What are the Browns' top issues as training camp opens? Tony Grossi provides the headline topics.
Averaging 187 yards rushing in his final three games of the 2009 season, Jerome Harrison would be excused for believing he'll be the feature back in 2010. But rookie Montario Hardesty has captivated the Browns' coaching staff during the summer.BEREA, Ohio -- Training camp is pro football's version of baseball's spring training -- minus the idyllic backdrop of swaying palm trees, ocean breezes and tranquil exercises on the field.
Football camp is physically demanding and mentally taxing. The heat is stifling and unforgiving. Same with the coaches, for that matter. The daily drills are tedious. The hitting can be violent, the tension sometimes unbearable.
The theory of NFL training camp is that whipping a group of men into a unit with one unified purpose builds camaraderie and character. In short, camp begins with a roster and ends with a team.
Only the strong survive, and then they embark on a long season to try to justify the four to six weeks of hell they all endured.
The commonality with baseball is that optimism fills the air. Every team is 0-0 and believing it can be the one hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in February. Hope is more realistic in the NFL. Last year, the New Orleans Saints were the ninth team in the past 11 seasons to appear in a Super Bowl for the first time.
The list of teams never to appear in 44 Super Bowls is now down to four -- Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville and the Browns.
The Browns begin their quest to come off the list on Saturday when coach Eric Mangini puts his roster of 80 players on the field for the first practice of the season open to the public.
Here's a look at what to expect:
Most anticipated position battle: Jerome Harrison vs. Montario Hardesty.
A promising combination of size and speed, Montario Hardesty will be given plenty of chances during training camp to prove whether he's feature back material.Yes, everyone knows that more than one back will play. But somebody has to be "the guy" -- the bell cow, the one to set the tone early in games, the one fantasy leaguers fall in love with. Harrison endeared himself to fans and teammates last year when he morphed into Barry Sanders in the final three games. Some believe Harrison's surge should not be a surprise because he had similar production at Washington State in the shadows of Pac-10 star Reggie Bush.
But if the Browns' new hierarchy totally believed in Harrison, they would have:
• 1. locked up Harrison to a long-term contract instead of giving him a one-year tender; and
• 2. would not have traded three draft picks to move from the third to the second round and select Hardesty in April.
Hardesty was a two-time captain at Tennessee, universally respected for his work ethic and playing through injuries. His three knee surgeries at Tennessee scared away some teams, but the Browns feel, evidently, he has more to offer overall than Harrison.
Hardesty was one of the "stars" of the off-season. The question is whether he can continue to impress, and stay healthy, when the real hitting takes place.
Jake Delhomme offers a body of work to prove he's a viable NFL quarterback this season. Then again, he also offers evidence of struggling through a poor 2009.Why the quarterbacks dominate attention: Because it's been the most glaring problem position on the team since rebirth in 1999.
There's less drama this summer -- absent a so-called open competition for the starting job -- but no less focus on the passers. Newcomers Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace were the hand-picked choices of new President Mike Holmgren to take over for the stale duo of Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn.
Holmgren likes Delhomme's leadership, experience, savvy and his body of work -- except for a miserable 2009 campaign. Holmgren likes Wallace's intangibles, too, and promises his arm strength and accuracy will surprise those who never saw him play seven seasons in Seattle. Holmgren also was the one to figuratively stand on a table in the draft room and "suggest" to GM Tom Heckert to select Texas record-holder Colt McCoy in the third round after Heckert's targeted pick (Kentucky defensive lineman Corey Peters) was nabbed two notches earlier by Atlanta.
How the coaches acclimate all three new quarterbacks in camp and preseason will be something to watch, as will be the plight of Eric Mangini-product Brett Ratliff.
Dominant storyline nationally: Mangini's future.
The Browns' fast finish in 2009 earned Eric Mangini another chance to prove what he can accomplish as a coach without the burdens of the front office. Will he take advantage this fall?Despite winning his last four games, Mangini is appearing at, or near, the top of every pundit's "coaches on the hot seat" list entering 2010. Technically, Mangini's contract runs three more years through 2012. But when Holmgren completed weeks of research and two days of intensive meetings with the coach, he announced Mangini "will return as head coach of the Cleveland Browns in 2010."
Holmgren later sought to diffuse the significance of the statement's wording, but that was like trying to squeeze the toothpaste back into the tube. The four wins in a row undeniably saved the jobs of Mangini and his assistants and raised expectations for 2010. The question now is how many wins do the Browns need for the Mangini program to continue beyond this season.
Storyline that won't go away: Will Holmgren return to coaching?
Holmgren is 62. Two current NFL coaches are older -- the Giants' Tom Coughlin (63) and the Cowboys' Wade Phillips (63). When owner Randy Lerner recruited Holmgren to take over all Browns executive operations, the offer included coaching, if he desired. Holmgren has tried to lay to rest rumors of a return to the sideline, but every once in a while he re-opens the door.
In his most recent national interview, he told USA Today, "I think there is that possibility [of coaching again]. But really not until I think I have accomplished what I need to do here."
The fact that Holmgren surrounded himself with four assistant coaches from his previous NFL posts and gave three of them unfamiliar roles in the organization certainly gives him a jump start on building a new staff.
In all fairness, Holmgren has repeatedly endorsed Mangini and has also been intrigued with the task of mentoring -- if not re-inventing -- him. But it remains to be seen how Holmgren stomachs the helpless feeling of being responsible for the football product while not being able to do anything about it on game days.
The deep, deep background on why the rookies will play: Heckert brought them here and wants to see them in action.
There is always a natural, even healthy, friction between a general manager given the "top football authority" label and a coach. GMs want to see their draft picks develop. Coaches know they have to win games to preserve their job and they generally favor playing veterans over untested rookies.
Now that the season is starting, the dynamic between Heckert and Mangini will be interesting to observe. All parties held hands and sang "Kumbaya" during the draft, but rumors have since leaked out that Mangini's draft would have looked different from Heckert's if the coach were still in charge of those decisions. The way their responsibilities are divided, Heckert has control over the selection of the 53-player roster and Mangini has control over who plays where and how often on game days. Disagreements are inevitable. The bottom line is wins and losses. Wins are currency to coaches.
Tips on attending camp you won't read anyplace else:
• 1. Bring ear plugs or avoid standing or sitting near the big, black speakers on the outskirts of the practice fields. Mangini selects the music playlist at every practice and also has control over the volume dial. He cranks it loud at carefully selected points of every practice session.
• 2. Some practices are extremely boring with more mental work than physical activity. If you prefer to see live hitting, try to pick a practice with the players wearing full pads. Mangini does not usually disclose his pad schedule to the media in advance. Most times we find out when they step on the field. But normally Mangini alternates pads and no pads and rarely has two practices in a row with pads on.
• 3. Prepare for lots of sun. As you enter the Browns complex via Beech Street, the left side is west and the right side is east. In the morning session, the sun broils the viewing areas on the left and the right is shadier. In the afternoon or evening sessions, the right side is sunny and the left side shady.