Orange and Brown Blogs

Transcript: Jake Delhomme, 3/17 - Wed, Mar 17 2010 at 3:42 pm

(On the players on offense and how he is going to mesh with them)- “I will be honest with you, I am still learning people’s names. March 17, I got here Sunday night, I am just learning different guy’s names. I know there are a lot of young guys. (Mohamed) Massaquoi, (Brian) Robiskie, I do not know Ben Watson. I’ve met some of the other players. It’s still early in the process. I can leave it at that. To say this is going to happen, I don’t know. We’re still very early in the process.” (more…)

Press Release: Browns Name New VP-BizDev - Wed, Mar 17 2010 at 3:37 pm

The Cleveland Browns today named Jim Ross as Senior Vice President-Business Development, the team announced.  Ross, who has been a key part of the sports industry for more than 25 years, joins the club following a three-year stint in a similar role with the New York Yankees.  With the Browns, Ross will oversee all of the club’s sales and marketing, as well as revenue generating program initiatives, including brand advertising, tickets, suite operations, media sales and sponsorship groups, among other areas.  He will report directly to Executive Vice President-Business Operations Bryan Wiedmeier. (more…)

Top 10 Browns of all time - Wed, Mar 17 2010 at 9:56 am

NFL Network showed their rundown of the top 10 Browns of all time. You can watch here, but if you don’t want the preceding commercial, here’s the list:

10. Mike McCormack
9. Dante Lavelli “AFC”
8. Gene Hickerson
7. Leroy Kelly
6. Bill Willis
5. Lou “The Toe” Groza
4. Ozzie Newsome
3. Marion Motley
2. Otto Graham
1. Jim Brown.

All Hall of Famers. Which leads me to check out which Browns HOFers got snubbed. Len Ford, Frank Gatski, and three who spent major chunks of their careers with other teams: Paul Warfield, Joe DeLamielleure, and Bobby Mitchell. (Eight of the 10 NFLN picks played every down of their pro careers with Cleveland.)

Here’s a link to a P-F-R player ranking by Browns career Approximate Value, which adjusts for differences in era and position, among other things. Sadly, it doesn’t include AAFC stats, which affects the franchise earliest greats, and it undercounts special teams.

Even so, Lou Groza tied Jim Brown at the top. He and Graham would’ve both exceeded Brown in career AV had their first four years been factored in.

I don’t have any serious complaints with the NFLN top 10, but all things considered, I think Graham should be at the top. The Toe should rank ahead of Oz for sure and probably Motley too.

Transcript: Eric Mangini and Mike Holmgren, 3/15 - Mon, Mar 15 2010 at 10:16 pm

Browns President Mike Holmgren and Head Coach Eric Mangini press conference 3-15-10

Mike Holmgren

(Opening statement)- “Good afternoon everybody. Before we get started I want to make something perfectly clear. All of the recent moves we made were done by Tom Heckert and he’s on the road. Eric and I will do the best we can, but we don’t know a lot on why he did stuff (joking), but we will try.”

Eric Mangini

(On the Brady Quinn trade)- “We looked at all the different things in making the decision and it was a collective decision. As I’ve talked about a lot over the past few months, that’s been something that’s been really positive. The ability to sit down, talk through the issues, the plusses and the minuses of all the decisions and then come up with a decision that is collective and that we think is the best one for us at this time and moving forward.”

(more…)

Press Release – Browns Sign Jake Delhomme - Mon, Mar 15 2010 at 8:58 pm

For Immediate Release
March 15, 2010

BROWNS SIGN JAKE DELHOMME
The Cleveland Browns today signed quarterback Jake Delhomme (pronounced DUH-lome) to a multi-year contract as a free agent, the team announced.

Delhomme has appeared in 97 games in his NFL career, notching 92 starts and holds a 54-38 record as a starter while with New Orleans (1997-2002) and Carolina (2003-09). He has completed 1,630 of 2,755 passes for 19,892 yards with 123 touchdowns and 94 interceptions and a passer rating of 82.1. He has reached the 3,000-yard plateau in four seasons, including a career-high 3,886 in 2004 when he also totaled a career-high 29 touchdown passes.

(more…)

Pairing the roster - Mon, Mar 15 2010 at 11:12 am

Dizzy from the swirl of off-season transactions? The helpful handle I grab is to match incoming and outgoing players by position. Such an at-a-glance view makes it easier to analyze the net effect on the roster, while also signaling where the next moves might come. Unmatched outbound players indicate a probable positional need yet to be filled, primarily through the draft, but potentially through free agency and trades. Unmatched inbound players presage the possible departure of a familiar name. So let’s see how Holmgren’s moves stack up so far.

• QB Brady Quinn (traded to DEN for Peyton Hillis, 6th in 2011, conditional pick in 2012) ==> QB Jake Delhomme (UFA, CAR, 2-year deal) Biggest decision so far: deciding Quinn wasn’t worth building around, then banking on a 35-year-old to man the helm until the next great Browns QB emerges. May not be popular, but I do see the logic. I’d like to see that heir apparent though.
  
• QB Derek Anderson (cut) ==> QB Seneca Wallace (acquired from SEA for conditional 7th in 2011) DA’s contract was an obvious albatross. Wallace is an experienced backup with wheels. Could also help as a spot sub on, say, third-and-three. Good move, though he’s only signed through this year.
  
• OL Hank Fraley (cut, signed by STL to 3-year deal) ==> OL Tony Pashos (UFA, SF, 3-year deal) Fraley gets props for stabilizing the center position after the Bentley disaster and contributing even after Alex Mack arrived. Pashos is expected to upgrade the right side of the line.
• OLB Kamerion Wimbley (traded to OAK for 3rd) ==> ILB Scott Fujita (UFA, NO, 3-year deal) The unexpected trade follows the arrival and emergence of several LBs last season. Gumby was decent and durable, but the tweener didn’t quite grow into the well-rounded star you’d expect from a 13th-overall pick. He’s also not locked up long-term. Fujita is a solid starter for the Super Bowl champs. Might be better to think of it as Roth making Wimbley expendable, and Fujita potentially replacing Barton.
  
• TE Steve Heiden (cut) ==> TE Ben Watson (UFA, NE, 3-year deal) Nice upgrade here. Heiden is the third best tight end in Browns history, but was slowed by injury. Watson and Evan Moore should catch 60 passes between them, many in the red zone and on third-down conversions. With Royal as the blocker and special-teamer, this position appears solid.
• RB Jamal Lewis (cut) ==> RB Peyton Hillis (acquired along with draft picks for Quinn) Lewis achieved more as a Brown than I expected, but the speed that set him apart among big backs was gone. Hillis is a popular pounder with career averages of 4.9 yards rushing, 11.0 receiving, and he’s under a cheap contract for two more years. I’d hoped the Browns would draft Toby Gerhart from Stanford in the second for this role, but since there’s no guarantees, I’m just glad to see this particular hole filled.
• CB Hank Poteat (UFA) ==> CB John Bowie (UFA, signed to reserve/future contract) Poteat performed as expected as the nickel corner: terribly. If the speedy Bowie can stay healthy and make the team, all’s the better, but the Browns need at least another starter at this position.

Other departing players

• DL Corey Williams (traded with 7th-round pick to DET for 5th) This seems like a low return for a former franchise tag designee that just two years ago was acquired for a second-rounder. But another one of those excessive Savage-era contracts, along with Williams’ game not meshing well with the defensive scheme, dictated this move.
  
• G Rex Hadnot (UFA, signed by ARI to 3-year-deal) He was actually one of the better right guards since the Browns’ rebirth, but that’s not saying much. I’m OK with letting him go, but as it stands today the interior line lacks experienced depth. Pursuing RFA guard Rob Sims makes sense, even beyond his Holmgren and Ohio connections (his dad is a former Brown), as his signing would require only 4th-round compensation.
  
• OL Ryan Tucker (retired) One of the Browns’ best veteran free agent signings of the decade, but he started just 71 games in eight years. Health problems of all sort played a role in his decline.
  
• WR Donte’ Stallworth (cut, signed by BAL, 1-year deal) If you had to blame one single player for the Browns’ descent from 10-6 to 4-12 and 5-11, this would be the guy. Think they couldn’t still really use a veteran wideout with the speed to stretch the field? He was everything you don’t want from a free agent: ridiculously expensive, fragile, a bad influence on teammates (to the point of physically disabling them), and an off-the-field disaster.
  
• S Brodney Pool (untendered FA, signed by NYJ, 1-year deal) Concussion problems scared the new regime from re-signing him, so you can’t blame them, though Pool was a capable starter and safety is like micron thin.

Other Browns UFAs: WR/S Mike Furrey, TE Greg Estandia, TE Michael Gaines, OL Billy Yates.

Browns re-signed: MVP Joshua Cribbs. DB Ray Ventrone, another key special-teams player, reportedly got a three-year deal (though he’s now absent from the official site’s roster).

RFAs tendered 2010 contracts: LB Jason Trusnik (signed), LB Matt Roth, LB D’Qwell Jackson, RB Jerome Harrison, FB Lawrence Vickers, S Abram Elam. If any sign with another team and the Browns opt not to match, Cleveland would receive a 2nd-round pick.

Glenn in the ‘Cooler has a nice, current rundown of the Browns’ draft position.With more FA signings, trade possibilities, and a dozen draftees to pick, look for Holmgren and crew to focus on (in order of importance):

• a starting safety (perhaps shoot for STL’s former franchise designee, O.J. Atogwe, and/or draft Eric Berry)
  
• a quarterback of the future (Round 2 or 3, I hope)
• a starting cornerback better than Brandon McDonald
  
• a deep threat at WR
• interior offensive line depth
  
• a defensive lineman
• another safety and/or corner.

You Best Be Following Us on Twitter - Wed, Mar 10 2010 at 10:14 pm

Over the past several years, the OBR’s has been followed by well over 3,000 of the most hard-core Browns fans on the planet.

If you’re a Twitter user and you haven’t followed us, you need to sign up. Lane Adkins has been unleashed on the OBR Twitter feed, and John Taylor will be following shortly. If you enjoyed the story links and generally webdorkiness of the Barry-authored OBR Twitter feed, you’re going to really enjoy it moving forward.

To prove the point, Lane spent a chunk of the last hour busting some news on Twitter. If you want fast updates from the OBR, it’s not something you can miss.

OBR ON TWITTER

Seneca Wallace: Official Press Release - Wed, Mar 10 2010 at 3:16 pm

BROWNS ACQUIRE SENECA WALLACE FROM SEATTLE

The Cleveland Browns today completed a trade in which they obtained quarterback Seneca Wallace from the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for an undisclosed 2011 draft choice.

“We are fortunate that we were able to acquire someone with Seneca’s experience at such a key position,” said Browns General Manager Tom Heckert. “In watching him in person and on tape, the things which stand out are his strong arm and outstanding athleticism, and that will allow us do a lot of things with him while he is on the field. He played well in limited opportunities while he was with Seattle and we expect him to come in here and compete.”

“I want to thank the Seattle Seahawks organization for a tremendous seven seasons,” Wallace said. “They gave me my start in the NFL and I will always be grateful for that. I’m looking forward to this new opportunity with the Cleveland Browns and I am excited to be back with Coach (Mike) Holmgren. With him here, as well as many of the other people they have in place, I believe this franchise is headed in the right direction.

“I had a chance to meet with Coach (Eric) Mangini and Coach (Brian) Daboll today for a little bit and they both seem like really great guys. I am eager to get to work with the Browns and look forward to meeting my new teammates.”

Wallace is a veteran of seven NFL seasons who entered the league as a fourth-round draft choice of the Seahawks in 2003, when current Browns President Mike Holmgren was that team’s Executive Vice President & Head Coach. During that time, Wallace played in 48 games with 14 starts and completed 333 of 556 passes (59.9%) for 3,547 yards with 25 touchdowns, 14 interceptions and a passer rating of 83.1. He also rushed for 214 yards and a touchdown on 54 carries and caught four passes for 76 yards. He had his most productive season in 2008 when he started eight of 10 games with Seattle and connected on 141 of 242 passes for 1,532 yards with 11 touchdowns and just three interceptions. During the 2008 season, he established a Seahawks club record by not throwing an interception in 184 straight pass attempts.

The 5-11, 205-pound Wallace played two seasons at Iowa State (2001-02). In his career with the Cyclones he completed 411 of 712 passes for 5,289 yards with 26 touchdowns and 27 interceptions. He also ran for 912 yards and 15 touchdowns on 237 carries. His 6,201 yards of total offense set a school record.

Fujita Interview from Sirius Radio - Wed, Mar 10 2010 at 3:12 pm

Today (Mar. 10) on SIRIUS XM’s Mad Dog Radio channel, host Gary Williams spoke with new Cleveland Browns linebacker Scott Fujita. Fujita commented on his departure from New Orleans and the meetings he had with the Browns that led to him signing with the team.

(Please credit: “SIRIUS XM’s Mad Dog Radio”)

Host/Gary Williams: “Every guy who is on a Super Bowl team and then has the chance to ‘cash in,’ you go, why do you leave a great situation for a team that, right now, you wonder how much hope. How do you as a player assess the specialness of what you are leaving to why you choose what you chose to do, which is leave New Orleans?”

Scott Fujita: “Well, the business of the NFL can always be strange and free agency is unpredictable. So a lot of people want to ask ‘why right now? Why are you doing this?’ To be honest, the decision was pretty much made for me and that’s the bottom line. I think anytime you let a couple of your veteran free agents test the market that means the team is willing to let you go and walk away and that’s kind of how I feel in my situation. I’m sure [Darren] Sharper might be feeling the same way right now. When you have kind of radio silence on their end and they’re letting you go out and take visits and get offers from other teams, it’s just kind of the writing is on the wall at that point. But I feel great about the situation in Cleveland. I wouldn’t have taken the visit if I didn’t think it might be good fit. And then when I got up there, believe me, I evaluated the situation very critically. I asked all the tough questions, I needed answers and I felt great about the program and I’m excited about it because it’s a good match.

(more…)

Transcript: Cribbs / Holmgren Press Conference - Fri, Mar 5 2010 at 9:14 pm

WR/KR Joshua Cribbs and Team President Mike Holmgren press conference 3-5-10

(Holmgren opening statement)- “Thanks for coming over. Obviously you know who this young man is sitting right here. I am very happy to announce that Josh Cribbs is going to be part of the Cleveland Browns for a long time. We already kind of hoped and knew that, but I just want to thank his representatives and Matt Thomas and Tom Heckert for the Browns as they kind of combined to get this thing done. We all know what type of a player Josh is. I haven’t had a chance to spend a lot of time with him. In talking with people that I trust and know, he is a quality young man. He really cares about this team and the fans in this city that have been very good to him and he has been good to the fans. Now, he’s got a thing that he has to get to this evening so we are going to have to cut this a little shorter then we would like. I just want to say that we are very happy as an organization that it was worked out. It was something that I really wanted to do when I came.”

(more…)