• Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
  • Consider registering! Fewer and higher quality ads, no emails you don't want, access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Even if you just want to lurk, there are a lot of good reasons to register!

Cleveland Browns (2007 & prior)

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Sort by date Sort by votes
my gut feel says all previously published mock drafts are going to be worthless... because I suspect there is going to be a MAJOR trade early on that will throw everything past pick #2 to the wind...
 
Upvote 0
ABJ

4/14/06

BROWNS BRIEFS

<!-- begin body-content -->Preseason games
on Thursday nights
The Browns will open and close their preseason schedule with Thursday night games, according to times the team released Thursday.
The preseason opener will be Aug. 10 at the Philadelphia Eagles. The game will begin at 7:30 p.m.
The Browns return home to face the Detroit Lions at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 18. They then travel to Buffalo for a 6 p.m. game against the Bills on Aug. 26.
The preseason schedule concludes Aug. 31 with a home game against the Chicago Bears at 8 p.m.
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0
Canton

4/14/06

Browns have four likely targets if they stay at No. 12

Friday, April 14, 2006


<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>[FONT=Verdana, Times New Roman, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]By Steve Doerschuk REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER[/FONT]


The jazzy possibilities make for lively chatter.

Trading up for A.J. Hawk. Vince Young dropping out of the sky. Dealing down for extra picks and Bobby Carpenter.

Fifteen days out, though, a greater draft likelihood prevails. The Browns will stay at No. 12. Young will be gone. Choosing “the man” will be as simple as firing out and smashing into a gigantic target.

That means honing in on four candidates to beef up the front end of Romeo Crennel’s 3-4 defense.

They are:

Oregon defensive tackle Haloti Ngata.
Florida State defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley.
Florida State defensive end Kamerion Wimbley.
North Carolina State defensive end Manny Lawson.

The Browns like all four. The question of whom they like the best will become simpler on draft day if, as expected, two are snatched earlier.

The likeliest to be gone — and in turn to become the Browns’ pick if available — are Ngata and Bunkley.

Ngata is the only high-pick candidate with the classic size, talent and effort profile to play nose tackle in a 3-4 scheme.

A replacement for 38-year-old nose man Ted Washington will be needed soon. Even though Washington is sure to start in 2006, plans are to play him on about half of the downs.

That means no worries about using a high pick without playing time available. Ngata would be in an ideal learning climate, even though Washington doesn’t see his career in Cleveland as one and done.

“Give me some good guys to back me up,” Washington said, “and I’ll give you three or four more good years.

“I’m not selfish ... if I go down, I want to make sure my backup knows what’s going on.”

The No. 1 backup now is Ethan Kelley. He got his only real playing time with 11 games ( two starts) in 2005.

Ngata and Bunkley played defensive tackle in 4-3 schemes. Whereas Ngata’s NFL weight projects to about 340, Bunkley’s projects to 295-315, probably meaning he would move to end on the Browns’ three-man line.

Bunkley, one of the strongest lifters at the NFL Combine, was a disruptive playmaker for Florida State. He had 25 tackles for loss in 2005 and was a sensational pass rusher.

The buzz among Browns players seems to be that the No. 12 pick will be a linebacker. Some of this ties to the possibility Ngata and Bunkley will be gone, with Wimbley and Lawson (both would be converted from 4-3 end to 3-4 outside linebacker) on the board.

Wimbley measured 6-foot-3 7/8, 248 pounds and posted 40-yard dash times in the 4.6 range at the Combine. His fierce tackling style gives him an edge on Iowa outside linebacker Chad Greenway, seen as a likely Browns target. Wimbley could offer instant help as an edge rusher and run defender, but might be raw in pass coverage.

Lawson and Mario Williams gave North Carolina State one of college football’s great end duos. Williams is viewed as the top defensive prospect in the draft, a sure top-five pick.

Lawson (6-5 3/4, 241 pounds) seems too light to be a 4-3 end but would fit as a 3-4 linebacker, and certainly has the speed for the job. He runs sub-4.5 40s and has a vertical jump close to 40 inches. That basically means he could dunk a basketball with his teeth.

The Browns seem to have a mature environment for a young gun in the front seven.

Washington is 38. Linebacker Willie McGinest is 34. End Orpheus Roye is 33. Linebackers Andra Davis, Chaun Thompson and Matt Stewart all are young but have been around for a while.

Roye, who paid close attention to the NFL Combine on TV, said, “A lot of guys caught my eye. I get surprised over the defensive guys running so fast and being so big.”

It appears the Browns’ first-round pick will be a defensive front-seven player who will have to adjust to a 3-4 scheme.

“I’ve been playing in a 3-4 almost forever,” McGinest said. “Ted Washington, too. With our experience, we can help.”

Drafting Ngata, Bunkley, Wimbley or Lawson would not address the biggest hole on the defense, an open inside linebacker spot. That is why a trade up for Hawk, though costly, is not off the charts.

Reach Repository sports writer Steve Doerschuk at (330) 580-8347 or e-mail: [email protected]


BROWNS set preseason slate

The Browns on Thursday announced the specific dates and times for their four preseason games this season. Opponents had previously been known.

Date Opponent Time
Thursday, Aug. 10 at Philadelphia Eagles 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 18 Detroit Lions 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 26 at Buffalo Bills 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 31 Chicago Bears 8 p.m. All games will be broadcast by WOIO (Channel 19).


</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0
ABJ

4/16/06

McManamon on the NFL

OSU standouts not overlooking training

Holmes, Youboty turn to camp to fine tune skills before NFL Draft

By Patrick McManamon

<!-- begin body-content -->Santonio Holmes has been spending his time in Orlando, Fla., since Ohio State's bowl game.
He and cornerback Ashton Youboty -- another Buckeyes player -- have been following the newest pre-draft routine for top players: Train, train, train, and then when you're done, train a little more.
Training for the draft has become a full-time job.
Holmes and Youboty have been at the Tom Shaw Performance Camp at DisneyWorld's Wide World of Sports Complex.
Their days start at 8 a.m. with stretching. Workouts commence soon after, and the routine is completed at 1:30 p.m. with weightlifting.
They come back in the evening for 90 minutes of position-specific work and drills.
The effort is part of the overall year-round regimen of NFL players. It can make the difference between going late or high first round for draftable players, which can mean a lot of money, or late or early round, which can mean making a team or not.
``Our camp is not a camp where we're going to train you for the combine drills or to run a fast 40,'' Shaw said. ``Ours is a football training program. Anybody can run a fast 40 if that's all we work on, but if you're a lower-round draft choice, you might still be cut.''
Shaw's reputation precedes him.
He used to work in New Orleans, but Hurricane Katrina forced the move to a bigger and better complex at Disney.
He's trained NFL players for years -- and they include Browns center LeCharles Bentley and running backs Lee Suggs and Reuben Droughns. His other clients have included Deion Sanders, Darren Sharper, James Farrior and Eric Moulds -- and former Browns cornerback Corey Fuller.
To this day, veterans come to help the rookies.
Shaw said Sanders spent a lot of time at the camp this spring, and he tutored defensive backs along with receivers like Holmes, telling him what he looks for when a player lines up, how to come out of a break.
The proof is in the results -- Shaw said he has seen 77 first-round draft choices come out of his camp since 1994.
Holmes and Youboty are two of 50 draft-eligible rookies who have come through the camp this spring (and they include Vanderbilt quarterback Jay Cutler). Shaw said Youboty got stronger and more explosive, and his vertical jump went up. Holmes lost six pounds of body fat, which helped him run better.
``I would put Ashton in the classification that he'll never be out of shape his whole life,'' Shaw said. ``Santonio is another good worker. You're asking about two good kids. I've had some lazy kids now.
``Ashton is a perfectionist. He wanted to come out at 6:30 in the morning with Deion and work individuals. I see them as being successful, both of them.''
Those 40 times
Shaw also brought some perspective to the plethora of lights-out 40-yard-dash times that crop up before the draft.
Every year, players reportedly run in the 4.3-second range, which would make them faster than most players who ever played the game.
``The NFL times differently than mom and dad and a strength coach,'' Shaw said. ``They want everyone to seem like they run fast.''
Or the people who are trying to get their kids in the NFL want it to seem like everyone runs fast.
Shaw said he saw a major college Web site recently that listed 14 players who run a 4.4, and one who ran a 4.3.
``It's for the NFL,'' Shaw said. ``I don't know where they get a lot of the bogus timing.''
On the draft
General consensus continues to be that the Browns will take a Florida State player this year.
Focus continues to be on end/linebacker Kamerion Wimbley, linebacker Ernie Sims and tackle/end Brodrick Bunkley.
Wimbley could fill the needed outside pass-rush role, but Florida State does not have a great track record with pass rushers (Peter Boulware being the exception).
Sims at one point was considered undersized, but his stock has risen steadily.
Bunkley probably would play end in a 3-4 defensive scheme.
The one caveat would be if Oregon nose tackle Haloti Ngata were available. The Browns no doubt would take him.
The wild card continues to be Texas quarterback Vince Young: Can the Browns afford to pass up this multi-talented player?
``Can he run an NFL offense? No. And you know what -- who cares?'' Browns quarterback Trent Dilfer told SI.com this week. ``If you get a guy like that on your team, you change the offense. It would be bold, and this league is very resistant to change, but it would be awesome and he'd be a star.''
Young addressed questions about his throwing motion when he visited the Houston Texans by saying:
``A lot of guys don't bother that. They say (my) throwing motion is good. I just have a quicker release than most people.
``The release that I have -- it helps out getting the ball out faster. A lot of guys will point out through all the games that I played, I only had three knockdowns of the ball.
``So continue doing the things that you've been doing, throwing the ball and completing it down field and winning ballgames.
``That is all that matters to the coaches.''
Edwards help
Receiver Braylon Edwards will donate $500,000 to endow a scholarship to the player who wears the No. 1 at Michigan. Edwards, David Terrell and Anthony Carter all wore ``1'' at Michigan. The scholarship will go to another player if nobody wears that number.
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0
Canton Rep

4/18

[FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]OSU LB in Browns’ future?[/FONT]
Tuesday, April 18, 2006 [FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]By Steve Doerschuk REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER[/FONT]
<table style="margin: 10px -3px 15px 5px; position: relative;" align="right" border="0" width="300"> <tbody><tr valign="top"> <td>
18crennel.jpg

Repository Bob Rossiter Browns Head Coach Romeo Crennel talked about his team’s free-agent acquisitions and the upcoming NFL Draft during Monday’s Hall of Fame Luncheon Club meeting at Four Winds restaurant.
​

<center style="color: black; font-size: 10px; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">

</center></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> CANTON TWP. - The men who jammed the hall appreciated what Romeo Crennel did.
It’s crazy time at the Browns complex — draft season. Yet, the head coach crammed a Hall of Fame Luncheon Club speech into his schedule.
He was applauded merely for walking through the northwest door at Four Winds restaurant and making his way to the head table. After downing a steak, he established a rapport with the audience while cheerfully answering a buffet line of mostly timely questions.
Every Browns fan wants to know if trading up to get Ohio State linebacker A.J. Hawk — they own the No. 12 pick, and Hawk is seen as likely No. 5 overall material — is plausible.
“I never say never, but it’s gonna be doubtful,” Crennel said. “... You have to give up most of your draft to move up that high.
“I don’t think that’s sound business sense, because if you put all your eggs in one basket, drop the basket and that egg breaks, then you don’t have anything else to fall back on.”
Crennel surprised some with a follow-up answer regarding a possible trade down to a first-round position where OSU linebacker Bobby Carpenter might be had. A few scouts see Carpenter in Hawk’s class.
“It depends on who else may be there at 12,” Crennel said. “It’s that ‘best athlete available’ thing. I mean, there might be a good athlete there at 12 ... that might be Carpenter.
“I’m not saying it’s not Carpenter, all right? But a good athlete might be available there at 12.”
Confusing? Not really. If the Browns really like one player on the board, they won’t be eager to trade down. It helps the Browns to keep rivals guessing, though Carpenter might be available in the 20-30 range.
More from Crennel as to trading down from the No. 12 spot: “To trade down, you’ve got to have somebody to trade with. What are they offering? If somebody makes us an offer we can’t refuse, then, hey, we’ll have to take it.
“You have to determine who’s available at 12. Anytime you have to move out of the spot, hoping to get a guy, there’s no guarantee that the guy’s gonna be there.”


Canton Rep

4/18

[FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Crennel: Team ready if Texas QB drops[/FONT]
Tuesday, April 18, 2006 [FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]By Steve Doerschuk REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER[/FONT]
<table style="margin: 10px -3px 15px 5px; position: relative;" align="right" border="0" width="300"> <tbody><tr valign="top"> <td><center style="color: black; font-size: 10px; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
line_break.jpg

Advertisement</center></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> CANTON TWP. - The Browns are ready in case Texas superstar Vince Young is a falling star.
Head Coach Romeo Crennel talked Monday about the national championship quarterback maybe being available in the NFL Draft when Cleveland picks at No. 12 on April 29.
“If Young falls to 12, what are you gonna do?” Crennel said. “You have to make a decision.
“If you feel like you’ve got to get a defensive player, then you trade out of the pick, then maybe you don’t get the quality you want from a defensive player lower in the first round.
“So you have to decide what’s the value or the quality that’s there.”
What of Young flying to Cleveland for a pre-draft visit with the Browns?
“There’s a possibility he may come later in the week,” Crennel said after a speech to the Hall of Fame Luncheon Club.
During the speech, Crennel said, “If (Young) falls to 12, we will have a plan, whether we’re gonna take him there ... or you might trade back.”
Raiders Owner Al Davis is seen as poised to pounce if Young falls to No. 7. If Young is selected before the 12 spot, the Browns likely will go back to planning for a training camp duel for the quarterback job between young Charlie Frye and veteran Trent Dilfer.
“Everybody says, ‘Why don’t you name one of them?’ ” Crennel said. “I say, ‘Well, I’m not ready to name one of them yet.’
“I told them it’s gonna be a competition, so I’m gonna let them compete for a little bit, to see who does what, who will step up.
“Then, probably sometime in training camp, we’ll name somebody so the rest of the guys will have a chance to work with him, get used to him, and know who they’re dealing with.”
For now, Crennel must deal with the draft.
On Monday, that meant dealing with an amusing observation from an audience member, who said, “My neighbor said that Vince Young is gonna fall to No. 12.”
Crennel replied, “Is your neighbor Phil Savage?”
 
Upvote 0
Canton Rep

4/19

[FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]SPORTS SPOTLIGHT: Browns should make every effort to grab A.J. Hawk[/FONT]
Wednesday, April 19, 2006 [FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]SPORTS SPOTLIGHT TODD PORTER[/FONT]

BEREA - Phil Savage was ticking off his list of players — some 140 that the Browns like in this month’s NFL Draft — when the topic of sex came up.
Not exactly sex, but a sexy pick.
The Browns have won over fans without playing a game this offseason. They’ve spent money, and spent it wisely. They built momentum with free agent signings LeCharles Bentley, Ted Washington, Willie McGinest and Joe Jurevicius.
And if a punter (Dave Zastudil) and tackle Kurt Shaffer can be considered sexy signings, Savage has momentum going into next weekend’s NFL Draft.
But he is also saddled with the No. 12 pick, not exactly the kind of place to pick a prime prom date. Since the Browns returned to the NFL in 1999, the 12th overall picks have been Cade McNown (out of football), Shaun Ellis (a bit of a stretch), Damoine Lewis (two-plus seasons before making an impact in St. Louis), Wendell Bryant (out of football), Jimmy Kennedy (another stretch), Jonathan Vilma (over-rated) and Shawne Merriman (San Diego hit on him).
This year, though, at least for Cleveland, momentum is lost by staying at 12.
Savage doesn’t think so.
“I think momentum will carry itself through if we pick the right player at the right time and do a good job,” Savage said. “I do think we can capitalize on the attitude people have about the Browns right now by having a solid draft.”
People have attitude about the draft based on one pick. Fans will make a generalization about the draft based on the first-round pick.
What Savage ought to do is move out of 12 and trade into the fourth, fifth or sixth spot. He ought to do what he can to draft Ohio State linebacker A.J. Hawk.
The Browns identified three areas of much needed improvement from 2005 to 2006: Pass rush, run defense and scoring more points. Assume scoring more points will be addressed with the return of Kellen Winslow Jr. and Braylon Edwards, Bentley and Reuben Droughns.
Hawk does what Savage believes no draft pick can do.
He addresses two needs with one pick: Pass rush and run defense.
The important parts of a Tuesday session with writers was that Savage said moving up to get Hawk was unlikely, but later he contradicted himself.
He said there are “other ways” to move up to get Hawk.
He was asked if he’d give up this year’s first-round selection along with next year’s to get Hawk.
“I think he’s an outstanding player,” Savage said. “I think any time you give up a future No. 1, it takes away from the following year. I was part of a group the lived through not having a first rounder. It tends to skew the vision of the draft.”
But, if Hawk is the player Savage believes him to be, and the team plans to contend, is there a difference between a 20-something first-rounder in 2007 and a second rounder? If Hawk is the piece to the puzzle, who will care if there is no pick in 2007?
Last year, Savage said the Browns were drafting on the best available theory. This year, it’s changed. He wants the best available player for the Browns. That means the team isn’t taking a center with the first pick.
It means the team will likely take someone who helps the front seven on the defensive side of the ball the greatest.
When Savage and his team of scouts huddle with Head Coach Romeo Crennel, no one will help them more than Hawk.
The Browns have a window of opportunity in 2006. Short of mortgaging the franchise’s foreseeable future, all should be done to get Hawk.
He is that good.
He will make that kind of difference.
Savage seemed to be speaking with forked tongue Tuesday. Perhaps it was to muddy the predraft waters.
Imagine, though, if he can pull off a deal to get Hawk. You think the Browns have momentum now? After six seasons of lousy football, the Browns owe a pick such as Hawk to their fans.
 
Upvote 0
Canton

4/19/06

NFL draft: Browns working with 80 possibles

Wednesday, April 19, 2006


<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>[FONT=Verdana, Times New Roman, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]By Steve Doerschuk REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER [/FONT]



NFL DRAFT
April 29-30
Radio City Music Hall, New York
BROWNS Pick 12th in first round


BEREA - If HBO turns the Browns’ April 29-30 draft into a drama, it’ll be “Around the World in 80 Names.”
General Manager Phil Savage said the team has pegged 80 preferred candidates, within a more broad draft menu of 140, who “can be fairly accomplished players for us.”
Key words regarding the finalists picked from an original list of 1,128 prospects: “For us.”
“It’s team-specific,” said Bill Rees, Savage’s right-hand personnel man. “A guy who might rank third for us might be 23 for somebody else.”
The Browns think they can come away with two first-round values. Obviously, they expect juice from the No. 12 pick. The pivotal pick is in the second round, No. 43.
“We hope we can get somebody from our top 30 there,” Rees said.
Last year, Savage and Rees were working on the fly as a new big two in personnel, playing off a new staff that imported New England’s 3-4 defense. It was a bumpy ride.
Now?
“We can be more specific about what our needs are,” Savage said, “and how certain players are going to fit. Being together for an entire year has made things very clear in terms of our evaluations.
“Drafting for the 3-4 defense is very difficult. You find that almost every player is a projection. There are only a couple of college teams that play it.”
The three likeliest candidates with the No. 12 pick are Oregon defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, who would be converted to nose tackle, Florida State defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley, who would be retooled into an end, and Florida State defensive end Kamerion Wimbley, who would be made into a linebacker.
Analysts see Wimbley as the likeliest of the three to still be available.
What if the Browns really want Ngata or Bunkley?
Savage said trading up a couple of spots — perhaps costing a second- to a fourth-round draft choice, is possible.
Rees said the 340-pound Ngata is “built for a 3-4 defense ... powerful and strong. He’s gonna have pass-rush potential as he begins to mature.”
The Browns seem interested in Michigan’s Gabe Watson as a second-round target at nose tackle. “He set the week on fire at the Senior Bowl,” Rees said. “They couldn’t block him.”
Bunkley weighs about 300 pounds, on the small side for nose duty in the Browns’ scheme, but perfect for end.
None of this means the No. 12 pick might not be somebody else. Head Coach Romeo Crennel hinted Monday that Ohio State linebacker Bobby Carpenter might be a candidate.
Carpenter could be targeted if the Browns trade down a few spots. The Browns’ biggest hole is at inside linebacker.
“(Carpenter) is very versatile,” Rees said. “He has the size and IQ to play inside. It’s one of those situations where, if you put him at inside linebacker on Day 1, he’d probably do well there. If you put him on the outside, it’d be the same.”
Savage and Rees indicated the Browns have analyzed the three quarterbacks regarded as top-10 candidates. Rees said Matt Leinart, Vince Young and Jay Cutler probably all will be gone before they pick, but, “We have to be ready, and we will be,” if one falls. That means they’ll be ready to listen to trade offers.
Among first-round candidates who interest the Browns if they deal down is North Carolina State defensive end Manny Lawson.
“He appears to be a good fit at outside linebacker for a 3-4 team,” said Savage, who mentioned Lawson’s 4.43-second 40-yard dash clocking at the NFL Combine.
How far down is Savage willing to move?
“Our comfort level would be five, six or seven spots,” he said. “I don’t think you want to go farther down that that.”
The Browns haven’t discounted keeping Young if he slides to 12. The problem with Young, the Browns think, is along the lines of last year’s No. 1 pick, Alex Smith: Their styles that made them successful largely don’t apply to what they must do in the NFL.
On other topics:
Trading center Jeff Faine remains a pre-draft or draft-day option. “I think toward the end of the week it might pick up and we will field some calls, Savage said. “There are several teams out there I think would have an interest in Jeff.”
Savage said the Browns were quick to sign young free agent left tackle Kevin Shaffer because they didn’t think they could get to D’Brickashaw Ferguson in the draft.
The Browns like Akron speedster Domenik Hixon, but according to Rees, Hixon recently suffered a foot injury.
The Browns like OSU’s Mike Kudla but suspect he might be snapped up by a team looking for good value in a 4-3 end. How he projects into a 3-4 is a bit mysterious. Every draft candidate was viewed in the context of his ability to help beat Pittsburgh. “Pittsburgh blew our doors off up here on Christmas Eve,” Savage said. “We don’t want to see that happen again.” Reach Repository sports writer Steve Doerschuk at (330) 580-8347 or e-mail: [email protected]


</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0
ABJ

4/19/06

Front seven getting the look

GM Savage says finding right players to fit in Browns' 3-4 scheme tough

By Patrick McManamon

Beacon Journal sportswriter

<!-- begin body-content -->BEREA - The safest position to predict for the Browns' first-round draft pick in the NFL Draft?
The defensive front seven.
``That would be a good guess,'' General Manager Phil Savage said at his pre-draft news conference Tuesday. ``We've emphasized that quite a bit.''
The challenge for Savage and his scouts: Because the Browns use a 3-4 defensive front and few colleges do, the front seven is the most difficult position to find players.
``You find that almost every player is a projection in the 3-4 defense,'' Savage said. ``There's only a couple of college teams that play the 3-4, so you don't get to watch seven or eight kids and say, `What I'm seeing him do is what I'll see him do when he gets to Cleveland.' ''
``Drafting for the 3-4 defense is difficult,'' player personnel director Bill Rees said. ``It's a process of relearning some of the defensive techniques and needs for the defense.''
Because of that, Savage said the Browns adjusted how they evaluated the front seven players. They have spent more time evaluating the linebackers in the draft than any other position.
The linebackers were broken up into three groups: those who can play outside, those who can play inside and ``nickel linebackers,'' who can cover or rush.
Many of the outside linebackers played end in college, which makes it difficult to see how they will fit in the pros.
``It is a difficult thing to try to forecast and project who can play on their feet on first and second down before they can switch to pass rusher, where they played their entire career,'' Savage said.
Among those players is Florida State's Kamerion Wimbley, who, Savage said, should be able to make the transition from end to linebacker ``very successfully.''
Others include Penn State's Tamba Hali, Virginia Tech's Darryl Tapp, Tennessee's Parys Haralson and North Carolina State's Manny Lawson.
Inside projections include a player Savage clearly likes: Ohio State's A.J. Hawk.
``I suspect he'll go very early, and the team that gets him will be fortunate,'' Savage said.
He said he does not want to give up next year's first-round pick to trade up to get Hawk, but he said there might be other ways to move up if the Browns were so inclined.
Other linebackers include Florida State's Ernie Sims, Ohio State's Bobby Carpenter (Savage said he could play inside or outside), and Iowa's Chad Greenway and Abdul Hodge.
``We've evaluated them from A to Z,'' Savage said. ``And we feel like we know this position as much or better as any position in the draft.''
The Browns divided the defensive linemen into three groups as well: nose tackles, ends and pass rushers.
Oregon's Haloti Ngata is the top nose tackle; Florida State's Broderick Bunkley is the top end.
Savage said both could play either position, if needed.
The advantage that Savage and his staff have this year is they've worked for a year with the coaches and have seen the 3-4 system in more depth.
``It has been very beneficial to blend with the coaches and (coach) Romeo (Crennel's) philosophy,'' Rees said. ``The scouts have been able to get on the same page, and we're more comfortable with what we're looking for.
``Our board may not look the same as a lot of other boards around the league. It will be very `Browns specific' as to what we're looking for.''
For that reason, if things go according to what's expected, the Browns will combine drafting for need with drafting the best available player. Which adds up, if things follow form, to a defensive player on the front seven.
``The first pick isn't going to solve three needs,'' Savage said, ``but we definitely want it to solve one need.''
<!-- end body-content --><!-- begin body-end --><HR class=tagline color=#cccccc SIZE=1>
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0
CPD

4/19/06

BROWNS
GM Savage goes on the defensive


Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Tony Grossi
Plain Dealer Reporter

The final days before the draft are the NFL's season of deception.
But unless he's a deft poker player, Browns General Manager Phil Savage could not conceal the team's preoccupation with linebackers and defensive linemen in the April 29 draft.

Listening to Savage and Bill Rees, director of player personnel, talk about the draft for 70 minutes, it was apparent the Browns' first pick at No. 12 overall will fit somewhere on the front seven of coach Romeo Crennel's 3-4 defense.

Those are the positions that address the pass rush and the de fense against the run - two of Savage's stated areas of need. The other is scoring points.

"The question's always asked, best available versus need?" Savage said. "I think it's really a combination of the two. It's best available for your team, and that's how we try to set up our board."

Rees said the Browns' draft board will differ from most teams because it will be very "Browns-specific, how the players fit and fill holes for us."

Because few college teams play the 3-4 defense, Savage said filling any of the front seven spots is a projection. Thus, some of the positions the Browns project for the defensive players may be different from the majority of teams.

The toughest projections - the "meat and potatoes of scouting for the 3-4," Savage said - are at outside linebacker. In the 3-4, the outside linebacker plays off the line of scrimmage on first and second down and puts his hand down and rushes the passer on third down.

In no particular order, Savage listed the following players as outside linebacker projections: Tamba Hali of Penn State, Darryl Tapp of Virginia Tech, Parys Haralson of Tennessee, Manny Lawson of North Carolina State, Kamerion Wimbley of Florida State, Rob Ninkovich of Purdue and Mike Kudla of Ohio State.

"I bet we've spent more time on those [seven] than any other [seven] names in the draft because it is a difficult thing to project," Savage said.

Savage had some surprises in his list of inside linebackers, who line up close to and on either side of the nose tackle.

The Browns project Ohio State's A.J. Hawk and Bobby Carpenter inside.

Others include Iowa's Chad Greenway and Abdul Hodge, Ernie Sims of Florida State, Kai Parham of Virginia, DeMeco Ryans of Alabama, Roger McIntosh of Miami and D'Qwell Jackson of Maryland.

"We've evaluated these guys from A to Z and feel we know this position as well as any in the entire draft," Savage said.

There are also some interesting projections on the line.

Rees listed the top nose tackles as Oregon's Haloti Ngata (who visits the team today), Baba Oshinowo from Stanford and Gabe Watson of Michigan.

The Browns classify Florida State's Brodrick Bunkley as a defensive end, along with John McCargo of North Carolina State, Cleveland native Barry Cofield of Northwestern and Rodrique Wright of Texas.

On other draft matters, Savage:

Indicated the team will meet with Texas quarterback Vince Young ostensibly to gauge his trade value and made a firm commitment to Charlie Frye as the Browns' future quarterback.

"I do anticipate to some extent that if any of the quarterbacks are there at 12, we might field a call or two," Savage said. "Because I think people look at us as a team that has a young quarterback in Charlie Frye. We have started going down the path with Charlie, and at this juncture, to put on the brakes, back out of that road and try to head down another one, may not make too much sense."

Called Hawk the draft's "safest pick," but discounted the possibility of trading up into the top five to get him.

"To make a quantum leap from 12 to four, you're basically giving up your draft," Savage said. "Plus the money is so great in those top five spots. I don't think we want to go down that path again. I think if we were to move two or three spots, that would be one thing. But to vault into the top five, I don't see us doing that at all."

Stated that efforts to trade center Jeff Faine will heat up again next week.

If Faine isn't traded during the draft, Savage said the team would bring him to training camp and try to trade him then.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

[email protected], 216-999-4670
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0
Canton

4/20/06

NFL draft: Savage-speak

Thursday, April 20, 2006


<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>[FONT=Verdana, Times New Roman, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]By Steve Doerschuk REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER [/FONT]


BEREA - Phil Savage’s wife is a theatrical actor. You assume she is coaching him in that art.

It was a week and a half from the NFL Draft, and on Tuesday, Savage was talking in public for most of an hour. That’s enough time to smokescreen the Mexican border.

In Savage’s position, in which secrets and deception can pay, it helps to imitate Nicolas Cage in one of those deadpan devious roles.

Who knows if Matt Millen was acting two years ago when he convinced Butch Davis the Lions would spend the No. 6 draft pick on Kellen Winslow Jr.? Davis bought the thought, giving Millen a second-round draft pick just to trade spaces from 7 to 6.

Now, Davis’ old job is split between a general manager, Savage, and a head coach, Romeo Crennel.

Crennel got into the act with an amusing observation in Canton on Monday:
“When it comes down to draft day, if there’s a guy there and a decision to be made about who should be chosen, Phil, myself and the owner will get together and say, ‘Hey, this is what it is.’ Then I’ve got one vote. Phil has a vote. And Mr. Lerner ... he has about three or four of ’em.”

How will it really work when the calls regarding trades are going full blast on April 29? Savage and Crennel will open the door to the inner sanctum only so far.

In this climate of secrets, almost all of what they say in public is subject to educated guessing.

Here is some of the chatter regarding key topics.

Savage said: “Best available player versus needs? It’s best available for your team, and that’s how we have tried to set up our board. There are immediate needs and secondary needs. Obviously, over the next few years, we are going to have needs at a lot of different positions. We have some where a player might start right away with the way our depth chart is set up right now. We have other players that may come in and have to wait their turn.”

Educated guess: The Browns have a hole at inside linebacker the size of Lake Superior. The way the depth chart is set up, there’ll be fire alarms going off if they get to Round 2 and haven’t taken one yet.

Savage said: “I stopped at an ice cream place, and they had small cups that said ‘you like it,’ medium cups that said ‘you love it,’ and a third cup that said ‘you gotta have it.’ There are certain players that we like and love, and the third group of players that we gotta have. If we elect to pick at No. 12, that’s a player we gotta have.”

Educated guess: “If” they stay at 12? Savage is preparing fans for a possible trade up, and inviting teams to shower offers for a trade down. Either way, A.J. Hawk, Brodrick Bunkley and Haloti Ngata are “gotta haves.”

Kamerion Wimbley, Manny Lawson, Bobby Carpenter and Ernie Sims might be. All are defensive front-seven plug-ins. Hawk, Carpenter or Sims would be groomed to start at inside linebacker against the Saints on Sept. 10.

Savage, incidentally, doesn’t look like he eats much ice cream.

Savage said: “With Vince Young, you are talking about an extremely gifted athlete. He’s very imposing when he walks through the door. He’s 6-foot-5 ... big. I don’t think his stock has fallen too far. It seems as if he’s still going to go in the top 10.

“I think we have to talk to him this week and get a little more comfortable with him that way. We could pick him. We could pass him. Or we could wait for the phone to ring. If any of the quarterbacks are there at No. 12, we might field a call or two.”

Educated guess: Someone will follow through on the idea Young is a better prospect than Michael Vick, and the Browns won’t get a sniff. But on the off chance Young drops to 12? They Browns will prefer to trade him, but they’ll go into sorry-Charlie mode and pick him, rather than let him drop one spot to Baltimore.

Savage said: “We feel like (nose tackle prospect Haloti Ngata) is athletic enough to play another position other than nose tackle. He could possibly play defensive end for us, and we could move Orpheus Roye to the right side. Brodrick Bunkley brings some of the same versatility that way. ... We had major concerns about our pass rush and run defense at the end of the year. We’re trying to work the best combination of first-round, second-round, third round and fourth, trying to project who will be available later.

That does have ... an effect on who we might pick at No. 12.”

Educated guess: Those acting lessons are kicking in. Savage knows whether he prefers Ngata to Bunkley ahead of the defensive group including Wimbley, Lawson, Sims and Carpenter, but he wouldn’t reveal the answer to his goldfish. Reach Repository sports writer Steve Doerschuk at (330) 580-8347 or e-mail: [email protected]


</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0
Is there anybody in the bottom half of the draft who would covet V Young? If so, it would be very good for us if he is still on the board - we could maybe trade down, get Carp, and get more picks this year or maybe an extra high pick next year.
 
Upvote 0
NightmaresDad said:
Is there anybody in the bottom half of the draft who would covet V Young? If so, it would be very good for us if he is still on the board - we could maybe trade down, get Carp, and get more picks this year or maybe an extra high pick next year.
Click to expand...

The rumor is that Baltimore will take a QB if Cutler or Young drop that far. Minnesota(pick 19 I believe) also wants to take a QB because Brad Johnson is old, so they might be willing to trade up with the Browns so the Ravens dont get the last QB.
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top