The Cleveland Browns had another offseason training activities session on Thursday, and the local media was there to report on it. One of the hot topics seemed to be the threat that TE Benjamin Watson will bring. Here's a summary from the media reports on what went down at the June 3rd practice...
June 3rd, 2010 - Cleveland Browns OTA Session Recap
- Ben Watson Comes on Strong: Watson was very effective catching the football and proved to be a threat down near the red zone, hauling in three touchdowns. Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer also noted that Evan Moore continues to catch the ball well, and suggests that the young tight end might be a good slot receiver for the team in certain situations.
- The Cyclone Formaion? Mike Holmgren said it, not me, according to the OBR:
Mike Holmgren alluded to a package where QB Seneca Wallace could be on the field with QB Jake Delhomme and or WR Josh Cribbs and call it the ‘cyclone’ after Wallace’s Iowa State days.
- East-Coast Offense: According to QB Seneca Wallace, the Browns really haven't been showing a West-Coast Offense:
"The terminology is different," he said. "I’ve been used to the West Coast offense and here it’s more of an East Coast offense or New England-type of offense."
- Brian Schaefering Seeing Action: With DL Shaun Rogers rehabbing on the sideline, Schaefering has seen increased playing time and is taking advantage of the opportunity to be worked into the rotation. He batted down a Jake Delhomme pass during the session.
- Insertion of Wallace Into the 'Game': Pluto notes that the Browns have been practicing having Wallace come in at quarterback from their own one-yard line.
- Harrison Available to Media: We knew that RB Jerome Harrison was participating in OTAs, but this was the first time the media got to see him in action. Harrison was reportedly used often on passes from out of the backfield, and looked effective.
- Rotation at Safeties: It's hard to get an indication as to who the Browns' starting safety unit will be. According to Mary Kay Cabot of the Plain Dealer, the team has been rotating starting safeties. On Thursday, T.J. Ward and Ray Ventrone lined up with the first team.
- Offensive Line Depth Chart: For Thursday's practice, this is how the first- and second-team offensive lines looked like:
------First Team: Joe Thomas (LT), Eric Steinbach (LG), Alex Mack (C), Scott Kooistra (RG), John St. Clair (RT)
------Second Team: Jason Capizzi (LT), Shawn Lauvao (LG), Eric Ghiaciuc (C), Floyd Womack (RG), Tony Pashos (RT)
Way to early to call it a surprise, but the only position out of place seems to be right guard.
- Linebacker News: Pluto highlights two linebackers as standing out -- Chris Gocong (for being all over the place and understanding the 3-4) and Marcus Bernard (for his speed pass rushing at the OLB position).
- Mangini Press Conference: Before the Thursday practice, Eric Mangini spoke to the media. Here's a full transcript of his conference.
Sources for the Information Above
I love the buzz around the offense, the Cyclone sounds sweet!
BrownEye - June 3, 2010
Hardesty will be this teams starting RB.
I really hate the right side of this offensive line.
Bernie19Kosar - June 3, 2010
Too early to be worried about the right side of the line.
Roger Dorn - June 4, 2010
Understood.
I still hate the right side of the line.
Bernie19Kosar - June 4, 2010
Why
Roger Dorn - June 4, 2010
(I ask because hate is a strong word. I don’t think it is great, but I expect it to be adequate.)
Roger Dorn - June 4, 2010
Personally I think that the Browns have the best LT-LG-C combo in the NFL. I expect Stienbach to bounce back.
This past off season I think the Browns had the opportunity to really turn this offensive line into one of, if not the, best offensive lines in the NFL.
Putting that group of “re-treads” and “never were’s” to the right of Mack saddens me. I think we can get by with those guys for another year, but the thought of Womack and Pashos next to Mack is a massive “woulda, coulda, shoulda” kind of thing.
I know that this O-Line played great at the end of the season last year, I just wanted to build on that. Pashos was a nice, low key signing, but I don’t view that as building.
Bernie19Kosar - June 4, 2010
What were the options via free agency this year though? The right side of the line is definitely something we need to upgrade at some point, but outside of the draft, I don’t know that we had much of a choice. I am glad we didn’t use a 1st rounder on a lineman.
Hating the right side of the line seems a little strong.
Roger Dorn - June 4, 2010
yeah, i mean, I would have loved to have one of the top tier tackles in the draft this year, but that would have meant getting poor value for our pick. hopefully next year we’re a bit further down and drafting a RT or RG makes more sense. I mean, Mike Iupati lasted till #17.
notthatnoise - June 4, 2010
I wanted Iupati, but not at 7.
golanbatrac - June 4, 2010
exactly. hopefully we’re down out of the top ten where it makes a bit more sense.
notthatnoise - June 7, 2010
I was all for using a first round pick on an offensive lineman. With the addition of Sheldon Brown I was even more in favor of doing that.
We could have added some real talent to the O-Line, and we didn’t. I am a huge believer that you win games up front. We should add to the O-line every chance we get.
Bernie19Kosar - June 4, 2010
I just don’t see it at pick 7, and I still think DB was a much more pressing issue. I like drafting O-line, but I also like drafting defense.
Roger Dorn - June 4, 2010
Why not take a stab at a guy like Campbell later though. Sure he had his issues, but he is an animal. We could have found very talent in the 2nd round, I thought this years draft was deep with respect to lineman.
AG7 - June 4, 2010
Who that went in the second or later did you want?
rufio - June 5, 2010
Campbell went in the fourth
TheRealSlimShady - June 5, 2010
…and who else?
rufio - June 5, 2010
Calloway
TheRealSlimShady - June 6, 2010
Calloway has value as a swing lineman, but I don’t think he has the feet to be a starting RT. Brandon Graham ate his lunch early in the year, and Ferentz moved him inside to RG for the bowl game so he wouldn’t have to face Derrick Morgan. The Bills have him working him at both spots, but he’s reportedly getting more reps at guard.
Campbell is very talented and has a lot of potential, but he’s also very inconsistent on tape: there’s a Get Your Quarterback Killed quality to his game that scares me. Also, word came out after the draft that he suffers from a severe learning disability, which could have scared off the Browns.
Alo - June 6, 2010
Brandon Graham also ate Saffold’s lunch, yet he was picked 33rd.
TheRealSlimShady - June 6, 2010
Saffold got drafted high based on potential, not necessarily based on overly impressive tape.
Still, there’s a big difference between the two prospects. For example, check out how Chris Borland easily edged around Calloway for a sack in the Wisconsin game. Or how Calloway even had some trouble against quick interior guys in the Orange Bowl.
Overall, Calloway had the look of a guy who couldn’t stay on edge at the next level. Saffold was a bit of a question mark, but he dispelled some of those concerns by impressing people at the East-West Shrine Game practices.
Alo - June 6, 2010
The first line of the last paragraph should read “stay on the edge”. My bad.
Alo - June 6, 2010
Especially when you look at the CBs next year like Amukamara and Peterson
TheRealSlimShady - June 4, 2010
A bird in the hand is worth two Reggie Bush.
golanbatrac - June 4, 2010
Exactly right
Roger Dorn - June 4, 2010
Good point.
TheRealSlimShady - June 4, 2010
We did add one promising lineman in Lauvao, so it’s not like we ignored the line altogether. Lauvao’s probably not going to be a world beater out of the blocks like Mack, but in a couple of years he could very well be a quality starter and a guy we’re glad to have.
golanbatrac - June 4, 2010
No thanks.
I would love a young RT but it wasn’t worth it at 7—and I say that despite not being totally in love with the Haden pick—and there wasn’t anyone there in the 2nd who I really liked.
We need a young, good RT soon, but it isn’t to the point where we should reach like hell for one. RG can be a role continually played by the right FA or average level guy. I would like to see the same unit together for several years in a row. That would be nice.
rufio - June 4, 2010
I think rufio is right. There wasn’t anyone at #7 that was going to blow anyone’s mind anyway, so we couldn’t get a trade and just took the best player we could get.
I think offensive line is a finicky thing because there is a legitimate chance of uncovering a hidden talent in the later rounds. A guy like a luvao might become all-pro and someone undrafted might become a 6 or 7 year starter, so you can give it some time before you decide that you hate the right side of the line, bernie.
jaws. - June 4, 2010
Same. I think the only OL position to take in the top 10 is LT. They had to take the best player available, so I won’t argue with taking Haden. I think RT and a game changing LB are the two positions to target in next year’s draft.
dawgtribe - June 7, 2010
I would agree with you, but if a player is the BPA, don’t you have to do it?
I don’t know about you, but I wish the Browns would have “reached” and taken Steve Hutchinson over Gerrard Warren.
I understand the “positional value”, but the NFL is waking up and paying OG’s like the prime players they are.
Bernie19Kosar - June 7, 2010
yes, i wish they would have taken Hutchinson over gerrard warren, but that’s a bad analogy because it assumes the guy we drafted instead this year is going to suck.
notthatnoise - June 7, 2010
I didn’t mean for it to come across that way.
What I mean is that I want the Browns to take the BPA unless he plays LT or C. We are good at those two positions.
If we would have taken Iupati or Anthony Davis and they would have played a good RG/RT for the next 10 years, would anyone have cared that we “reached” on a position?
This team sucks at too many positions to be cherry picking. If they thought Haden was BPA, then I am cool with it. Personally, I didn’t like Haden.
Bernie19Kosar - June 7, 2010
Ok, good point about Hutchinson. It’s a no brainer to take a guy like that even for the right side of the line. And if Iupati or Davis turn out to be solid to all-pro type players then we might have to think twice about passing them up.
I keep thinking that it’s nice that they picked up Haden, but I wonder if it wouldn’t have been better to take Earl Thomas. Some had Thomas ranked in the top 10. Some even thought that he’s better than Eric Berry. Thomas may have been the BPA and on top of that at a position that the Browns needed more. We might kick ourselves for not taking him.
dawgtribe - June 8, 2010
Thomas may have been better than Haden, but there was no way he was better than Berry.
rufio - June 8, 2010
Haden will be the best of the three, I think.
golanbatrac - June 8, 2010
I certainly hope so, but doubt it.
I think you and I are both on record multiple times as liking Haden and Berry, respectively, to become studs.
rufio - June 8, 2010
I think Berry will be better out of the gate, but Haden will ultimately be the better of the two.
It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out over the next three or four seasons though.
golanbatrac - June 8, 2010
I liked Haden as much as I would like any other 1st round CB.
I would love to be picking those CBs in the 20s.
The positions I would love to pick in the top 10 are QB, Calvin-Johnsonesque WR, Pass Rusher, NT, LT, Polamalu-type S.
I didn’t see any of those at 7, we should have looked hard at trading down (not saying we didn’t).
rufio - June 8, 2010
yeah, the problem with trading down was that there wasn’t anybody there another team wanted to jump up and grab. so it goes…
notthatnoise - June 9, 2010
and its always easy to have 20/20 hindsight…Hutchinson was a great player but was drafted that low in the first because he was a guard, and now the guard is worth more (in the draft) than they were then.
bross09 - June 8, 2010
I never argue taking lineman in the draft….the game begins and ends with the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
allsides - June 5, 2010
exactly…who was really out there…chester Pitts? Flozell Adams? Mark Tauscher? I am happy with Pashos.
I would rather go get someone in the draft next year. someone like Marcus Cannon, or Matt Reynolds at tackle or John Moffit or Justin Boren at guard.
bross09 - June 4, 2010
Dirtbag Adams would’ve been a good adition at RG.
TheRealSlimShady - June 4, 2010
maybe. We also don’t know what kind of contract he wanted or what shape he is in.
bross09 - June 5, 2010
Could we go with hating St. Clair at RT? Especially on passing downs? I agree it’s a strong word, but I’m not yet convinced that it’s unnecessary when he is at RT.
JustBob - June 4, 2010
Yes.
I fully expect someone to beat him out for the RT job. I am not as opposed to him at RG.
rufio - June 5, 2010
I hate St. Clair as a starting RT for the Browns next season. He is a cheap backup that can play RT and LT though, so I don’t mind having him.
Roger Dorn - June 5, 2010
I sort of like adding Pashos. It tells me that we’re going to run the ball a lot. Pashos and Womack both can move people and open up holes for the backs.
golanbatrac - June 4, 2010
yes bernie, I agree that the right side is a little troubling, but, I am GREATLY encouraged by the fact that it won’t be St. Clair.
I am one of those that watches each game twice, using my DVR to watch each play more carefully to see what went right or wrong….and wow, st. clair was really bad. I think the line will improve…but….there is that injury thing that could hurt us.
I would not have argued taking another lineman with one of our first 3 picks. wow, a fairly young line that could be around for a while, with two or three young backs, could be good for a few years.
By the way, I supported trading Winslow big time, even though I have his jersey(still) When I watched the games back, countless times his man from the end came around and caught our back from behind in the backfield…..frustrating….on the contrary, Vickers is worth his weight in gold, that guy may have been the main reason for the success of the last 5 games last seaason.
allsides - June 5, 2010
Vickers was outstanding. I’d be furious if we let him go.
Roger Dorn - June 5, 2010
Totally agree.
Bernie19Kosar - June 7, 2010
I 4th that. I keep watching Mariucci’s breakdown of the KC game and Vickers was a heat seeking missile! But the holes that the OL was opening up were cavernous, too. Letting him go would be an enormous mistake.
dawgtribe - June 7, 2010
I doubt the OL rotations mean much. They are probably trying to figure out which players work best next to which other players, which means lots of rotation. I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone except Mack and Thomas got temporarily demoted to the 2nd team at some point.
rufio - June 4, 2010
Agree. Now’s the time to experiment with OL combinations and new formations/plays. Once training camp officially starts they’ll know what they can implement and who will fit best.
dawgtribe - June 4, 2010
God I hope so.
danvail - June 4, 2010
notthatnoise - June 4, 2010
Well… good. Thanks.
danvail - June 4, 2010
I also think Mangini likes guys who can play either C/G or G/T. We have lots of them who can play two positions, at least in a pinch. Figuring out which guy works best at which position is hard enough, but you have to take chemistry into account too. Hopefully we can figure it all out early and then let the best unit gel for a while.
rufio - June 4, 2010
If Pashos isn’t starting at the beginning of the season, we made a major error in signing him. Too much money for a versatile backup.
Roger Dorn - June 4, 2010
Haven’t you heard, he’s playing defensive end now!
gahnki - June 4, 2010
Having Moore and Watson around for the whole offseason/preseason to develop chemistry with Delhomme could be huge. Our WRs can continue to be below average if both TEs are factors in the passing game and we continue to be able to run the ball.
Last year we really needed someone to consistently work the middle of the field as a pass catcher.
rufio - June 4, 2010
and I do believe chemistry was an issue last year which you mention as something we seem to be developing with our TEs.
bross09 - June 4, 2010
I like Schaefering's odds
of making a medium-sized impact this year. He displayed some pass rush ability late last year, which could help him earn some playing time.
In New York, Mangini used Kenyon Coleman and CJ Mosely in a run/pass rotation, allowing him to get the best out of both. And late last year, Corey Williams finally had some success in a passing downs role.
Schaefering could contribute on passing downs, providing a breather to Kenyon Coleman and Robaire Smith. And if Clifton Geathers also gets on the field, he could use his 37 3/4" arms to disrupt some passing lanes.
Alo - June 4, 2010
Some good reason for cautious optimism on the DL.
danvail - June 4, 2010
He’s gotta make the team first though.
TheRealSlimShady - June 4, 2010
I like Schaefering’s odds of making the team. I don’t see anyone who’s going to push him off the roster, and the coaching staff seems to like his effort.
From Schaefering’s twitter:
I just found out some good news I got DL Wild Card!!!
Alo - June 5, 2010
Robaire Smith was awesome rushing the passer at the end of last year. I’d like him around on passing downs, please.
rufio - June 4, 2010
Maybe we can take some of the East Coast offense and West Coast offense and synthesize it into the Great Lakes offense.
woodsmeister - June 4, 2010
I love it. From now on, we should refer to Holmgren/Daboll’s offense as the Great Lakes Offense.
Buckeye Brad - June 4, 2010
this is good. rec.
Dawg Nuts - June 4, 2010
its funny because the vaunted bill walsh “west coast offense” was really born from the mind of Paul Brown, right here in ohio.
jaws. - June 4, 2010
No, it really was not born from the mind of Paul Brown at all — it was Walsh’s doing.
TheDriveStillHurts - June 4, 2010
Right. From what I’ve read, Brown and Walsh didn’t get along. The offense was all from Walsh, but it did originate in Cincinnati not on the west coast. Which is why Paul Zimmerman from SI always referred to Walsh’s offense as the “Cincinnati offense”, not the West Coast Offense.
Buckeye Brad - June 4, 2010
Walsh will probably tell you just as any coach that he at least borrowed if not flat-out -stole things from coaches before him.
rufio - June 5, 2010
So to say the birth of the mythical “West Coast Offense” was Walsh’s doing is at least somewhat incorrect.
rufio - June 5, 2010
Fair enough, but it is absolutely wrong that the West Coast Offense “came from the mind of Paul Brown.” It didn’t. Walsh may have borrowed concepts from others, and from Brown, but WCO is not a Paul Brown thing at all. It just isn’t. Paul Brown deserves a lot of praise for a lot of things, but the WCO is not one of them.
TheDriveStillHurts - June 6, 2010
thats true. Brown did not invent the WCO but some of the things he did come up with and use on offense were incorporated into the WCO…I would never call it his, but he deserves some credit for its invention…granted, he influence a ton of ideas in football, not just the WCO.
bross09 - June 7, 2010
not true. Paul Brown’s 1950s browns teams headed by Otto Graham were the first real modern passing attack; relying on short completions and various “timing routes”
jaws. - June 6, 2010
Exactly. Paul Brown was the great innovator. For the first 10 years of the Browns’ existence, no one had an answer for it. You can’t say that Walsh didn’t take the essence of the WCO from Paul Brown’s passing attack. I think it’s interesting that we always pride ourselves on traditional football. “Three yards and a cloud of dust.” But before Woody came around Paul Brown was reinventing football into the pass happy game we see today backed up by HOF RBs to balance things out.
dawgtribe - June 7, 2010
1. Evan Moore is a tight end, if you have no use for him, he´s gone.
2. Any formation including Delhomme can hardly be called Cyclone.
3. Well no wonder, Wallace is hardly Montana.
4. Shaun Rogers needs to get his butt on the field.
5. Holmgren hardly ever used Wallace in Seattle, why should we be the next suckers to think he will contribute in a big way? In fact, the fact that Holmgren didn´t trust him kept Hasselbeck on the field when he was injured.
6. Are you talking about the guy who´s jersey went straight to the Hall of Fame last year for beating Jim Brown´s record for yards in one game? You mean he´s not the hottest thing since ice, anymore?
7. How is it hard to get an indication of who the safeties will be?
-Abe Elam is either the starter at strong safety due to flawless play last year, or he´s also gone.
-T.J. Ward would seem to be the starter at free safety, based on draft positioning.
Everyone else might want to begin shopping themselves around as well.
8. Of those 8 here is mooncamping´s lineup: LOT Scott Kooistra, LOG Eric Ghiaciuc, C Eric Steinbach, ROG Alex Mack, ROT Sean Luvao. For a long time too, looks good that way.
9. They stand out because their oversized or wrongsized.
10. Eric Mangini spoke to the media. Eric Mangini spoke to the media. Eric Mangini spoke to the media…
mooncamping - June 4, 2010
I just was to point out that mooncamping’s starting O-line does NOT include Joe Thomas.
Buckeye Brad - June 4, 2010
The big news is that Alex Mack is now playing both ways.
Bernie19Kosar - June 4, 2010
i think joe thomas would be so amused by this that he wouldn’t even bother pancaking moon.
Dawg Nuts - June 4, 2010
moon, each time you post an OL that doesn’t include Joe Thomas can only mean that you’ve got a taste for pancakes. I believe the Bible stated that Joe Thomas’ pancake “is coming like a thief in the night.” And each day that passes without its arrival only means that the power behind it is increasing exponentially. And neither you nor all the starving people in this world have a big enough appetite for the pancake that JT is going to serve up!
Be afraid. Be. Very. Afraid.
dawgtribe - June 7, 2010
I think I can agree with this though it will probably catch on anyway.
skipkirk - June 4, 2010
Liking what I am hearing so far. As Rufio said earlier we greatly needed a middle threat on passing downs. C’mon September!!!!
Kimble_79 - June 4, 2010
I get more and more excited about the start of the season thanks to posts like this. Can’t wait!!
Andrew Tolliver - June 4, 2010
Minicamp is coming up in about two weeks, then training camp a few weeks after that :D
Chris Pokorny - June 4, 2010
Couldn’t be happier…then again the World Cup is starting in a week. Pretty tough to beat that.
Andrew Tolliver - June 4, 2010
i’ve got something that could beat it; there’s a documentary on how paint dries on the DIY network.
Dawg Nuts - June 4, 2010
Shoving a needle through my nail is more entertaining.
SpecialBrownie - June 4, 2010
World Cup is freaking awesome. Can’t wait ’till we play England next Saturday. If we beat those Limeys, we have a good shot of going real far in the tournament.
Brownie's Year - June 4, 2010
I don’t normally watch soccer, but the World Cup is fun to watch I guess.
emily522 - June 4, 2010
I am STOKED for the World Cup.
Bernie19Kosar - June 4, 2010
Me too.
Chris Pokorny - June 5, 2010
We don’t even have to beat England. I would totally settle for 2nd in the group.
rufio - June 5, 2010
Right, getting out of the group is more important. And most likely will happen. Just saying that if we beat England, the world should watch out.
Brownie's Year - June 5, 2010
I live in Italy and I dislike soccer. But that’s all people are talking about these days. I could care less. I will say, though, that beating England would be great. Taking out France would be more satisfying than… anything else on earth.
dawgtribe - June 7, 2010
Living in Italy must be interesting.
gahnki - June 7, 2010
If I may ask, what took you to Italy?
Brownie's Year - June 7, 2010
I am guessing a plane or a boat.
Bernie19Kosar - June 7, 2010
ba dum pum.
golanbatrac - June 7, 2010
http://instantrimshot.com/
notthatnoise - June 8, 2010
lol smart ass
Brownie's Year - June 8, 2010
Love, naturally. My wife is italian. We wanted to get married asap and considered the immigration process for both countries. It would have taken a year or more to get her into the States, but Italy is easy enough to get into that I practically just showed up and said “I’m here to stay” and they were like, “Ok”. We’ll move to Ohio one day. Neither of us wants to stay where we are.
dawgtribe - June 8, 2010
I once accidentally packed my Permesso Di Soggiorno in my suitcase that I checked at the Roma airport, and the guy at the airport let me through anyway. They are not very strict.
Part of it is the extremely low growth rate in Italy which is dwindling the population. They need to rely on more immigrants if they want to sustain their country in the next 50-100 years.
Roger Dorn - June 8, 2010
Exactly. They do need to rely on immigrants. Immigrants do all the work that they don’t want to do. The problem is that Italians don’t want immigrants and can’t seem to understand that without the immigrants the economy would crumble. The same would happen in the States. Surprisingly, there is a lot of racism and prejudice against non-italians.
dawgtribe - June 8, 2010
That is the big misconception amongst Americans is that Europe is somewhat more tolerant in terms of diversity. Couldn’t be further from the truth in most of those countries.
I was talking purely from a population standpoint not even a productivity standpoint. If immigration to Italy doesn’t pick up substantially, their sub 1.0 growth rate (I believe it’s 0.8) will make their population extinct in 100 years.
Roger Dorn - June 8, 2010
See also: Japan.
golanbatrac - June 8, 2010
The former Yugoslavia is a good example of the low tolerance of diversity. They couldn’t even stand each other and now look at how they split. Something similar is threatening to happen here in Italy. There is a growing movement here in the north to split from the south. It’s all political, not ethnic and religious like in the former Yugoslavia. I’m sure it would be shocking to Americans to think that such a thing could be possible. But Italy is still controlled by the old world mentality.
dawgtribe - June 9, 2010
the thing with europe is that there’s just less diversity, so you hear about stuff like that less. but all you have to do is look at the response to muslims moving into countries like france to see how they handle it.
notthatnoise - June 9, 2010
Yea soccer Wouldnt be so terrible if I could keep up with all the scoring
TheRealSlimShady - June 4, 2010
ADD is a bitch, ain’t it?
Brownie's Year - June 4, 2010
I was being sarcastic.
TheRealSlimShady - June 4, 2010
I don’t think you were. lol
Brownie's Year - June 5, 2010
yeah, didn’t you make this same joke about hockey?
notthatnoise - June 7, 2010
umm…no? ;-)
TheRealSlimShady - June 7, 2010
Somethings should bother you a lot about soccer.
Players fake way too many injuries. The “I was totally injured but then I got the magic spray so now I am totally fine” stuff is outrageous.
The refs get way too many calls wrong and have too much freedom with cards.
Much of the world thinks they have athletes on par with those in the US because of soccer, but a good athlete in soccer is a 4.6 40 at 5’11" 175lbs and guys who flunk out of the NFL could top that.
Soccer players sometimes think they are tough guys.
The lack of scoring should not be one of those reasons. I’ll take a well played, no nonsense soccer match at 0-1 or a well played, physical football game at 9-6 any day.
rufio - June 5, 2010
OK, but I still have never found soccer to be exciting, and that is my opinion.
TheRealSlimShady - June 5, 2010
Try giving it a chance this summer.
Brownie's Year - June 5, 2010
“Is he gonna kick it?!… No. NOW?!… No. Wtf is a red flag? I think tennis is more fun. OMG GOAL!!… Damnit nevermind. GOALIE GOT KICKED IN THE FACE! IN THE FACE! Well, time to go watch paint dry.”
SpecialBrownie - June 5, 2010
I love women’s tennis.
golanbatrac - June 6, 2010
Women’s tennis is great.
Roger Dorn - June 6, 2010
Venus Williams might be a man.
TheRealSlimShady - June 6, 2010
Funny, I wasn’t talking to you. SB.
Brownie's Year - June 6, 2010
Funny, it’s a forum.
SpecialBrownie - June 6, 2010
Funny, you’ve been a jerk lately.
Brownie's Year - June 6, 2010
…Uh what?
How were you not being the Jerk first?
SpecialBrownie - June 6, 2010
Read what you said before I said that. Stop being an ass.
Brownie's Year - June 6, 2010
It’s still a public forum that allows me to comment anyone. You flipped over my joke of a comment. Jerk.
SpecialBrownie - June 7, 2010
Your comment seemed like a mockery of me telling BQIB that he might like the World Cup if he watched a bit of it. But if your comment was in fun as a friend, then it’s all good. It just seemed like a personal jab to me. I think we had a misunderstanding.
Brownie's Year - June 7, 2010
Indeed we have
SpecialBrownie - June 7, 2010
Bro hug and kisses.
Brownie's Year - June 7, 2010
you guys gonna hug it out?
bross09 - June 8, 2010
No thanks. I’d rather go golfing than watch a ____ minute soccer game.
TheRealSlimShady - June 5, 2010
IT’S FUTBALL YOU AMERICAN JACKASS.
SpecialBrownie - June 5, 2010
On the other hand I used to ask myself why a game of American football takes 3 hours.
skipkirk - June 5, 2010
Wasn’t there a study a couple of months back that found that the average NFL game had something like 12 minutes of actual on the field action?
RelapsingDawgCatcher - June 6, 2010
11.
SpecialBrownie - June 6, 2010
Well done, right you are from the WSJ:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704281204575002852055561406.html
I want access to those 11 minute edits of every NFL game!
RelapsingDawgCatcher - June 6, 2010
ESPN gives you half the game in a 30 sec highlight snipit.
SpecialBrownie - June 6, 2010
and its still about 1000x better than soccer.
Dawg Nuts - June 6, 2010
Wait, now your saying golf is boring? Golf is the shizz. You need to expand your young mind.
Brownie's Year - June 6, 2010
No, I play golf. I love it.
TheRealSlimShady - June 6, 2010
I love to play golf. I hate watching it.
rufio - June 7, 2010
I can watch it all day.
Brownie's Year - June 7, 2010
I watch it but it isn’t anything great.
What do you all shoot?
TheRealSlimShady - June 7, 2010
double bogey golf is my specialty
Kimble_79 - June 7, 2010
I shoot around 77. 5 handicap.
Brownie's Year - June 7, 2010
Well you’re a lot better than me I still shoot around 90.
TheRealSlimShady - June 7, 2010
I shoot about a “terrible”. I actually haven’t played in a while.
rufio - June 8, 2010
I love mini golf.
emily522 - June 7, 2010
Who doesn’t?!
Great place to bring a girl and a great place to make sexual puns with friends haha.
SpecialBrownie - June 7, 2010
I disagree. I took a girl to Golfland back in high school. She was down to play, but I could tell she wasn’t diggin’ it. That’s probably why she loaded up on 3 trays of Nachos afterwards.
Never did that again.
Brownie's Year - June 8, 2010
Well, naturally. Fat girls don’t want to walk around a damn mini putt course. She clearly wanted a jumbo popcorn and a reclining seat at the movie threatre cheapskate. If she can hog down three things of nachoes, that woman is either fat or has an eating disorder, or both.
SpecialBrownie - June 8, 2010
LMAO!
Kimble_79 - June 8, 2010
lol She wasn’t fat. I swear!
Brownie's Year - June 9, 2010
fat girls need lovin’ too.
notthatnoise - June 9, 2010
I dunno, I tried to like soccer, I really did. I just don’t find it entertaining and i don’t see how anyone can think there’s much more strategy involved than a game of pickup basketball. I also strongly dislike it for the reasons rufio mentioned above, which coincidentally are also reasons I’m beginning to dislike the NBA. This is coming from a guy that loves hockey, so lack of scoring has nothing to do with it.
notthatnoise - June 7, 2010
all that said, I do find the world cup entertaining.
notthatnoise - June 7, 2010
I can’t get into much more than the WC, but it is extremely enjoyanble. Kind of like the Olympics, the appeal is that I only get to see it for a few weeks every 4 years.
Roger Dorn - June 7, 2010
The Euro Cup is awesome as well, probably for the same reasons.
Bernie19Kosar - June 7, 2010
Sometimes I think I would watch soccer all the time if they weren’t all playing for like 3 teams at once.
Football strategy is my type of strategy, though.
rufio - June 8, 2010
I’m not the biggest NBA fan, but I love college basketball.
TheRealSlimShady - June 7, 2010
I too am a huge college hoops fan. Fell out of love with the NBA about 8 years ago.
Roger Dorn - June 7, 2010
I love college football much more than the NFL too.
TheRealSlimShady - June 7, 2010
Not me. The BCS ruins me caring at all.
Roger Dorn - June 7, 2010
the talent’s too diluted, the three point line is still too close, too many one-and-done players, same officiating problems as the NBA, no thanks.
notthatnoise - June 8, 2010
I absolutely love playing basketball, but i don’t think it works very well as an organized sport.
notthatnoise - June 8, 2010
It’s definitely the most difficult sport to officiate. Something about being in a loud arena gets me as well. The college atmosphere is a lot better for a real college game.
Roger Dorn - June 8, 2010
thats true, the atmosphere is much better in college, and you hit the nail on the head with officiating. its impossible to do a good job, and the referees have a ton of control over the game with each small decision, so I can never really take basketball seriously.
notthatnoise - June 8, 2010
World soccer is much different than MLS.
gahnki - June 5, 2010
The World Cup is awesome.
Roger Dorn - June 6, 2010
Give the World Cup a shot.
If you don’t get caught up in the excitement, you never will. I bet you do though. Insane event.
Bernie19Kosar - June 7, 2010
my favorite line:
notthatnoise - June 4, 2010
Do we know anything about any kind of disciplinary action he’ll face from the league?
Andrew Tolliver - June 4, 2010
Should be interesting.
DavidPuddy - June 4, 2010
Nice handle.
danvail - June 4, 2010
High five.
Bernie19Kosar - June 4, 2010
Freeze frame high five.
dawgtribe - June 7, 2010
I watch Mangini’s press conferences usually. He made it pretty clear yesterday that they work the offensive lineman in and out of different positions and units because of the expected injuries that occur on the o-line. They want these guys to all be comfortable playing together. I wouldn’t read anything into what shift a guy is on until a few weeks into training camp.
Roger Dorn - June 4, 2010
Did he do the 20-minute conferences last year? I am liking all the video at clevelandbrowns.com
rufio - June 5, 2010
Yea, there are quite a few of those from OTA’s. I enjoy checking them out.
Roger Dorn - June 5, 2010
I hate how they tease me with “raw practice footage”.
rufio - June 5, 2010
Yea, it’s such a brief glimpse, I want more.
Roger Dorn - June 6, 2010
"Big Baby" shows off his new lapband to the media on Thurs……
Wait, not a caption thread. My bad.
Brownie's Year - June 4, 2010
“I’m pretty sure slingshots aren’t illegal…”
SpecialBrownie - June 4, 2010
“I got busted bringing this illegal water balloon slingshot to the airport.”
jaws. - June 6, 2010
There’s absolutely nothing better than putting a pouch in the middle of a 6 ft piece of medical tubing and bombing kids from a quarter mile away!
dawgtribe - June 7, 2010
too far
TheRealSlimShady - June 7, 2010
Yeah, you’re right. It was more like an eighth of a mile. But still, really fun!
dawgtribe - June 9, 2010
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