Intra-Squad Scrimmage

Offense had a rought night at the intra-squad scrimmage. Read Pat Mac's report here.

Romeo summed up the evening in his presser:

“I could be better. We’re not as sharp as we need to be. We were sluggish offensively. Some things on defense looked OK, but they were able to slip a couple of runs through there. We threw interceptions [three], fumbled snaps, can’t make field goals [a missed 49-yarder by Phil Dawson], and it’s hard to win doing stuff like that. So we’ve got a lot of work to do and a short time to try to get something done with it.”

So who played well? By all accounts, Jerome Harrison, Kellen Winslow, D'Qwell Jackson, and Lawrence Vickers all played very well.

You can read coverage of the scrimmage from the PD here.

Camp Notes

Some good stuff from the Canton Rep. You have to register for their site, so here's a good recap:

>> With the sun beating down and humidity turning practice into duck soup, second-year defensive lineman Andrew Hoffman began slowing down. Noticing Hoffman was pale, trainers escorted him from practice to ice tubs. He did not return. Tuesday was the five-year anniversary of the training camp death of Vikings offensive tackle Korey Stringer.

>> Charlie Frye got hot during red-zone drills. On three separate plays from around the 5-yard line, Frye floated a pass to a diving Kellen Winslow Jr. in the left corner of the end zone, scrambled to his right until Frisman Jackson came open for an easy touchdown flick, and sprinted deftly through a hole on a quarterback draw.

>> It wasn’t all good. During the same drill, Joshua Cribbs got jammed by cornerback Gary Baxter, ruining the timing of a throw to Cribbs. On another, Frye overthrew tight end Darnell Dinkins.

>> It appears rookie Round 1 pick Kamerion Wimbley will open the season as a backup to Matt Stewart on running downs, but playing on almost all of the passing downs. “I look forward to getting a big-name QB on the ground,” Wimbley said. Veteran Willie McGinest, a fellow outside linebacker, has accelerated Wimbley’s development. “Willie is another coach,” Wimbley said.

>> Crennel continues to be intrigued by the burst displayed by Rookie Round 5 pick Jerome Harrison, who is getting the ball a lot in practices. Harrison is trying to wrench the third-down back job away from Lee Suggs. Who is in the lead? “(Suggs) might have a toe up,” Crennel said.

>> Rookie Round 4 pick Leon Williams spent some of Tuesday’s practice with the first-string defense, at inside linebacker. Williams didn’t read too much into it, which was wise, because Crennel has been asking coaches to spot various backups in with first units for spot looks. Williams is big and fast but played a little stiff for NFL scouts’ tastes. “He’s not the most flexible guy,” Crennel said, “but he can bend well enough.”

Wednesday Quick Hits

>> JJ returned to practice today after sitting out two days due to back spasms.

>> Listened to the latest Toni Grossi chat. A quick summary:

Grossi has been extremely impressed with Bodden, Cribbs, and Jerome Harrison.

When asked about Frye, Grossi had nothing but glowing remarks. Commented that Frye looks like a five year veteran out there. And "nothing rattles him".

Thinks Poole will win the SS job.

Thinks Ken Dorsey looks bad.

Hallen will be the full-season starter at Center.

Thinks Green will get released.

Couldn't say enough good things about KW2.

All in all it was very positive. And coming from Grossi, a lot of those quotes should be big news. He's not one to be overly-enthusiastic.

more later...

Tuesday Camp Update

>> Two surgeries are scheduled for this week. RT Ryan Tucker, and CB Daylon McCutcheon will both undergo minor procedures to clear cartilage in their knees. Both vets will miss the rest of the preseason but will be ready to go for opening day.

Unfortunately, for Cutch this ends the competition at CB. Leigh Bodden will win the job with Cutch missing so much time. Cutch will be moved inside. And in my opinion (and many others as well) that's the way it should be anyway. Cutch has continued to play very good football, but Bodden was outstanding filling in for the injured Gary Baxter last season, and Cutch's smaller stature makes him a better fit for the nickel back than as a starter.

>> Toni Grossi has an audio chat up at cleveland.com. Grab the mp3 here.

>> Charlie Frye and Northcutt continue to complete big plays. The two players seem to have found a rhythm together. Crennel mentioned that Northcutt should play more slot this year, which should make him more productive.

>> Derek Anderson is battling for the #2 QB spot but has had trouble with his snaps.

>> Not much in the way of stories from camp right now, unfortunately. I'll try and post some more this afternoon, but there seems to be a lot of coverage, and not much info this year. Weird. Everyone seems to be reporting the same things...

Fans "harrass" players

Welcome to the Xander Zone.

The OBR caught up with our "more humble" KW2 at this morning's practice:

Winslow said he doesn't know if he will ever be 100 percent the same as he was before the injuries he suffered on the motorcycle last May. “With the significance of my injury, it's going to be tough to get back to 100 percent,” Winslow said. “I had a lot of stuff to go through. Some days I feel real good and some days not as good.”

However, with that being said, Winslow thinks he will be able to perform as well as he has in the past. “There's no mystery in my mind,” he said. “I've watched film of what I've done in the past and I don't feel I can do anything less right now."

“I don't want to sound brash, but even if I'm 90 percent, I think my 90 percent is better than other tight ends out there."

Lol, gotta love him.

Video From Camp

There's lots of great video from camp at the official site. Try and make a point to check out the Braylon Edwards video. He starts slow, but as the video progresses, he looks amazing: Extremely fast, catching everything, and his cuts are impeccable. Very impressive after going through the ACL surgery.

Massive Weekend Update

OK, sorry for the delay. I was unable to post, read news, etc. all weekend, so I'm catching up on a lot of Browns stuff today. So, here we go!

>> By far, the biggest news of the weekend was the return of Braylon Edwards to the practice field, way ahead of schedule. Normally it takes nine months to return from ACL surgery, Edwards is back in less than seven months. From the OBR:

"God forbid, if anything happens to our race and creed, they should use his DNA to rebuild the population," Browns owner Randy Lerner said before practice began. "He's a freak of nature." Edwards credited Dr. Anthony Miniaci, who performed the surgery, and trainer Marty Lauzon for being ahead of schedule.

"I don't want to toot my own horn," Edwards said. "I'll toot Miniaci's and Lauzon's horn. They did a helluva job. We're going to continue to listen to their expertise. When I come back, believe me, I'm never going back in the training room.

"I can't say I'm guaranteed of playing Sept. 10. Obviously, it's looking real good. We're not going to try to force it. The main thing in our mind is to be 100 percent. But everything is going well. I'm extremely excited about the possibility of playing in the first game.

The whole account of Edwards' return on the OBR is exhilarating, but this part may have been my favorite:

Edwards and Kellen Winslow Jr. were on the practice field together Saturday. It was the first time, because when Edwards was a rookie last year Winslow was on the shelf recovering from his motorcycle accident. Edwards said he, Winslow and Charlie Frye refer to themselves as "The young guns."

"I think (Winslow) and I are going to make magic this year and for years to come," Edwards said.

>> In other Browns news, LT Ryan Tucker will have surgery on his right knee. But no worries, it's just to clean out some cartilage, and the veteran tackle should be ready to go for the third preseason game. Kirk Chambers will fill in in the meantime.

>> The Leigh Bodden/Daylon McCutcheon battle for the left cornerback position has taken another turn, as Cutch has been sidelined with a swollen knee. It has given Bodden a leg up in the competition.

Both players have had a great attitude about the battle. It has been neck and neck thus far, but Bodden, coming off a great season and with a new contract in hand, is brimming with confidence and will probably win the job, allowing the Browns to move the very good Cutch into the nickel slot.

>> The Browns have brought in an additional backup center in the wake of the Bentley injury. Todd Washington is a nine-year pro that has recently played in Houston.

>> Some interesting tidbits from yesterday's practice:

One play in team drills was aborted when a bee landed on Alvin McKinley's facemask. He whipped off his helmet and threw it down. "I got it before it got inside the helmet," he said.

Third-round pick Travis Wilson, the receiver from Oklahoma, ended his three-day holdout and signed a four-year deal through 2009. Terms were undisclosed.

Tight end Darnell Dinkins caught a short pass and then spiked the ball off the helmet of top draft pick Kamerion Wimbley, who was defending on the play. "I apologized to him," Dinkins said. "It was nothing personal. I tend to black out sometimes when I'm on the field. I'm just aggressive by nature. I don't want people to think we're an offense that's just going to pass and catch and get knocked down."

>> Bentley looks like he might turn into an inspirational figure for the team this year.

"He guaranteed that he will be bigger, badder and better than ever," Feinsod, Bentley's agent, said. "Doctors told him it was a clean tear and that the surgery went fantastic."

Feinsod said Bentley laughs at some of the reports he's heard that he'll struggle to return. "He's already begun rehabbing in his hospital room," Feinsod said. "They're
not going to keep him down."

Quarterback Charlie Frye said he talked to Bentley in the team hotel the night Bentley was injured.

"I said, 'Man, I feel real bad for you because I've seen how hard you worked to get ready for the season,' and he said, 'Don't feel bad for me - just go out and do your thing.'

>> Some general observations from reports from camp:

Everyone keeps talking about how impressive Kellen Winslow is. Apparently he has been amazing in these early practices. People are going on and on about how cut he is, how crisp his routes are, how he catches everything thrown his way, etc.

The other observation I keep reading is about Charlie Frye. Everyone is saying that he is a completely different player this year. Total leader on the field, stronger arm, and more consistent than last year.

Bodden, Suggs, and Baxter have also been impressing people.

Many observers are saying Sean Jones is ahead of Brodney Pool in the SS battle. Very interesting.

Ken Dorsey has, by all accounts, looked terrible. He won't make the team if it keeps up.

>> That's about it for now. I'll chime in later today with observations from today's practices.

Stay Tuned...

It's been a very busy weekend for me. But I will be updating the blog today with lots of news and links. Stay tuned...

The Bentley Factor

Well, by now I assume you have all heard the final news on LeCharles Bentley. The Pro Bowl center is gone for the year, having torn the patellar tendon in his left knee. An ominous silence fell over the practice field immediately after the incident, and soon after that, giant, dark storm clouds formed in the skies over Berea.

Bentley was the face of this year's free agent class. A Cleveland native, and former Ohio State Buckeye, Bentley was living his dream in playing for the Browns. And some reports have claimed the 6' 2" 309lb center actually cried the first time he put on the Browns uniform.

Bentley is the center this team has been looking for since their return in 1999. Big, nasty, tough, and a fearless leader, he's the kind of guy that teams build a line around.

Now it's Romeo Crennel's job to keep the team together, and make sure that the pall that fell over yesterday's practice isn't permanent.

Stepping into Bentley's place will be veteran free-agent pickup Bob Hallen. Hallen has played for the Falcons and Chargers in the past and has started before. He's also a Cleveland area native, having grown up in Mentor.

“(Hallen) is pretty strong,” Browns coach Romeo Crennel said. “He’s thick. He has some experience and some really good strength.

“He has versatility. He’s played in the league. We were looking for that center/guard combination and that’s why we signed him.”

But the injury to Bentley will have ripple effects over the entire offensive line. Hallen was to provide depth in case of injuries to either Joe Andruzzi or Cosey Coleman. With Hallen starting, that depth is gone. And now, young Isaac Sowells, taken in the 4th round of this year's draft will be faced with taking on that role. Dave Yovanovitz will also be in the mix.

GM Phil Savage has stated that the Browns will be shopping for additional free agent linemen to add depth to the depleted line.

For a team and fans that often feel cursed with serious injuries to star players (Winslow, Edwards, Courtney Brown, Verba, Miller, Faine, Couch, etc) it's yet another painful blow.

Bentley Injures Knee

He was just carted off field about 20 minutes ago. Extent of the injury isn't known yet. But it doesn't sound good. At all.

UPDATE 3:32pm: Mary Kay Cabot is reporting that Bentley is done for the year:

A source close to Browns center LeCharles Bentley said that it appears Bentley has suffered a torn patellar tendon in his left knee and will be lost for the season.

The Browns have not confirmed the injury and Bentley is still at the Cleveland Clinic. Browns GM Phil Savage will address the media before the 5:30 practice.

Bentley was injured during a team drill in Thursday's morning practice at Berea.

UPDATE 1:11pm: Video of the injury here.

UPDATE 12:04pm: Barry McBride from The Orange and Brown Report says,

"Guys, I was talking with one of our NFL sources and told him that it might be a patella tear, and he told me to "pray it was a broken leg instead". It depends on how serious it is. A serious patella tear could knock him out for the season, and a broken leg would actually be better than that.- Barry"

UPDATE 11:47am: Preliminary word is that it could be an injury to the patella tendon. Bentley was taken to the Cleveland Clinic immediately and was to undergo an MRI to determine the exact extent of the injury.

UPDATE 11:36am: OK, some are saying that because they put him in an air cast that it might not be his knee. Usually with ligament tears the player can walk afterwards and they're never fitted with a cast. So it might not be season ending. We'll see...

Day 1 Links

>> Browns players and coaches are feeling very optimistic. "We feel like we’re ready," general manager Phil Savage said.

>> Kosar is doing the color commentary for the four preaseason games. ''You're going to see me around camp a lot this year to get ready for announcing the games,'' Kosar said as he walked off the practice field yesterday after the first practice of training camp. ''I know they probably don't want me to announce it yet, but I'm not a very good liar.''

>> Good piece from PatMac on Frye. When did Crennel know that Frye could be the starter? ``When I traded (Trent) Dilfer,'' Crennel said. The media laughed, and Crennel shrugged.
``Hey guys, it is what it is,'' he said. ``It was open competition to that point. Then I didn't have any competition so Frye became the starter.''

>> Crennel studied Browns history in the offseason. Crennel discovered the team has 15 Hall of Famers. “There are a lot of good players who love Cleveland and follow the Browns,” Crennel said. “I get people from Texas who played here calling me about the Browns."

Day 1 - Morning Session

Well, with no scrimmage and only one session, day one leaves us with few news items of note. But I'll highlight what I've got.

A lot of the early fan reports had people talking about KW2. Winslow looked really good to everyone, and he appears fully recovered from his injuries.

Toni Grossi has a nice little write-up today on Frye's maturity and poise this year. By all accounts he's a different player. He's also twenty pounds heavier, has a stronger arm, and his teammates seem to love him.

Another piece of good news is that the coaches seem very encouraged with Braylon Edwards' progress since his ACL surgery. A September (rather than October) return is not being ruled out.

Another big addition to all the training camp coverage this year is Sports Time Ohio's (STO) new show, Browns Training Camp Daily. The first episode aired last night, and the 30 minute show is set to air each and every day of Browns camp. I'll be compiling a DVD, or two, of all the shows if you want to see it at some point. In the meantime though, the Browns official site is providing video coverage of camp as well. So check it out.

That's about it for yesterday. Today should be much busier with two practices and, I believe, the first day of team scrimmages. So keep checking in.

The Season Starts...Now

Welcome, everyone, to another season of Cleveland Browns football. Of course, this is one of the best times of the year. When unbridled enthusiasm is the mood of the day, and everything seems like it's on the up and up. New draft picks bring hope, training camp reports offer glimpses of greatness, injuries are minor or non-existent, and hope springs eternal. At least until September.

Yes, we are familiar with disappointment, even pessimism, when it comes to our favorite team, but things do seem to be different this year.

The Browns had, inarguably, one of the best offseasons in the NFL. We acquired much-needed help on the offensive line in the form of Pro Bowl center and Cleveland-native, LeCharles Bentley, plus Kevin Shaffer at left tackle.

We added Joe Jurevicius to the WR corp, providing much needed consistency, professionalism, and best of all, great hands.

Pro Bowlers Willie McGinest and Ted Washington were brought in to provide a better pass rush, and run-stopping ability.

And don't forget, Dave Zastudil, our new punter, and all of our new draft picks. Most notably, Kamerion Wimbley, D'Qwell Jackson, and...THE GHOST.

Anyway, as you may have guessed, camp starts today, so I will be blogging for the next month. Bringing all of you a daily dose of Browns goodness straight from camp. I'll sift through all the articles and first-hand accounts so you don't have to. And I'll regale you with tales of Jerome Harrison. 'Who', you might be asking? 'The Ghost', I reply. The Ghost.