DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Camp Observations

Since we've been doing this for the past few years, thought we might as well get it going.

I was at morning practice today and i'll give you my thoughts.

QB- Anderson looked very sharp today, clearly the better of the two QB's. Brady didn't look all that great but, who knows, maybe he had an off day. Anderson looked like he was taking a lot of the zip off his balls and putting some more accuracy on it, espically in the short game.

RB-Lewis looks about the same as last year, which is good. Harrison is pretty clearly the 2nd best running back out there today, and seeing as how Wright didn't practice, that should be expected. I wouldn't be surprised if #34 makes the team...he's got something about him that makes you want to see more. Vickers looks good, still making solid blocks and makes the occasional catch. Charles Ali is a man beast when it comes to blocking, i've never seen anyone throw people around like him.

WR- BE looks...like BE, didn't drop a catchable pass all day but seemed to have problems with footing. Stallworth looks small to me, definately a change of pace in our WR core. Both Wilson and Kasper look like they are legit NFLers, wouldn't be shocked if Wilson makes the team and Kasper does not. Cribbs is still at least a couple of years away before he is an effective WR.

TE- Kellen didn't practice so i'll assume i'll see Grossi talking about how he is holding out tomorrow. Dinkins still has stone hands, and from what little I saw, Rucker looked good. #85, who was constantly lined up at TE, looked good as well.

O-line- Thomas and Steinbach are probably the most amazing O-linemen we've ever had. I've never seen someone so lean and small push people around like they do. Hank is Hank in that he is solid but has his hands full *i'll get to that later*. Hadnot looks ok, nothing amazing and Shaffer looks about the same as well. Looks like we'll see a lot of running to the left this year.

D-line- Shaun Smith loves to talk...and talk...and talk...and talk. He also got into a fight in drills between d-line and o-line. Didn't see what happened, but i'm sure Smith was talking trash to whoever it was. Shaun Rodgers is a small house. We aren't talking about Ted Washington size, we are talking wide not fat. It usually takes Steiny, Hank and Hadnot to move the man. Corey WIlliams, probably the least talked about new addition, is a VERY good player. He does a good job one on one and wouldn't be surprised to see him get a few sacks this year. Also of note, Chase Pittman looked great, big and strong. At one point he threw the LT aside and buried whoever it was running the ball to his side. Wouldn't be surprised if he made the team.

LB- Willie actually looked good, quick and smaller. In fact overall, i'd say that all the LB'ers this year look much more athletic than big. Andra Davis and DQ Jackson look about the same weight and boy do they pack a wallop. I believe it was Davis who gave someone a nice hit today, sending them flying into the sidelines. Wimbley looks about the same on run stopping, which is to say not good. He gets sealed so easy...he needs to work on that. Alex Hall is going to contribute to this team some day. He is almost as big as Wimbley and runs very well for his size. He has good instincts but needs some work. Peek was getting good pressure all day on the QB.

DB's- I didn't get to see much of them today, but one got burned deep by a Braylon to Anderson deep ball placed perfectly in the corner of the endzone. Other than that, I couldn't tell you much.

"zip off his balls "

thanks for the insight...very appreciated!

Defense sounds like they're flying. AD lost weight and is exploding??? could be interesting...hope we don't regret opting out of his contract...lol Well in a way I hope we do cause that means he's studding out. Giving the interior room to roam and explode - priceless.

Shaun is a key move...its not the addition its the fact that he's one of a kind and we got him - hope Tucker utilizes him well!

JMHO

I know man,...couldn't resist. Nice read, thanks.

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one got burned deep by a Braylon to Anderson deep ball placed perfectly

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Wow...maybe Edwards could be placed into the QB controversy and Anderson can take over for JJ.


Sorry, just busting your chops more...

Sounds great! I have a really good feeling about this year guys and gals! Go Browns!

Thanks for the update! I love these camp observations!

Everyone seems to be pleased with Alex Hall...if the hype has merit, what are the odds we can safely hide him on the P.S.?

None, zero, zilch nadda lol

Frankly the kid will probably beat out Peek and Orr and will split time with Willie McGeinist. Tremendous pass rushing skills and he is showing the ability to play the pass. Now if he can just get his run stuffing ability to catch up.

I'd put a lot of stock into the notion that AD is realizing that if he wants to start on a good team, he's gonna need to step it up. If he plays the way hes played his whole career he's just going to start on bad defenses.

I could see that if we dropped him, he could go start in Detroit or Arizona or Cincy, or KC or just some of those teams whose defenses are mediocre

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DB's- I didn't get to see much of them today, but one got burned deep by a Braylon to Anderson deep ball

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Well, if one of our DB's got burned by DA, who is slow as hell, we're in trouble.

And what in the hell is B-Easy doing behind center???

What ever happened to Ted Washington? I don't remember reading or hearing anything about his release/retirement.

Based on what I'm reading...

I'm REALLY excited about Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams. More specifically Rogers.

And in the backfield I'm excited about McDonald. His name has always been in the news for plays made. I'm hoping he's not "on and off" though, as in he gambles and gets burned.

I cant wait to get this season underway, reading all your guys posts about camp makes my pulse race a little faster!!!!

Thanks for the update!

I can't get enough of Cleveland Browns Football!!

T_

With the way people are talking, it seems that there's going to be a guy in the face of the quarterback every single play!

I was at the Saturday morning practice as well, and will add a few thoughts. I'll be honest and say I mostly concentrated on the defense.

Ahtyba Rubin is a surprisingly lean guy for his size - he is listed as 330, but looks like he could easily add 20-30 more pounds.

Shaun Rogers is a beast - he went one-on-one with Eric Steinbach at one point and dominated him. Just came with a bull rush right through him. Very impressive.

During the one-on-ones, Shaun Smith and Hank Fraley got tangled up. Smith smacked Fraley in his helmet, and teammates had to come and break it up. No punches thrown. I asked Hank about it (the o-linemen were signing autographs) and he said "That's just training camp."

Surprisingly, one of our most fluid d-backs was Gary Baxter. He looked smooth during individual drills.

Without a doubt, one of the most impressive guys I saw was Alex Hall. Hall is listed 6'5", but I thought he was taller than that. He has got a phenomenal first step, and accelerates very quickly. I'm extremely high on him right now

Hubbard and Steptoe dropped passes.

One coach (it may have been Daisher, I can't confirm) called for the 2nd punt coverage team to come out on the field. Everyone on the team came out except for one player - Beau Bell. The coach laid into Bell as he was coming out - absolutely cussed him out. The crowd cheered after the coach exploded.

I'm jealous.

I was so pumped to get to camp today until my daughter got sick. I could have left her at my mother-in-laws if I really wanted to, but because she's so difficult sometimes as far as eating and drinking, I felt uncomfortable doing that because she didn't want to drink anything and was crying and running a fever.

I took Monday off of work to go up to Berea just in case it would have rained today, or something else came up, and it did.

So I'll have to wait two more days until I can watch Shaun Rogers throwing people around.

Awesome report. Thanks!

" Wimbley looks about the same on run stopping, which is to say not good. He gets sealed so easy..."

This is not good .. I watched him display the same traits all last season !

Me and my son were also at the morning session. We concentrated on the recievers and backs the most. I have to say that Lewis looks in prime condition. He is so quick to the hole it is amazing. The Oline is looking solid, but the DL is very noticible. Our Oline is a good one, but they got their hands full with the Dline. Rogers and Williams are both studs and I think the two Smiths are benefitting from this. Shaun and Robaire also look good. To me, I think Savage seems to have done for the defense just what he did for the offense last year.
As for the recievers, BE looks great,as usual. IMO Wilson is going to play alot this year, he and Kasper both look good to me. Kasper catches everything thrown at him. The guy who is a disappointment was Hubbard. He looks quick, but runs lousy routes and has stone hands. I had a guy behind me comment that he would beat out Wilson, for the life of me I can't see what made him think that way. Steptoe looks OK, but is small and IMO inconsistent. I thought Sanders looked decent also. I think the talent is there, but needs developement. I definately see Wilson and Kasper on the final roster though.
The RBs also looked good. Lewis as I said is going to be fantastic this year. I also think Harrison should see the field more. I noticed that they spread him wide a few times, him in space could be very interesting.Travis Thomas #34 looked very good to me also. He seems to catch the ball well out of the backfield, and runs with that forward lean of a power back. I hope they can keep him hidden somewhere for the future.
As for the QBs, Anderson seems to have been working on his short game and to me it's working. Quinn IMO is not impressive at all. His short game looks okay, but his long passes are ducks. Every pass I noticed that was wobbly or floating was from him. At one point, I think Dorsey's passes looked more crisp and tight. I was very surprised that Quinn has very little spin on his passes. I know it's early in camp, but he needs to work on his seem and sideline throws, IMO they reminded me alot of Frye.
My last thought is about the DBs. I think our corners are going to surprise many of the doubters, and I also believe Pool has stepped up big time. He and Jones could turn out to be a very good combination at safety. Jones, to me looks like one of the best in the league, I guess time will tell.

"He didn't look slow and really unathletically large as he appeared last year."

Sounds like my observations from your report: AD lost weight and is exploding -

Nas320 - yeah I read that from AD but he's the only one who got that big....he might be blaming it on the new DL vs the old DL - me I blame it on him getting a new contract and a good one from Savage then just getting FAT!!!

I don't see DQ or Leon losing 15 pounds.

AD has always been a good LB who just never crossed the line into consistent and dominant. He never had great side-line to side-line speed. But in the 3-4 that is one of the beauty of it...you need to have side-line to off tackle speed.

Hopefully taking the weight off and FOR THE FIRST TIME - be in PRIME condition we will see what we actually paid for when Savage n RAC had him signed to a nice extention (5 years) after the 05 season - Mid December 05. And after the 07 FAT version of AD forced us to renegotiate and Nix the contract, making this his CONTRACT SEASON and he goes on a rigorous conditioning program. So do we see the same from him after another signing bonus? AD the FAT? Can we trust him.

But its nice to know...08 we should see the best version of AD since we drafted him.

JMHO

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Our Oline is a good one, but they got their hands full with the Dline.

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Is good to know that everyone who is reporting back is saying this. A huge step forward if it stays this way. Tightening up the DL is the best way to make every position behind them play better. And IMO, we have some good talent back there that is going to benefit big time.

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I definately see Wilson and Kasper on the final roster though.

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Seems to be the consensus early on. Glad Wilson finally is getting his crap together. With JJ out, we need a clutch 3rd down guy to go to. Kellen can be that guy, but it sounds like Kasper may be a nice fill in as well.

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As for the QBs, Anderson seems to have been working on his short game and to me it's working.

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Excellent. One of his 2 biggest concerns.

I like the fact that our OL - considered by many to be one of the best in the game - is getting pushed around a little by the DL. I like it because I think it will make them even better. These battles will hopefully translate to the field.

It sounds to me right now that we could go into the season with a receiving corps of BE, Stallworth, JJ, Wilson, and Kasper. I'm starting to like the sound of that especially with the continuous reports that Wilson and Kasper are looking good. I'm intrigued by Wilson as in almost every single report you read on him over the last couple years says the same thing: 'the talent is there'.

I also think that our DBs are going to be better than everyone expects, but surprisingly, I think our LBs will be our downfall. I'm not encouraged right now by what I'm reading - or I should say what I'm not reading - as not much that I can gather is being written about them through the first few days of camp. No matter how good Joe is, I hate reading that he continuously holds his own against Wimbley. I believe Wimbley relies on his athleticism way too much. Is he not coachable? I wonder if Savage is beaming about Hall because he sees him as Wimbley's replacement and will let Wimbley walk after his contract is up?

I'm not hearing much on Jackson either. And I thought Bell would be an instant competitor to man one of the inside spots, but in Tucker's presser on the main site, he said he's still learning the system...which to me seemed to be a nice way to say 'he's not coming along like we had hoped right now'.

It's early, I know.

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The guy who is a disappointment was Hubbard. He looks quick, but runs lousy routes and has stone hands.

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he's a late round pick for a reason... but geez, give him some time...

and please,, some paragraphs... that was hard to read

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Quinn IMO is not impressive at all.

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I've heard from Cribbs that he isn't the most impressive practice player. I'm not overly concerned. If he is not making the right reads then I would be.

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His short game looks okay, but his long passes are ducks. Every pass I noticed that was wobbly or floating was from him. At one point, I think Dorsey's passes looked more crisp and tight. I was very surprised that Quinn has very little spin on his passes. I know it's early in camp, but he needs to work on his seem and sideline throws, IMO they reminded me alot of Frye.

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I've seen enough of Quinn passing to know he can make these throws well. I wonder if they are tinkering with his mechanics?

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As for the QBs, Anderson seems to have been working on his short game and to me it's working.

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I hope you are right. I'm not one of those guys who thinks he can't get much better. People claim he can't throw short because of things like mechanics and foot size. I do know how inportant good mechanics are, but that doesn't mean players can't overcome bad mechanics. Whether his mechanics have changed, or he has learned to adapt doesn't matter to me. That is as long as he is getting better.

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Has anyone observed Rubin at all? How's he been doing?

Thanks Nemy & Eryze, great stuff...

Reports on the D-line are awesome, they even stand out in the raw practice footage. Rogers is a beast and Williams, Robaire & Smith are really good, from all reports it's going to be great to see them dominating the LOS even against the best O-lines.

Then there's the reports of the running game doing really well yesterday, which is a testament to the O-line & Jamal. Seems he may be taking things even more seriously than last year, if that's possible. Hope Wright can get back out there, and it sounds like Harrison is coming along nicely.

Looks like Wilson and Kasper are going to be nice additions. Get well soon Joe.

Seems DA is doing well and BQ not so much. Could the DA/BQ chatter be put to rest for awhile? Nah... That's just crazy. Glad to hear DA is improving his short game. Give this guy a full repertoire, coupled with Chud the mad scientist and four/five play makers on the field, this offense could be amazing.

I'm excited to see the LB play this year, by all accounts there should be no excuses about the O-line needing to eat up blocks for these guys to be effective. They have been somewhat quiet it seems, other than Hall, who sounds like a find, a stud with a nose for the play. I know it's early, but he's making play from what we're hearing. A slimmer, trimmer Davis could be good too. Did see Joe T handling Wimbley on the footage... Didn't like hearing that Beau Bell needed an etiquette lesson from Ted Dasher.

(Coach interviews on the Home Page are interesting. You can tell they're pumped, and pumped that the players are pumped.)

I think we'll be okay at DB, barring any injuries, it's starting to look like we have a couple starters. Not hearing much about the 3rd CB battle. I think this is the year our safeties explode as a tandem. Sounds like Baxter is coming along nicely. Good for him.

I've heard good things about Vickers and Ali too, Heiden, Mr. How-Can-I-Help? They still seem to like Dinkins.

Most of all, everyone seems hungry... I think Williams said, "We're going to surprise a lot of people," the other day. The exact same thing Winslow said last year.

I love to see them make a statement, come out and blow up the first two games.

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Seems DA is doing well and BQ not so much. Could the DA/BQ chatter be put to rest for awhile? Nah... That's just crazy. Glad to hear DA is improving his short game. Give this guy a full repertoire, coupled with Chud the mad scientist and four/five play makers on the field, this offense could be amazing.

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I think it's varying on the day and the person reporting it as well. Talking to my brother last night, he said he talked to someone who was there last week and said Quinn looked great. Then you hear reports that Quinn didn't look so hot this weekend, where DA was solid.

Who knows. I'll be there tomorrow, so I'll tell you the real scoop.