P.M. Cleveland Browns links: Brandon McDonald flips, Gerald Lawson trips; Seneca Wallace quips

It's been a busy weekend for Browns DBs.

The Browns' defensive backfield, with the exception of Gerard Lawson, had a pretty good weekend.

Brandon McDonald picked off Colt McCoy and returned it for a touchdown in the Browns' Family Day scrimmage on Saturday, and he defensed a couple of other attempts.

One other guy darn near had a sack, and might have had this been a game instead of a no-tackling scrimmage. More on him in a second.

McDonald may be facing a bit o' trouble from coach Eric Mangini, even though he did score on the INT. Risking injury by doing a front flip into the end zone before even the first preseason game doesn't exactly endear you to the head coach. A profane tweet about Terrell Owens joining the Bengals doesn't help, either. Plain Dealer beat writer has posted this update on Mangini, who warned the team about proper use of social media like twitter, facebook, etc.

But the talking to – and possible fine – that McDonald is likely to get for his antics pretty much pale with what's going on with Lawson. According to a story posted by Plain Dealer reporter Laura Johnston, Lawson was jailed early Sunday morning on a variety of charges, including driving under the influence and leaving an accident. He's out on bail now, and the Browns say they're aware of the situation, but not commenting on it as of now.

So let's move to happier topics, i.e. the guy who almost had a sack. Maybe you've heard of him, kid out of Kent State named Josh Cribbs?

Here's how James Walker of espn.com saw the play in his AFC North blog:

It was just one play. However, I found it very interesting that Browns receiver and Pro Bowl kick returner Josh Cribbs came on an outside blitz in this weekend's scrimmage. Cribbs playing defense was intriguing enough. But also coming on a quarterback blitz is a wrinkle to keep an eye on.

Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal had a nice little lead-in and take on the story, too:

At this rate, Josh Cribbs will be kicking field goals and punting by the end of the season.

After all, those are about the only duties he has not yet dabbled in during his career with the Browns.

On Saturday, Cribbs continued to redefine his versatility when he lined up at safety for one play during his team's intrasquad scrimmage at Cleveland Browns Stadium. In his lone appearance on defense, Cribbs blitzed and later noted he would have had a sack if he had been playing in a real game instead of an exhibition in which tackling was prohibited.

Cribbs is already known as one of the top return men in the NFL. He's also well-versed in making special-teams tackles, and running back, quarterback and wide receiver are on his resume, too.

But safety?

"I don't want to put my foot in my mouth, but Coach really likes me back there, and he wants to give me a shot," Cribbs said. "So I'm gonna take advantage of the opportunity when it comes."

For the record, The Plain Dealer's Mary Kay Cabot had an item on it in Sunday's paper, too. It was part of her Browns Insider, a sidebar to the main story about White's 14-6 "win" over Brown in Saturday's scrimmage.

Now that hurts


Everybody's doing previews, even the Brits. And nobody's respecting the Browns. Not even the Brits. Gred Butler of bettor.com just blogged his predictions for the AFC North for this season. You know the Browns are in for it when his overview of last season ended with, ". . .the Cleveland Browns continued their existence as a measuring stick of just how bad a franchise can get."

Here's what he had to say about this year's installment of the Browns:

The Browns are working to improve. They've hired the brilliant Mike Holmgren to be in charge of their football operations. Unfortunately, they don't really have much talent for Holmgren to improve right now.Quarterback Colt McCoy is too young to be a force just yet, and Jake Delhomme will most likely be behind centre to start the year. Delhomme was once a touted player, but can he really handle himself in such a physical division?

If the Browns don't do well, and they won't, coach Eric Mangini's job will most certainly be at stake. Browns fans can watch this season with the optimistic notion that the Browns have improved, but when it comes to football in Cleveland that doesn't mean a whole lot.

This analysis leaves just one question that MUST be answered:

What the HECK kind of name is "Gred?"

From The Plain Dealer Mary Kay Cabot talked to Seneca Wallace and Josh Cribbs, who are excitd about the Browns' version of the wildcat, which is called the Flash and Cyclone. Flash comes from Cribbs' days as quarterback at Kent State, and Cyclone comes from Wallace's college career under center at Iowa State.

. . . Their potential together is boundless.

"It's a lot easier when the guy has played the position before," said Wallace. "He's played quarterback and it's kind of weird because he's always thinking what I'm thinking and he's smart. If he's uncovered, he's going to come back for the ball. He understands the mentality of a quarterback."

This could be fun.