Mangini Proves He's The Boss As Minicamp Closes

Another week, another “voluntary” Browns minicamp, this time with Joshua Cribbs.

Head Coach Eric Mangini is taking full advantage of an NFL league rule that allows new head coaches to have a few extra voluntary minicamps. The Browns now have had two camps in two weeks.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Mangini indicated the Cribbs holdout seems to be over, with Cribbs all but acknowledging defeat shortly thereafter.

“After I met with coach Mangini, it was real evident to me that the team's going on without (me) and I had to get back out there with my guys," he said.

According to my count, which I double checked with the AP, that’s Browns Management 2, Disgruntled Browns Players 0, including the dispute with defensive lineman Shaun Rogers.  We haven’t even started the main training camp yet and the new Browns front office has shown more backbone than four years of the Phil Savage/Romeo Crennel regime.

Kicker Phil Dawson remains a no-show, but as Mangini stressed on Wednesday, these camps are “voluntary.”  Of course, “voluntary” to NFL head coaches usually means “show up or I’ll make you pay.”

To back up his point, Mangini reveled in rookie Parker Douglass’ 52-yard field goal that won the two-minute drill being run at the time.

Trying to make a point, Coach Mangini?

Dawsonmay not have gotten the point yet, but Cribbs sure did.

"This team is not going to lose any sleep over one guy," Cribbs told the Cleveland Plain Dealer on Wednesday. "I'll say that. The team is bigger than just one player. It's bigger than me. This town's bigger than me. I just want to be a part of it."

Dawson has been a great kicker for the Browns, but if Mangini refuses to back down to his most versatile player, he’s certainly not going to back down to a kicker, even a good kicker.

While Douglass got praise for his work on the practice field, the rest of the offense gave Mangini little to smile about. Both quarterbacks Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson were victims of interceptions while Mangini continues to tinker with the offensive line’s makeup.

It’s still too early to make any kind of judgment call on how good the line will be this season, but it is worth noting Mangini doesn’t like what he sees. With Derek Anderson still possibly on the trading block, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him go for an offensive lineman.

Mangini was uncharacteristically candid when asked about his offensive line, especially the right side.

“Ryan (Tucker) has done a good job for us and he has worked both at guard and tackle,” Mangini said Wednesday. “Floyd (Womack) has worked there, John St. Clair has worked there.

“I think the effectiveness of the offensive line is tied into the effectiveness of the running backs. The tight ends play a big part of the running game; they play a big part of the protections, and the fullbacks too.

“We have had a lot of different guys and combinations,” he continued. “And that will continue and it will work all through those spots on the offensive line to see not only who are best five are, but who our best group is and what kind of versatility we have. When we get to the 45 (man roster) and we may have an injury, who can we plug in where and how well do they know it."

On the defensive side, Mangini’s unhappiness with the current roster manifested itself with the signing of former Arizona Cardinal Safety Rod Hood. He reportedly is already getting first team reps during the minicamp.

Mangini said on Wednesday the makeup of the defense is an “ongoing” process.

Translation, “This team sucked last year and I only had so many draft picks to fill holes with. Anything is better than the lousy excuse for a team that took the field in 2008.”

What I found most interesting about the latest press conference, especially once I went back and read the transcript, was how much Mangini wanted to talk about the offense and how little he wanted to talk about the defense.

It’s understandable the press would ask more questions about the offense right now, but Mangini almost seemed “talky” in his answers, which is unusual for a guy known for speaking little and saying less.

I don’t know enough about Mangini to speculate with any form of accuracy at this point, but my gut tells me he sees enough potential on the offense to get him excited about the season. As for the defense, I think he sees very little there outside of a few players and doesn’t want to talk about it if he doesn’t have to.

As a final note, Mangini spoke in great length about the two-minute drills he put the team through this week and how one of the scenarios he threw out there was “The Drive.”

As a Cleveland fan, I do everything in my power to not think about that horrendous day, and no matter what the record book said, that kick by Rich Karlis was wide right. I’ll insist on that little point to my last breath.

However, the team that does not learn from the past is condemned to repeat it, so kudos to Mangini for reminding these players even though they were kids when that debacle occurred, they now wear the same uniform as that team.