Jake Delhomme to rebound in Dawg Pound
James Walker of espn.com is one of those detractors. He ranks the Browns at No. 28 in the 32-team league, writing:
Talent usually prevails in the NFL, and I just don't see a lot of it in Cleveland. I watched this team closely in minicamp, waiting to see some sort of breakthrough. Maybe Jake Delhomme, 35, would discover the fountain of youth and look like a dominant quarterback again. Perhaps a couple receivers would really step up, or a young secondary would be lockdown. I just didn't see any of it in offseason practices, which raises a lot of questions about Cleveland entering training camp.
Clearly Walker didn't visit Cleveland for any offseason practices before this year or he'd know. Nobody is predicting the Browns will go to and win the Super Bowl. Well, except for one crazy Madden NFL blogger, and that guy is from England, where he not only employs the word "splendor," he spells it "splendour," and uses phrases like "return the franchise to its rightful place in the pantheon of football -- at the top."
Dude, we told you not to eat the green crumpets.
Anyway, most prognosticators are picking the Browns to be competitive and maybe even finish with an 8-8 record. So cheerio, pip-pip and put that in your Meerschaum, Mr. Walker.
Looooooong shot
Johnathan Haggerty last fall was a star wide receiver at Southwestern Oklahoma State University; total enrollment in two campuses, slightly more than 5,100. Just to put that in perspective, The Ohio State University's enrollment was more than 63,000.
Today, Haggerty is catching passes in Berea, trying to hook up as an undrafted free agent with the Browns. In June, The Plain Dealer's Mary Kay Cabot talked about the job Haggerty was doing in the OTAs.
Nicholas Galizio had his own bit for bleacherreport.com:
Undrafted out of small Division II Southwest Oklahoma State, Browns wide receiver Johnathan Haggerty received praise and caught the attention of coaches with a solid performance last month during OTAs.
Although his strong play during practices was in shorts, the fact that he ran crisp routes, caught the ball extremely well, and a had a good rapport with Jake Delhomme is at the very least a cause for optimism.
Coming into a situation in Cleveland where there is a very open competition for a roster spot at wide receiver, Haggerty is looking to do the unthinkable--catch on in the NFL as an undrafted free agent from a very small school.
Hmm. An undrafted free agent receiver from a small school catching on with the Browns? How in the name of Josh Cribbs would anybody think that might happen?
Today's deal
The Philadelphia Craigslist has a Browns Brady Quinn jersey – unworn! – for sale. Anyone want to take bets that whoever buys it -- IF anyone buys it -- isn't from Cleveland?
From The Plain Dealer
Well, technically Mary Kay Cabot's story is not in The Plain Dealer just yet, but it will be tomorrow (and it's already posted here on cleveland.com): The Browns have signed rookie running back Montario Hardesty to a four-year deal, a league source said. According to Cabot's story, "Maximum value of the deal is $3,372,750, with a total of $1,572,750 guaranteed, the source said. The signing bonus is $1 million."
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/ohio-sports-blog/index.ssf/2010/07/pm_cleveland_browns_links_look.html
Author: Starting Blocks, The Plain Dealer
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