DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Browns mini camp...Phase 3: May 26-29, June 1-4, June 8-12

Some good (general) information in that article. It may be fluff, but it appears that Gilbert has had a major attitude adjustment...

i have high hope for gilbert. lets face it. everyone in the nfl are athletic freaks. but he is a athletic freak among athletic freaks. only his attitude can hold him back.

i dont believe that about johnny. i dont think he is athletic enough to play in the nfl. JMO.

So do I and I believe it to be had by most. He was my choice at the #9 (moved up to #8) spot so I have a "vested interest" in him doing well...

Fluffy, fluff, fluff.

Jun 11, 2015 -- 4:07pm
By Tony Grossi | ESPNCleveland.com



Take what I can get from Mr. Positive.

I don't know how I missed this post but great post Vers. Don't hold your breath waiting for an answer though. And if your ever able to actually hold these folks down and get a straight answer you'll only be disappointed by their logic or lack of...Sad

j/c:

Lots of great quotes from the coaches right now.....


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Thank you for putting that post together Memphis.

As always, it is my pleasure.

I really dont want Gabriel on returns. He is very small and he is our best receiver and our only true deep threat.

Yes, I don't think it is implied Erving is the starter at RG. Just that he'll line up at RG when he is on the field. That could easily (and most likely) be with the second team when TC begins. From there, who knows?

Overall, I take it as Greco and Erving competing to start at RG Week 1. At this point, Greco has the leg up.

Hell, if he is a kick returner, he won't get many chances anyways.

Erving isnt a tackle and hopefully they know that by now. He is an interior linemen and if he is as good as we hope, he should beat out a very talented Grecco. likely below average to average tackle or potential probowl interior linemen

I get where you're coming from, but, at the same time, it is football. Where do you draw the line? Do you not have him run crossing routes either?

Tabor is still touting Benji as the guy, so let's hope he's right. I don't want Gabriel hurt, either.

Yeah, I'd be shocked if they kept him at RG, I anticipate him dabbling and getting work in at RT too. Probably even center. They've already been moving him around in otas and etc.

Got to love the versatility he brings.

Looks like Mayle is catching balls now.

Browns' Receivers Vine

And to think people questioned his hands. [/purple?]

He's got a red jersey on, he knows there will be no contact. Let's see what he can do when he's in pads and is able to take off the red jersey and encounter some contact.

I gotta say though, he's a big WR! So is that Smith guy.

Browns defensive coordinator Jim O'Neil transcript - June 18, 2015

Posted 59 minutes ago

Clevelandbrowns.com@Browns Facebook




He talks up Cleveland D to cap mini-camp





Opening statement:
“When we met earlier in the spring, we talked a lot about our goal for the defense was to win the offseason. Talked to the guys a lot about it this morning. I can’t be more proud of where we are as a defense. I think the guys have done a great job on and off the field, and I really feel we’ve taken a jump defensively compared to where we were at this point last year. The attendance has been great. The guys’ attention to detail in the meeting room has been great. Their work ethic on the practice field has been great. As a coaching staff, what we stress to them is today does not represent the end of the offseason. We have five more weeks of hard work left, and our defense needs to do a great job in these next five weeks of continuing to work hard, continuing to stay in the playbook. They know when they come back for training camp we need to start on fire.”


On what the Browns can learn about how the run defense improved during OTAs:
“The true test will be once we get the pads on, but I think just being able to go back and show the guys where the mistakes were made [is beneficial], whether it was technique, alignment or schematics. I think the position coaches have done a great job emphasizing it in their individual work in the meeting rooms. We’ve emphasized it a lot as a coaching staff. We got beat up a little bit in Phase II because the players aren’t allowed to go against each other in Phase II. The coaches have to be the dummies. I had some bruises on my chest from those guys rolling off on me. It’s definitely been a point of emphasis for us. I’m happy with where we are with the pads not being on right now, but we’ll really know in a couple months.”


On if the Browns defense will look noticeably different in Year 2:
“I do think it will look a little different. We are different every year just schematically because we are going to build the scheme around our players. What our top three or four calls were last year might not necessarily be the top three or four calls this year. Obviously, we have some new pieces to work with, and we’ve been able to throw a lot at these guys in Year 2. There will be some more pressures. There will be some more base fronts. We’ve thrown a couple extra coverages at them. There will be some things that look different.”


On expanding on the need to improve the defense’s alignment, particularly in the running game as noted by LB Karlos Dansby:
“We do a lot in our base defense front-wise, pressure-wise. Just alignment-wise and knowing where the down safety is or knowing where the free hitter or the free player is coming from can really help those inside backers on how to attack the line of scrimmage. With Karlos, he’s so instinctual and he makes a lot of plays because he does such a great job gathering pre-snap information or listening and learning as the game is going on to what the quarterback is saying or what the offensive line is saying. I would say 80 percent of the time it ends up being a positive, and then because of that, it ends up hurting us at times. As long as he continues to make more plays than he’s giving up, you’re OK with it, and he did last year. There were times that it did hurt us, and showing them those clips and explaining it to him and then just him being in Year 2 is really going to help him. He had a phenomenal year for us, and that wasn’t the reason we struggled in the run game – because of Karlos Dansby’s alignments – but it was just one of the things that we needed to get better at.”


On potentially using more four-man fronts on running downs with the Browns personnel this year:
“Yes, we base out of a 3-4 personnel, but we really play a lot of five-man fronts because it is a lot of under fronts where our SAM and rush linebacker are up on the ball. I do think we’ll be able roll more guys up front, and that’s a good luxury because if you can keep those guys up front fresh, that will really help us in the later part of the game.”


On if that will affect the roster makeup by potentially keeping an additional defensive linemen:
“We had a pretty long meeting last night just to discuss personnel with our whole defensive staff and then (General Manager) Ray Farmer and his staff. The thing I love about Ray’s and Pett’s (Head Coach Mike Pettine) philosophy is we’re going to keep the 53 best players, if we’re one or two heavy on the d-line or we’re one or two heavy at corner or one or two heavy on the offensive line. I think that’s a great philosophy because if you try to match your roster to ‘We have to have this many guys at this position,’ you’re cutting good football players, which I don’t think you ever want to do. Are there going to be some tough decisions that probably have to be made, especially on our side of the ball? Absolutely. Absolutely. We’re probably going to have to cut a couple good football players when it is all said and done at the end of training camp.”


On members of the Browns secondary saying their position group could rank among the top of the NFL this season:
“I’m glad they’re confident. I’m glad they’re making those statements. I’ll say last year was last year. I’ll say I think we have the potential to definitely be the best secondary in the NFL. We’ve got to prove it every year. The best secondaries in my opinion are usually playing in January.”


On DL Danny Shelton’s progression given his schedule this offseason:
“We were obviously a little limited because of the NFL rules, when he was allowed to report and Washington being on the quarters system. He showed up and he did a great job in the rookie minicamp. (Defensive line) Coach (Anthony) Weaver and (defensive quality control) Coach (Tony) Tuioti have done an unbelievable job meeting with him over the phone, FaceTime, making sure he’s on top of the playbook. Obviously, that’s very different than actually being here, but Danny is a very, very smart kid. He’s a very smart football play. I think in two days, he’s only had one bust, and we’ve thrown the whole playbook at him. We’ve thrown everything at him. He’s done a great job mentally. It takes a little time to get in football shape and get caught up to the speed of the game, but for the amount of time that he’s missed and what he’s done in the first two days, I can’t be happier.”


On what the Browns are now able to do after acquiring a player like Shelton:
“Time will tell. We’ve got to get the pads on. You draft a guy like that, you hope that he’s going to eat up two blocks at the point of attack, which might allow you to play in lighter spacing, maybe play a little more two high safeties instead of loading the box up. The thing that we’re excited about is his ability to push the pocket in the passing game and get the quarterback off his spot because we feel that is going to make the rest of our pass rushers better. When the quarterback is moving instead of just being able to stand in the pocket like a statue, when you have guys who are good at fighting what we call the ‘soft shoulder’ and really do a good job of getting around guys like (DL) Armonty (Bryant), guys like (LBs) Nate Orchard and Paul Kruger, that’s going to really help them, (DL) Des Bryant. We think that having that guy who can push the pocket and the quarterback off his spot is going to make everybody around him better.”


On LB Scott Solomon’s work with the first team:
“Scott is very quickly becoming one of my favorite players on the defense. He embodies everything we talk about when we say ‘Play Like a Brown.’ I think the offense calls him ‘Bloodbath’ because it’s like a heat-seeking missile coming off the edge. I do see him competing withArmonty Bryant once he’s full go at the rush linebacker position. I see him getting a considerable amount of reps on early downs. He’s going to have to earn his reps in later downs in passing situations, but he is definitely going to help us on the edge in the run game.”


On LB Barkevious Mingo’s role and if he thinks Mingo will be healthy when training camp opens:
“I do. When we came out of training camp last year, we thought Mingo was one of our best outside backers. We all know about the injury he suffered in play two of the season. He is going to have to compete for playing time on early downs. He’s going to have a role in our sub-packages. No one is guaranteed anything on the defense. (DB) Joe Haden knows that, (DB)Donte Whitner knows that and Karlos Dansby knows that. You’re going to have to earn playing time. We’re deep in every position group. Mingo is going to have to come back ready to go, and he’s going to have to earn it.”


On a younger, under-the-radar player like DB K’Waun Williams last year:
“I’ll just go position by position: d-line, I think (DL) Xavier Cooper is going to be a hell of a football player. I think he’s different than anything we have, his ability to get off the ball. I think he’s going to cause offenses a lot of problems, especially in the pass game. Outside backer, I’d go with Scott Solomon. I think that he brings something to the table that we were missing last year, especially on early downs. I think (LB) Tank Carder has had an unbelievable offseason at the inside backer position. We never really got an evaluation on him last year because he had the should injury and then he had a foot deal to start training camp so he came on very late for us, and then he spent most of the year just as a special teams player and a practice squad guy. I could envision him having a role in our defense as a blitzer. He’s one of our best blitzers on the team. Now, that’s a hard room, obviously, to earn playing time because you’ve got (LB) Craig (Robertson), Kirko (LB Chris Kirksey) and Karlos in that room, but I think Tank has had a great offseason. If you ask me just one guy in the secondary, I really think (DB Jordan) Poyer has opened my eyes to the type of player he is. He has really taken advantage of the reps that he’s been given, and he’s done a great job. His pre-snap communication has been outstanding. He’s improved in man coverage. I know he’ll tackle. He’s been a guy who has really stepped it up this offseason, and I’m excited about all those guys.”


On if Poyer has an inside track to receive first-team reps due to DB Tashaun Gipsonmissing OTAs and beginning minicamp with an injury:
“I’m not worried about the depth chart to start camp. I’m more worried about it for the New York Jets. Those guys all know that they need to earn it. It doesn’t matter what you did last year. It’s what you’re going to do this year. I’m excited to have Gip back in the building. He’s right in the front row. I know he’s been away, but he’s done a great job staying in his iPad, staying in his playbook. He’s talking in the meeting rooms like he hasn’t missed a beat. It’s good seeing his face.”


On if more NFL teams may take advantage of the decreased presence of larger, run-stopping LBs due to recent pass-oriented offensive transitions:
“Definitely, the league has shifted to more of a pass focus so I think everyone is looking for a more athletic player that can play in space. The days of teams running power and leads on your linebackers and it’s three, four yards and a cloud of dust, those days have gone by the wayside. It’s much more of a zone running attack, very similar to what we ran last year and what we’ll run this year. I think that smaller, quicker, faster guys are better against that scheme and are better against the pass, but there’s no doubt that those ‘old school, come downhill and knock your head off’ linebackers are a dying breed in football today.”


On if there’s an issue with Mingo, based off of his earlier comments:
“No, not at all. He’s done a great job. I think where Mingo has really taken a step this year is he’s been able to participate in all of the passing stuff, all of the 7-on-7 drills with the red shirt on – I’m sure you guys have seen him out there. Coming out of LSU, he had no experience with that stuff. Right now, he’s by far our best linebacker in coverage, our best outside backer. Now, we’re going to see where he is when we get back to training camp and the pads come on of how he is at outside backer setting the edge, how he is as a defensive end rushing the quarterback and that kind of stuff. We were very optimistic about Mingo coming out of training camp last year. We’ve improved the depth, we’ve improved the competition in that room with a Scott Solomon, a Nate Orchard, like we have in every room. Guys are going to have to earn it. We don’t care where you were drafted, when you were drafted, how much you’re getting paid; the best 11 guys and the guys who earn their roles are the guys who are going to play.”


On what Solomon provides that was missing last year:
“Just his ability. We talk about aiming point, hand placement, his ability to set the edge in the run game. He’s very good at it. His ability to wreck a running play versus a down kick-out block, an aggressive block coming at him, whether it’s a pulling guard, a fullback. It’s going to be a car accident when Scott Solomon meets a pulling guard or a fullback. Being unselfish and being willing to take on two blockers at the point of attack, sacrificing your body so an inside backer can scrape through over the top and make a tackle for a loss. Those are things we’ve had other places I’ve been. We had them at times last year. It was inconsistent. Scott is going to give us a very steady player on the edge doing those kinds of things.”

http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/arti...11-cc5dc7cdb7ad

Browns offensive coordinator John DeFilippo transcript - June 18, 2015

Posted 49 minutes ago

Clevelandbrowns.com@Browns Facebook




New OC likes what he saw at mini-camp



On how the new offense is taking shape:
“I talked to our players this morning about that. I’ve preached to them to ride the wave. I think we have ridden the wave going upward the last three practices. I would say in the middle of OTAs we hit a little bit of a funk for a combination of a couple things. First off, it’s a credit to our defense. They are really well coaches, they have good players and they have a really good scheme. We are always one step behind because they have so many wrinkles in their defense that they come out and then you have to get it fixed. Once we’ve kind of caught up to them, and I think we’ve kind of reinstalled everything for a second time in this mandatory minicamp. I think you’ve seen in the last couple of practices... Like yesterday in the red zone, four plays and we score three touchdowns. The last two or three practices, I think you’ve seen it come together. It’s not where we want it to be yet, but I’ve liked the progress we’ve seen in the last three practices.”


On what percentage of the offense has been installed:
“I would say about 90 percent. The only things that really haven’t been installed yet are the things that you do in training camp – the special situation type things, like end of game. For example, there are six second left in the game and it’s fourth down, sprinting out and throwing the ball out of bounds. Things like that, you install those things once a day in training camp. From an X and O standpoint, from a run game standpoint, it’s about 90 percent in.” –


On finding the offense’s identity:
“We chipped away at it a great deal. It’s been a little difficult to be honest with you. From a personnel standpoint, we’ve had a bunch of guys out in the spring. Whenever you have a few starters out – you know we’re resting (OL) Joe (Thomas), that’s part of the plan – or you have (OL) Alex Mack out, (WR) Travis Benjamin out, those second team guys have to go up to the first team, and now you’re third string guys are probably playing a group up than they should early against a dang good defense. We’re getting there. I’m really excited. I’m hoping we get some continuity early in training camp so we even find that out even more, but we are getting there.”


On QB Josh McCown’s offseason:
“I’ve been very, very impressed with Josh. Josh and I talk about it all the time: He’s a better quarterback now than he was in 2007. I think he’s much better. Again, I don’t like to speak for the players, but I think he’ll tell you the same thing. I haven’t seen anything from an arm strength standpoint, from an athletic standpoint to tell me that his game has declined at all. He is much better in situational football, a much smarter quarterback than he was in 2007. That comes with time. He’s played a lot of football. I’ve been very, very pleased with Josh. Obviously, the intangibles with Josh are as good as any quarterback in the league in terms of his leadership, in terms of being a good person. All of those things that you’re looking for in a starting quarterback, Josh McCown has.”


On McCown’s arm and athleticism and how he stabilizes the offense with his personality:
“Yeah, he’s very even keeled. The thing Josh has done a really good job of is he helps guys get lined up. I have to kind of hold him back a little bit and have him concerned about doing his own job. That is when he has peaks and valleys at practice sometimes is when he’s worried about the 10 other guys and not himself. I’ve been preaching to Josh all spring: No. 1, you need to worry about yourself and playing quarterback for this football team and trust that these other 10 guys on the team are pros and they’re going to know to do, also. That’s kind of what we’ve been with Josh. Josh has, like I said, been everything that we thought he was going to be in terms of his leadership. We’ve just got to keep him going.”


On if he has a sense McCown has something to prove and that his 1-10 record last year is not who he is:
“Absolutely. Any competitor wants something to prove. That’s why we’re all here. We’re here to win football games for this team, for this city and for our owner. Any competitor wants to go out there and have something to prove, whether you’re coming off a Super Bowl victory or you’re coming off a 1-10 (record) as a starter.”


On how QB Johnny Manziel has improved this offseason:
“First off, I think he’s improved on his pocket awareness. I saw him the other day for the first time get to his third progression, which was fantastic. We were throwing a post and a corner out of the front side and we had a basic cross, which is a 12-yard in-cut coming from the backside. That’s hard to do for a young quarterback, to work from the right side of the field all the way back coming into his vision. You see him reset his feet and getting back to second and third progressions, which is something I didn’t see much of him last season or when he was in college. The other thing that Johnny has done a much better job of is his huddle management. He’s getting the play out with confidence. We do have some long play calls. That’s just the nature of NFL play calls. You are going to have some long play calls. He’s gone in there and he’s been like a veteran spitting it out. We’ve had very, very few issues pre-snap with him in terms of delay of games, forgetting motions, not sending a shift we wanted, motion landmarks. Again, the big picture thinking with Johnny, he’s improved a great deal. Has he made every through as strike point accurate as we want? No, and he knows that. He needs to be a little bit more strike point accurate than he has been. That will come. You want to work outside in with these guys. You want to work the big picture and then you can really hone in on what they need to do from the other parts of playing quarterback.”


On spreading receptions among the veteran and younger WRs if all of them play well during training camp:
“That’s a really good question. I’ve talked about it since Day 1 in terms of with our personnel people. The thing I do like about it is each guy is not the same guy. Even though (WRs)Taylor Gabriel and Hawk (Andrew Hawkins) are smaller receivers, they do have two different skillsets. (WRs Dwayne) Bowe and (Brian) Hartline are bigger guys. I think it’d be much more of an issue if you had all small guys or all big guys. I think you can still find places on the field for those guys and putting them in situations to where they can succeed in the things that they do well. Again, I’ve talked about it with you here, we don’t need a bunch of one-trick pony receivers, and we don’t have that. I thought we did a great job of going out and adding some diversity to that room in body types, the different types of routes we’ll have those guys in for. Again, that’s going to be a good problem to have is to figure out the competition. That’s what (Head) Coach (Mike) Pettine has talked about and how he wants to build this team is through competition. It’ll be really interesting to watch those guys throughout training camp.”


On pairing multiple RBs in formations, including passing formations:
“We saw a lot of that. Part of this spring has been really good for us because as coaches, we’re all guilty of one thing – we’re guilty of always wanting to be comfortable – not putting (OL) Cam Erving at center, not putting him at left tackle; not putting (RB) Duke Johnson anywhere but at tailback. Because of some of the injuries we’ve had, we’ve been forced to put Cam in all five spots. We’ve been forced to get Duke outside as you saw that the last few days because we’ve had four wide outs down. Again, in the big picture of life, everything is not going to look exactly the way we want it right now because we’ve got guys out of position, but come the fall, it’s going to help us. I’m a coach; I like to be comfortable. I like to have a guy at one spot. I like to have Duke Johnson just at H(-back), but it’s been forcing us to think outside the box a little bit, and I’m proud of the way Duke has handled some of those things. We’ve put a lot on his plate. Both he and (FB) Malcolm (Johnson), we’ve asked those guys to do a lot of things that normal rookies don’t get asked to do. That F position is hard to play.”


On if moving the RBs around was more out of necessity than interest:
“No, we were going to do it but maybe just not as much. That was definitely a plan to do that with Duke and get him out there. He’s done a great job with it. I don’t know if you saw the wheel route that he caught on the sideline during the 7-on-7 yesterday. It was a great throw by Johnny and a great catch by him. We were planning on doing that stuff but maybe not as much. We had eight or nine plays of that yesterday – we call it 21 Hurricane – with him in there at F. It force fed us to kind of get him going earlier.”


On if he sees Manziel legitimately giving McCown a run for the starting spot in training camp and how he views the QB picture:
“I’m going to echo Coach Pettine’s words because he and I are on the exact same page about this. I don’t see a change for right now going into training camp. I just don’t. I think Josh is playing at a high level right now. I think Josh is doing the things we want him to do. There’s a long time until we kick off against the Jets. There are four preseason games to play. Last year, I was at a place where we were sold on a starter, too, and then a rookie came in and outplayed him in the preseason. I think Coach said today there are 86 days or something like that until we kick off against the Jets. Eighty-six days in the NFL world is an eternity. For right now, if we were lining up against the Jets tomorrow, which we’re not, I wouldn’t see that changing.”


On veteran quarterbacks not performing well for the Browns in the past:
“I wasn’t here. I think the thing Josh and I have, which maybe benefits us – I wouldn’t know the stats on this – is our familiarity we have with each other. I don’t know if any of those guys had known the OC before, when we line up Day 1 in pass install and knew how to call the play without really even looking at the playbook. That’d be a situation that I think that might be a little bit different. Again, we’re going to have a great plan, and we’re going to go from there.”


On if he would prefer to use just two RBs compared to three:
“I like to go with the guy that has the hot hand. If a guy’s got the hot hand, ride it out. You’re going to have some gameplan-specific plays for certain guys like a Duke Johnson where you want to get him out on a pass route or running a certain outside zone or whatever. I’m a big believer in the best five offensive linemen up front. I’m a big believer in a guy’s got a hot hand you keep riding him. That’s kind of just a philosophy that I have.”


On who his five best OL are and if OL Cameron Erving is in the mix:
“Cam’s in the mix, absolutely. There’s no doubt about it. Cam’s in the mix, and it was disappointing to see him go down with that injury because he was making strides. Again, it’s a fine line with Cam. Right now, all the tape on Cam’s not going to be pretty because we’re playing him at three different spots, but in the big picture, like I always talk about – I try to think as big picture as I can – it’s going to help us in the fall. It really is. It’s going to help us. The kid is going to have exposure at a lot of spots on the offensive line.”


On where Erving probably will line up on the first day of training camp:
“Day 1 of training camp, right guard, probably, right guard. Then we’ll always mix him in a little bit at center and always mix him in a little bit at left tackle. If I had to guess, I’d say right guard.”


On why Erving would get reps at left tackle instead of right tackle:
“Because (OL) Joe Thomas doesn’t practice every day. He’s played all five spots this spring, but if you had to tell me where he was going to start, it’d probably be right guard.”


On OLs Mitchell Schwartz and John Greco:
“I’ll tell you, I really like those two guys. Our offensive line, this is as talented a group, as smart a group as I’ve been around. They’re exactly what you want in an offensive line. A lot of the offensive linemen are the same no matter what franchise you go to or team you’re on. They all hang out together. They’re all friends, and you hope the majority of them are smart guys. We’re fortunate that all those guys are off-the-chart smart. I think Mitchell Schwartz has gotten a lot better in his pass protection this offseason. I think he’s gotten a lot better. It’s hard to tell without the pads on, but when you’re going against some of the guys we have across the ball, I’m pleased with Mitchell Schwartz. I’m pleased with John Greco. I think both those guys have had a positive spring.”


On ‘everybody wanting to replace’ Schwartz:
“I haven’t heard that. I have not heard that since I’ve been here.”


On TE Rob Housler:
“I think Rob’s very similar to Duke. You’ve seen him line up in a bunch of different places. The thing Rob brings to the table is he ran past – I don’t even know who it was yesterday watching it on tape. When we ran the corner-go to Hawk in the red zone, he was the guy that has to clear out the play for the outside post. I don’t think it was (DB) Joe (Haden). It may have been Joe on the outside, but he ran right past the guy. Anytime you have a guy that’s that big and can run that fast and do a lot of jobs, those guys have a way of lasting in this league and playing at a good level.”


On how encouraged he is that Manziel can play in the NFL:
“I’m pleased with Johnny. The lack of continuity in that second huddle has hurt him a little bit. It really has. From the offensive line, guys moving around, the receivers, two young receivers that are in there with him, some of the things you see on the field aren’t all on Johnny. It’s never all on one guy, just like anything. The old cliché ‘The quarterback gets way too much praise when he wins and way too much blame when he loses.’ Not everything Johnny’s been out there has been on Johnny. I’m very pleased with his progress. I think he’s made another step from OTAs to minicamp. I really do. I think he’s getting comfortable in there. I would never say anything in here to anyone that I haven’t talked to the players about. There are a couple throws like the corner ball to Housler yesterday, we need to make that. We’re a work in progress. I’m pleased with the strides we’ve made on offense. We’re never going to be happy with where we are on offense no matter whether we lead the league or we’re last in the league. We’re never going to be satisfied on offense, and as competitors I hope that’s what our players expect.”


On what happened when Manziel dropped three snaps in practice:
“One he took his eye off of, I thought, and the other two were a little bit low and to the right. We need to make those. We actually do a drill, a bad shotgun snap drill, where I tell those guys, ‘You need to be like a hockey goalie back there.’ You see a hockey goalie get over and then get back, to fight to get back inside the A gap. We actually drill that work because you’re not going to get a perfect shotgun snap all the time. He needs to get better than that. I think he took his eye off one. I thought the other two were kind of low and hot, but that first one he could have handled.”

http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/arti...6d-2c095bc5dd85

5 observations from Day 3 of Browns minicamp

Posted 19 minutes ago

Kevin JonesStaff Writer@Mr_KevinJones Facebook




Defense making changes, offense riding the wave



Players wrapped up mini-camp on Thursday and headed back to their respective homes and favorite vacation spots for the next five weeks.
Coach Mike Pettine is enthusiastic where his team stands after completing the offseason program. There are no serious injuries to report, an already intimidating defense is adding new components and the offense, led by Josh McCown, took a huge surge forward in this three-day period.
Some observations.


1) The Browns will use more four-man fronts
From a traditional standpoint, Cleveland employs a 3-4 scheme. But that will be less of the case in the 2015 season. On Thursday, defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil hinted the Browns will use more exotic fronts, including several packages with four players in a down position on the line of scrimmage.
“I do think we’ll be able roll more guys up front, and that’s a good luxury because if you can keep those guys up front fresh, that will really help us in the later part of the game,” O’Neil said.
Pettine took it a step further, talking specific changes. The coaching staff views 26-year-oldScott Solomon as more of a defensive end who can set the edge on early downs and force running backs to the inside. Armonty Bryant is versatile enough to stick his hand in the dirt and become a one-on-one matchup pass rusher with a left tackle. And Pettine even said the Browns will consider teaming 330-pounders Danny Shelton and Ishmaa’ily Kitchen in the middle together as defensive tackles.
These defensive revelations from mini-camp could be a significant storyline all season

2) At 33, Karlos Dansby is still improving
The argument can be made no player was more important to the Browns on defense last season than the 33-year-old Dansby. Even though he missed four games, Dansby’s 93 tackles still ranked third on the team. A Bleacher Report article made the case Dansby’s career has been as equally good as longtime 49er Patrick Willis. Dansby’s play is not dropping off anytime soon.
Where Dansby becomes most valuable to Cleveland is before the snap. O’Neil and Pettine say no player on defense is as smart as Dansby in terms of gathering clues from the offensive linemen and quarterback that tip off play call tendencies. The Browns let Dansby do some freelancing, which O’Neil said worked a whopping 80 percent of the time. But now it’s about knowing when to take the right chances and where help is coming from.
“Just alignment-wise and knowing where the down safety is or knowing where the free hitter or the free player is coming from can really help (Dansby) on how to attack the line of scrimmage,” O’Neil said. “He had a phenomenal year for us, and that wasn’t the reason we struggled in the run game – because of Karlos Dansby’s alignments – but it was just one of the things that we needed to get better at.”


3) The offense is 90 percent installed
Mini-camp was a big step forward for the offense. After some admitted bumpy period during OTAs, offensive coordinator John DeFilippo and even chatty media members noticed some noticeable strides. During a competitive red zone drill, the offense scored touchdowns on three of four plays.
“I think we have ridden the wave going upward the last three practices,” DeFilippo said. “I would say in the middle of OTAs we hit a little bit of a funk for a combination of a couple things. First off, it’s a credit to our defense. They are really well-coached, they have good players and they have a really good scheme. We are always one step behind because they have so many wrinkles in their defense that they come out and then you have to get it fixed.
“The last two or three practices, I think you’ve seen it come together. It’s not where we want it to be yet, but I’ve liked the progress we’ve seen in the last three practices.”



4) DeFilippo prefers the hot hand at running back
Fantasy football fanatics and anxious Browns fans are wondering: Will it be Isaiah Crowell,Duke Johnson or Terrance West carrying the torch Sept. 13 against the New York Jets? The Browns view all three as legitimate threats with the rock in their hand, but there is no clear favorite in guessing who will lead Cleveland in carries in December.
“I like to go with the guy that has the hot hand. If a guy’s got the hot hand, ride it out,” DeFilippo said. “You’re going to have some gameplan-specific plays for certain guys like a Duke Johnson where you want to get him out on a pass route or running a certain outside zone or whatever. I’m a big believer in the best five offensive linemen up front. I’m a big believer in a guy’s got a hot hand you keep riding him. That’s kind of just a philosophy that I have.”


5) Travis Coons and Carey Spear are deadlocked in the kicking competition
A number crunch forced the Browns to release a kicker earlier this offseason, and special teams coordinator Chris Tabor said Garrett Hartley was picked because “you kind of know what he is and who he is.” General manager Ray Farmer opted to roll with Coons and Spear – both of whom have never kicked in an NFL game. The Browns view it as a possible strength. There isn’t really a ceiling for either guy.
Tabor has been charting every kick from OTAs and mini-camp from his young place kickers and has a strong grasp of the competition now heading into training camp.
“It’s been a very close competition,” Tabor said. “They’re controlling what they can control, and the tape will tell us what to do.”

http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/arti...80-7fc44c848180

Thanks for posting the articles.

jmo. i think they want him right next to mack this year to learn.

Star means where he will start learning, not that he has a starting position locked up.

He will start out as a RG candidate, and then move around from there.

I think its true either way lol he is gonna start at RG. Would have liked to have heard more on how the TE's were working out.

I'm not quite sure that will happen. I mean there's no doubt of his talent. But continuity is something not to be underrated. It would be hard to build continuity along the OL by having a rookie play musical chairs along the OL during training camp and pre-season.

Along those lines, it's been pretty well established that many players who man the tackle positions in the NCAA are simply not equipped to play that position in the NFL. Now I'm not saying that's the case with Erving but it's just as likely that he was drafted with the intentions of being an interior lineman and not the tackle position.

Now I'm not saying that Erving could not an the tackle position in an emergency case, but I do not believe it was the intent of this FO to have Erving playing at tackle for the Browns.

Why did you attempt to use purple?

Are you actually dismissing his history of dropping balls based on one video?

Seriously?

You know, I started reading one of the MC reports and had to quit. Didn't read the others. That's probably wrong and I might read them later, but man, it's so hard to trust what they are saying. There is no objectivity at all.

What kills me is that if a reporter knocks the Browns, he is a bozo, but if he praises the Browns, y'all take it as gospel.

I'm going to have to wait and see and judge it w/my own eyes.

I actually put the purple with the question mark there to indicate I wasn't being serious, but I wasn't sure if just using purple would get that across. I guess it didn't work.

No, I'm not dismissing anything. I was being facetious (trying anyways).

I'm not sure about the rest of the optimists, but I think Kevin Jones qualifies for bozo status. Occasionally he'll have an interesting nugget I can hack out of the mess.

I pointed this out a lot last year that JM couldnt make it to his second and third progressions, he would just run out of the pocket if his first read was not open and caught hell for it from some posters. It's nice to finally see it in print this year.

Good post I concur moving him around would be counter productive for the reason you stated. I wonder if they will?

That said though if he can't unseat Swartz who I think would be a good Guard I wonder if he was worth the pick. They do say though that the kid will be a pro bowl center maybe they want him to work close to Mack so he gets a good feel for how he goes about his business...

I think most fans underrate Schwartz but this regime has a differing opinion of him. They are gonna put Erving at RG and let him compete with Grecco. I think guard or center is where he belongs.

j/c:

Here are some news/notes from a national perspective regarding us and division rivals.

Baltimore Ravens

1. Ravens rookie wideout Breshad Perriman came out of college with a reputation for drops. The first-rounder looked good earlier this spring, but struggled Tuesday with four dropped balls. "Just really paying attention, getting too tired and really not focusing," Perriman explained to The Baltimore Sun. Despite the gaffes, coaches say Perriman has put together plenty of strong practice tape.

2. Cornerback Jimmy Smith was limited this week as he continues to heal from Lisfranc surgery. The team's starting cornerback is close to 100 percent, though, and expected to open training camp as a full participant.

3. Veteran back Justin Forsett has shown the "same form" that helped him run for 1,200 yards last season, per the team's official website. His ability to adjust to Marc Trestman's offense will be key, but Forsett is bound to see more catches this year after Trestman guided Chicago's Matt Forte to 102 grabs in 2014, an NFL record for running backs.

Cleveland Browns

1. Quarterback Johnny Manziel has cleaned up his act and ditched the "money sign," but that alone won't heighten his chances of starting. Josh McCown has drawn rave reviews from coaches and teammates and hits the break as the clear No. 1 heading into camp.

2. Rookie running back Duke Johnson has been the talk of minicamp on offense, with ESPN's Adam Caplan saying the former Hurricanes star has been "the most impressive" back at camp, playing all over the field and even at wideout. One Browns source told Around The NFL that Duke and fellow rookie fullback Malcolm Johnson are "going to play a lot of football for us."

3. Browns defensive coordinator Jim O'Neil said of rookie nose tackle Danny Shelton: "In two days, he's had only one busted play and we've thrown everything at him. I can't be happier." The play-caller also talked up outside linebacker Scott Solomon as a "car accident" for opponents, noting that Barkevious Mingo would need to earn his snaps.

Cincinnati Bengals

1. The most encouraging news this month has been the play of Geno Atkins. The interior defensive lineman "was just a guy out there" last season, according to defensive coordinator Paul Guenther, but two seasons removed from ACL surgery, Atkins "looks as good as any guy we've got on our team," per the coach.

2. Andy Dalton is surrounded by one of the AFC's most talented rosters. That didn't stop the quarterback from throwing a flood of bad balls in Tuesday's practice, with Bengals.com writer Geoff Hobson noting that Dalton and wideout A.J. Green "appeared not to be on the same page."

3. After Cincy's four straight one-and-done playoff appearances, play-caller Hue Jackson acknowledged this week: "I'm tired of our organization being the brunt of jokes." Dalton's play will decide how far this team can go, which is scary, but Jackson -- one of the game's top strategists -- is stressing a versatile attack that uses players all over the field.

Pittsburgh Steelers

1. Steelers defensive end Cam Heyward told ESPN.com that he "loves" the play of third-year safety Shamarko Thomas, saying: "He knows he's not going to be Troy (Polamalu), but he can be a heckuva Shamarko Thomas." He certainly looks the part.

2. Post-Gazette beat writer Ed Bouchette believes defensive coordinator Keith Butler will blitz more often this season, writing: "Other changes you might see is what he told us last week, that the linemen will be more involved than just eating up blocks to allow the linebackers to run free."

3. Le'Veon Bell never thought about a long NFL career until meeting DeAngelo Williams, telling the Tribune-Review: "It never crossed my mind until when we got DeAngelo." Williams is gearing up to play a lead role if Bell's three-game suspension sticks, but we don't see Le'Veon's touches dipping from last season.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000...ign=Twitter_atn

thanks Memphis.

Kind of has a "They are who we thought they were" ring to it.

Browns' OC John DeFilippo says Cameron Erving likely to open training camp at right guard



By Tom Reed, Northeast Ohio Media Group
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on June 18, 2015 at 7:32 PM, updated June 18, 2015 at 7:55 PM

BEREA, Ohio – Rookie offensive lineman Cameron Erving spent his spring learning multiple positions.

His focus will narrow as training camp opens in late July.

Offensive coordinator John DeFilippo said the No. 19 overall pick likely will begin camp at right guard. He will compete with incumbent John Greco.

That doesn't mean Erving won't see some practice reps at center and left tackle. Erving is the Browns' heir apparent at center should Alex Mack opt out of his contract at the end of the season. In the meantime, it was presumed he would battle for the starting job at right guard or tackle.

"Right now, all the tape on Cam is not going to be pretty because we're playing him at three different spots, but in the big picture, like I always talk about – I try to think as big picture as I can – it's going to help us in the fall," DeFilippo said. "The kid is going to have exposure at a lot of spots on the offensive line."

Offensive line coach Andy Moeller said he can't recall teaching a rookie three positions. It's a lot to ask, but the assistant said Erving has excelled at the challenge. The first-round pick did not participate in drills this week as he nursed an undisclosed injury.

DeFilippo has been pleased with both Greco and right tackle Mitchell Schwartz, who the coordinator said has improved his pass protection in the off-season.

Greco is used to challenges for his starting spot, although he's never battled a first rounder.

"I play right guard and that's what I'm going to focus on coming into camp and kind of let the cards fall as they will," he said.

Gilbert out again

Cornerback Justin Gilbert missed the final two days of minicamp with an excused absence as he deals with a family issue.

Busy rookie

DeFilippo is keeping rookie Duke Johnson busy at practice. Beyond his running back duties, the coordinator has been splitting him out at receiver. That's always been an option, DeFilippo said, but they're using him often at receiver during minicamp due to injuries.

Brownies

Players who rode stationary bikes instead of practicing included: Erving, Nate Orchard, cornerback Tramon Williams, free safety Tashaun Gipson, defensive lineman Phil Taylor and receivers Marlon Moore and Josh Lenz.

Quotable

Defensive coordinator Jim O'Neil on his players' assertion they have one of the league's top secondaries: "I think we have the potential to definitely be the best secondary in the NFL. "We've got to prove it every year. The best secondaries, in my opinion, are usually playing in January." cleveland.com/browns