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Home > Blogs > Dawging the Browns > Archives > 2008 > June
June 2008
Is this a Super Bowl contender?
My Super Bowl reference, “Allan,” was simply a reflection of how teams sometimes come out of nowhere to play in the sport’s biggest game.
Am I picking the Browns to go to the Super Bowl? Well … no, but I am saying it would not be the biggest shocker in the world considering they won 10 games last season and appear to be a team on the climb.
The New England Patriots, not all that long ago, followed a 5-11 season with a trip to the Super Bowl, remember. And there weren’t many people picking the New York Giants to get there last season, let alone win the thing.
The only reason fans might not like to hear the words “Super Bowl” mentioned in conjunction with their team would be the jinx factor, I’m guessing. Especially since the Browns are one of the dwindling handful of NFL teams never to get there.
They won’t be sneaking up on anybody after last season, that’s for sure. Not with the glare of national publicity already shining in their eyes.
But good teams manage the spotlight. And they get through the tough schedules. That’s part of what makes them good. So that can’t be an excuse.
And I think the Browns are getting to the point where nothing is going to faze them. In fact, I think they will welcome and embrace the exposure after so many years of toiling in relative obscurity.
If you subscribe to the notion that the most important ingredients of a Super Bowl team are quarterback, leadership, a running game and defense, the Browns are doing pretty well.
They have a formidable quarterback (or two), leaders scattered throughout the locker room (yes, I’m counting Willie McGinest) and a running back in Jamal Lewis who demonstrated last season that he can control games when needed.
Now, about that defense. We’ll see how improved it is and that will tell us more than anything about whether this team is truly a Super Bowl contender or just another pretender.
My hunch is that “Allan” roots for the Houston Texans or some other team nobody’s talking about.
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Parker still up for grabs
First off, apologies to “Blackbart.” Of course I knew it was you on the Ozzie Newsome thing. But it was “WD” — not “WO” (sorry about that, too) — who speculated about it before deciding he was “too lazy” to look it up.
Oh well, when you get inundated with so many comments (more than one in this case), it’s tough to keep them all straight. I’ll try harder next time.
Meanwhile, we’re less than a month from training camp, and while all appears quiet, this pesky Eric Parker rumor won’t go away.
Parker is a surplus San Diego Chargers receiver who the Browns can acquire for a late-round 2009 draft pick if reports out of San Diego and elsewhere are to be believed.
The Chargers say they plan to trade Parker by the start of camp. The Browns apparently have inquired, based on the recommendation of offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski, who coached him in San Diego.
Does this team really need another receiver, to say nothing of one who missed the entire 2007 season with a toe injury? Well, maybe. If nothing else, Parker would be insurance in case Joe Jurevicius does not round into shape from knee surgery as quickly as everyone seems to think.
Of course, Parker, a seven-year vet, still has to prove he’s back to normal, too. He sat out minicamp.
But he’s been a solid receiver for years and probably is worth taking a flier on at the right price (or scooping up in the event he is released).
Even after missing last season, Parker ranks third on the Chargers behind Antonio Gates and LaDainian Tomlinson with 170 receptions since 2003. He also returns punts.
As it stands, Jurevicius is supposed to return in time for training camp and he doesn’t foresee any problem being on the field for the Sept. 7 opener against Dallas.
Another receiver rumored to be available is Matt Jones of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Browns have been linked to him, too.
It’s all about depth — and Jurevicius insurance.
As of now, Braylon Edwards and Donte Stallworth are your starting wideouts, and that looks excellent on paper. Throw in a healthy (?) tight end Kellen Winslow and name me the secondary that matches up against that.
Say Edwards or Stallworth gets hurt, though, and Jurevicius suffers a setback. Suddenly, you’re a little shaky at the position, maybe forced to rely too heavily on a Joshua Cribbs, a Travis Wilson or a Kevin Kasper as your No. 3 wideout.
Parker would bring toughness and experience. When you think this is the year you can go to the Super Bowl, it never hurts to add someone with those qualities, assuming everything is OK with his foot.
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Favorite stat about Phipps
“WO” was right in his comment. The Browns did turn quarterback Mike Phipps into Ozzie Newsome back in the ’70s.
And it’s staggering, considering how truly awful Phipps was, that they were able to get anything at all for him.
My favorite Phipps stat: In 12 seasons with the Browns and Bears, he threw 55 touchdown passes and 108 interceptions.
I thought it was a misprint. I even checked a second source.
But it’s true.
With the Browns, he threw 40 TD passes and 81 interceptions.
With those numbers, it’s amazing he lasted in the league as long as he did, and that the Browns did not turn to someone else (Brian Sipe?) sooner. Of course, they probably kept trying to justify the trading of Paul Warfield to the Dolphins for the right to draft Phipps in the first round in 1970.
In 1975, Phipps threw four TD passes and 19 interceptions. Any wonder that the Browns were terrible that year?
Phipps was still the Browns’ opening-day starter in 1976, if you’ll recall. That’s when New York Jets defensive back Shaffer Suggs knocked him out with a shoulder injury and Sipe came in.
Most amazing is that the Browns were able to get a first-round draft choice for Phipps when they dumped him on the Bears.
Think about it. They traded a Hall of Famer to get Phipps, then used him to acquire another one. All for a guy who threw nearly twice as many interceptions as TD passes in his career.
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Some one-shot wonders
The NFL Network’s list of top 10 NFL one-shot wonders got me thinking about what a Browns’ list might look like.
It was tougher than I thought. The team has never been to a Super Bowl, so that leaves out any championship dramatics from the past 40 years or so. No Timmy Smiths here.
And I certainly wasn’t going to plumb the depths of the long-ago Paul Brown era.
So, here are some one-shot wonders beginning in the early ’70s, keeping in mind my fading memory:
1. Ricky Feacher, wide receiver. In the clear highlight of an otherwise ordinary career, he latched onto a pair of Brian Sipe TD passes in the 1980 victory at Cincinnati that gave the Browns the AFC Central title and their first playoff appearance since 1972. The Browns’ next action was the minus-36-degree (with chill factor) playoff game against the Oakland Raiders. Less said about that the better. I sat in Row X in the lower deck and my fingers and toes still ache whenever the temperature plunges below freezing.
2. Lindy Infante, offensive coordinator. According to Wikipedia, he was famous for being able to eat a foot-long hotdog in a single bite. But we remember him as the O.C. during Bernie Kosar’s early years and how the offense was never quite the same when he left after the 1987 season to bomb as head coach of the Packers.
3. Dr. David Mays, quarterback. A dentist, he stepped in against the Steelers in 1976 and inspired a victory. Think it was the same game Turkey Jones planted Terry Bradshaw into the ground head-first. Anyway, Mays appeared in 11 games for the Browns, starting four, and this was his only brush with anything resembling fame.
4. Lyle Alzado, defensive end. After his Denver days and before steroids allegedly killed him, this guy was briefly a central figure on some decent Cleveland defenses. A contract squabble with the Broncos led to his 1979 trade to the Browns and he made second team All-AFC in 1979 with 80 tackles and seven sacks. When he was acquired, a Cleveland TV station caught up with him in a hotel room and he was wearing a white fur coat. Flashy guy. In the almost-glory year of 1980, Alzado led the team with nine sacks, and was All-Pro. He was still good in 1981, but the Browns fell apart and in 1982 they dealt him to Oakland, where he became rejuvenated, apparently with more than a little chemical help.
5. Mike Phipps, quarterback. Believe it or not, there was a time when it seemed this guy might amount to something, leading the Browns to the playoffs in 1972 and teaming with receiver Frank Pitts for a year or so during which time Phipps-to-Pitts became something of a civic rallying cry. There was a Monday night game against the San Diego Chargers in 1973 in which Phipps and Pitts really clicked. Past my bedtime, though. Heard about it the next day. Phipps had his moments, but certainly nothing that would justify trading future Hall of Fame receiver Paul Warfield for him. Hard to believe that ever happened. Set the franchise back about a decade.
6. Boyce Green, running back. An 11th-round draft choice out of Carson-Newman, he averaged 4.8 yards per carry in 1983. Lasted only another year or two, but talk about coming out of nowhere. He was Earnest Byner before Earnest Byner, at least for a brief time.
7. Lee Suggs, running back. Looked like Butch Davis had stumbled upon a fourth-round steal, especially when he rushed for 186 yards in knocking the Bengals out of the playoff race in 2003. But it was all just a tease. He couldn’t stay healthy. Two years later, he was out of the league.
8. Kelly Holcomb, quarterback. In team history, only Bernie Kosar threw for more yards in a single playoff game than the 429 Holcomb burned the Steelers for on Jan. 5, 2003. It was by far Holcomb’s greatest game as a Brown. Would have been more celebrated had they won.
9. Travis Prentice, running back. A third-round draft choice from Miami University in 2000, he led the Browns in rushing with 512 yards as a rookie and scored seven touchdowns. His career quickly fizzled.
10. William Green, running back. Made a splash as a rookie (2002) before booze and domestic violence (he was allegedly stabbed by his girlfriend) hastened his exit from the league. Who can forget Jim Donovan’s radio call of “Run, William, Run!” as Green scored a touchdown in the playoff-clinching win over the Falcons on the regular season’s final Sunday.
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No, don’t forget Mil’Von
Good to see Mil’Von James has a fan.
No question about it. As “Mike” implies, James has just as much chance to stick as the fifth cornerback as any of the undrafted free agents, and his stock rose with Wednesday’s release of Darnell Terrell.
Of course, he also plays safety and the Browns might prefer him there, but it was definitely an oversight on my part not listing James. In rookie minicamp, he opened eyes by breaking up some passes and has done nothing to hurt his cause between then and now.
James played at Nevada-Las Vegas with current Browns cornerback Eric Wright, but, like Wright, didn’t begin there. He spent his first two seasons at UCLA as a safety, so you know he was a big-time athlete coming out of high school in Los Angeles. He saw himself as a cornerback, however, and, well, off he went to the desert (where he also played with Browns rookie linebacker Beau Bell, of course).
Unlike Wright, who transferred from Southern Cal under a cloud of suspicion (rape and drug allegations, all of which proved unfounded), it seems James left UCLA of his own volition.
Wright and James actually were the starting corners at UNLV for one season. That year, James was picked on quite a bit by Mountain West Conference quarterbacks and gave up a bunch of big plays. He had a better year last season, and the fact that he also can play safety will help his chances if it’s close for a roster spot.
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Guard with ‘bad body’ signed
So much for Darnell Terrell being the answer to any question having to do with depth in the secondary.
The Browns released the undrafted free agent cornerback today, along with two other UFAs, receiver Nate Hughes and linebacker Xavier Mitchell.
Terrell, from the University of Missouri, quickly fell out of favor after making a bit of a splash in rookie minicamp. Too bad, because he had good size (6-1, 203) and decent speed. Unfortunately, covering receivers (ball skills, hip turn, etc.) was never a strong suit, and this tends to be a problem if you want to play cornerback in the NFL.
So, until something else happens, the cornerback situation shapes up like this going into training camp next month:
Sure thing: Second-year man Eric Wright on the left side.
Other starter: Either second-year man Brandon McDonald or veteran Terry Cousin.
Depth/nickel: Jereme Perry, A.J. Davis.
Could make it: Damon Jenkins (undrafted, Fresno State), Gerard Lawson (undrafted, Oregon State).
Also worried about depth on the offensive line, the Browns today signed guard Derrick Morse, a 6-foot-4, 320-pounder from the University of Miami, where he started 30 of 41 career games, including each of the team’s 24 in his final two seasons.
Pro Football Weekly pre-draft scouting report on Morse:
Positives: Tough, smart and very competitive. Flashes some nastiness. Shows enough athletic ability to pull.
Negatives: Very limited athlete with a bad body. Struggles to hit a moving target and function in space. Plays too tall with little knee bend and falls off blocks. Does not play with pop or explosion.
Conclusion: Could make a roster.
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Colvin won’t be a Brown
Not sure to what degree they were in the running, but the Browns won’t be getting free-agent linebacker Rosevelt Colvin.
Colvin, a pass-rush specialist who spent the past five seasons with New England and was released in February, signed with the Houston Texans today.
“My passion is rushing the passer,” Colvin, 30, said after signing. “It’s something I feel like I do well.”
The Browns, 26th in the league in sacks last season, had been one of the teams presumed interested in Colvin, given his profile and familiarity with the 3-4 defense.
Colvin had 52 and a half sacks in nine seasons with the Patriots and Chicago Bears.
Upgrading the pass rush has been one of the Browns’ goals this offseason. They think they have done so by trading for linemen Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams.
They hope third-year linebacker Kamerion Wimbley can take another step forward and that linebacker Antwan Peek can stay healthy and give them more than last season.
The Browns had 28 sacks last season, six below the league average. In six games they went sackless.
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Offense no longer just a fantasy
Based on last season, the Browns have one of the league’s more high-powered offenses.
In case you needed a reminder, their success is reflected in the various fantasy football rankings starting to become available.
Most of these rankings show four Browns in the top 50 overall, although only receiver Braylon Edwards seems to be getting any top-20 love.
In cbs.sportsline.com’s top 200, Edwards, who caught 16 touchdown passes a year ago, is 18th. Running back Jamal Lewis, who last week at minicamp said 1,300 to 1,400 yards should be an “understatement” for him if things go well this season, ranks 23rd and tight end Kellen Winslow is 49th.
Quarterback Derek Anderson is ranked 29th, ahead of Carson Palmer and Ben Roethlisberger, his counterparts from the Bengals and Steelers, respectively. (Brady Quinn isn’t listed, but it might not be a bad idea to draft him, too. No controversy, just sayin’.)
What does it all mean? Well … not much, except that Browns fans no longer have to hide their faces in shame at fantasy drafts. And, if they’re lucky, some of these guys might fall to them.
Now, can Anderson be expected to toss 29 touchdown passes again? Can Edwards take his game up another notch and maybe challenge the Randy Moss record of 23 TD receptions in a single season?
Can Lewis continue to stay healthy? And what about Winslow? Is this the year he becomes the unquestioned top tight end in fantasy?
Even kicker Phil Dawson made the top 200 on cbs.sportsline.com, ranking 172nd. There have been years when Dawson has gone undrafted in fantasy because the offense was so putrid. There have been years, to be honest about it, where you would have just as soon drafted Dawson’s wife; she’s pretty good with the National Anthem, after all, and she sometimes had the same fantasy impact, which is to say none.
What a difference some true playmakers and an innovative offensive coordinator make, right? Not just on the field, but in fantasy.
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Andra Davis can’t stop smiling
Snapshots from minicamp:
Linebacker Andra Davis is entering his seventh season. He hasn’t made the playoffs since his rookie year, but this team is more talented than any he’s played on and the defense figures to be improved, maybe dramatically so.
It has him smiling like he knows a secret.
“We’ve got Corey (Williams) and Shaun (Rogers) added to the mix, which gives our D-line great depth,” Davis said. “And a new philosophy on defense, a new leader in our room who everybody is crazy about. I just think we’re going to be better.”
The new leader in the room is Mel Tucker, bumped up from defensive backs coach to replace the fired Todd Grantham as coordinator.
Tucker tends to be a glass-half-full kind of guy, which endears him to players who grew weary of Grantham’s relentless negativity and tendency to assign blame, sometimes loudly.
“Good or bad, next play,” Davis said, explaining Tucker’s philosophy. “Can’t dwell on the last play. Just get to the ball. It’s everybody in it together. Got to count on the guy next to you. One big family.
“It’s just all about getting to the ball, and we’ve got the guys who can do that.”
— LeCharles Bentley’s departure did not have much of an impact on his teammates for one good reason: He’s been away for most of the past two seasons, and it’s tough to form relationships when you’re not part of the team.
“It was surprising because we didn’t know too much about it,” cornerback Jereme Perry said. “It just happened and (head coach Romeo Crennel) approached the team after practice (on Wednesday) and that’s how we found out about it.”
— Pro Bowl kick returner and aspiring receiver Joshua Cribbs is excited about being a captain this season. His plan? “To let my voice be heard and instill my desire to win on others.”
— Beau Bell got a look at his immediate future during minicamp, lining up two spots to the right of the kicker on the coverage team. Whatever he eventually becomes, the rookie linebacker from Nevada-Las Vegas initially will be a wedge-buster.
— It’ll be tough for Gary Baxter to make it strictly as a safety. Brodney Pool and Sean Jones are the starters and Mike Adams did well last season as a backup. Perry can play there, too.
Baxter is a cornerback by trade, and the Browns could use one. But two torn patellar tendons and at least three surgeries apparently have removed this as an option. Too much twisting and turning required at that position.
“You know, it’s kind of funny,” Baxter said. “Our trainer was watching me do foot drills and I was doing real good. No pain or nothing like that. He looked at me and said, ‘We might need you at corner.’ I looked at him and said, ‘No, I’m a safety right now.’ But I’m a football player and once I get back, wherever I’m needed, that’s where I’m going to play.”
— Don’t count out third-year receiver Travis Wilson just yet. Sure, he’s been a bust so far after proclaiming himself the best WR in the 2006 draft. But he had a good minicamp, a good spring in general.
“He’s more well-versed in the system,” Crennel said. “He’s been around for a couple years. So it was time for him to take a step forward. I think he’s helped himself considerably.”
— Reserve RB Jerome Harrison looked good, too, flashing quickness and pass-catching ability. He did not get much of a chance to play last season, but that could change.
“I was talking to Jerome about what he needs to do to get on the field and I think he needs to improve his special teams play,” Crennel said. “When you start looking at numbers and how many you’re going to take to the game and who’s going to contribute, last year he got caught on the short end of the stick a lot.”
— You can expect the Browns to be in the market for a backup tackle. At the moment, if Joe Thomas or Kevin Shaffer were to be lost, it’s not clear who would get the call. The hope is that Ryan Tucker can come back from hip surgery, but this glaring lack of depth is scary for a team with designs on the playoffs.
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Jurevicius optimistic on many fronts
Lost in the shuffle of the LeCharles Bentley fiasco this week was the announcement by receiver Joe Jurevicius that he plans to participate fully in training camp and definitely be ready for the Sept. 7 season opener against the Dallas Cowboys.
Jurevicius is coming off knee surgery and another procedure to remove the staph infection that seems to accompany every surgery a Browns player undergoes these days.
He made a point of refuting a published report that said he might not be ready for the opener.
“The problem that I did have is now gone,” Jurevicius said. “My rehab has probably gone better than expected. I’ve exceeded what the trainers had planned for me and I’m ready to get ready for training camp.
“At this point in my career, it might be a blessing that I’m out of the (voluntary workouts) and minicamp. It’s given me more time to rehab and get my body ready and concentrate on what I need to do to combat the wear and tear of an NFL season.”
Jurevicius, who grew up in a Cleveland suburb rooting for the Browns, has said the 2008 season will be his last, and he hopes it can be one worth remembering.
“To the fans who thought I might not be ready to play, I would not miss this season for the world,” he said. “I don’t care what happens. I’m ready to go.”
When healthy, Jurevicius figures as the Browns’ No. 3 wideout behind Braylon Edwards and newcomer Donte Stallworth, a free agent who brings speed and veteran savvy from the New England Patriots.
“There’s an opportunity for this team to do something that hasn’t been done in a long time,” Jurevicius said. “We’re talkin’ playoffs and that’s what we have to believe. This is a special place to be right now.”
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Minicamp ends with a sprinkle
To the relief of every player and coach, minicamp is over, having ended with this morning’s sun-drenched practice.
It ended with a dousing as the end-zone sprinkler system detonated unexpectedly, scattering the assembled media.
“If you don’t want us here, just tell us,” snarled one veteran beat writer who took it personally while hopping out of the line of fire.
“Hey, nobody needs to see me in a wet T-shirt!” an enormous cameraman hollered.
Moments later, proving it wasn’t personal, other end-zone sprinklers went off just as running back Jerome Harrison was scoring a touchdown after catching a short pass from Brady Quinn.
Actually, the resulting mist felt pretty good on another stifling day in the neighborhood.
Anyway, it’s over. Rookies remain for orientation and a visit to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, but full-squad activities are suspended until July 23 when training camp begins.
Here are the three best and worst developments from the past three days:
BEST
— Nobody got hurt. And this is huge after the Browns lost possible starters Daven Holly (cornerback) and Ryan Tucker (guard/tackle) to injuries during the voluntary part of the offseason program. No surprise that head coach Romeo Crennel today identified depth at corner and offensive tackle as his chief concerns heading to training camp.
— Tight end Kellen Winslow (knee surgery in February) showed up, did more than expected and looked great doing it.
— Receiver Joe Jurevicius (knee surgery, staph infection) announced he plans to be ready for training camp, refuting a published report that said he might not be ready even as late as the Sept. 7 opener. The Browns have some depth at receiver after signing Donte Stallworth, but a team with championship designs can always find room for a clever veteran who’s been to three Super Bowls and has a ring.
WORST
— LeCharles Bentley’s abrupt departure. This could almost go in the “best” category because it’s probably good that Bentley asked for and was granted his release, especially if he didn’t want to be here. But could he have done it without blasting his teammates on the way out the door? The quote: “I sat in our meeting room, and I didn’t see any Dermontti Dawsons or Larry Allens. They’re all good players here, but there was no one out there I couldn’t be better than.”
The Browns don’t need that in their locker room.
— The heat. You expect humidity in training camp, but not necessarily on June 9. Nobody seemed happier to be out of it than Crennel, whose post-practice smile today seemed to have as much to do with the prospect of finally escaping into air-cooled comfort as it did with how minicamp went.
— Silent Kellen. Winslow made good on his promise not to talk to the media all week. Maybe his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, can release another YouTube video.
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Bentley mystery solved
A day after triumphantly returning to the practice field but saying he didn’t necessarily need to play for Browns, offensive lineman LeCharles Bentley is a free agent.
His agent, Jonathan Feinsod, this afternoon told Cleveland.com that Bentley asked for his release and it’s been granted.
Bentley passed his physical Tuesday and practiced lightly with the team that morning. Wednesday, he missed practice and a team meeting and the Browns said they didn’t know why.
Now they know. And so do we.
“LeCharles doesn’t want to be an insurance policy,” Feinsod told the Web site. “He’s going to play somewhere in 2008.”
And thus ends the Bentley era in Cleveland.
Bentley was seen leaving the practice facility shortly after noon, apparently after speaking to GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel.
A clue on Tuesday came when Bentley said he saw himself starting somewhere in ‘08. The Browns’ line is too good at the moment for any such guarantee along those lines to be made. Besides which, Bentley still needs to go to training camp and show he can hold up under the rigors of contact.
Now he’ll be doing that somewhere else.
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Bentley skips practice, meeting
Offensive lineman LeCharles Bentley missed practice and a team meeting this morning. Then, when he finally showed up in the building, he requested to meet with GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel.
No word, only wild speculation, on what this might be all about. Is Bentley, who on Tuesday received clearance to practice with the team after a two-year, injury-related absence, reconsidering his comeback? Does he want his release so he can shop for another team?
Crennel seemed flummoxed when he met with the media just a few minutes ago. “We’ll find out what the situation is,” he said. “I’m not going to speculate.”
It’s otherwise a beautiful day in the neighborhood, no rain in sight, so the Browns are practicing under bright sunshine as opposed to within the stuffy confines of the Casey Coleman Field House.
And if they needed a wakeup call, there was always defensive tackle Shaun Smith to provide it.
“It’s a great day to be out here,” Smith warbled as individual drills began around 10 a.m. “Where else would you want to be?”
The routine is pretty much the same as a training camp practice. Early stretching, then positional work, followed by the team period, which is the best time to be watching because it gets fairly competitive.
The first fight of the week broke out this morning between Nathan Bennett, a rookie offensive lineman from Clemson, and veteran linebacker Antwan Peek. Nothing much came of it. I mean, it didn’t degenerate into anything like the teamwide skirmish that marred Baltimore Ravens minicamp a few weeks ago.
“It’s just competition,” Crennel said. “And it’s hot.”
Say this about these Browns. They are a hungry and serious bunch after coming so close to making the playoffs last season. It’s part of what led veteran running back Jamal Lewis to re-sign here. Well, OK, a three-year contract extension probably had the most to do with it, but it’s not as if he didn’t have options.
Oh, and another thing from this morning: Receiver Joe Jurevicius (knee surgery, staph infection) insists he’ll be ready for opening day.
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Mini impressions
Impressions from the first day of minicamp:
— You know the Browns are a hot story because the national media are already here. ESPN’s John Clayton, “The Professor,” cornered defensive tackle Shaun Rogers (who looks great, by the way) after the morning practice Tuesday. An ESPN.com guy is even sniffing around.
— The Browns asked tight end Kellen Winslow to make himself available to the media after practice and a spokesman said he “declined.” Maybe he’s embarrassed that his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, talked about him on a YouTube video. If he’s not, he probably should be.
— From a practical standpoint, what makes LeCharles Bentley’s possible return all the more significant is the fact that Ryan Tucker is recovering from hip surgery and there’s no clear timetable for when he might take the field. Tucker could have started at right guard, but now it appears Rex Hadnot will. The Browns might have to figure out whether Bentley can help them more than, say, Lennie Friedman, a guard/center who helps spring Joshua Cribbs on kickoff returns.
— If Bentley can’t start, that works against the Browns keeping him because he doesn’t figure to help on special teams. He would represent quality depth, if nothing else, but everything depends on how he looks in training camp. The Browns are encouraged, but not sold yet.
— Bentley’s running test, conducted Monday, was a well-guarded secret, kept even from those who work in the building. Most of the organization spent the day at a golf outing. The test consisted of a series of 40-yard dashes with brief rest intervals. Asked to be more specific about times and such, General Manager Phil Savage clutched his cards firmly to his chest as if this were a high-stakes poker game or Pittsburgh week. What’s the big mystery?
— Ever-changing (but mostly rainy) weather forced practice into the indoor facility. At least the Browns have an indoor facility. It’s one of the things that sets them apart from the Bengals.
— Cribbs confirmed it: The TV show “Josh’s Cribbs,” which hilariously (often unintentionally so) chronicles the player’s every move during a given day, is back for a second season, 17 more fun-filled episodes. Last year, Cribbs was shown going to the dentist, where the wife of a teammate was his hygenist. And then the teammate showed up, posing as a specialist. You had to be there.
— A total of 85 players are on the roster, meaning 32 won’t be when the games start to count Sept. 7.
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Bentley … at long last
Not sure where LeCharles Bentley fits exactly. Is it center? Is it guard? Some sort of Lennie Friedman-type backup role?
Still, it was good to see Bentley out at minicamp Tuesday morning going through the same drills as the other offensive linemen after being sidelined for two full seasons due to a torn left knee tendon, numerous surgeries and what he termed a “life-threatening” (although he wouldn’t elaborate) staph infection.
Afterward, Bentley made himself available for interviews, which set him apart from tight end Kellen Winslow on this day, and said he definitely expects to play this season, whether it’s with the Browns or somebody else.
Hard to believe it will be with somebody else. The Browns have waited this long, so if Bentley shows he can withstand the rigors of training camp, you have to think there’s going to be a roster spot with his name on it even if he’s not back to Pro Bowl form, which he very well might never be.
But that’s down the road.
It was just fun, no matter your football loyalties, to watch practice and think of what a healthy Bentley could mean to the right side of the offensive line, especially if Ryan Tucker is slow coming back from hip surgery.
Newcomer Rex Hadnot, signed in free agency, is running with the first team at right guard and it looks like he is who Bentley would have to beat out for a starting job in ‘08. It’s doubtful he would bump center Hank Fraley, if only because Fraley truly has emerged as the leader of the line these past two seasons. And, as we know, if there’s one place where continuity is paramount, it’s on the offensive line.
“I’m just looking for an opportunity to compete, be it here or somewhere else,” said Bentley, a Cleveland native who played at Ohio State. “I’m just looking for an opportunity to show what I can do at an extremely high level.”
Finally, at long last, it appears he will get that shot.
