In today's long-overdue edition of Around the Pound, we take a look at some of Pat Shurmur's comments from the NFL owner's meetings, how Julio Jones is closing the gap as the top-rated wideout in the draft class, whether the Browns were one of five teams fined by the league, and more.

Shurmur Calls for Live Tackling Drills in Training Camp

The past couple of years, the Philadelphia Eagles and St. Louis Rams have represented the few teams that implement live tackling during training camp. According to Tony Grossi via Shurmur, the Browns will likely be doing the same thing if and when training camp takes place:

"It may have to be adjusted this year, but we always did that in Philadelphia. There was always through training camp a live (tackling) period during practice," Shurmur said.

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In today's edition of Around the Pound, we take a look at the Browns being one of the teams at the Pro Day for cornerback Jimmy Smith, James Walker talking about how the Browns are the team that will be most hurt by the labor situation, and more.

Browns Attend Colorado Pro Day for CB Jimmy Smith

According to the Baltimore Sun, the Cleveland Browns attended the Pro Day of cornerback Jimmy Smith and did not disappoint.

Smith had a "solid" workout at his pro day, according to NFL.com's Gil Brandt. "Smith is a talented guy who needs to work harder and get in better shape and take these workouts seriously," Brandt said. "Because he does have talent, but he sometimes doesn’t play up to it. He’s definitely the No. 3 corner in this draft behind Patrick Peterson and Prince Amukamara."

The latest projections have Smith going anywhere from the late first round to the early second round. It would seem like a great defensive upgrade if the Browns were to grab a stud defensive lineman with the No. 6 overall pick and then score Smith in the second round.

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In this morning's edition of Around the AFC North, we take a look at the Bengals showing some interest in an OSU running back, whether Steelers fans are interested in bringing back free agent quarterback Dennis Dixon, and a rehash of the status of Ravens backup quarterback Marc Bulger.

Cincinnati Bengals: Looking at RB Brandon Saine

Over at Cincy Jungle, they mention that the team has shown interest in Ohio State running back Brain Saine after a good showing at the combine:

One of Ohio States two running backs from the 2010 season, Brandon Saine has caught the eye of some NFL teams, including the Bengals, largely due to his combine 40-yard dash time, which was 4.43 seconds. According to the Dayton Daily news, Saine had an "impromptu meeting" with Jim Anderson, the Bengals running back coach.

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In today's edition of Around the Pound, we zone in on just two stories (along with some off-beat notes): a good interview by the Plain Dealer with cornerback Eric Wright, and a brief update on the deadline extension to reach a new CBA agreement. We also provide a screen cap of a recently banned member's final post.

Eric Wright Discusses Death Threats and Poor Play in 2010

In an interview with the Cleveland Plain Dealer, cornerback Eric Wright, who received a second-round tender the other day, discussed his "down" year this past season. One disturbing note, which I'm sure occurs much more often than reported given the type of crap you see daily on cleveland.com, Wright received death threats after struggling this past season. He said he did not report it to the team or the police because he attributed to fans just being passionate.

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In today's edition of Around the Pound, we take a look at a summary of how some of the defensive linemen did at the NFL Combine, some more news about the arm strength of Colt McCoy, and more.

Cabot: Top Defensive Linemen Put on a Show

Mary Kay Cabot of the Plain Dealer has a review of what some of the defensive linemen did at the NFL Combine on Monday. As most of you probably know already, one person who did not perform was Da'Quan Bowers, who sat out and will wait until his Pro Day.

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In tonight's edition of Around the Pound, we take a look at a few things the Oakland Raiders did Thursday, what Mike Lombardi had to say about the Browns' Colt McCoy, an interview from good old Kelly Holcomb, and more.

Kamerion Wimbley Tagged, Stanford Routt Large Contract

Since when did it become trendy to tag players having some affiliation with the Cleveland Browns? The Browns used the franchise tag on Phil Dawson earlier in the week, and on Thursday the Oakland Raiders used it on linebacker Kamerion Wimbley. The former Brown led Oakland with nine sacks last year and is now set to make an astounding $10.1 million next season! The team will reportedly try to reach a new long-term contract with him.

The Raiders also agreed to a three-year, $31.5 million extension with cornerback Stanford Routt. The Raiders have re-signed a ton of their defensive talent the past few days, leading me further to believe that Nnamdi Asomugha will hit free agency and find another team to pay him an outrageous contract. I like Asomugha's talent, but there is no way I want Cleveland to pursue him anymore given the type of contract I know he will command.

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In tonight's edition of Around the Pound, we take a look at the Twitter controversy involving Joshua Cribbs, where Bryan Cox has found new work, what free agent Seneca Wallace has to say about next year and the Browns, a quick update on the NFL PA and the labor meetings, and more.

Joshua Cribbs Makes a Bad PR Move

If you have listened to local talk radio at all day, then I'm sure you have heard about the fiasco involving Joshua Cribbs at the NBA All-Star Game. If you haven't heard, here is the short version of the story:

Dan Gilbert gave his owners tickets to Cribbs to attend the game. Cribbs then tweeted a picture of LeBron James at the All-Star game with the subtitle, "My Boy." Here is the picture.

That's it. Personally, I don't care less about the comment, and I don't agree with so many fans lashing out at Cribbs. With that said, given the fact that Cribbs was in Gilbert's seats and the big "feud" between Gilbert, the Cleveland fans, and James, it probably wasn't the best public relations move for Cribbs to post such a picture.

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In today's edition of Around the Pound, we make note of the legendary Jim Brown's birthday, take a look at how Josh Freeman plans to work with his teammates even if there is a lockout, what the New York Jets are thinking of doing at the cornerback position, and more.

Josh Freeman Excited to Get Offseason Workouts In

Even if there is a lockout, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman plans on making sure he and his teammates get enough work in to stay prepared for a potential NFL season:

"Hopefully the CBA gets resolved," Freeman said, "but if it doesn't, I've already been in contact with all of our receivers and everybody's excited to come (to Tampa) in March and get going. We're going to hit up a couple of the local high schools here and work out that way. Hopefully, they'll let us use their weight room or whatever it is we need, because we're anxious to get going.''

Freeman is coming off an outstanding season in which the Buccaneers had a 10-6 record but missed the playoffs due to a logjam at the sixth wildcard spot. With a potential lockout ensuing, how many players on teams are going to take the initiative to get some "unofficial" workouts in? Could something like that give certain teams a competitive edge next season? For a team like the Buccaneers, it might be easy to work on things from the previous season with a similar offensive scheme.

If Colt McCoy tries to get together with his receivers though, maybe they could build some chemistry, but they are supposed to be operating in a different offense next season under Pat Shurmur. Maybe it is a given that the players will try to get together to stay on top of their football skills and chemistry, but who knows? It's not like these lockout situations come up every year.

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