Written by Mansfield Lucas

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Browns training camp starts tomorrow, and Mansfield Lucas is jacked up and ready for a full season of helping cover the Browns for us here at TCF this season.  In his Training Camp primer, Mansfield tells us what to keep an eye on during camp, and also talks a little bit about the experience of attending camp out in Berea.

Browns' training camp officially opens Friday, mercifully ending the off-season. While I confess to being ready for a break by January when they end seasons like last year, free agency never fails to get me Jonesin' like an old Appalachian out of Oxy. By mid-July I'm wondering which comes first, the release of Chinese Democracy or the freaking first practice? Once again, there are punkins on the field and no sign of Axl. 

Training camp is awesome. If you have never been, I highly recommend it. It is choice. It is the only time you see these gladiators up close and personal where they look like a bunch of dudes. They sweat. They get tired. They screw up. They used to get yelled at when we had a tougher staff. It makes me identify with them come the days when they are tiny specks many, many stories below. 

I've been to Hiram, but never made it to training camp there. I think you have to have a Golden Buckeye card to remember the day. My first recollections were of Kent State, but my favorite place was the old bleachers above the softball field at Lakeland. The Berea facility is perfect for players, awful for fans. I mean positively putrid. You can't see jack squat. There are just too many fields and too much space. In earlier Berea days, Bill and company had some high bleachers installed. If you sat high enough, even at a distance, a good set of binoculars would give you vantage. The BTNG TM (Browns: the Next Generation) kept the high bleachers at first when the training camp experience was still about football and not marketing. That lasted 10 minutes. That high but distant view inspired me to observe that Radio Rahim Abdullah was gonna be a star because he could run better than our tight ends. 

I am myopic. 

Carmine had Berea transformed with all these smaller bleachers of about six rows. It's great for moving people around and crowd control, but I reiterate, you can't see duty. They suck. But if you could see, I know here's what you should be watching.

The Offensive Coaching Staff:

Now that Phil, errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, ostensibly Romeo (on paper) has mostly purged and remade the offensive staff, what will be different? I want to see how these guys coach, not so much what they might know or what the new schemes they are rolling out. I want to see if they instill discipline. I want to see if they are hands on when players turn in slop. I wan to see what Wes Chandler does the first time Braylon Edwards drops a very catchable ball or runs a wrong route. I want to see what happens when Frye stops running the play and working his progressions, and improvises too soon. I want to see what they do when the O Line provides zero running room. Will is be the same lackadaisical Sandals Resort approach that is supposed to keep the vets fresh? Or will they stop, correct, instruct, and insist it be done right? Will they hold these guys accountable from day one, or will we just stay too concerned about not embarrassing professionals. Let's face it, this offense needs a Bob Lanier sneaka up it's collective ass, and it is not just one guy. Does Chud and crew have the will to do it?

The Defense:

A recurring theme in my recent takes is that if the O is a work in progress; the D should be ready now. Not after three more off seasons of Phil blaming Butch and Dwight and managing expectations, but now. They have Phil's free agents on the D line. These super-sized monsters are long in tooth, but should occupy blockers for the young linebackers all brought in or re-signed to contracts hand-picked by Opie. No excuses. They play in front of a D backfield that is young, talented, and stocked with two of the three best players Butch Davis left behind and two of Phil's number two picks. The D coaching staff has continuity and plays for a defensive minded head coach whose claim to fame was being Bill Bellichik's coordinator. The D is built around Phil's best to pick to date, Kam-Rahn Bay Wimbley, who needs to be as disruptive to opposing quarterbacks as it'd be to you seeing Lindsay Lohan in your rearview mirror to warrant hope. If this D doesn't come out gellin' like a felon and beat the O like a politically incorrect trapper would a baby harp seal, and show something in the first quarter of X season when they swap paint, odds are good Phil is complete jive. The D should be a finished product.

The Souljah:

Kellen Winslow Jr. is by far the best player on the team. He is both a play-maker and a strategic weapon if you understand the game and what match-ups mean. He shows pride and production. He led NFL tight ends in catches last season, which was his rookie season in terms of games played.  

Kellen Winslow has a horrible knee and is coming off inherently risky micro fracture knee surgery. So is he or isn't he ready? Is his wheel fixed so he can block? Can he take enough reps to last through 16 games? What's his status?

The Quarterbacks:

I know, you're asking yourself do you HAVE to watch them, or much like Flava of Love, is it so horrific is it possible to DVR them and only watch very small bits and pieces? Bah! You gotta do it. I have minimal hopes and expectations that Charlie Frye will blossom into an NFL quarterback who can run a normal offense. The improvisation and bailing early on a play is just too hard a habit to break. DA is a complete mystery. Like Frye, he brings terrible interception habits going back to his days at Oregon State, where he was obviously distracted by all the beaver.... fans. QB's who throw interceptions tend to always throw interceptions, but at least he gets the ball down field and can run an offense. Brady Quinn is a ways away from being an NFL starter from all we read and observe. First, he needs to sign, and that shows no good signs of occurring anytime soon. Helen Keller could see that holdout coming.  Then he needs to correct the mechanical breakdowns that plague his consistency. And then he needs to not be a rookie NFL quarterback. Only then we'll see what's what with BQ the QB. Someone kind of has to play this season by default though. But even then, how could it be Kent Dorfman, uh, Ken Dorsey? Well, he is a legacy after all. I expect DA to emerge. 

Jamal Lewis' status: 

So is the man who was once one of the most despised players by Browns' fans still a shadow of himself? How much of the guy who said he was gonna do the single game record to us, and then did it, is now here? We'd best hope for a good amount. We have serious quarterback issues until Quinn matures and five guys named Moe backing him up. As Jaylew and the o-line run blocking goes, so goes the O for 2007. If Jaylew is toast, then God help us all. If he is beastie, we may be able to resemble the second half 1984 team that Marty inherited mid season.  

The Position Battles: 

Cornerback: Eric "Eazy E" Wright  vs. Kenny Wright vs. Devon "TURNAROUND!" Holley 

Right Tackle: Kevin Shaffer vs. Ross "HIPPA" Tucker 

OLB: Antwan Peek vs. Willie McGinest 

ILB: Andra Davis vs. Leon Williams vs. D'Qwell Jackson 

Backup DL rotation: Simon Frazier vs. Orien Harris vs. Javonne Parker vs. Shaun Smith vs. Chase Pittman 

2^nd WR: Joe Jurevicius vs. Tim Carter vs. Travis Wilson vs. Josh Cribbs 

Right Guard: Seth McKinney vs. Ike Sowells vs. a cast of thousands  

Backup RB: Jerome Harrison vs. Jason Wright 

And lastly, Strictly 4 My Loyal Readers.... 

If you go to camp, cheer very loudly for Big Ted Washington. Cheer him in his drills. Yell "TED! YOU MY BOI!" repeatedly at the top of your lungs. He loves it. Trust me. 

Pray those little yellow ropes are stronger than you think. 

Bonus points for yelling "O - H!" at Edwards as well, waiting to see if he'll answer. 

And last, but certainly not least, the beer tent was in the corner to the right when you walked in the back entrance last year. Someone do us all one righteous and post the location on the board after the Friday PM practice.   

See yah at camp, bitches.