SB Nation - Brian Schaefering

Post-Game Thread: Roethlisberger Sacked 8 Times; Cribbs Puts on a Show

Chris Pokorny — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 04:37:50 -0000

Roethlisberger was on the ground all game long.

Right now, I don't care what the Cleveland Browns record is for the 2009-2010 campaign. In Eric Mangini's first year as head coach of the Browns, we beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 14 to make it almost impossible for Mike Tomlin's defending Super Bowl Champions to reach the playoffs.

The defense was absolutely amazing today, and that includes every unit -- the defensive line, the linebackers, and especially the secondary. The pressure was brought early and often from Rob Ryan, resulting in an insurmountable 8 sacks. For the record, let's take a look at all of the players credited with sacks...

DL Corey Williams (2 sacks)
LB Marcus Benard (2 sacks)
DL Brian Schaefering (1.5 sacks)
LB David Bowens (1 sack)
DB Hank Poteat (1 sack)
LB Kaluka Maiava (0.5 sacks)

Besides the sacks, the man-to-man coverage by Eric Wright was tremendous, and Brandon McDonald didn't do a bad job either. There were other unsung heroes too, because upon review, every time Roethlisberger dropped back to throw, nobody was open.

The defense played all four quarters too. The offense didn't hang them out to dry, but they were scoreless in the second half.

The individual star of the game was Joshua Cribbs. Words cannot express the type of game he had in terms of providing the Browns with an advantage in field position all game long. His 55-yard punt return in the first quarter set up a field goal, and the rest of the game, he ran extremely effectively from the Wildcat. On 8 carries, Cribbs had 87 yards. Why is that so impressive? Because every time he was under center, the defense KNEW he was going to run it. They couldn't stop him.

And, did I mention it all came against the Steelers? Celebrate, Cleveland fans -- December 10, 2009 was our Super Bowl, and we came away with the trophy.

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.

View full size photo »

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.

Browse more photos »

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

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

OFFENSIVE PLAYERS CUT

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

DEFENSIVE PLAYERS CUT

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

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

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

POTENTIAL "SURPRISES" TO THE TEAM

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

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

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

FORMER BROWNS PLAYERS WAIVED

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

Cleveland Browns Training Camp Report: Day 25 - Another Transaction

Chris Pokorny — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 03:57:50 -0000

Is there really a point to roster transactions this late into training camp? Sure, maybe we're trying to scout players that might end up on our practice squad in the future, but a week really isn't a lot to go by.

As I'm sure you can tell, the training camp reports are more so "general team notes" now as opposed to specifics on how the day went. It's like that every year as public camp sessions come to a close.

TRAINING CAMP REPORT - DAY 25 (8/25/09)

The Transaction: After being involved in a couple of reverses late in the game against the Detroit Lions, the Browns waived former Jet WR Paul Raymond. Taking his place is DE Brian Schaefering. Does that name sound familiar? It should, because he was signed by the Browns in May of last year before being waived at the end of training camp. He was added to the Browns' practice squad in early December, before Eric Mangini signed him to the Jets' active roster for the team's final game of the regular season.
Play of the Day: After getting behind CB Hank Poteat, WR Braylon Edwards caught a Brady Quinn pass one-handed in the end zone for a touchdown.
Hot Start, 'Meh' Finish: After starting hot in practice, QB Derek Anderson cooled down and didn't do as well in game simulations. His best plays came early on, when he connected with WR Brian Robiskie and Edwards for scores.
Still MIA: S Brodney Pool did not return to action. All of the other players who have been out stayed out, except for WR David Patten. Patten returned to action and was practicing.
Players at Safety: In his press conference, Mangini brought up the fact that other players on the roster have experience at safety, perhaps alluding to the injuries of Brodney Pool and Hamza Abdullah. Mangini noted DB Hank Poteat and WR Mike Furrey. I loved reading about how a good portion of the media didn't seem to know Furrey started at safety for the St. Louis Rams for nearly a whole season. There's nothing wrong if individual fans don't know that, but if you're constantly writing about the Browns, it should've stood out as a unique note in his player profile when the team first signed him.
Center Update: Maybe we just panicked a little too early about rookie C Alex Mack. After a rough start to training camp, Mack has continued to settle in smoothly. However, you could also note that the "turnaround" started right around the point that a certain someone stopped practicing (Shaun Rogers).

Tuesday's Links/Camp Sources

Furrey to the rescue at safety? (Cleveland Plain Dealer, Grossi)
Quotes, notes, observations (Akron Beacon Journal, Storm)
Berea Report: Back in the spotlight (Orange and Brown Report, Greetham)