<![CDATA[Cam Erving - Soooo you're tellin me there's a chance....]]>http://espn.go.com/blog/cleveland-browns/post/_/id/19182/cam-erving-getting-there-in-replacing-c-alex-mack

BEREA, Ohio -- The verdict on Cam Erving as he attempts to step into the center role for the Cleveland Browns?

Not there yet, said offensive line coach Hal Hunter, who quickly added that Erving can get there and be a successful NFL center.

"Is he a finished product? Far from it. Is he moving in that direction? Yeah, he's moving in that direction," Hunter said as the Browns minicamp ended last week. "Usually after a couple weeks you can say, 'No this guy doesn't have a chance.'

"This guy has a promising future there and he understands he's not close to where he needs to be, which is really good."

Whether that's a half-full or half-empty assessment probably depends on the individual. What it is, is honest.

Several factors led to a rough rookie season for Erving. The previous coaching staff saw Erving as a versatile backup. Instead of letting him focus on one spot, Erving had to learn tackle, guard and center. That's tough -- especially for a rookie.

"That's doing it all, man," Hunter said. "At this level, you better hunker down at one position."

But Erving also battled conditioning and technique, as he sometimes was overpowered by active defensive linemen. He struggled so much that he was benched after a bad game late in the season.

"When you play the offensive guard position in this league against a really quality guy, that's tough now," Hunter said. "Some of the these defensive tackles, these three-techniques in this league, they are men."

It all led to a tough rookie season for the Browns' second first-round pick in the 2015 draft.

But with Alex Mack having departed via free agency, Erving has a chance to re-establish himself. He was drafted after moving from left tackle to center in his final season at Florida State, a move that Hunter said impressed him.

He was also drafted with the knowledge that Mack likely would opt of his contract to be a free agent. Erving was the obvious heir apparent, until he erred on the field, which clouded his future.

Under a new coach, Erving was able to start over. But he also had to re-assert himself.

One of the things Erving did was reflect on the way he approached his first year.

"I kind of got out of doing the things that made me, you know, me," he said.

That meant getting more involved in community activities this offseason. In a busy offseason for the Browns in terms of community activity, Erving was among the busiest. In one case, he volunteered to take Elna Wright, 17, to her senior prom. Wright is nonverbal and in a wheelchair due to a progressive disorder known as Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia. Wright's boyfriend passed away last fall, which left Elna without a date. Erving said he jumped at the opportunity -- just like he jumped at many other opportunities.

"In college I did a lot of things, and outreach," he said. "Last year, I was kind of just so focused on football I didn’t really get a change to give back. I didn’t really put myself in a position to help the community as much as I have lately. It’s very rewarding. It also gives you a different level of focus, and it gives you a perspective on life.

"It’s helped me, and I feel more like I am more of myself since I have been here”

That helped get his mind right.

Work with Hunter helped get his football approach right.

Hunter said that for much of the offseason Erving would arrive at 6:30 or 6:45 a.m. for one-on-one time, to go over schemes, assignments and calls -- which are now Erving's responsibility.

On the field, the one thing Erving can do is what Hunter calls "bend," which is bend at the knees to get low for leverage. Mack was not a tall center, but Erving, at 6-foot-5, has to work to gain leverage.

Erving, Hunter said, "can bend like I've never seen a 6-5 guy bend before."

Erving seems to have done all he can this offseason on and off the field, which is significant for a guy who was so maligned late in his rookie year.

Come training camp, he has to build on the foundation he's set.

"He still has a ways to go, and he still has a ways to go physically," Hunter said. "Until we put those pads on and we see what's happening at camp and we go full bore and then get into the preseason games … then we'll get a better feel.

"But he's pleasantly moving in the right direction."

]]>https://brownsboard.com/topic/40709/cam-erving-soooo-you-re-tellin-me-there-s-a-chance....RSS for NodeFri, 02 Oct 2026 15:53:07 GMTTue, 14 Jun 2016 12:17:46 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Cam Erving - Soooo you're tellin me there's a chance.... on Mon, 20 Jun 2016 22:44:17 GMT]]>Tom Brady was a 5th rounder,

6th round

...he wasn't worth a 5th at the time apparently.

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/611625https://brownsboard.com/post/611625Mon, 20 Jun 2016 22:44:17 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cam Erving - Soooo you're tellin me there's a chance.... on Mon, 20 Jun 2016 14:45:38 GMT]]>Agree... not my philosophy... just trying to explain VK's... which is dangerous I guess.

Day 3 and UDFA crops get pretty lean, but you can afford to sift thru a lot at low/no cost for that gem or two.

Day 1 is by-and-large a very expensive place to shop. Seems that for every stud there's an underachiever, if not outright dud. Even consensus "can't miss" prospects, e.g., Greg Robinson, disappoint.

Personally I like Day 2 for value. I think that's where athletic prospects who can be coached up reside.

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/611535https://brownsboard.com/post/611535Mon, 20 Jun 2016 14:45:38 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cam Erving - Soooo you're tellin me there's a chance.... on Mon, 20 Jun 2016 14:35:13 GMT]]>

@tour2ma said:

you can mine for OL deep in the draft... and many teams do with reasonable results.

The success rate for OL picked deep in the draft [5th and later?] is no better/no worse than the success rate for any other position picked deep in the draft. "Reasonable Results" is some grade-A historical revisionism, aka data cherrypicking.

For every Carl Nicks [5th round, Saints, 2008] I can give you Garrett Gilkey, Ryan Miller, Jason Pinkston etc. These guys are great - for me to poop on.

Tom Brady was a 5th rounder, but what percentage of QB's taken in rounds 5-7 are first-ballot HoF'ers? That fraction is only Tom Brady in the numerator and a Spergon Wynn [Round 6, 2000] look-alike contest in the denominator.

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/611534https://brownsboard.com/post/611534Mon, 20 Jun 2016 14:35:13 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cam Erving - Soooo you're tellin me there's a chance.... on Mon, 20 Jun 2016 11:20:04 GMT]]>Cam Erving had lousy coaching...and lost his OL coach just as the season started.

Having said that, he didn't look like he knew how to play tackle football when he got in games.

I don't have much hope for him, Gilbert or Josh Gordon.

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/611511https://brownsboard.com/post/611511Mon, 20 Jun 2016 11:20:04 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cam Erving - Soooo you're tellin me there's a chance.... on Mon, 20 Jun 2016 01:25:04 GMT]]>I think VK's main point is you can mine for OL deep in the draft... and many teams do with reasonable results.

He just has trouble expressing himself...

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/611470https://brownsboard.com/post/611470Mon, 20 Jun 2016 01:25:04 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cam Erving - Soooo you're tellin me there's a chance.... on Sun, 19 Jun 2016 22:55:24 GMT]]>Nobody that has set foot on a field believes that a good oline are a bunch of throw away fatasses.

Likewise for the dline. If you can't win or draw neutral in the trenches then you don't have a team capable of sustaining sucess. That simple.

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/611452https://brownsboard.com/post/611452Sun, 19 Jun 2016 22:55:24 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cam Erving - Soooo you're tellin me there's a chance.... on Sun, 19 Jun 2016 20:01:10 GMT]]>I don't even think Ghoolie actually believes any of this.

He just keeps posting all this nonsense because he combines the physical attractiveness of a cleft palate with the child's basic need to feel significant through defiance of authority.

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/611437https://brownsboard.com/post/611437Sun, 19 Jun 2016 20:01:10 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cam Erving - Soooo you're tellin me there's a chance.... on Sat, 18 Jun 2016 14:06:30 GMT]]>

VesnaKociper said:

I never said that either. What I said was, OL are the least athletically talented men on a football field. They are required ot be big, fat, and strong, but they are after all, a dime a dozen. Fatasses.

Is that what all those lost episodes of the Mandrell Sisters have taught you on Sunday afternoons? Seems to me if your dime a dozen theory was all that was necessary - we grossly underachieved in our first 32 games back with 5 and 27 football.

When this offense has worked in the past, we've had talent like Cody Risien, Joe Dellamaleure, Tony Jones, Steve Everitt. It even looked good in 2007 when we had Hank Fraley pulling from his Center position in his 30s to lead a sweep. It didn't hurt when to have Eric Steinbach and rookie Joe Thomas to the left either. IMO, the problems surfaced when Eric Steinbach couldn't answer the bell with career ending back surgery regardless of adding Mack at Center. We've gone the dime a dozen solution to Steinbach all the way up until the selection of Joel Bitonio. What came next? A 7-4 start nobody saw coming.

If anything, we took an absolute nobody like Peyton Hillis at RB and our line helped him overachieve. The team in Baltimore thought Jamal Lewis had dead wheels to the extent the didn't even mind him coming to a team in their division. He rushed for about 1300 yards in 2007 and added something like 10 TDs when our running game offered a career backup QB like DA the balance to promote 29 TD passes. If dime a dozens never mattered, all we had to do was keep Kevin Shaffer and Joe Andruzzi in charge of the blind side of QB instead of teaming up Joe Thomas with Eric Steinbach.

Smart teams that want to run the ball make sure they have good OGs like the ones employing Yanda and DeCastro. I'm real happy we drafted Bitonio because my first impression of him came in a good scheme fit.

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/611243https://brownsboard.com/post/611243Sat, 18 Jun 2016 14:06:30 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cam Erving - Soooo you're tellin me there's a chance.... on Thu, 16 Jun 2016 20:57:08 GMT]]>

@tour2ma said:

We did not necessarily need to trade up for Ali. We could have traded down the Erving pick, 1.19.

One 2015 OL I liked, but never saw rising as fast as he has as a pro is Mitch Morse. KC tabbed him in the 2nd (early I thought) before Ali was off the board. They plugged him in at Center and he had a great rookie campaign.

Mitch went #49

@tiamat63 said:

This is where I remember mentioning I'd be happy with trading down our 2nd 1st rounder into the late 20's (even Seattle's pick) and snagging Nate. Also recall Tour going on about Morse.

Hindsight would have been nice to have Danny, Nate, then Ali or Morse.

Correctamundo Tia, We could have traded down with any of the next 9 teams from 19 if they would give up their 2nd rounder, to get Ali. The Saints at #31 was the only option to see Mitch Morse

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/611038https://brownsboard.com/post/611038Thu, 16 Jun 2016 20:57:08 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cam Erving - Soooo you're tellin me there's a chance.... on Thu, 16 Jun 2016 17:17:02 GMT]]>

@tour2ma said:

We did not necessarily need to trade up for Ali. We could have traded down the Erving pick, 1.19.

One 2015 OL I liked, but never saw rising as fast as he has as a pro is Mitch Morse. KC tabbed him in the 2nd (early I thought) before Ali was off the board. They plugged him in at Center and he had a great rookie campaign.

This is where I remember mentioning I'd be happy with trading down our 2nd 1st rounder into the late 20's (even Seattle's pick) and snagging Nate. Also recall Tour going on about Morse.

Hindsight would have been nice to have Danny, Nate, then Ali or Morse.

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/611001https://brownsboard.com/post/611001Thu, 16 Jun 2016 17:17:02 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cam Erving - Soooo you're tellin me there's a chance.... on Thu, 16 Jun 2016 15:08:14 GMT]]>

@gumby73 said:

Look T, I told you I was Blind in my opinion 😉 & Tia hope Nate at #51 works out over T's Marpet at #61 cause we stole Duke Johnson with our next pick at #77. If all else fails we blame Farmer for not trading up for T's Marpet. Ready Break!!

We did not necessarily need to trade up for Ali. We could have traded down the Erving pick, 1.19.

One 2015 OL I liked, but never saw rising as fast as he has as a pro is Mitch Morse. KC tabbed him in the 2nd (early I thought) before Ali was off the board. They plugged him in at Center and he had a great rookie campaign.

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/610987https://brownsboard.com/post/610987Thu, 16 Jun 2016 15:08:14 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cam Erving - Soooo you're tellin me there's a chance.... on Thu, 16 Jun 2016 12:29:32 GMT]]>Cam will be the team's sophomore of the year.

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/610949https://brownsboard.com/post/610949Thu, 16 Jun 2016 12:29:32 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cam Erving - Soooo you're tellin me there's a chance.... on Wed, 15 Jun 2016 23:42:04 GMT]]>Look T, I told you I was Blind in my opinion 😉 & Tia hope Nate at #51 works out over T's Marpet at #61 cause we stole Duke Johnson with our next pick at #77. If all else fails we blame Farmer for not trading up for T's Marpet. Ready Break!!

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/610908https://brownsboard.com/post/610908Wed, 15 Jun 2016 23:42:04 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cam Erving - Soooo you're tellin me there's a chance.... on Wed, 15 Jun 2016 23:08:28 GMT]]>In all honesty I was hoping Ali was going to fall to the first part of the 3rd round. Would have been a complete steal.

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/610902https://brownsboard.com/post/610902Wed, 15 Jun 2016 23:08:28 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cam Erving - Soooo you're tellin me there's a chance.... on Wed, 15 Jun 2016 22:59:22 GMT]]>

@gumby73 said:

Sometimes just being a Browns Fan hurts. What is funny the Browns used pick #51 to get Tia's guy Nate Orchard, so you two battle it out 😁. Just a thought. Think LG Joel B. is ready to flip to RG to stable right side while we slide Greco to C & put our weakest link between JT & Greco at LG? (Cam, Bailey or Pasztor) or asking to much from shuffle? Maybe Joel can help the unsure-ability at RT? Thanks, again just a blind opinion.

lol... If Ogbah ends up bookended opposite Orchard, then we are going to need a nickname for our O-O duo...

I think I'm already on record saying Thomas-Paztor-Greco-Bito-SColeman is my starting five projection...

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/610897https://brownsboard.com/post/610897Wed, 15 Jun 2016 22:59:22 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cam Erving - Soooo you're tellin me there's a chance.... on Wed, 15 Jun 2016 18:07:56 GMT]]>

@calfoxwc said:

Well, Ghoulish, in his defense, hasn't said ya don't NEED an offensive line...

he's often made it clear that you could just get offensive linemen from the teenage

girl gymnasts on "America's Got Talent"...................

With the response I got from VK this AM from your "Browns turning the corner" topic. I thought the Topic was changed to VK was turning the corner on BB..Got no "Told you so" nor any "Browns Hating" I Left feeling like my Ghoulish glass was half empty 😡. Keep up the good work. We will make him a rebuilt Browns Fan yet..

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/610877https://brownsboard.com/post/610877Wed, 15 Jun 2016 18:07:56 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cam Erving - Soooo you're tellin me there's a chance.... on Wed, 15 Jun 2016 17:48:04 GMT]]>

@tour2ma said:

Why did you have to remind me about Ali?

@tiamat63 said:

Yeah, that hurt.

Sometimes just being a Browns Fan hurts. What is funny the Browns used pick #51 to get Tia's guy Nate Orchard, so you two battle it out 😁. Just a thought. Think LG Joel B. is ready to flip to RG to stable right side while we slide Greco to C & put our weakest link between JT & Greco at LG? (Cam, Bailey or Pasztor) or asking to much from shuffle? Maybe Joel can help the unsure-ability at RT? Thanks, again just a blind opinion.

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/610876https://brownsboard.com/post/610876Wed, 15 Jun 2016 17:48:04 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cam Erving - Soooo you're tellin me there's a chance.... on Wed, 15 Jun 2016 17:12:37 GMT]]>

@tour2ma said:

Why did you have to remind me about Ali?

Yeah, that hurt.

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/610872https://brownsboard.com/post/610872Wed, 15 Jun 2016 17:12:37 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cam Erving - Soooo you're tellin me there's a chance.... on Wed, 15 Jun 2016 16:57:02 GMT]]>

@gumby73 said:

TB got it right, last season got RT Donovan Smith at #34 & next pick G Ali Marpet at #61. J. Winston played well behind both that became starters all season.

Big Irv. is 6'5."(Rg3 will be a small child under center) give me a nfl DT that can't get under that at C & drive. Prove me wrong Cam but i don't see it.

Why did you have to remind me about Ali?

As for Erving's height... certainly works against him, but 6'5 is not without precedent for Centers, e.g. the Fins' Mike Pouncey. Difference is Pouncey plays low.

Found this chart from 2014 on player height/weight: http://imgur.com/FBFKSdB

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/610871https://brownsboard.com/post/610871Wed, 15 Jun 2016 16:57:02 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cam Erving - Soooo you're tellin me there's a chance.... on Wed, 15 Jun 2016 14:54:09 GMT]]>Well, Ghoulish, in his defense, hasn't said ya don't NEED an offensive line...

he's often made it clear that you could just get offensive linemen from the teenage

girl gymnasts on "America's Got Talent"...................

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/610862https://brownsboard.com/post/610862Wed, 15 Jun 2016 14:54:09 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cam Erving - Soooo you're tellin me there's a chance.... on Wed, 15 Jun 2016 10:54:44 GMT]]>I'm as optimistic as anyone, and I ESPECIALLY guard my FSU guys with passion, but even I have to admit there was a lot to be concerned about with Cam's performance last year. He appeared to be completely underpowered, and physically inferior to many linemen. In short, Cam Erving got his entire ass blown apart by some very nasty defensive big boys, and he was also the source for at least two blocked FG's (the easiest task for an OL...I've been told).

We've all read that he's gained muscle, lost fat, and he looks athletic. That's all fine and dandy, but will any of that translate to playing better? Did learning all those OL positions stunt his growth and prevent him from having success? Is there THAT much of a physical difference at center?

The good news is that Cam is a worker. He's not some malcontent who is going to just collect a paycheck and blame his poor play on somebody. Cam needs to understand leverage, and also to learn how to deal with the shorter, stronger DL's. If he can figure out his technique, I believe we will see a different player. I don't see him as being an allstar or anything, but I think he can be a "Mitchell Schwartz" type guy. Someone we can count on for years to come, and I'll take that.

Something tells me we're going to know VERY quickly in training camp.

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/610826https://brownsboard.com/post/610826Wed, 15 Jun 2016 10:54:44 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cam Erving - Soooo you're tellin me there's a chance.... on Wed, 15 Jun 2016 04:14:53 GMT]]>

@tour2ma said:

Possible, tia, but not liking Pasz' and Coleman's inexperience on the same side.

After I posted I thought to myself about having Bito play RG and Pasz LG. Strong player next to an intermediate player. At this to give this line some balance.

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/610816https://brownsboard.com/post/610816Wed, 15 Jun 2016 04:14:53 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cam Erving - Soooo you're tellin me there's a chance.... on Wed, 15 Jun 2016 02:40:32 GMT]]>Still don't buy that the Browns Oline last year was even in the top half of the league, so might as well revamp it anyway along with everything else. If Irving sucks you address it next year, already spent a 1st rounder on him, might as well see what he's got. There were times last year that a piece of OSB board would have offered more protection than Mack did anyway. Dude never came back after his broken leg

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/610807https://brownsboard.com/post/610807Wed, 15 Jun 2016 02:40:32 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cam Erving - Soooo you're tellin me there's a chance.... on Wed, 15 Jun 2016 00:23:36 GMT]]>thank god the browns strength in the FO has and still is in drafting talent. no wonder we're lining up for the playoffs again this year.

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/610795https://brownsboard.com/post/610795Wed, 15 Jun 2016 00:23:36 GMT