Phil Dawson To Be a Holdout In 2009

According to Adam Schefter, formerly of the NFL Network and soon to be joining ESPN, Cleveland Browns placekicker Phil Dawson is likely to be a holdout for the 2009 season.

“Prediction based on what I’m hearing: Phil Dawson will not kick for Cleveland this season. He wants a new contract and there’s a standoff.” – Schefter’s Twitter

The man who kept the Browns afloat last year in an anemic offense is asking for a new contract, and after initially returning to the mini-camp sessions, it appears he’s ready to stay home until he gets it.

What does this mean for Cleveland? With a stubborn new coach, who lacks the people skills to see players as anything more than employees, it probably means an exit for  Dawson from the Cleveland Browns.

Last year, Dawson was seemingly the only offensive player who could put points on the board, and it would be heartbreaking to lose him.

All feelings aside for Dawson, who is the last of the “new Browns”, sticking to the Mangini philosophy, if you don’t like it, there’s the door.

You signed a contract to kick footballs, now go out and kick and stop complaining. If you’re still good at the end of the year, you’ll get a new contract, but you won’t be handed one before this season.

Last season No. 4 put up 108 points, making 30/36 field goal attempts and went flawless on 18 extra point attempts, putting him at 83.3% for the year.

While it would be hard to replace his popularity and what he means to the fans of Cleveland, the unrestricted free agent pool is full of suitable replacements.

John Carney of the New York Giants, who went 35/38 last season, kicking 92.1%, and going 38/38 on extra point attempts is still available.

If it comes down to Dawson not wanting to get on board and honor his contract, life will go on, and business will be as usual. Sorry Phil, you’ve been great for us and your loyalty has been amazing, but this new management won’t be strong-armed.

Hope to see Dawson back this season, but if he isn’t, expect Carney to be getting a call from George Kokinis pretty soon.

Likely Landing Spots For WR Brandon Marshall

After meetings with ownership, Brandon Marshall walked out with his belongings and is now on the list of NFL players requesting trades. Every year there seems to be more and more athletes pushing the issue and demanding a relocation.

Unlike Jay Cutler, this issue isn’t one caused by new Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels, it was one that was inherited. After coming off a pro-bowl year, Marshall is upset about making $2.2 million a season, grossly underpaid when comparing him to his peers of the same caliber.

Other issues stated are a lack of trust in the Denver medical staff who misdiagnosed his injuries during the season.

Add him to the list of superstars trying to force the hand of owners into shipping them out, the big three currently being Brandon Marshall, Julius Peppers, and Anquan Boldin.

With the huge crop of superstar free agents coming out in 2010, which teams may try and make a run for the Broncos’ star receiver?

The team with the most to trade, with the risk of fueling the Anderson/Edwards trade flames again, Cleveland could be one of the teams in the running. Derek Anderson is argueably the best quarterback on the market right now, and would be a much better upgrade than Kyle Orton.

Disgruntled Edwards who has been toungue-in-cheek when speaking of Mangini quite often, could also be worked into a deal. They have the cap room, but after signing Furrey and Patten, and drafting Massaquoi and Robiskie, they seem set with a full receiver core.

The teams most desperate for receivers seem to be the Bucs, Bears, Eagles, and Jets.

Chicago would be the ideal place, reuniting Jay Cutler with his number one target, but after dealing their first round picks already and having very little trade bait, it seems unlikely they have what it takes to get a trade done.

Tampa Bay could use a number one receiver, they have a decent starting group currently, but again they would have the same problem putting a package together to satisfy Denver. Brian Griese or Luke McCown could be interesting to the Orton-led Broncos.

Philadelphia drafted Jeremy Maclin during the draft this year but otherwise are running with Kevin Curtis and Jason Avant this season. After redoing McNabb’s contract, its obvious they are going to give in to every demand he has, and he has asked for more offensive weapons many times.

New York is my pick for where he ends up, they tried making a deal for Boldin this year and have expressed the most interest in troubled receiver Burress. It’s not a secret that they’re looking for a franchise route runner. What they could trade I don’t know. If I had to guess I would say, WR Cotchery, QB Clemens, and a 2nd round pick.

 

 

A Look at the 2009 Cleveland Browns’ Depth Chart

It’s such the contrary of what the media has been saying since the day he got hired, but I’m going on the record. While it may seem a little drastic to say, Eric Mangini is the savior the Cleveland Browns have been looking for.

Let me explain, for the first time in years, we are truly rebuilding. I know it’s hard to admit, with the “wait til’ next year” mentality we were raised in Cleveland on, but there’s a reason we’ve only made the playoffs twice in the last 18 seasons and have never won a Super Bowl ring.

The biggest thing to blame, is stability. Stability has always been a rare commodity in Cleveland, seeing’s how the last time we had the same coach for more than five years was back in 1978.

Hopefully, this time Randy Lerner has made a commitment for better or worse to accept that maybe we aren’t going to the Super Bowl this season, but we’re on our way.

In this year’s draft, by selecting a center, Alex Mack, in the first round; the team of Kokinis and Mangini have assured us they’re in it for the long haul by starting with giving more weapons to the five men in the trenches.

The offensive line, the first line of defense so to speak, is the most underrated part of the team, yet often the most overlooked.

The five guys who protect the quarterback, open the holes in the defense for the running backs, give the receivers time to run their routes, and yet rarely get the credit they deserve.

Last year our line had so many weaknesses that the casualties were too much to handle, with Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn, Ken Dorsey, and Brad Gradkowski all falling victim.

And in turn, they went six straight games without an offensive touchdown. This season, with the drafting of Alex Mack, the signings of Floyd Womack and John St. Clair, and the releasing of Kevin Shaffer, the line is looking much stronger this year than the past few. 

I would have to guess by the end of training camp the line will look like this: C Alex Mack, LT Joe Thomas, LG Eric Steinbach, RT John St. Clair, RG Rex Hadnot. 

Hopefully these players will be looking out for the young, inexperienced offense this season and will give them a chance to perform at the best of their abilities.

In the quarterback slot this year, the heavy media and fan favorite is Brady Quinn to get the job. But if Mangini has showed us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected.

The other quarterbacks on the roster are former Pro-Bowler Derek Anderson and newly signed Brett Ratliff. Although by the end of training camp, I wouldn’t be surprised to see former Texas Tech’s 5000 yard passer, Graham Harrell, to make the cut also.

In likely the only solidified position on the team, Jamal Lewis will be running the ball this season, with youth and speed hot on his heels in the form of Jerome Harrison, Noah Herron, and ’09 draft pick James Davis out of Clemson getting substantial playing time.

One of the best moves I think management made was not trading ’07 Pro Bowl’s Braylon Edwards, who is in a contract year. While drops are a steady problem for Braylon, he’ll be playing hard this year in hopes of a big payoff in the end for him next off-season.

We would have been facing a starved, gutted wide receiver squad without Edwards and Stallworth, which was not something anyone was looking forward to. While it’s inevitable the Browns will move on without Stallworth, who is facing legal troubles, the blow has been cushioned by the signing of veteran David Patten and the drafting of Brian Robiskie and Mohammed Massaquoi.

The tight end portion of the depth chart is a spot most people are hesitant at. After trading Kellen Winslow, very few people have faith in the position.

What most people don’t realize is Kellen only played in 44 out of the 80 games for us, so almost half the time, we were without him anyways. This season, will see a combination of Robert Royal, Steve Heiden, and Martin Rucker alternating time.

The offense is not the only place Mangini and Kokinis have made necessary improvements. The hole in the defensive line has also been filled during the draft with the aquisition of Kenyon Coleman of the New York Jets.

While it’s not guaranteed the job won’t still belong to Robaire Smith, Kenyon has a leg-up being from Mangini’s former team, being consistantly healthy, and standing at 6’5, 295 pounds. I would look to see Williams, Rogers, Coleman on the line.

Expect a different look at the linebacker corps this year after adding David Bowens and Eric Barton from the free agent pool. We also drafted David Veikune of Hawaii and Kaluka Maiava of USC.

It’s thought that Veikune will make the transition outside and will start opposite of Wimbley this season. Making Veikune, Jackson, Barton, Wimbley the starters.

It’s anyone’s guess who will make the secondary this year. Wright, McDonald, Pool, and Jones clearly didn’t cut it last year. While the young corners have the potential, veterans were brought in, and rookies were drafted to build the competition.

Eric Wright, Brandon McDonald, Corey Ivy, Hank Poteat, Coye Francis, and Don Carey are the rostered corners this year. The safety situation is shaping up with newly acquired Abram Elam most likely starting with Brodney Pool.

This season depends a lot on chemistry. All the new faces joining the holdovers from last season need to step up and come together, uniting the team and evolving into a well-oiled machine.

The talent, youth, intelligence, and experience is all here. All the big egos and players who don’t want to play team ball have been eliminated.

The country club feel is gone, expect no quit this year like last season, Eric Mangini won’t stand for it.

Round Two of the Cleveland Browns Draft

Coming off a solid first round, successfully turning one draft pick into a seven-player pickup, what was up the sleeves of the Cleveland Browns in Round 2?

Having filled the holes in the defensive end slot (Coleman), the strong safety position (Elam), and our weakness in the middle of the offensive line (Mack), it should have come as no surprise that we would focus our sights on the receiver core.

With both “star” receivers coming off disappointing 2008 seasons, one of them being a 2010 free agent, and the other looking at a lengthy jail sentence…who will take their places?

At No. 36 the Cleveland Browns select:

WR Brian Robiskie, OSU

Overwhelmingly a hometown favorite, Brian was made for the Cleveland Browns. Robiskie grew up in Cleveland as a lifelong Browns fan, a former ball-boy for the team, and an Ohio State Buckeye. It couldn’t make for a more perfect scenario.

Better yet, the man can catch. An Academic All-American who led his team in catches even with a freshman quarterback at the helm, he’s been called the most polished receiver in the draft.

 

At No. 50, the Cleveland Browns select:

WR Mohamed Massaquoi, Georgia

Massaquoi should be ready to start at the NFL level in his first season. While the common perception is he will likely be a No. 3 receiver, having some depth at the position is a blessing for the Browns.

Sticking with the theme of Mangini’s vision, Mohamed is a smart player on and off the field, excelling in the classroom.

A favorite target of Matthew Stafford on the field, he completed 58 catches for 920 yards and eight TD’s in his senior year.

 

At No. 52, the Cleveland Browns select:

DE David Veikune, Hawaii

Although he’s not well known, Veikune will make the transition to OLB and most likely start opposite of Wimbley in the Browns 3-4 defense.

At 6-foot-2 and 257 pounds, he posted impressive numbers despite a mediocre team. In 2008, he put up 73 tackles, nine sacks, and caused four fumbles.

The man has no quit in him and is always moving, great instincts, good quickness, and could really excel on a solid linebacker squad.

The draft isn’t over by any means, having four more picks in the top 200, but I’m loving what I’ve seen so far out of the first two rounds.

Looks like Josh Cribbs won’t have to do everything this season. Every pick has been a potential starter from day one, and I’m excited to see where it goes from here.

Round One of the Cleveland Browns’ Draft

As soon as the Browns started trading down, I knew the Dawg Pound would be clamoring to voice their opinions on how Mangini has sunk us deep into a hole we’ll never climb out of. Yes, it appears our new coaching has let us down again right fans?

Take a step back a minute, I realize missing out on BJ Raji, Brian Orakpo, and Michael Crabtree put everybody a little on edge. But let’s look at what we picked up in the first round.

-C Alex Mack CAL

Mack will be our starting center for the next 10 years, he was the best in the draft at his position. The Steelers were set to take him with their first-round pick, so maybe it’s not such a dumb pick. By tightening up the offensive line, it creates more holes for the run-game.

-SS Abram Elam, DE Kenyon Coleman, and QB Brett Ratliff

Abram Elam is a class-act player and a hard hitter capable of filling a huge hole in our secondary.

Kenyon Coleman was a starter last year on the Jets and could replace injury plagued DE Robaire Smith, assuming Robaire is even healthy enough to play this year.

Brett Ratliff is a practice squad surprise that apparently impressed Mangini enough to package him in the deal, if you YouTube some of his performances, its definitely a step up from the Dorsey/Gradkowski third string we had last season.

-No. 52, 191, 195

What do Tom Brady, Matt Cassel, TJ Houshmandzadeh all have in common? They were all chosen past the picks we acquired. The top 200 is full of unknown talent, so trading one pick away for four picks, two potential starters, and a backup QB in the process is fine by me.

Sure I’d love to have gotten BJ Raji too, but we had a lot more needs to fill then one and I think we’re off to a good start with some solid roleplayers.

The Cleveland Mock Draft Plan

If I could be handed the reigns for Saturday’s draft, this is how I would handle the Cleveland Browns draft board. Remember our defense wasn’t that bad last year, the offense put them in a lot of tough spots. Especially after not scoring a touchdown in six games. Now also keep in mind, this is based off mock drafts and possible trade rumors.

1. I would immediately take the New York Giants up on the trade for Braylon Edwards, and receive the second and fith-round picks along with Dominic Hixon if the offer is still on the table.

2. I do not see any way the New York Jets get their hands on Mark Sanchez at No. 17, leaving them desperate for a quarterback, shipping their second-round pick over for Derek Anderson.

3. Sign Unrestricted free agent quarterback Rex Grossman.

These three deals give us No. 5, No. 36, No. 45(NYG), No. 50, and No. 52(NYJ).

So here’s what the depth chart looks like:

OFFENSE

QB – Brady Quinn, Rex Grossman (UFA)

RB – Jamal Lewis, Jerome Harrison, Noah Herron

FB – Lawrence Vickers

TE – Steve Heiden, Robert Royal, Martin Rucker

WR – Dominic Hixon (NYG Trade), Kenny Britt (second round – No. 50)

WR – David Patten, Josh Cribbs, Paul Hubbard, Syndric Steptoe

RT – Eugene Monroe (first round – No. 5)

RG – Eric Steinbach

C – Alex Mack (second round – No. 36)

LG – Ryan Tucker

LT – Joe Thomas

DEFENSE

LDE – Corey Williams

NT – Shaun Rogers

RDE – Jarron Gilbert (second round – No. 45 from NYG), Robaire Smith

OLB – Kamerion Wimbley, David Bowens

ILB – D’Qwell Jackson, Eric Barton

CB – Eric Wright, Brandon McDonald, Hank Poteat, Corey Ivy

FS – Brodney Pool

SS – Patrick Chung (second round – No. 52 from NYJ)

Is it likely to work out this way? No, probably not, but who knows? Maybe this will find its way onto the screen of Eric Mangini and it’ll put some ideas in his head.

Feel free to debate, I’m always up for ideas.

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