@drake54 said:

nice to see colt stepping up. we'll see how it works out when/if the season starts. every year im pumped to see the season start, now more than ever.

My hats off to McCoy, great to see him show leadership during all this mess with the NFL. His second year and he's comming out of the gate as our No. 1 QB. He doesn't have to look over his shoulder about being pulled and the back and forth crap we indured the last few years. You Rock Colt!

@calfoxwc said:

I heard a guy talk about the player's union - he said on the NFL channel, that the union

doesn't like the NFL draft.

I think it's another case of a union going berserk and power hungry, to the possible ruin

of another element of our businesses in our country.

I don't believe it's mostly about revenues, or that could have been decided

long ago. It's been two years, right?

The NFL players ought to ell the union to back off the stupid stuff, it's that's true.

What this was about is the "Shotgun" approach to litigation. You throw everything possibly allegeble into the pleadings, and in an antitrust suit you allege anything that might constitute a restraint of trade. The fact is that the NFL Draft IS a restraint of trade. The only reason it is allowed is because of the Act of Congress that allows it and the collective bargaining agreement that allows it. In reality, why should the players coming out of college be restricted to having their rights belong to 1 single team, a team they perhaps want no part of.

The fact of course is that no one believes the draft is going to go away. The allegations about the illicity of the draft under antitrust law is simply leverage. Leverage in the litigation, leverage in the collective bargaining.

I have heard some commentators say that, in reality, in all sports, every single player should be a free agent every single year. That way, the owners would ONLY have to pay them for their performance on a year to year basis. You have a good year, you get good money the following year. You have a bad year, you get little or nothing. You get injured? Too bad. You have to prove yourself again after your injury if you want paid again.

doesn't like the NFL draft.

I think it's another case of a union going berserk and power hungry, to the possible ruin

of another element of our businesses in our country.

I don't believe it's mostly about revenues, or that could have been decided

long ago. It's been two years, right?

The NFL players ought to ell the union to back off the stupid stuff, it's that's true.

Hillis-iz-Boss said:

You can tell Holmgren wants to have all the doors open and have everyone in the building getting work done. As soon as he heard the lockout was lifted he said that it was great news and he was happy, but then they get stuck telling players no. I feel like since they already got fined, that they are scared if they get into trouble again that they could lose a draft pick next year. At the same time I could see them having the doors open today and have the players talking to coaches and working out.

that could be a factor in the browns decision. but i wonder if it is because they are appeling the fine and they did talk to a high ranking person in the nfl to make sure they were able to give colt the playbook, etc. the way i see it, the browns or any other team couldn't get into trouble becuse they have the law on their side. the lockout was lifted and the giants are doing just fine. i dunno, i'm just guessing. maybe better safe than sorry?

i'll be glad when this crap is over. from what they've said on espn this should be decided on atleast by next week. the nfl have until 6 pm today to present a valid reason for why the nfl shouldn't be open for business now. if she isn't satisfied with their answer then the lockout stays in place. the nfl then can present their case to the 8th circuit and they'll make a ruling on it by next week. from what one analyst said on espn, the nfl better come with something new because nobody is buying their present case. the nfl also made themselves look real bad with the tv revenue fiasco. that's not helping the nfl's cause.

@sj_browns said:

i wonder if other teams will follow suit and do likewise?

You can tell Holmgren wants to have all the doors open and have everyone in the building getting work done. As soon as he heard the lockout was lifted he said that it was great news and he was happy, but then they get stuck telling players no. I feel like since they already got fined, that they are scared if they get into trouble again that they could lose a draft pick next year. At the same time I could see them having the doors open today and have the players talking to coaches and working out.

Hillis-iz-Boss said:

At the same time they are saying 3 Giants players were not only allowed to work out in the weight room, but they talked to all of their coached about next season.

i wonder if other teams will follow suit and do likewise?

@nw220 said:

This shit is one big mess, i heard Ryan Clark on ESPN today saying he spoke to Mike Tomlin why he was at the facility...So does that mean Shurmur could talk to McCoy Etc..??

But it also said that all Tomlin said was that he wasn't allowed to work out. I think the Browns are just trying to be careful at the moment since they already got fined earlier this year.

At the same time they are saying 3 Giants players were not only allowed to work out in the weight room, but they talked to all of their coached about next season.

@the-gipper said:

Well, FYI, the lockout was lifted by court order. The question is whether or not the League will abide by it full bore or whether it will do whatever minimal is required to comply with the court order.

FYI I know that the lock out has been lifted, that is why I said "which I hope it actually is" because as we have seen today, players were allowed to come in, but they were not allowed to do anything or meet with anyone. The owners have to decide how things are going to run with no CBA, which will take time, and they are going to fight the courts in every spot they can before they even admit that the lockout is over. If they can say right now that players can not workout or talk to coaches at team facilities, then after the draft they can continue to do the same thing until they get ruling on whether or not the NFLPA is still running as a Union. If that is the case and they do not allow teams to hold camps, then any private camp ran by a player that a rookie goes to, he won't have insurance for. Without insurance no draft picks will be doing any kind of team activities.

Hillis-iz-Boss said:

Rookies will not be at camp unless the lockout is lifted, which I hope it actually is. This is because during the lockout they wouldn't have gotten insurance from the teams if they got injured while at none team sanctions camps, which would be the Texas and Kent camps.

Well, FYI, the lockout was lifted by court order. The question is whether or not the League will abide by it full bore or whether it will do whatever minimal is required to comply with the court order.

@drake54 said:

so do they have a playbook or is cribbs just saying that? hope they have one to get an even bigger advantage going into the season.

either way its good they are doing a mini camp. the timing will be big when the season starts. and the routes will be similar, probably, to what was run in St.Louis

Hardly matters now. In at most two days the judge is going to deny the Owners appeal, which will officially open FA and trades and allow all camps to happen. The soonest they will be locked out again is if the owners get the ruling they want that says the NFLPA is still running like a Union, which makes this ruling that the lockout is illegal void and restarts the lockout and that shouldn't be for at least 4 weeks. Unless I am getting this all wrong, which I could be because this is all confusing.

either way its good they are doing a mini camp. the timing will be big when the season starts. and the routes will be similar, probably, to what was run in St.Louis

This offseason could serve as a referendum on the hold that several young quarterbacks have over their respective teams.

Safe to say, Colt McCoy has passed the test.

Over the last month, McCoy has been the point man in organizing and planning to bring Cleveland Browns wide receivers, running backs and tight ends to Austin, Texas, for a three-day minicamp. That camp kicked off Thursday, with McCoy having secured lodging for his teammates and practice fields for them to run football-specific drills.

"I'm really excited to see the guys, that camaraderie is key, especially with Colt," Browns receiver/kick returner Josh Cribbs said after arriving in Texas. "He realizes if he's going to be the leader, it starts now. It's kind of a backyard thing, it has that feel to it, going to be out there like the 'Little Giants.' We don't even have a playbook. But we have our heads together, and we know it's important for us to meet as an offense."

Indeed, new coach Pat Shurmur hasn't been able to hand out playbooks, much less run any type of installation sessions with his new players.

To fill in the blanks, Cribbs said that he and his teammates have dug up film of last year's St. Louis Rams, for whom Shurmur was offensive coordinator, and come up with a makeshift version of the playbook to go through during field drills in Austin.

"We have to watch TV copies of St. Louis, mimic their routes, the structure of their offense," Cribbs said. "The idea is for it to be just like a practice day: Warm up, stretch, lift weights, and run first, then throw together as a group. ... We're doing bag drills, cone drills, and then we start throwing.

"I'm sure they're going to change (the offense) to fit the key guys on our team and, right now, it's not that important that we run specific routes, it's more important we run routes period. But you've been out of football for so long, you want to get back in the groove, and this is part of getting into it."

Up until now, Cribbs has been splitting time working out in Cleveland and at API in Los Angeles, and he's like everyone else -- waiting for the labor situation to be resolved. But in the meantime, he does understand the opportunity that's here for a young team to get an edge on its opponents. Cribbs says that after McCoy proved himself as "a gamer" last fall, and after seeing the leadership he has displayed the last month, he has "won us over."

What's happening in this locked-out April has Cribbs as excited for September as can be.

"Starting early is key," Cribbs said. "We don't know how long this (lockout) is going to be, but we've already scheduled our next (camp), and we plan to get together a lot of times and do what we need to do. When I first met Coach Shurmur, I told him, 'I just want to win.' And he looked at me and said, 'Me, too.' What we're doing now is going to help."

@thomaspro said:

Absolutely. I wonder which of them is in culture shock being in Austin and saying WTF. LOL

austin is a pretty hip place. it isn't crackerville like most of texas.

i think that what colt is doing is incredible and signals to me that he is assuming the role of leader of the team. exciting things are happening in brownsland. let's just hope that it produces at the very least a .500 season in 2011.

@usfbrown said:

Glad to see Mitchell is going too. Hopefully this will help him out and get him to be part of the team. Colt is showing what leadership is supposed to be and it's great to see at a young age. I feel that Colt plays above his talent level (even though he is really talented) because of his love for the game and his drive. I have a feeling the Colt will be around here a long time.

I'm happy to see Norwood coming. The kid only got off the practice squad for the last few games and is now trying to make the best of his position. I would assume Windsor would be there if he wasn't tearing up the AFL in Arizona right now. Apparently he had a 250 yard 5 TD game last week.

Even if there where no lockout id say every team should do this if they wanna win the superbowl but this is great for the Browns and ecspically Colt McCoy...He will be a good NFL football QB and make all those other teams look like fools for passing on him

@sj_browns said:

@JoshCribbs16

Josh Cribbs

In Austin ready 2 put some work in, @ColtMcCoy picked us all up in a tractor with a hitch on the back, but that's kool we making it work lol

1 hour ago via TweetDeck

reminds me of the drive your tractor to school days at school.

anyway good to see them having fun and since they have the playbook it will give a huge leg up. hopefully they do this again after the draft to get the rookies in on it all.