Mini-camp Article

Flugel

Here's 6 Observations from Mini-Camp by Kevin Jones of the Cleveland Browns website.

Dressed in helmets and shorts, drafted players, undrafted signees and tryout players vied for the attention of coaches to keep their dreams of professional football alive. Here are six takeaways.

1) The Browns mean business
On Thursday night, the entire Browns coaching staff, team owner Jimmy Haslam and key veterans players –

Joe Thomas, Donte Whitner, Joe Haden, Andrew Hawkins – took the 12 rookie draft picks out to dinner in downtown Cleveland. While the meeting was a fun, get-to-know-you type of deal, Whitner and others stressed to the rookies how vital their roles will be in winning football games for the Browns.

2) The Browns defensive line will have a completely new look
It’s only in helmets and shorts, but third-round pick Xavier Cooper was nearly unblockable in 11-on-11 drills. The 6-foot-4, 300-pounder screams potential as both a disruptive run stuffer and threat to quarterbacks. Alongside the gargantuan Danny Shelton – who was practicing his swim move quite often – Cleveland’s defensive line is projecting to have much more playmaking firepower in 2015.

“Based off the plays they’ve given us, it seems pretty simple actually,” Shelton said. “With my background, I played in a lot of defenses. It’s nothing different. Going off of today, I feel pretty confident in our defense.”

3) The Browns are giving 50 players a look-see at minicamp
Last year, impact players Taylor Gabriel and K’Waun Williams were discovered through the rookie tryout process. The Browns haven’t officially released their undrafted signees list yet, but the number will be significantly less than the 12 who were signed last year. Cleveland is definitely willing to add a number of these tryout guys to the roster. Here are a few names that stood out today.

• Northwestern wide receiver Kyle Prater (6-foot-5, 231 pounds)
• Ottawa running back Luke Lundy (6-foot, 230 pounds)
• Morgan State defensive back Joe Rankin (5-foot-9, 180 pounds)

4) Nate Orchard looks much bigger in person
Draft pundits surprisingly knocked Orchard for his size (6-foot-4, 255 pounds). On Friday at minicamp, the second-round pick from Utah looked like one of the most NFL-ready players on the field based on his size and maturity. Married with a wife and daughter, Orchard said his version of exciting nights are usually spent on the couch watching Breaking Bad on Netflix.

“We got a lot done in the playbook,” said Orchard, who coincidentally worked out with both Cooper and Shelton before the draft. “Ultimately, we just want to bring the team wins and get back to the playoffs.”

5) Connor Shaw takes command
Because he was active for just one game in the 2014 season – a game in which he started against the Ravens and played extremely well – Shaw is still considered a first-year player and was eligible to participate in rookie mini-camp. Shaw was at his best on throws outside of the pocket and connected on a gorgeous pass to tryout tight end Kevin Haplea (Florida State) for a 30-yard gain.

Earlier in the offseason, Pettine told reporters Shaw will be considered an option when the Browns evaluate who will player the quarterback position.

Tennessee’s Justin Worley and Marshall’s Rakeem Cato are the two other quarterbacks participating in mini-camp.

6) WR Vince Mayle injury
The Browns’ fourth-round pick from Washington State broke his thumb during the Senior Bowl and was limited to just route running Friday. But Mayle said he brought his signature crossover dribble move from the basketball court onto the football field for his first NFL practice.

“It’s the same footwork,” Mayle said. “You can set them up by seeing their body movements and you just come back and yank yourself back.”

tiamat63

Already love hearing that about Cooper. Like I said, the kid has an elite first step.

Westside Steve

Thanks Floog.

WSS

DieHardBrownsFan

http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/article-5/6-observations-from-Browns-rookie-mini-camp/d49460f3-5809-4ebb-9241-03aa2b96d704

http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/media-center/photo-gallery/2015-Rookie-Mini-Camp/f54568b1-f639-47ec-b40d-083fff3f9372

Flugel

@tiamat63 said:
Already love hearing that about Cooper. Like I said, the kid has an elite first step.

Tia, that phrase "first step" means so much on the defensive side of the ball. Guys either show up with it or they don't. You can coach some of that up to an extent; BUT old habits aren't always easy to break at the NFL level. Wali Rainer used to make a ratload of tackles; but far too much of that inventory was too far downfield in pursuit rather than up against the point of attack. D'Qwell Jackson was almost the same exact story EXCEPT when we put him in a 4-3.

Flugel

@westside-steve said:

Thanks Floog.

WSS

You're welcome! Glad you enjoyed it.

RoyceRolls

This defense is going to shit on people

calfoxwc

The whole Browns team is going to kick ass.

LBC mike

Nice read

Tour2ma

Good read...

The D-side picks all seem to be settling in nicely as one would hope.

The note on Shaw was very interesting. Curious to see if he can make any noise in our little QB competition.

Flugel

@tour2ma said:

Good read...

The D-side picks all seem to be settling in nicely as one would hope.

The note on Shaw was very interesting. Curious to see if he can make any noise in our little QB competition.

I hear ya. Here's a kid that played in a college offense that has been known to hang QBs out to dry in some unsound protection schemes over the years. Shaw either had to learn to get rid of the ball at the speed of the SEC pass rushes, eat it or escape the pocket with his surprisingly good quickness. During his final year at SC, he evolved into a guy that sported a TD:INT ratio of 24:1. Is that even possible without vision, smarts, accuracy and a student of the game?

For a team that wants to run the ball well and play great defense - this isn't a bad young QB to invest time in. He quietly does many of the things we hoped to see from Manziel on the field. I remembered hearing Brady say that Coach Belichick told him if he wanted to go from wearing blue jeans to games on Sunday to making it in this league - he would need to get a lot stronger in the weight room. There's no reason the same can't hold true for Connor Shaw if anyone is worried about arm strength.

Flugel

This was pretty encouraging news for our red zone offense:

Here are a few names that stood out today. • Northwestern wide receiver Kyle Prater (6-foot-5, 231 pounds)

As much as our running game is the foundation of our overall success as an offense - it gets a Popeye's Spinach effect if we can put some size mismatches into a shorter field. If we don't at least pose a red zone threat of scoring via the pass, defenses can outnumber our blockers at the point of attack especially if we never make them pay for doing so.

I absolutely love what I'm seeing prioritized from Farmer and Pettine.

Opal312

1) CLEVELAND BROWNS: While some folks were screaming for the Browns to move up the board and nab a quarterback or electric receiver, general manager Ray Farmer proved he was intent on building a blue-collar team that doesn't rely solely on the performance of the QB. Thus, Farmer focused his efforts on upgrading the defensive front with the selections of Danny Shelton, Nate Orchard and Xavier Cooper. The trio will augment a solid front line and help the Browns play the kind of physical football that coach Mike Pettine desires. Offensively, the Browns took a versatile interior blocker (Cameron Erving) and a dynamic running back (Duke Johnson), which will allow the offense to pummel opponents behind a "ground and pound" approach. The Browns threw a couple of late-round darts with the selections of cover corners Charles Gaines and Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, two guys with big-time potential. If both guys play up to their collegiate flashes, Cleveland could have one of the deepest defensive backfields in the NFL in a few seasons. GRADE: B+

Bucky Brooks NFL.com