Crennel pleased with early work

05.03.2008

They've been put through the paces, asked to pick up the pace and absorbed two weeks' worth of coaching and new information in two days.

Not that they've had much chance to think about it, but making an impression on the field is important, too.

More than 70 players are now more than halfway through their first NFL experience in this weekend's rookie minicamp. By Sunday afternoon, they'll be gone from Berea, some to return in a few weeks for the beginning of organized team activities and others left to hope they'll catch on elsewhere.

The Browns' coaches and scouts are evaluating them all, trying to get a feel for fast learners, for those who find the ball or excel on special teams, and for those who show improvement from Friday to Sunday.

To this point anyway, Romeo Crennel is pleased with what he's seen.

"You notice guys who make plays and are around the football," Crennel said. "We've seen guys do that. They've worked hard. It's a good group."

It's a group that's headlined by two players who know they'll be back, fourth-round draft picks Beau Bell and Martin Rucker. All five of the Browns' draft choices are physically impressive - big, fast, strong - and have stood out at least in that regard thus far. Here are Crennel's impressions ...

**On Bell: "He has some movement skills. You can see him move, be able to get to the ball some (but) everybody kind of looks good in shorts. So we'll have to get the pads on because linebacker is one of those positions where they do have to hit some."

**On Rucker: "He played at a big school, in a big conference and good competition, and so he was a productive player there. In this camp, we won't know much about his blocking. Once we get to training camp and put the pads on, we'll find out more about his blocking. I'm not judging anybody right now, just looking at them,evaluating them and seeing what they look like. So far, it looks like he can catch the ball, he's got a big body, he moves well underneath and working through and against the linebackers and that's encouraging."

**On sixth-round nose tackle Ahtyba Rubin: "He's a big, physical type. He looks like he has excellent strength. From what we've seen here so far, he looks strong, particularly if you look at his upper body and what he's able to do there. If he can do it with the pads on, he might be able to give us some depth."

**On seventh-round linebacker Alex Hall: "He shows that he has athletic ability and talent. He's another guy that you have to put the pads on find out exactly how much he knows or what he does know. So far I'm encouraged by what I've seen."

Crennel wasn't asked specifically about sixth-round receiver Paul Hubbard on either Friday or Saturday, but Hubbard has stood out from the crowd with his size and his ability to go get a pass that's not on target.

Crennel also singled out tryout cornerback Milvon James for being around the ball and said undrafted cornerback Darnell Terrell is off to a "decent" start.

The coaches and scouts meet after each practice to offer opinions and evaluations; Crennel said the Browns will likely inform any tryout players they'd like to have back of their intentions at the close of camp Sunday.

"When you go back and look at the tapes, you have to try to find something that the guy can do well or you think he can do well enough to improve your team," Crennel said. "We'll give everybody a look and maybe we'll find somebody who can help us."