Cleveland Browns Family Day: Observations from the Brown/White Scrimmage

Saturday, August 7th was Cleveland Browns Family Day, an event created to give Browns fans a little taste of football excitement and featuring an inter-team scrimmage.

There were several family oriented activities held outside Browns Stadium prior to the 1 p.m. scrimmage. There was the annual Browns Backers Auto Show, which featured several Browns themed vehicles, as well as food, children's entertainment, and live music.

The Brown and White scrimmage was meant to be a practice run of actual game day operations, for both the team on the field and stadium personnel. The smaller than usual crowd aside, the atmosphere was pretty close to an actual regular season game.

The on-field action pitted one team in brown jerseys against another wearing white.

The Brown team was basically the projected starting offense and second team defense, with special teams coordinator Brad Seeley acting as head coach. The White team featured the second team offense and starting defense with quarterbacks coach Carl Smith making the head coaching calls.

Quarters were shortened to 10 minutes and while the players were in pads, the scrimmage was not full-contact. Almost any contact to the ball carrier ended the play.

This was my first time attending Family Day, and I have to say that it is a wonderful fan experience and I would highly recommend it to any fan who has the opportunity to attend in the future.

The scrimmage itself was enjoyable to watch and gave a good indication of where the team is in its training camp progress. The following are a few observations which stuck out while watching the scrimmage.

Quarterbacks

Jake Delhomme was clearly the most effective quarterback on the field during the mock game. He played most of the first and fourth quarters for the Brown team and led the only touchdown drive of the game. Delhomme had good command of the huddle, and seems to be quickly developing chemistry with his receivers, most notably Mohommad Massaquoi and TE Ben Watson.

While Delhomme did have a couple of passes batted down at the line of scrimmage, the majority of his passes were on target and his ball placement was exemplary. His touchdown pass to Watson was a thing of beauty, a high pass to the back corner of the endzone, where no one but Watson would be able to make the catch.

Seneca Wallace played almost the entire game for the White team with mixed results. He showed off his mobility on several occasions, but often held on to the ball too long which resulted in sacks. Wallace had the occasional wayward throw, but most of his passes were tight and accurate.

After Delhomme and Wallace, there was a significant and obvious drop-off in the quarterback play.

Rookie Colt McCoy saw the field for only a couple of drives and played like a rookie would be expected to. He was very hesitant with his throws, threw several balls off target and threw two interceptions, one returned for a touchdown and one a desperation heave at the end of the first half. Not a good performance for McCoy, but he is in the process of learning and rookie mistakes are expected.

Brown team backup Brett Ratliff was almost unbearable to watch and he doesn't have the rookie label to fall back on. Several of Ratliff's passes hit the ground without so much as touching a player and he was intercepted by Blake Costanzo. One of Ratliff's passes overshot the receiver and sailed a good five yards out of bounds before hitting the ground.

Running Backs

Jerome Harrison got the start for the Brown team and shared carries with James Davis while Chris Jennings was the featured back for the White team. Montario Hardesty is still sidelined with a leg injury, but was present for the scrimmage. I failed to spot Peyton Hillis ,who is battling a leg injury himself.

Since there was no real contact in the scrimmage, it was difficult to gauge the effectiveness of the Browns' running backs. However, the receiving ability of the running backs was on full display, each back having several receptions over the course of the game.

Most of the receptions came on short routes, but Jennings did show off his speed on one play, streaking down the right sideline to catch a deep pass from Seneca Wallace. Overall, I was very impressed with the receiving ability of Cleveland's backfield.

By far, the star of the day was James Davis. He out performed both Harrison and Jennings and would get my vote for game MVP. His injury looks to be behind him and he showed a quick burst and good vision throughout the game.

One play was especially exciting as Davis took a direct snap and raced 50 yards down the left sideline without being touched, but unfotunately the play was nullified by a holding penalty. Davis also looked great catching the ball and made several key receptions on short and intermediate routes.

Receivers

Mohomed Massaquoi and Brian Robiskie were the starting receivers for the Brown team with Cribbs and Bobby Engram playing for the White.

Massaquoi played well, and looks to be developing a good chemistry with Delhomme, but Robiskie was relatively quiet and only managed a couple of receptions.

I was very surprised with how well Bobby Engram played. The 14-year veteran ran very crisp routes and was consistently able to find holes in the defense. If he is indeed losing some of his speed and ability due to age, his experience seems to more than make up for it. He should have plenty to teach the young receivers on the roster.

Cribbs also seems to be improving as a receiver, making several difficult catches. On one particular play, he caught the ball while falling out of bounds, but managed to keep both feet in. Cribbs is still trying to catch with his body at times and was wide open on one deep pass attempt, but let the ball bounce off his chest.

Chansi Stucky, playing for the Brown team, was also impressive. He showed great speed on the field and was able to get good separation on the defensive backs trying to cover him. Stucky also completed a pass downfield to Brett Ratliff after getting the ball on a reverse.

One interesting note was that late in the game while trying to mount a comeback, CB Eric Wright was in as the slot receiver for the white team and he caught on pass from Wallace.

Tight Ends

Robert Royal was a non-factor in the passing game and while Benjamin Watson had a very productive game and scored the game's only offensive touchdown, Evan Moore stole the show at tight end.

Moore showed off the hands and quickness he developed as a wide receiver in college. It seemed that every other pass for the White team went to Moore and he was able to catch anything that came remotely close to him.

Moore also showed outstanding strength and heart, often fighting through traffic to come down with the ball.  At one point, he caught a pass over the middle and threw three defenders off of him on his way to the endzone. Of course, he was ruled down the moment he was touched, but in an actual game, the score would have counted, and I don't think anyone was keeping him out of the endzone.

It was interesting to see Moore lined up at several spots on offense. He was lined up at tight end, split wide and in the slot, and seemed to create some sort of mismatch wherever he was. I have a feeling that 2010 could be a very productive year for Moore.

Defense

Since the Brown and White scrimmage didn't feature any tackling, the defense was unable to really shine, with player only standing out on the occasional play.

Brandon McDonald had a memorable interception of McCoy when he jumped a short route, caught the ball on the run and weaved through traffic for a 40-yard return TD.

Blake Costanzo's interception of Brett Ratliff was another noticeable play, as he jumped several feet off the ground to pluck the ball from mid-air.

Rookie CB Joe Haden looked solid in coverage, and didn't give up any big plays. Rookies safeties T.J. Ward and Larry Asante also seem to be coming along in their coverage skills. Ward, in particular, was able to break up a couple of on target passes.

I don't think I heard Eric Wright's name called until the second to last play of the scrimmage when he caught a pass on offense. That's a good thing as it means he was keeping his receiver covered and not making tackles after the catch.

The play of Marcus Benard stood out and he was constantly pressuring Seneca Wallace, getting a couple of sacks, and forcing a few early throws. Not only was he able to cut through the offensive line, but he showed good quickness for his size and he was able to quickly close on Wallace who is a very mobile quarterback.

One interesting note in the secondary is that Sheldon Brown spent the game covering Massaquoi, which may mean he has the inside track toward winning the No. 1 job at CB.

Penalties

One thing the team is definitely going to have to work on is reducing the number of penalties.

The two teams combined for well over a dozen penalties during the 40 minute contest, and they often came at the worst possible moments. Several first downs were erased by holding calls, including the 50-yard scramble by James Davis.

Also alarming were four unecessary roughness penalties during what was essentially a game of touch football.

There was a late hit penalty and a facemask early in the game, and the fourth quarter saw a fist fight break out between OL Scott Kooistra and Marcus Benard. Both players were ejected from the scrimmage and likely received a stern lecture from the head coach to go with some extra laps at the next practice.

Odds And Ends

A few miscellaneous observations from throughout the day:

Joshua Cribbs was one of the first players on the field, before team warmups. He was out returning punts, catching, and even throwing passes almost an hour before the start of the scrimmage.

The Brown team, which was the projected starting lineup, featured an offensive line of Joe Thomas, Eric Steinbach, Alex Mack, Floyd Womack, and John St. Clair.

When QB Jake Delhomme was not on the field, he was often off to the side, playing a little throw and catch with Mohamed Massaquoi and Brian Robiskie.

The first offensive play for the White team was a Josh Cribbs run for a first down out of the Cyclone package. The Cyclone and the Flash package were used a few times throughout the game and were almost always a Cribbs run.

Aside from Cribbs, Chansi Stucky, James Davis, Syndric Steptoe, and Joe Haden all took turns returning kicks and punts. Haden muffed the opening kickoff in the endzone, but recovered it for a touchback.

I was really looking forward to seeing rookie receivers Carlton Mitchell and Johnathan Haggerty show their stuff, but neither saw much time on the field.

YouTube sensation Joel Reinders spent the game standing on the sideline wearing a knee brace, but after the scrimmage he was walking around with the other players, signing autographs and being greeted warmly by the fans.

Not only was Cribbs one of the first players on the field, but was one of the last people on the field as he continued to greet fans and sign autographs well after the rest of the team had retired to the locker room.

Overview

The White team took a first quarter lead on a 48-yard Phil Dawson field goal, but the defensive score by McDonald made it 7-3 at halftime. A Delhomme to Watson touchdown pass gave the Brown team a 14-3 lead late in the game.

Seneca Wallace led the White team on a field goal drive, leaving about a minute on the clock. In order to avoid injury an "onside kick attempt" was determined by a coin flip and White recovered, but was unable to score.

Final Score: Brown 14, White 6

Where there is a lot of optimism surrounding the Cleveland Browns 2010 season, the Brown and White scrimmage showed that the team has a long way to go toward being game day ready.

My biggest concerns would be with penalties and a general lack of offensive production. There were only 13 offensive points scored by the two teams combined. Head coach Eric Mangini stresses playing smart football and hopefully the number of penalties will be reduced as the team comes together.

As for the offense, it seems that the lack of contact may have limited things since ballcarriers were ruled down the second they were touched. Those 13 points could be just a few broken tackles away from being much, much more.

On the positive side, the team got its first real chance to play in a game situation and will likely build off of the experience and continue to create good team chemistry.  The coaching staff got a chance to look at some of the rookies and younger players and guys like James Davis and Evan Moore were more able to make a name for themselves.

Now the Cleveland Browns return to the regular training camp schedule to work on the areas that need improvement and build off of what the team is doing right. The next time we see the Browns in action will be on August 14th at Green Bay for the first game of preseason. We should know then just what kind of progress the team is making.