Cleveland Browns (2008 Season)

[IronBuckI]

Weren't Shaffer's best years as a left tackle for a left handed QB? Essentially being a left tackle in title only? I never really had any doubt that Shaffer would be better for us at RT than he was at LT.

I was very pleased with the performance of the line this year. This is actually the first off-season that I won't be screaming for the Browns to get OL help...especially if LeCharles can make it back.

[LitlBuck]

Originally Posted by IronBuckI

Weren't Shaffer's best years as a left tackle for a left handed QB? Essentially being a left tackle in title only? I never really had any doubt that Shaffer would be better for us at RT than he was at LT.

I was very pleased with the performance of the line this year. This is actually the first off-season that I won't be screaming for the Browns to get OL help...especially if LeCharles can make it back.

I think you are correct about his best years being at LT but I can't remember who the QB would have been then. One of the big adjustments, according to Doug Dieken, from switching from LT to RT is the first step back to pass protect.

Everything that I read or hear is that Bentley is probably done as is Baxter. We still need to concentrate on backups because McKinney, Friedman, and Dorsey are all FA's been so if we do not sign them we need to get some young guys.

[IronBuckI]

Originally Posted by LitlBuck

I think you are correct about his best years being at LT but I can't remember who the QB would have been then. One of the big adjustments, according to Doug Dieken, from switching from LT to RT is the first step back to pass protect.

Everything that I read or hear is that Bentley is probably done as is Baxter. We still need to concentrate on backups because McKinney, Friedman, and Dorsey are all FA's been so if we do not sign them we need to get some young guys.

The QB was Mike Vick, just in case you weren't kidding about who the QB was then. As for the biggest difference being in pass blocking, that's exactly my point. Pass blocking from LT with a left handed QB is damn near the same as pass blocking from RT with a right handed QB. Maybe exhawg could let me know if my assumptions are correct considering that I haven't played on the offensive line since I was in junior high, and even then we ran the ball 95% of the time.

[LitlBuck]

Originally Posted by IronBuckI

The QB was Mike Vick, just in case you weren't kidding about who the QB was then. As for the biggest difference being in pass blocking, that's exactly my point. Pass blocking from LT with a left handed QB is damn near the same as pass blocking from RT with a right handed QB. Maybe exhawg could let me know if my assumptions are correct considering that I haven't played on the offensive line since I was in junior high, and even then we ran the ball 95% of the time.

exHawg might disagree but my point was that when you play LT your first step back is with your left foot and when you play RT it is your right foot. Dieken said that was a big difference.

I was trying to think how long Schaffer was there while Vick was the QB. I know they played together for a couple years but not very long.

I played TE on an unbalanced line so we are about even in our knowledge.

[osugrad21]

Canton

Shaffer?s move to right tackle is paying off
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
BY Steve Doerschuk
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

BEREA The Browns knew the moment they called left tackle Joe Thomas on the fishing boat.

As a No. 3 overall draft pick, he would anchor the offensive line.

Kevin Shaffer?s professional life capsized in the wake. He would have to move from left to right tackle, not that far from telling C.C. Sabathia, ?Pitch with the other arm this year.?

Shaffer tried not to drown. Finally, he swam. He even reached the shore of the 2008 offseason with beach muscles.

The in-house consensus on Shaffer?s progress in his new job:

He?s dependable and tough. He works hard and blocks smart. He pass blocks well. The team wasn?t sold on him at left tackle and doubts he will become a power-blocking right tackle, but he?s a keeper.

Cont...

[osugrad21]

CPD

Crennel's agent, Savage talking



Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Browns General Manager Phil Savage met with Romeo Crennel's agent, Joe Linta, on Tuesday at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., about Crennel's extension, but the deal wasn't finalized.
"We met and discussed ideas, including length of the extension," said Linta. "I'd say everything was positive. I'm optimistic that we'll be able to finish this so that everyone's happy."
Talks might continue at the Senior Bowl, where top prospects practice all week and then play Saturday.




Cont...

[exhawg]

Originally Posted by LitlBuck

exHawg might disagree but my point was that when you play LT your first step back is with your left foot and when you play RT it is your right foot. Dieken said that was a big difference.

I was trying to think how long Schaffer was there while Vick was the QB. I know they played together for a couple years but not very long.

I played TE on an unbalanced line so we are about even in our knowledge.

Pass sets are different on each side, but as a left tackle it is easier to go to right than the other way around (at least for me). Most people learn a 3 point stance with their right hand on the ground. When I got to college they made me learn the left handed stance which took some time to get comfortable. Even after 5 year of a left handed stance I still felt good in with the right hand on the ground. Your inside leg is also the power leg which can make one side better than the other if you have knee or ankle problems. Once a tackle makes it to the NFL I would hope they can swap sides without too many problems.

[osugrad21]

DDN

'Super' truth: Belichick symbolizes painful past

By Sean McClelland
Staff Writer

Thursday, January 24, 2008
With evil genius Bill Belichick coaching the New England Patriots to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in seven years, it's hard not to wonder what might have happened had Art Modell not transplanted the Browns to Baltimore.
It's a complete distortion of the record to suggest Belichick failed as a head coach in Cleveland. There were no quick fixes back in the early 1990s, but in '94 he had the Browns in the playoffs with an 11-5 record, and they actually won a postseason game.


Then came a return to on-field mediocrity in '95, largely attributable to the craziness caused by the impending relocation of the franchise.
Under Belichick, the Browns were building toward something ? maybe not a New England-style dynasty, but definitely something ? when Modell whisked the team away.



Cont...

[osugrad21]

Canton

A players? coach
Browns are vocal in their support
Thursday, January 24, 2008
BY Steve Doerschuk
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

BEREA Willie McGinest knows Romeo Crennel as well as any player ever will. They were fellow Patriots for three years when Bill Parcells was head coach. They reunited later in New England when Bill Belichick won three Super Bowls. Now, the old player and the old coach are riding out the twilight in Cleveland.

?He was under one of the greatest for mind games and the motivational stuff in Parcells ... and Belichick,? McGinest said. ?They all have the same traits.?

They do?

Parcells? biting sarcasm and dictatorial demeanor paint a public persona in contrast to Crennel?s firm, respectful and even keel.

Even the evolved Belichick, who no longer fidgets through press conferences as if trying to escape a root canal, seems grouchy next to the routinely cheerful Crennel.

Cont...

[osugrad21]

Canton

Crennel comfortable with status as elder coach
Thursday, January 24, 2008
BY Steve Doerschuk
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

As an optimist, Romeo Crennel can chuckle about reaching the age of enlightenment.

A cynic might say he is near the age of unemployment.

When 67-year-old Joe Gibbs turned in his clipboard to the Redskins on Jan. 8, Crennel became the oldest active head coach in the NFL. Crennel, 60, is three days older than Dallas? Wade Phillips, 2 1\/2 months older than the Giants? Tom Coughlin.

Crennel seems half amused and half annoyed when asked how long he expects to keep coaching.

?I have a contract with the Cleveland Browns for two years. I expect to honor that contract,? he said.

And.

?If we keep winning, I?ll keep enjoying it.?

No NFL owner who studies recent history automatically holds age against a head coach.


Cont...

[osugrad21]

DDN

Big C: Browns coach Crennel scouting Senior Bowl practices


By Carlos "Big C" Holmes
Staff Writer

Thursday, January 24, 2008

MOBILE, Ala. ? No team was as well-represented during the week of practice at the Senior Bowl than the Cleveland Browns. A record number of scouts and team personnel in attendance swarmed the fields in Mobile like busy little bees. While this is taking place the team's head honcho, coach Romeo Crennel, sits in the stands looking strong and proud of the work conducted by his disciples.
Perched 10 feet away from the coach, I watched him closely as he surveyed the field and evaluated the talent. The look on Crennel's face never changed the entire practice even when a player made a big play. It was as if Crennel knew that he was being watched and didn't want to show any emotions or tip his hand as to the prospect he was eyeing. Just watching him you knew that Crennel was in his element.



Cont...

[osugrad21]

CPD

Cleveland Browns plan to increase ticket prices for first time since 2005


Friday, January 25, 2008Bill Lubinger
Plain Dealer Reporter
The Browns finished 10-6, fielded a young, potent offense and sniffed the playoffs.
Next season, it will cost most fans more to watch them try to turn a sniff into a full inhale.
The Browns are expected to announce today an increase in 2008 ticket prices for much of 72,300-seat Cleveland Browns Stadium.


Cont...

[osugrad21]

Canton

Browns offense, defense at odds
But as scoring picks up, Lerner likes the foundation of his team
Friday, January 25, 2008
BY Steve Doerschuk
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

BEREA On these days when the practice fields hibernate under a white blanket, past and future meld in the swirling snow. If your captain?s chair overlooks the scene, and you happen to own the ground, you may use the ethereal scene as a calming tool for cold analysis.

If you are Randy Lerner, it?s your business to ask: What do you do with the coach whose team touched a little bit of heaven after a whole lot of, well ...

In a conversation with The Repository, Lerner promised to give the long answer to the Romeo Crennel question ? expect any criticism, if there is any, to be constructive ? sometime after the Super Bowl.

For now, the Cleveland Browns owner agreed to a quick synopsis. He expressed a favorable view of Crennel, as seen through a ?trajectory lens.?


Cont...

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

NFL notebook
Browns, Anderson begin negotiations

Friday, January 25, 2008 2:59 AM



From staff and wire reports
The Cleveland Browns have opened negotiations with quarterback Derek Anderson by offering him a three-year contract, a source told The Dispatch yesterday. It is likely the first of many proposals as the sides attempt to reach an agreement before NFL free agency begins Feb. 29.

Cont...

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Most of the Browns' internal discussions this offseason have been about improving the defense, more specifically the linebackers and line. The Browns are happy with linebacker Kamerion Wimbley and satisfied with Antwan Peek, but the inside linebackers are average. D'Qwell Jackson is the most valuable of the three. They would love to sign a Pro Bowl-caliber inside linebacker or lineman and would also like to sign an outside linebacker.
Chaun Thompson is an unrestricted free agent, and the Browns aren't likely to spend big money to bring him back. They could sign him for less money and use him as a reserve linebacker and special teams player.