Cleveland Browns Training Camp Report: Day 11 - Maiava Gets Involved

There are only a couple of practices remaining before the Cleveland Browns take on the Green Bay Packers in the first exhibition game of the season. There weren't a whole lot of new developments in practice, but let's go through the rundown nonetheless.

TRAINING CAMP REPORT - DAY 11 (8/9/11)

1. The Veteran Makes Some Noise: Out of all the cornerbacks on the roster, the one we haven't heard much about is veteran Sheldon Brown. He hasn't struggled, but unless proven veterans make a big play in camp, it's just assumed they are doing fine. Brown made some big plays in camp Tuesday morning though. In a red zone drill, he jumped a route by Greg Little and came away with an interception. Earlier in the session during one-on-one drills, he combated with the 6'5" Chris Matthews to come away with a pick.
    
2. Gocong Gives Way to Maiava: It's probably a good thing for linebacker Kaluka Maiava to get some reps with the first-team defense before Saturday's game. With Chris Gocong out with a neck stinger (not serious), Maiava was playing in his place. Maiava would start on Saturday is Gocong is unavailable.
    
3. The Coach's Approval: When it comes to the starting safety position, we can give Usama Young the definite edge. While it's been obvious due to the amount of practice time Young has seen with the first-team defense, Shurmur said, "we're looking for Usama to emerge and be the starter." He noted that Mike Adams is still competing with him though.
    
4. Rebounding Quickly: As some of you have discussed in other threads, we probably shouldn't take Greg Little's bad days as if it is the end of the world. If you're still keeping track though, Little supposedly caught everything thrown his way Tuesday.
    
5. Shovel it in There: I think of shovel passes down near the goal line as a form of a gadget play. According to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal, Joshua Cribbs received a shovel pass from Seneca Wallace in the end zone. It's not the Wildcat, but it's another way to get Cribbs involved in every way possible.
    
6. Two Man Punt Return Team: (note: this bullet point was derived from Steve Doerschuk of the Canton Repository). You've seen teams have return teams on punts where they have one primary punt returner, and then another guy just ahead of him. Doerschuk found it interesting that the Browns are using Joe Haden, a "star player," in the upback role. He said Buster Skrine beat a double team as a gunner, only to be met with a block by Haden, one that could spring a guy like Joshua Cribbs free.
    
7. Back in Action: It's good to hear that rookie tight end Jordan Cameron was back in action against an opposing defense. He got behind linebacker D'Qwell Jackson in the end zone on one play and made a nice catch. The other tight ends, particularly Evan Moore and Alex Smith, continue to catch the ball very well. I hope the offense on gameday includes at least three of the tight ends on a rotating and regular basis.
    
8. First Team Work for Braxton: Second-year offensive tackle Branndon Braxton took the place of starter Tony Pashos on the first-team offense at times, although Pashos might have been getting worked on at the sideline, according to Daniel Wolf of National Football Authority.
    
9. Improvement for McGee: According to CBS Sports, our punter, Richmond McGee, had a much better session on Tuesday. They said, "[McGee] is booming his punts in practice. He's sending them consistently high and deep. McGee will be the permanent replacement for Reggie Hodges if this trend continues." Let's hope the writer meant permanent for this season only, because I don't think anyone is replacing Hodges into next year.
    
10. Brownies: Safety Eric Hagg intercepted a pass by Seneca Wallace, but Wallace did get him with a perfect pass in the end zone to Evan Moore...receiver Carlton Mitchell stepped up his game with a good day of practice, making the potential Jordan Norwood vs. Mitchell decision a tough one...every camp report says that Jabaal Sheard just cannot beat Joe Thomas, but it's "good practice"...Grossi says that Montario Hardesty did some more agility drills on the sideline, a step forward for him.

Tuesday's Link Collection / Camp Sources

• Cleveland Browns training camp report, August 9 practice (National Football Authority, Wolf)
• TE Evan Moore Continues to Flourish in Shurmur's Offense (Plain Dealer, Grossi)
• News, notes, and observations from Browns camp (Akron Beacon Journal, Ulrich)
• A little voice says, 'go the distance' (Canton Repository, Doerschuk)