Cleveland Browns (2008 Season)

[LitlBuck]

kffl

Josh Buchanan, of NFLDraftBible.com, reports free-agent CB Alan Zemaitis (Buccaneers) is trying out with the Cleveland Browns.

This guy would be an excellent pickup for the Browns. See his bio below. He was drafted in the fourth round in 2006 by Tampa Bay.
si

BIO: Three-year starter awarded All-Conference honors after his sophomore and senior campaigns. Numbers last season included 51/6/10 after 47/2/6 as a junior. Career-best totals of 71/4/8 came as a sophomore.
POSITIVES: Coachable, shutdown cornerback with plenty of upside for the next level. Physical throughout routes, displays good footwork in all directions and quickly reads the action. Quickly breaks to the pass and gets vertical to make the interception. Displays terrific hands for the pick, consistently stays with assignments and positions himself to make a play on the ball.
NEGATIVES: Rarely used in zone and presents himself as a cornerback best facing the action.
ANALYSIS: An instinctive ballplayer with solid physical skills, Zemaitis is a high-character prospect with great work habits. Offers starting potential in the NFL and will see plenty of playing time as a rookie.
PROJECTION: Early Second Round

 

[billmac91]

kffl


This guy would be an excellent pickup for the Browns. See his bio below. He was drafted in the fourth round in 2006 by Tampa Bay.
si

BIO: Three-year starter awarded All-Conference honors after his sophomore and senior campaigns. Numbers last season included 51/6/10 after 47/2/6 as a junior. Career-best totals of 71/4/8 came as a sophomore.
POSITIVES: Coachable, shutdown cornerback with plenty of upside for the next level. Physical throughout routes, displays good footwork in all directions and quickly reads the action. Quickly breaks to the pass and gets vertical to make the interception. Displays terrific hands for the pick, consistently stays with assignments and positions himself to make a play on the ball.
NEGATIVES: Rarely used in zone and presents himself as a cornerback best facing the action.
ANALYSIS: An instinctive ballplayer with solid physical skills, Zemaitis is a high-character prospect with great work habits. Offers starting potential in the NFL and will see plenty of playing time as a rookie.
PROJECTION: Early Second Round

Tampa Bay fans would strongly disagree. I had a conversation last weekend with a Bucs fan about how poorly Will Allen and Zemaitis have turned out. Both big name guys, drafted in mid-rounds, that Monte Kiffin thought would work in the cover 2 but hasn't. At least Will has stayed as a back-up although he was replaced by a rookie last year.

 

[LitlBuck]

Tampa Bay fans would strongly disagree. I had a conversation last weekend with a Bucs fan about how poorly Will Allen and Zemaitis have turned out. Both big name guys, drafted in mid-rounds, that Monte Kiffin thought would work in the cover 2 but hasn't. At least Will has stayed as a back-up although he was replaced by a rookie last year.

I was just trying to help our Browns:( Looks like I will have to look for another guy.

 

[jlb1705]

Hey, he'd be a warm body. Right now I'd say the Browns need depth at that position as much as they need quality.

 

[billmac91]

I was just trying to help our Browns:( Looks like I will have to look for another guy.

It's a quality thought...I'd just rather cross my fingers and hope Zenon and Terrel work out b/c Zeimitis has already proven he's too slow in the league. There's a reason a mid-round 2007 pick is looking for a job.

 

[LitlBuck]

It's a quality thought...I'd just rather cross my fingers and hope Zenon and Terrel work out b/c Zeimitis has already proven he's too slow in the league. There's a reason a mid-round 2007 pick is looking for a job.

Drafted in 2006. Shoulder injury from college prevented him from playing in 2007 so I guess I don't know how the Tampa Bay fans evaluated him. However, I trust your sources.:)

 

[LitlBuck]

Sun-Times


Zemaitis was a fourth-round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2006, but didn?t play as a rookie as a shoulder injury that lingered from college kept him out.

He was waived in Tampa Bay at the final cutdown in September. Zemaitis was considered a good fit for the cover-two scheme when he was coming out school because he possesses good size at 6-2, 202 pounds

 

[billmac91]

Drafted in 2006. Shoulder injury from college prevented him from playing in 2007 so I guess I don't know how the Tampa Bay fans evaluated him. However, I trust your sources.:)

sorry...I got wrong year. It doesn't change the fact Monte Kiffin thought his play was sub-standard. Tampa has a very solid history of developing DB's, but they didn't feel he was worth keeping around.

 

[LitlBuck]

sorry...I got wrong year. It doesn't change the fact Monte Kiffin thought his play was sub-standard. Tampa has a very solid history of developing DB's, but they didn't feel he was worth keeping around.

That's okay. He was also worked out by the Bears and they passed on him. Know anything about Xavier Mitchell, DE out of Tennessee.

 

[billmac91]

That's okay. He was also worked out by the Bears and they passed on him. Know anything about Xavier Mitchell, DE out of Tennessee.

Not really. I watched lot's of Tennessee games last year and he didn't really stand out much. Then again, it's difficult to make a name for yourself when you play next to a beast like Jerod Mayo.

As thin as our CB depth is, I'd really like to see kenny Wright get his pink slip. It seems as though he's keeping his job solely b/c of the lack of depth at the position. I don't want any idiot who gets caught stoned and acting disorderly in a police parking lot roaming our secondary.

 

[OHSportsFan]

I believe James Banks is the same "Mr. Football" from Ben Davis High School, which is just seconds away from my house. He went to Tennessee, converted from QB to WR, made some nice plays...then got kicked off.

Good to see him climb his way back into this situation, I suppose. :)

 

[osugrad21]

Canton

Braylon Edwards: Browns need to get off to a fast start
UPDATE: 3:58 PM, Tuesday, May 6, 2008
BY Steve Doerschuk
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

Braylon Edwards, the latest Brown to be asked into the national spotlight, says the Browns need to come out smoking.

In a studio interview with ESPN First Take's Jay Crawford that aired today, the Browns Pro Bowl receiver said the 2007 team missed the playoffs because of too many slow starts.

"Look at the Oakland game," Edwards said. "We never got out of the gate."

The Browns trailed 16-0 and lost, 26-24.

"Look at the Arizona game. We gave up turnovers early," Edwards said.

Derek Anderson's two interceptions helped dig a 21-10 hole. The Browns fell, 27-21.

"The Cincinnati game ... we gave it away at the end of the first half," Anderson said.

Anderson's four-interception game led to a 19-0 deficit. The Browns fell, 19-14.

"This year," Edwards said, "we have to close those doors and not allow people to beat us that shouldn't."
Cont...

 

[LitlBuck]

Cleveland.com

Cleveland Browns OTAs begin next week

Posted by Tony Grossi
Plain Dealer Reporter
May 07, 2008 15:12PM

The Browns start the first of 12 OTAs next week. OTAs is short for organized team activities, which is NFL-speak for offseason team practices.
Technically, attendance at these practices is voluntary. But there is peer pressure to attend. Skipping them is viewed as a player putting himself above the good of the team.
Last year, receiver Braylon Edwards missed the very first OTA practice and it created a stir. OK, it stirred the football media seeking something to write and talk about in the month of May.
It is duly noted that Edwards quickly rejoined his team the next day, attended all the other OTA sessions and proceeded to have a breakout year, establishing himself as an elite, Pro Bowl receiver.
Anyways, as the Browns proceed to the next phase of their season of great expectations, we ponder the following issues during the OTA sessions:
? Will rookie draft pick Martin Rucker take advantage of the injuries to Kellen Winslow and Steve Heiden and get a jumpstart on contributing immediately to the offense in his first season?
? How will the defense change under new coordinator Mel Tucker?
? How quickly will new linemen Corey Williams and Shaun Rogers adjust to the Browns' defense?
? Will Winslow attend even if he is unable to participate or will he remain in San Diego?
? How will receiver Donte Stallworth fit in with the offense?

Continued...

 

[osugrad21]

Canton

Savage brothers keep working toward goals
[FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]But they remain close along the way[/FONT]
Thursday, May 8, 2008
BY Steve Doerschuk
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

PLAIN TWP. The next president of the United States will finish a first term almost exactly when Phil Savage's new contract expires.

That's one perspective of how strongly Browns owner Randy Lerner endorses his general manager.

Among those who believed in Savage long before Lerner, Joe Savage ? Phil's only sibling ? is near the front of the line.

This is a look at Phil Savage, one of the NFL's rising executives, as only a little brother can describe it.

Phil was born April 7, 1965, in Mobile, Ala.

"I came along four years later," Joe Savage said, sitting in a sandwich shop near First Christian Church, where he will lead a May 23 program starring a Browns contingent. "We were extremely close as we grew up. We're like twin brothers, four years apart."
Cont...

 

[LitlBuck]

Was Romeo part of the cheating game and bye-bye Willie.

Cleveland.com

Belichick taped Browns game in 2001

by Tony Grossi Plain Dealer Reporter
Thursday May 08, 2008, 11:08 AM

Bill Belichick cheated in a game against the Browns in 2001.

A Boston Globe story Sports - Sports News - Boston.com reported that former Patriots employee Matt Walsh will turn over eight stolen videotapes to the NFL that show the Patriots videotaping signals of opposing teams. One of the games was against the Browns on Dec. 9, in Foxboro, Mass. The Patriots won, 27-16.

The story does not indicate whether Belichick stole offensive or defensive signals. If they were offensive signals, the taping -- against NFL rules -- would have benefitted the team's defensive coordinator. At the time, it was Romeo Crennel.
Crennel has steadfastly refused to be drawn into any discussion about Belichick's videotaping practices while he worked for him with New England.
Nobody in the NFL wants to step forward and blow the whistle on Belichick. I have talked to at least two prominent people in the NFL who say Belichick has been "cheating" his whole NFL career and it goes back to his days as Browns coach.

The only question I have is how come it didn't work as well back then?
* * *
Browns linebacker Willie McGinest says he will retire after this season, his 15th in the NFL SI.com - News and Scores from Sports Illustrated.

Continued