DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Friedman Resigns w/ Browns

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Browns | Friedman re-signs
Tue, 20 Mar 2007 13:12:45 -0700

The Cleveland Browns have re-signed OL Lennie Friedman to a one-year deal. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Solid depth move. I like the guy not the most physically talented but i would go to war with him. He is a fighter.

If, true.....WHOOHOO

Lennie, I felt was a priority, because they we go through Olineman, we is a nice insurance policy come something happen to Steinbach (God, please no) or McKinney or even Fraley.

What is interesting about this move is that we now have 5 offensive linemen on the roster who have experience playing center:

Bentley
Fraley
McKinney
Friedman
Steinbach

Granted Steinbach doesn't have much experience there and Bentley might not play this year but the other 3 have extensive experience at the position. I have to wonder if Phil is thinking "I'll be damned if I'm going to go through the center circus again this year."

A low profile but solid move. I liked what I saw out of Friedman and by about game 4 or 5, I was rooting for him to start over Andruzzi.

He'll never be mistaken for an All-Pro, but a hard worker type who goes in and does his damndest to do his job.

Plus it'll be refreshing to have a backup quality player as an actual backup rather than starting....

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(I played it for 10 years, I have to say that)

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In the NFL?

Don't you hate the fact that resigns and resigns are spelled exactly the same?

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Those of us who can spell read the title of this thread as "Friedman resigns" (as in, Friedman decides to leave his job with the Browns).

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I can spell, yet i understood it.

I think this means goodbye Andruzzi. Especially if we get someone in the draft.

Nothing wrong with a little depth!

The closer and closer we get to the draft, the more I think Joe Thomas is not coming to Cleveland.

How many OL do we have on our roster now, and how many do you all think we will keep?

j/c:

I actually thought he played pretty good last year when given the opportunity. Good move.

The only thing I am worried about is Savage thinking he doesn't need to draft offensive linemen to build a good line.

Look at all the guards:
Steinbach
Andruzzi
Friedman
Matua
Sowells
Hoffman
McKinney
Smith can play guard
What the heck is going on? Will Matua and Smith be sent back to the practice squad? Does it mean that no interior linemen will be drafted this year? I can't see drafting an interior lineman at this point. Will Andruzzi be cut? Will Steinback move to left tackle? Will Sowells be moved to back-up tackle to replace N. Dorsey? The interior of the line is getting very crowded. I'm just trying to read some tea leaves. And what about that tight end that was just signed? Free agency is about over, yea right, Phil!

Good decision to keep him, besides lack of talent on the OL, we were seriously lacking depth. That looks to be changing slightly this year.

I'm happy for the signing... nothing like cannon fodder for camp and sort out what's left ....

J/C


Good move...another decent player who gives us some options.

Right now I see this without Andruzzi seeing he might be the cut if we draft a lineman.


Steinbach- G/T
Shaffer- T
Fraley- C
McKinney- G/C
Tucker- T
Friedman- G/C
Butler- T
Rob Smith- G/C
Sowells- G/T

I really think that is the core of this years line.

Anybody added will probably be a guard/tackle like Sears, or a later round tackle.

I see a good balance of youth and experience in that group with some versitility giving us options if needed.

Vers and Line Dawg,,,

It could indicate that Phil is planning on passing on some linemen in the draft that we would like to see here..

But what I really think it means is one of two things,, either we are going to go after Thomas and nobody else for the line,,,,which wouldn't be totally bad or we are going for someone else in the first and will address some Guard and Tackle spots later,,, And that might not be horrible either..

The thing I don't want to see is for him to completely ignore the Line in the draft,,, that spells nothing but trouble down the road a few years...

I'd like to think Phil isn't that stupid

I don't know that it would be a killer...but he probably will select 1 player...just depends who we want to cut...I listed 9 without Druzzi...we won't keep 11 players.......plus...i didn't check the practice squad for any possible prosopects we have stuffed there.

Friedman was a 1 year deal go he isn't long term

don't forget Tucker was a Center out of college.

Great Depth move, lord knows we can use it.

We are all trying to read tea leaves at this time of the year. Almost every thread seems to turns into a draft thread. Acquiring all these interior linemen could mean:
just about anything

If Friedman is not the LAST guy off the bench, then our O-line still needs a lot of work.

I just hope he does take a least one Oline guy in this draft,,, please,,please

Stop it , stop it , stop it ; your making me nervous now

Right now I see this without Andruzzi seeing he might be the cut if we draft a lineman

Huh?

Uhhh can you just say Druzzi is probably the one to get cut?
Younger guys are being brought in ...to mold and put out there..guys who can play multiple positions..
Anyway I want to throw something out there...
What struck me though is how many roster sports we currently have spent on interior offensive linemen.

Let's just take a look:

Eric Steinbach
Hank Fraley
Seth McKinney
Joe Andruzzi
Rob Smith
Isaac Sowells
Lennie Friedman
LeCharles Bentley
Andrew Hoffman
Fred Mutua

That is TEN interior lineman on the roster currently. Obviously a guy like Bentley is going to be IR, so we're down to 9. You don't keep 9 in the roster. You keep probably 5. Three starters (Steinbach, Fraley, ?McKinney?) and two versatile backups. Freidman gives you a G/OG with experience. Andruzzi could easily be kept because of his experience, or he could just as easily be cut come June 1st or in camp.

Is Sowells going to a future guard or RT? His one NFL start was doing spot duty at RT. Could a young guy be kept to develop like Mutua or Smith? And there are even going to be UDFA's brought in as well. Quite a few will be cut.

This brings me to my thoughts on the draft. I TEND TO wonder with this re-signing is Phil done addressing that part of the offense this offseason?
Or is he just trying to accumilate the best bodies ?
I really don't see a top draft pick being brought in as well. What I do see is that if we go Oline at all; the emphasis will now be placed at OT. Specifically finding someone to develop as a future starter at RT.

Those names we've all thrown around like Grubbs, Sears, and Blalock; should likely morph into Ugoh, Marten, and Staley.

Here's our OT's :
Shaffer
Tucker
Dorsey
Butler

Somebody has to go..

Just clicking...
1. Friedman n McKinney are both 1 year contracts.

neither is an acclaimed starter and one was out all last season with a Disc problem.

This doesn't assure them a spot on the 53 man roster. How much is guaranteed? Signing bonus? that would be the only hit if we released them.

2. We can still draft two OL and draft 2 high...even 1. 2. rounds both for that matter.

I think we will carry 9 OL on the 53 man roster.

We got 7 that are pretty 90% locked.
Shaffer, Steinbach, Fraley, Sowells, McKinney, Tucker n Butler.

we got Lenny, Smith, Matua n Andruzzi in the wings. Hoffman if you believe he's even a thought.

Andruzzi at 3 mil hit will be gone unless he is annointed the RG spot.

Our entire OL has only one young drafted variable. Sowells

That is a SICKLY PREDICAMENT...JUST SICK! and sorry I don't count a 6th round NT Hoffman.

We have 3 Extremely high priced FA that we must account for now. Shaffer, Steinbach and Bentley.

Bentley will be back maybe not this year but he will be back.

These guys are not as long term as people perceive. The salaries are back loaded.

They have to be on supreme Pro-Bowl playing quality status to be kept in the future.

The Cap will reach its ceiling...with all NFL teams including us.

We finally will be hitting HRs with draft picks. Jones, KW2, Wimbley and hopefully more...when it comes time for 2nd contracts. Do we just let them GO? or are we going to release the Overpaid FA OLmen? tick tock tick tock...

These FA pickups are for NOW we desperately need an OL for now nobody can fault Savage for that.

But he is no fool.

He knows all we got from the draft so far is Sowells.

We need to replace probably all of these veterans eventually with Draft picks.

Fraley is like the only reasonably signed FA that looks to stay the entirety of their contract. The rest are nowhere as Long Term as people perceive.

In 5 years we need almost an entire turnover of starters in place.

This will come from the draft.

We need Quality OLmen desperately.

I don't know if its Thomas, 2nd rounder or 3-5, thats up to Savage...but he will invest in OL we are much, much more desperate for OL than people perceive.

Got to look past the Duct Tape Dawgs

JMHO

Just clicking...

What did you guys think of Lennie when he came in last season?

I think he got a lot of christmas cards from defensive lineman.

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1. Friedman n McKinney are both 1 year contracts.

neither is an acclaimed starter and one was out all last season with a Disc problem.

This doesn't assure them a spot on the 53 man roster. How much is guaranteed? Signing bonus? that would be the only hit if we released them.

2. We can still draft two OL and draft 2 high...even 1. 2. rounds both for that matter.

I think we will carry 9 OL on the 53 man roster.

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Yeah i was gonna say. One year contract that's probably league min like no signing bonus. He's just competition at camp i'm thinking. Andruzzi will prob be let go if he doesn't show a major improvement this year from last (wasn't he injured last year). I don't think it will mean we won't draft O-Line. I wouldn't be surprised if we're looking at like Ugoh though in the 2nd or 3rd and not a stellar guard (which is so important to me).

Don't panic people, this doesn't mean we won't draft O-Line. I think we're just trying to get more people in here so we have more of a choice of who we want to weed out and who we don't.

No the sentenced you typed made me go , what?