SB Nation - Bo Ruud

LB Bo Ruud Released, Former Jets Receiver Added to Browns Roster

Chris Pokorny — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:16:18 -0000

Before training camp started, there were some predictions that LB Bo Ruud would be a sleeper player for the Browns in training camp. It didn't pan out that way for Ruud though, as he was released by the team today. The real sleeper in camp at the linebacker position might be Marcus Benard.

Taking Ruud's roster spot is former Jets WR Paul Raymond. Raymond was off and on the Jets practice squad four times last season under head coach Eric Mangini. Mangini claimed him off waivers from the Jets, although I'd imagine his roster odds are pretty slim. If we barely got to see Brian Robiskie, Mohamed Massaquoi, Paul Hubbard, Lance Leggett, and Jordan Norwood against the Packers, we're not going to see much of a newcomer to the team (although he should have some knowledge of our offense, being a former Jet).

Cleveland Browns Training Camp 2009: Inside Linebacker Preview (Maiava or Bell?)

Chris Pokorny — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 05:21:24 -0000

After covering the quarterbacks, running backs, fullbacks, defensive linemen, offensive linemen, wide receivers, and tight ends, it's time for the defense to start getting some more attention as we approach training camp. Although the order of this training camp preview was done randomly, it's fitting that the linebackers and the secondary will be covered over the next two weeks, as they will yield some of the most interesting and competitive training camp battles.

This week is officially titled "Hard Hits and Klutch Kicks"; the linebackers will be discussed until Thursday, and then the special teams unit will be the topic of discussion heading into the weekend. Today, specifically, is dedicated to the players competing for a spot as an inside linebacker.

Also, if you didn't catch it last week, don't forget to look back at Part 1 of rufio's explanation of the 46 defense as it pertains to the Cleveland Browns.

1. D'QWELL JACKSON - STARTING INSIDE LINEBACKER

D'Qwell Jackson (#52)
Height: 6-0
Weight: 240
College: Maryland
Experience: 4 years
Stats: 154 tackles in 2008

It didn't take long for head coach Eric Mangini to announce D'Qwell Jackson as a favorite of his. Earlier in the offseason, reports were indicating that Mangini would consider listening to a trade for anybody on the roster except for two players: Joe Thomas, and then Jackson.

I can't tell if I've been blind or if Mangini is trying to set it in stone that he wants Jackson to step up as the new leader of the defense with Andra Davis gone, but Jackson has not played like the type of player that you put on an "untouchable list". When you think of the top AFC linebackers the past several years, Jackson fails to come close to his counterparts on the Baltimore Ravens or the Pittsburgh Steelers. Overall, Jackson has been a good, but not great, player. He doesn't have that dominant presence of meeting a running back head on at the line of scrimmage for no gain all by himself. He also wasn't making tackles six yards down the field as often as Davis was.

It's not saying much, but last year, Jackson was our best linebacker. He looks like a decent linebacker for a 3-4 system, but not the Ray Lewis that sets the tone defensively. Perhaps that will change with the new regime, different schemes, and a higher level of responsibility this season. Jackson's job is as safe as you can get; he won't have anyone fighting for his job.

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

2. ERIC BARTON - STARTING INSIDE LINEBACKER

Eric Barton (#50)
Height: 6-2
Weight: 245
College: Maryland
Experience: 11 years
Stats: 119 tackles in 2008

They might not be from the same era, but Eric Barton has something from the past in common with Jackson -- they both played at Maryland. Now, they'll both have something in common -- being a starting linebacker for the Browns.

Barton has been an established, well-respected linebacker in the league for awhile with the New York Jets and should be considered an immediate upgrade over Andra Davis. Barton isn't among the elite linebackers either, but he is a better tackler than Davis and also does not appear to be running like a turtle on every play that isn't in the snow.

The most important thing about the Browns adding Barton is his intelligence factor. Mangini has praised Barton for his intelligence and his ability to call signals. While I don't believe it has been confirmed, that should mean that Barton, who will be partially familiar with the defensive system to be put into place, will be wearing the headset in his helmet this season. Last year, Davis and Leon Williams shared that responsibility.

Overall, it was disappointing that the Browns couldn't add a Pro Bowl caliber player to the inside linebacker position. Nonetheless, while inside linebacker might not be a strength for the Browns this season, the addition of Barton prevents it from being too much of a weakness.

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

3. KALUKA MAIAVA - BACKUP INSIDE LINEBACKER

Kaluka Maiava (#56)
Height: 5-11
Weight: 229
College: USC
Experience: Rookie
Note: 4th round pick

This is where things get thin really fast, although Leon Williams could play on the inside still (for training camp, he will be in the OLB preview).

In one corner, you have 2009 fourth-round rookie draft pick Kaluka Maiava from USC. In the other corner, you have 2008 fourth-round rookie draft pick Beau Bell from UNLV. Thanks again to Romeo Crennel's poor utilization of young players, Bell does not have the experience factor on his side, making this almost like a rookie on rookie competition.

If you're looking for a reason why Maiava could be a steal, then here it is: he was USC's "unknown" in a way, because he was overshadowed by the likes of Clay Matthews, Rey Maualuga, and Brian Cushing, who were all starters and were all taken on Day 1. He is used to coming in as a rotational player and is known for his toughness, but the fact that he wasn't a starter behind a trio of future NFL starting linebackers leads to the question -- if Maiava could've been given a starting opportunity instead, would he have played just as well?

Maiava is also the nephew of actor and former WWE wrestler The Rock (aka Dwayne Johnson).

Final Roster Odds: 98%

4. BEAU BELL - BACKUP INSIDE LINEBACKER

Beau Bell (#58)
Height: 6-1
Weight: 250
College: UNLV
Experience: 2 years
Note: 4th round pick in '08

Ok, so let's try to evaluate Beau Bell on all of the plays he registered tackles on last season. Hmmm...maybe that's not a good idea, since there were only three of them. And, while I can't recall for certain, I believe some of those came on special teams; I don't know if we ever even saw him in the linebacker rotation during the regular season.

Bell did have nagging knee problems throughout the season, but I don't buy that as an excuse for not playing him. Here's a quote from Crennel late last season that should have brought out the monkey-scratcher:

[Crennel] added that rookie linebacker Beau Bell has been making good progress, "but just finding the chance to get him up and active is an issue."

In response to that, DBN member Roger Dorn conveyed what most of the fans were thinking:

Another moment of brilliance from Romeo. Our linebackers might be the worst in the league and Crennel acts like Bell is being blocked? Either tell us that Bell is worse than our bad linebackers straight up or give him a chance to play.

The fans have not given up on Bell yet, and I think many of us are still very intrigued by the potential he showed in college. I put him behind Maiava though because he was Mangini's choice, and thus has a potential leg up in terms of favoritism. With our lack of depth at ILB, even if Bell doesn't shine, he should stick on the roster as a special teams contributor, where he forced a fumble last season on a hit that seemed harder than Andra Davis ever delivered.

Another option is that Bell could still fit on a practice squad, but before that, another team would probably snatch him up.

Player Quality: TBD
Final Roster Odds: 70%

5. BO RUUD - BACKUP INSIDE LINEBACKER

Bo Ruud (#43)
Height: 6-3
Weight: 235
College: Nebraska
Experience: 2 years
Note: Former 6th rounder

Bo Ruud was drafted by the New England Patriots in the 6th round of the 2008 draft, but missed most of the season with an ankle injury. If you're familiar with Tampa Bay Buccaneers ILB Barrett Ruud, Bo is his brother. If [Bo] Rudd ended up anything like his brother, fans would be ecstatic.

When Ruud was drafted by the Patriots, their team website had a nice article that mentioned Ruud's desire to look at film:

"I'm kind of obsessed about it," Ruud said shortly after the Patriots took him in the sixth round (197 overall). "I will tell people there is not one linebacker in the country that spends more time watching film than me. It's one thing I actually enjoy doing and it helps. I think football is really important."

Not surprisingly, Ruud said he's been doing it since high school with his brother and continued the practice ever since. When Barrett made it to the NFL, Bo stepped it up a level.

"I was actually trying to do what he was doing at the pros while at the college level. You hear about all the great football players doing that and you just try to replicate that work ethic and study habits and see what that does for you."

Link

Ruud's size makes him a likely candidate to play inside linebacker for the Browns, where he'll try to be the "surprise" player to overtake either Bell's or Maiava's backup position.

Final Roster Odds: 30%
Practice Squad Odds: 75% (at least I would like to see him there)

6. BLAKE COSTANZO - SPECIAL TEAMS LINEBACKER

Blake Costanzo (#--)
Height: 6-2
Weight: 235
College: Lafayette
Experience: 3 years
Note: ST demon?

I don't know whether Blake Costanzo really stands out as an inside or outside linebacker specifically, but for this preview, he's getting the "inside" billing. He wasn't signed for that though; he was signed for his ability to contribute on special teams.

Last season with the Buffalo Bills, he led the team with 26 special teams tackles. He was waived in June due to an influx of young talent coming in at the linebacker position, and fans were somewhat disappointed to see him go. He could be this year's Kris Griffin. I couldn't find a jersey number for him yet, so if anyone has it, let me know.

Final Roster Odds: 60%

7. DAVID HOLLOWAY - PRACTICE SQUAD INSIDE LINEBACKER

David Holloway (#54)
Height: 6-2
Weight: 234
College: Maryland
Experience: 3 years
Note: More Maryland ties

Holloway has some experience at both inside and outside linebacker positions, so this is again a loose process when I list him as an inside linebacker. He was an undrafted free agent two years ago for the Arizona Cardinals. The Browns signed him to their practice squad late last season, as he returns now to compete for that spot again.

Here is an assessment Revenge of the Birds, our Arizona Cardinals affiliate, gave on Holloway heading into training camp last season:

Hollaway was an undrafted free agent out of Maryland last year and he spent nearly the entire season on the practice squad (activated for last game but didn't play). He's undersized (6'2 230) but athletic (4.72 forty, 32 bench reps) and could push for a roster spot this year. He's got experience playing on the inside and outside but his pass rush skills are best suited for the outside. He's had a full season to learn Pendergast's system and could have a leg up on Harrington in camp.

Link

Another interesting note is that Holloway was in the same starting lineup as D'Qwell Jackson during their Maryland days. While Jackson operated at middle linebacker, Holloway played strongside linebacker.

Final Roster Odds: <2%
Practice Squad Odds: 20%

8. JONATHAN FOSTER - UNDRAFTED FREE AGENT INSIDE LINEBACKER

Jonathan Foster (#48)
Height: 6-4
Weight: 230
College: Central State
Experience: Rookie
Note: UDFA

There's not a lot to go by on Jonathan Foster, who played for Central State (Ohio) in college. He is from Ann Arbor, Michigan and played outside linebacker at college; so, again, this is another player who could really be trying out for outside linebacker.

Unfortunately, beyond that, I can find literally nothing on Foster. For him not being out there as a "name" in the first place, I guess a positive would be the fact that Mangini is giving him another look in training camp. I'm grasping for straws here folks. In the picture to the right, he's one of the player's stretching on the ground.

*EDIT (7/21/09): Foster was waived prior to the start of training camp.

Final Roster Odds: <0.1%
Practice Squad Odds: I literally have no idea

ILB Position Quality (Overall): C

There is nothing spectacular at the position yet, but we are in a little better shape than last year with Davis gone. The backup middle linebacker is a question mark, but Bell and Maiava both have potential. It would be outstanding if both of them pan out with one of them cutting into Barton's playing time at some point in the season.

Feel free to discuss a variety of issues at linebacker in the comments section, such as whether Leon Williams/David Veikune should be inside or outside, if DQ is the real deal, or players listed on this who you believe should've been listed at outside linebacker (or vice-versa).

Poll

Which player would you rather see worked into the ILB rotation more this season?

Beau Bell

452 votes

Kaluka Maiava

546 votes

Bo Ruud

115 votes

1113 votes | Poll has closed

Around the NFL 4/30

John (obviousman) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 14:09:46 -0000

More photos » by Ed Andrieski - AP

Denver Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels talks about the NFL draft during a news conference at the team's headquarters in Englewood, Colo., on, Friday, April 24, 2009. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

Browse more photos »

The Saints released 35-year-old Defensive Tackle Hollis Thomas. With concerns over the Chargers depth on the defensive line, and some cap room to spare, we may want to keep our eyes on some of these veterans that may have a good year or two left.
Freddy Keiaho, an unrestricted free-agent, has signed with the Colts for another two years. Even after two productive years as the Colts starting ROLB Keiaho, a San Diego State alum, still manages to fly under the radar of other NFL teams.
The Patriots released Bo Ruud, their 6th round draft pick in the 2008 NFL Draft and the brother of Tampa Bay LB Barrett Ruud, after a disappointing year spent on injured-reserve.
The Denver Broncos have signed veteran linebacker Nick Greisen and released fullback Andrew Pinnock. Although the Broncos are moving to the 3-4 defense in 2009, they did not draft any linebackers. Since the draft they've signed two undrafted free agents and now have signed Greisen, who is a bit of a journeyman backup. I think they're going to have some trouble rushing the passer this year. On a similar note, the Broncos have on their roster SIX running backs that have at least one career start and a first-round pick who is expected to start in front of all of them. I'm thinking at least a couple of those guys are going to get cut. Right now their HB depth chart probably looks something like this:

Knowshon Moreno (rookie)
Correll Buckhalter (16 games started)
Selvin Young (13 games started)
J.J. Arrington (8 games started)
Ryan Torain (1 game started)
LaMont Jordon (29 games started)
Peyton Hillis (6 games started)
Kestahn Moore (rookie)

New England Patriots - Rookie and Sophomore Contributions (Part 1)

NESilver — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 16:30:06 -0000

Hey everyone, welcome to the NESilver version of Pats Pulpit! That's right! I'm taking over! Mwahaha... oh, sorry, did I say that out loud? Ahem. Anyway... I'll be taking over the stat duties, and splitting time with MaPatsFan on position profiles and free agent signings. We'll get a good rotation going there. Consider us a bit like Gary Guyton and Tedy Bruschi, or Laurence Maroney and Sammy Morris. Wait, does that mean one of us is gonna be injured frequently? Hmm... this wasn't in the job description...

Okay, so with that out of the way, I wanted to focus on our most recent draftees with my first post. I figured that would be a good way to kick things off, since we're getting closer to the draft and all. It's an exciting time of year, where everyone's excited about how well their team will do next season, and you can definitely include me in that bunch. Just for the record, I am a BIG optimist and a major homer for our New England Patriots, which means I fully expect every single one of our draftees to turn into studs and Pro-Bowlers every year. Is that really so unreasonable? I sure don't think so.

With that said, here's the list of our draft picks for the past two years who are currently still a part of the team.

Sophomores (2007 Class)
Brandon Meriweather - 1st Round, 24th overall
Mike Richardson - 6th Round, 202nd overall
Matt Gutierrez - Undrafted Rookie Free Agent

Rookies (2008 Class)
Jerod Mayo - 1st Round, 10th overall
Terrence Wheatley - 2nd Round, 62nd overall
Shawn Crable - 3rd Round, 78th overall
Kevin O'Connell - 3rd Round, 94th overall
Jonathan Wilhite - 4th Round, 129th overall
Matthew Slater - 5th Round, 153rd overall
Bo Ruud - 6th Round, 197th overall
Gary Guyton - Undrafted Rookie Free Agent
BenJarvus Green-Ellis - Undrafted Rookie Free Agent
Vince Redd - Undrafted Rookie Free Agent

As you probably gathered from the title, I'll be splitting this into two parts. We'll start with the sophomore class in this post. Bill Belichick has often said that the biggest leap in improvement for a football player is usually between their first and second year in the league (which means we should be pretty excited about some of our rookies who got significant playing time this year - woohoo!).

The big name on that list is Brandon Meriweather, our first rounder from 2007. He began his first year predominantly on special teams, though he did occasionally see time on defense. He recorded 27 tackles in his first year, and although he seemed to be around the ball often enough, the big knock against him were the interceptions he dropped. He dropped at least three of them, including a potential game-ender against the Baltimore Ravens and another one during the playoffs, in "The game that shall not be mentioned." Despite showing some potential, there were some people who were a little down on him. Here are the stats for his second year:

		Sacks		Interceptions			Tackles
	G	Sacks	YdsL	Int	Yds	IntTD	Solo	Ast	Total
2008 - Brandon Meriweather	16	2.0	19	4	25	0	57	20	77

In 2008, he became a bigger part of the rotation at safety with Sanders and Harrison, and he worked hard during the offseason to improve those stone hands with a jugs machine. The difference was clearly noticeable this past year, as Meriweather notched his first career interception during Week 2 against the Jets, picking off the non-retired Brett Favre. After Rodney Harrison was injured on Week 7 and done for the season, Meriweather didn't miss a single snap on defense (according to Reiss, he was present for 85% of the defensive snaps in total), recording 83 total tackles (I'm going off NFL.com with this one, SBNation says 77 for some reason), 4 interceptions, and 9 passes defended.. He also notched two sacks, including a strip-sack to clinch the game against the Seattle Seahawks. While there's still plenty of room for improvement, Brandon Meriweather looks to be a keeper thus far.

Mike Richardson and Matt Gutierrez are more difficult to gauge in terms of improvement. Both of these players are far down the depth chart, and because they don't see a ton of playing time, there aren't many stats to work with (so no pretty little stat box for these guys). Richardson spent his entire rookie season on IR and started his 2008 campaign on the practice squad. He was finally activated to the roster during Week 7 against the Denver Broncos. He played for six games and recorded 17 total tackles.

Matt Gutierrez got a little bit of playing time in 2007 when games were far out of reach, but nothing significant. In 2008, he was being hyped up by the media as the guy who would supplant Matt Cassel for the backup quarterback position, only to get cut at the end of preseason (though he was later brought back to the practice squad). However, when Tom Brady was injured, Gutierrez found himself back on the roster as the emergency quarterback, so he's managed to stick around. Bill Belichick has praised him for his strong work ethic before, but he finds himself behind Kevin O'Connel and Tom Brady heading into 2009. In preseason, he went 29-of-45 for 362 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He saw no playing time during the regular season.

Next fanpost I'll focus on our gigantic rookie class (at least, in comparison to the sophomores).