SB Nation - Lance Leggett

Practice Squad for Browns Includes WR Leggett, RB Jennings

Chris Pokorny — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:45:56 -0000

by Tony Dejak - AP

WR Lance Leggett made the practice squad, but former sixth-round pick Paul Hubbard did not.

The Cleveland Browns named six players to their practice squad on Monday after the players had cleared waivers. That still leaves the team with two open spots.

BROWNS PRACTICE SQUAD

RB Chris Jennings: It's good to see him here after a strong effort against the Chicago Bears. His power and good hands were fairly impressive. Some may wonder why we signed RB Cedric Peerman to the 53-man roster instead of Jennings. In reality, you can look at it as Peerman being on the practice squad, but the only way we could prevent him from being on another team's squad was to sign him to the final roster.
WR Lance Leggett: I called in before training camp started -- between Legget, Paul Hubbard, and Jordan Norwood, I expected Leggett to have the most impressive camp. Hubbard's short reign with the team appears to be over.
OL Pat Murray: You usually need an offensive lineman on the practice squad; here he is.
DL Brian Schaefering: I liked his quickness against the Bears, and I believe we had him briefly on the practice squad last year.
LB Titus Brown: Not at all surprising to see him here. Brown was working with the team's first-string defense before suffering an injury in training camp. If he doesn't get claimed by another team this year, I'd expect him to contend for a roster spot next year.
DB Brandon Anderson: We didn't get to see much of him during the preseason. He ended up being the only non-veteran cornerback to get waived, so we basically kept all of our young corners.

Who isn't on the practice squad? Don't panic that LB Marcus Benard and S Bret Lockett aren't there yet. They still have to clear waivers since the Browns just waived them yesterday. It seems to make sense that if we left two spots open on the practice squad that these two players would fill the voids. LT Corey Hilliard is an option too, but probably not.

Regarding other Browns cuts, the Jacksonville Jaguars signed QB Richard Bartel to their practice squad. Also, with LB Beau Bell being left off the practice squad, it looks like his days as a member of the Browns are finished.

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.

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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.

Cleveland Browns Training Camp Report: Day 26 - The Final Session

Chris Pokorny — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:09:03 -0000

More photos » by Tony Dejak - AP

3 months ago: Cleveland Browns running back Jamal Lewis, center, runs up the middle during practice at the Cleveland Browns NFL football training camp Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009, in Berea, Ohio. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

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The Cleveland Browns wrapped up training camp Wednesday with their final public session of the year. Fan attendance had died down the past couple days (not unusual), as the team prepares for the Tennessee Titans this Saturday. It's do or die time for players who are "on the bubble".

TRAINING CAMP REPORT - DAY 26 (8/26/09)

Tucker Missing Again: The random injuries/absences with Ryan Tucker continue to appear, making it seem more and more unlikely that his body will hold up to ever be a full-time starter again. Tucker was no where to be seen during the final practice. S Brodney Pool still remains absent.
Edwards Slipping: After catching everything in sight the first few days he participated in training camp, WR Braylon Edwards is starting to revert to old habits with a couple of drops each practice. He had at least two drops Wednesday. He also lost his shoe on one of his catches.
Play of the Day: A highlight play came when QB Derek Anderson threw a deep pass down the left sideline. RB James Davis made a one-handed catch after beating his defender. WR Lance Leggett also made a nice grab when he dove near the sidelines on an Anderson pass.
Two Minute Method: When Anderson kept throwing to James Davis in the two-minute warning against Detroit, things didn't work out. QB Brady Quinn ran the two-minute offense Wednesday and led the team to a 37-yard field goal by Phil Dawson. He got down there mainly by throwing four passes to RB Jamal Lewis. He also threw two passes to TE Martin Rucker.
Picked Off: CB Eric Wright intercepted a psss by QB Brett Ratliff, continuing upon his impressive camp. Ratliff did complete a deep pass to WR Brian Robiskie over DB Gerard Lawson though. Ratliff also worked the two-minute offense and led the Browns to a Dawson field goal.
Tight End News: With starter Robert Royal riding a stationary bike, veteran Steve Heiden pulled in a sideline pass from Brady Quinn with LB D'Qwell Jackson in coverage.
Brownies: Mangini said that Quinn and Anderson will both trade off opportunities this Saturday, with some of their reps going into the third quarter. Joshua Cribbs was acting like Vince Young for the scout team offense.

Wednesday's Links/Camp Sources

Battle for starting center position still unresolved (Cleveland Plain Dealer, Cabot)
Seemingly no urgency for Rogers (Akron Beacon Journal, Ridenour)
Training camp log: Day 26 (Cleveland Plain Dealer, Cabot)

Browns Dominate Lions 20-0 in First Quarter, Go on to Win 27-10

Chris Pokorny — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 22:20:06 -0000

More photos » by David Richard - AP

3 months ago: Cleveland Browns' Josh Cribbs (16) heads for the end zone on a punt return for a touchdown against the Detroit Lions in the first quarter of an NFL preseason football game Saturday, Aug. 22, 2009, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)

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DETROIT LIONS (1-1)	GAME #2	CLEVELAND BROWNS (1-1)
	VS.
10		27

For once, I felt bad for the opposition. They don't know who their quarterback will be, they are turning the ball over, they can't stop the run very well, and they really don't have a great running back. They are last year's 0-16 Detroit Lions.

What I saw from the first overall pick in the draft, Matthew Stafford, was a complete mess. He was confused by our coverages numerous times, making it easy to bait him into dangerous throws. When our defense did leave a few players wide open, Stafford horribly overthrew them. You expect a rookie to take some time to adjust to the league, but no where near as bad as Stafford was.

That was good news for the Browns' defense though, because it gave our players the opportunity to build some confidence and quickly get the ball back into the hands of our offense. In the end, the result was almost a complete 180 from last week's debacle against the Green Bay Packers.

PRESEASON GAME 2 - LIONS VS. BROWNS (GENERAL THOUGHTS)

Preseason Game Ball - It's Time to Pay Up: Besides making progress as a wide receiver, Joshua Cribbs is just too good in the return game. If Eric Mangini wanted Cribbs to prove to him that he was worthy of a raise, then Cribbs is doing a heck of a job showing off his abilities. On the first play of the game, Cribbs returned the kickoff for a touchdown, disproving my theory that returners would have a tougher time this season without a wedge.

The play was brought back due to a phantom holding call on Abram Elam, but I'll live with that in the preseason since it gave our offense an early look on the field. In his next opportunity, coming on a punt return, Cribbs shifted through the defense and was off for an 84-yard touchdown.
The Truth on Derek Anderson: Did we learn anything new on Derek Anderson? Not really. He definitely played better than he did the previous week, and part of that had to do with making quicker decisions. Anderson was assisted by the playcalling of offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, who tailored the playbook to Anderson's strengths. This was Anderson, for the most part, at his best -- but we already knew he could make these plays.
The Struggles of Derek Anderson: If you're a new reader, don't get me wrong -- I like Anderson and wouldn't be ticked off if he was the opening day starter. But you can't call his performance perfect when he missed a wide open Braylon Edwards down the sideline. A better throw would've resulted in a long touchdown, and would've prevented the need for a long third down play (which Anderson did convert on).

Then during the two-minute drill, Anderson could only find RB James Davis on some dumpoffs. His lack of touch on short throws proved to be a weakness when his extra-high pass to Davis was tipped and intercepted by the Lions, allowing them to kick a field goal just before half-time. Anderson also had a play earlier in which he had no touch, firing a quick slant to Edwards either into the ground, or low and behind him for an incompletion.
Quinn - Fine From What We Saw: At least Brady Quinn didn't tank during his limited action at quarterback. I did not agree with Quinn being inserted on a 3rd-and-1 play to start the second quarter. Anderson started that drive, and at the very least, Anderson should have stayed in until the chains were moved. He started with a nice 24-yard completion to Brian Robiskie, but then the play-calling became much more conservative with an emphasis on the run and throwing short passes on third down.

John St. Clair didn't help Quinn's cause with a few penalties to set the drive back. Quinn was OK, but in no way can you look at this game and saw that Quinn lost his shot at the starting role. At best, you can say that Anderson did enough not to have Quinn be named the starter immediately following the game.
Lewis on the Ground: Looking at the stat sheet, Jamal Lewis had another low-carry average, having 3.3 yards per carry on seven attempts. I don't see this as him struggling though; that is Jamal Lewis. Remember that throughout his career, minus the times he just obliterated the Browns as a member of the Ravens, he made his mark by pounding away and staying strong during the second half of the game.
Davis' Stock Back Up: It's been about two weeks now since the James Davis show has had some highlights, but his 81-yard touchdown run changed that. It was a simple give-up call on 3rd-and-12 just before the end of the fourth-quarter -- a quick pump fake by Brett Ratliff, followed by the delayed draw handoff to Davis.

Davis shot through the line and the safeties overcommitted to the inside, allowing Davis to make a nice juke move to the outside where he then had the help of blocking from two Browns receivers. Davis then kicked it into another gear, outracing everyone to the end zone. Davis claims that it was the longest run he's had in his football career.

Rookie RB James Davis runs for an 81-yard touchdown.

Taking Advantage: DB Eric Wright took advantage of Stafford's inexperience and of the Lions' lack of healthy receivers when he intercepted the Lions' first pass of the game. His return went for about 5 yards on the stat sheet, but ended up taking him a whole football field to get that. I hate the pesky celebration penalty after the fact, but I guess a rule is a rule.
Ivy, Poteat, Francies: It was a great day to be a Browns cornerback, that's for sure. Between the three players listed in the subtitle, Corey Ivy had the most notable plays. He lit up one of the Lions' receivers on a third-and-short pass, and was also in on the tackle that caused a fumble at the start of the third quarter (Mike Adams had the recovery).

Hank Poteat had several nice plays, notably an interception near the sideline that didn't count after his hip fell just a bit out of bounds. Coye Francies, the rookie, had some tight coverage again. He left for a play or two with a hip injury, and returned on a play where he wasn't in press coverage and gave up a first down.
Quiet Night for Tight Ends: I'm not going to complain here, because I'd rather see our backs and receivers in the preseason over our tight ends. It was nice to see Steve Heiden back for his first game, catching a 20-yard pass from Derek Anderson. To see him in on a double tight end set with the first-string unit provides hope that he won't be a roster casualty.
Vickers With the Assist: I saw more of our fullbacks tonight, particularly Lawrence Vickers early on. He hit several of his blocks very well, paving some lanes open for Lewis, including on his touchdown run in the first quarter. We haven't heard much about Vickers this camp, but I believe he's still an intregal part of our running attack.

QB Derek Anderson celebrates in belief that he has won the quarterback competition (in reality, this was him celebrating Davis' TD run)

Backup QB's: I'm still not very impressed with Brett Ratliff, although our second-string offensive line is not very good in protection. Richard Bartel had his opportunity, but blew his chance when he just barely overthrew an open Lance Leggett deep down the field. I didn't get to see enough of Bartel this camp to have an opinion of him, but he'll probably be cut after the third preseason game when rosters are trimmed to 75.
Furrey & Edwards: You can just tell that our third-down offense is going to be built around Mike Furrey after these first two preseason games. Even when we're in third-and-long situations, we're throwing the ball to him on short routes to see if he can break them open. he's not that type of player, but I'd imagine that for the preseason, those are really practice situations to focus on getting him the ball on "3rd-and-7", even if it's really a "3rd-and-15". Braylon Edwards had a catch -- nothing special, but at least the talk of the drop from Green Bay can die down for another week.
Ticket Sales? The Browns are doing their 4 hot dogs, 4 drinks, 4 tickets for $99 deal again for this weekend's game against the Titans. I bet the Browns sell a few more of those packages than they did for the Lions game. A good outing at home can do that.
Bernie Ripping on Brown: Announcer Bernie Kosar really ripped on Lions sixth-round RB Aaron Brown. Once a year, there is always a player on the opposing team in the preseason that gets on Kosar's nerves. I look forward to who that player is, and boy did Kosar rip into Brown. It started after Brown took a handoff on 3rd-and-6 out of bounds for a gain of four, rather than staying in bounds to fight for the extra yardage.

A few plays later on a pass play, Brown scurried out of bounds to avoid contact. (roughly transcribed) "This Brown just doesn't appear to like contact. That is not going to show up well for him in the film room or for when any teams in the league are looking for a free agent running back." Then on the Browns' series, Kosar notes that veteran Ryan Tucker is still in the game. "13 years Ryan has been in this league, and he's one of the toughest guys I know...definitely Aaron Brown on the other side of the spectrum from TCU...he's not even close to that type of toughness the way he runs out of bounds." I might be snoozing in the second half of preseason games if it weren't for Bernie.
Special Teams & Kaluka Maiava: I'll give him this own category this week because I'm running out of fresh sub-titles. Maiava had two early special teams tackles and made some positive plays defensively. Also having a good play on special teams was veteran LB Blake Costanzo. I know Gerard Lawson is backing up Cribbs as a returner, but I can't see him making the team again.
This Week's Marcus Benard: ...is DB Bret Lockett. Lockett saw some action with the first-string defense and made several individual one-on-one tackles. That ability intrigues me, even to the point where I now might change my mind and want to keep him over backup S Nick Sorensen (who did have a nice block on Cribbs' punt return TD). I had no idea where LB Marcus Benard was this week, as I didn't hear his name mentioned once. I have to imagine he didn't even play.
Down on Foster: I'm not at all impressed by the play of George Foster. He's even rivaling Isaac Sowells when it comes to down performances. Foster was responsible for Ratliff's fumble in the third quarter, a play that led to Lions QB Drew Stanton throwing a touchdown on his first play.
Cleaning Up the Penalties: On special teams, the Browns had one too many penalties, negating a few nice punts by Dave Zastudil and Cribbs' first touchdown return. As good as the game was as a whole, we'll have a few players running laps for their mistakes.
Brownies: LB Kamerion Wimbley played well early, as did MLB Eric Barton, who made a nice play on the ball dropping back into coverage and drilled Stafford on a free blitz...RB Chris Jennings came close to blocking a punt on two consecutive possessions.
Final Word: Thanks for being a footnote, Shaun Smith.

Eric Mangini has a decision to make. Starting quarterbacks are usually named by the third preseason game, but based on our first two games, you can't really say one player outplayed the other. It should really come down to how the quarterbacks have done overall in training camp, and most importantly, who Mangini has more faith in to lead the type of offense he wants the Browns to run. If he wants mistake-free football, Quinn should be the guy. If he wants the high risk/high reward route, maybe it's Anderson.

NOTE: To all fantasy football DBN players, remember that the draft is at 9 PM EST tonight!

Here is the roll call of who participated in the game thread, with rufio and myself having the most to say...

Roll Call: kjc, doggrad87, dergru, Roger Dorn, BradyQuinnisBeast, rufio, gahnki, skipkirk, rockybrown, ChrisPokorny, irish1083, nickjs21, woodsmeister, danzig, dohior, JustBob, aufrank, BrownDawg1409, Bernie19Kosar, Juannieboy
Total Users: 20
Total Posts: 294
Total Threads: 1

Name	# of Posts
rufio	59
ChrisPokorny	59
Roger Dorn	35
JustBob	23
woodsmeister	19
gahnki	17
BradyQuinnisBeast	17
BrownDawg1409	13
rockybrown	10
skipkirk	10
Juannieboy	8
irish1083	6
aufrank	5
nickjs21	4
dergru	3
kjc	2
doggrad87	1
Bernie19Kosar	1
dohior	1
danzig	1

Cleveland Browns Training Camp Report: Day 19 - Not Too Eventful

Chris Pokorny — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 02:02:23 -0000

There won't be any more two-a-day training camp sessions for the Browns this season. In fact, there are only four practices open to the public remaining -- this Thursday, and then next week Monday-Wednesday. All of those practices will be held in the afternoon.

I don't know if I remember a Browns training camp having such good weather. Sure, it's hot, but the team has not been forced to move to the indoor facility yet, and it really only rained during one session this August.

TRAINING CAMP REPORT - DAY 19 (8/19/09)

Tucker Missing in Action: It's not looking good for Ryan Tucker's odds of being in the starting lineup Week 1, which would go against what most of us expected in our training camp previews. Tucker left Monday's session with an apparent injury, and he was no where to be found Wednesday. When asked if this had anything to do with him considering retirement again, the team responded "no".
Scouting the Lions: Much of the session focused on preparing for the Detroit Lions this weekend. There are two former Browns players you might be interested in following on the Lions. First up is WR Dennis Northcutt, who is listed as a starter or the equivalent of Mike Furrey's role with us. The other guy is DT Shaun Smith, who isn't even close to first-string.
Heiden Drops a Pair: It was an off day for TE Steve Heiden. Close to the end of practice, a drill was run with 1:30 on the clock at their own 24-yard line with no timeouts and a 16-10 deficit. Brady Quinn didn't manage a first down, thanks to Heiden dropping passes on second and fourth down.
Same Drill, With Anderson: In the same drill, QB Derek Anderson had some support from our second-round picks. He hit WR Brian Robiskie for gains of 16- and 24-yards to move the ball down the field, and eventually capped the drive with a 20-yard touchdown to WR Mohamed Massaquoi.
Back-to-Back Jacks: The play of the day came when Brady Quinn connected with WR Braylon Edwards on a deep ball for a 65-yard touchdown over DB Corey Ivy. A little bit later though, Derek Anderson responded with a deep ball of his own to WR Lance Leggett. Quinn ran with the first-team on the day, but both quarterbacks ended up playing pretty decent.
Slowly Progressing? Rapid Reports suggests that the number of mistakes in practice are starting to go down for first-round center Alex Mack. Either way, Hank Fraley looks to be a roster lock at this point.
Injury List: Still not practicing was LB Titus Brown. Working with the trainers were NT Shaun Rogers, LB David Bowens, WR David Patten, WR Paul Hubbard, RB Jerome Harrison, and TE Robert Royal.
Mum on QB Decision: As he did last week, Eric Mangini will not reveal who will start at quarterback for the Browns this Saturday. Expect a decision to not be publicly announced until a few hours before kickoff.

Wednesday's Links/Camp Sources

QB battle could last awhile (Akron Beacon Journal, Ridenour)
Center is only uncertainty as offensive line settles in (Cleveland Plain Dealer, Grossi)
Tucker missing but has not retired (Canton Repository, Doerschuk)
Wednesday camp notes (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 17 - It Only Gets Worse

Chris Pokorny — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 02:10:28 -0000

After a pretty bad loss to the Green Bay Packers on Saturday, the Cleveland Browns were back on the practice field for the first time since last Thursday. Unfortunately, rather than turning things around from Saturday's debacle, things only seemed to get worse. It sounds like we'll be in store for a heck of a Great Lakes Classic this coming Saturday!

I've decided to stick with naming the "Day" number as the same number as the date. This works out since the Browns first training camp session took place on August 1 this year.

TRAINING CAMP REPORT - DAY 17 (8/17/09)

Uncharacteristic Day for Furrey: After being Mr. Reliable in terms of his hands, it wasn't the best day for veteran receiver Mike Furrey. Furrey had a couple of drops, with the biggest one coming when Derek Anderson fired a pass to him. The ball bounced off of Furrey's hands and into the arms of LB Eric Barton for an interception.
The Quarterback Chronicles: If a little kid was asked to draw a picture of how well the Browns quarterbacks did in practice Monday, I guarantee you he/she wouldn't draw a sunshine despite the fact that temperatures were roasting in the mid-90 degree range. Just like Anderson had a pass picked (see above) in drills, Brady Quinn threw a pick to LB Marcus Benard, who returned the pass 45 yards for a touchdown.
Two-Minute Drill (Anderson): After a false start penalty by LT Joe Thomas, Anderson completed passes to Furrey and Steve Heiden before scrambling for a would-be sack, killing the drive quickly. He moved the ball 12 yards in just four plays.
Two-Minute Drill (Quinn): Quinn didn't fare much better, moving the ball just 25 yards in nine plays. Of note on his drive -- LB Kaluka Maiava came free on a blitz causing an incompletion, and DB Nick Sorensen almost intercepted a pass intended for Lance Leggett. To end the drive, on 4th-and-12, Quinn could only manage to toss the ball out of bounds.
Penalties Add Up: Those penalties created by the players in Saturday's exhibition games didn't go without punishment. Every player who committed a penalty had to run a lap. I wonder if that included C Alex Mack, whose holding call was questionable. Mack was running with the first-team offense during practice. Rapid Reports stated that third-string center Dustin Fry put a Shotgun snap into the ground and ran a lap for it. Yikes.
Bubble Watch: WR Lance Leggett dropped a pass thrown by Quinn. DB Bret Lockett has received prais from Eric Mangini and has looked pretty decent.
Not Practicing: Sitting out/on the bikes at the start of practice were RB Jerome Harrison, LB David Bowens, OL Ryan Tucker, WR David Patten, TE Martin Rucker and NT Shaun Rogers. Patten did end up rejoining the team later on though.
Buzz on Davis Continues to Lessen: After rookie RB James Davis made a lot of noise at the start of camp, things have quieted down a lot for him ever since the Brown/White scrimmage a few weeks ago. He hasn't broken as many plays in practice, and had to run a lap Monday for fumbling a running back exchange.
On the Other Hand: The buzz surrounding Coye Francies continues to get hotter. He was playing tight coverage again during practice, forcing a few incompletions.
Cribbs Could be No. 2: From Mangini's press conference, it sounds like there's a serious chance that Joshua Cribbs might be our No. 2 receiver to start the season. I know we took Brian Robiskie and Mohamed Massaquoi this offseason, but I am rooting for Cribbs to finally get that opportunity.

The Browns will have two sessions on Tuesday -- one in the morning and one in the evening.

Tuesday's Links/Camp Sources

Monday, Aug. 17: No starter named (Akron Beacon Journal, Ridenour)
Browns' Mangini: It's too early to name a QB (Cleveland Plain Dealer, Cabot)
Camp Notes: 8/17/09 (Orange and Brown Report, King)
Practice gets sloppy (Canton Repository, Doerschuk)

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.

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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 10 (Evening) - Where's James Davis?

Chris Pokorny — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 05:20:25 -0000

More photos » by Tony Dejak - AP

Cleveland Browns tight end Aaron Walker isn't helping his roster odds by dropping passes.

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After this morning's sloppy practice full of penalties, the Browns took the field for their evening session of camp. Did things fare any better?

TRAINING CAMP REPORT - DAY 10 [EVENING] (8/11/09)

James Davis Missing in Action: If this is the lead story, it's a sign that there really isn't a lot to mention tonight. RB James Davis did not practice, but he wasn't with the rest of the injured players on stationary bikes either. He was just sort of...missing in action. No word was given on the reason Davis did not practice.
Pick City: It wasn't a great evening session for QB Brady Quinn, who was picked off twice -- once by CB Coye Francies (his name is coming up left and right now, eh?), and once by CB Eric Wright. On Wright's pick, Quinn was trying to throw a quick slant pattern to WR Braylon Edwards but the defensive back did a good job jumping the route, although it was reportedly also a god-awful pass from Quinn. The interception made up for a pass that Wright had in his breadbasket from Derek Anderson earlier, but he dropped. Francies' pick came after S Nick Sorensen had tipped Quinn's pass.
Under Pressure Again: Whether it's a result of him holding onto the ball too long or just not catching lucky breaks, QB Derek Anderson was facing pressure from the defense most of the night. One of the players involved in the pressure was LB Kamerion Wimbley, capping off a good day overall for him.
Out on the Bikes: After practicing this morning, FB Charles Ali was back on the stationary bike for the evening practice. Also on the bikes were receivers Lance Leggett and David Patten.
Cribbs Continues to Thrive: When he keeps catching the ball while flashing the ability to break almost every catch for a touchdown, you have to be getting more and more exciting about Joshua Cribbs as a receiver. He caught a pass from Anderson in heavy traffic during the evening session. WR Mike Furrey also had a nice grab, as he also shows why he's definitely in line to be the No. 2 or No. 3 receiver this year.
Bubble Watch: Rapid Reports says that TE Aaron Walker is not helping his roster odds by dropping several passes in the evening practice.
Morning Note: Former Browns TE Aaron Shea attended the morning practice. He was there to escort former University of Michigan coach Lloyd Carr was visiting camp today. It was noted that Shea is now helping the Browns sell loges.

The Browns have an afternoon practice on Wednesday. The weather look to be pleasant, at around 82 degrees and partly cloudy.

Tuesday Evening's Links/Camp Sources

Night practice: to the well too often (Canton Repository, Doerschuk)
Tuesday PM: Davis missing (Akron Beacon Journal, Ridenour)

Cleveland Browns Training Camp Report: Day 10 (Morning) - Depth Chart Released

Chris Pokorny — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 22:55:04 -0000

More photos » by Tony Dejak - AP

4 months ago: Cleveland Browns running back Jerome Harrison, left, catches a pass over Cleveland Browns linebacker Alex Hall at the Cleveland Browns NFL football training camp Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009, in Berea, Ohio. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

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The Browns had a rare day off on Monday to rest from the scrimmage played on Sunday. They were back to work Tuesday morning in Berea though, and they'll finish off with another evening session later tonight.

Something a little unusual did happen in practice though, and I say that due to the poster who was insistent that QB Brett Ratliff being on Derek Anderson's team was a sign of his position on the depth chart. What happened? Find out below...

TRAINING CAMP REPORT - DAY 10 [MORNING] (8/11/09)

Ratliff Works With First Team: You read that correctly -- Brett Ratliff, who has mostly been working with the second- or third-string teams, had an opportunity to get some time in with the ones. I still wouldn't read much into this, especially when as you'll see below, Eric Mangini has listed "Derek Anderson/Brady Quinn" as "co-starters" on the depth chart he submitted to the league for the Packers game this week.

QB Brett Ratliff worked with the first-team offense in the two-minute drill and scored.

...And He Scored With Them: Ratliff didn't work the entire practice with the first-team. He only received the opportunity when it came to the two-minute drill, a drill the Browns have struggled to score in during camp. Ratliff took the first-team offense down the field for 71 yards with about a minute still left on the clock. Tony Grossi of the Plain Dealer does note that Ratliff did have some luck on his hand.

For example, on a fourth-down play, a tipped pass still found the arms of Jerome Harrison for a first down. On the scoring play, Braylon Edwards caught a pass one-handed, put a move on Brandon McDonald, and went past him 30 yards for the touchdown. Grossi says that McDonald almost stopped playing on the play though, because he thought the referee was going to call Edwards down (the touch tackle rule).
New Role For Francies: With WR Syndric Steptoe out for the season, the person taking his place in backup return duties is rookie CB Coye Francies. Joshua Cribbs and CB Gerard Lawson are still the players ahead of him on the depth chart.
Injury Notes: Today, we were able to welcome FB Charles Ali back to the field. TE Steve Heiden was also practicing after sitting out Sunday's scrimmage. WR Lance Leggett and TE John Madsen were with the trainers, while the work of WR David Patten was limited.
Mangini on Scrimmage: In talking about players who stood out from the scrimmage, he noted WR Mohamed Massaquoi and CB Coye Francies. It feels kind of cool that I had the same opinion at the scrimmage that Mangini did.
Goofing Up The Trickery: The offense tried to run a trick play for a double reverse. After Brady Quinn handed the ball to WR Brian Robiskie, Robiskie tried to hand it to WR Mike Furrey. The exchange was mishandled though, leading to a fumble recovery and touchdown return by DE Robaire Smith.
Positive Day for Wimbley: After not getting a lot of practice as the Sunday scrimmage, LB Kamerion Wimbley was making things happen this morning, beating Ryan Tucker and George Foster off the edge in two instances. I could praise LB D'Qwell Jackson again too, but he's having a good practice every time.

The Browns ran a lot of running drills Tuesday morning, as Jamal Lewis carries the ball here.

Quarterback Derby: Daniel Wolf has this morning's statistics for the quarterbacks in their drills, and it sounds like both Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson had pretty good practices. It figures that they continue the trend of one of them not being able to run away from the other. My favorite play I read about was Anderson lobbing a nice pass to RB Jerome Harrison for about 30 yards, as he was covered by LB Alex Hall. That play can be seen in the picture at the top of this post.
Bubble Watch: After LB David Bowens tipped a pass from Anderson, WR Paul Hubbard was still able to pull the ball in.
False Starts: The word "FOCUS" was painted on the field today around the 20-yard line. Apparantly that had the opposite of the intended effect on the players, as there were more false starts than perhaps any other session in camp. The mishaps didn't go unpunished; players continued to run laps for their mistakes.
Hood Picking Things Up: After some questioning of his ability to make a play on the ball from his days in Arizona, CB Roderick Hood snagged two interceptions, one of them coming off of QB Richard Bartel. It wasn't a very good practice for Bartel, who will probably be considered for the first batch of cuts (I believe those come some time after the first preseason game).
Brownies: There was a heavy focus on the running game in drills...WR Joshua Cribbs continue to catch the ball as a receiver.

Now, let's get to the starting depth chart release by Mangini (credit to Steve Doerschuk for posting):

QB: Derek Anderson/Brady Quinn, Brett Ratliff, Richard Bartel
RB: Jamal Lewis; Jerome Harrison; James Davis; Noah Herron
WR: Braylon Edwards, David Patten, Mohamed Massaquoi, Paul Hubbard, Jordan Norwood
WR: Mike Furrey, Joshua Cribbs, Brian Robiskie, Lance Leggett
TE: Robert Royal, Steve Heiden, Martin Rucker, John Madsen, Aaron Walker
FB: Lawrence Vickers, Charles Ali
LT: Joe Thomas, George Foster
LG: Eric Steinbach, Kurt Quarterman, Dustin Fry
C: Hank Fraley, Alex Mack
RG: Floyd Womack, Isaac Sowells, Fred Weary
RT: John St. Clair, Ryan Tucker, Branndon Braxton

LE: Corey Williams, C.J. Mosley, Santonio Thomas, Melila Purcell
NT: Shaun Rogers, Ahtyba Rubin, Adam Hoppel
RE: Kenyon Coleman, Robaire Smith, Louis Leonard
ROLB: Kamerion Wimbley, Titus Brown, David Veikune
ILB: D’Qwell Jackson, Beau Bell, Marcus Benard
ILB: Eric Barton, Kaluka Maiava, Philip Hunt, Blake Costanzo
LOLB: David Bowens, Alex Hall, Leon Williams, Bo Ruud
CB: Eric Wright, Hank Poteat, Corey Ivy, Brandon Anderson
CB: Brandon McDonald, Rod Hood, Coye Francies, Gerard Lawson
SS: Abram Elam, Nick Sorensen, Hamza Abdulla
FS: Brodney Pool, Mike Adams, Bret Lockett

KR: Joshua Cribbs, Jerome Harrison
PR: Joshua Cribbs, Jerome Harrison
PK: Phil Dawson
P: Dave Zastudil
H: Dave Zastudil
LS: Ryan Pontbriand

It figures that Mangini has to stay mum on the quarterback situation, eh? I would have liked to have seen how Alex Mack fared with the first-stringers even if he isn't projected to start the season. On the defensive side of the ball, Corey Williams is now in the starting lineup, contrary to Sunday's scrimmage. I wonder if that has to do with the coaches not wanting to put too much physical pressure on Robaire Smith yet, since it sounds like Smith has been very good in camp. No surprises in the secondary, but at linebacker Mangini is sticking with the All-Jets group on one side.

Tuesday Morning's Links/Camp Sources

Tuesday 8/11 morning practice (Dawg Scooper, Wolf)
Bartel gets reps with first team (Cleveland Plain Dealer, Grossi)
Abe & the Depth Chart (Orange and Brown Report, Taylor)
Tuesday AM: Ratliff gets chance (Akron Beacon Journal, Ridenour)