August 2006 - Posts - Ace Davis' Weblog

CORNER ROUTE

Hard to argue with trading away WR Carlton Brewster, who was bound to be cut anyway, to Green Bay for cornerback prospect Therrian Fontenot, who at least has one season of NFL practice squad and NFL Europe experience under his belt.

Neither Ralph Brown nor Pete Hunter seem like strong candidates for the fourth or fifth cornerback slots behind Leigh Bodden, Gary Baxter (currently injured), Daylon McCutcheon (rehabbing from surgery). Antonio Perkins has every opportunity to shine, but he's been tweaked and dinged too, to use the team's technical terms. Daven Holly hasn't stood out either, and he seems really small anyway. After a reprieve when Derrick Strait was returned to the Jets in the failed Lee Suggs deal, consider this move another bad omen for Brown, Hunter, Perkins, and Holly. I haven't seen enough of newcomer Jeremy LeSueur and UDFAs Jereme Perry and James Thornton to make any assessment. I can't see the latter two as anything more than practice squad candidates anyway.

Fontenot, a converted tailback, has excellent speed and good aggressiveness. He played (sparingly) at Fresno State for Pat Hill, a former colleague of Phil Savage during his first tour of duty in Cleveland. As a pro, his shining moment came in Week 2 of the NFL Europe season, when he picked off two Lang Campbell passes, which were intended for former Browns Lance Moore and C.J. Jones.

As far as I can tell, he's no relation to former Browns RB Herman Fontenot, whose career, ironically, took him from Cleveland to Green Bay, and whose jersey number, 28, is now worn by another speedy former UDFA cornerback, Leigh Bodden.

Posted Aug 23 2006, 08:04 AM by Anonymous with no comments

Filed under: The Team Today

GHOST OF BROWNS PAST

Jerome Harrison's exciting performance in yesterday's win over the Lions has Browns fans chattering. Some have compared him to Eric Metcalf, but that's not particularly apt. Maybe the excitement of watching Harrison run reminded them of feelings they could trace to Metcalf's days. Or maybe they're just too young to recall a certain Browns runner whose size and skill set seems a better match to what Harrison offers. But Terry Pluto remembers:

Showing off was rookie Jerome Harrison (5-9, 200 pounds), who is a little like Greg Pruitt in that he's small and quick but stronger than he appears. He will be a very effective back in third-down situations - and could be a real steal in the fifth round. For the second game in a row, he caught a touchdown pass - and will force coach Romeo Crennel to find him playing time.

Yep. That's who I was thinking of. And the stars must have been aligned correctly too. Harrison's breakout game came on Pruitt's 55th birthday.

Posted Aug 19 2006, 03:01 PM by Anonymous with no comments

Filed under: Browns History, The Team Today

LEE'S KNEE

So, late last season I was wondering and waiting and repeatedly blogging about it. Why overuse Reuben Droughns, who was clearly getting worn down and less effective, even as he continued to get a record share of the team's carries? Why not share the load with Lee Suggs, once his broken thumb had healed sufficiently for him to be removed from the injury reports? Remember, William Green was hobbled with a mid-season ankle injury, but even after getting cleared from the injury reports, he did not play at all the last four games.

So now we know. Suggs had a torn meniscus in his left knee. Don't know exactly when, how, or how bad, except that it needed off-season surgery. Had the trade with the Jets not blown up, we never would've known. This leads me to presume that the Browns were trying to sneak this fact past the Jets, or whichever trading partner might have been interested in him last spring.

I can almost understand trying to keep an off-season surgical procedure under wraps from the public. (Though when they get disclosed months later, I believe it erodes trust between the team and its fans.) But there are rules about reporting injuries during the season. They exist for the purpose of ensuring fair competition and, presumably, keeping the game's most important asset, the fans, reasonably informed. I don't have iron-clad evidence to convict the Browns of violating these rules by not reporting Suggs' knee problem, but the circumstantial case is increasingly compelling.

From an organization that prides itself on character and courts the "straight-shooter" label, I'm disappointed.

Posted Aug 18 2006, 09:06 AM by Anonymous with 3 comment(s)

Filed under: The Team Today, Fan Focus

RETURN OF ROSS

I'm not going to delve deeply into the rabbit hole of the Browns' center position. Some of it is bad luck, and some of it raises questions about the Browns' front office that I am simply not in a position to answer. Also, the storyline is clearly incomplete. Someone else will be signed or acquired by trade before the New Orleans game, when, interestingly, Ted Washington lines up in the face of last year's incumbent, Jeff Faine.

I will note, however, that the latest starter, Ross Tucker, should he make it to the regular season, will become only the third player named Ross in the Browns' long history. The first two, Fichtner and Verba, were both slightly above-average players from Big Ten schools. Though very different types of athletes and personalities, neither one escaped Cleveland without getting entwined in some controversy and team dissention, however.

Verba, by the way, is slated to start at left guard for the same Detroit Lions who will be traveling to Cleveland Browns Stadium this Friday. Fichtner, last I heard, still lives in the Detroit area, just a couple minutes from my folks' house, in fact. He ended his NFL career a Saint, something no one will accuse Verba of being.

Posted Aug 17 2006, 09:52 AM by Anonymous with no comments

Filed under: Browns History, The Team Today

A DOZEN DEALS

For both of you who were wondering about the dearth of postings, I can only offer this: the only other sports team that excites me nearly as much as the Browns is the Detroit Tigers. For the first time in 15 years or so, they are actually very exciting to watch. Since I may very well be geriatric before their next pennant run, I'm not missing this one. Enough said?

That said, I certainly have been keeping up with the comings and goings of the Browns during training camp. I just haven't had much spare energy to devote to original, timely, and relevant prose. I'll try to kick it into gear as the games become more meaningful. For now, here is a handy list of all the trades Phil Savage has made since taking over in January 2005. It may be too early to reach a final verdict on this admittedly narrow slice of his job performance, but feel free to opine nonetheless.

March 2, 2005 -- Traded DT Gerard Warren to Denver for their fourth-round pick (126th overall, later used to acquire QB Trent Dilfer)
March 5 -- Traded fourth-round pick acquired from Denver (ultimately used by Philadelphia on T Todd Herremans) to Seattle for QB Trent Dilfer.
March 30 -- Traded DE Ebenezer Ekuban and DT Michael Myers to Denver for RB Reuben Droughns.
April 24 -- Traded QB Luke McCown to Tampa Bay for sixth-round pick (203rd overall: DT/G Andrew Hoffman).
August 22 -- Traded WR Andre Davis to New England for 2006 fifth-round pick (152nd overall: CB DeMario Minter).
September 4 -- Traded C/G Melvin Fowler to Minnesota for T Nat Dorsey.
March 20, 2006 -- Traded S Chris Crocker to Atlanta for a fourth-round pick (112th overall: G Isaac Sowells)
April 29 -- Traded first-round pick (12th overall: DT Haloti Ngata) to Baltimore for their first-round pick (13th overall: OLB Kamerion Wimbley) and sixth-round pick (181st overall: NT Babatunde Oshinowo).
April 29 -- Traded C Jeff Faine and second-round pick (43rd overall: S Roman Harper) to New Orleans for their second-round pick (34th overall: ILB D'Qwell Jackson).
May 4 -- Traded QB Trent Dilfer to San Francisco for QB Ken Dorsey and a 2007 seventh-round pick.
August 8 -- Traded a conditional 2007 seventh-round pick to New England for C/G Ross Tucker.
August 14 -- Traded RB Lee Suggs to the New York Jets for DB Derrick Strait. Trade voided due to Suggs failing Jets' physical.

Posted Aug 17 2006, 08:53 AM by Anonymous with no comments

Filed under: The Team Today

TG'S VIEW FROM TC

A few characteristically unminced words from Tony Grossi's chat today on the Browns positional battles:

With ILB Chaun Thompson on the sidelines with a calf injury, "I really believe he's never gonna get back in there as a starter again." Second-round pick D'Qwell Jackson will take his place. "I think he is the real deal, and I think he'll be there starting from Game One."

As for the RB competition, clearly Reuben Droughns will start, and rookie Jerome Harrison will make the team as a third-down back. As for William Green and Lee Suggs, "One of those two I can't see making the team." Grossi thinks -- and I agree -- that the keeper is Suggs. "If he gets through this camp healthy, he's definitely one of the three best running backs on this team, and there's no reason to trade him." Acknowledging that the "coaches have fallen in love with William as a practice player," he said Suggs wouldn't yield enough to be worth trading away. "I don't think you trade Suggs just to get a sixth-round draft pick for him, and that's all you're gonna get."

Who will win the starting strong safety spot? "Pool is more instinctive, he's more fluid, he's more near the ball than Sean Jones, and all of those factors to me indicate that he's on the way to being the starter."

While quarterback and even cornerback have become suddenly thin, "Depth at guard and center right now is horrible. It's scary." To improve to 8-8 is not too much to expect, but "any more injuries on the offensive line and all bets are off" The move of Andrew "Keg" Hoffman from DL to guard is "desperation on the Browns' part." He noted such conversions have worked in the past, even invoking the specter of Chad Beasley's once-hopeful Browns career, which was derailed by a broken ankle. (Beasley, by the way, started all ten games for Berlin this spring, made All-NFL Europe, and is practicing with the Carolina Panthers.)

Posted Aug 07 2006, 07:41 PM by Anonymous with no comments

Filed under: The Team Today

ONE SCORE BACK...

Nice piece here on Swerb's Blurbs speculating on whether the 1986 Browns would have won the Super Bowl. Looking forward to the next two installments of this "What Could Have Been" series, which surely will feature the 1987 and 1980 Browns teams.

I'm also eager to read Jonathan Knight's second Browns book, which is now available through Amazon. By my count, it's the fifth book in which a photo of Bernie Kosar dominates the cover (check out the newly-updated Browns Bibliography for the others), and the first to focus solely on the five-year playoff run known to most, for lack of a better term, as the Kosar Era.

Posted Aug 07 2006, 04:31 PM by Anonymous with no comments

Filed under: Browns History

BEAR'S BEST END

Not the biggest deal of all time compared to the buzz of training camp, but I'd never seen video of Ozzie Newsome at Alabama before. Here are a few action clips of the wizard whom Sam Rutigliano converted from a college wide receiver to a Hall of Fame tight end, once assistant coach Rich Kotite could confirm that his butt was big enough to make the switch.

Posted Aug 07 2006, 04:12 PM by Anonymous with no comments

Filed under: Browns History

Browns bibliography

Football seasons come and go, and even the best of blogs fade into oblivion, but good books endure. Below is the most comprehensive list anywhere of books related to the Cleveland Browns -- journalism, memoir, history, biography, photography, reference and more (excluding books for juvenile readers). These 62 titles are sorted by year of publication. Click the links to learn more and add to your own library or to that of a fellow Browns fan. Whether it’s a fresh title or one out-of-print and overlooked, a Browns book has to be a better gift than a Tim Couch jersey, eh?

I try to keep this page updated, so bookmark this post’s URL. I welcome your recommendations, corrections, and dead link reports.

Heart of a Mule: The Dick Schafrath Stories by Dick Schafrath, 2006

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The Best Show in Football: The 1946-1955 Cleveland Browns--Pro Football's Greatest Dynasty by Andy Piascik, 2006

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Sundays in the Pound: The Heroics and Heartbreak of the 1985-89 Cleveland Browns by Jonathan Knight, 2006

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Browns Essential: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Real Fan! by Mary Schmitt Boyer, 2006

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Browns Glory: For the Love of Ozzie, the Toe, and Otto by Alan Ross (ed.), 2005

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Cleveland Browns History by Frank M. Henkel, 2005

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For Browns Fans Only! by Rich Wolfe, 2005

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The Education of a Coach by David Halberstam, 2005

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False Start: How The New Browns Were Set Up To Fail by Terry Pluto, 2004

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Tales From the Browns Sideline by Tony Grossi, 2004

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OttoMatic by Duey Graham, 2004

Publisher

Best of Hal Lebovitz: Great Sportswriting from Six Decades in Cleveland by Hal Lebovitz, 2004

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Heroes, Scamps, and Good Guys: 101 Colorful Characters from Cleveland Sports History by Bob Dolgan, 2003

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Kardiac Kids: The Story of the 1980 Cleveland Browns by Jonathan Knight, 2003

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Browns Town 1964: The Cleveland Browns and the 1964 Championship by Terry Pluto, 2003

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Cleveland Browns A-Z by Roger Gordon, 2002

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From Ghetto to God: The Incredible Journey of NFL Star, Reggie Rucker by Reggie Rucker and Nadine McLwain, 2002

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Brown’s Town: 20 Famous Browns Talk Amongst Themselves by Alan Natali, 2001

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Rugged and Enduring: The Eagles, the Browns, and 5 Years of Football by David Cohen, 2001

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First and Last Seasons: A Father, A Son, and Sunday Afternoon Football by Dan McGraw, 2000

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Back Home: The Cleveland Browns by Tim Graham, editor, 1999

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On Being Brown: What It Means to Be a Cleveland Browns Fan by Scott Huler, 1999

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Cleveland Browns Facts and Trivia by Roger Gordon, 1999

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The Cleveland Browns: The Official Illustrated History by Ron Smith, 1999

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Cleveland’s Browns (Photo Highlights of the First Fifty Years of the Cleveland Browns) by Paul Tepley, 1999

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The Cleveland Browns: The Great Tradition by Bob Moon, 1999

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Total Browns: The Official Encyclopedia of the Cleveland Browns by Bob Carroll, Michael Gershman, David Neft, John Thorn, 1999

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The Best of the Cleveland Browns Memories by Russell Schneider, 1999

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The Browns: Cleveland’s Team by Richard Shmelter, 1999

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Legends by the Lake: The Cleveland Browns at Municipal Stadium by John Keim, 1999

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Tim Couch: A Passion for the Game by John McGill and Dave Baker, 1999

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When All the World Was Browns Town by Terry Pluto, 1997

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Glory for Sale: Inside the Browns' Move to Baltimore & the New NFL by Jon Morgan, 1997

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Fumble: The Browns, Modell, & the Move by Michael G. Poplar with James A. Toman, 1997

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Cleveland Stadium: The Last Chapter by James A. Toman and Gregory G. Deegan, 1997

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City of Champions: The Story of the 1948 Cleveland Barons, Browns and Indians by Kevin O’Connell, 1997

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Browns Memories: The 338 Most Memorable Heroes, Heartaches & Highlights from 50 Seasons of Cleveland Browns Football by Tim Long, 1996

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