DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Who is Cam Erving on the field of play.

If Farmer wasn't the GM, he wouldn't have been drafted in the first round.

I don't know if that was true, he was a very highly rated player by a lot of people.

He was a 3rd rounder at best as a tackle. At center he was a first rounder. he took all reps at LT, C and RG in camp. Now we have him at LG where he has never played. Shoulda moved Grecco back to LG and inserted Cam at RG where he atleast worked at in camp.

I've been thinking that same thing. Not sure if it would have been any better but it has still crossed my mind.

That's true, Billy. He was projected to go in the middle third, or a few spots later, of the 1st round.

I see what you are saying, but it's also not wise to weaken two spots.

I guess I should have used the purple font,

Or said... " I wish some other team would have taken him as their first round pick"

I forgot next season under the new regime, they will put him in the right position to be the teams next hall of fame linemen..

Silly me how I look past all the talent the first rounder picks on this team have and how we are winning because of them..

My bad, I guess I'm just to stupid to talk football talent..He really was a first round, highly rated player.. So glad we have him..

The mock drafts for 2015 had Erving going in the middle of the first round. Walterfootball had him going # 18 to the Chiefs... drafttek had him going to the Browns at # 19.. and draftcountdown had him going to San Diego at # 17

There were people other than Farmer who thought Erving was a 1st round talent coming out of college.

He had better get stronger and work on his feet. He has been beaten on quite a bit. Off-season lifting and a lot of technique work are needed. I have not been pleased like some have been. He is not ready to start IMO. Figured that was why he got pulled last week.

Sums it up. Feet are too loose, body is too upright - he'll just continue to keep getting pushed back and even pushed flat on his a$s. I mean, the Bengals were fighting over who got to line up in front of him...

However, those guys don't actually draft players.

Farmer does. All of his top picks have either sucked or are disappointing.

Erving is weak and has bad feet. Other than that, he's great.

http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/arti...8f-77fd0ccf275f

OL Joel Bitonio:

On if he needed to improve his strength after he was drafted:

“Yeah, I think that was one of the things. I felt like I was athletic and I had those capabilities. I think after my senior year and going into the draft that was already one of my things. I wanted to get stronger. I still want to get stronger. I think I am still growing from it. I think all rookie linemen want to gain that strength. A lot of these guys have that ‘man strength’ type of thing. They are grown men, and when you come from college, you are still developing that a little bit. I think it just takes some time to work it out.”

On advice for OL Cameron Erving:

“I think you have seen it before. There are a lot of guys that have struggled early on and keep improving. He has the right attitude. It is not like he is hanging his head all the time. Obviously, he is upset that he hasn’t been able to play as great as he wanted to. He has the right attitude. He plays hard. He is in the meeting room taking notes. He is asking questions, asking (OL) Joe (Thomas), asking (OL) Alex (Mack), asking Grec (OL John Greco) – guys that have been in it. He is going to be OK. I have told him that the whole time. He knows he is. He knows that it is a work in progress, and I think mentally it is a little bit like, ‘Man, this has been exhausting.’ He got thrown in the fire again. I think he will be OK. I think he is going to come back. I am sure he is going to play some football again this year.”

On if getting stronger is as simple as improving ones bench press:

“It is more functional stuff. Your feet are connected – Joe always says it – like how your feet always start the movement then your knees bend. Your bench is part of it and stuff like that. It is never like the guy that benches 400 is always the strongest. It just takes time and it takes time to develop those things. When he gets a good base under him feet wise and technique wise, his strength will start showing. It is just more of a learning curve that way.”

On if the Browns work on functional strength in the weight room and that benefitting Erving:

“Correct. The weight room is going to help that and just more reps is going to improve that and more coaching, a whole offseason with the team probably with someone teaching him those nuances.”

On the challenge of switching from offensive tackle to guard:

“The reaction time is so much quicker. When you set off the ball at tackle, you have time to kind of diagnosis what they are doing. You see that they are bull rushing or you see that they are trying to run around the edge. Where, at guard, it kind of happens right away. Sometimes when you are not ready for it or you are not in the right position, it catches you off guard. It catches me off guard sometimes. I am like, ‘Man, I should have set that bull rush better,’ but you don’t see it coming until they are already bull rushing you. You are reacting once it is happening. Where, at tackle, sometimes you can react before it happens. I think that is the one thing I have seen (Erving) get caught a few times is where he was in good position, but he wasn’t quite ready for the bull rush or he wasn’t quite ready for this. It is a guessing game sometimes, and I think it just takes a little bit of time to develop those instincts when you are playing guard.”


OL Cameron Erving:

On how disappointing it is to not start this week:

“I am not starting. That is the end of it. I am just not starting.”

On what he has to do to get better and be a starter:

“Get better. Get better. I just have to get better. I played like [garbage]. I am not starting.”

On if switching to play LG was more difficult than people understand:

“I am not going to sit here and make excuses. I said what I said and I meant it before: I am a football player. I am in that situation. I am not going to sit here and make excuses for anything that happens. Of course, it is hard. It is the NFL. I have to do a better job of going out and executing, point blank. Period.”

On what he will work on this offseason:

“I have to get better and I have to get stronger.”

On if this year has been discouraging or it gives him drive:

“Drive. It is a learning (experience). In all honesty, that was my third football game playing. I am not going to make excuses, but you still have to put it in perspective.”

On how the learning curve is different from college to the NFL:

“Everybody up here is good.”

On what coaches have said he needs to work on:

“Getting stronger.”

On drawing on experiences from the past to bounce back:

“I just have faith and I kept pushing, and that is what I am going to continue to do now. I am going to keep working and I am going to get better. This is not it.”

On if only needs to improve his strength in the weight room:

“Mentally and physically.”

We need to retain Joe after he retires somehow. Maybe as a coach. I'm fine with kidnapping, but I'm sure we should find another option before he retires.

Wasn't that Bitonio saying all that stuff.

I like Erving. I like that he's pissed off but focused. It seems like you can't throw linemen into the fire like people think. There's always going to be some sort of breaking in. Mack had it, that guard from Pitt had it (DeCastro?).

The interesting thing is that all rookie linemen seem to have a strength deficiency coming into the league. I found the part where he talked about functional strength to be really interesting. I guess linemen drafted out of college have been able to rely on raw strength until hitting the big league. That, or you just really need to perfect the technique in a way you can't when you're younger (college).

This was a really info-dense article. Thanks!

Bitonio was repeating what Joe said there, but the rest of the article is all Bitonio's thoughts... Which I assume are heavily influenced by JT.

And good catch on the linemen problem. I remember when DeCastro was as bad as Cam. It made me happy to see DeCastro, who I wanted far more than Weeden, performing horribly. But now he's seemed to turn it on. I think Schwartz had many problems too.

Yeah. It seems like the highly drafted linemen have those problems, but probably because they're the ones that are expected to start out of the gate.

It's also, probably how you get guys like Greco. I vaguely remember him being drafted fairly high, and then getting released at least once before coming here. Now he's a legit NFL starter.

Indeed. I think we'll produce some great linemen just because of our current group. I'd love to start taking a sloberknocker in the later rounds just to try to grow them.

I hope our next oline coach can flesh out a real philosophy from this group before they all leave.

How about Hank Fraley for offensive line Coach next year

I think that is a fantastic idea. Maybe start him as an assistant OLine coach, or something until he gets some coaching experience, but yeah, I don't see why not!

LOL.. I still follow his wife on facebook. He was a good OL guy and a first class dude. Not sure if he can coach but.... why not.

agreed.

I also think that's been part of Danny Shelton's story this year.

good insight, bro.

I'd forgotten these important points....

After GM's fantastic suggestion.. I really liked how our line played with that group. Our right side was weak, but at least Tucker and Shaffer looked like it had a meanstreak. I really think that Steinbach, and Fraley did a great job at giving our line this patient, cerebral, blue collar philosophy that we have here. I digress. I googled Hank Fraley and he's actually the assistant O-Line coach with the Vikings and was the o-line coach at University of San Diego (Don't we have a connect down there too? Brian Sipe maybe?) and at San Jose State. The Eagles did a pretty cool look back you can read here:
http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/a...53-82779b0552c2

I'd love for us to get Hank. Especially after this Moller disaster.

That's good enough for me.... Haslam:

Hank has already worked his way up to assistant O-line Coach. That's his position with the Vikings. He has been there since training camp

See my post above bro

AH screw inside info.I Just want to see him, his wife, and their kids do well. They are wonderful people who deserve good things

linkage


Grading offensive rookie first-rounders: Highest marks for QBs

By Daniel Jeremiah
NFL Media analyst
Published: Dec. 8, 2015 at 01:10 p.m.
Updated: Dec. 10, 2015 at 01:42 p.m.
999+ Likes | 43 Comments

Grading rookie first-rounders: Offense


With three quarters of the 2015 regular season in the books, I'm taking a look at how this year's rookie first-round picks have fared to this point. I assign a grade for each offensive player here, and I unveiled my marks for the defensive first-round rookies on Thursday.

Heads of the class


Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston

Grade: A+
Pick: No. 1 overall
The skinny: After a rough opener, Winston steadily has improved and is currently playing at a very high level. His ability to quickly work through progressions and throw with anticipation is very impressive.

Titans QB Marcus Mariota

Grade: A+
Pick: No. 2 overall
The skinny: The Titans have struggled to compile wins, but Mariota has far exceeded expectations. He's playing winning football from the pocket and he's starting to be more aggressive as a runner.

Raiders WR Amari Cooper

Grade: A
Pick: No. 4 overall
The skinny: Cooper has been a dynamic addition to the Raiders' passing attack. He's had a couple drops along the way, and that's the only thing keeping him from an A+ grade.

Rams RB Todd Gurley

Grade: A-
Pick: No. 10 overall
The skinny: Gurley got a late start to the season after recovering from a knee injury he suffered last year at Georgia, but he quickly ripped off four straight 100-yard games. His production has taken a dip over the last few weeks, but he has Pro Bowl ability right now.

Knocking on the door

Redskins G Brandon Scherff

Grade: B
Pick: No. 5 overall
The skinny: Scherff has been overmatched at times in pass protection, but I love his physicality and temperament in the running game. He has improved throughout the course of the season.

Giants OT Ereck Flowers

Grade: B
Pick: No. 9 overall
The skinny: Flowers has battled some injuries this season, but he's proven to be a very physical run blocker. He is still very raw in pass protection, but I believe he is a key building block for the Giants' offense.

Mixed results


Dolphins WR DeVante Parker

Grade: C+
Pick: No. 14 overall
The skinny: Injury and a lack of opportunity delayed Parker's coming-out party, but he started to shine over the last two weeks. He has an excellent catch radius and big-play potential. I anticipate this grade will improve over the last four weeks of the season.

Lions G Laken Tomlinson

Grade: C
Pick: No. 28 overall
The skinny: Tomlinson has started 10 games for the Lions and he's shown signs of improvement. However, he still gets caught out of position too often, which leads to negative plays and penalties.

Colts WR Phillip Dorsett

Grade: C
Pick: No. 29 overall
The skinny: Dorsett flashed some big-play ability before breaking his ankle in late October. If healthy, this grade would've been higher.

Saints OL Andrus Peat

Grade: C-
Pick: No. 13 overall
The skinny: Peat has started a handful of games this season (3 at OT, 2 at G) and he's been underwhelming. He lacks ideal foot quickness at tackle and he plays too high inside at guard.

Chargers RB Melvin Gordon

Grade: C-
Pick: No. 15 overall
The skinny: Gordon hasn't looked comfortable in the San Diego system for the majority of the season, and he's had ball-security issues. He has been a little more decisive and aggressive over the last two games, but overall, he's been disappointing.

Eagles WR Nelson Agholor

Grade: C-
Pick: No. 20 overall
The skinny: I had high expectations for Agholor following the preseason, but he's failed to make much of an impact for the Eagles' offense. Despite starting eight games, he's only produced one game of 40-plus receiving yards and he's yet to catch a touchdown.

Major disappointments


Browns G Cameron Erving

Grade: D
Pick: No. 19 overall
The skinny: Erving plays too high and he lacks the strength to anchor in pass pro. He's playing out of position (he's started two games at guard; his future is at center), but the early returns aren't positive.



Cardinals OT D.J. Humphries

Grade: F
Pick: No. 24 overall
The skinny: Humphries has yet to dress for a game this season. I believe in his skill set and upside (he was my top-rated OT in the draft class), but he was atrocious in the preseason.

TBD at a later date


Bears WR Kevin White

Grade: Incomplete
Pick: No. 7 overall
The skinny: White was one of my favorite players in the draft class, but, unfortunately, he's missed the entire season due to a shin injury he suffered in training camp.

Bengals OT Cedric Ogbuehi

Grade: Incomplete
Pick: No. 21 overall
The skinny: Ogbuehi has only been active for one game after rehabbing a torn ACL he suffered in college.

Ravens WR Breshad Perriman

Grade: Incomplete
Pick: No. 26 overall
The skinny: This will be a redshirt year for Perriman due to injury.

Follow Daniel Jeremiah on Twitter at @MoveTheSticks.

Got blown off the line on that kick...

To borrow the line from Warren Sapp (on Courtney Brown after his eleventieth surgery): "Looks like Tarzan, Plays like Jane".

The Marshmallow Man?

Middle-aged, lookin' back on his Glory Days Tarzan... maybe, lol!