Crowell Stays Lewis out. Crowell may end up better than West. I'm liking our RB situation. Should make this hard-nose football a little easier with backs like this.
Easy.....Baker was suppose to b a stud the way he was running at end of last yr....Crowell will play if injuries occur and thats bout it
Hey Irish...Shelton Gibson(redshirt Frosh) from WV just caught a pass then decided 2 use his body and dropped the next one...not bad for a coach who doesnt have a clue....
The Morning Kickoff ? Chosen few: Undrafted free agents who make a team?s 53-man roster as rookies carry that chip on their shoulder the rest of their careers. Josh Cribbs always did. Tashaun Gipson still has it. Miles Austin, too. So welcome the Browns undrafted Class of 2014. These are the five undrafted rookies who made the initial ? not necessarily final ? 53-man roster: * Fullback Ray Agnew: The 5-10, 247-pound lead-blocker from Southern Illinois is the first traditional fullback kept by the Browns since Lawrence Vickers. He was able to bump hybrid H-back MarQueis Gray for the spot because of his superior blocking but also his ability to run the peel-off pass route required of the position. * Running back Isaiah Crowell: He showed what a beast he can be running the ball with a 102-yard second-half in the fourth preseason game, including a 48-yard TD blast. He was undrafted after being dismissed from Georgia following an SEC freshman-of-the-year season. A lax attitude followed him at Alabama State, lowering his draft status despite blue-chip talent. Now he may challenge third-round rookie Terrance West for the No. 2 spot. * Receiver Taylor Gabriel: The smallest player on the roster ? 5-8 and 167 pounds ? took advantage of every opportunity at a position of dire need. He led the team in preseason with 10 receptions for 128 yards and also had a 68-yard kickoff return. The pride of Abilene Christian. * Cornerback Robert Nelson: Not big (5-9, 175) he made it on instincts and good hands ? the rarest of all cornerback attributes. He co-led the PAC-12 with six interceptions at Arizona State last year. Defensive secondary coach Aaron Glenn is a huge advocate of his. * Cornerback K?Waun Williams: He played four years and started the last three at Pitt. He was one of seven cornerbacks kept by the cornerback-centric coaching staff. Roster breakdown: The initial 53 players breaks down with 27 on defense, 23 on offense and three specialists. Quarterbacks (3): Rex Grossman, Brian Hoyer, Johnny Manziel (r). Running backs (4): Ray Agnew (r), Isaiah Crowell (r), Ben Tate, Terrance West (r). Receivers (5): Miles Austin, Travis Benjamin, Taylor Gabriel (r), Andrew Hawkins, Charles Johnson. Tight ends (3): Gary Barnidge, Jordan Cameron, Jim Dray. Offensive linemen (8): Karim Barton, Joel Bitonio (r), John Greco, Alex Mack, Paul McQuistan, Mitchell Schwartz, Joe Thomas, Martin Wallace, Defensive linemen (7): Armonty Bryant, Desmond Bryant, John Hughes, Ishmaa?ily Kitchen, Ahtyba Rubin, Phil Taylor, Billy Winn. Linebackers (8): Tank Carder, Karlos Dansby, Eric Martin, Chris Kirksey (r), Paul Kruger, Barkevious Mingo, Craig Robertson, Jabaal Sheard. Defensive backs (12): Johnson Bademosi, Aaron Berry, Pierre Desir (r), Justin Gilbert (r), Tashaun Gipson, Joe Haden, Jim Leonhard, Robert Nelson, Jordan Poyer, Buster Skrine, Donte Whitner, K?waun Williams. Specialists (3): Billy Cundiff, Spencer Lanning, Christian Yount. Random thoughts: I made these points about the preseason on the WKYC-TV3 pre-game show on Thursday night ? 1. Best drafted rookie was linebacker Chris Kirksey. 2. Biggest surprise among returning players was defensive Armonty Bryant. 3. Biggest disappointment was the play of Brian Hoyer. * I?ll go on record as labeling it a mistake to release receiver Nate Burleson. I know he didn?t show much and talked of retiring. I also know a 33-year-old lame duck with aspirations of a network TV analyst career may go south soon as the losses mount. He may just retire now. I just thought his energy exceeded that of Miles Austin, the other veteran wideout kept. By the way, the Browns paid Burleson a $65,000 signing bonus and also guaranteed $285,000 of his salary. So that?s $350,000 down the tubes. * I was surprised with the release of running back Dion Lewis only because coach Mike Pettine had talked him up the last week and had taken the lead as the No. 3 back. Originally, I had Lewis as one of the first cuts. The curious thing now is that none of the backs kept ? Tate, West and Crowell ? figure as a third-down back. * The likeliest candidates to return to the Browns? practice squad are: safety Josh Aubrey, cornerback Leon McFadden, defensive end Calvin Barnett, nose tackle Jaccobi McDaniel, offensive linemen Donald Hawkins and Garrett Gilkey, receiver Willie Snead and quarterback Connor Shaw. The Browns can sign as many as 10 to the practice squad, with two spots reserved for players with two years NFL experience. * I expect a lot of transactions in the coming three days that may reconfigure the last spots on the roster. I would expect a receiver and two offensive linemen to be added. * Trades? With Desmond Bryant (wrist) hurt and possibly unavailable for the opener, I don?t see a defensive lineman leaving.
The Jets cut wide receiver Stephen Hill, a 2012 second-round pick, on Saturday and Hill?s agent Alan Herman was less than thrilled with the team?s decision. Herman argued that the team?s quarterbacks and offensive schemes were to blame for his client?s struggles in his first two seasons. Hill had 45 catches and four touchdowns in 23 games for the Jets. ?He didn?t have a chance that first year with that whole Tim Tebow-Mark Sanchez fiasco,? Herman said, via USA Today. ?His second year, Geno Smith was learning how to play quarterback. So they never threw the ball deep because they wanted to simplify things for Geno.? No one will argue that the Jets have had good quarterback situations the last two years, but Hill?s hardly blameless. He had too many drops and too hard a time staying healthy to be a reliable part of any offense. Hill?s big and fast, though, and that should land him other chances. Herman says he ?would think? the Browns will be interested because of Josh Gordon?s suspension and head coach Mike Pettine?s previous relationship with Hill when both men were with the Jets. Herman also told Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer that he thinks Panthers wide receivers coach Ricky Proehl would have a positive impact on his client and much has been made this summer about the thin receiver depth chart in Carolina.
he Cleveland Browns made got their roster down to 53 players on Saturday and there will certainly be plenty of more moves on Sunday, as they will likely claim a couple of players off waivers and form their practice squad. It's always fun to take a brief look at former Browns players who were cut around the league. You may not recognize a lot of these names, as some of them only spent a couple of weeks during the offseason on the team, or maybe a year's worth of training camp. These cuts include players from a week or two ago too: Bears - WR Armanti Edwards Bills - QB Thaddeus Lewis Bills - WR Tori Gurley Broncos - OG Ryan Miller Broncos - DL Brian Sanford Broncos - ILB L.J. Fort Buccaneers - C Jeremiah Warren Buccaneers - OL J.B. Shugarts Buccaneers - ILB Brandon Magee Cardinals - OLB Marcus Benard Cardinals - ILB JoJo Dickson Colts - OLB Phillip Hunt Colts - S David Sims Dolphins - QB Brady Quinn Dolphins - K/P Jake Rogers Eagles - Emmanuel Acho 49ers - OL Michael Philipp 49ers - S Ray Ventrone Giants - TE Kellen Davis Jaguars - WR Kenny Shaw Jets - CB Dimitri Patterson Lions - WR Conner Vernon Lions - S Nate Ness Packers - C Garth Gerhart Panthers - OLB Alex Hall Panthers - CB James Dockery Patriots - C Braxston Cave Raiders - WR Greg Little Raiders - OL Jarrod Shaw Rams - FB Brad Smelley Saints - CB Trevin Wade Saints - K Shayne Graham Seahawks - WR Chris Matthews Seahawks - OL Caylin Hauptmann Seahawks - C Patrick Lewis Seahawks - CB Akeem Auguste Texans - OLB Quentin Groves Titans - WR Brian Robiskie Vikings - CB Julian Posey
Browns claimed WR LaRon Byrd off waivers from the Cowboys. 6'4" 220#, 4.45 40. o Ryan Mallett, waived by the Patriots gets picked up by the Texans. o Leon McFadden, waived by the Browns gets picked up by the Jets. o Vikings claim TE Marqueis Gray, released by the Browns.
Miles Austin and Andrew Hawkins are projected as the Browns' starting wideouts. Travis Benjamin, Charles Johnson and Taylor Gabriel fill out the five-man room. Expect OC Kyle Shanahan to go extremely run-heavy and build his pass game around TE Jordan Cameron, capping the upside of both receivers. 30-year-old Austin looked done in Dallas last year even after overcoming another hamstring issue, getting severely outplayed by Terrance Williams. Hawkins is an underrated asset, but is a role player limited by a 5'7/180 frame. Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer
per Rotoworld . . . Rex Grossman waived by the Browns. If true, that is surprising to me. Hoyer is less than a year removed form ACL surgery and Manziel is a golf cart ride away from the IR.
I thought Johnny did a nice job avoiding major contact the other night. He ran well. He moved the offense and knew when to get down and slide. He was obviously too jacked up on those throws. They were bad. I know he's a more accurate passer than that. He just needs the nerves to settle a bit. Developing timing, confidence and cohesion with the offense will come. I'm confident when he gets his chance in the money games, Johnny will find those open receivers...
