Browns Training Camp Report: Day 7 - The Heat is On

Romeo Crennel claps on as he watches the rest of his team practice in the hottest day of camp thus far.

On the seventh day of training camp, the training camp facility in Berea saw an arrival. An arrival that has no proper name but can be a real pain in the neck: HEAT.

With it being an afternoon practice today, the team got their first taste of near 90-degree temperatures underneath the scorching sun. They knew it had to come sooner than later, but did it affect anyone's performance during practice?

TRAINING CAMP REPORT - DAY 7 (7/29/08)

1. Mr. Rogers: So, how did Shaun Rogers hold up in this heat? Perfectly fine, considering he was given the day off by Romeo Crennel. There wasn't anything wrong with him; more of the "veteran respect" it seems. Kellen Winslow was also given the day off.
2. Josh Cribbs Day: If you are a huge fan of Joshua Cribbs, then you missed a good one today, because it was almost "all Cribbs, all the time" (didn't that used to be similar to WKNR 1220's tagline?). Cribbs' action will be highlighted below...
3. Cribbs at QB: While he didn't throw any passes, Cribbs lined up at quarterback for at least four plays, according to the Plain Dealer. Each time, he took a direct snap from shotgun and ran with the ball, much like he did a few times during the 2007-2008 campaign.
4. Cribbs on Reverses: The gadgets continued while Cribbs was lined up at different positions. He had several reverses, fake reverses, and throws off the reverse. WTAM's website reports an instance in which Cribbs received a reverse and then ran the option play with receiver Donte Stallworth trailing him.
It was a very busy day for WR Joshua Cribbs. Here, outruns the defense for a touchdown after a slant pass from QB Brady Quinn.
5. Cribbs' Weight Loss: WTAM also reports that after showing up to camp at 230 pounds, Cribbs has already lost 8-10 pounds. That seems a little excessive, doesn't it?
6. Cribbs via Quinn: Practice closed out with another play involving Cribbs. He caught a nice spiral from Quinn on a deep slant over the middle before outracing the defenders to the end zone for a touchdown.
7. Quinn's Day: Speaking of Quinn, this was reportedly one of his better practices, though that's not saying a whole lot. His accuracy was up, but many of his passes were still underthrown on intermediate routes.
8. Daily Wilson: Although he couldn't haul in a pass that he slid to the ground for and got his hands on, it was still a good day overall for Travis Wilson, who performed well in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills.
   
9. Pick Six for Adams: Off of a dropped pass to tight end Darnell Dinkins on a pass from Derek Anderson, backup safety Mike Adams returned an interception for a touchdown.
10. Stallworth, DEEP: Getting back into the groove of things, Donte Stallworth caught a deep touchdown pass from Anderson, drawing an ovation from the crowd.
Jerome Harrison is getting a lot of reps behind Jamal Lewis. Will that mean anything on gameday though?
11. Reps for Jerome: Backup running back Jerome Harrison has been getting a lot of reps with the second team, and he's looked quick and elusive as always. I'll repeat it again though: you can't get excited about his potential until regular season gameday to see if the coaches actually utilize him or simply "stash him as an option".
12. Ali Repping Up: The roster odds for fullback Charles Ali are increasing by the day. With Vickers out, Ali has been the team's primary fullback in camp, and he has been hitting people hard. Kolo Kapanui or any of the other UDFA's haven't made significant noise either.
13. Other Sit Outs: DE Corey Williams (shoulder), TE Steve Heiden (knee), OG Seth McKinney (ankle), FB Lawrence Vickers (hamstring) and WR Kevin Kasper (hamstring) did not practice. Of all those players, I'm most disappointed to see Kasper still on the sidelines. We need to see if this guy could be our fourth, or even third, receiver.

Anderson's pick to Adams and Quinn's touchdown to Cribbs were in the two-minute drills to close practice. The Canton Repository provided a more detailed summary of the situations:

Monday's lone practice concluded with a two-minute drill. Anderson went first, running the No. 1 offense — and getting picked off by safety Mike Adams on a misfire that glanced off tight end Darnell Dinkins' hands.

Quinn brought the No. 2 offense on the field. Early in his shift, rookie Paul Hubbard and 2007 practice squad extra Steve Sanders split wide left, with Cribbs setting up wide right. Cribbs fired off the line on a quick slant, and Quinn hit him in stride against cornerback Jereme Perry. Cribbs accelerated and ran into the clear for a 45-yard touchdown.

Here's your link collection of sources for Tuesday's practice:

Browns insider: Offensive line word association (Cleveland Plain Dealer, Grossi)

Browns notebook from Day 7 (Canton Repository, Doerschuk)

Day 7 of training camp (WTAM)

Ali a "new player" in his second camp (Official Site, Jackson)

Camp report: Jones expects big things (Orange and Brown Report)

Tuesday training camp update (OBR Forums)

Dawson taking nothing for granted (Official Site, King)

Photos from camp (OBR Forum member)

If you have Sirius Satellite Radio, I'm sure you've heard the news already that the merger between Sirius and XM was FINALLY approved today, thank heavens. Sirius has its own NFL station on Channel 124. Every year, "Movin' the Chains" hosts Tim Ryan and Pat Kirwan visit training camps around the league.

They will be covering the Cleveland Browns on Wednesday (July 30) from 3:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. EST. If I don't forget about it, I will try to cover it live here on Dawgs By Nature, providing any updates that they are discussing, just like I did last year. Don't get too excited, but do check in around 3:30 PM EST to see if I'm doing play-by-play (assuming you don't have a Sirius yourself).