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Sunday, July 28, 2013

Day 4 Training Camp Diaries - Cleveland Browns

Dear Diary,

Well, it was disappointing that the Day 3 workout (first with full pads) was moved indoors due to rain. Players worked out in shoulder pads only. Scary moment when media reported via twitter that a player was down and withheld his name/number pending family notification. Soon after, they reported movement in all 4 extremities so fans could breathe a bit better.  Turns out #60 OL Ryan Miller (trying to get a starting guard position) took a freak helmet-to-helmet hit during a 1-on-1 drill. He was taken to the Cleveland Clinic and later released with the diagnosis of a concussion.  So glad it wasn't serious!

Day 4 started late for me - I had Cleveland Indians tickets - so I got to camp around 4:30... Standing room only with over 4,400 fans in attendance on a beautiful Sunday afternoon!  (Oh, Tribe beat the Texas Rangers, 6-0, completed the home series sweep and showed that P Ubaldo Jimenez still has it!)  If you are looking for play-by-play on the drills, check somewhere else. I could tell you how many passes each QB threw, completion percentage, etc., but as you can see from the picture of #06 QB Brian Hoyer throwing a pass, the Defense really wasn't "going after him."


Instead, I'm just going to give you a quick recap of the injury report and a progress report on some of the players I've been watching this week.

Injury Report:
Ryan Miller OL - NFL concussion protocol
Montario Hardesty RB - hamstring
Tashaun Gipson S - left practice with sprained shoulder
Desmond Bryant DT - back spasms
Oniel Cousins, Jamoris Slaughter - no details just didn't practice

They're Baaaccckkkk
Phil Taylor NT
Kellen Davis TE

Players I'm Watching:

#11 WR David Nelson - Brian Hoyer welcomed David back to NFL practice looking like the ACL is just fine.
After a couple incomplete passes, BHoyer hit him for a TD in goal line drills.  He looked good! He was the #2 receiver for the Buffalo Bills in 2011 but the ACL injury in 2012 ended in Buffalo's loss and Cleveland's gain!

#21 DB Chris Owens - lined up opposite #23 DB Joe Haden quite a bit today. I've like what I've seen from him so far and today was no different. Sharing time with #22 DB Buster Skrine, he's making the most of his reps, hitting hard, wrapping up the receivers, and even had an interception earlier at camp. It will be interesting to see if he can beat out Skrine for the starting job, or if Ray Horton will take advantage of the depth at DB and just keep changing-up the personnel packages.

Frankly, 3rd round draft pick #29 DB Leon McFadden is going to need more time to catch-up to the speed of NFL receivers, getting beat by #10 WR Jordan Norwood at least three times today. Yes, Norwood looked good, but McFadden made him look a little better than he was.

#28 RB Dion Lewis - He makes you forget he's only 5'9" and 195. He moves with a grace and athleticism that makes running between 300 pound tackles look easy. As long as he keeps anticipating where the hole will be - and being right - he's gonna see some time this year. Even Coach Chud commented today that Lewis is having a good camp.  If you want to see his moves for yourself, check out @RuiterWrongFAN. He posted a Vine video of Lewis which garnered a round of "Ooooohs" from the crowd!  (click to open video window)

New Feature:  PLAYER NUMBERS YOU SHOULD KNOW.
Today, we focus on the 80's...

#80 WR Travis Benjamin 
#81 TE Kellen Davis 
#82 TE Gary Barnidge 
#83 WR Cordell Roberson
#84 TE Jordan Cameron 
#85 WR Naaman Roosevelt
#86 WR Mike Edwards
#87 TE Dan Gronkowski
#88 WR Josh Cooper 
#89 WR Dominique Croom

If I get to vote, Benjamin, Davis, Barnidge, Cameron, Gronkowski, Cooper, and Croom are still here on Opening Day. The others haven't shown me enough in camp to justify keeping them.

Respsectfully Submitted,
Cleveland K8

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