DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Good article on minicamp

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Robiskie looks as polished as advertised
excellent, but that was never the knock on him- the fear is he as already peaked and what you see is what you get.

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Not directing this at you bigfoot but at the scouts. This is what I dont get, how does a rookie already reach his potential. He hasnt even learned the playbook yet. Its not like hes going to get worse at catching or running patterens. If anything he might get slower. But if you can do anything else, getting slower doesnt get you out of the NFL. Look at David Patten. He never had height, blazing speed, or out powered DBs, yet hes still in the NFL. I just dont see how a guy that young and has yet played against NFL DBs has reahed his potential. Hes going to get smarter and better at reading coverages and beating defenders off the line. It shouldnt be a knock if he has reached his potential as long as he maintains his potential.

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okay.. is this pure football or tailgate?

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I can't believe a guy just out of college has already maxed out his talent, so IMO Robiskie still has some growth in him.

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That depends on how a player is viewed in terms of what he can and CAN'T do.

There are some fans who are simply wrong in their assessment that his hands aren't very good. Nothing more, nothing less, they are simply wrong. It happens. They tune into a game at the wrong time and watch him drop a ball. They'll view his fading stats as OSU goes from a throwing QB to a running one. It happens.

So what's the difference between Mass and Robiskie in terms of hands? Robo's hands aren't likely to get much better, while Mass's hands do need to get better. See Lampy?

Robo won't have the top-end speed that other guys like Mass will have, and his route running is allready good, so he doesn't have to improve it like Mass will. See Lampy?

In short, no, Robo hasn't "maxed out" but that's because he was never going to be this game-breaking, Randy Moss type of player. In terms of what he does well, which is to be a possession receiver, he's allready VERY good.

Summarized..........He's an excellent possession receiver RIGHT NOW who never had the upside to do the things that Edwards or Moss can do.

It's not a bad thing to say he's nearly hit his ceiling when we're talking about a specific role. Why? Because if he comes in as a rookie, has 50-60 catches, a bunch of first-downs, and several TD's, then repeats that every year, he's WELL worth the draft selection.

I made it very clear I FULLY believe that Robiskie is going to be an ideal possession receiver, and what we've read during the first camp is going to be what we read over and over and over again. He's not going to be a flashy player, but flash was never his game, and for whatever reason, that makes fans afraid .

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So what's the difference between Mass and Robiskie in terms of hands? Robo's hands aren't likely to get much better, while Mass's hands do need to get better. See Lampy?

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What I said except better worded.

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What I said, though verbose.

Some peoples ability is at it's peak by age 16.



Toad is my pal, so I can call him verbose.

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Cox is just the guy he needs to get in his arse.

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not literally

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I figured...just joking with you

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but the more I hear, the more convinced I am that this is the guy we've been waiting for as a coach.

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I think if you look back someone has uttered those exact words about every coach we've had since ' 99. Eventually, that will be correct. But I think I'll wait until we've played a few games before I turn over Paul Brown's office keys to EM.

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Jeannie has been clear that people will be moved around .. and reps will be given equally (not that that means they al get the same # of reps with the 1st team) .... so all we really learned from this is that

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Can't you people come up with 1 name and stick with it? Is Mangini that much harder to type than Jeannie, or even Gini. I stared at that line for about 15 seconds wondering who this Jeannie was, and what paper she writes for.

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but the more I hear, the more convinced I am that this is the guy we've been waiting for as a coach.

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I think if you look back someone has uttered those exact words about every coach we've had since ' 99. Eventually, that will be correct. But I think I'll wait until we've played a few games before I turn over Paul Brown's office keys to EM.

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But there's been a lot of "word eating" around here in the last 10 years so I think I'll wait for some results before I join the Mangini fan club.

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But there's been a lot of "word eating" around here in the last 10 years so I think I'll wait for some results before I join the Mangini fan club.

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Of course, you are right IMO,, but so far, with what little we have to go on, I'm impressed. Not that it means anything,, but so far, so good.

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You can praise the man all you want. He may deserve it in the end.

But there's been a lot of "word eating" around here in the last 10 years so I think I'll wait for some results before I join the Mangini fan club.

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Palmer I believe would have been a good coach, had it not been for the ppl on the team and front office.

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I think I'll wait for some results before I join the Mangini fan club.

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Good Morning Braylon

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Concrete - info. No but interesting info it was. Sure its a dead zone and it gives us some Sherlock Holmes stuff to do.

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... or at the VERY least, it gives us something to develop some Entertainment Weekly-style speculation about.

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Do we not have faith in ES' back - and giving Hadnot as many reps as we can saving ES' back and preparing a likely start or two by Hadnot?

Of course we shouldn't count them as the starters for the beginning of our season. But we have to figure it out exactly what does it mean.

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BEREA - Eric Mangini made it a point last week to say that Brady Quinn was slightly ahead of Derek Anderson in the quarterback competition.

However, Mangini made it a point to clarify the situation prior to practice on Wednesday.

“Quinn was just the starting rep the starting day,” he said. “(Quinn and Anderson) both had exactly the same amount of reps. They have had the exact amount of reps in every practice.”

Mangini said that it was Quinn’s turn again on Wednesday to take the first rep.


Notebook

DAWSON STILL OUT: Mangini confirmed that WR/KR Josh Cribbs is at minicamp this week, but also confirmed that K Phil Dawson was not present.

“Cribbs is here and Dawson is not,” he said. “It’s a voluntary minicamp. Everybody has the option to not be here.”

Mangini used the question to plug rookie undrafted free agent Parker Douglass, who is the lone kicker in camp during Dawson’s absence.

“Parker Douglass has done a nice job in taking advantage of his opportunities,” he said. “He made a 52 yard field goal the other day to end practice.”

It is believed that Dawson would like his contract status addressed, but Mangini declined to say what the reason was other than the camp is ‘voluntary.’

Mangini did say that he has met with Dawson one-on-one since he’s become head coach.

“I’ve met with him like I did with all of the players.”

CRIBBS ON OFFENSE, FOR NOW: Mangini said that Cribbs will be working primarily on the offensive side of the ball this week.

“It’s his second day so he’ll stick with offense,” Mangini said. “I don’t look at limiting him. It’s what he wants it to become.”

Mangini said he didn’t look at how Cribbs was used as a receiver, but rather looking at him in developing his potential.

“It’s not looking back at what he’s done, but looking forward,” he said. “It’s going to be defined by him as far as what his production might be. It’s important to explore what options he can be involved in.”

IN THE HOOD: The Browns added DB Rod Hood as a free agent to give them another veteran in the secondary.

Mangini downplayed the signing.

“It’s ongoing for us,” he said. “It could be street free agents, players released from other teams. Rod has played different roles. He’s played inside and played outside and has productive.”

Hood played the past two seasons with the Cardinals and is expected to compete for time with Corey Ivy and Brandon McDonald for time.

OFFENSIVE LINE FLEXIBILITY: In the minicamp practice open to the media last Thursday, it Ryan Tucker was playing right guard, but Mangini said he has been used at right guard and right tackle.

“Ryan has done a good job at both right guard and right tackle,” Mangini said. “We’ve had a lot of different guys and combinations and we’ll look at the best group overall and see who the best five are.”

Mangini mentioned Floyd Womack and John St. Clair as other linemen in the rotation with Tucker. Both were signed as free agents this past off-season.

The general perception last year was that the left side with Joe Thomas and Eric Steinbach was solid, but the center Hank Fraley and the right side with Kevin Shaffer and Rex Hadnot was less than stellar.

“The effectiveness of the offensive line is going to tie in to the effectiveness of the running backs,” he said. “The tight ends play a big part in that. Sometimes, it’s easier to pin it on one group.

Hadnot raised some eyebrows when he was in the rotation ahead of Steinbach at left guard last week. First-round draft choice Alex Mack is expected to push Fraley or one of the guards for the starting position.

LOVE FOR BRAYLON: Mangini talked highly of WR Braylon Edwards when asked about him. He said that he remembered what Edwards did against the Jets while he was coaching there.

“He’s big and his sheer size often creates mismatches,” he said. “You combined that with his athleticism and he presents a challenge for defenses.”

THE DRIVE: Mangini referred to one of the most painful events in Browns’ playoff history as one of the teaching tools he’s used with the team. He said he re-creates situations of real games and puts his team in the situation. One he mentioned was ‘The Drive’ in which John Elway directed the Broncos 98 yards to help thwart the Browns from going to the Super Bowl after the 1986 season.

“We put the offense and defense in realistic situations that came about in NFL games,” Mangini said. “I learned that from Ted Marchibroda.”

He mentioned that ‘The Drive’ was one of the situations simulated and was asked if he would’ve played the prevent defense that the Browns employed.

“I wasn’there, but that’s one of the situations we used,” he said. “That’s what I like because things come up that you can’t script, but you can coach. I did that in New York. Sometimes, it doesn’t matter what you did in the first 58 minutes, but what you do in the final two minutes.”

Mangini was asked if the team even knew from what game it came.

“We showed them a lot of situations. That was just one of them.”

DONTE UPDATE: WR Donte Stallworth continues to be absent as he prepares for his upcoming DUI manslaughter trial. Mangini said that the legal process has to play out, both in Florida and with the NFL.

“That’s important now with the legal process and let that play out,” Mangini said. “There is a legal process and the league has a process.”

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Browns notebook for May 27
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By Steve Doerschuk
CantonRep.com staff report
Posted May 27, 2009 @ 06:05 PM

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Inside Camp Mangini

Browns Head Coach Eric Mangini spent most of Wednesday’s practice positioned near key drills, taking notes, saying little.

One time, when players were slow getting into an offensive set, Mangini took a step forward and screamed two syllables at the top of his lungs.

The players moved into place. Quarterback Derek Anderson fired a sideline pass on which wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi made a shoestring catch.

Mangini went back to watching like a hawk, taking notes.

In recent years, swearing has been minimal when coaches bark at players. In the two 2009 practices open to the media, the air has been a good deal saltier.


Tucker at center

Even though Ryan Tucker is getting old, even though he played just one game last year, it will be a shock if he doesn’t make the team — as long as he avoids further injury.

When healthy, Tucker is a starter-quality player at any position except maybe left tackle. He is more respected by the Steelers than any other Browns lineman.

Tucker spent part of Wednesday’s practice at center, snapping to Anderson. He has snapped the ball only a handful of times since he was a Texas Christian center in the 1990s.

If rookie Alex Mack doesn’t seem ready to start at center, Tucker is one option to take the job Hank Fraley has held the last three years. Fraley got plenty of work at center Wednesday.

Tucker has proved he can play right guard and right tackle. He seems upbeat and animated, but his age is a concern. He turns 34 in two weeks. He wore a brace on each knee Wednesday.


Dawson vs. Douglass

Phil Dawson, a team captain last year and a Brown since 1999, has been absent from this month’s practices.

Mangini not so subtly mentioned that undrafted rookie Parker Douglass out of South Dakota State nailed a 52-yard field goal in one practice and has “done well with his opportunities.”

It’s a longshot that Dawson won’t be with the team. If his contract situation becomes untenable, though, and the Browns let him go, he will be unemployed for about 20 minutes.


Extra points

Mack was conspicuous in practice because at one point he changed into regular football pants. Everyone else was in orange shorts. It wasn’t clear why.


Jamal Lewis’ workload is increasing. The running back looked quick and crisp Wednesday after quarterback Brady Quinn flipped him a short pass. Lewis seemed to have no trouble changing directions on an ankle that gave him trouble last year.


On one play, wideout Lance Leggett got open deep along the left sideline. Quinn unloaded but was short. Leggett had to turn and wait a half second for the ball to arrive.


Mangini continues to talk around his innermost thoughts about his quarterbacks. He said Quinn’s and Anderson’s practice reps will be even.


Personnel groups were jumbled in Wednesday’s practice, making it hard to get a line on quarterback play.

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