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QB's End Minicamp on Negative Note

By Chris Pokorny

It's nice to finally have faith in a defensive coordinator in Cleveland. The Browns signed Todd Grantham to a contract extension that runs through 2009. His contract was scheduled to expire at the end of this season. Last year, Grantham was an extremely strong candidate for the head coaching job at Michigan State. In fact, there was a time in which reports were made that Grantham had the job. That changed though, and Grantham was not given the job. In the long run, hopefully that turns out to be a bonus for the Browns.

"The bottom line in this business is wins and losses because you're a team," Grantham said. "No matter the situation you have to go out and perform. Just like just now - we finished a two-minute drill. In this league it is going to come down to the [last] two minutes of the game. That's where they have it set up. That's what they want. You have to produce under pressure.

"As we move forward, the big thing with me is finishing. Really, wins are very important. There are certain things you have to do in saying that. One, you have to be physical and stop the run. Two, you have to affect the quarterback. If you do those things, you'll be hard to score on, which ultimately is what you want on defense. You want to be hard to score on."

Although the Browns ranked well in Grantham's first season in 2005, the defense ranked 27th overall last season. Most of that can be attributed to key injuries all season long in the secondary, eventually wearing away at the defensive line and some of the linebackers. Besides that, there was a final day of minicamp to look forward to, and it was filled with quite a few releases, some of them involving familiar faces.

Players Released Today by Browns

  1. ANTONIO PERKINS, CB: A fourth-round pick by the Browns in 2005, Perkins' stay with the Browns was not very eventful, as he represents one of Phil Savage's first "high" picks that never really panned out to anything. One of the main benefits of drafting Perkins was the fact that he was a solid punt returner in college, although with Dennis Northcutt on the roster, he never received an opportunity to fulfill that role. After the Browns added several cornerbacks in the draft and during the offseason, it remained clear that Perkins' chances of remaining with the Browns were slim to none.
  2. ALAN RICARD, FB: I guess it's pretty clear: Lawrence Vickers will be the team's starting fullback in 2007. Although I thought that Ricard would stay around a little longer, I'm assuming that the Browns were only using the veteran fullback to aid the adaptation of running back Jamal Lewis to the offense.
  3. BRENT POUSSON, OL: An undrafted lineman from McNeese State.
  4. SCOTT STEPHANSON, OL: An undrafted lineman from Iowa State.
Now, in a note from the OBR, the Browns' top three quarterbacks failed to score a touchdown during two-minute drills, although Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson were able to get the unit into field goal range. Upset, Crennel made the offense run as punishment after practice.

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