Notes: Crennel looking for improvement

07.28.2008

If the Browns get to where they want to go -- and where many predict they will go -- then little things will end up meaning a lot.

A veteran of nearly 30 years of coaching and the owner of five Super Bowl rings, Browns head coach Romeo Crennel knows that better than anyone. And that is why he was a bit concerned after Monday morning's training camp practice.

To the naked eye, it looked like a pretty good practice -- in fact, several players said as much. But Crennel was not fooled -- or impressed.

"Sometimes when the players know they have two practices that day, they pace themselves as they try to save a little in the first one for the second one," he said. "We've talked to them about trying to get better all the time. We can't afford to be saving anything for the next practice.

"We've got a lot of work to do. The start of this season is going to be on us real quick. We need every practice. We need to increase our improvement rate."

A word to the wise ...

HELP NEEDED: Fans are encouraged to donate to the Cleveland Browns Back to School on campaign on Wednesday at training camp. New school supplies, shoes, clothing and monetary donations will be accepted from 7:45 a.m. to 6 p.m. The items will be placed into a school bus that will be parked at the main entrance to camp. The goal is to "Stuff the Bus" with items. The Browns will practice twice that day, from 8:45 to 10:45 a.m. and 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Over 100 kids, the majority of whom will be from local Boys and Girls Clubs, will be at camp in the Community Corner as special guests of the Browns. They will receive backpacks filled with school supplies, in addition to gift cards to purchase athletic shoes. Browns defensive lineman Shaun Smith will help with the backpack giveaway.

INJURY UPDATE: This is no change, which means that players like defensive lineman Corey Williams, tight end Steve Heiden, guard/center Seth McKinney, running back Jason Wright, fullback Lawrence Vickersand wide receiver Kevin Kasper, all of whom have what are termed minor injuries, continue to get better but aren't quite ready to return yet. "The good news is that we have no new injuries," Crennel said.

More good news: Donte' Stallworth did a bit of work during full team drills Monday afternoon. He's battling back from a hamstring injury.

CAMPER OF THE DAY: The Browns used their second pick of the draft -- and in the fourth round -- to take a tight end in Missouri's Martin Rucker. And then, of course, there's Pro Bowler Kellen Winslow and Heiden. But don't forget about Darnell Dinkins. Though he doesn't have the pass receiving skills of Winslow, Heiden and Rucker, the seventh-year pro, beginning his third season with the Browns, is a big, strong blocker at 6-4 and 260 pounds and is active on special teams. Teams work hard to find a roster spot for players like him.

PLAYS OF THE DAY: Defensive lineman Shaun Rogers, deceptively quick despite being a man-mountain at 6-foot and 350 pounds, making him the heaviest player on the team, used his size and strength to bowl over starting left guard Eric Steinbach in a pass-rushing drill. Steinbach is a very good player. You don't see that much. It's not what Steinbach did poorly on the play but rather what Rogers did well. It just goes to show how much of an impact Rogers can have with the Browns.

Another thing you won't see often is wide receiver Braylon Edwards dropping a pass, but it happened in the end zone on a go route from Derek Anderson. It came a play after Anderson threw incomplete to Edwards on the same route to the other corner of the end zone. That pass was on target, too, and Edwards went up and had it for a moment before cornerback Brandon McDonald deftly knocked it out of his hands.

Brady Quinn found ever-improving wideout Travis Wilson in the left corner of the end zone on a fade route for a touchdown. Wilson had beaten his man, and the pass was right on target.

GETTING NOTICED: Crennel singled out two rookies, linebacker Alex Hall, drafted in the seventh round from tiny St. Augustine, and free-agent running back Travis Thomas from Notre Dame as the two young, unheralded players who have caught his eye going all the way to the organized team activities in the spring.

FAN-TASTIC: A crowd of 1,875 was on hand for the morning practice. Though smallish by recent standards, it's still above last year's per-session average of 1,800. Monday morning practices have never been a particularly good draw -- come on, it's Monday morning -- but the decent attendance this time represents the increased interest in the Browns in 2008.

JUST VISITING: WNBA head coach Dan Hughes, formerly of the defunct Cleveland Rockers and now of the San Antonio Silver Stars, took in the morning practice. Hughes, a big football fan and a member of the Browns Backers chapter in San Antonio, drove from Detroit, where his team beat the Shock 76-64 on Sunday, to Berea to watch an NFL training camp practice for the first time. Hughes' team leads the Western Conference with a league-best 18-9 mark. The WNBA is off until Aug. 27 so some of its players can compete in the Olympics.

JUST VISITING II: SIRIUS NFL Radio will broadcast live from Browns camp on Wednesday. Former Chicago Bears defensive lineman Tim Ryan and ex-New York Jets executive Pat Kirwan will host "Movin' The Chains" live from 3-7 p.m. on SIRIUS NFL Radio channel 124. The visit is part of the fourth annual SIRIUS NFL Radio Training Camp Tour, which features live on-site broadcasts at all 32 NFL team training camps from July 26 - Aug. 14.SIRIUS hosts will provide a look at every team, interview players, coaches and franchise executives, and evaluate everything from the performances of fresh-out-of college rookies to the intense head-to-head competitions for starting roles.All shows air exclusively on SIRIUS NFL Radio.

NO COMPLAINTS: No Brown seems to love the game more than veteran cornerback Terry Cousin. When he saw some younger players dragging their way through a special teams drill, he yelled to them, "Hey, if you're not having fun, you don't need to be here." Being in the NFL so long -- the 33-year-old is in his 12^th season -- he has grown to appreciate how fortunate he is to be getting paid a considerable amount of money to play a kid's game.

UP NEXT: The Browns will practice once on Tuesday, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Fans are urged to call the Browns Training Camp Hotline at 1-877-627-6967 (1-877-6BROWNS) before leaving home to check the status of practice.

QUOTABLES: "He did a lot better with us last year than what I think the public expected him to do. Sometimes a change of scenery is good for a player. I think he still has something to prove." -- Crennel on former Baltimore Ravens running back Jamal Lewis.

"They're all struggling and battling." -- Crennel summing up the status of the team's numerous young backup cornerbacks.