Cleveland Browns 2010 Training Camp: Observations From A.M. on July 31
Today was a new day for the city of Cleveland, which meant bringing football back to Northeast Ohio and the first public practice for the Cleveland Browns at the training facility in Berea, OH.
With a crowd that was very silent for most of the practice, which was a change from one year ago when you could here "Here we go Brownies, here we go...woof, woof!" chants from all parts of the facility, the thousands of fans in attendance did get loud once the 11-on-11 scrimmages started toward the end of practice.
With notebook in hand, and hanging out with the fans since I did not get press clearance from the Browns management, I stood and wrote down several observations that caught my eye from the morning practice on July 31.
1. No Haden and No Hardesty
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Rookie first round cornerback Joe Haden was not in attendance due to the obvious reason of not signing a contract yet so he absence was expected unless he signed before practice began at 8:45 A.M. EST, which he did not.
The surprise was that rookie second round running back Montario Hardesty was a no-show, which only gave Jerome Harrison more reps with the first team and backups James Davis, Peyton Hillis, and Chris Jennings all received more reps too.
Not a good start for Hardesty and his absence is still unknown as of the publishing of the article.
2. Scott Fujita Is a Monster Of a Linebacker
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Standing at 6'5" and 250 pounds, you really cannot appreciate Fujita's size until you see him up close and standing with the rest of the Browns' linebackers.
He towers over them all and is a monster by comparison.
Fujita also was lining up as an outside linebacker with the first team defense this morning.
3. Rookie Safeties: Asante Looks The Part, Ward Looks Tiny
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By no means would I want to get hit hard by the 5'10" and 211 pound T.J. Ward while going over the middle to catch a pass, but he just looks tiny compared to the Browns' other defensive backs and specifically the other safeties.
Perhaps his size is better suited to play a free safety in the NFL as he is trying to make the transition from college strong safety to free safety in the NFL.
Meanwhile the other rookie safety, Larry Asante, looked like a big NFL safety (6'0" 212 pounds) and he even looked bigger than starting strong safety Abe Elam, who is the same height and only seven pounds lighter.
Ward started opposite of Elam with the first team defense, while Asante was the second team strong safety.
Neither really stood out during drills and scrimmages.
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4. Special Teams
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Josh Cribbs did not return any kicks on kickoff drills.
But he really doesn't need too either.
Cribbs was playing the gunner though which is surprising because many think that Cribbs will be playing gunner less in 2010 due to his increased role on offense.
Returning kicks were Mohamed Massaquoi, Chansi Stuckey, Eric Wright, and Jake Allen.
5. Quarterback Play
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In last year's training camp, then Browns quarterbacks Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson were painful to watch for most of the practices, which also spilled over into the regular season as well.
But fast-forward to today, and both Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace looked the part of an NFL quarterback and each played very well and looked comfortable in the Browns' offense already.
Many fans and experts think that Delhomme and Wallace are not much of an upgrade over Quinn and Anderson, but since I saw many of last year's practices, I must say that watching these two live gives me more confidence that they will do well for the Browns and their fans.
Delhomme was throwing tight spirals with some good push on them so any doubts of his arm strength all look false at this point and even though Wallace looks small behind the Browns' giant offensive line, he is elusive and can throw a bullet of a pass too.
6. Penalty Laps
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Penalty laps are a part of head coach Eric Mangini's disciplinarian process and on day one, only three Browns players had to run around the football field.
All the victims of penalties came on the defensive side of the ball which included defensive lineman Brian Schaefering, cornerback Chris Robinson, and safety T.J. Ward.
7. The President Made an Appearance
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New team president Mike Holmgren made an appearance on the practice field on Saturday morning when he showed up being chauffeured around in a golf cart.
Holmgren just recently had surgery on his foot and he is not going to be able to walk on his foot until September, according to his doctors.
That didn't stop him from watching his new team and his coaches from the comfy seat on his golf cart.
He was also sporting a Cleveland Browns orange cast on his right foot too.
8. Evan Moore Is The Real Deal
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If there was one Browns player who really lite it up and got the crowd going during scrimmages it was second year tight end Moore, who caught everything that came his way regardless of how tight coverage was on him.
Moore made a terrific one-handed catch is coverage on one play that got the crowd riled up, and then one another play, he caught a pass and broke through two would-be tacklers, literally throwing one of them down to the ground and taking it to the endzone.
Browns fans went crazy once Moore threw the defender to the ground.
9. Offense Starts Off With Some Magic
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It has been highly publicized that the Browns will use both Josh Cribbs and Seneca Wallace on the field at the same time and the players have named it the "Cyclone."
So what did the Browns' offense do when it lined up for the first time in 11-on-11 scrimmage?
Wallace lines up under center with Cribbs flanked to his right, then Cribbs goes into motion and at the same time so does Wallace and they swap positions.
So now Cribbs is under center and Wallace is lined up to Cribbs' right as a wide receiver.
The ball snaps to Cribbs and he takes off to the left side running with the ball.
And there you have it Browns fans...the first public display of the "Cyclone!"
The crowd was the loudest it was all morning when that play went down to start off the scrimmage and boy was it fun to watch!
10. First Team Offense and Defense
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The biggest question that Browns fans are asking is who will be the first team starters on both offense and defense.
Well when the 11-on-11 scrimmage started, the offense first showed the "Cyclone" package, but then went into their first teams which were as follows:
QB - Jake Delhomme
RB - Jerome Harrison
FB - Lawrence Vickers
WR - Mohamed Massaquoi, Brian Robiskie
TE - Ben Watson
OL - Joe Thomas, Eric Steinbach, Alex Mack, Floyd Womack, John St. Clair
DL - Kenyon Coleman, Ahtyba Rubin, Robaire Smith
OLB - Scott Fujita, Matt Roth
ILB - D'Qwell Jackson, Chris Gocong
CB - Eric Wright, Sheldon Brown
S - Abram Elam, T.J. Ward
Next Camp Report
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The next Browns training camp practice that I will be attending and reporting on will be Monday August 2 at 8:45 A.M. EST.
So look for that update to be published sometime after 12-noon on Monday
(Daniel Wolf is exclusively covering the Browns training camp for both Bleacher Report and Dawg Scooper: THE Cleveland Browns Blog.)
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