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