Dawgs By Nature

The story of the Day 8 practice was the rain that came, the first time a practice has seen such conditions of this magnitude this season. Eric Mangini decided to keep the team outside to work through the conditions, although few fans showed up. The practice was reportedly "light" today, acting as more of a little preparation for tomorrow's scrimmage at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

TRAINING CAMP REPORT - DAY 8 (8/8/09)

1. Steptoe Injured: During practice, WR Syndric Steptoe was carted off the field with an injury to his arm or shoulder. He might have aggravated an injury suffered earlier in the week. The reports on Steptoe's injury  don't seem too serious at the moment, but I wouldn't be surprised if the coaching staff uses this as an opportunity to place Steptoe on the injured reserve. Doing so would allow the team to keep Steptoe for at least another year if they so choose to.
2. Good News on Hadnot: Instead of a torn ACL as originally thought, OG Rex Hadnot only suffered a torn MCL. Although this rules out any chance of him being a starter in Week 1, there's a legitimate chance that he could be back by then as a backup.
3. Not Hitting or Contact: Probably due to the rain and due to there being a scrimmage tomorrow, no hitting or contact was permitted today. Seriously, if you live a long way away from Berea and you picked today as your day to attend practice, then you picked the wrong day.
4. Two-Minute Success: For the first time in camp, the offense scored during the two-minute drill. Derek Anderson led the Browns offense down the field, eventually firing a touchdown pass to TE Robert Royal.
5. Edwards Going Strong: WR Braylon Edwards was good as gold again, ending practice by running past DB Brandon McDonald and catching a touchdown pass from Anderson. WR Mohamed Massaquoi caught a touchdown today too, and if the season started today, it might be Edwards and Massaquoi as the top two on the depth chart. In the picture below, you can see Edwards celebrating after a touchdown:
6. Depth Chart Hints? On the OBR Twitter feed, they were wondering if the depth chart in practice today would serve as a "hint" as who to who is leading the position battles. Here is a recap by position on offense of players with the first team:
   
   
   • QB: Derek Anderson
   • RB: Jamal Lewis and James Davis rotated with each other
   • FB: Lawrence Vickers
   • WR: Braylon Edwards, Mohamed Massaquoi, and Mike Furrey
   • TE: Robert Royal mostly, but Aaron Walker in some pass situations
   • OL: Joe Thomas, Eric Steinbach, Alex Mack, Floyd Womack, and John St. Clair. It was noted that Hank Fraley rotated with Mack in the first team, but Ryan Tucker only played with the second team.

The Browns will be at Cleveland Browns Stadium tomorrow for the Brown & White Scrimmage. It is a free, non-ticketed event for all fans. There will be four quarters of play, with each quarter lasting ten minutes. It will be as close to a "real game feel" as you can get without it actually counting in the standings.

Saturday's Link Collection / Camp Sources

• Steptoe Gets Dinged (Orange and Brown Report, King)
• Bryan Cox and Shaun Smith go at it (Cleveland Plain Dealer, Cabot)