Cleveland Browns (2008 Season)

[osugrad21]

DDN

Browns sign 5 draft picks to 4-year contracts

CLEVELAND ? The Browns have signed all five of their 2008 draft picks to four-year contracts.
Cleveland had no picks in the first three rounds of the April draft. They had to wait until the fourth round to select UNLV linebacker Beau Bell and Missouri tight end Martin Rucker with picks acquired in trades with Dallas.
Rucker was a consensus first team All-American last year, and Bell won the Mountain West Conference defensive player of the year award.
Also signed are Ahtyba Rubin, an Iowa State defensive lineman, Paul Hubbard ? a receiver at Wisconsin and Alex Hall, a defensive end from St. Augustine in North Carolina.
Terms of the deals were not disclosed.

 

[osugrad21]

DDN

Training camp begins with unbridled optimism

By Bill Lubinger
The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer

Wednesday, July 23, 2008
CLEVELAND ? Any day now, freeway commuters will see new orange, brown and white billboards with an unlikely battle cry for a town typecast as perennial sports victim: ?There?s always this year.?
What?s this? Hope? A dash of self-confidence even?
Last summer, a quarterback chosen by coin flip led the Browns onto their Berea practice field fresh off a 4-12 season.
As training camp opens at Browns headquarters today, last season?s 10-6 mark and near-playoff miss, a roster of rising stars and a rugged, ready-for-primetime schedule are whipping up a wave of optimism not seen since the Bernie Kosar era of the late ?80s.
Limited game tickets were snapped up. Browns merchandise is hot. National media are watching.
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[osugrad21]

ABJ

Prime-time anticipation for Browns Fans, networks have lofty expectations as camp gets under way
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sportswriter

Published on Wednesday, Jul 23, 2008
BEREA: Two weeks ago, crews from ESPN and the NFL Network spent hours scouting camera positions and familiarizing themselves with Cleveland Browns Stadium.
The practice facility in Berea will be a popular stop for national writers making their summer rounds, especially with the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction in Canton on Aug. 2. A few visited during June's mini camp.
Coming off a 10-6 season that fell one game short of the playoffs, the Browns step into the NFL spotlight when training camp opens today.
Expectations have not been this high since the late Bud Carson coached the Browns in 1989-90. Local hysteria might more closely approach the days of Bernie Kosar in the mid-1980s, when 10,000 fans packed Lakeland Community College in Kirtland and the popular quarterback ran a gauntlet of autograph seekers screaming, ''Bernie, Bernie.'' This time the high-pitched wails probably will plead, ''Brady, Brady,'' with children seeking a few seconds with backup quarterback Brady Quinn.
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[osugrad21]

ABJ

Hard not to think good thoughts now Lots to think about before training camp
By Patrick McManamon
Beacon Journal sports columnist

Published on Wednesday, Jul 23, 2008
I think I heard a rumor that Browns training camp opens today.
Imagine that one slipping by.
The opening of camp always prompts some thoughts about the state of the team, and this season is no different.
I think there is little reason not to be optimistic about the Browns' chances. They have questions, but no more than any other team, and the questions they have are answerable. As camp opens, there's really no reason to think they cannot win the division.
I think it has been a long, long time since we looked at the Browns' roster and did not find a position that lacked a solution.
I think that's a nice feeling to have.
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[osugrad21]

CPD

Ready . . . set . . . football!

Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Unlike any time in their expansion era, the Browns don't have to spend much of their training camp choosing their starting lineup. Barring injuries, the starters are fairly obvious.
That leaves the 19 days of camp, beginning today in Berea, to expand the resurgent offense, retool the defense under new coordinator Mel Tucker and evaluate the bottom end of the roster.
This season of great expectations holds different challenges for coach Romeo Crennel and his staff. Foremost is to manage the team through camp with few injuries while prioritizing the positions that will make up the final roster. The four exhibition games, more than ever, seem irrelevant to the bulk of the team.



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[osugrad21]

CPD

DIAGNOSING DEREK

What the young QB has, what he doesn't, and what he needs
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
As the Browns open camp, here's what I've learned and think after spending time with Derek Anderson's statistics . . .

He's young
There is a tendency to judge Anderson as if he were a finished product. But he has started only 18 NFL games, throwing 644 passes as a pro. That's not even two full seasons, and he has been a starter for only a year. The problem: The pressure on Anderson is real and immense. This is the first time he comes to training camp as a starter, and he's doing it for a team carrying enormous expectations with a viable, popular backup in Brady Quinn ready to take over. It won't take long for some in the media and fans to start up with the demand for Quinn, and all this is new to Anderson.

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[osugrad21]

CPD

Are the Brownies back?

Wednesday, July 23, 2008 Bill Lubinger
Plain Dealer Reporter

Any day now, freeway commuters will see new orange, brown and white billboards with an unlikely battle cry for a town typecast as perennial sports victim: "There's always this year."
What's this? Hope? A dash of self-confidence even?
Last summer, a quarterback chosen by coin flip led the Browns onto the field for their first preseason game -- fresh off a 4-12 season.

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Canton

Season of dreams? It could be for Browns fans
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
BY Steve Doerschuk
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

Maybe you're a die-hard. The Browns had you at hello.

Or they had you at "hello again," and have kept your interest from the time Tim Couch sizzled in the 1999 Hall of Fame Game to the 2007 Sunday when Derek Anderson threw three interceptions in a playoff deal-breaker at Cincinnati.

Maybe you're not a die-hard. Perhaps you're back from the dead. Somewhere between Bill Belichick's dullsville head coaching test drive and the reincarnated Browns behaving like what they were ? an expansion team whose moves kept backfiring ? your interest was never born or went kaput. It's different out here as Training Camp 2008 dawns today.

Despite the bummer of blowing a playoff spot, the team went 10-6 in 2007, then followed that up with exciting offseason moves.

Not even a Pro Bowl pessimist can guarantee new doom with a straight face.

Whatever your disposition, you might agree there are all kinds of reasons to follow the Browns again ? or as the case may be, for the first time. Here are six to sweeten the air as the footballs begin to fly:

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[osugrad21]

Canton

Jurevicius is no ordinary Joe to Browns
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
BY Steve Doerschuk
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

BEREA The Browns should be able to make due without Joe Jurevicius, out indefinitely after four offseason knee surgeries.

Even so, one of the key subplots in training camp will be to identify which wide receiver can deliver the most clout in support of Braylon Edwards and newcomer Dont? Stallworth. The first practice starts at 3:30 p.m. today.

Even before Jurevicius' season was in doubt, everyone knew Stallworth would be the new No. 2 wideout, with Jurevicius dropping into the No. 3 role.

Given the presence of tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. and workhorse back Jamal Lewis, the offense still should have plenty of options without Jurevicius.

One complementary piece numerous Browns fans are eager to see used more is running back Jerome Harrison.

But give Jurevicius his due.
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[osugrad21]

Canton

Browns training camp roster
Wednesday, July 23, 2008


Cleveland Browns

training camp roster

No. Name Pos Ht Wt Exp. College

3 Derek Anderson QB 6-6 230 4 Oregon St.

4 Phil Dawson K 5-11 200 10 Texas

5 Efrem Hill WR 6-0 185 1 Samford

9 Lance Leggett WR 6-3 200 R Miami (Fla.)

10 Brady Quinn QB 6-3 235 2 Notre Dame

11 Ken Dorsey QB 6-4 215 6 Miami (Fla.)

12 Syndric Steptoe WR 5-9 200 1 Arizona

13 Jason Reda K 6-1 200 R Illinois

15 Dave Zastudil P 6-3 220 7 Ohio

16 Joshua Cribbs WR 6-1 215 4 Kent St.

Cont....

 

[osugrad21]

Canton

Browns training camp schedule
Wednesday, July 23, 2008


BROWNS TRAINING CAMP

Training camp opens today for the Cleveland Browns as they prepare for the Sept. 7 home opener against the Dallas Cowboys. All sessions are free, but only the first 2,500 people will be admitted to the team's practice facility. Any practice moved indoors because of weather conditions will be closed to the public. For daily Browns practice information, call (877) 627-6967 or visit: www.clevelandbrowns.com. Parking is available at Baldwin-Wallace College. Fans can enter the practice facility off Beech Street. Handicap parking is available on Front Street at the Berea Recreation Center. A free shuttle is available in front of the parking lot at Berea Recreation Center. The team will practice Aug. 1 at Cleveland Browns Stadium, starting at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 and include a fireworks show. Call Ticketmaster at (216) 241-5555.

training camp schedule

Today 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
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[osugrad21]

ABJ

Browns fans set bar high as camp opens 'Super Bowl' chant illustrates expectations
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sportswriter

Published on Thursday, Jul 24, 2008

BEREA: As the Browns opened training camp Wednesday afternoon, the Dawg Pound seemed transplanted into a section of bleachers along the side of the practice fields.
But even if they were prompted by boredom during what was essentially a one-hour walk-through, two chants started by the rowdies sounded totally foreign.
The first was ''Super Bowl, Super Bowl.''
The other, ''D.A., D.A.''
With the Browns coming off a 10-6 season that fell one game shy of the playoffs, expectations are at a high not seen in Northeast Ohio since the glory days of the 1980s. The loudest of the announced capacity crowd of 2,524 were only vocalizing the dreams of long-suffering Clevelanders who hope to see their team play in the league's championship Feb. 1 in Tampa, Fla.
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[osugrad21]

CPD

Signal at this season's first Cleveland Browns camp: no flip-flop at QB

Thursday, July 24, 2008 Tony Grossi
Plain Dealer Reporter

The palpable difference in this Browns training camp starts at - where else? - the quarterback position.
There's no controversy, no hint of debate and amazingly little discussion about the subject that rages outside the confines of the team.
There's no coin flip to determine playing time - the unfortunate metaphor of last year's camp.

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[osugrad21]

CPD

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel stays cool as heat, dreams build, columnist Bill Livingston writes

Thursday, July 24, 2008 Bill Livingston
Plain Dealer Columnist

On the first day of training camp, the sun played peek-a-boo with the clouds and eventually lost the fight. But optimism was still beaming on every spectator's face. The few raindrops that fell dur ing the first practice were shining in the light like jewels.
So began a season in search of at least a division crown.
Coach Romeo Crennel said he is always the same guy. Neither success nor failure changes him. He has been here since 2005, with no playoffs. But 10 victories, as were compiled last season, is usually enough to play in January. That season got him a two-year contract extension through 2011.

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[osugrad21]

CPD

It's the Browns' town again

Thursday, July 24, 2008 Bud Shaw
Plain Dealer Columnist

Day 1 of training camp in a town known for keeping a level football head:
3:24 p.m. -- Brady Quinn runs onto the field. Marriage proposals and "We Want Quinn" chants are considered, just not voiced.
3:30 -- Lining up for calisthenics, players begin clapping. Fans match the applause.

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