Breaking Up Is Hard To Do: Analyzing The Browns 53 Man Roster

Like sifting through the rubble after a bombing attack during the Battle of Britain, fans of the Cleveland Browns awoke this morning to sort through the roster to see who survived "Turk Day."  Looking at the active 53 man roster from a high level, the comparison of offensive to defensive players are evenly split with 26 for the defense and 24 for the offense. (For those Math majors out there, I'm not counting our special team players Phil Dawson, Reggie Hodges and Ryan Pontbriand who would round out the 53 man team.)  Drilling down a little further into the numbers however and things become more concerning.  Especially on the defensive side of the line of scrimmage.

The Defensive Secondary

21 Wright, Eric LCB
24 Brown, Sheldon RCB
23 Haden, Joe NCB
  
26 Elam, Abram FS
41 Ventrone, Ray FS
43 Ward, T. J. SS
27 Sorensen, Nick SS
20 Adams, Mike S

Every year as teams cut down to the 53 man roster, there always seems to be at least one surprise that leaves fans scratching their heads.  This year was no different with the cut of 5th round draft pick, Safety Larry Asante.  Although Asante didn't seem to be making the impact fellow rookie Safety T.J. Ward was, he did seem to be making decent strides in his performance during the preseason.

The result of Asante's departure is a huge void of talent behind the starting lineup with Ray Ventrone backing up FS Abe Elam, Nick Sorensen backing T.J. Ward and the versatile Mike Adams providing additional insurance for either playing safety or CB.  And it is at the CB position where the team is thinnist with just three justifiable starters - Eric Wright, Sheldon Brown and first round pick Joe Haden. 

Haden will be the featured nickel back for sure, but let's entertain just one of numerous scenario's that could play out this season if the injury bug strikes.  If Wright or Brown should happen to go down, things quickly begin to collapse like a house of cards. Haden presumably would be inserted for one of the corner positions and Adams will more than likely provide nickel services.  But who then will be the dime back when the defense dictates it?  We're left with Ventrone or Sorensen.  Although both have provided some glimmer of improvement in the preseason, both really excel at special teams and not defensive secondary. And with the proliferation of spread offenses in the present day game, you can count on a decent amount of dime packages being inserted.

Look for Asante to make the eight man practice squad if he clears waivers.
Now let's look at the 7 men who make up our defensive front.

The Defensive Front Seven

90 Coleman, Kenyon LDE
91 Schaefering, Brian LDE
71 Rubin, Ahtyba NT
92 Rogers, Shaun NT
98 Smith, Robaire RDE
67 Robinson, Derreck RDE

The three man front looks pretty familiar and could see dynamic improvements with Shaun Rogers being returned to the lineup from the PUP list.  If Rogers lives up to his potential, which is always a big "IF", look for Rogers and Rubin to be working side-by-side and sending either Kenyon Coleman or Robaire Smith to the sidelines for breathers.  The combination of Rubin and Rogers working together should provide opposing offensive lineman blocking assignment headaches and make seams for the LB's to provide pressure.  It appears that Holmgren and company are hoping that rookie Clifton Geathers clears waivers and makes part of the practice squad.

53 Roth, Matt LOB
93 Trusnik, Jason LOB
59 Brown, Titus LOB
51 Gocong, Chris LIB
52 Jackson, D'Qwell LIB
96 Bowens, David LIB
50 Barton, Eric RIB
56 Maiava, Kaluka RIB
54 Costanzo, Blake RIB
99 Fujita, Scott ROB
58 Benard, Marcus ROB
57 Veikune, David ROB

 The linebackers is where the real quandry lies.  This group, outside of Dawson, Hodges and Pontbriand, is the only group that was spared from a visit from The Turk.  Each position retained it's three man depth and appears to be a luxury when considering Veikune makes the squad but Asante was let go. Although any team with a 3-4 scheme will have more linebackers on the roster than a 4-3, the amount of depth that this group has seems excessive.  Perhaps the staff hopes to shore up the thin defensive backfield with an additional one or two more players off waivers which would have to make Veikune and one other LB dispensible.

The Offensive Line

73 Thomas, Joe LT
65 Steinbach, Eric LG
55 Mack, Alex C
66 Lauvao, Shawn RG
79 Pashos, Tony RT
78 St. Clair, John OL
68 Yates, Billy OL
77 Womack, Floyd OL

On the offensive side of the ball, the offensive line had a head scratcher as well.  Not only let go but also having his contract terminated was Scott Kooistra.  Kooistra was to back Joe Thomas in the unlikely event that he would be injured.  Instead John St. Clair survives another year and seems destined to back up Tony Pashos on the right side. Besides this one fly in the ointment, the line is definitely improved with Shawn Lauvao, who appears to be the starting RG, and Billy Yates.

Tight Ends and Receivers

82 Watson, Benjamin TE
89 Moore, Evan TE
81 Smith, Alex TE
84 Royal, Robert TE
  
16 Cribbs, Joshua WR
11 Massaquoi, Mohamed WR
80 Robiskie, Brian WR
83 Stuckey, Chansi WR
18 Mitchell, Carlton WR

The hands team also had a couple of surprises.  TE Robert Royal made the cut and the Browns remain with four on the roster.  Another luxury that seems questionable since Alex Smith has had a solid camp.  And since Royal remains, Bobby Engram was the odd man out.  With the announcement of Jake Allen being cut on Friday, it appeared that Engram was going to make the team. Especially since Engram had previous relations with Mike Holmgren in Seattle. Instead, Engram was let go.  Also, curiously rookie Carlton Mitchell makes the team instead of Engram.  Although perhaps arguably the fastest man on the team, Mitchell was a raw talent who seemed perhaps destined to the practice squad needing to work on his route running and catching skills. WR coach George McDonald evidently sees different.

The Running Backs

35 Harrison, Jerome RB
40 Hillis, Peyton RB
28 Davis, James RB
47 Vickers, Lawrence FB

 Another surprise and perhaps can also be looked upon as a result of keeping Robert Royal is the departure of RB Chris Jennings.  With Montario Hardesty out for the season, Jennings odds increased in making the team.  With just three legitimate backs who all will see playing time this season for sure, the backfield appears to be another house of cards with the worst scenario of Peyton Hillis becoming injured and the running attack losing a lot of it's bite.  Harrison has had a less than inspiring camp and leaves still a lot to prove to back up his astounding performance at the end of last season.  Davis is unproven. Although no Peyton Hillis, Jennings provided an insurance policy for injury.  Look for the Browns to be scouring the waiver wires for another serviceable running back to shore things up.

The 2010 Draft Class.  Making The Grade?

Finally...looking at the list of the 8 men belonging to the 2010 Draft Class, Haden, Ward and Lauvao look to make immediate contributions to the team.  Assuming Asante and Geathers clear waivers, it is probable that these two will be asked to join the practice squad.  Although we'll never know for sure what Hardesty could have done, at this point of the season, I believe Holmgren and Heckert have earned a B- in their draft. 

1 Joe Haden
2 T.J. Ward
2 Montario Hardesty
3 Colt McCoy
3 Shawn Lauvao
5 Larry Assante
6 Carlton Mitchell
6 Clifton Geathers