Tag: montario hardesty

Browns’ Roster Shake Up No Big Deal

After the Cleveland Browns pared their roster to 53 players on Saturday night, coach Rob Chudzinski said it would be a “fluid situation”.  Everyone figured there would be changes, especially because they had no place kicker on the team.

No one could see a major overhaul coming the following day, but Michael Lombardi and his staff claimed six free agents and let six of the so-called final 53 go.

There were howls from many Browns fans, several of them commenting that it was proof of the lack of talent on the squad, supporting their woe is me mentality (taken from former GM Phil Savage), and preparing themselves for another horrible season.

To us, it was no big deal.

This is not to say the Browns are going to go 11-5 and win the AFC North in 2013, but we do feel this team will be improved as the young talent accumulated in the past few years will continue to improve and a more experienced coaching staff will put the players in positions where they can succeed.

As for the roster shake up, it is not like any of the six players signed yesterday are coming in to start for Chudzinski’s team, but they were acquired to provide depth, something the Browns don’t have yet in several positions.

For instance, at running back, the injuries to Montario Hardesty and Dion Lewis caused Cleveland to have only Brandon Jackson, unimpressive in the preseason, to back up Trent Richardson.

So they went out and signed two backs who were similar to Lewis, a change of pace speed back, in Bobby Rainey (from Ravens) and Dennis Jackson (from Texans).  They are on the roster to be third down backs and return kickoffs, both jobs that Lewis looked to be in position to handle.

They also swapped out tight ends, letting Kellen Davis and Brad Smelley go, and replacing them with MarQueis Gray (49ers) and Keavon Milton (Saints).  The top two tight ends on the depth chart, Jordan Cameron and Gary Barnidge remain unchanged.

It shouldn’t be a huge deal to change the third and fourth tight ends on your roster.

They also exchanged LB L.J. Fort, who made the team as an undrafted free agent a year ago for rookie Brandon Magee, who was cut by the Cowboys, and signed C Patrick Lewis (Packers) and released two other offensive linemen who were undrafted free agents in Jerrod Shaw and Caylin Hauptmann.

While letting Fort go was a bit of a surprise, Lombardi just picked up Eric Martin from New Orleans as well, and the Browns felt Tank Carder was ahead of Fort.

Most of these changes were probably done with special teams implications in mind, as the coaching staff felt those units needed an upgrade.  There is nothing wrong with that.

Neither is there anything wrong with trying to incrementally improving the football team.  If you see a young player out there who is better than the young player you currently have, why not add them to the roster.

Again, it is not like the front office released a high draft choice to sign someone who was cut on Saturday.

And more changes are coming because the Browns still need to find someone to handle the kicking duties this Sunday against the Dolphins.

If Joe Banner, Michael Lombardi, and Chudzinski feel they can make the team better, even slightly, by picking up players cut by other teams, then why shouldn’t they.

After all, that’s their job.

JD

Young Browns Show Improvement

Let’s not get carried away.

We say the same thing whether the Cleveland Browns win or loss one of these pre-season games.  They don’t count in the standings so no one should overreact.

Each team approaches these contests differently.  Look at Packers’ coach Mike McCarthy.  He obviously used the game to find out if he needed a back up to Aaron Rodgers.  And he does.

So, the score doesn’t matter.

Still if you are a fan of the Browns today, you have to shelve some of the venom being spewed toward the youngsters after the first exhibition game against the Lions.

They are rookies.  They will get better with experience, but they will have ups and downs on the way.

Not to discount the defense, but it is difficult to judge their performance last night because Rodgers played only three series.  He had a short field on his first drive because of Montario Hardesty’s fumble and quickly converted into a touchdown.

The defense did force a turnover on Green Bay’s second possession and held them on downs the next time the Packers got the ball.

Rookie CB Trevin Wade continued to impress, playing the slot receiver with the starting unit.  He defended the pass on the last Rodgers’ throw and was right on his man.

But the fears surrounding QB Brandon Weeden should be allayed at least for one week (remember, we are in Cleveland folks).  He completed 12 of 20 passes for 118 yards.

The only concern is the offense still seems to be the conservative one run by Pat Shurmur last season, filled with short throws under coverage.  Weeden has a big arm, so why not allow him to show it off.

However, it is the preseason.  Perhaps the offense isn’t installed it is entirety as of yet, or maybe the coaching staff doesn’t want future opponents to see that aspect of the offense yet.

Rookie T Mitchell Schwartz was not the turnstile he was criticized for being in his debut.  He did a much better job in his second game, which objective fans figured he would.

So, the talk of this year’s draft being horrible will have to be delayed at least until the Browns play the Eagles next weekend on the north coast.

Among the veterans, Hardesty had 12 carries for 45 yards, but fumbled once, and Brandon Jackson toted the ball 14 times for 35 yards.  However, the longest run by a Cleveland back was a whopping nine yards.

The offense needs the big play capability of Trent Richardson, who is still rehabbing his knee.

It’s tough to score points consistently in the NFL relying on 12 play, 80 yard drives.  There has to be some big play capability.  They need to mix in an occasional 40 yard gain.

Again, it may just be Shurmur and new offensive coordinator Brad Childress keeping it vanilla during the preseason, but the Browns will need to have the ability to strike quick when the regular season starts.

In the meantime, the local panic can be abated just a bit.  GM Tom Heckert didn’t draft the worst players imaginable in last April’s draft.

Remember, the Cleveland Browns are playing and relying on a lot of very inexperienced players.  They will have highs and lows.  They should get better each and every game they play in.

You have to admit there was much improvement from the first game in Detroit last week.

JD