1. Nobody gets hurt. Seriously. There is nothing this team needs more than good health. 2006 was amazingly rotten with guys like Bentley, Baxter and Bodden. And Tucker, Winslow, Frye and McGinest were adversely affected i signficant ways too. There will be cause for some real optimism if this team makes it to Week 1 intact.
2. Consistently good effort from Braylon Edwards. Without a #1 wideout this team could be in deep trouble. Edwards needs a good season. And the Browns need Edwards to have it.
3. Non-news on the offensive line. This is boring. But we need this unit to quietly go about its business and for the coaches to fill in the depth chart. We don't need spectacular preseason play, and we don't want notably bad performances. But middle of the road is great if we wind up with a unit that is set and ready to go in 5 weeks.
4. Frye rises to the occasion to win the QB job. I've been of the mind that Derek Anderson is a better fit for the Browns, and wouldn't have been upset if Frye had been dealt this offseason. But we kept everyone and the first few days of camp have Frye looking sharp. Now, "sharp" is not an adjective I've ever heard to describe Frye. Is it possible Frye has grown and matured enough to both lead the offense and be a threat to the defense? If so, the impact on this team would be significant. The last thing we need is somebody backing into the starting role, which would mean poor play and a terribly low hurdle for Quinn to leap.
5. Veterans winning starting jobs. I want Leon Williams to be a stud as much as anyone. But even more we need incumbents to respond to training camp challenges and win their jobs. This goes for Andra Davis, Willie McGinest, Leigh Bodden, Braylon Edwards, Ted Washington, Ryan Tucker (to some extent) and even Kevin Shaffer. The harder it is for challengers to unseat incumbents the better.
So Brady Quinn is a holdout. I just don't care all that much, and I'm quite content for Quinn to hold out long enough to ensure he won't play in the early going. His time will come, but not this year, hopefully. Afterall, if he's starting games before Thanksgiving it means the Browns have thrown in the towel.
And have you heard what Condon is asking for? Give me a break. The slotting system allows for grossly inflated salaries for the top rookies each year, and beyond that it is perhaps the only sane thing about rookie contracts. The Browns FO should stick to their guns as all the arguments are in their favor.
Bud Shaw thinks the Browns should panic sooner than later in their negotiations with Quinn. He's right that the Browns need him, and that the risks to the team are immense. But Shaw can't quanitify his argument. Should NFL teams just pay whatever an agent asks for a quarterback? That seems to be Shaw's logic here.
It is flat-out amazing that Gary Baxter is practicing. I was certain he'd never play again. He spent
61 in a hospital bed after surgeries on both patella tendons. 61 days! If I spent 61 days in a bed, even without having a surgery, I wouldn't expect to be able to do much of anything for many months afterward. Let along playing football.
That said, the returns of Bentley and Baxter will present an interesting dilemna for the Browns if they can't play at a high level. They are both making big bucks and likely to eat up too much cap room to justify.
NFL Notes....
Michael Vick's NFL career is over. Bet on it. Why would any team touch him now, especially since he wasn't a consistent winner to begin with? Who would buy tickets and root for such a team? The only possibility is the Raiders, really, but by the time Vick is free Al Davis is unlikely to still be around.
Good luck Tim Couch, who just joined a training camp battle in Jaguars camp. I assume he feels sure of getting a roster spot since the Falcons would have appeared to be a safer landing spot in terms of making the team. Anyway, I give Couch credit for working his way back this far when he apparently has little financial incentive to do so. It's not inconceivable that he plays again, but that will largely depend on a shoulder which has been a big problem now for about 5 years. He'll have to beat some tough odds on that one.
The Giants should trade Michael Strahan if they can. Frankly, this dude has been a blowhard ever since he got the sack record. They've already gotten rid of Tiki Barber, and they may as well dump Strahan and just start anew.