Lane Adkins

I was recently asked about the ten most interesting or telling telling things I saw during the Browns off-season camps. Reflecting back on them, here are the ones that come to mind...

1 - I can not remember a Browns team being as focused, prepared and as willing to help other teammates on technique, etc. as I viewed the past couple months.

2 - Veteran OLB Willie McGinest spent time working with OLB's and DE's with their hand-fighting and moves at the point of attack. It is quite interesting watching a veteran of this caliber working with the talent in camp settings, McGinest leads by example.

I'm glad they signed and kept him. I don't think he was ever here to be more than a hold-the-fort guy as a player, but he sure knows all the dirty tricks, and is willing to share them. He's able to coach both OLB and DE, and teach the pass-rush stuff to everybody else. I hope when he retires, they can keep him around as a position coach.

3 - OLB Antwan Peek has been a man on a mission in these sessions. I anxiously wait for the training camp sessions to begin to see if his dominating presence remains intact when the pads go on.

Well, he's about 270 lbs., has done this before, and has recovered from his injuries.

Also, OLB Shantee Orr showed me that he is a player wgi knows how to get to the QB. His role is rising within the defensive scheme, as well as being a solid specials player.

Like I said, he was brought here as a utility inside/outside linebacker, and he will get a good share of playing time. He helps make this corps very deep, and will help keep it healthy.

4 - NT/DE Shaun Rogers is physically imposing, and has talent and quickness. I haven't seen a player like this in camp in a long time. His presence on the field in non-contact drills has been impressive and I believe he is going to be a huge acquisition for this team.

They should rotate heavily, and Rogers can be kept fresh. He'll play both DE and on the nose. Offensive lines won't know who they're blocking until they come to the line. There can be a lot of shifting and stunting with these guys--a center's nightmare. If he plays to his potential, he's been called by some the best defensive tackle in the NFL.

5 - While CB Eric Wright has been impressive in press coverage, I would be remiss in not acknowledging the presence undrafted rookies Mil'von James and Damon Jenkins have played in the defensive backfield. Each player possesses speed and quickness. James is more of the flashy player, while Jenkins is more consistent.

I didn't know about Jenkins! That makes TWO UFA's who showed promise. But in re Mil'von--the fact that he got his hands on so many balls indicates an understanding of this zone scheme. That's critical, and the main reason why a number of experts are still mindlessly repeating the need for a veteran third cornerback. Zone is complex, and the corner must read all the recievers, and make the correct moves. If one of them errs, the QB spots it instantly and he's toast. So a veteran is much, much safer.

However, as I said--while by design most 3-4's are 2 deep zones, it's not etched in stone. Man is mixed in, and with the right athletes you can man-up on both sides for a whole game. From what I've read, both these guys can man cover.

Let's keep the YOUNG guys.

6 - The linebackers appear quicker and are lighter than a season ago. Much rides on the play of the defensive line, but quickness in general at linebacker is improved. It will be interesting to see rookie LB Beau Bell when the pads go on. I am one of many curious to see whether the lights come on for the young man when the hitting starts.

Gimme a break! That's a foregone conclusion. They'll have to keep a leash on him tom keep him from creaming everybody.

7 - WR Travis Wilson looks much like the player this organization anticipated when selecting him out of Oklahoma. Interestingly, Wilson is running solid routes, making catches and most importantly has knowledge of what the expectations are. For the first time, Wilson is consistent in getting his head around in receiving drills. This may seem to fall into 'who cares ' type category, but to succeed at this level a receiver needs to get his head around, find the ball in-flight and fight for the reception. Wilson has been on the mark.

I TOLD you, don't give up on this guy YET. He was reliable and sure-handed in college. Stallworth has a dubious history, and the team needs insurance. Hubbard is too raw for this season. This is great news. IF he stays on the track he's on, Wilson can help a lot. He's another big target who can run after the catch.

8 - Remember it is very early, but I did not see 'real' improvement in the short-passing game of Derek Anderson, nor in the long / down-field vertical game of Brady Quinn.

I did not want to hear that. Therefore, you must be wrong.

9 - Patiently waiting for RB Jerome Harrison to get a legitimate chance on game-day. We all know of his blocking issues (which he has worked on) and being a player on specials, but this young man works as hard as any player in camp in drills and remains on the field after sessions working on ball-handling and receiving drills. I see a player with great vision, an instinctive runner with power and quickness and much improved ball handling/securing skills.

His blocking issues are long since resolved. Having analyzed more stuff between the lines, I believe the most important single issue was his route-running and discipline as a reciever.

Power? Well of that's true, there goes the dude's only weakness. Power would make him a stud. Not unlikely, either. He came into his second camp at 217, all muscle. Last off-season he worked out with Jamal Lewis and his trainers. He'll never be a battering ram like Lewis, but if he can break arm-tackles and muscle through small holes, he's the total package.

I read this idiot post "I'm on record as saying that the two biggest needs are cornerback and running back." This bigshot goes on to dis Wright and Harrison, saying that niether can carry the load for extended periods. Two factors at work here: 1: This guy thinks Harrison still weighs 190 lbs. In New York, he would have written off Tiki Barber, who likewise gained a bunch of muscle, and in his last two seasons led the league in yards-after-contact. 2: He thinks that because he couldn't beat out Jamal Lewis, that's all he'll ever be.

Idiot.

10 - Watching starting safety Brodney Pool deep in the defensive backfield discussing the sets and scheme with defensive backs coach Cory Undlin when other players are in drills. The play of the safeties were an issue last season and seeing Pool spending the time with the coach is promising, as the safety is a talented and athletic back.

Pool can man-cover tight ends and some bigger recievers. In his second year as a starter, he should approach his peak, and be a real stud.

Baxter has a great chance of making it as a safety. He started 8-9 games there for the Ravens. He has all the skills and knowlege to rotate in, including in a three-safety set.

Also, Grossi recently wrote that Baxter's injuries limitted his mobility. That is an assumption. The patellar ligaments have nothing whatsoever to do with turning or driving. While he may be labelled a safety, if I'm right HE could be the veteran cornerback in a zone scheme.

Head that anywhere else? I thought not.

I Told You Sos and I'm Tellin Yas

Shantee Orr is getting a lot of reps at weakside ILB. I had honestly thought he'd be more of a strongside ILB, but he's quicker and slipperier than I'd thought. Orr is here as a general depth player, and will rotate in and back up possibly every linebacker position. He was never expected to be "the answer" opposite Wimbley.

Orr's short, wide frame is an advantage inside.

Brad Cieslak is a 4th year TE who was stashed on the practice squad last season. He came from the Pats, where he also worked at fullback. This season he's getting reps, in lieu of Winslow and Heiden, and is showing great athleticism, smooth moves, and great hands. He's over 260 lbs.

Interestingly, Steve Heiden, when acquired by Butch Davis for (I think) a 6th round pick, had a very similar background. Cieslak could well be another Heiden--just now "blossoming" into a total-package TE.

Darnell Dinkens, meanwhile, is struggling.......

Kolo Kapanui is UFA TE who is currently being worked at fullback.

This means nothing to you mere mortals, but as an intelligent analyst I can help:

The Browns are probably going to carry four tight ends this season, and Vickers. Charles Ali (through no lack of talent or fault of his own) could well be out.

The reasons? Chud used Heiden extensively at fullback last season, and this appears integral to his philospophy. This season, they drafted Rucker as K2's backup and eventual replacement, and it now appears that, via free agency, Chud wants to do the same with Heiden (remember: K2 and Heiden are both called tight ends, but in this offense they actually play different positions. What's in a name--not much.)

Ali can't play tight end. Cieslak can play fullback. There you go. It saves a roster spot and provides the requisite depth at both fullback and tight end. Cieslak is an experienced journeyman, and my money is on him to stick around and contribute this season.

Although Rucker is screwing up left and right at this time (wrong patterns, etc.), by the season he should be ready to go. If I'm right about the roster and depth-chart, the offense could withstand injuries to either Heiden or K2 and not change. Further, they could really "muscle up" and go "jumbo" in short-yardage.

Brian Schaefering is an undrafted defensive lineman out of Illinois, signed this season. While Purcells and Pittman have bulked up to 290/300 lbs. respectively, they thus far haven't done much impressing in minicamp.

Shaefering, who (based on what little info I could dig up on him) is 6'4", 286, and played NOSE TACKLE at Illinois. Reports now have him getting the bulk of reps as a second-team defensive end already. I read that he gets off blocks better than both second-year players.

Sort of makes sense. If the guy was indeed used as a nose tackle, this could easily put a very talented player under the NFL radar. A 286-lb. nose tacke being double-teamed and evaded all the time could well turn out to be a pretty good 3-4 DE, where he could use speed and agility.

It's too early to make any predictions at this time, but it's just possible that Phil might have dug up another sleeper. Louis Leonard has also showed marked improvement. The reporter identified him as a nose tackle, but he's more of a DE. He might well be used on the nose in passing situations, or as a conventional DT in a 4-3 set, which they'll sometimes use.

Leonard is now listed at 6'4", 330. Has good speed for even a 290-pounder, a quick first step--his main issue is playing too tall sometimes and getting leveraged, and he may not have the greatest instincts (just a wild guess--I could be very wrong).

Rubin is making all the dumb mistakes you'd expect a rookie to make, but does penetrate and command double-teams.

Don't worry about depth on the defensive line. The biggest problem the Browns will have is choosing who they want to let other teams scoop off the waiver-wire. Here, we're only talking about the players behind the top four. This defensive line will NOT get worn down, as it did last season.

At cornerback, undrafted rookie Mil'von James has taken the early lead in the race for the third cornerback spot, and I can here and now predict that he will be a player of note this season. Man coverage ability is enate and instinctive, and James has it. Learning zones and dirty tricks can be more difficult, but the ability to stick with an Edwards or a Stallworth is the strongest foundation a cornerback can have. He's already half-way there.

James slid due to only two years experience, at UNLV, and he's currently listed as a 6'1", 205-lb. safety. He has a nose for the ball and is a playmaker with all the tools needed for a zone as well as man-defender. Based on my reports and the personel here, he's likely to be worked at cornerback, a lot.

Gary Baxter is on the field and doing well at safety. Here and now I predict that he will be a backup at both spots, and a rotational contributor. His skill-sets are ideal for this position in this defense.

As I explained earlier, the word "veteran" shouldn't always, always mindlessly be attatched to the need for depth at cornerback, and this need has been blown all out of proportion. Mike Adams has been doing well as the nickel back, Baxter will later be worked in there, and James is opening a lot of eyes.

Situationally, any of the three could be used to replace an injured Wright or McDonald. This is less than ideal, of course. Offenses would seek to force them to try to cover fast/quick guys like Stallworth, and target them. However, James is one guy who could handle that in a man situation.

You don't need experience for man coverage. You just need fluidity, balance, speed, explosiveness, and reflexes--all of which James has. If McDonald or Wright got hurt, one option would be to use James and go to man-coverage the majority of the time (to minimize screw-ups.)

When Marty had Dixon/Minnifield, it was a base blitze-happy 3-4. This aint new.

It took Davin Holly about half a season to become pretty good. James, who is more physicly gifted, is already here, and already learning.

Perry and the rest are niether good nor bad. This is why Savage didn't make any moves the instant Holly went down. He wanted to see if one of the many, many talented young guys would emerge--and one has.

The reporter, in order to remind you of how thoughtful and wise he is, said that of course they have to see how well he does with the pads on...Ok look he was a safety, he's over 2o5 libs., and he's pushing recievers around with his body like an old vet now. He'll look better with the pads on than he does now...obviously.

Secondary depth is very good. Safety depth excellent. Corner depth adequate, and maybe even decent. Do not panic.

Beau Bell is screwing up on his presnap recognition and calls, but doing exceptionally well in reacting post-snap, like I said he would. These screw-ups are expected, of course, and mean little at this point. It's not etched in stone that he has to be the guy calling the defense in his rookie season anyway, so don't worry about it.

Bentley is responsible for what happened. The Browns retained and paid him while he was injured and recovering. They don't own or run the Cleveland Clinic. From what I understand, they told LeCharles that they were going to bring him back slowly, and that he would need to earn his spot--and that this would be at right guard.

Bentley couldn't accept that, and that was it. It's unfortunate, and I'll bet he regrets it, even if he does go back to the Pro Bowl this very season.

McKinney is working at center now. Why are all the columnists and reporters impervious to change? Hadnot is a much bigger/stronger guy, and Tucker is too. They want the road-graders at right guard, so where McKinney fits best here NOW is at center behind Fraley.

McKinney might well also be the primary backup at left guard, where his athleticism is more useful. He was only used here at right guard because THEN the Bowns lacked depth.

The presence of a road-grader at right guard, combined with Fraley's ability to push people back, really helps. With (for instance) McKinney at right guard, this was pretty much a finesse offensive line. Now, they haven't sacrificed much athleticism, but can still man-up and drive people off the ball sometimes. They can be much less predictable.

Joe Thomas, who most of the guys on NFL Radio think may grow into the next Jonathan Ogden, will most likely return bulked-up to over 320 or 325, too.

Ok that's the news and what it means. So there. It would be great if somebody read it. Maybe I'll die or something and you'll check it out later and say "Wow! We should have been reading this all along so we would know what the Browns were doing! Man, he was smarter than all the other writers! Damn I wish I had read this before! Maybe we can turn it into a book!"

But it will be too late to tell me how impressed you were, because I'll be dead, and you'll feel like shit for just ignoring the genius laboring right under your noses for all these years. It will keep you awake at night, and stuff.

But don't mind me! Just go on about your business and keep reading the pale imitations who you only like because they're not me....

LeCharles in Charge

As I write this, my latest info says that Le Charles Bentley has returned to campp, and has been cleared for individual drills. He's being kept out of 7-on-7's and stuff, but is running around and practicing.

The staff will always err on the side of caution, of course. They'll watch him closely for at least a couple days before they permit him into full practices. He hasn't played football in two years, and even a full physical recovery is only the first step.

I believe that Bentley will, at the very least, return as the primary backup at both right guard and center. More likely, he will break into the starting line-up at right guard.

Bentley made the Pro Bowl at both center and guard. Given that the current center has done a great job, and the fact that as a guard Bentley (a mauler) could be much more aggressive, this is where he's best used in this personel grouping.

Wow. Hadnot is a long-time starter, and a very good player. Tucker was possibly as good at RG as he was at RT. What an awesome and deep offensive line this would be (if I am correct).

Adam Caplan expressed concerns about depth at offensive tackle. He's naturally dismissing Izaak Sowells, recently moved there from guard (because of much better depth inside. Sowells, a left tackle when drafted, lacked power when drive-blocking, and presumably has been in the weight room a lot.

He was drafted for his athleticism, and moved inside because he's 6'3" and this was where the need was. If he was a left tackle in college, he has the physical ability to pass-block at right tackle here. If he is athletic, he has the tools to zone and trap-block in a finesse scheme.

Sowells may or may not pan out as a good backup. I'm just sayin...

Anyway, should Bentley win the start at right guard, this takes care of right tackle, as Tucker would return as the primary backup there--in fact would no doubt platoon somewhat, as he's a more powerful run-blocker than Shaffer (who Sowells is similar to). Shaffer, in turn, should be the backup at left tackle.

Amazing. Hadnot was also a starting center, as was McKinney (who may be the odd man out). This offensive line might be the deepest in the NFL.

I misunderstood Baxter's injury, as well. His were also patellars--the tendon whick lifts the foot, for stepping, kicking, etc. Concerns about his lateral mobility are largely ignorant, as this tendon has absolutely nothing to do with that.

However, Baxter was never a great man corner in the first place. He's mainly a zone cornerback. Now he's getting pretty old, but he has the size, brains, and temperament to move to safety and be damn good there. And I do mean as a cover-two, twin safety backing up both Jones and Poole, and subbing in sometimes alongside them.

Mike Adams, meanwhile, is another guy I told you so about. Sure enough, he's being worked as a nickel back over the slot.

Adams was a starting free safety, strong in coverage. At about 195, he lacks the ideal size for a cover-2 safety, but is capably of manning-up on bigger possession-type recievers. As I told you so, this was partly why the "desperate need for a vedderrunn cornerbagg" was greatly exhaggerrated. Adams is sort of a safety/cornerback 'tweener ideal for several roles in this defense.

One concern at cornerback is valid: As of this moment, no one behind McDonald and Wright is equipped to take over for either if one is injured. But there are a lot of very, very talented youngsters here fighting for the last couple slots there, and it's more likely than not that one or two will emerge from this competition.

Savage hasn't minced his words. He means what he says. He is going to watch them in camp and see how they progress before making any more trades or moves to get a vedderrunnn. (Obviously he IS getting my emails).

A little on Anderson:

As defensive coordinators get more and more game-tapes, they get a better bead on quarterbacks. This happened to Anderson the season before last. He corrected some of that, so last season, it took longer for them to catch up to this first-year starter.

How this works: The enemy coaches isolate situations. What happens when he scrambles left?
Hmm...3 picks, 5 incompletions, 2 completions. When he scrambles right? 6 comletions, 2 20-plus yards, one pick, 2 incompletions! Well obviously, we want to move our QB-killers to the strong side and chase him left!

In Anderson's case, it was determined that he lost accuracy on underneath passes, so they sold-out to take Edwards away deep. Jurevicious sort of baled him out, of course. it was irrelevant that people were hanging all over him, and the passes were high, low, or behind. But still, they were able to bring DA down to earth.

He also lost accuracy throwing to his left, so the defenses took everything away to his right.

The QB coach said that he needed to "open his hips" when throwing across his body. All that is is lifting the left foot, pointing the toe at the target, and stepping into it. It's that simple. He also said that DA's "arm-slot" changed on shorter throws. This introduces more variables. Anderson has been coached to use the identical motion for all throws, and just to vary the velocity and release-point.

He'll be fine. And very, very well-protected!!!