DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Browns minicamp notes

No reporters were allowed into Friday minicamp. Local media will be admitted to todays workout for 15 minutes.

J/C
Well, it's not much but, it is the first look of JM throwing a pass. He gets the ball out faster than Shaw, for sure. Mini-Camp

YTown, People were itching for some news and I tried to add something here to give a little info from camp. At least we got 6 seconds worth of camp!
JM's footwork seems a little better than Shaw's from the 3.5 seconds we saw

Anyway ... Manziel threw 3 passes in the part of today's session open to the media .......

Johnny Manziel looks the part in Cleveland Browns first open rookie camp practice | cleveland.com
http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2014/05/johnny_manziel.html#incart_big-photo

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Browns rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel stretched and warmed up to the Jay-Z song Public Service Announcement in the Browns fieldhouse as about 40 members of the national media filed in.

The stretching period took up the bulk of media's 15 minute-window of Manziel's first open rookie camp practice, but then Manziel treated the throng to a few minutes of handoffs and play-action passes to his running backs in the flat. Just as he was about to begin throwing to his receivers, the open period expired.

With video cameras, still cameras and I-phones clicking away, Manziel went 3-for-3 on his passes, sold the fakes well and looked athletic and confident zipping around. He displayed the kind of swagger you'd expect from Johnny Football. He also looked small next to his big linemen, but that's Manziel: small but mighty.

Manziel stood talking between drills to quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains, who revealed to Arkansas ESPN on Thursday that Manziel texted him during the draft and said, 'I wish you guys would come get me. Hurry up and draft me because I want to be there. I want to wreck this league together.'

Loggains said, "When I got that text, I forwarded it to the owner and to the head coach (Mike Pettine). I'm like 'this guy wants to be here. He wants to be part of it.' As soon as that happened, Mr. Haslam said, 'pull the trigger. We're trading up to go get this guy.'''

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam stood in the middle of the field at the beginning of practice Saturday next to coach Mike Pettine, surveying his new crop of rookies, especially No. 2.

"When I decided to take this job in Cleveland, I knew that our owner liked Johnny a lot,'' said Loggains in his interview.

Loggains also revealed that he thinks Manziel has it what it takes to be an instant success.

"I think we can throw him out there right now and he's going to be one of the most exciting players in the NFL and run around and make plays like he did at Texas A&M (that) we all saw,'' Loggains said Thursday on Sports Talk with Bo Mattingly on ESPN Arkansas. "But there are some things fundamentally (he needs to work on). He needs to become more comfortable in the pocket.

"He needs to learn how to play under center. He spent a lot of time this offseason, went to George Whitfield out in California working on some fundamentals. There's some other things that he needs to continue to work on, but mainly playing in the pocket and being able to win on third down throwing the football.''

Manziel is schedule to address the media at about 12:30 for a few minutes.

J/C

I don't know how to post pictures, but I just saw some of Terrence West ... DEAR GOD is he enormous. He's as thick and muscular as he is tall!

Just Clicking

Nice article about Shaw..

http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/arti...45-3ebf4f74a368

He's the same weight as Jerome Bettis but 2 inches shorter.

J/C

I don't get why the media blackout for the minicamp...esp local media. For a an area that is football centric and the fans needing to feel good about the future, and the excitement over the draft and you basically don't have any coverage of it. Hell I would expect maybe some coverage by the team itself on the official site, but nothing. Don't make any sense.. I don't think the Browns could have handled this any worse.

Play like a backup! It goes without saying a rookie who has never taken a snap at the nfl level, or thrown a pass and doesn't know the playbook at all is a backup until they learn. Why did Haslam say play like a backup?,thats easy to figure out. Learn all you can, know that playbook inside out and work like a dawg to become the starter. All backups are told to be ready to play at any given time due to injuries and other factors. On another note. Haslam tells them to go get Manziel?, Yeah most likely he did. According to the qb coach JM was the number one rated qb on their board. He drops down the draft and they have the ammo to go get him making him our top rated qb for the future. Farmer or Petine or both say we have the chance to get our qb and he said go get him. If Haslam had to have him he would have told them to take him at 4 or 8 after moving back and up. They didn't! The Browns are limiting the national media to Manziel for this purpose. They will take anything, twist it around for a story and thats one thing the Browns don't want. Rookie mini camp is tough, they are being thrown everything at them but the kitchen sink. I believe they are trying to protect JM long enough to get him settled in and learning without the distractions which we all know will be stupedous at open camp. I see nothing wrong with their talk with Manziel or running their mini camp for the players not the media. Am I wrong, or is the media crap stirrers?

Paragraphs please.. that was hard to read.. thanks in advance

I just read that Ohio State linebacker Larry Grant is in camp.
Always liked Grant, he played very well for SF when they had MLB injuries.
I also read he had a 4 game PED & was in Chi. & KC briefly last yr. I hope he sticks long enough to show that previous form.

I know I'm not alone with this, but man, I'm hungry for some news out of camp.... Geesh...

I like news as much as anybody, but I kind of like this move.

New staff, rookies, a high profile rookie...limit distractions.


The media is going to be looking at results. like completed passes, catches, etc. At this point I don't think the staff gives a darn about that. They want to see guys in the right spot, making the correct calls, etc. They don't need the media writing about Manziel completing only 4 of 8 passes or how he seemed to be checking down.

At this point the staff just wants to be sure their guys are on their way to understanding terminology and learning the formations.

I get the curbing Johnny Manziel fever and all, but we haven't even had the other picks introduced to us. I mean other than Gilbert that is.

I mean there are 4 other picks and a couple of Vets and a whole mess of UDFA's Two in particular that I'd like to hear from, Shaw (the QB) and Crowell

I agree Peen.

From the article linked by the poster to whom you replied...

"The Browns won't be able to restrict access like this all the time, but coverage of rookie minicamp is up to the discretion of the club, and they took full advantage. It has yet to be determined how they'll handle their three open practices for organized team activities over the next few weeks, but they'll have to loosen the reins for mandatory minicamp June 10-12 per league rules."

The league allows teams their own discretion regarding media at these mini camps. That means they're doing nothing out of the ordinary as far as the rules are concerned. The league understands which is why they allow this.

Quote:

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They don't need the media writing about Manziel completing only 4 of 8 passes or how he seemed to be checking down.

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Exactly, and that's just the type of thing that would happen. To over-hype nothing in an effort to create a story. All that's going to come soon enough.

I'm fully on board with the way the team is handling this.

Kinda would like to see some video of the overall practices though. They wouldn't even have to show Johnny in any of them. I'm more interested in seeing Browns players in moving around doing something. Anything.

Yeah ok, but instead of still pictures, can the at least show some video?

Me too.

I understand what they are dealing with , ain't easy ! .. But JM isn't the only story in camp .. League rules will open things up soon enough //

Thanks Demo! I was busy and hadn't seen that.

possibly the Media attraction to JM will have 10 times the video and pic process of us putting in our new offense. We are limiting a lot of that not only to keep the focus on football for JM n other rookies but also not wanting to get extended looks of our new offense out there.

As for shunning national media - we Win we will have all the National exposure any team ever wanted especially if JM is at the helm!

jmho - Anyone else here thinks this Loggains QB coach is talking too much! I don't remember a QB coach quoted this much.

Completely agree about the handling of the media.

It's going to be a madhouse soon enough, no need to rush it. I don't need Tony Grossi or SalPal (as an example) telling me about the footwork of a QB in rookie camp, or the leg drive of a RB - I just need those rookies to be putting in the work and beginning to learn the Browns playbook.

Anyone else here thinks this Loggains QB coach is talking too much! I don't remember a QB coach quoted this much.


I don't think he should have been talking to the media at all and not sure from what I heard in the presser that pettine liked it but I do believe he was quoted so much just because of the subject matter. the press will run with any tidbit they get on manziel. exactly like they did teboe.

Well .... one national writer is on the Browns side concerning Manziel .....

NFL notes: Kudos to Browns with Manziel, NFL with suspended Mathis - CBSSports.com
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer/pat-...uspended-mathis

1. I like the Cleveland plan: The Browns organization knew there would be some backlash for not letting the national media in to watch Johnny Manziel practice but I like the way they handled the situation. It put the attention on the club and not the player. Until Manziel gets a grip on the job it helps him stay focused and away from issues he can't control like people reading into what he is doing at practice or speculating on how good or bad he looks at practice.

I've already read how Zach Mettenberger completed his first pass (a long bomb) or Derek Carr fumbled his first snap and those guys don't have near the spotlight Manziel has on him. I interviewed Johnny Football right after he was drafted and I was impressed with his attitude and plan to work his way into the NFL. Go watch his news conference from the practice facility and you will see a guy that knows he has to win the respect of the veterans and, as he said, "earn my keep." Those are words from a smart guy who does not want to turn off his teammates with self-promotion.

The day will come when he wins over his teammates and coaches and then we will see him as the leader and spokesman this club needs. GM Ray Farmer and coach Mike Pettine are helping Manziel, not hurting him, at this early stage of his development. Announcing him as the backup was brilliant and as Manziel said, "I don't want to be mediocre when I go out there."

Manziel called some of his off-field decisions at Texas A&M "reckless" but it doesn't appear he or the Browns intend on being reckless going forward. Monday I sit down with Farmer to discuss the plan and so far I'm in favor of it.

Good read.....and needless to say, I agree.

He is taking the hype and emotion out of the equation and using common sense and forethought...

Many of the so-called media pundits should seriously take note...

Why is it that the only people who worry about the national media are some Brown's fans?

So I supposed that at some point today or tomorrow, we'll hear about a few cuts.. right?