Cleveland Browns

Thought I'd start this so I can have a place to dump some Browns tidbits.

Interesting story on Winston Justice

Obviously, the following stuck out:

I'm not sure why everyone has him pegged as strictly a RT... He's supposed to be the most athletic lineman in the draft...

Khalif Barnes did it. Wasn't he a RT coming in. And then the Jags had to plug him in at LT and he played well.

No, Barnes was pegged as a LT before the draft because of his athletic ability. Of course, no one watched senior bowl footage when he was obliterated by various d-lineman. But I guess it worked out for the Jags.

I'm big on Justice, I can see the move to the left side. He was Matt Leinart's blindside protector in college. I think that Justice has amazing athleticism. I read somewhere that the year he was suspended, he got his weight to about 305 lbs, about 10% body fat, and could run a 4.7 40. That's friggin eye popping if you ask me. I've always liked Winston's talent, I just hope the character concerns don't pop up again. Overall, character included, he reminds me of Tra Thomas coming out of college.

For a guy with such talent, Justice really isn't as good a player as he's hyped to be. He was torn apart by Notre Dame, to the tune of two sacks allowed, three hits allowed, four pressures allowed, and a forced interception due to a bad block. It wasn't pretty. I don't recall him playing well against Texas either, though I have done the stats yet.

Nice, kind of quiet move, Orpheus Roye will sign a new contract in the next few days.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2347285

Story on Chad Greenway. Kind of interesting lines quoted:

http://www.cleveland.com/search/index.ssf?...ml?s3brn&coll=2

Steve Doerschuk of the Canton Repository is my favorite Browns beat writer. First is a small Q&A he did with RAC and Savage. The second is another story on Winston Justice.


http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?Category=17&ID=271127&r=8
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?Categor...&ID=271688&r=12

Right now, if I had to gauge the Browns interest (taking probability into mind), here's how I'm gauging RAC and Savage's preferences.


1. DT Haloti Ngata (unlikely he'll be there)
2. OT Winston Justice (could probably start if he had too)
3. DE/OLB Mathias Kiwanuka (I don't like him, but size-wise he makes sense for the 3-4)
4. OT Eric Winston (the best and most probable fit for LT)
5. DE/OLB Manny Lawson (Probably moving up based on Combine)

Any recent news on KW2?

Word on the street is he recently bought a helicopter. I can only hope Juran Bolden's his new best friend.

I cannot understand the idea of Greenway to the Browns. He isn't the pass rushing OLB that they greatly need. He would be a great fit on the inside, but that doesn't seem to be their biggest need.

definitly. taylor has been playing solidly and there's no way Greenway would start over Davis. with Lang not working out and being cut, OLB is probably the biggest need.b

The Browns are looking at Greenway because the feeling is that they won't bring back Ben Taylor. He's an adeqauate WILB, but not great. Also, Taylor can get pimped in the run game. The idea of upgrading the WILB is clutch. Greenway could the the team's Tedy Bruschi. Also, Taylor, has the problem of being a Davis guy. They aren't too popular with Phil. I guess part of the problem is that Davis was so into the measureables that he drafted a lot of really dumb players. I don't know if Taylor is one of those, but it could be.

As for the OLB spots, the feeling is that the Browns are potentially going to unlesh David McMillan as the starting SOLB next year. He's a huge project, but Crennel likes him. I still think that the Browns draft another OLB to compete, but it's not for sure.

And while Kenard Lang was a fan favorite here, he had no impact at all last year. HLosing him is not a big deal. He just couldn't make the switch to OLB. Great guy, great leader, hate to see him go, but it's still a business at the end of the day.

Savage is on the radio, I'll jot down some stuff real quick.

Still talking to Shelton, obviously and working on extension on Droughns. No one else is currently under negotiation.

On the CBA affecting the team: It shouldn't affect us too much becuase of ... our cap space. We're one of five or six teams that's in good shape. (Not gettinga new CBA) would be good for us because we have so much money. If no agreement is in place by Friday, then we're going into negotiations Friday, but we're looking for an uncapped year in 07. the big thing is we're ready to go on Friday, but we're hearing it'll be a week or so before something happens.

On Frye: I think we like our qb situation with he, Trent and Derek Anderson who saved us a draft pick this year.


OK, nothing really new.

Maybe it's just me, but I'm wondering what Phil's fascination with Jabari Levey is. The guy is a total plodder, and unathletic. The whole Eric Winston thing is eh to me. He was super athletic before the knee injury, but most the time I watched him this year he was getting pimped. I wouldn't draft him unless it was in the 2nd round. But I digress...

My Top Three guys I think the Browns should target by round

Round 1- Manny Lawson, Haloti Ngata, Winston Justice
Round 2 - Laurence Maroney, Eric Winston, Derek Hagan
Round 3 - Stanley McClover, Dusty Dvoracek (DE), Kai Parham
Round 4 - Tom Malone, Freddie Roach, Travis Leffew
Round 5 - Jerome Harrison, Tommy Jackson, Anthony Montgomery
Round 6 - Charles Davis, Matt Lentz, Tim Dobbins
Round 7 - Sean Coffey, Moe Thompson, Devan Long

BigC did you watch the combine? Eric Winston showed time and time again that his knee is pretty much healed. His athleticism really showed this past weekend. You also have to remember that coming back and playing this season he was less than a full year removed from that injury, when its generally a 12-18 month time frame.

No NFL Network on the cable plan I have :-(

I don't know. Maybe it was rust, maybe it was that awful FSU game, maybe it was a lot of things, but Winston on the field didn't look as good this year. I do know the knee takes some time to heal, so the fact that he did well at the Combine is encouraging. At the same time though, I'm still concerned. The Browns have a high pick, and 12 right now is too high for Winston. I will reserve judgement until after Miami's Pro Day, but at this juncture, I'm not sure he's worth the pick. Plus, I wonder about their ability to trade back, even a few spots.

I believe Eric Winston was awarded the ACC OL of the year award this year.

I loved Winston, pre-injury. I'm just being cautious. Awards or not, he still had some scary moments this year.

Weekly Browns News (aka, what I'm stealing from Tony Grossi)

-Grossi speculates the Browns may use the #12 pick on Brodrick Bunkley of FSU fame, if Haloti Ngata is not there. I really doubt this happens though. I don't see them reaching at 12 for Bunkley just because they need a NT. If anything, I could see them moving back a few spots and doing that, but again, I'm surprised.
- The search for Droughns backup continues. Don't expect it to be Willy Green, he might not be around a ton longer. Speculation is the Browns like Jason Wright, but this seems a bit strange. Maybe they saw something none of us did. And they keep trying to give Lee Suggs the job, but he sucks and is always injured. I don't know why the Browns keep Suggs on, he's terrible. The Browns have to grab a backup in the draft, as early as Round 2 if you ask me.
-Expect LJ Shelton to be resigned today. Savage knows his value is going to go up signifcantly once FA starts because of the poor OT depth.

That would be a silly move by the Browns to grab Bunkley; he's not a 3-4 NT.