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The fastest man in Berea, and the bunnies
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By Steve Doerschuk

We enjoyed a chat for with Travis Benjamin after today’s practice.
We asked him to participate in our annual poll to identify the “fastest man in Berea.” We mentioned our vote would be for Travis Benjamin.
Benjamin’s call: “Travis Benjamin.”
It’s only bragging when you can’t back it up. Based on his former track times, chatter with scouts and live-from-Berea eyeball tests, Benjamin is indeed the fastest man in Berea ... in contention for “fastest ever.”

Last year's fastest man was Armond Smith, an undrafted running back. There was no room at the inn on this year's roster, with Trent Richardson arriving and Brandon Jackson returning.

Smith is recent proof raw speed isn't enough to pocket all those "Benjamins" the NFL has to offer.
Travis Benjamin will have a lot of proving to do, since he was just a mid-round draft pick ... and since Josh Gordon dropped out of the sky recently.

Benjamin developed his speed while growing up in Belle Glade, Fla.
He was in junior high in Belle Glade when Santonio Holes was a senior at Belle Glade High School.
Holmes wound up winning a Super Bowl for a Pennsylvania team with the kind of play Benjamin hopes to bring to Cleveland.
We recall from covering the Super Bowl that year that one of the interesting stories that came up during the week was how Holmes used to chase rabbits in Belle Glade.
We asked Benjamin about the story.
“I chased rabbits,” he said with a big grin from one of the park benches in the shade along a practice field. “A lot of us did.”
He looked out over the practice complex, a sprawl of four gridirons.
“It was on a big field like this,” he said.
He chased wild rabbits while he was in high school.
“They were really fast,” he said.
Yes, he has seen the scene in one of the Rocky movies in which the boxer’s training includes catching a chicken. Rabbits are faster than chickens.
Yes, Benjamin says. Sometimes he caught the rabbit.
It’s good for the Browns to know that the rookie is so fast that he can catch a rabbit. It’s just as good for them to see him catching the football now.
He has doing that better in training camp than he did in spring practice. If he keeps it up, he can be one of the reasons the Browns catch Santonio Holmes’ old team.
• • •
Don’t get too carried away with the report everyone will be writing:
Montario Hardesty looked like a real player in camp today.
Not that Hardesty didn’t turn a few fast corners and look like he can be a factor at running back, behind Trent Richardson.
“He looks healthy and fresh,” is the way Pat Shurmur put it. “That’s as good as I’ve seen Montario look.”
There was no live tackling. Let’s see how he looks at Detroit two Fridays from now when there is.
• • •
Brandon Weeden threw a conspicuous pick today, but everyone, including him, brushed it off.
The one that made the big camp crowd groan during an 11-on-11 was during a “third and long” segment when experimentation is encouraged. Part of the purpose is for the young QB to see what he can get away with.
After practice, Shurmur brightened when asked about Weeden’s progress. Weeden seemed fired up about the overall progress he made from Saturday’s practice to today’s.
“The passes I missed yesterday, I was nailing today,” Weeden said.
Shurmur told Weeden not to worry about the pick, but to make sure he develops a willingness to check down when the play he prefers isn’t there.
• • •
All morning long, Weeden ran the “ones.” The crowd was very responsive to him. There was an inkling Saturday of an outside chance that Weeden might crumble and put Colt McCoy back in the hunt. There was no such inkling today.
• • •
The second-fastest man in Berea, probably, is cornerback Buster Skrine. Skrine is being evaluated as an eventual replacement for aging Sheldon Brown.
Shurmur talks of Skrine’s eventual ascent into a starting role as a matter of “when.”
• • •
We’ll keep you posted on assorted topics right here on Fresh Brownies, but we turn now to our newspaper workload.
What better way to help the local economy (We’ll have three kids in college this year) than by catching our stories outside this nook on cantonrep.com and The Repository?
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Mints rio Hardesty had impressed me. He looks quick and decisive.

Quote:

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The second-fastest man in Berea, probably, is cornerback Buster Skrine. Skrine is being evaluated as an eventual replacement for aging Sheldon Brown.
Shurmur talks of Skrine’s eventual ascent into a starting role as a matter of “when.”

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Nice. Always good to get a starting cornerback in the fifth round.

I am looking forward to watching Skrine play this year.

Richardson enjoys the contact

Posted 1 hour ago

By Matt Florjancic, Staff Writer

The first full pads practice of training camp was something new Browns running back Trent Richardson enjoyed on Sunday morning.

Long ago, Trent Richardson accepted the fact that getting hit came with being a running back and the No. 3 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft embraced an opportunity to put on the full pads for the first time in training camp Sunday morning.

The Browns kicked off a stretch of eight full pads practices over the next 10 days leading up to the Family Night session at Cleveland Browns Stadium Aug. 8, and the preseason opener at the Detroit Lions Aug. 10.

“It felt good out here in pads,” Richardson said. “Everybody’s getting their sea legs back and getting back into the groove of hitting with good thuds and good contact. It felt good. I love contact and football’s a contact sport, so if you don’t love contact, you’re in the wrong sport.

“That’s when I really do what I do best. I get to bounce off guys or run guys over, break tackles. It’s different when you’re in pads. I think when I get into full pads, it’s a whole different me. That’s not to be cocky or anything, but it’s my confidence in my game and that’s what I was blessed with.”

Head coach Pat Shurmur and offensive coordinator Brad Childress elected to feature the running game on Sunday morning in front of a record crowd of 4,200 fans at the team’s Berea training facility. Although the Browns displayed a commitment to running the football on Sunday, Richardson sees the Browns as “a more balanced team.”

“I just think our offense is going in a good direction,” Richardson said. “As far as focusing on the running game, I think we’re going to be strong. We’ve got a good running back corps; we’ve got a good running back coach; we’ve got a good offensive line coach. Our offense is prepared for anything and so, I don’t think we’re just going to be a running team. I think we’re going to be a balanced team. We’ll be ready for whatever.”

Richardson ran for 3,130 yards and 35 touchdowns in his University of Alabama career.

Last year, Richardson became the Crimson Tide’s feature running back following the departure of Mark Ingram, a Heisman Trophy winner who was a first-round pick of the New Orleans Saints in April 2011. In his only year as the feature runner, Richardson gained 1,679 yards and scored 21 touchdowns, both of which were single-season school records.

Even with the success, Richardson has taken a mental approach to his football career and said there is “only pressure when you make it pressure.”

“All of it is on preparation,” Richardson said. “Every day, every minute that we’re doing the playbook stuff or every minute we’re in the weight room, every minute we’re out here doing something extra before practice or after practice, just being a person off the field that’s doing stuff for the community, everything is getting ready mentally for the game. The game’s 80 percent mental and 20 percent physical and everything I do is in preparation for the game.”

During Sunday’s practice, Richardson put that “20 percent physical” on display. After catching a screen pass from rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden, Richardson made consecutive cut-backs to get past Browns defenders.

His play drew cheers from the fans.

“I really just let my eyes do the work,” Richardson said of his cut-back ability. “I’ve been blessed with good timing. At ‘Bama, they used to make us do a lot of cut-back drills and, ‘See beyond your pads,’ as they used to tell us. Here, I just took everything I learned from there and Little League and in my whole life and just bring it to today. I just bring how I’ve been coached anywhere, even here, and put it all to my game. I just play football.”



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Weeden challenges self, teammates

Posted 48 minutes ago

By Matt Florjancic, Staff Writer

Browns quarterback Brandon Weeden is not afraid to test the waters by throwing in a tight window or airing out a pass down the sideline to one of his wide receivers.

During his collegiate career, new Cleveland Browns quarterback Brandon Weeden completed 767 of 1,103 attempts for 9,260 yards and 75 touchdowns against 27 interceptions. Just 2.45 percent of his career attempts resulted in interceptions.

In the Browns’ first full pads practice Sunday at the team’s Berea training facility, Weeden tested the defense during a 7-on-7 drill. Second-year safety Eric Hagg was able to intercept one of Weeden’s throws, but the first-year quarterback came back and completed passes to wide receiver Travis Benjamin and running back Trent Richardson later in the drill.

“You’ve got to pick your spots,” Weeden said of testing a defense. “For me, it’s 7-on-7. Just take your shots, take your shots down the field, try to make those throws that are difficult throws because, fortunately, there’s no one in the stands and there’s no scoreboard. You can kind of be aggressive and I’m an aggressive thrower. Coach (Pat) Shurmur told me after practice, ‘I don’t want to take anything away from your aggressiveness, but if it’s not there, check it down.’ I understand that completely.”

Shurmur said Weeden’s decision to challenge the defense was a product of the situational drills being run during practice. The team’s 7-on-7 drill was third-and-long.

“Those are challengeable throws and it’s tight,” Shurmur said. “Third-and-long is a tough down, so you saw them trying to see what they could get away with a little bit, trying to get the first. In training camp, you try to go through everything. There was one throw he tried to see what he could get with Benjamin, but he said, ‘In a game, I’d just drop that down to Trent.’ There’s learning within what you see and that happens all the time.”

That learning Shurmur spoke of is something Weeden prides himself on as a professional athlete. Weeden acknowledged spending post-practice time watching film of his mistakes and said he is up past midnight to study the plays for the following day’s work on the field.

In addition to studying his playbook or watching film on his defense, decision-making and timing are two of the things Weeden has worked on during practice.

“You’ve got to see what you did wrong and then, try not to make it again,” Weeden said. “Yesterday, I didn’t throw some balls like I normally do, but I think the throws I missed with yesterday, I was spot-on today. I corrected my mistakes by watching film and preparing at night.

“It’s getting better every day. Even the first day back here, you’re still learning it -- the speed of the game -- and you’re getting used to the guys again, but today was really good. We threw the pads on, competed and it was more like a game situation with a four-minute offense and stuff like that. It’s getting better; it’s getting a lot better.”

Shurmur noted that although Weeden is “not getting banged around” in practice, his quarterback is a quick study on making improvements.

“I can think of a handful of mistakes he made today that he’ll never do again,” Shurmur said. “He’s had a chance to practice it, so it won’t show up again. That’s what I’ve learned, if he does something and he hasn’t done it right, then, he’s in there looking at it and he’ll come out and that mistake won’t happen again.”
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Observations from 1st day in pads
Posted by Vic Carucci on July 29, 2012 – 6:24 pm

By Vic Carucci, Senior Editor

Here are some observations from the Browns’ first day in pads at training camp:

>>There was some typical sloppiness that comes from the first day of contact drills. The dramatic surge in practice tempo always catches rookies off-guard, and it even seemed to have a few of the veterans a little wobbly at times. You saw miscommunication between quarterbacks and receivers, some misfired throws, a fumbled snap, and the need for regrouping among offensive players and coaches here and there. A little more yelling could be heard from the coaches than was the case during the previous two days of camp. Again, very ordinary stuff for the first day of pads.

>>Brandon Weeden looked very much like a rookie quarterback at times. He made some poor decisions, one of which led to an interception. But the errors he did make were mostly out of his willingness to challenge the defense deep with his strong arm. Weeden calls himself an “aggressive thrower,” and that has been evident throughout the first few days of camp. He performed better on Sunday than he did on Saturday, largely because he is a perfectionist and took the time (staying up until past midnight Sunday) to study the corrections he needed to make.

>>The fan support was absolutely inspiring. The crowd of roughly 4,200 was the most for a single practice session since the team began tracking camp attendance in 2005. It says that people are pretty excited about the infusion of talent from the draft and supplemental draft, and anxious to see what sort of strides have been made to improve over last year. It also says that it was a great way to spend picture-perfect, sun-splashed day.

>>The emphasis Sunday was on running the ball, because that’s what contact best allows the coaches to assess. And for the most part, what the Browns did in that area was encouraging. The offensive line got its share of victories. Guards Jason Pinkston and Shawn Lauvao were particularly impressive. The Browns did bulk of their running to the left, behind Pinkston and left tackle Joe Thomas.

>>Several passing plays included five-step drops, which allows for longer routes to develop. Browns coach Pat Shurmur clearly has plenty of confidence in Weeden, his offensive line, and his receivers to take that approach in what he no doubt sees as a more attack-oriented passing game.

>>The defensive line was mostly solid inside, despite the absences of tackles Ahtyba Rubin and Phil Taylor. Rookie tackles John Hughes and Billy Winn had some turns to work next to each other, and looked good. Veterans Brian Schaefering and Scott Paxson also worked together in the middle. Make no mistake: The sooner Rubin and Taylor return, the better, but in the meantime, but the Browns do have some decent answers. Rubin is expected to return soon, although Taylor is likely to miss part of the regular season.

>>Montarrio Hardesty stole the show at running back. He showed exceptional speed and explosiveness on outside runs, and held his own between the tackles. Hardesty definitely has entered this camp wanting to make a statement that, despite Trent Richardson being selected with the third overall pick and already being named the starting running back, he is still capable of making a significant contribution.

>>Richardson caught everyone’s attention when he snagged a short pass from Brandon Weeden, made a quick cut and then tore upfield in a flash.

>>Rookie receiver Josh Gordon continued to show his exceptional physical skills by running smooth routes, catching the ball well, and utilizing all of his 6-foot-3, 225-pound frame to separate from defenders.

>>Receiver Greg Little did some work from the slot. The idea is to find a way to have him and Gordon on the field as much as possible with the other receivers as much as possible, although it seems to be a role with which he will need some time to get comfortable. web page

Drrrooooollll. More info, more info . . .

Thanks for the updates, guys!

Video of Brandon Weeden after practice.

I love how Shurmur talks about him making a mistake, then looking at it to see why he made that mistake, and "never making that same mistake again". I also like how Weeden talked about the depth on the team ..... and I thought ..... "He could be right". We could, all of a sudden, have depth at OL, WR, TE, and RB. If Hardesty continues as he has started, then he'll be the #2 guy. That leaves Ogbonnaya and Jackson to fight it out for #3. TE is a deep positon for us, with guys who have different kinds of abilities. WR is definitely the wild card ...... but if Gordon continues on the path he's started, and Massaquoi also stays healthy and fast like he's shown so far ..... with Little continuing to grow and develop, and then add in speedster Benjamin to the mix and we could have some nice depth.

I don't want to get too far ahead of myself in thinking that these guys are better than they might be ..... but there seem to be a lot of young, professional guys who want to be successful, and are willing to do whatever they can to make themselves successful. Many of the guys showed up in far, far better shape than a year ago .... which means that they are listening and paying attention to what they need to do if they want to be the best they can be.

I'm a little more than cautiously optimistic.

The second video is the Mary Kay Cabot report for the day.

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2012/07/cleveland_browns_brandon_weede_1.html

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2012/07/mary_kay_and_branson_wright_re.html

Training camp daily was pretty good tonight. Weeden was making some very nice throws and I liked hearing Joe haden talking about how he would go to him and ask why did you break on that ball so quickly. Good stuff in there.

McCoy being ripped for dropping back, then dropping back some more and running around before he threw it drawing boos from the crowd is great motivation for him to learn to get it out quicker. Saw RG3 do the same thing, on the skins camp show and fans were cheering. Kid is gonna get killed.

It is amazing that the guy that is really getting all the love is Gordon. I mean to see Jim Donovan looking for words to describe Gordon says it all. Heck Grossi last night lit up like a Christmas tree talking about the kid.

The screen to Richardson was very impressive but wow Hardesty looks like that back out of Tenn. we thought we were getting. Maybe he was just one of those guys that needed more time to recover from the knee but if he can get in 7 or 8 runs a game

Forgot to add, Benjamin just keeps flashing and Mo wasn't looking to shabby either.

You can listen to BW and tell he isn't your normal rookie. He gets it and you can tell he is trying to exhibit the leadership necessary at the position. He's going to be a vet by game 6.

J/K

I know it's early, but it's a whole diffrent ball game when your team has some depht. Knowing it your spot to lose is alot diffrent when it's your spot to earn. This effects the result during the season also.

yeah, massaquoi has been making some nice catches in the cut-ups of TC footage I've seen. Hopefully he won't have to adjust to the ball in the air as he needed to the last two years, so his weaknesses won't show up as much.

That could be a strong instance of the QB making the WR better if ti unfolds that way.

Good point.

I think Momass needs to be used as a vertical threat. He won't burn guys but he can stretch the field. He's never been a YAC guy.

j/c

Went to camp today, so here are my thoughts:

QB: There is an obvious difference between Weeden's arm and McCoy's arm. Weeden's ball just gets to where it needs to be on time. McCoy's ball is always a step late. It's a noticeable difference, because instead of receivers reaching back for a pass, the ball is right where it needs to be. Weeden sometimes overthrows where he needs to put the ball, but it seems like every time he does overthrow, it's near a sideline. I think Wallace is a better backup than McCoy too. McCoy is not advanced enough mentally to make up for the lack of velocity on his ball.

RB: Richardson is a tank, yet can move extremely well. His one cut and run approach is great and I cannot wait to see what it's like in full contact in a game. Hardesty is obviously much more slim and much quicker this year. He looks very good in practice. If he has the right instincts, then he'll be a GREAT #2 RB. Also, Brandon Jackson knows how to make all the moves. His cut backs are perfectly timed and catch an over pursuing defense. Obi-Wan is awful. RB is definitely the strength of this team. Also, I prefer Smelley to OM. Smelley is bigger, stronger, and more instinctive with some good hands.

WR: Gordon is an absolute monster. He bullies DB's around and makes a huge target for the WR. He'll fight for balls and literally beat up the DB while doing so. Little was very solid today as well, although he did have a couple of drops. The surprise player was Mo Mass without a doubt. He was making a lot of catches, looking like a very solid #2 guy. I think they have 3 guys who are very good and all provide some different things. I think Norwood got hurt some today, as he was hardly out there. Other Guys of note include Josh Cooper, who seems to have carved out a niche as a guy who gets open underneath the coverage, and I liked what I saw from Benjamin. Although he couldn't get open, he was making some solid, over the middle catches.

TE: Watson is still solid, Cameron has made some strides, although either guys are missing him or he's not getting open enough, and Alex Smith is one of the worst football players I have ever seen. Also of note: Dan Gronkowski was a good player today. I'd keep him over Smith, JMO.

OL: They struggled today, and I'll tell you why later. Obviously the line has a feel, and there is no pressure coming from up the middle or the left side. Mitchel Schwartz had some problems today, but for his second day in pads as a pro, I expect him to struggle against...who he was going up against. Of note: Ryan Miller is one of the biggest people I have ever seen. He played LT and he is just a road grating run blocker. Not much in pass protection. Also, this group is feisty. One minor skirmish and one bigger fight today between the OL and DL.

DL: Sheard is an animal. He was destroying Schwartz all day and I was standing right in front of the DL drills. He's fast, he's strong, he's just a well built, fast, strong, smart player. He's going to the pro bowl in a few years. Billy Winn is also memorable. That guy is all speed and quickness. He needs to work on his strength but he's showing good technique and he had a non-stop motor today. I did notice Frostee Rucker working with a lot of the younger guys today, teaching them hand placement and how to take control of their man. Rucker looked good. John Hughes is a big dude, built thick. He's got average quickness and speed but once he refines his technique, he'll be tough to break past. Benard was the first one to the next drills and was working hard, being much more vocal than I ever remember. I think he realizes that he . up last year and he's working hard to get better.

LB: Didn't notice D'Qwell or Gocong today. Fujita was out there, not much more to say. The one guy who was probably the most impressive guy in camp today was JMJ. Two picks on passing plays and he absolutely MURDERED someone on the goal line. The play happened right in front of me and I felt the ground shake when he hit Richardson. I think this guy is going to be a Day 1 starter. Acho is also a big guy that they were playing at Middle Linebacker. JMJ was outside.

DB: Haden made a couple of pass breaks, Ward knocked a guy on his ass by just tapping him with his shoulders. Didn't notice any DB getting beat deep, and I did notice how solid of coverage Hagg had on a lot of guys. The guy is a big, rangy safety that we have been looking for. He is in for a big year, I think.

Overall, this team will live and die by their QB play. Unlike last year, the QB will have a lot of weapons between Watson, Richardson, Little, and Gordon. The defense will be solid, middle of the road team, especially with Rubin and Taylor back. If we can get good, consistent QB play, I think 7-9 wins is possible. If Weeden struggles, like I do expect him to do, I think 5 wins is about what we'll see. Team is definitely on the right path, though.

Awesome, thanks for posting.

Willie likey!

Thanks!

Thanks for the post. Schwartz vs. Sheard will only make both guys better. I am ready for some preseason football lol Lions front 4 vs. our OL will be a good test.

Not a problem at all.

I feel like if I'm going to go, I could at least fill ya'll in.

BTW, in case you are wondering, I felt like every guy we drafted from years present and past were easily the most impactful players on the field. I ironic enough, I think JMJ was the best player on defense, although Sheard was giving him a serious run. I need to see JMJ in the first team.

On offense, Richardson and Gordon were clearly the two most talented, no doubt in my mind.

Nice report!
Mostly, I love hearing about the rookies. We need new blood around here.

thats true.

I just hope that Suh doesnt try to rip Weeden's head off

thx for posting..

JMJ is going to be that dude!! It's just something about him. I think he will start from day 1.

Thanks for posting. Its exciting to read a fans perpective on things going on in camp and the things they see.

Great post. Thank you much.

Yeah, excellent post. Thanks.

thanks tbbd. wish some of the "journalists" would get a clue and bring reports like this back from camp for the rest of us.

Thanks for the report.

My pre-season prediction for Sheard this coming year is 13+ sacks. I think that he'll be a great learning tool for Schwartz as he develops.

My feelings about Weeds are well known, so I'm glad to read how much further along as a pure passer than last year's starter was.

Outstanding notes : Thanks a million !