I was glad to see Smith playing aggressive like he did. I think he will end up being a good pick up for us because I see him getting some reps in regular games. Nick Collins plays so physical that he seems to get banged up a lot and usually has to sit for a few plays during games. He is tough enough to last a season like he showed last year but it seemed like he was coming out of the game a lot because he hits people so hard on every play. I am glad to see we have a capable back up in there.

"Stevetarded" wrote:

Smith made some nice plays, but he needs to lay off the face mask penalties. It was almost completely unnecessary to make that tackle.

"RainX" wrote:

Brohm's lame duck problems are twofold:

1) Sweaty hands/new gloves. Playing with new gloves will take him some time to get fully adjusted to it. His sweaty hands problem was probably the cause of several ints last preseason.

2) Mentally unprepared. Our little doe Brohm gets antsy if a lineman so much as growls at him from behind. He needs a better feel for blindside pressure and to maintain his pocket presence.

I'm not too worried for Brohm as yet, I believe Rodgers played woefully his first two preseasons before showing improvement in his third. I'd say it says more for Flynn's quick adaptation to the NFL level than Brohm's inability to play the game.

"TheEngineer" wrote:

Brady Quinn takes lead in Cleveland Browns quarterback derby 
Monday, August 17, 2009
Tony Grossi
Plain Dealer Reporter

Brady Quinn might own a wide lead in the quarterback competition if his two series in Green Bay netted 10 points, as they should have, instead of zero.

The first drive would have ended in a field goal, but a Hank Fraley penalty negated it, and Phil Dawson missed the retry from 41 yards. The second drive blew up on a Braylon Edwards drop in the end zone, followed by a bad pass for Edwards and interception.

Still, Quinn showed enough to surpass Derek Anderson, who had a slight edge through two weeks of training camp practices. Game reps should trump "no touch" practice time at half-speed.

It's not over, but Anderson is running out of time and now needs a big response against Detroit on Saturday night. The pressure on Anderson to perform in Cleveland Browns Stadium is the white-hot kind that can't be simulated on the practice field.

After the 17-0 loss to the Packers, Browns coach Eric Mangini would not concede that Quinn took the lead.

"I'm going to wait and see where we are," he said.

Mangini complimented Quinn for moving the ball in both his drives.

There was not much to say about Anderson's brief time on the field.

The coach would not even declare Anderson the starter for the second preseason game. But it only seems fair. It's Anderson's turn, and he took only six snaps in Green Bay to Quinn's 17.

Mangini will seek to balance the game reps against Detroit. But he must avoid prolonging this contest beyond reason. The problem with a quarterback competition is it often retards the overall growth of the offense because the unit doesn't develop a rhythm with either guy.

Now, on to the autopsy  of the Green Bay game.

The quarterbacks: Against frequent blitzing, Quinn was more accurate and decisive than he's been all summer. He may be one of those guys who always looks better in games than in practice.

He made two good throws to Mike Furrey for third-down conversions on the first drive. He got away with a dropped interception trying to avoid a sack. He was very good in the two-minute drive at the end of the first half, making a nice read to get the ball to Josh Cribbs crossing the middle of the field for a 22-yard gain. The first throw to Edwards in the end zone was right on the mark. The second one was behind Edwards as Quinn was moving his feet to avoid pressure.

Anderson was hit as he threw on both his two pass attempts. The first one deflected high and fell to the ground. The second one fluttered out of his hand and was intercepted about 15 yards short of Anderson's intended target for ...

Josh Cribbs: He looked much improved as a receiver. Mangini is trying to establish Cribbs as an every-down receiver to make him more effective in the specialty plays. Last year, everyone knew if Cribbs was on the field a gadget play was possible. But by lining him up as a wideout for the first three plays in a row, the Browns were able to execute a perfect end-around on the fourth play. The 29-yard run by Cribbs was longer than anything he ripped off all of 2008. Which brings up ...

The running game: Take away the gadget play and the Browns gained 30 yards on 14 attempts. They tried to hammer Jamal Lewis on inside runs four times on the first drive, netting 10 yards. This was after practicing the run game all week.

The revelation play of the night was the first-and-goal carry by Lewis after Quinn took the offense to the Packers' 7 before the half. Lewis ran into a brick wall for a 1-yard gain. That set up the two fateful passes to Edwards. It was a bad reflection on ...

The offensive line: Everything Mangini did to his offensive line in the off-season was geared to making it a force in short-yardage runs. It was an eye-opener how Green Bay's depleted defense manhandled the Browns up front. Whichever center the Browns played in the first half -- Fraley or rookie Alex Mack -- lost just about every battle. That has to change fast for the offense to function. The Packers dominated the other side, too, raising issues about ...

The defensive line: Nose tackle Shaun Rogers did not play after spending much of the practice week on the stationary bike. Replacement Ahtyba Rubin had his moments -- pancaking Ryan Grant after an incompletion was one -- but the defensive front suffered losses all night. Mangini kept things simple purposely. But other than backup end C.J. Mosley, no player in the front seven stood out. And that led to no ...

Run defense: The Packers mashed out 231 yards on 44 rushes (minus the quarterbacks taking a knee). Akron's Tyrell Sutton had 91 yards on 16 carries. On the Packers' second series, they advanced to the Browns' 7. Grant got a big push on first down for a five-yard gain and then sprinted to the pylon for a touchdown on a pitchout on the next play. When you can run the ball inside the red zone, you don't have to worry about interceptions. Which brings us back to ...

Braylon Edwards: Elite receivers just don't make the drops that he consistently does. Usually he's more sure-handed with his feet off the ground. This time he said he leaped when he shouldn't have. He needs to keep working at it and not deny there's a problem. Edwards said something interesting after the game about ...

The team attitude: "We got to saying it's a new team, new players, new coaches, but we have to come back this week and we have to believe we're a new team," he said. "That's where it stands -- believing we're a new team, believing that we're a new offense and believing that we have a chance to be something."

So under Mangini, the coach/DJ who blares music throughout the practice day, the theme of this preseason may well be the same song that concluded "The Sopranos," the HBO series on which Mangini made a cameo appearance:

Don't Stop Believin'.