Cleveland Browns 2010 Training Camp: Observations From 8/4 A.M. (Video)
Training camp practice No. 6 overall, and No. 3 for me personally, started this morning, August 4, at 8:45 A.M. EST, and as you can see in the photo the players were in pads and shorts.
Mother nature was a bit more brutal this morning, and even though the temperature was in the 80's, the humidity got worse and worse as the practice went on.
Here are my observations from this morning's Browns practice and in the last slide I have included a video montage of the practice too.
1. Injury Update
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Halfback/fullback Peyton Hillis was a no-show on the field for much of practice until he came out toward the end to stand along with his fellow offensive teammates during 11-on-11 scrimmages.
Shaun Rogers was also nowhere to be seen, along with the ever-elusive Montario Hardesty, who still has not made an appearance either with the other injured players or in public.
Both defensive lineman C.J. Mosley and cornerback Coye Francies could be seen with the trainers off in the distance working on conditioning drills.
Also, defensive back Chris Roberson went down hard on a play and had to be carted off of the field.
Veterans Jake Delhomme, Joe Thomas, and Bobby Engram all went over to Roberson to give him some words of encouragement.
2. Rookies Out Early
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Seeing as how this was my third practice, I need to note that each of the three times I have gone to the Browns' training facility, rookie defensive lineman Kwaku Danso has been the first rookie out of the building and has been limbering up before all others.
This morning both Danso and rookie receiver Carlton Mitchell were out on the field first.
Mitchell was warming up by catching passes, and it also should be noted that he was catching the football with his hands and not with his body each time.
3. A Bit of Competition
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In a bit of training camp competition, during a one-on-one drill between the cornerbacks where one played the receiver and the other covered, rookie Joe Haden was matched up with Brandon McDonald.
With the addition of veteran cornerback Sheldon Brown, and before the drafting of Haden, McDonald was projected to be the team's new nickel corner.
Then the Browns drafted Haden, and now he is projected to be the nickelback over McDonald.
It was interesting to see the two matched up together since they are both battling for the same No. 3 cornerback spot on the roster.
Both looked good, and one did not stand out over the other in the drill.
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4. Linebackers Switching It Up
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It has been reported by both myself and other Browns' sports sources that linebacker Scott Fujita has been lining up on the outside.
This morning he not only was lined up on the outside, but also Fujita was positioning himself in the defense as a inside linebacker in nickel formations.
Also, Chris Gocong, who has been reportedly lining up as a inside linebacker, was seen lining up as an outside linebacker in nickel formations too.
Very interesting that defensive coordinator Rob Ryan is using the versatility of both Fujita and Gocong, and hopefully this will work out for the best once the season begins.
5. Haden Has Some Good Hands
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During drills Haden has had to play both as a receiver and as a cornerback.
Do not think that Haden may actually play receiver, but he and a few other defensive backs had to stand in as receivers for the drills, which happens often since the actual receivers are partaking in their own drills at the same time.
But getting back to my point, whether he was pretending to be a receiver or playing as a corner, Haden displayed great hands and was catching the ball or picking it off whenever he had the chance to.
6. Evan Moore Continues To Progress
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It has been well-documented that tight end Evan Moore has been having a terrific camp so far.
And it continued this morning.
Moore seems to have the uncanny ability to thread in between the defenders and always find an open area of the field.
He also has displayed quick feet at the snap to get off the line fast and get open for quick slants, and he has great hands, which are all signs that he will be a great pass-catching tight end option for Browns' quarterbacks this year along with starter Ben Watson.
7. James Davis Shines in Hardesty and Hillis' Absences
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With both Hardesty and Hillis out this morning, Davis moved into the No. 2 spot behind starter Jerome Harrison, and Davis got a good deal of reps with both the first and second team units.
Davis juked his way through the middle of the line and then poured on the speed to get into the secondary several times during practice.
He also poured on the speed on one particular play when he broke into the defensive backfield and out-ran all the defenders into the endzone with Fujita the only defender still pursuing the back.
8. Haden Burned by Height
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Haden got burned big time by the 6'4" receiver Jake Allen, who was able to out jump the 5'11" Haden on a deep sideline pass. Allen then turned and headed into the endzone.
Even though Haden was blanketing Allen in great coverage, the five-inch difference came into play, and Haden didn't have a chance to get up high enough to even bat the ball away.
9. Eric Steinbach Update
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Steinbach was playing on the first team offense as the left guard, but he was also on the second team offense at times playing as the left tackle.
This is obviously being done to improve Steinbach's versatility as a lineman and to add depth on the line too.
10. Eric Wright in the Slot
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There have been a few reports saying that Wright may move into the nickel corner position on third and long to cover the opposing team's slot receiver, and he did spend some time in that role this morning.
While working against receiver Chansi Stuckey, Wright got burned on a great outside-then-inside juke move at the line by Stuckey, who took off on an inside slant and was wide open to catch the ball.
Wright still needs some work in the slot if he is to shut down opposing team's No. 3 receivers.
11. Multiple Sacks
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Outside linebacker Marcus Benard was able to register two sacks.
He was getting great pressure on the quarterback for most of the morning whenever he was in the lineup.
12. Two INTs
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Backup cornerback Gerard Lawson must have woke up on the right side of the bed this morning because he was on the receiving end of two interceptions, with one going back for a score.
One of the picks came off of a pass from quarterback Seneca Wallace, who had an off morning, throwing the picks and several floaters and wobblers.
13. T.J. Ward Being Disruptive
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Ward has been hot and cold as the possible starting free safety for the Browns this season, and almost immediately after I said to a fellow Browns fans that I have not really been impressed with Ward, he goes and defends two passes that were on target for a receiver.
I have to eat my own words and say that after I talked bad about Ward, he shut me up almost immediately.
I hope he continues to be disruptive, because he has to be this year.
14. Cyclone Update
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The Browns continued to roll out some more Cyclone plays this morning.
On one particular play Josh Cribbs was lined up as the quarterback in shotgun with Seneca Wallace standing next to him as the running back.
Who did the ball go too?
It was snapped to Cribbs, who handed it off to Wallace, who then ran for a decent gain off the left side of the offensive line.
I'm still waiting to see a Cribbs to Wallace pass, and hopefully that will be coming soon.
15. Third and Six Simulation Play
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In a simulated third and six play, Jake Delhomme was in shotgun with Harrison behind him in the backfield.
Harrison motioned out to the left and far outside as a receiver.
Delhomme then moved back under center.
At the snap Delhomme literally threw the ball blindly (because of the pressure from the left) to a spot where Harrison was supposed to be, and indeed he was there.
Harrison caught the quick pass and took off with blazing speed down the sideline.
The crowd cheered, and later several fans commented on how amazing it was that Delhomme was able to throw a blind pass that accurately.
16. Quote From Coach Seely
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Not too many good quotes could be heard from the sideline this morning, but during special teams drills the unit was practicing their onside kick recoveries.
On one play linebacker Jason Trusnik bobbled the ball and could not recover it.
"It's okay Trus, we can replace you," yelled Seely to Trusnik.
17. Spectacular Cribbs Catch
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On the same play that Roberson got injured, Cribbs was the receiver he was covering and despite both players going to the ground (which is when the injury must have taken place), Cribbs reached out his right arm to catch the deep pass and grabbed it while on the ground with one hand.
Next Practice Coverage
18 of 18The next practice that I will be covering will be on Thursday August 5 at 1:30 P.M. EST.
Also, make sure to check out this video montage of this morning's Browns practice
(Daniel Wolf is exclusively covering the Browns training camp for both Bleacher Report and Blog" href="http://www.dawgscooper.net" target="_blank">Dawg Scooper: THE Cleveland Browns Blog.)
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