DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Browns rookie minicamp and OTAs

I can't help but think that Mitchell somewhere down the line has showed something, I mean they keep him for some reason, maybe this year we will find out why.

He definitely seems to be a team guy... every time they show the Browns in the community on the website, he's there. I think he might be the kind of guy the coaches know will continue to work hard and stay focused, even if he's not getting a lot of snaps on the field or in practice.

I for one hope he pans out, he is big and fast.

Browns practice notes: No time for the dropsies
By Steve Doerschuk

Scenes from Tuesday’s full-squad Browns practice:

• Rookie Round 4 pick Travis Benjamin, who may be the fastest man in Berea, is finding out that NFL coaches are not slow to get on one’s case.

“Hey!” senior offensive assistant Nolan Cromwell barked after Benjamin ran a wrong route. “Outside release!”

Cromwell made sure Benjamin was in his path as the play broke up.

“You can’t miss that!” he said.

It was BÞnjamin’s first full-squad practice.

• Brandon Weeden does a little hop step when he releases the ball across his body on the run. Colt McCoy and Seneca Wallace throw such passes in stride. While Weeden’s release on rollouts seems unusual, the ball seems to get there fast.

• Tight end Ben Watson is back in the flow after losing the latter part of 2011 to a concussion. On one pass from Weeden, Watson’s only play was to hyperextend toward the ball with his right hand.

“I know you can make that catch,” tight ends coach Steve Hagen said as the ball skipped away. “I’ve seen you do it.”

• Defensive Coordinator Dick Jauron had been sporting a beard that was playing to mixed reviews. The beard is gone.

• A Brandon Weeden sideline pass went right into the palms of wideout Jordan Norwood and right out.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!” Norwood screamed.

Norwood is fighting for a roster spot, and each error is magnified.

• During an ESPN program featuring Brandon Weeden, Jon Gruden challenged the rookie about sounding forceful in the huddle.

In Tuesday’s practice, Weeden could easily be heard as he barked signals, but it was clear that veterans Colt McCoy and Seneca Wallace were better at “hard counts.”

A few times, McCoy and Wallace had defenders jumping early.

• It is obvious that cornerback Joe Haden and safety T.J. Ward are good buddies who have taken it upon themselves to be main men on a growing defense. They were the Browns’ first two picks of the 2010 draft.

• “Pee Wee! ... Pee Wee!”

A Browns coach yelled it loud enough for all of the neighbors in the Berea bungalows to hear.

It was a signal for defensive line coach Dwaine “Pee Wee” Board to close down a position drill and bring his guys across the way for 11-on-11 work.

“Pee Wee,” 55, was a 6-foot-5 defensive end for the 49ers in the 1980s.

• Running back Montario Hardesty and undrafted rookie wideout Josh Cooper collided and went down late in practice. Cooper fell particularly hard, but both men got up and resumed practice.

Hardesty, who wore No. 31 last year, has switched to No. 20. That was safety Mike Adams’ number in recent years.

• Colt McCoy looked and ducked, looked and ducked, looked and ducked. Over the course of six seconds, he couldn’t find a receiver. In a game, he would have been a sitting duck.

A defender laid a hand on him.

“Don’t touch the quarterback,” a coach yelled.

• Carlton Mitchell, a Round 6 pick in 2010, “flashed a little bit,” Shurmur said. Mitchell lost most of last year’s training camp to nagging injuries. His size (6-foot-3, 215 pounds) and athleticism are reasons the brass has been slow to write him off.

• Tackling is taboo until training camp in August, but linebacker D’Qwell Jackson suspects rookie running back Trent Richardson will be hard to handle.

“He passes the eyeball test,” Jackson said.

TOP TWO WIDEOUTS

The Browns are counting on Mohamed Massaquoi to have a breakout year.

At one point in Tuesday’s practice, one of the new coaches, Nolan Cromwell, loved what he saw from the 25-year-old wide receiver.

“Way to hit the route!” Cromwell said after catching a quick slant from Colt McCoy. “That was good work out there.”

Head Coach Pat Shurmur, meanwhile, said 2011 Round 2 pick Greg Little “has changed his body ... he looks much leaner.”

Of Massaquoi and Little, Shurmur said, “I would say those are our top two right now.”

‘HE’S NOT A SAFETY’

Head Coach Pat Shurmur was adamant about 33-year-old Sheldon Brown staying at the position he has played throughout his 10 NFL seasons.

“Sheldon is a cornerback,” Shurmur said.

What about using him at safety to shore up a thin position?

“We’re not going to do it,” Shurmur said.

At this point, 2011 Round 7 draft pick Eric Hagg appears to be the No. 3 safety behind starters T.J. Ward and Usama Young.

LEADING ‘PEC’ EXPERT

Nobody feels Phil Taylor’s pain like linebacker D’Qwell Jackson.

Jackson missed the last 10 games of the 2009 season after tearing a pectoral muscle. Then he sat out all of 2010 with a pectoral tear on the other side of his body.

Taylor, last year’s first-round pick, tore his left pec recently and is out indefinitely. Jackson thinks the big defensive tackle has a chance to play at some point in 2012.

“It’s not far-fetched,” Jackson said. “He’ll be fine. He’s a strong-willed player.

Several Browns agree that Taylor was primed for a big sophomore year and had whipped himself into great shape before a weight-room accident.

“We drafted two guys (John Hughes and Billy Winn) to play in there,” Jackson said. “They need to step up.”

FUJITA PRESSES FIGHT

Linebacker Scott Fujita expects his appeal of a three-game suspension to be heard next Wednesday in Philadelphia.

He was suspended for putting up money for bounty payments as a member of the New Orleans Saints.

“There will be a time when I will tell everything,” Fujita said after the Browns’ Tuesday practice.

For now, he will only say the allegations that resulted in his suspension are “not true.”

Fujita lashed out at the league in previous statements.

On Tuesday, he said, “the Browns have been incredibly supportive.”

EXTRA POINTS

• Placekicker Phil Dawson, who has been designated as the Browns’ franchise player a second straight year, was a no-show at Tuesday’s practice. Shurmur said he expects Dawson to attend a mandatory minicamp.

• Punter Reggie Hodges looked erratic Tuesday. He is trying to make it back from Achilles surgery that cost him the entire 2011 season.
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Browns: The stage is not big enough for both QBs

By Steve Doerschuk

BEREA —

The Browns have had their ships passing in the night.

Tim Couch drifted off as Jeff Garcia steamed in.

Garcia took off as Trent Dilfer was flying in.

There went Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson. Here came Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace.

This isn’t like that.

Brandon Weeden and Colt McCoy are sharing the same stage. It isn’t big enough for both of them, of course.

Early in their first spring practice together today, in a simple passing drill with no defense, McCoy backed up as he finished watching a throw. He didn’t see Weeden, and vice versa, as the rookie moved in to take his turn at the same throw.

They bumped. Weeden stumbled, caught his balance, and moved in for his turn.

This does not seem in question: Weeden was drafted in Round 1, despite going on 29, to be the Browns’ starting quarterback — now.

This remains to be seen: To what extent will Weeden and McCoy get in each other’s way?

Veteran linebacker D’Qwell Jackson is as curious as the next guy as to how the Browns’ quarterback derby will play out.

“That’s going to be the talk in Cleveland,” Jackson said. “It should be.”

Less than a month ago, the Browns drafted running back Trent Richardson at No. 3 overall, Weeden at No. 22 and right tackle Mitchell Schwartz at No. 37.

There is no pretense of seeing whether Richardson can beat out Montario Hardesty and Brandon Jackson.

“I keep reading that he’s a beast, a freak of nature,” veteran linebacker Scott Fujita said. “Those are things you like to hear.”

Weeden and Schwartz are in a time-honored game of charades. In today’s 11-on-11 work, McCoy was at quarterback and journeyman Oniel Cousins, not projected starter Schwartz, was at right tackle the first time the “ones” were on the field.

“I wouldn’t look out there and say, ‘This guy must be the starter,’” Head Coach Pat Shurmur said.

One could look out there and conclude, within the boundaries of subjective observation, that Weeden threw a prettier, more precise ball than McCoy.

The first evidence came early in practice, when the two were rehearsing throws, with an assistant coach catching the ball. On a throw from the left side of the pocket to the left corner of the end zone, Weeden sailed a spiral directly into a stationary coach’s hands, 40 yards in the air. McCoy was up next. His toss wobbled, took longer to arrive, and was slightly left of center.

Both went off the radar at times in 11-on-11s.

McCoy’s first pass to start one set was picked off by Chris Gocong. Another time, McCoy underthrew rookie Travis Benjamin on the right sideline. Another, third-year pro Carlton Mitchell had to break stride and pivot to a ball he couldn’t reach.

As was the case too often in 2011, McCoy was a hair off in throwing to some open receivers. A little pass was in the middle of Jordan Norwood’s body, rather than leading the slot receiver so he wouldn’t have to break stride.

Another time, second-year pro Jordan Cameron got in trouble with coaches for dropping a McCoy pass on the left hash. While it should have been a catch, Cameron had to reach across his body to his left hip, breaking stride slightly.

Weeden’s mistakes were less evident, with the exception of one sideline pass that wasn’t in the same zip code as former Arena League phenom Rod Windsor. Perhaps this is a sign that the staff is in confidence-building mode with Weeden, but the player who heard about it after that throw wasn’t the quarterback.

“Don’t give up on that!” a coach barked at Windsor, who would have needed twin side rockets on his pants to get it.

Two or three times, Weeden jammed in throws that stirred suspicions they might have been picks in full-speed situations.

On the mental front, Shurmur said McCoy — whose record as the 2011 starter was 4-9 — has been “fine ... he’s competing, like the rest of the guys.”

Of Weeden, Shurmur said, “He handled it well. He was generally efficient. He missed a couple of throws.”

Both McCoy and Weeden looked more comfortable on the field than they were when asked about coexisting.

McCoy steered questions on the topic to “what’s best for the Cleveland Browns.”

Weeden said, “We’re all in this as a team.”

McCoy said he never asked for a trade in the wake of Weeden being drafted on April 26 because he was told he will “have a chance to compete.”

“If it’s a fair competition,” he said, “that’s all you can ask for.”

Weeden said, “It’s not my job. I have to take it. ... I want to go out and win the job.”
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I think these reports prove that Weeden is a bust.

I Think they have proven that Colt is a God

I wish the media would just STFU about the QB situation and how each of them "feels". If they had to ask real football questions as sports writers, I suspect the best they could come up with would be questions that had self evident answers anyway. I swear I wonder HOW some of these guys got their jobs.

How do you think they feel?

This photo proves that McCoy is as tall as Weeden. He must have grown an inch or so in the offseason.

Weeden always has that tongue out when he is throwing. I wonder if he makes it through the season without biting it off. Seriously, that is a horrible habbit for a football player.

not really. you assume they're standing beside one another, and that the camera is at head level.

They gave Colt a phone book to stand on for the picture...

I think that he may have been joking about when I posted a picture of Luck and RG3 standing side by side that showed them to be almost the same height .....maybe Luck an inch or so taller ........ which everyone laughed at .......


Until, of course, they were measured, and Luck was about an inch or so taller ......

Clearly this picture shows that Weeden's hands are bigger but Colt has bigger feet...and they both have HOT girlfriends.

Also, our record will be 12 - 3 after fifteen games.

Also, Colt's helmet is too big because his chin does not even meet the chinstrap.

I wonder if Colt's wife knows about his hot girlfriend ...... lol

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The Browns are counting on Mohamed Massaquoi to have a breakout year.

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Mo may be the receiver many of us believed him to be. The kid has talent if we can keep him from getting laid out on a consistent basis.

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Those aren't ships... that's two gondolas, a kayak, a pair of dingies and some dude in an inflatable raft. Jake Delhomme was barely a set of water wings...

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ROFL! Thanks for this.

On word for Mo. Soft. The guy has no fight. He routinely let's DBs out fight him. It's pathetic.

I have to concur with Django's quote, I haven't seen from MoMass what many have claimed to seen. He hasn't really looked that good since Braylon Edwards was lining up opposite him in his rookie season, and when I say "that good" I mean, he flashed in the Cincinatti game, WHEN has he had that good a game since then? We continue to find excuses for MoMass but I stand with "I would have cut him with Robo..."

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Mo may be the receiver many of us believed him to be. The kid has talent if we can keep him from getting laid out on a consistent basis.

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I never saw ANY above AVG NFL talent from Massa...be it College or the NFL....he has underachieved for something like 6 straight years now. He had Stafford throwing to him and "woke up" the last half of his SR season, just enough to tease an idiot to draft him in the Top 50...and then he went back into stand by ever since....I never got or get the fascination with Massa, he's a no4 WR/backup no2 at best...he has a terrible body language, zero adjustments to balls in the air, AVG at best speed/seperation skills, same with hands....I would have cur him last offseason along with Robo.....there are so many Welker, Amendola, Bess, Lance Moore type WR around that are just waiting for a chance....this slacker has already wasted 5 years of chances and still steals a job...maybe this Cooper dude is this year's Lance Moore and I hope he or somebody else fights Massa off the team....I have lost all (little) confidence in this kid, he's not even a tease-player...he doesn't have enough talent to "flash" anything

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I think the kid can play at this level but I did not like his body language last year. He seemed disinterested. I am hoping having a QB with some deep ball accuracy can awaken his career.

I still believe the guy to keep an eye on will be Saffold. I know he is a very long shot but the kid has mad skills.

Problem is, MoMass isn't a deep ball player. He is neither fast or strong on the ball. Hopefully, we can find a replacement for him among the WRs we have in camp.

Massaqiou and Shaun Lavaou are charter members of the "Overrated Club"
He might look like Tarzan but he plays like Jane.
Basically all the WR's are being handed their jobs.
What incentive does Massaqiou have? The Browns didn't bring in a FA to push him for a starting job?
7 TDS in 3 years. wow. Funny how being average will keep you around a long time as a Brown.

To take a cue from the McCoy fans, look at who has been throwing to him......and this case, it applies.

Better QB play will make for better receiver play. I will hold judgement on MoMass for 8 more games. Lets see what happens with a better QB tossing the ball his way.

I think there will be alot of guys that run out of excuses this year. Personally I agree that Massaquoai deserve a little more time but if he, Mitchell, Norwood, Moore etc don't show it this year then the questions should be answered.

J/C

Does anyone have a link to the practice schedules for OTA's and Training camp? I can't find it anywhere.

http://espn.go.com/blog/afcnorth/post/_/id/47528/afc-north-ota-minicamp-dates

CLEVELAND BROWNS
•OTAs: May 22-24, May 30-June 1, June 12-15
•Minicamps: May 11-13 (rookies), June 5-7 (full team)

Thanks Pit!

Any time! I may be a gruff old dawg but when it comes to helping a fellow fan, anything I can do at any time!