Cleveland Browns (2008 Season)

[LitlBuck]

Originally Posted by DaytonBuck

Browns defensive line doesn't worry you? I like the skill position people for the Browns but looking at how bad last years schedule was you're not worried? My boss is a huge Browns fan and thinks because they played the Steelers and Pats tough that proves they're good. This is was one of the worst schedules in NFL history. I have no doubt the Browns will beat up at midseason and dawgdom will demand Anderson's carcass in sacrifice.

Don't get me wrong I think the Bengals will have a winning season in the next 20 years.

With the pickup of Corey Williams and Shaun Rogers (Detroit) the defensive line is probably the least of my concerns on the defensive side of the ball. I realize their schedule last year was weak but do I think they will win the Conference this year the answer is yes. The AFC Central teams have a brutal schedule but they all have to play the same teams so we shall see.

Give my best to your boss

[osugrad21]

DDN

Winslow wants to be one of the guys

Pro Bowl tight end, who wants a new contract and is coming back from surgery, says he's a happy camper.

By Tom Withers
Associated Press

Friday, July 25, 2008
BEREA ? Kellen Winslow could be home resting or relaxing on a beach in California with a cold drink as his teammates sweat through grueling two-a-day practices.
If he desired, the Pro Bowl tight end, who wants the Cleveland Browns to tear up his contract which still has three years left, could be just about anywhere but training camp.
Instead, Winslow is where he's happiest ? on the field.
"My job," Winslow said Thursday following the team's first workout in full pads, "is to just be out here and play football. I don't want to be a distraction."
For a while, that's all he was.
Cont...

[osugrad21]

DDN

Tucker trying to work his way back onto the field

By Tony Grossi
The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer

Friday, July 25, 2008
The pain in Ryan Tucker's hip is gone. The pain in the bottom of his stomach is not. It's eating up the 12-year veteran not to be practicing with an offensive line that has turned into one of the league's finest.
Tucker popped out of the trainer's room after Wednesday's morning practice to visit with former teammate Aaron Shea. He is on the active/physically unable to perform list for another three weeks or so.
"I hate watching film when I'm not in it," Tucker said. "But I have a role to play right now and that's to get healthy. We have a great group of guys. It's awesome to be a part of this right now. Obviously I'm not on the field but I'm trying like crazy to be out there. I'm not going to rush. I'll be back out there eventually."



Cont...

[osugrad21]

ABJ

Winslow wants deal, but focus is on field Tight end says he won't be a distraction
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sportswriter

Published on Friday, Jul 25, 2008


BEREA: For perhaps 24 of his 25 years, Kellen Winslow was a magnet for controversy.
So there might have been no better indication of how the Browns' tight end has matured than when he uttered the words Thursday, ''I don't want to be a distraction.''
When he came to the Browns as the sixth overall pick in the 2004 draft, Winslow said something inflammatory every time he talked. He did little to dispel the reputation he had built at the University of Miami with his ''I'm a soldier'' rant after a 2003 game against Tennessee. Then he suffered serious injuries in a 2005 motorcycle accident, which has resulted in four surgeries on his right knee.
It sounded like the same Winslow in February during a Sirius NFL radio interview from the Pro Bowl when he said he wanted his contract renegotiated. Those remarks hinted at brewing trouble, along with his hiring of a new agent, Drew Rosenhaus, and his decision to skip voluntary offseason training activities to work out in San Diego.
Winslow attended the mandatory June minicamp but wouldn't speak to the media.
Because several Rosenhaus clients have staged holdouts, some feared Winslow wouldn't report to training camp on time, or at least wouldn't be a happy camper.
Cont...

[osugrad21]

CPD

Cleveland Browns tight end Kellen Winslow focusing on big season, not big contract

Friday, July 25, 2008 Mary Kay Cabot
Plain Dealer Reporter

In this season of Great Expectations, Kellen Winslow was determined not to be the Great Distraction.
So instead of holding out of camp for the contract extension he's seeking, he showed up on time and is practicing as hard as a rookie trying to make the team.
"I'm sure [the media] probably thought I wasn't coming, but I'm not that type of guy," said Winslow after Thursday morning's practice. "I don't want to be a distraction. My job is to just help this team win and play to the best of my ability."

Cont...

[osugrad21]

CPD

Training camp log: Day 2

Friday, July 25, 2008
What happened: The pads went on and the players knocked off the rust. It was a lively first day, with a few crowd-pleasing shouting and shoving matches. In the evening practice, first-year cornerback A.J. Davis picked off Derek Anderson on a deep ball for Braylon Edwards and then Edwards threw Davis to the ground. Nick Sorensen came to Davis' defense and shoved Edwards. . . . The first-team offense looked crisp in afternoon team drills, except for two Anderson picks, one by Brandon McDonald off a flea-flicker.
Injury report: WR Donte Stallworth (hamstring) was idle for both sessions, and RB Jason Wright sat out the evening practice with an unspecified injury, not believed to be serious. He rode the bike for part of the session.

Cont...

[osugrad21]

Canton

Winslow's growing up
Tight end talks about maturing, making more catches
Friday, July 25, 2008
BY Steve Doerschuk
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

BEREA Sometime this year, cool-talking, hot-blooded Kellen Winslow Jr. will say something that turns heads.

Or will he?

Winslow's outrageous "I'm a soldier" rant came down more than five years ago.

His infamous trip to Canton for a StarBoyz demonstration and subsequent motorcycle crash is three years in the rearview.

He has racked back-to-back years of 875 and 1,106 yards, is coming off a Pro Bowl and is acting like model-employee, establishment material.

"Coming out of college, I was probably viewed in a different light," Winslow said between training camp practices Thursday. "But I'm growing up. I'm 25 now. That stuff was a long time ago."

"Just like everybody else ... you have to grow up. I'm older and married now. I'm just ... grown up."

Even if he did turn 25 Monday, though, it'll be 25 years before he can get an AARP card. He's still young, ornery and outrageous, as in outrageously good.
Cont...

[osugrad21]

Canton

Could Browns be the team for the seldom-seen Kasper?
Friday, July 25, 2008
BY Steve Doerschuk
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

BEREA You look at Kevin Kasper's r?sum? with such wonder that you wonder why you're bothering.

How on earth can a 30-year-old whose career year was 15 catches for the 2003 Arizona Cardinals make even a ripple on Lake Erie?

How can a little bleached blond with a grand total of one catch in the last four years replace Joe Jurevicius?

Then you watch Kasper in practice. You see him line up wide right against No. 1 cornerback Eric Wright, zip to a spot, stop on a dime, make a magical fake, then dart outside and leave Wright in the dust.

Grandma could have hit him for a completion.

In a subtle way, it was the most striking play through two days of training camp.

Cont...

[osugrad21]

Canton

Sports Spotlight: Savage has plenty to be happy about with his job as GM
Friday, July 25, 2008
BY Todd Porter
REPOSITORY SPORTS STAFF

JACKSON TWP. Fighting fires isn't easy. Particularly when you're an NFL general manager. They don't give you a hose in GM school.

Between two-a-day practices on the second day of training camp, Browns General Manager Phil Savage did something he couldn't in seasons past. He left the facility and went to a speaking engagement.

Better yet, Savage didn't have to worry about his cell phone buzzing with another fire to put out. He didn't have to concern himself with some sort of figurative cloud hanging over the team.

Phil Savage is a bonafide GM in charge of a bonafide NFL team.

BETTER OFF THAN PACKERS GM?

Cont...

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

espn.com

Browns position battles
July 24, 2008 9:15 AM

Posted by ESPN.com's James Walker
Here is a look at key position battles for the Browns:
KasperWilsonCribbsNo. 3 receiver: Kevin Kasper vs. Travis Wilson vs. Joshua Cribbs
The offense is stacked, so this is really the only skill position up for grabs on that side of the football. No. 3 receiver Joe Jurevicius is currently on the training camp physically unable to perform list and likely will be put on the regular season PUP at a later date. There are three candidates in Kevin Kasper, Travis Wilson and Joshua Cribbs looking to fill in. Kasper and Wilson had solid spring workouts, and Cribbs is always up for any challenge that's asked of him. The good news for Cleveland is the team only needs one of these three players to step forward.
Intensity index: Hot
McKinneyHadnotRight guard: Seth McKinney vs. Rex Hadnot
A fractured hip for starting guard Ryan Tucker this spring opened this spot for veterans Seth McKinney and Rex Hadnot to compete. Tucker is expected to return sometime in August, but this is arguably Cleveland's deepest position as both reserves have extensive starting experience. Hadnot may have a slight edge over McKinney at this point but it's very close. It may not matter anyway if Tucker quickly returns to form.
Intensity index: Mild



Continued.....

[LitlBuck]

Tucker will probably be on the back for one exhibition game so I assume Hadnot will get the starting nod at right guard. He is a proven veteran so that not hurt us on the OL. However, one of those guys are going to have to step up and take the #3 wide receiver position because it looks like Joe J. might miss the entire season.

[schwab]

Originally Posted by DaytonBuck

I'll save Browns a bunch of money. (FIWI I believe the Bengals are probably a bigger train wreck)

Why was Cleveland so good last season?

Worst Records in the NFL

1. Miami
2.Saint Louis
4.Oakland
6. Jets
7. San Francisco
8. Baltimore x 2 Games
9. Cincinnati x 2 Games

I can't prove it yet but I haven't a found a team in NFL history that's played more games against the 10 worst teams in the leagues. The Browns cleaned up by playing bad teams. 4 games against teams with a winning record and 2 of them were the Steelers. No joke this was one of the easiest schedules in NFL history.

This year you open with the Cowboys and Steelers at home. Go on the road for 2 in the division against Baltimore and the Bengals. Come home against the Giants and then face the Redskins and Jaguars on the road. The Browns season will be over at that point.

Thank you, oh mighty Bungle fan, for coming to this thread and pointing out to us Browns fans that we should take up a new hobby on fall Sundays. If the season is going to be over after only 7 games, I might as well not pay any attention.

BTW, it's the NFL, and any given Sunday, etc... I don't think anyone will dispute that the Browns' schedule is much, much harder than last year, but the team is also percieved to this point as much, much better than last year. We'll see how they align with each other soon enough. BTW, the Bungles play nearly exactly the same teams the Browns do, and if Cleveland is gonna struggle, then look out in the Queen City, cause I've heard less than flattering things about that squad for this season's outlook.

[NFBuck]

Originally Posted by DaytonBuck

Browns defensive line doesn't worry you?

No. That was the focus of the offseason...to improve the DL. Savage went out and did that. I'm more concerned about an inexperienced secondary and whether DA is the real deal or just a flash in the pan.

I like the skill position people for the Browns but looking at how bad last years schedule was you're not worried? My boss is a huge Browns fan and thinks because they played the Steelers and Pats tough that proves they're good. This is was one of the worst schedules in NFL history.

Yep, and in the past, the Browns would have gone 6-10, tops, against that schedule. They did play the Pats and Steelers (2nd game, obviously) tough...games that would've been blowouts in the past. Reason for optimism. This team is now very strong along both lines, has Pro-Bowl players at nearly all the skill positions, solid LB play and strong special teams. The questions about DA's performance over the last few weeks and the defensive backfield (particularly CB) are the only things holding me back from salivating about this season. Well that, and the fact it is still the Browns and anybody is subject to a staph infection or malaria at any moment.

I have no doubt the Browns will beat up at midseason and dawgdom will demand Anderson's carcass in sacrifice.

Well, being a Bungles fan can mess with your train of thought. To say there is "no doubt" is borderline thinking at best. This team has a lot of potential, and teams have risen from nowhere and succeeded. I guess time will tell, but it's probably not the best move for a self-professed Bungles fan to come into a Browns thread and write off their chances right as camp is starting when there's finally a glimmer of hope.

Don't get me wrong I think the Bengals will have a winning season in the next 20 years.

That we can agree on.

[billmac91]

I'm certainly guarding myself aginst over-optimism....what can I say, I'm a Clevelnad sports fan. Every time you expect good things, you get [censored] on.

I'm with the previous poster who said playoffs, evevrything after that is gravy. I figures the year we expect this team to do well, they land one of the hardest schedules in NFL HISTORY. The only upside is the rest of the central faces almost the exact same schedule.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

Rogers shows he has nose for the ball
Huge lineman makes acrobatic interception during practice
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sportswriter

Published on Saturday, Jul 26, 2008

BEREA: Shaun Rogers slung his big arm up, tipped himself a pass and seconds later pandemonium broke loose on the Browns' defense.
Rogers' new teammates saw Friday what they'd previously witnessed only on last year's highlights ? a 6-foot-4, 350-pound monster of a man nabbing an interception and nimbly running around the end for at least 10 yards, stiff-arming fullback Lawrence Vickers before he was through.
Asked if he knew Rogers could turn the corner like that, defensive end Robaire Smith said, ''Yeah, you didn't see the play last year when he took off running? He's a big, athletic guy. I'm quite sure if that was live, whoever that little fullback was would've gotten run over.''

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