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Lots to think about before training camp
By Patrick McManamon
Beacon Journal sports columnist
Published on Wednesday, Jul 23, 2008
I think I heard a rumor that Browns training camp opens today.
Imagine that one slipping by.
The opening of camp always prompts some thoughts about the state of the team, and this season is no different.
I think there is little reason not to be optimistic about the Browns' chances. They have questions, but no more than any other team, and the questions they have are answerable. As camp opens, there's really no reason to think they cannot win the division.
I think it has been a long, long time since we looked at the Browns' roster and did not find a position that lacked a solution.
I think that's a nice feeling to have.
I think the more I think about it, the more I like coach Romeo Crennel's response to the offseason question, ''What does it mean that you were given a contract extension?'' His answer: ''It means I have to win this year.''
Very bottom line, and very true.
Just win, baby.
That's been taken? Well, you get the idea.
It's true, too. If Crennel loses this year, the wolves will be howling again.
I think it's amazing the difference from a year ago with Crennel. Then, he was about two-thirds out the door. His staff had been remade not en
tirely by him. Todd Grantham was on deck swinging, as Herb Score might say, the bat with the lead doughnut on it. Now Crennel has an extension and security, and the Browns might be favored to win the division.
Go figure.
What's more amazing is that before Crennel's first season, someone asked what I thought of the Browns' chances.
''Might be the worst team I've ever seen,'' I said.
It was a tough first two years, but things appear to be turned around.
I think what the extension also means is we get to enjoy more of Crennel's bottom-line realism as he assesses his job and his team's performance. Kind of like when a reporter asks him a question and he says, ''Nope.''
I think FOXSports.com was right when it wrote that Kellen Winslow is one of the two best tight ends in the league. Guy's skills, determination and drive cannot be underestimated.
I think it will be interesting to see who will be the star of August, the preseason game standout who kind of disappears once the season starts. Couple of years ago, it was David McMillan. Last year, it was Jerome Harrison. This year . . . Travis Wilson?
I think if Joe Jurevicius' injury problems linger that the third receiver spot could be a lingering problem.
Unless a guy like Wilson steps forward.
Which is kind of why it seems like it will be a lingering problem.
I think few people have noticed that the Indians have won seven out of eight.
That's good, right?
As for Jurevicius, I hear that the rumors about him needing microfracture surgery might in fact be nothing more than that — rumors.
I think if Braylon Edwards has another amazing year, we will hear a lot about his contract in the offseason. He has two years left in his deal.
I still think the Green Bay Packers should take Brett Favre back and be done with it. I hear that from the get-go, the team was eager to see Favre retire.
Which kind of makes a person scratch his head and wonder what color the sky is in their world, as Frasier Crane might say.
I think if you look at the Browns' offensive line, you will find seven guys who have been NFL starters: Hank Fraley, Rex Hadnot, Seth McKinney, Kevin Shaffer, Eric Steinbach, Joe Thomas, Ryan Tucker. I think that's a very good thing. Especially when versatile backup Lennie Friedman is added to the mix.
I think it is really surprising to know that Steinbach has never been to a Pro Bowl.
I think all the hullabaloo a year ago about Shaffer balking at moving to right tackle was just that — hullabaloo that meant little. Kind of like the furor over Winslow's absence from offseason workouts. Repeat after me: It meant nothing.
I think for some crazy reason that instead of being worried about Brandon McDonald at corner that I'm kind of excited to see him. How often does it happen that a guy gets a chance and seizes it? McDonald played pretty well last year when given the chance. Why can't that continue?
I think it's always interesting to hear what a new coordinator brings. This year, it's Mel Tucker on defense, and he's going to simplify things and not ask players to think too much. Hate to think, ya know.
That being said, I also flash back to a conversation with a veteran defensive end named Trace Armstrong, who talked about how simple Jimmy Johnson's defenses were.
''Just a few basic fronts,'' he said. ''Which is as it should be.''
It's an offshoot of the think-too-much stuff. Armstrong said it's better to line up and play instead of lining up and thinking about playing before actually playing.
I think that got pretty convoluted.
I think that it's great training camp is starting because there will be no more talk of OTAs, ''upside'' or someone having a ''good offseason.''
How in the world can someone have a good offseason? It's just an offseason.
I think it's just a little more important to have a good season.
Patrick McManamon can be reached at pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/mcmanamon/.
I think I heard a rumor that Browns training camp opens today.
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