@orion said:

Our FO brought in another bunch of players for a workout on Friday.  It seems just about every batch they bring in has a TE or 2.  They're definitely not satisfied with what they have beyond Njoku & Fannin.

----

Analyst Mac Blank believes Collins was the most underrated Browns signing of the offseason.

“Maliek Collin’s the most underrated signing the #Browns made this year. vs DTs with 50+ rush snaps. 1st in PFF rush grade (91.5). 1st in rush win% (23.5). Tied 6th in hurries (5). The perfect interior pass rusher to pair with Garrett,” Blank noted.

...he's a 10 yr vet.  Perfect to have next to Mason Graham.

Could be on the TE comment.  OR...maybe they are looking for Njoku's eventual replacement because we plan to trade him before the deadline.

I think Fannin is bound for TE #1 since we probably don't plan on signing Njoku to another contract.  I think Whitehurst looked good in his limited reps but no doubt I don't have the full story on the guy.  No matter, I think us looking for a TE to add is more about replacing Njoku over replacing Whitehurst.

----

Analyst Mac Blank believes Collins was the most underrated Browns signing of the offseason.

“Maliek Collin’s the most underrated signing the #Browns made this year. vs DTs with 50+ rush snaps. 1st in PFF rush grade (91.5). 1st in rush win% (23.5). Tied 6th in hurries (5). The perfect interior pass rusher to pair with Garrett,” Blank noted.

...he's a 10 yr vet.  Perfect to have next to Mason Graham.

@dutch-oven said:

TexAg started cal on his path of being the biggest snowflake on this board?

Thank you for your service, TexAg! 

You mean the stolen valor service one of his minions accused me of? You're welcome.?

@dutch-oven said:

TexAg started cal on his path of being the biggest snowflake on this board?

Thank you for your service, TexAg! 

?  Aggies makes it happen!

@flugel said:

Let's put it this way - it got you on Calfox's Ignore List immediately.  I appreciate you paving the way for the rest of us. 

TexAg started cal on his path of being the biggest snowflake on this board?

Thank you for your service, TexAg! 

@texasag1969 said:

I have a mantra I've used for years, "The older I get, the better I was!"? It applies to just about anything.

Let's put it this way - it got you on Calfox's Ignore List immediately.  I appreciate you paving the way for the rest of us. 

@bob806 said:

Makes sense on the LT. I want to be wrong about Gabriel, I suppose we will find out soon enough. 

Maybe as soon as Sunday, at least in part.

@flugel said:

For the part in bold - Nothing like it man!   

So you and Nickers won't be watching college football together tomorrow?   The kid in me gets a gigantic kick out of message board testosterone stories.  You and Nickers have a cyber mallet chemistry in here that's fun to read. Back in the day, some Pittsburgh troll was bragging his 40 time was a 4.9. Atenears (Stan) said something like "Sorry to hear that. We don't run our 40s backward in Ohio."

Speaking of Pittsburgh.. I'm actually traveling there this afternoon to see my Nephew (Def End) and the Dayton Flyers play Robert Morris tomorrow at Joe Walton Stadium just outside of Shittspuke... We will be dinning tonight at the Monterey Bay Fish Grotto in Pittspuke.. Oddly enough.. I hate fucking seafood... At least they have Chicken Marsala on the menu... So I will opt for that And a couple of Yuenglings to wash it down.. I just have to tolerate the disgusting smell of seafood... It literally makes me want to barf!

@dutch-oven said:

I figured you could go for a good ol' fashioned dose of Dutch smartassiness! ?

All jokes aside, those good ol' days created some tough men. 

I have a mantra I've used for years, "The older I get, the better I was!"? It applies to just about anything.

@dutch-oven said:

I figured you could go for a good ol' fashioned dose of Dutch smartassiness! ?

All jokes aside, those good ol' days created some tough men. 

You can look no further than nickers to see this. He's definitely not an emotional lightweight whose mouth writes checks his ass could never cash. All man there. 

For the part in bold - Nothing like it man!   

So you and Nickers won't be watching college football together tomorrow?   The kid in me gets a gigantic kick out of message board testosterone stories.  You and Nickers have a cyber mallet chemistry in here that's fun to read. Back in the day, some Pittsburgh troll was bragging his 40 time was a 4.9. Atenears (Stan) said something like "Sorry to hear that. We don't run our 40s backward in Ohio."

@flugel said:

Um - Meet the new & improved Consulting Editor of all of Flugel's football testosterone stories moving forward. Dutch replaces the 6% alcohol of Budweiser Platinum in countless frosted mugs; but that doesn't mean the opponents in the stories will have less broken ribs or clavicles...

I figured you could go for a good ol' fashioned dose of Dutch smartassiness! ?

All jokes aside, those good ol' days created some tough men. 

You can look no further than nickers to see this. He's definitely not an emotional lightweight whose mouth writes checks his ass could never cash. All man there. 

@dutch-oven said:

Back when I played football coaches could legally shoot a player who wasn't performing to their standards

We would have to run this massive hill in Ravenna with a small baby hippo strapped on our backs in the summer heat. Ravenna sits in this weird climate area where they can regularly see 120 degree days.

Anyways one day we ran a marathon to "warm up" prior to practice (yes, 26.2 miles. We ran from Ravenna to Brimfield and back) the coaches lined us up at the bottom of the hill, strapped the baby hippos onto our backs and made us run up the hill over and over. You have no idea how warm baby hippo pee is on your back, gents.

Well, someone had to finish last. Poor Tommy Robbins huffed and puffed his way back to the rest of us... the coaches removed the baby hippo from his back, put a blindfold over his eyes, and gave him his first and last cigarette. He took the firing squad like a man.

Oh the good ol' days. I remember Tommy and that 4th grade football team fondly.  

Um - Meet the new & improved Consulting Editor of all of Flugel's football testosterone stories moving forward. Dutch replaces the 6% alcohol of Budweiser Platinum in countless frosted mugs; but that doesn't mean the opponents in the stories will have less broken ribs or clavicles...

@dutch-oven said:

Back when I played football coaches could legally shoot a player who wasn't performing to their standards

We would have to run this massive hill in Ravenna with a small baby hippo strapped on our backs in the summer heat. Ravenna sits in this weird climate area where they can regularly see 120 degree days.

Anyways one day we ran a marathon to "warm up" prior to practice (yes, 26.2 miles. We ran from Ravenna to Brimfield and back) the coaches lined us up at the bottom of the hill, strapped the baby hippos onto our backs and made us run up the hill over and over. You have no idea how warm baby hippo pee is on your back, gents.

Well, someone had to finish last. Poor Tommy Robbins huffed and puffed his way back to the rest of us... the coaches removed the baby hippo from his back, put a blindfold over his eyes, and gave him his first and last cigarette. He took the firing squad like a man.

Oh the good ol' days. I remember Tommy and that 4th grade football team fondly.  

? Why didn't I see any problems until the 3rd paragraph?  

I remember the tackling sled fondly, Hamburger drill and the strange obsession our coaches had for some reason for guys my size playing on the perimeter but still had to hop on the Six man blocking sled with a 300 pound fat a$$ coach on it.  It was like retribution for the fact that we didn’t have to carry around an extra 100 to 150 pounds like other guys.  
 

We did two days and then a handful of us went to open wrestling mats after two a days.  
 

@nickers said:

These kids today are coddled little bitches... They get so much as a hang nail they go to the bench.. They used to punch , kick and pile up on Jim Brown and even spit on him.. ick his balls... He would get up.. Walk back the bench slow then come back and beat their asses.... Guts back then played with busted knuckles and twisted ankles... Today the heart in Football is gone... Roger Goodell has turned it into a powder puff league..

@nickers said:

A couple generations of sissies were raised... We need to bring those dildos back... Less injuries would happen..

Agreed.?

@ap1 said:

I agree, 100%, that a lack of hitting has deconditioned football players.

In HS, we were hitting in full pads Mon-Wed and for pre-game on Thursday had no pads and no helmets. 

In College, we were in full pads, we're hitting and we're allowed to go to the ground on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday was Shells, Shoulder Pads and Helmets and we went to thud. As the season progressed, the quicker got quicker and quicker.

But I absolutely agree. Football players do not hit enough...easy foe me to say as an IOL. But we hit in individual drills, we hit in inside run, we were allowed to go to the ground on 1/1. I remember one teammate getting a concussion in four years of high school and probably 1-2 per season in college. But it didn't happen alot. 

These kids today are coddled little bitches... They get so much as a hang nail they go to the bench.. They used to punch , kick and pile up on Jim Brown and even spit on him.. kick his balls... He would get up.. Walk back the bench slow then come back and beat their asses.... Guys back then played with busted knuckles and twisted ankles... Today the heart in Football is gone... Roger Goodell has turned it into a powder puff league..

@nickers said:

A couple generations of sissies were raised... We need to bring those drills back... Less injuries would happen..

I agree, 100%, that a lack of hitting has deconditioned football players.

In HS, we were hitting in full pads Mon-Wed and for pre-game on Thursday had no pads and no helmets. 

In College, we were in full pads, were hitting and were allowed to go to the ground on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday was Shells, Shoulder Pads and Helmets and we went to thud. As the season progressed, the quicker got quicker and quicker.

But I absolutely agree. Football players do not hit enough...easy for me to say as an IOL. But we hit in individual drills, we hit in inside run, we were allowed to go to the ground on 1/1. I remember one teammate getting a concussion in four years of high school and probably 1-2 per season in college. But it didn't happen alot. 

We would have to run this massive hill in Ravenna with a small baby hippo strapped on our backs in the summer heat. Ravenna sits in this weird climate area where they can regularly see 120 degree days.

Anyways one day we ran a marathon to "warm up" prior to practice (yes, 26.2 miles. We ran from Ravenna to Brimfield and back) the coaches lined us up at the bottom of the hill, strapped the baby hippos onto our backs and made us run up the hill over and over. You have no idea how warm baby hippo pee is on your back, gents.

Well, someone had to finish last. Poor Tommy Robbins huffed and puffed his way back to the rest of us... the coaches removed the baby hippo from his back, put a blindfold over his eyes, and gave him his first and last cigarette. He took the firing squad like a man.

Oh the good ol' days. I remember Tommy and that 4th grade football team fondly.  

@flugel said:

Oh and don't forget punts and kickoffs were a sneaky way to add short sprints into the mix...  Our water break was our long walk to the gigantic hill. At Fairport, NY back in the day - Triple Sessions, okay double sessions (the afternoon session was about 4.5 hours with a 30 minute rest period mixed in).

We had three-a-days too. Football started the first Monday in August. We had live-in at the school camp for the first week.

Defensive Practice was 8a-11a.

Special Teams was 1p-2:30p.

Offensive Practice was 4p-6:30p.

The second week of August, practice was trimmed to two-a-days. 8-11 and 4-7.

The third week of August, teachers started Monday and we started Wednesday so we went to our in-season routine: 3-6. (Agreed. By that time we were ready for school to start even if everyone else wasn't ready.)

Corey Stringer's death changed EVERYTHING. I got to college and the NCAA prohibited back-to-back two-a-days. We had trainers, water jugs and ice towels with each position group. GUYS GOT DRINKS WITHOUT ASKING, which rocked my world. I was used to being called a pussy for needing a drink (I'd still charge the gates of hell for those coaches). It was the like scene in Shawshank when Red asks for a restroom break..."You don't need to tell me every time you have to take a piss. Just go." Well, that's how water breaks were in college. 

We rotated two three hour practices one day and a five hour practice the next. It was the first year of the change and coaches felt obligated to spend the time, in pads, on the field. It got pretty boring. The next year, we just amended to one three hour practice on the light day.

@texasag1969 said:

Funny story related to me by my friend on the A&M team when Bear's Junction Boy Gene Stallings was the HC. My friend and another player were deemed by the trainer to be too injured to practice one day and Stallings from his platform overlooking practice yelled down to the trainer what those two boys were doing sitting around down there. Trainer yelled back that they were injured and could not practice. Stallings yelled back, "Well can they roll?"  "Yes sir, they can!"  "Then make 'em roll up and down the sidelines the length of the field and back until practice is done." My friend said he never asked to be excused from practice again for any injury.??

Hahahahahahahahaha 

When I was in high school - 25 years ago - a bruise become a "contusion," and then contusion became a buzzword.

Coach to Trainer: "Why is he (one of the guys on the team) out?"

Trainer to Coach: "He had a contusion."

Coach: What's a contusion?

Trainer: A bruise. 

Coach: Where?

Trainer: His forearm. 

Coach yelled to the kid: You can run with the rest of them. Get on the line.

@ap1 said:

I usually see clips of NCAA Teams doing a controlled version of Oklahoma Drills at the end of the first padded practice, but that's it.

The drills I never see: Hamburger, Barrel Rolls, Door, Open Field Tackling, the Guantlet (1v1, 1v2, 1v3).

And in high school, we'd condition until the coaches were tired - timed 100s, hill sprints, bear crawls, up/downs, and something called The Snake - Start on one goal line, sprint the width of the field, bear crawl 5 yards, sprint the width, bear crawl 5 yards, until reaching the opposite goal line. 

HS ball...

Funny story related to me by my friend on the A&M team when Bear's Junction Boy Gene Stallings was the HC. My friend and another player were deemed by the trainer to be too injured to practice one day and Stallings from his platform overlooking practice yelled down to the trainer what those two boys were doing sitting around down there. Trainer yelled back that they were injured and could not practice. Stallings yelled back, "Well can they roll?"  "Yes sir, they can!"  "Then make 'em roll up and down the sidelines the length of the field and back until practice is done." My friend said he never asked to be excused from practice again for any injury.??

@ap1 said:

I usually see clips of NCAA Teams doing a controlled version of Oklahoma Drills at the end of the first padded practice, but that's it.

The drills I never see: Hamburger, Barrel Rolls, Door, Open Field Tackling, the Guantlet (1v1, 1v2, 1v3).

And in high school, we'd condition until the coaches were tired - timed 100s, hill sprints, bear crawls, up/downs, and something called The Snake - Start on one goal line, sprint the width of the field, bear crawl 5 yards, sprint the width, bear crawl 5 yards, until reaching the opposite goal line. 

HS ball...

Oh and don't forget punts and kickoffs were a sneaky way to add short sprints into the mix...  Our water break was our long walk to the gigantic hill. At Fairport, NY back in the day - Triple Sessions, okay double sessions (the afternoon session was about 4.5 hours with a 30 minute rest period mixed in).  It was like everyone looked forward to football if/when they survived the Hell before it.   The 1st day of practice our Coach Santini sat us down and told us what to expect before borrowing the line "Give your soul to God because your ass belongs to me!"  He said before I came back to my alma mater here and took over this program we had pony tails coming out of the back of some helmets; players walked back to the huddle; jerseys weren't tucked in; hands were on the hips between plays; that ship sunk!  This is a privilege not everyone is wired for.  If you pay the price with sacrifice like I had to here once upon a time - you'll earn yourself memories you'll cherish the rest of your life.  This was old school coached by a guy who played/survived old school enough to love it - looking forward to pass on a winning tradition. He took my class/teammates to 2 Sectional Finals and 1 Championship (undefeated season).  The NYS playoffs/championships didn't begin until about 6 years later but Section 5 where I played usually did very well in all school sizes/classifications.

Tell you what - I never looked so forward to school starting so much in my life.  Practice began with a 12 minute run on a track (if you didn't get 6 laps in - you had to keep running); followed by cals; followed by 10 2 minute stations spaced apart to where we had to sprint from 1 to the next (stool jumps, grass drills, monkey rolls, mini hill piggy-backs & wheel barrels with partner, 4 cone (start at 1st cone with backward run to 2nd cone - karioke to 3rd cone - forward run to the 4th cone), form running (this was actually kind of a breather), I can't even remember the other ones; then we had a 5 minute water break; then we did punts & kicks forever seemingly; then we broke apart and offense or defensive formation and ran plays; then we finished on a steep ass hill that felt way too high for comfort in the morning.  The afternoon had a similar format except we finished with sprints instead of hitting the hill.  The 2nd week we started hitting so some of that went away in lieu of pushing the 5 man sled with our HC standing on it every including up and down hills. 

Sometimes on the ride home I'd get reminded not to forget I had to cut the lawn after dinner.  "CAN'T WAIT MOM!"  No "Soccer Mom" in my house...

@nickers said:

A couple generations of sissies were raised... We need to bring those drills back... Less injuries would happen..

That is hilarious coming from you of all people. ?

@ap1 said:

I usually see clips of NCAA Teams doing a controlled version of Oklahoma Drills at the end of the first padded practice, but that's it.

The drills I never see: Hamburger, Barrel Rolls, Door, Open Field Tackling, the Guantlet (1v1, 1v2, 1v3).

And in high school, we'd condition until the coaches were tired - timed 100s, hill sprints, bear crawls, up/downs, and something called The Snake - Start on one goal line, sprint the width of the field, bear crawl 5 yards, sprint the width, bear crawl 5 yards, until reaching the opposite goal line. 

HS ball...

A couple generations of sissies were raised... We need to bring those drills back... Less injuries would happen..