Cleveland Browns 2010 Training Camp: Observations From 8/9 (Video)
The Cleveland Browns got back to work in the afternoon of Monday August Ninth after having Sunday off following their full team scrimmage on Saturday.
In full pads, the team took the field in Berea in the heat of Northeast Ohio, but the temperatures did drop toward the end of the session to cool of both the team and the rather large crowd that was in attendance for a Monday afternoon practice.
Here are my observations from this afternoon's practice and some video I shot from practice this afternoon is also on the last slide.
No. 1 Punt Returners Not Named Cribbs
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At the start of practice, the team split up into several units, as they usually do to start, and both Chansi Stuckey and Bobby Engram were taking turns receiving punts while two defenders ran down the sideline in coverage.
Even though Josh Cribbs did not return any, he was part of the drill as one of the two defenders in coverage and the Browns look to continue his role as a gunner on punts since they have been using him in that role during drills.
Stuckey is also featured as a returner and he obviously will be the primary punt returner behind Cribbs since he is seeing a ton of reps doing so.
No. 2 Jonathan Haggerty Update
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Haggerty has been quietly having a good camp despite all the other receivers trying to make the final roster cut.
Once during punt coverage drills Haggerty showed great timing and footwork in order to down a punt at the one yard line.
As a receiver, Haggerty has been overshadowed by Brian Robiskie, Stuckey, Mohamed Massaquoi and others but he has shown good speed and hands.
On one particular play this afternoon, Haggerty caught a pass and almost instantly made a move to throw off a defender and gained another 10 yards on the play.
If he continues to play like that, he might make the final roster and fellow rookie receiver Carlton Mitchell could land on the practice squad for the regular season.
No. 3 David Bowens Update
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Bowens must have had a "get out of practice free card" that he used today, because he was not suited up in full pads like the rest of the linebackers, but he wasn't conditioning with the injured players either and he was still with the linebackers during practice.
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No. 4 Good Blocking By the Right Side of the Line
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I was rather surprised to see a huge hole open up on the right side of the offensive line which back Peyton Hillis took advantage of and I saw a burst of speed from him that I have not seen in camp before.
The blockers who opened up the hole were right tackle John St. Clair and tight end Robert Royal.
Royal is known as a great blocking tight end, but St. Clair struggled in 2009 and hopefully this is a good sign of improved blocking on his part.
No. 5 Cyclone Update
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Another new twist of the fame double-Wildcat included a shovel pass from Cribbs to Seneca Wallace, but the pass was not on target and hit the ground incomplete.
Another interesting result of the Cyclone, but bad execution.
At least that's what camp is for to work out the kinks before the season.
No. 6 Cyclone Surprise
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In a surprise move, with Wallace behind center and Cribbs flanked to the right, Wallace motioned for Cribbs to come closer to the end of the offense line.
Once Cribbs settled at the end of the line, the ball was snapped and Wallace handed it off to rookie receiver Carlton Mitchell, who blasted on the speed to gain some yards.
From the angle I was at, I could not see how many yards were actually gained, but I can say that Mitchell's speed was impressive.
No. 7 Hillis Is Just Incredible
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After missing several practices last week with an injury, Hillis was back on the field and he didn't miss a beat.
He showed impressive speed in the earlier described play, and he once again showed great hands.
On two separate occassions, Hillis went on deep routes and out ran the defending linebacker to catch touchdown passes.
One of the linebackers defending was Matt Roth, who simply didn't have the speed to keep up.
No. 8 Matt Roth's Versatility
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I reported last week that in a few formations, I saw Roth line up in a three-point stance as a defensive end.
Today Roth starting off practice partaking in drills with the other linebackers, but then toward the end, he switched and was working with the defensive line.
It looks like the added weight that Roth has packed on in the offseason had reasoning behind it since he could very well be a defensive end in formations including a possible 4-3 scheme that coordinator Rob Ryan has used with teams in the past.
No. 9 Bad Snaps
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Backup center Bill Yates had not one, but two bad snaps in a row to quarterback Colt McCoy and Yates had to leave the scrimmage to ran laps, while Alex Mack replaced him.
No. 10 Wallace Picked
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Eric Barton was on the receiving end of an interception on Wallace that was thrown right to him.
I could not see if the receivers were at fault or if Wallace was at fault and didn't see Barton standing where he was.
No. 11 Shaun Rogers Update
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Rogers was still not in pads and conditioning with teammate C.J. Mosley, but Rogers was hitting the pads and hitting them hard.
It looks like Rogers is making progress and hopefully he will be ready to play soon.
Next Practice Coverage
12 of 12This may be a bit up in the air right now, but I do not know if I will be able to attend the Tuesday morning practice on August 10 at 8:45 A.M. EDT.
If I cannot, then the next practice after that will be on Thursday morning on August 12 at 8:45 A.M. EDT.
(Daniel Wolf is exclusively covering the Browns training camp for both Bleacher Report and Dawg Scooper: THE Cleveland Browns Blog.)
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