As the Browns enter the third week of OTAs, they seem to be overhyping their intent of featuring the Wildcat formation in their offense. There could be a logical reason why.
Josh Cribbs is hoping Wildcat plays like this one against Pittsburgh become the norm in 2010.
CLEVELAND -- Doesn't it appear the Browns are going out of their way to publicize the use of Josh Cribbs and Seneca Wallace in zany Wildcat plays?
It sounds more sensible that if they truly intended to incorporate the pair of all-purpose players into the mainstream of their offense, they would keep the plays under wraps and downplay them when asked.
Instead, coach Eric Mangini has talked them up enthusiastically and displayed the Wildcat in front of the media in organized team activities practices. He's never that open about strategies.
So what's going on?
My guess is that Mangini wants opponents to think the Browns can hurt them with the Wildcat just so that they devote a portion of their practice time preparing for a Cribbs-Wallace offense.
Mangini believes that attention will detract his opponents -- if only for five minutes, or so -- from preparing for what the Browns really intend to do. I would expect to see the Wildcat featured prominently in training camp and the preseason games. But when the real season starts, it will be mothballed and saved for only rare occasions.
Think about this: If Wallace is the No. 2 quarterback on game days, exposing him to a lot of Wildcat plays -- especially with him catching passes -- exposes him to the risk of injury. If a team's No. 2 quarterback is injured in a game, it puts the team in a precarious position. The No. 3 QB then would be one bad hit to the No. 1 QB from entering.
According to the NFL third quarterback rule, if the No. 3 quarterback is inserted before the fourth quarter -- even for a single play -- the team's first two quarterbacks cannot be used in the game at any position.
Now, Cribbs' experience at QB lessens the risk if the starter needs a play or two on the sideline. Instead of bringing in the No. 3 quarterback, Cribbs could line up behind center.
Still, I imagine there is more hype than substance to the alleged claims of increased Wildcat -- or Flash, or Cyclone -- plays. Cribbs lined up at QB approximately 59 times last year. I can remember only a handful of plays of note -- and one of them was an interception inside the 20 at Pittsburgh.
• The Ravens confirmed that George Kokinis has returned to the organization as "senior personnel assistant."
This was almost a done deal the day Kokinis was fired as Browns general manager in November. It played into why the Browns reached a financial settlement with Kokinis in February rather than attempt to withhold the remainder of his four-year contract with the Browns.
The terms of that settlement remain undisclosed by NFL decree. The details of Kokinis' original grievance against the Browns may never come out, but it's fair to say they were embarrassing to both Kokinis and the Browns.
Kokinis, of course, followed Phil Savage as a former Ozzie Newsome lieutenant who came to Cleveland amid great fanfare and left in bad circumstances. The moral of this story is this: Don't expect another Baltimore Raven to join the Browns any time soon.