Cleveland Browns (2009 Season)

[aurorabuckeye13]

One of the things I really take a positive out of this draft is that we got alot of smart, high character guys (with the exception of the CB from SJSU who got arrested or something). I think it says something about the kind of team that Mangini wants to build here, and hopefully he will follow through with that in upcoming years.

[OH10]

Originally Posted by buckeyboy

Since the Browns likely won't be trading Braylon this year and will probably lose him in FA, are they going to get any compensation for him?

The Browns could tag him and then possibly trade him next year. The fact that we couldn't work out a trade this year just means that he'll have to step up his game NOW ... for us. Not a bad thing.

[billmac91]

Originally Posted by OH10

The Browns could tag him and then possibly trade him next year. The fact that we couldn't work out a trade this year just means that he'll have to step up his game NOW ... for us. Not a bad thing.

Jerry Reese was still very discreet about a Braylon Edwards trade after the draft......I still he could moved.

Just like I think Anderson or Quinn is moved before the sseason. Really no reason for acquiring Ratliff unless Anderson or Quinn gets shipped....

[LitlBuck]

Cleveland.com
Cleveland Browns tested center Alex Mack for both brains and brawn before draft

by Mary Kay Cabot/Plain Dealer Reporter Sunday April 26, 2009, 5:47 PM

Lynn Ischay/The Plain DealerAlex Mack's goal as a Cleveland Brown is simple, he said on Sunday. "I plan to be the best football player possible."
BEREA -- New Browns center Alex Mack is a California boy, but has strong Ohio roots. His dad, Steve, is from Lima, and played basketball at Baldwin-Wallace in Berea, not far from the Browns facility. Mack, the Browns first-round pick, spent his summers vacationing at the quaint cottage community of Lakeside, on the shores of Lake Erie near Marblehead.
His grandparents had a cabin there and the whole family gathered there every summer for a reunion and fish fry. He still has an aunt and uncle and slew of cousins who live near Lima and Lakeside.
"Half my family was beside themselves [Saturday], seeing me come out to Ohio again," he said during a press conference in Berea Sunday.
His dad actually predicted Saturday's events.
"Before the draft, he was like, 'I think you're going to be a Brown,'" said Mack. "He was just making a guess. He either got lucky or he's pretty smart."
Continue

[LitlBuck]

Cleveland Browns latest draft pick spurned Yale

by Tony Grossi/Plain Dealer Reporter Sunday April 26, 2009, 4:17 PM

Norfolk State photoBrowns sixth-round selection Don Carey.
BEREA -- The first of the Browns' three sixth-round draft picks was cornerback Don Carey of Norfolk State. Like most of the Browns' previous draft picks, Carey has impressive academic credentials. He received numerous academic scholarships and was accepted at Yale University but couldn't afford the cost.
Carey, 5-11 and 192 pounds, said the biggest adjustment he anticipates jumping from the former Division I-AA to the NFL is the speed of the pro game.
"I'm going to have to make sure I get on every special teams to make my chances better of making the squad," Carey said.

http://www.cleveland.com/sports/

[LitlBuck]

BEREA -- The Browns completed their 2009 draft by taking San Jose State cornerback Coye Francies and Clemson running back James Davis with their final two selections in the sixth round.
Francies was downgraded by some for being dismissed from the Oregon State team in 2007 after an arrest for possession of a loaded firearm. He transferred to San Jose State and had a good and clean final season.
Davis, 5-11 and 218 pounds, was Clemson's leading rusher for three straight seasons and left as the school's all-time leader with 47 rushing touchdowns.

COYE FRANCIES
Position: Cornerback
College: San Jose State
Ht./wt.: 6-1/185.
40 time: 4.63 seconds
Notable: Strong upper body and aggressive against the run despite slight build. Slow 40 times at combine hurt his status. Rancho Cordova, Calif., native played at American River College, a junior college, in 2004 and 2005. Played 14 games and started five at Oregon State in 2006. Transferred to San Jose State and sat out 2007. Had 69 tackles and three interceptions last fall.


JAMES DAVIS
Position: Running back
College: Clemson
Ht./wt.: 5-11/218
40 time: 4.6 seconds
Notable: Good lower body strength and runs with authority, but not considered a workhorse back. Projected as a second-rounder last year, but returned for his senior season and stock fell after rushing for 751 yards and 11 TDs. Atlanta native gained 7,339 career yards at Douglas High.
-- Tim Warsinskey

Cleveland Browns pick CB Francies from San Jose St. and Clemson RB Davis - cleveland.com

[jlb1705]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Browns' trading down three times in the first round netted them:

• DE Kenyon Coleman
• QB Brett Ratliff
• S Abram Elam
• C Alex Mack
• WR Mohamed Massaquoi
• CB Coye Francies
• RB James Davis.

I am very happy with that group overall vs. anybody they could have picked in the #5 spot. Seeing the Browns moved down and accumulate picks was like being in bizarro world.

[NFBuck]

Originally Posted by jlb1705

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Browns' trading down three times in the first round netted them:

• DE Kenyon Coleman
• QB Brett Ratliff
• S Abram Elam
• C Alex Mack
• WR Mohamed Massaquoi
• CB Coye Francies
• RB James Davis.

I am very happy with that group overall vs. anybody they could have picked in the #5 spot. Seeing the Browns moved down and accumulate picks was like being in bizarro world.

Agreed. Not a lot of "star power", but with the shape this organization is in, I'm not sure how anybody could really be complaining. I wasn't wild about the Mack pick at first, but it's growing on me after the rest of the draft. This team needs smart football players and they're getting them. Mangini is obviously moving to get his kind of players. A lot of people are forgetting that he was pretty successful with very marginal talent with the Jets. If the OL can stay healthy and Braylon can get his head (and hands) straight, this team could be better than most will expect. If Braylon is decent, hopefully Robo steps up and they can move him next year. It also helps that we have a coaching regime that is gonna close the kiddie camp this summer, maybe Romeo's biggest folly. His teams, year in and year out, started the season totally unprepared. That shouldn't be the case anymore with a coach not looking to be well liked.

I like the Davis pick. Late round RB successes are rare, but they do occur and IIRC, Davis was pretty highly thought of last year before going back for a miserable Senior year on a miserable team. Maybe he can surprise.

[3074326]

UFAs (didn't see them posted anywhere, might have missed them)

Browns
WR Jordan Norwood (Penn St.)
S Jason Venson (UCF)
OG Marlon Davis (Alabama)
DB Corey Boudreaux (SDSU)
WR Brent Casteel (Utah)
P Chris Lynch (Albany)

Casteel's name is ringing a bell for some reason, but other than Norwood I really don't know anything about them. And I know little about Norwood.. basically what I saw when he played OSU. He was pretty eh against OSU from what I remember.

[IronBuckI]

Originally Posted by NFBuck

Agreed. Not a lot of "star power", but with the shape this organization is in, I'm not sure how anybody could really be complaining. I wasn't wild about the Mack pick at first, but it's growing on me after the rest of the draft. This team needs smart football players and they're getting them. Mangini is obviously moving to get his kind of players. A lot of people are forgetting that he was pretty successful with very marginal talent with the Jets. If the OL can stay healthy and Braylon can get his head (and hands) straight, this team could be better than most will expect. If Braylon is decent, hopefully Robo steps up and they can move him next year. It also helps that we have a coaching regime that is gonna close the kiddie camp this summer, maybe Romeo's biggest folly. His teams, year in and year out, started the season totally unprepared. That shouldn't be the case anymore with a coach not looking to be well liked.

I like the Davis pick. Late round RB successes are rare, but they do occur and IIRC, Davis was pretty highly thought of last year before going back for a miserable Senior year on a miserable team. Maybe he can surprise.

I love the Davis pick. I can't believe that he was still on the board that late.

Overall I loved what the Browns did on day one. Mack will be a starter for us for the next ten years. Robiskie pretty much grew up as a Brown, and is going to be a solid #2 for us. Massaquoi has been up and down as his QB has been up and down. 38 receptions as a freshman with a 5th year senior throwing to him. Then he dropped off a bit with a freshman QB, and he progressively got more catches as Stafford learned how to play the game.

[Piney]

Originally Posted by IronBuckI

I love the Davis pick. I can't believe that he was still on the board that late.

LOVED the Davis pick too. I remember last year waiting on players to declare early reading the scout Browns site. Alot of people were hoping Davis would come out and be their 2nd/3rd round pick. To get him in the 7th round is the reason it is tough to pick a RB in the 1st round anymore. So much talent available in the later rounds.

LOVED the trading down. No one exciting at #5, you are overpaying whoever you draft there. While we probable didn't get alot of picks to satisfy the average fan, we got alot of defensive talent PLUS a vet QB to be the 2nd QB after we trade DA or Quinn. Then to steal a couple of 6th rounders from TB & Phily for getting 'value' for your target in Mack.

The one thing I didn't like was their 2nd round. I love Robo... but we could have had him later in the 2nd round? But that pick wasn't what really bothered me. The Georgia WR??? A guy from Hawaii that could have been had in the 5-6th round??? WTF??? Those two 2nd rounders really [censored]ed me off. I HATE those picks. Massicry (misspelled on purpose) was your classic underacheiver in college, can anyone say Travis Wilson?

[jlb1705]

I think it's funny what's going on with Mark Sanchez. If he'd been picked by KC or Seattle nobody would be talking about him. Since he's going to NY though, he's Green Jesus - or after last year maybe he's Green Jesus II. I don't know what to think anymore.

I'm also seeing a lot of writers ripping on the Browns because they now have six players from what was the Jets' 16th ranked defense. I can't really blame anybody whose job it is to watch football games and talk about them for avoiding the Browns, but even they should realize that the Browns have been so bad that if those players can help lift the Browns' defense to that level of mediocrity it will be a tremendous leap forward.

[IronBuckI]

Originally Posted by Piney

...
Those two 2nd rounders really [censored]ed me off. I HATE those picks. Massicry (misspelled on purpose) was your classic underacheiver in college, can anyone say Travis Wilson?

Travis Wilson was the best WR in that draft...just ask him.

Originally Posted by jlb1705

...
I'm also seeing a lot of writers ripping on the Browns because they now have six players from what was the Jets' 16th ranked defense. I can't really blame anybody whose job it is to watch football games and talk about them for avoiding the Browns, but even they should realize that the Browns have been so bad that if those players can help lift the Browns' defense to that level of mediocrity it will be a tremendous leap forward.

I thought that the Jets defense was much better than that rating, considering the situations that Favre put them in. I guess we'll see.

[ArmyVet83]

Originally Posted by Piney

LOVED the Davis pick too. I remember last year waiting on players to declare early reading the scout Browns site. Alot of people were hoping Davis would come out and be their 2nd/3rd round pick. To get him in the 7th round is the reason it is tough to pick a RB in the 1st round anymore. So much talent available in the later rounds.

LOVED the trading down. No one exciting at #5, you are overpaying whoever you draft there. While we probable didn't get alot of picks to satisfy the average fan, we got alot of defensive talent PLUS a vet QB to be the 2nd QB after we trade DA or Quinn. Then to steal a couple of 6th rounders from TB & Phily for getting 'value' for your target in Mack.

The one thing I didn't like was their 2nd round. I love Robo... but we could have had him later in the 2nd round? But that pick wasn't what really bothered me. The Georgia WR??? A guy from Hawaii that could have been had in the 5-6th round??? WTF??? Those two 2nd rounders really [censored]ed me off. I HATE those picks. Massicry (misspelled on purpose) was your classic underacheiver in college, can anyone say Travis Wilson?

Overall, I liked what the Browns did with the draft and the off season. While they made no dynamic picks or signings per se, they drafted for needs, depth and good character players. Good for the coaches and the locker room.

Free Agents / Trades and Draft:
Robert Royal TE
David Bowens LB
Noah Herron RB
David Patten WR
Floyd Womack OL
John St. Clair OL
C. J. Mosley DE
David Bowens OLB
Eric Barton ILB
Hank Poteat CB
Terry Cousins CB
Kenyon Coleman DE
Abram Elam DB
Brett Ratliff QB

Alex Mack C
Brian Robiskie WR
Mo Massaquoi WR
David Veikune DE
Kaluka Maiava OLB
Don Carey CB
Coye Francies CB
James Davis RB

They added some veteran depth on D to fill in and train up the new guys and some guys that are familiar with Eric's system especially on D that will help with the learning curve. Also the quality additions will lead to more competion for each position. I think coaches and management see what is wrong and are taking steps to correct it. My favorite pick was James Davis in the 6th round. He might be the best pick up in the draft for the Browns. Still more work to do but this is a good starting point.

[aurorabuckeye13]

Originally Posted by 3074326

UFAs (didn't see them posted anywhere, might have missed them)

Browns
WR Jordan Norwood (Penn St.)
S Jason Venson (UCF)
OG Marlon Davis (Alabama)
DB Corey Boudreaux (SDSU)
WR Brent Casteel (Utah)
P Chris Lynch (Albany)

Casteel's name is ringing a bell for some reason, but other than Norwood I really don't know anything about them. And I know little about Norwood.. basically what I saw when he played OSU. He was pretty eh against OSU from what I remember.

Add Texas Tech QB Graham Harrell to that list... originally thought to have signed with the Cowboys, but ended up with the Browns.

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