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Cleveland Browns Column
By: Ross Major |
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5/1/12 An unofficial list of Undrafted Free agents signings
Josh Cooper, WR,
Oklahoma State Also on the list, according to Aaron Wilson of scout.com, is OL Garth Gerhart of Arizona State. Not many of these free agents will make the team but every now and then a team finds a gem in the pile. Go Browns---SoCalDawg….Aka Ross
A Fans View of players the Browns Drafted. I grade this draft a solid B for the Browns. They started out great and then went up and down all three days. They got my pick with the number 3 overall. The surprised some fans taking a QB in the First and I think they found value in the later rounds. Round 1: Trent Richardson RB Alabama : Everyone loves this pick including me. Rated the best RB in the draft and maybe the best player in the draft. Richardson will make a big difference with this team. The Browns wanted to make sure that no other team moved up to draft him at number 3 they traded a 1st, 4th, 5th, and 7th round pick to move up to number 3 pick in the draft. They got their man. Round 1: Brandon Weeden QB Oklahoma State. : Taken with the 22nd Pick in the draft. This pick seemed to catch some people off guard. I thought we were set to stick with Colt McCoy but I was not surprised to see them draft Weeden. At 28 years old he is officially the oldest QB drafted since the 1960’s. Some made a big deal out of it. I think the will be fine. I wonder if there will be an odd man out type situation after a training camp competition. GM Tom Heckert feels sure Weeden will emerge as the started or he would not of drafted in the first round. My opinion is simple if Colt can’t beat a rookie than he should be the back-up. Round 2: Mitchell Schwartz Tackle out of Cal Bears. Schwartz helped pave the way for 3-1000 yard rushers in his college career. Schwartz is strong at the point attack. A tough, mature and intelligent athlete who showed versatility throughout college. He will provide an upgrade to the right side of the Browns O-line. This is a solid pic at 37. It fills a big need from last season and continues to build the line for the future. Round 3: John Hughes Defensive Tackle out of Cincinnati. John has not had a shining college career, so this pick surprised me. Then I say his measurable and I think I know why the Browns would use a 3rd round on him. He had the fastest 40 time at the combine for DT . He has the best broad jump and vertical for a defensive lineman. The Browns needed at add depth to the DT position and they saw raw talent. Round 4: Travis Benjamin WR out of Miami. Speed was the key for this pick. Bucky Brooks reporter for NFL.Com said that Benjamin gives the Browns an explosive offensive weapon. He provided a big play threat at Miami for the last 3 years. He started out as a return specialist and this will add value to his stock as a special teams player. Benjamin is only 5’10” and is said to weigh less than 180 pounds so he will need to prove his worth as a WR while providing speed in the return game. Round 4: James-Michael Johnson LB out of Nevada. He is a heavy handed LB at 6’1” and 241 LBs he is a thick strong LB. He had the best broad jump of all Linebackers at the combine. He should work his way into the rotation as well as contribute on special teams this season. Round 5: Ryan Miller G out of Colorado. At 6’7” he may be better suited to play tackle, and I am sure there will be a discussion to make this move. He is very athletic and has played well inside for the past 2 years. Again adding toughness to the offensive line was a priority and because many teams had Miller graded as a 1st round pick it was a surprise to find him in the 5th. He will work into the starting lineup quickly. Round 6: Emmanuel Acho LB out of Texas. He is an instinctive inside linebacker. His brother made an impact as a rookie for Arizona in 2011 and Emmanule was graded by many as being the better of the two. He had 119 tackles and 19 for a loss, 3 sacks and a forced fumble for the longhorns in 2011. Raw talent with power and great instincts will help him become a role player in the 2012 season for the Browns. Round 6: Billy Winn DT out of Boise State. He was the best defender in Boise state last season, some questions about this work ethic caused him to slide down team draft boards. At 6’4” his upside can make this a great value pick for the Browns. He had 16 sacks and 131 tackles in his four years and was expected to be an early round draft pick. Time will tell if the Browns got lucky with this one. Round 7: Trevin Wade CB out of Arizona. Graded high at the combine, was expected to be a 2nd or 3rd round pick. He was a solid #3 corner in college and should be able to work into the rotation for the Browns, Like a lot of this years’ rookie class he will need to contribute on special teams early and often.
Round 7:
Brad Smelley TE out of Alabama. He is listed as a TE but his
played full back for Alabama and became a starter his Sr
year, catching 34 passes for 365 yards, and 4 touchdowns. He
has good hands so he could be used as a possession receiver
in short yardage downs, for the Browns.
Go Browns ----
SoCalDawg… AKA Ross Browns trade up to No. 3 The leadership of the Browns has heard the fan base. For months now they have listened to the fans, and the fans have been loud. “our Offense Sucks” we need playmakers on the offense and if you don’t do something to get the playmakers your days may be numbered.’ That message was repeated over and over and I think GM Tom Heckert and President Mike Holmgren clearly understand the frustration of the fans. Heckert said this year they will find more players to make a difference. The afternoon just an hour before the beginning of the NFL Draft the Browns used one of their 4th, 5th, and 7th round picks (they had 2 picks in each of those rounds) to move up one spot to secure the 3rd overall pick and ensuring that they will get their choice. Thank you Mike Holmgren.. Thank you Tom Heckert… From the fans Thank you both…Yes Yes Yes.. With the 3rd overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft the Cleveland Browns select…Trent Richardson (RB)
Go Browns … SoCalDawg…aka
Ross “In A Great
Position”
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Montario Hardesty RB out of
Tennessee, 5’ 11” 225lbs. As a senior he
ran for 1308 yards and 12 TD’s. Hardesty
averaged 4.5 yards a carry. Known for good
vision, quick feet and power running.
Hardesty also caught 36 passes in his
college career for another 405 yards and one
touchdown. In
2010 Tom Heckard, then first year GM for
the Browns, was excited about drafting
Montario. Heckard felt he would be gone by
the time the Browns got to their second
round PIC at #71 so he made a trade with the
Dallas Cowboys for their 2nd round PIC
at 59. He gave the cowboys PICs 71, 134, 146
so he could get the deal done.
Hardesty has an injury history that can’t be
ignored. He had a stress fracture in 2008,
and missed a lot of time in 2007 with ankle
sprains. I should mention that Montario tore
his ACL in high school. In 2010 Hardesty’s
rookie year, during the last preseason game,
his 2nd game
in the NFL Hardesty tore another ACL. He was
lucky it was not the same one he had torn in
High School. He missed the entire 2010
regular season. In 2011 Hardesty played in
10 games, rushing 88 times for a total of
266 yards for an average or 3 yards per
carry. He also caught 14 passes for another
122 yards and had zero TD’s.
Payton Hillis was the feature RB in the
Browns offense, and Hardesty only saw the
field 88 times in the 10 games he played in.
Due to the NFL lockout teams had a very
limited training camp in 2011. In the first
week of workouts Hardesty suffered another
minor knee injury and was given most of the
preseason to recover. Week one of the
regular season he saw limited action. Week 2
against Indy he was even more limited due to
soreness in his legs. He did not have a
decent game until week 7 against the
Seahawks when he had 95 yards rushing and 2
receptions for 27 more yards. After
reinjuring his calf muscle in week 8 he did
not see any game time until week 14. Then
again injuries kept him sidelined until the
last game of the season when he saw very
limited action.
Hardesty did not catch the ball well in 2011
so it was hard for the Browns to give him
significant playing time. The West Coast
offense requires the RB to be well rounded,
catching the ball out of the backfield is a
must. Being able to recognize the blitz and
block is as important as rushing the ball.
Montario missed some blocks last year that
just about got his QB killed.
Despite all the negatives I think Hardesty
has the support of the coaches and his
teammates. I want to see him stay healthy
and produce this year. I want him to prove
he was worth trading 3 picks for 1 and kick
some butt during 2012. If this doesn’t
happen I want to see Montario Hardesty go
away.. JMHO..
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4/4/12
Cleveland Browns – “Offensive Line in Flex”
It has been a busy off season for some
members of the Cleveland Browns staff. Making personal
moves meant to improve the team. The O-Line is no
different. Eric
Steinbach the browns pro-bowl LG spent the 2011 season
on the IR, after having back surgery in Aug 2011. Eric made
it clear that he wanted to return to the Browns as soon as
possible. March 14, 2012 the Browns made a business decision
releasing Steinbach, before they had to pay the $6 Million
dollar bonus due to him on MAR 30.
Just a week into free agency the Browns decided to cut Veteran Offensive Lineman Tony Pashos. He had played the whole season with rupture tendons in his left foot according to his agent Rick Smith. It was reported that Pashos was extremely upset by being cut. Pashos failed his physical due to the operation that had to be done to repair the tendons. He will not be healthy enough to pay for 10 months.
On the bright side the Browns re-sign RG Oniel Cousins . Cousins was awarded to the Browns off waivers Aug 2011. He spent the first three years in the NFL with the Ravens and was cut to make space on their roster after injuries force the action. Cousins played 4 games at RG for the Browns in 2011. It is my belief that the coaching staff wants to be younger and tougher on the offensive line in 2012. Cousins fits that profile.
Offensive lineman Jason Pinkston said in a recent report that he knows he could get a ton better than he played during his rookie year, so he is doing something about it. Pinkston was thrust into a starting role after Steinbach went down in training camp last season. A fifth round pick and a native of Pittsburg, Pa. Jason talked about the fact that he had no real training camp due to the NFL lockout. Pinkston wants to be one of the Best in the NFL and is working hard to make that transition. Jason is spending his offseason in Cleveland training at the O-Line Academy run by former Brown (briefly), Saints and Ohio State Buckeye center LeCharles Bentley.
I believe the Browns with draft one or
more offensive Lineman in this year’s NFL Draft. Kelechi
Osemele from
Iowa State 6’6” and 354 played on both sides of the line at
Guard and tackle would fit well on the right side of the
Browns Line… Go
Browns
3/31/12
3/29/12
Mar 26, 2012 from the annual owners meeting in Palm Beach,
Fla. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced the award of
32 Compensatory draft picks split between 15 NFL teams. The
Cleveland Browns received the most with 4 picks. Under the
rule compensatory picks are awarded when you lose players to
free agency better that what you received. The Browns were
awarded two 6th round picks and two 7th round picks. Even
though these are not high picks, the team believes that it
will increase their chances to find quality players to help
the team this year. The Browns had 10 picks before the award
and now have a total of 14 picks in the upcoming NFL draft.
This could be a huge advantage to the Browns.
Mr. Goodell and Mike Holmgren share the belief the best way
to build a team is in the NFL draft and the extra picks are
meant to help team provide quality depth to their roster
that they may have missed out on because of free agency. The
formula to determine who gets compensatory picks is based on
the salary, playing time, and post season awards of the
player a team loses in free agency.
During the owners meeting head coach Pat Shurmur addressed
the media. He told the members of the press “we are moving
forward with Colt McCoy as the starting QB". He also talked
about the draft. He said he was impressed with Justin
Blackmon the WR out of Oklahoma State. He mentioned that the
Browns have visits scheduled with a lot of prospects but
would not talk about his draft plans. Mary Kay Cabot of the
Cleveland plain dealer tweeted that the Browns will bring in
QB Ryan Tannehill as one of their 30 pre-draft visits.
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