Browns Training Camp Report: Day 6 (Morning & Evening)

by Chris Pokorny on Jul 29, 2008 12:57 AM EDT in 2008 Training Camp

What's your favorite team in the National Football League? The one that makes you proud to bleed orange and brown? They are the Cleveland Browns of course. Our troops took the field for two practice sessions again today, so let's get right into it:

(BTW, thanks to OBR Forums user Buckeye2k7 who uploaded four videos of camp from Monday's morning session! The links are listed below...I am embedding the second video link for quick access.)

Video Link 1
Video Link 2
Video Link 3
Video Link 4

TRAINING CAMP REPORT - DAY 6 [MORNING] (7/28/08)

Joe Thomas has been taking on everybody in camp -- even pass rushing specialist Kamerion Wimbley. Credit: Official Site

Steinbach Losing Battles: The veteran left guard isn't struggling by any means. When it comes to defending Shaun Rogers though, Eric Steinbach just can't seem to find an edge. In a one-on-one drill Rogers just dominated him -- so much that he could've easily put him on his back.
Thomas a Mauler: In the same drill, according to the Plain Dealer's Tony Grossi, Joe Thomas manhandled a rushing David McMillian. Imagine if you, assuming you're not in football shape, tried to actually beat Thomas. That's what Thomas did to McMillian -- except McMillian actually has NFL-quality talent.
Rookie Alert: Two rookies have caught the attention of head coach Romeo Crennel -- running back Travis Thomas and linebacker Alex Hall. In sharp contrast, we haven't heard much about linebacker Beau Bell, tight end Martin Rucker.
Edwards Somewhat Down: If ever there was a day that Braylon Edwards "struggled" in camp, it would've been during the morning practice. Edwards leapt up in the air on a deep pass from Derek Anderson, but cornerback Brandon McDonald made a fundamentally sound play by trying to jar the ball loose as Edwards came down, compensating for the size difference. The ball indeed came loose.

Braylon Edwards has the ball knocked free from him after a nice play by defensive back Brandon McDonald. Credit: Official Site

On another play, Edwards dropped a deep pass after he had beat defensive backs Terry Cousin and Mike Adams.
Speaking Of Which: The reports on Terry Cousin have not been great thus far. Let's hope that he isn't this year's Ralph Brown or Kenny Wright (in terms of player quality).
Grossi Likes Leggett: Grossi commented on how wide receiver Lance Leggett has been making some nice catches in camp, including during the morning session. Leggett was another player who I gave zero credit to in my training camp preview.
Daily Wilson: According to the official site, Brady Quinn threw a fade touchdown to receiver Travis Wilson after Wilson had beaten his man. With Kevin Kasper missing a couple of practices, you'd have to imagine that Wilson has a slight edge over him with a strong camp thus far.
Rubin With a Drive: ...to deep right center...opps, wrong sport. Rookie defensive tackle Ahtyba Rubin showed some nice drive today, pushing back center Hank Fraley on at least one occasion. Still, the roster odds are not necessarily in his favor, meaning he still has a lot to show us.
Leonard Beating Hadnot: According to one fan's report, defensive lineman Louis Leonard beat offensive guard Rex Hadnot pretty badly twice in a row. Hadnot was looked down upon more so than Leonard was praised.
Anderson Again: It's not even close, folks. Derek Anderson continued to display his improved touch on short passes
Injury Updates: WR Kevin Kasper and DL Corey Williams did not participate. TE Steve Heiden and RB Jason Wright were limited in their activity.

TRAINING CAMP REPORT - DAY 6 [EVENING] (7/28/08)

Brady Quinn's lackluster effort in camp may not mean much right now, but it will if it continues -- we need him if anything happens to Derek Anderson. Credit: Official Site

New Quarterback: We didn't add anybody to the roster, but apparently there is a new quarterback in camp. The Browns ran a play in which the ball was tossed to Jamal Lewis, who then ran right before rainbowing a pass to a wide open Kellen Winslow for a touchdown. Yep...just don't try that during a game Chud unless you're certain it'll work.
Sowells a Mess: Things aren't looking good performance-wise for Isaac Sowells, who was getting beat left and right during practice, whether it was against starters or backups. Luckily for him, backup tackle is our thinnest spot on the offensive line.
Zone Problems: While he was very consistent in practice again, we have to nitpick here: during red zone drills, Derek Anderson threw a bad interception to Andra Davis. Those type of plays killed us last year against the Oakland Raiders and the Cincinnati Bengals (part 2). Again though -- his short game continues to look impressive.
Quinn to Harrison: While Brady Quinn continues to look unsure of himself, how about we highlight something positive for once? Running back Jerome Harrison ran a wheel-like route, and Quinn hit him in stride for six.
Sanders Again: The most news that Steve Sanders is making is that he's staying after camp playing catch with Quinn. They did it again for awhile after the evening session.

Here is your link collection of sources for much of the information above:

Browns morning practice Day 6 is over (Cleveland Plain Dealer, Grossi)

Notes: Crennel looking for improvement (Official Site, King)

Camp report: Wimbley seeking to rebound (Orange and Brown Report, Greetham)

Lewis runs for titles, legacy, and Jim Brown (Cleveland Plain Dealer, Cabot)

Andra Davis' word worth weight in gold (Cleveland Plain Dealer, Grossi)

Don't sell short the talent of McDonald (Cleveland Plain Dealer, Pluto)

The Browns will hit the field for one afternoon practice session on Tuesday.

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Comments

DA vs. Quinn

We all know DA is going to be the starter, try not to oversell it to us Browns fans (note not DA or Quinn fans). Improving his touch is not DA’s biggest weakness. It’s not always forcing the ball with his cannon of an arm and not throwing the dumb INT. Each post seems to say how much better DA is doing with a majority of reps with the first team and how Quinn seems unsure throwing to UDFA . But you’ve mentioned a few times that DA is repeating the same mistakes. Is it far to say Quinn had a rocky first day but seems to be improving?

I only ask you continue to post the facts, as you have them. My fear as a Browns fan is not having the best QB with the most potential at the end of the day. I like DA’s but could do without the stupid mistakes.

Did DA make Edwards, Thomas, Winslow pro-bowlers or vice-versus?

by Guage80 on Jul 29, 2008 6:44 AM EDT reply actions

Yes, we all know Anderson will be the starter. However, there are a lot of fans that had hopes of Brady Quinn taking over the team quickly into the season, and right now he doesn’t appear to be on the same level of Anderson. For those fans, I’m trying to convey this fact strongly. For the fans that have fully accepted Anderson as the starter, at least for now, I can definitely see is appearing as an oversell.

Have I mentioned a few times that Anderson is repeating the same mistakes? I thought this was the first time I mentioned that Anderson made a mistake from last season that I ridiculed him on. As for Quinn, when you are throwing balls that are low to the ground to practically stationary receivers without pads on [on certain days], I don’t care what team you’re working with: you’re not in full swing yet. That’s what the rest of camp is for though—to shake off those errors and be ready by Week 1.

Joe Thomas made himself a Pro Bowler.
Kellen Winslow made himself a Pro Bowler—he produced nearly the same with Frye & Anderson.
I think Derek Anderson and Braylon Edwards made each other Pro Bowlers. I think Edwards really loved Anderson’s ability to get him the ball up in the air where he could use his size advantage.

Dawgs By Nature - Find out why Pittsburgh still sucks.

by Chris Pokorny on Jul 29, 2008 8:40 AM EDT up reply actions

First of all thank you for your response and the time you spend putting together the detailed posts.

I like all true Browns fans want whats best for the team to win year in and year out. Unfortunately you can’t root for Quinn without rooting against DA. Because for the obvious reason Quinn will only get a shot if DA gets hurt or doesn’t perform. DA has 17 games (estimate) of NFL experience, Quinn one drive so truly we don’t know how it’s going to turn out for either at this point.

Over the past two year it was determined that Maurice Carthon wasn’t the right guy which exposed Charlie Frye who wasn’t the right guy. DA has proven so far he is mostly a good & sometimes a bad NFL QB and that inconsistency is my only concern. But could you relieve someone for winning 10 games when the should have won 12? Or is the only way Quinn will QB long term is if DA is really bad or gets hurt (Neither I wish upon him)?

QB controversy will not help the Browns for certain. True controversy will only happen if a minor injury occurs early to DA and Quinn steps in an wins either the Cowboys and Steelers game or DA falters in the first 3 games. I don’t like either situation.

Again thanks and I look forward to the updates on not just DA & Quinn but the whole team.

For the record I believe that Quinn given the opportunity is the better QB of the two and will lead a team to a Super Bowl victory or two before he retires. (Fear is it won’t be the Browns)

by Guage80 on Jul 29, 2008 3:34 PM EDT up reply actions

Ha, nice touch at the end there (about it being with another team).

I agree with everything you said; our somewhat comparable situation is, of course, with happened with the Chargers two years ago between Philip Rivers and Drew Brees. In the Browns’ case though, if Anderson leads us to the playoffs, I see the opposite happening: we’ll trade the youngster and keep the veteran (if you want to call Anderson a “veteran”).

It’s funny how an average quarterback like Jake Delhomme has been with the Carolina Panthers for a long time now, even with all of the injuries he has suffered. For Derek Anderson though, one little injury during a game could spell the end of his time in Cleveland if Quinn seizes the advantage.

Can’t complain though…it seems like a win/win situation in the end for us, unless the locker room gets separated (half the team wants DA, the other half wants Quinn). Hard to imagine such an extreme situation developing though…

Welcome to the site, BTW. Long-time reader or just a recent visitor?

Dawgs By Nature - Find out why Pittsburgh still sucks.

by Chris Pokorny on Jul 29, 2008 4:46 PM EDT up reply actions

Thanks.

Recent visitor. Last year I mainly the Browns home site, Plain Dealer, NFL.com and ESPN. Those don’t have enough up to date or timely information. This year I found SI.com’s Brown specific page which has a link to this site. I’m impressed so far even with you putting a pro DA spin on things.

Look forward to reading the posts as they come… if I have any disagreements or insightful comments I’ll be sure to post them.

p.s. My wife is a steelers fan and wants to raise my girls that way. I need the Browns to win for the next 10 years to ensure my girls grow up Browns fans.

by Guage80 on Jul 30, 2008 6:58 AM EDT up reply actions

Ha…Browns fans with Steel City kids…the ultimate nightmare for a father I’d imagine ;)

Dawgs By Nature - Find out why Pittsburgh still sucks.

by Chris Pokorny on Jul 30, 2008 8:33 AM EDT up reply actions

Eric Wright

Heard alot about McDonald, how is Wright looking?

by vegasbrown on Jul 29, 2008 8:01 AM EDT reply actions

It seems that very few of our UDFA are making a Leigh Bodden impression. McDonald has made the most plays at the position in camp, but Eric Wright seems to be holding his ground from a year ago without issue.

Dawgs By Nature - Find out why Pittsburgh still sucks.

by Chris Pokorny on Jul 29, 2008 8:42 AM EDT up reply actions

i like that A.J. Davis guy

by kjc on Jul 29, 2008 6:50 PM EDT up reply actions

More red zone

Correct me if I’m wrong but I believeDA had 2 red zone miscues versus the Patriots. in a game that could have been closer than the final score. Should we be worried about Steinbach (at least his confidence) if Rogers continues to manhandle him?

by bellar on Jul 29, 2008 8:57 AM EDT reply actions

It was probably because the Patriots knew exactly which play we were running because of their videotape.

I don’t think we need to be worried about Steinbach. In a real game, you can do things to help a guy out if the other team has a monster DT. In one on ones it’s just one dude’s physical talent against another’s. I would also caution against getting too excited about Rogers’ performance. We all knew what type of monster he can be when he chooses to play and the question isn’t if he can beat pro bowl Olinemen but if he will bring it all game long, week after week, year after year. It is good to know he can be the type of force we want at DL though.

by rufio on Jul 29, 2008 10:50 AM EDT up reply actions

We should be very happy that Rogers is playing this well. If he is doing well enough to beat Steinbach then we have a Pro Bowler on our hands.

by gahnki on Jul 29, 2008 2:19 PM EDT up reply actions

I gave Anderson the benefit of the doubt for the Patriots game because it was still early in his career, against a very good football team, and he was without Jamal Lewis after the first running play.

I agree with gahnki and rufio regarding Steinbach. I look at this as a positive for Shaun Rogers and nothing more than “practice” for Eric Steinbach.

During a game though, things will be much different. Teams will double team Rogers when appropriate, so he won’t have the chance to manhandle a lineman on every play—however he will allow more freedom for the rest of our defensive players, if the plan translates from paper to live game action.

I also think Steinbach has too much job security and experience as a highly-regarded NFL starter for him to lose a little bit of confidence at this point. Defending such a tough defender will probably make him better, if anything.

Dawgs By Nature - Find out why Pittsburgh still sucks.

by Chris Pokorny on Jul 29, 2008 4:51 PM EDT up reply actions

I forgot to add that these drills are meant for defenders to win much like 7 on 7’s are built for the offense.

Two players of equal skill go against one another and the attacker (Rogers) will win every time. As long as Steinbach isn’t looking terrible against players of lesser skill there should be no reason to worry.

by gahnki on Jul 29, 2008 9:51 PM EDT up reply actions