans) - Keyser Sose		Friday, April 17th
17(49)	Chicago Bears - Holmeslice		Monday, April 20th
18(50)	Cleveland Browns (From Tampa Bay) - HIV2Elway		Monday, April 20th
19(51)	Dallas Cowboys - chiefsfan1384		Monday, April 20th
20(52)	New York Jets - NJChief		Tuesday, April 21st
21(53)	Philadelphia Eagles - Chiefsfan717		Tuesday, April 21st
22(54)	Minnesota Vikings - kcsno56		Tuesday, April 21st
23(55)	Atlanta Falcons - RedNose		Weds. April 22nd
24(56)	Miami Dolphins - shraggyj		Weds. April 22nd
25(57)	Baltimore Ravens - Ben S		Weds. April 22nd
26(58)	New England Patriots - connerman		Thursday, April 23rd
27(59)	Carolina Panthers - 808NaNz808		Thursday, April 23rd
28(60)	New York Giants - ChiefsFan90s		Thursday, April 23rd
29(61)	Indianapolis Colts - craig in calgary		Friday, April 24th
30(62)	Tennessee Titans - Lvl.99		Friday, April 24th
31(63)	Arizona Cardinals - THE_TRUTH		Friday, April 24th
32(64)	Pittsburgh Steelers - McWhirt33		Friday, April 24th

Poll

Do you agree with the pick?

Yes

52 votes

No

14 votes

Indifferent

10 votes

76 votes | Poll has closed

Not a Blizzard, But Still a Win: Browns Beat Bills, 29-27

Chris Pokorny — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:09:14 -0000

Box Score - 11.17.08
Team	1	2	3	4	Final
	6	7	3	13	29
	0	10	3	14	27

The Browns won for the third time in their past four road games, taking out the wildcard-contending Buffalo Bills 29-27 on Monday Night Football. It was our second Monday Night victory of the season in two attempts -- we have one more in December against the Philadelphia Eagles.

I think that overall, when you look at the state of the team, we are a better football team than last season. Looking at our schedule heading into the season, we feared that despite being better, we'd have a worse record. We do have a worse record at this point (4-6), but it's not because of the competition. We've defeated the defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants. We've defeated two potential playoff teams in Buffalo and Jacksonville. And, we dominated the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens -- two teams with great records -- until making team history with collapses.

The odds aren't in our favor now, but we still love Cleveland Browns football, and our team gave us another wild one against Buffalo. Let's get started with the game balls for Week 11...

Awarding Game Balls (Making Fans Jump for Joy)

K Phil Dawson kicked a tremendous game for the second year in a row versus the Buffalo Bills.

Phil Dawson: I didn't agree with the decision to kick it short on kickoffs as often as we did, but I'll assume those calls came from special teams coach Ted Dashier. Dawson is listed here for being the hero against the Bills for the second year in a row -- by now, I'm sure Buffalo fans hate him to death. Dawson went an incredible 5-for-5 on the road, with each one of them being spot on. His finest piece of work came on what turned out to be the game-winning field goal with 1:39 remaining, as he calmly drilled a career-long 56-yarder.
Jerome Harrison: I'm not exactly sure if four touches merits praise for the coaches in terms of getting him involved a whole lot more, but at least they stuck with him while he was hot. At the start of the fourth quarter, Harrison burst through the line for a 72-yard touchdown. I was screaming and jumping out of my seat as I saw him get past the third level. His work may have been even more important after that though -- following a Bills kick return touchdown, Harrison came right back out for a 9-yard run (tack on a personal foul penalty), followed by a nice 21-yard reception on a play the Indianapolis Colts often run. He didn't return after that due to a hamstring injury, but he led us to 10 points in the two drives he was utilized.

Goats of the Game (Could Have Cost Us)

Andra Davis: Welcome back to the goat section Andra Davis. After making a nice interception in the first quarter, the rest of the game was unbearable. The entire defense couldn't tackle Marshawn Lynch or Fred Jackson, but Davis was the worst of them all. Please, Romeo: get Beau Bell in there already. I don't care if Bell gets juked out of his shoes on every single play; removing Davis from the field is a victory in itself.

WR Braylon Edwards can celebrate another aspect: he had several nice blocks down the field.

Braylon Edwards: He had 8 catches for 104 yards, but it could have been so much more. Edwards was targeted on several other occasions, but couldn't come away with a reception. The most notable ones were a nice high pass on the team's first drive, and a ball that hit Edwards right in the face on the final drive. I do give a lot of credit to Terrence McGee for having excellent coverage on Edwards throughout the game, but Edwards is supposed to be a Pro Bowl receiver. There were clearly catches in that game that he knows he's talented enough to catch; the wait for him to break out of his funk continues on.

General Thoughts (Random Tidbits on the Game)

Outstanding Defense: Yes, of course there were a lot of things our offense should have done to adjust better to the Bills' defense. Nonetheless, I thought Buffalo gave Brady Quinn a lot of tough looks in his first road start, and I'm glad that they did. It allowed us to see how Quinn would respond to that type of pressure.

QB Brady Quinn may have been pressured, but he wasn't flustered.

Quinn Did What Needed to be Done: Statistically, it wasn't a very pretty game for Quinn, as he completed just 39% of his passes for a QB rating of 55.9. Maybe Derek Anderson would've had been stats in this game, but that's not what is important to look at in this case. Quinn was blitzed heavily all night long and did a great job getting a throw off down the field most of the time. The option of using him on a bootleg run panned out well too. My favorite throw is his one on our final drive that set up Dawson's long field goal -- a corner blitz came free from the edge, and Quinn almost instinctively without seeing him was able to step up, double pump, and fire a completion.
Missing Stallworth: It was good to see Edwards get involved this week, and Winslow was still targeted several times as well. However, I don't like the fact that we heard Syndric Steptoe's name mentioned more on the receiving end than Donte Stallworth's. Things looked bright last week between Quinn and Stallworth, but having zero catches the next week is not what this team paid so much money for.
McDonald's Redemption: I couldn't have been happier for Brandon McDonald, who made up for last week's miscues with two big plays against the Bills: an interception and a forced fumble, each of which led to a Dawson field goal. The tackling was still atrocious, but if you can't tackle you at least need to make up for it as McDonald did.
Strong Consideration for E-Wright: There probably should have been a third game ball handed out to cornerback Eric Wright. Blanketing the fast Lee Evans most of the game, he held him to without a catch the entire game. Heck, I don't even remember him being targeted once, despite the fact that Trent Edwards often had light years to make a decision. That's the first time Evans has failed to record a catch in a game in nearly 70 games.
Special Teams Edge: Trying to determine who had the better special teams on Monday Night is a tough one. Dawson had five field goals including the game winner, while Rian Lindell missed the game winner. The Bills' coverage on Cribbs was solid, while the Browns' coverage on Leodis McKelvin was poor. There is one play that will lean me towards Cleveland: in the first quarter, Mike Adams perfectly downed a Dave Zastudil punt at the one-yard line on a play most special teamers would probably muff into the end zone in the heat of the moment.
Did You See Orr?: I sort of rushed seeing the game since I was on tape delay, but I didn't really notice any difference in terms of Shantee Orr's playing time. If anyone has any word on that, feel free to chime in. I noticed Travis Daniels in on the action more often, but he was just part of the depressing non-tacklers.
Ahtyba Rubin: Even before he made a critical fumble recovery, I noticed Rubin making a few more plays than usual. If anything, it looked as if Rubin was receiving the type of proportional playing time I expected Orr to get at linebacker.

The Browns' defense couldn't stop Bills RB Marshawn Lynch late in the game.

"Reason 2 - Not Physical": I listed "not physical" as reason number two of our defensive shortcomings in my review of the Denver Broncos game, and it applies to the Bills game as well. Marshawn Lynch has a lot of talent, but he had not had a good game all season. In the past three games, we've allowed rookie Ray Rice to have a career day, fullback Peyton Hillis to beat us on fourth-and-one, and Lynch to win 1-on-6 matchups with 20 yards to go against us. We're not catching unlucky breaks in terms of backs getting hot; we're just that bad when it comes to tackling.
Fullback Slant: Heh, I'll take a quick fullback go/slant route over the middle any day over a fullback flat pass. When Charles Ali caught Quinn's pass in stride, I thought, "holy crap, is that Ali out there?" I would've hated to have been the defender to meet him for the tackle.
Ineffective Back: There was a lot of discussion before the season in debating who was better served as the Browns' backup running back: Jason Wright or Jerome Harrison. Wright had two decent seasons as a backup, but this year he has been in my opinion a detriment to the offense. I still put some of the blame on him for not turning around quick enough on Haloti Ngata's interception a few weeks ago, and I blame Wright for not doing a good job in picking up the blitzes Buffalo brought up the middle. All you need is a chip, but all I saw were whiffs.
Crennel's Reactions: At the end of the game, I couldn't help but roll over laughing at Romeo Crennel's excited reactions to Dawson's successful kick and then Lindell's miss. As they showed him walking to the center of the field after the game, I could've sworn he had a facial expression that was trying to look normal but was really holding back a huge smile.
Opposite Reaction: After I saw those reactions from Crennel, I saw someone on the OBR mention how Crennel looked pissed off after Jerome Harrison's huge touchdown run. I went back and checked the tape and was laughing -- but baffled -- at just how true this was. If you taped the game, go back and check it. A montage of these past two bullet points would make you laugh.
Brownies: Quinn had a heart-clutching throw late that should have been picked and cost us the game...it goes without saying, but Shaun Rogers remains a beast, as he had another Pro Bowl type of game...I kid you not: right before Cribbs' four-yard touchdown run, I said to my brother, "I bet we'll run a double reverse to Joshua Cribbs here." It was only a single-reverse, but close enough.

The defense was horrible again in the fourth quarter, meaning our "rotations" didn't really keep people any fresher. In the end, the "W" is what matters, and Brady Quinn has improved to a .500 record at 1-1. This is the third straight game that we should have blown out the competition based on how we started the games; maybe we can do that this Sunday against the Texans. Thank goodness for a regular Sunday 1:00 PM game too -- I've missed those.

Coaches Can't Adjust to Flow of the Game

Chris Pokorny — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:30:24 -0000

Time after time this season, Jerome Harrison has been productive whenever he has been inserted into a game. If he receives one touch, it goes for over 10 yards. If he receives two touches, he totals over 20 yards, and so on. The problem has been that after that short spurt of playing time, Harrison doesn't see the field the rest of the game.

In this morning's Plain Dealer, head coach Romeo Crennel had another baffling quote:

"We planned to try to use him [Harrison] and that's why we got him into the game in the first half. Sometimes it happens that maybe the ball doesn't get in your hands. The ball wasn't in his hands as much the second half. We're going to try to see if we can be a little more consistent about getting the ball in his hands."

To me, that sounds like pure stubbornness, either from Crennel or Rob Chudzinski. Heading into the game, the coaches have one little package or series in mind to dedicate to Harrison, with the rest designed for Lewis. No matter how well or how poorly each running back does during the game, adjustments are not made to the "flow" or "tempo" of the game.

The same thing happened with Derek Anderson earlier this season. Brady Quinn was on "high alert", but that didn't mean a thing because the coaching staff was too reliant on what they had planned heading into the game (I'm referring mainly to the Cincinnati Bengals game here, where Anderson played poorly enough to be benched after the first half).

Nonetheless, I suppose it's positive to hear that an effort will be made to give Harrison more touches, although I could've sworn I heard the same thing from Crennel two or three other times this season.

On another note, remember Shantee Orr? He has been neglected so much in terms of playing time that I completely forgot about the possibility of using him in the linebacker rotation. Orr is expected to be brought into the mix this week, which will slightly decrease the playing times of Kamerion Wimbley, Alex Hall, and Willie McGinest.

Crennel's assessment of Wimbley provides some entertainment too:

As for Wimbley, Crennel said, "It has been an unproductive year as far as sack totals. But Wimbley's been a consistent player, [and gives] consistent effort. I think he's improved as a player. We'll just keep working with him to see if we can improve that [sack] total so that everyone feels a little better about him."

Consistently sprinting around the left tackle with no results, indeed.

Poll

Do you like the thought of giving Shantee Orr some playing time?

Yes, playing time for Orr!

54 votes

No, just let Orr stick to special teams only

18 votes

72 votes | Poll has closed

Anderson Blows Lead in Browns' 28-10 Loss to Baltimore

Chris Pokorny — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:10:39 -0000

Box Score - 9.21.08
Team	1	2	3	4	Final
	0	10	0	0	10
	0	7	21	0	28

Right now, we're one of the worst teams in football. Potential wise, we remain the "best" of the worst teams in football, but that's not going to offer us any comfort when we're on the outside-looking-in again come January.

So, where should I go with the breakdown of this game? The Derek Anderson / Romeo Crennel replacement storylines are so hot right now, perhaps I can offer a take on some of the other issues that happened with the game. So, for the majority of this review, I'll try to hold off "extensive" discussion on Anderson / Crennel (save that for Wednesday's post):

Goat of the Game (Why God, Why?)

Browns QB Derek Anderson had one of the worst second halves imaginable.

Derek Anderson: It was truly a story of two halves for Derek Anderson. In the first half, he actually wasn't too bad -- both statistically and in making decisions. He was 9-of-16 passing for 101 yards and 1 touchdown, aiding the team to a 10-7 lead at halftime.
...(continued): Then, the second half was miserable. Anderson was 5-of-21 for 24 yards and 3 interceptions in the second half. What was the reason for the difference? If anything, you'd expect a poor first half to shake your confidence in the second half, and not vice-versa. Nonetheless, with a second half performance like that, Anderson's the only player you need to point the finger at to blame for this loss. Well, I could blame Donte Stallworth in a way too, but that's in more of a joking yet detailed manner I've yet to delve in to.
Dave Zastudil: People may not remember it, but when we were backed up to our own 12-yard line, he only got off a 31-yard boot. The Ravens promptly drove 43 yards to tie the game at seven.

Awarding Game Balls (More Meaningless With Each Loss)

RB Jerome Harrison scores the only touchdown of the game for Cleveland. Makes sense that it was his only play, though.

Jerome Harrison: Why deprive him of a gameball just because the coaches don't give him more than one play? He capitalized on that one play too -- a 19-yard screen pass for our only touchdown in two weeks. Overall though, Romeo Crennel actually gave Harrison less of a workload than he did against the Steelers. Liar. And idiotic.
Alex Hall: I didn't think he had an overpowering game, but the sole fact that he was recognized more than Kamerion Wimbley says a lot about how much Wimbley really is struggling. Hall had the Browns' only sack of the game on Joe Flacco as well.

General Thoughts (Random Tidbits on the Game)

We Should Have Won: Our defense wasn't great, but the unit played well enough to win (until the backups were inserted into the game). They were also opportunistic, picking off the rookie quarterback twice in the first half as I anticipated would happen. Anderson handicapped our defense 14 points.
Recognition on Trick Play: The Ravens tried to run a variation of the fleaflicker on a play that ended up being Flacco's second interception of the day. He pitched the ball to Willie McGahee, who slowly ran to the sideline without even coming close to selling a run, and then tossed the ball all the way back to Flacco, who then wound up and launched a rocket down into the end zone. Mike Adams came away with the ball, and although the Ravens executed the play poorly, I still credit our young / depleted secondary for being all over it.
Edwards Still Struggles: I don't recall him having a drop, but I still wouldn't call it a step forward for him. On his second reception, he bobbled the ball about four times before finally securing it against his chest. That's not what you want to do against a hard-hitting defense over the middle. Edwards may or may not have been partially at fault for Anderson's second and third picks, but either way he didn't do a good job at shielding the defender.
Not The Cribbs We Know: On kick returns, Joshua Cribbs isn't Joshua Cribbs right now, and I'm not just saying that because he's not busting 30-yard returns every time. He only averaged 17.3 yard a pop on 3 attempts against Baltimore, and wind wasn't a factor this week. He doesn't seem to be accelerating through a hole like he did last year. Instead, he's doing more shifting, which is easily allowing defenders to catch up with him. Now, that could be due to worse blocking on special teams than last year, but probably not.
Cribbs' Other Aspects: He still looks solid on covering kicks, and I don't understand why he's not playing receiver over Syndric Steptoe. He had a nice effort on the team's first catch of the game, and then made a terrific diving one-handed attempt on an overthrown Anderson pass in the second half. If he would've caught that, it would've been all over SportsCenter.
Stover's Miss: What? Matt Stover missed a kick against us? I'm shocked. Of course, it had no bearing on the outcome of the game, unfortunately.

The Browns are all over the Ravens' fleaflicker attempt, as DB Mike Adams comes away with the interception.

Lewis' Carries: Should we have given more carries to Jamal Lewis? That also seems to be a hot topic, though I think the reaction has been a little overboard. Any way you look at it, to control a game, we need a balanced passing and rushing attack. Even if we gave Lewis more touches to start the second half, we still would've needed Anderson in third-down situations, and he didn't appear capable of anything in the second half. On the same note, once we went down by three scores, running the ball against a defense that is still pretty good will only burn off time we can't afford to waste.
Vickers' Hot Start: I thought Lawrence Vickers had a hot start to the game. Like Harrison though, if it works, "let's not go to it". Instead, let's watch Anderson throw ten incomplete passes toward the direction of Kellen Winslow.
Speaking of Which: Who is to blame for Anderson's first interception? Although he took a shot, I do blame Kellen Winslow for not holding onto the ball. We're in need of playmakers right now, and tight plays like that are desperately needed. DBN reader "rufio" said it best in the gameday topic though, on why it didn't make sense on Anderson / Chudzinski's part: "Why was DA throwing at McAllister and R.Lewis when Rolle and Landry are out!"
Thomas Struggled: Maybe in the first half, we held things together. For the entire game though, I saw Joe Thomas struggle in recognizing where the rusher was coming from off the start (unless the play calls were just so bad that they told Thomas to stay there). Eric Steinbach was sorely missed, not only because his absence had adverse effects on Thomas, but because Seth McKinney looked awful. Rex Hadnot wasn't very good either, as the offensive line gave up a total of five sacks.
Brownies: I saw Shantee Orr burst through with a nice tackle at least once...though I gave Hall a game ball, Brodney Pool had a very nice performance in my book for the second straight week...Phil Dawson is going to have more points than the rest of our team combined pretty soon.

Hardly any teams have ever made the postseason after starting the season at 0-3. I don't look at those statistics though -- wins can still be strung together, and a record of 9-7 certainly isn't out of the question (which could win the division).

For every loss we put on the board though, we dig ourselves into a bigger hole. At some point, something has to chance to dig us out of that hole. Will that be Anderson getting back into a groove? Or, will it be Brady Quinn getting his crack at the job? That's what we'll find out over the next few weeks.

Beaten by the Best? Browns Lose 28-10 to Cowboys

Chris Pokorny — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:56:39 -0000

Box Score - 9.7.08
Team	1	2	3	4	Final
	7	14	7	0	28
	0	7	0	3	10

For the second year in a row, the Cleveland Browns did not fair off too well in their season opener (which also happens to be at home). All offseason, we wanted the schedule makers to give us the same respect that other contenders in the league were being given. For the first game, we laid a big egg. Not that it provides a significant amount of comfort, but all things considered, we may have lost to the best team in the National Football League.

The Patriots are without Tom Brady the rest of the year. The other AFC favorites -- Indianapolis and San Diego -- each suffered home losses to teams expected to finish no better than .500. Disregarding Pittsburgh's dominant performance over the Houston Texans, the Cowboys looked great on all sides of the ball -- they were in near midseason form.

The bottom line? Getting beat was ok. Getting beat with dropped passes, no pass rush, and awkward coaching decisions was not ok. As I've done in the past, to go along with a loss, it's time to look at the goats of the game...

Goats of the Game (Better Redeem Next Week)

WR Braylon Edwards did not have a good game by any means, as he watches one of an eventual four passes go through his hands.

Braylon Edwards: I was wrong in assuming that several weeks off due to a cut on his foot would not deter him from having a big game. His quickness and route-running looked fine, but the simple fundamentals of catching the ball in traffic posed a significant problem, as many people credited him with having four drops. The games we won last year, Edwards made spectacular catches on good throws from Derek Anderson. Had Edwards caught those passes early on, maybe our offense would've stayed in a groove and participated in the shootout we thought we would've seen.
Kamerion Wimbley: I know that D'Qwell Jackson had a horrible game too, but I think it's more appropriate to mention Wimbley here. He demonstrated more than ever that he only has one move. His strategy seems to be "let me see how large of a circle I can make around the left tackle as Tony Romo steps up in the pocket. If Wimbley had an inside move, he would've used it. He didn't develop it over the offseason, and now we're going to have to deal with it all season long. You almost feel like starting Alex Hall over there in front of him.

Awarding Game Balls (Tough in Defeat)

DT Shaun Rogers was stopping the run all game until the fourth quarter, when the fatigue set in.

Shaun Rogers: The big man delivered with what we expected him to bring to the table. All things considered, after the first game, I'm extremely pleased that we got this guy for just a third-round pick and Leigh Bodden. He did wear down at the end of the game though, and that can be attributed to fantastic execution by the Cowboys' offense, keeping their unit on the field 15 minutes longer than the Browns. Rogers is solid, but he's not as good as Albert Haynesworth where he can go strong four quarters without a break.
Kellen Winsow: Why we didn't go his direction more in the second half is beyond me, but Winslow caught the ball well, being our only receiver to go over 2 catches and 20 yards receiving. I'm still a little puzzled by the lack of emotion he has appeared to show throughout the preseason and in Week 1. Maybe it's just me, but he seems a little too subdued (except for the bow he took on his touchdown reception).

General Thoughts (Random Tidbits on the Game)

We Miss Cribbs: Besides Edwards' drops, the absence of Joshua Cribbs was the biggest key of the game (even more so than the defensive shortcomings). When you see Syndric Steptoe and Gerard Lawson getting tackled around the 25-yard line for less-than-stellar returns, you can literally imagine on the field Cribbs taking it an extra 20-25 yards each time. The Cowboys did not have tremendous kick return coverage -- Steptoe and Lawson were just not very elite. Better field position again would've contributed to the offense, and the defense for when we did punt.
The Field Goal: Sweet, three extra fantasy points for Phil Dawson, right? Wrong. I never care how later it is in a game -- the opportunity to rally still exists. With 10:43 left in the fourth quarter, down by three possessions, you only kick a field goal if it'll make it a two-possession game. Instead, Crennel went for the field goal, which in that scenario was virtually the same thing as turning the ball over on downs or punting it away. Bad decision by Crennel, and the fans let him hear it by booing louder than I've heard fans boo on the television set in a long time.
Anderson Wasn't Bad: Statistically, completing only 45% of his passes did not look good. In terms of being prepared and how he played, I don't understand why so many people (on the OBR and from public speaking) are considering him such a major goat. The velocity on his balls was great, needling throws when appropriate. He had four drops from his top receiver, three of which should've definitely been caught. On top of that, he was basically working with two practice squad receivers with Donte Stallworth injured. The Cowboys' defense only had to blanket two receivers, because the Syndric Steptoe and Steve Sanders just weren't getting too open. When the coverage was too tight, Anderson did the right thing by running and picking up some yards with his feet.
Equivalence: Please don't tell me that Donte Stallworth is going to end up being nothing more than the offense-equivalent of Antwan Peek (injury-wise). Not having Stallworth did put our receiving position even thinner than our defensive backs position.
Third-Down Conversions: A lot of our offensive shortcomings came down to a lackluster 33% third-down conversion rate. When Dallas converts 72% of their third downs in comparison, you're doomed.
Third Downs, Part II: Digging deeper into the lack of offensive conversions on third downs, you see that several of the situations were short-yardage plays. On the first drive, there was a bad quarterback-center exchange between Anderson and Hank Fraley. Right after the second half started, we had two nice runs by Jamal Lewis to set up a 3rd-and-2. The pressure came quick, Anderson heaved one too deep to the outside, and we had to punt.
Third Downs, Part III: Finally, it's time to rip our defense for the lack of a pass rush generated on third downs. On Dallas' eight conversions, six of them were through the air, mostly because Romo had all day to throw. It didn't matter who we blitzed: it was picked up with ease.

Cowboys QB Tony Romo had all day to throw against our secondary, though CB Eric Wright did record an interception.

Defensive Backs Coverage: We didn't stop Terrell Owens. We didn't stop Patrick Crayton. And hell, we didn't even cover Jason Witten (though the linebackers were responsible for him at times). You can't fault the cornerbacks for giving up yardage when there is literally no pressure up front, but on the same note you still need better play. We needed to jam Owens better, but Brandon McDonald's idea of that was the "hands to the face" call. When McDonald jumped a route to Crayton (and just missed) and when Eric Wright recorded the Browns' only turnover of the game, I saw glimpses of what our defensive backs' will be relied upon once the pressure improves.
Turnover Ratio: Speaking of which, we were actually -1 in the turnover category.
Running Well: I was pleased with how Jamal Lewis ran the ball. Like last year though, it's unfortunate that when we get down in the game so quickly, we have no other choice but to abandoned the run. Thankfully, there didn't seem to be any lingering effects from his hamstring injury.
Heiden All Out: When Steve Heiden laid all out to try and make a catch, I couldn't believe me eyes. Just seeing him try that was unusual (but encouraging) to see. You wonder how much a guy like Martin Rucker would've helped in a game like this -- suddenly that draft choice looks a lot better than it originally seemed.
Penalty Dinkins: I recall a special teams penalty on Darnell Dinkins. Want to know why it doesn't make sense to always say "he had a great camp and earned a roster spot"? Because he never plays in the offensive sets, and on special teams, he has too many penalties called against him.
Get Well Cribbs: Please be ready for Pittsburgh next week. Oh, did I already have a bullet point about Cribbs? Did I mention how important he is? I did? Good.
Presence: Did you feel the defensive presence by Corey Williams? Me neither. There is hope for next game, though, just like the offensive line didn't look great in last year's opener.
Need to Blitz: I'd rather be beat by sending all the blitzers we can send at Tony Romo than have him sit there for an infinity only to find the open receiver with ease. Just because the first few blitzes don't work doesn't mean you go to an even worse strategy.
Dawson 1-of-1: Seeing your kicker get their first one through the uprights is a good sign, no matter what the score is. At least he did get a kick in before next week's night cap against the Steelers.
Special Teams Coverage: Though poor on the return game, our kick coverage was very good. I noticed Shantee Orr recording a tackle or two. We survived the coverage units without specialist Kris Griffin available too.
I'll Stop: I kept bragging that we were 6-0 at home under Derek Anderson last season. If that annoyed you, fear not: I can no longer say it with relevance to this season.

It was not a very fun opener to watch, but there's no way I'm going to get discouraged heading into this Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. A win against the Cowboys would've been great, but this is the critical portion of our schedule: three consecutive division games. If we don't go at least 2-1 during that stretch, we're down and out. With a clean sweep, no one's going to be talking about the Cowboys loss.

Go BROWNS.

Cleveland Browns 2008-2009 Season Preview

Chris Pokorny — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 04:28:28 -0000

The Cleveland Browns are entering the 2008-2009 with high expectations. With a successful offense returning, a much-improved defensive line, and the fans more excited than ever about the team, anything short of a playoff berth will be a disappointment.

Now, let's take a look at this year's official season preview, brought to you exclusively by Dawgs By Nature.

Note: Due to page-width issues, click the link below to read the full preview. Also, please use the "Yahoo Buzz" feature in the top-right corner to help promote this piece!

Cleveland Browns Season Preview - 2008-2009 Edition

Offensive Depth Chart

Defensive Depth Chart

Pos	1st String	2nd String	3rd String
QB	Derek Anderson	Brady Quinn	Ken Dorsey
RB	Jamal Lewis	Jerome Harrison	Jason Wright
FB	Lawrence Vickers	Charles Ali
WR	Braylon Edwards	Joshua Cribbs	Steve Sanders
WR	Donte Stallworth	Syndric Steptoe	Martin Rucker (TE)
TE	Kellen Winslow	Steve Heiden	Darnell Dinkins
LT	Joe Thomas	Isaac Sowells
LG	Eric Steinbach	Scott Young
C	Hank Fraley
RG	Seth McKinney	Rex Hadnot
RT	Kevin Shaffer	Ryan Tucker

Pos	1st String	2nd String	3rd String
LDE	Corey Williams	Shaun Smith
NT	Shaun Rogers	Ahtyba Rubin
RDE	Robaire Smith	Louis Leonard
LOLB	Willie McGinest	Alex Hall	Shantee Orr
ILB	D'Qwell Jackson	Kris Griffin	Beau Bell
ILB	Andra Davis	Leon Williams
ROLB	Kamerion Wimbley
LCB	Eric Wright	Terry Cousin	Gerard Lawson
RCB	Brandon McDonald	Travis Daniels
FS	Brodney Pool	Mike Adams
SS	Sean Jones	Nick Sorensen

Positional Summaries

Quarterbacks

Defensive Line

Quarterback controversy? For the first time since returning to the NFL, the fans, the coaching staff, and all of the other players on the team have confidence in the starting quarterback. Derek Anderson is coming off of an unprecedented year, throwing for nearly 30 touchdowns. After leading the Browns to a 10-5 record as a starter last year, he'll have to improve his game this season though. With expectations higher, a tougher schedule ahead of him, and a decision needing to be made about backup quarterback Brady Quinn, Anderson now needs to show that he can enter the ranks of the Peyton Manning's, Tom Brady's, and Tony Romo's.

Meanwhile, Quinn can't feel too good about his situation in Cleveland right now. No matter what a quarterback says, they want to play right away. When he looks around the league, all of the other young quarterbacks -- Matt Leinart, Vince Young, JaMarcus Russell, Alex Smith, Joe Flacco, and Matt Ryan -- have received starting opportunities in their first or second years. Quinn has shown the ability to manage the Browns offense if needed though, and third-stringer Ken Dorsey will continue to remain a mentor for him.

Grade: A

I graded the defensive line a D+ last season. Looking back, that was probably being too optimistic. Robaire Smith was a welcome addition to the Browns at the time, but I can't say I'm too upset about seeing guys like Ethan Kelley and Simon Fraser replaced by two potential Pro Bowlers.

When free agency first hit, the Browns didn't make a single move involving the defensive line. Fans were outraged and confused as more and more of the "higher-rated" free agents were being signed by other teams. Then, out of no where, Phil Savage pulled out his bag of magic tricks with two trades. First, he somehow worked a deal to acquire Packers defensive end Corey Williams in exchange for just a third-round draft pick. Then, he paid a lot for Pro Bowl defensive tackle Shaun Rogers, giving up top cornerback Leigh Bodden and a second-round draft pick. We wanted improvement, and we got it.

The optimism for the defensive line is extremely high now. Some fans are dying to see a pass rush, but the thing I'm looking forward to is Rogers' ability to stop the run. I can definitively remember teams like the Houston Texans running their third-string running back against us for 100+ yards with ease. With the versatile Shaun Smith becoming depth as opposed to a starter, the talent of rotation should improve too to ensure everybody stays fresh for four quarters.

Grade: B+

Running Backs

Linebackers

There were a lot of questions surrounding Jamal Lewis prior to last season. He was coming over from a Baltimore Ravens team where he had looked injury-plagued and on the downside of his career. He answered all of his critics by having a tremendous season overall last year, especially by establishing his role as a "closer" against teams like the New York Jets and the Buffalo Bills. There is still room for improvement though, and that'll have come against the stiffer competition he'll face this year in the NFC East, the AFC South, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

No matter what he does though, there will always be a concern in the back of everyone's mind if Lewis suffers an injury. Phil Savage decided to stick with Jerome Harrison and Jason Wright as the backups for the second year in a row, but their roles have become a little more defined. If Lewis suffers an injury, Harrison will be the starting running back. Whether Lewis is healthy or not, Wright will be the third-down running back. That boils down to Harrison still being a poor blocker -- something you can't afford in third-down passing situations.

Part of the reason I graded the Browns' backs a C+ last season was due to the question marks at the fullback position. In his first season as a starter though, Lawrence Vickers was more than impressive. And, in training camp and throughout the preseason, Charles Ali has looked like one of the best No. 2 fullbacks in the league.

Grade: B

So, what has changed at the linebacker position this year? Absolutely nothing.

Our starters are still Kamerion Wimbley, Andra Davis, D'Qwell Jackson, and Willie McGinest. Leon Williams is still the backup middle linebacker. Antwan Peek still has the injury asterisk next to his name. The lone differences are the rookie draft picks -- Beau Bell and Alex Hall. While there is a lot of excitement surrounding Hall, until he shows what he's capable of on gameday, it's impossible to evaluate his true value.

I've always been negative towards Andra Davis, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that he is going to have a break out year. I have criticized him for always making his tackles five yards down the field as opposed to in the backfield or closer to the line of scrimmage. Considering that he's had to suffer through running backs getting through the defensive line so quickly though, a change in talent up front can only be beneficial to him. Wearing the defensive headset this year, he'll also be counted on more than ever to be the leader of the defense.

Wimbley's expectations are also high, but I'm still not sold on him. It's frustrating to see that he has yet to develop a solid inside move -- the better left tackles have had no problem defending him if they know he's one-dimensional. I overrated our linebackers last year with a B+; this year I'm setting my sights a little lower (not because we got worse).

Grade: C+

Receivers

Secondary

Clearly, Dennis Northcutt was a better third wide receiver than Tim Carter (last year's candidate) and Travis Wilson (this year's original candidate). Thankfully, due to the talent at the top two receiver positions and at tight end, the third wide receiver shouldn't be an issue for the second year in a row.

Braylon Edwards is coming off of a career year, and now enters this season as one of the most respected receivers talent-wise in all of football. The impact he has on opposing defenses is greater than anybody else on our team -- just look how sorry the offense looked in the preseason when Wilson was starting as opposed to Edwards. Veteran receiver Joe Jurevicius is still with the team, but unfortunately the soonest he'll be able to come back is after Week 6 as he tries to return from offseason surgery. Replacing Jurevicius in the starting lineup is former Patriots receiver Donte Stallworth, who was one of the top free agent receivers on the market this year. Stallworth adds a different dimension than Jurevicius did -- more catch-and-run, with the deep ball sprinkled in.

Without Jurevicius though, the Browns will be in search of a new go-to-guy on third downs. That man has to be tight end Kellen Winslow. While he's had two consecutive solid seasons, you still get the feeling that he's yet to reach his fullest potential. Around Week 6, the Browns also hope to have rookie tight end Martin Rucker available to open up the offensive playbook even further by being able to shift Winslow to receiver more often while still having a pass-catching threat at tight end.

Grade: A

This is the problem area heading into the season, but with a lot of luck, things don't have to turn out so bad.

When you look up and down the NFL, how many teams actually have a dominant secondary? I can probably count them on only two hands, meaning far less than half of the league. The Browns are receiving so much attention because we're playing young players and we traded away our best cornerback in Leigh Bodden. Since when do two young players, paired with two safeties who are in command of their positions, warrant an automatic notation for failure? The risks are certainly high, but until we see what happens over the first several weeks of the season, it's not time to write the unit off just yet.

Sean Jones had his ups and downs last season, but he really seemed to get things going towards the latter part of the season, as did Brodney Pool. Pool's coverage abilities are still questionable, but he knows how to lay the big hit at the right time. Now, we just have to hope he'll be able to deliver those hits still after sustaining several concussions over the span of his career.

At cornerback, Brandon McDonald's starting role is the our only new dimension in reality. When the team traded Bodden, they envisioned cornerback Daven Holly filling one of the starting role, allowing McDonald to become the nickel back. Holly's injury is what triggered the chain of concerns -- and with Terry Cousin and Travis Daniels being the only depth behind the starters, I am concerned if one of them has to start. The signing of a free agent cornerback like Ty Law isn't completely out of the question still if the unit is unbearably bad to start the season. For depth reasons, the secondary suffers a low grade here.

Grade: D+

Offensive Line

Special Teams

I gave the Browns' offensive line a "B" at the start of last season. Again, I completely underestimated our line's capabilities. Rookie left tackle Joe Thomas exceeded expectations, becoming one of the few rookie tackles to actually live up to his potential. Free agent pickup Eric Steinbach anchored the left side with Thomas very well all season long. Meanwhile, Kevin Shaffer was better at right tackle than he was at left tackle, Hank Fraley held his own at center, and the right guard position was held down by either Seth McKinney or Ryan Tucker.

This year, nothing has changed with the exception of a few backups on the offensive line. Considering that the line only allowed Derek Anderson to be sacked 14 times all season and that Jamal Lewis ran for over 1,300 yards, I think it's safe to say that this unit warrants a higher grade.

Grade: A-

Take a look at this quote from last year's special teams preview I wrote, regarding Browns kicker Phil Dawson:

"Phil Dawson is back for another year, but if he's not able to produce some more "clutch" kicks this year, some of the once loyal fans could finally be giving up on him."

Boy, did I unknowingly foreshadow something at the time? Not only did Dawson have several game-winning field gals last season, he improved his leg strength in the offseason and could be in line to attempt more 50-yarders this season. At punter, Dave Zastudil is healthy again after having somewhat of a down year last season.

The X-factor remains Joshua Cribbs. Sorry Deven Hester, but Cribbs by far has you beat as the best all-around special teams contributor in all of football. Any time he touches the ball, he's a threat to take it the distance. Any time he's a gunner, he'll mow down the opposing returner in a flash.

Grade: A+

How The Season Will Go

Schedule

Divisional Finish

REGULAR SEASON

Date	Opponent	Time
9/7	Dallas - Win	4:15 pm
9/14	Pittsburgh - Win	8:15 pm
9/21	at Baltimore - Win	4:15 pm
9/28	at Cincinnati - Loss	1:00 pm
10/5	BYE WEEK	------
10/13	New York Giants - Loss	8:30 pm
10/19	at Washington - Win	4:15 pm
10/26	at Jacksonville - Loss	4:05 pm
11/2	Baltimore - Win	1:00 pm
11/6	Denver - Win	8:15 pm
11/17	at Buffalo - Win	8:30 pm
11/23	Houston - Win	1:00 pm
11/30	Indianapolis - Loss	1:00 pm
12/7	at Tennessee - Win	1:00 pm
12/15	at Philadelphia - Loss	8:30 pm
12/21	Cincinnati - Win	1:00 pm
12/28	at Pittsburgh - Loss	1:00 pm

REGULAR SEASON

AFC North 2008-2009
Place	Team	Record
1	Cleveland Browns	10-6
2	Pittsburgh Steelers	10-6
3	Cincinnati Bengals	7-9
4	Baltimore Ravens	3-13

I predicted that the Browns would win seven games last season, and at the time, that was a high prediction. After winning ten games, look at the respect we earned on the schedule to the left: five nationally televised prime time games. Forget those typical Ian Eagle/Soloman Wilcots- announced games that we became accustomed to the past several seasons: in our first ten games, only two of them will be played at 1:00 pm.

This season, I expect the Browns to rise to the occasion of a tough schedule. It's time for the Browns to become one of the elite teams in the NFL again rather than always being the underdogs. More important than anything else though, it's time to dethrone the Pittsburgh Steelers from atop the AFC North.

BREAKING NEWS: Peek Done for Year, Orr Re-signed

Chris Pokorny — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:55:16 -0000

Updating on a story we posted yesterday, it was confirmed today that Browns LB Antwan Peek suffered a torn patella tendon and will be out for the rest of the season. He had surgery Thursday morning to repair the tendon.

With Peek on the injured reserve now, the team went out and signed LB Shantee Orr again. Orr will figure into the rotation at outside linebacker this Sunday, but rookie LB Alex Hall is still scheduled to receive the bulk of Peek's intended reps.

I never thought it'd be possible, but Peek has just about already shattered Courtney Brown's injury record.

Cleveland Browns Final Cuts Announced - Travis Wilson Among Them

Chris Pokorny — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 15:42:41 -0000

It's one of the more exciting days as a fan to find out who will be available on gameday during the regular season, but for those who have been cut, it has to feel like a downer. Overall, my projections were pretty good, but there was a shocker -- the removal of wide receiver Travis Wilson. You have to wonder if that one dropped catch against the Bears cost him everything.

FINAL TRANSACTIONS (TO GET ROSTER DOWN TO 53)

Players Waived

WR Travis Wilson - I wouldn't be surprised if he still gets brought back at some point though, if we run into another injury.
WR Steve Sanders
WR Efrem Hill
WR Lance Leggett
TE Brad Cieslak - Good luck to wherever he goes next.
TE Kolomona Kapanui
OL James Lee - I hope to see him on the practice squad.
OL Jonathan Palmer
DL Melila Purcell
LB David McMillan - A shame he never caught on.
LB Chase Ortiz
DB A.J. Davis
DB Jereme Perry
DB Travis Key - Big-time playmaker in little time with the Browns; hope to see him on the practice squad.
DB Brandon Mitchell
K Jason Reda - If Dawson gets hurt, I think he did enough to get the first phone call.

Waived-Injured

RB Travis Thomas
OL Derrick Morse
OL Marvin Philip
DL Chase Pittman

Terminated-Vested Veteran

LB Shantee Orr

Injured Reserve

OL Lennie Friedman

Here are some of players who were on the bubble and made the final 53-man roster:

POSSIBLE SURPRISES (THEY MADE THE FINAL ROSTER)

WR Syndric Steptoe - His strong preseason effort paid off, and I'm sure his progress on kick returns helped him in case Joshua Cribbs gets banged up again.
WR Paul Hubbard - This is probably a fairness issue -- they gave Travis Wilson several years to develop before cutting ties with him, so why not give Hubbard at least a year to progress?
OL Nate Bennett - With Lennie Friedman being placed on the injured reserve (speaking of which, when did he get banged up?), Bennett takes his roster spot. I don't think anyone could've projected this one unless they had inside information on Friedman.
OL Isaac Sowells - My reasons hold true. Take that, doubters! ;)
DL Louis Leonard - He adds some versatility, because he can play nose tackle or defensive end.
DL Ahtyba Rubin - Showed more progress in his first camp than Babatunde Oshinowo seemed to.
DB Gerard Lawson - He had some trouble tackling in the final preseason game, but I thought his awareness level was a little higher than the rest of the guys trying to make the team. He's also taken a few reps at kick and punt return -- if Cribbs is out Week 1, the Browns could put Steptoe at kick returner and Lawson at punt returner (or Lawson could do both if Steptoe is out for a week too).

Leave your thoughts on the cuts here. I correctly projected 49/53 roster spots, which is 92.4% accuracy. Grade me with an "A" ;). I will be updating this post shortly with a little note next to some of the players.

Poll

Which roster decision are you most surprised about?

Paul Hubbard over Travis Wilson & Steve Sanders

104 votes

Shantee Orr getting the boot

71 votes

Isaac Sowells making the final roster

24 votes

199 votes | Poll has closed