A tight end catching passes? Yes, it's true! Terry Pluto scribbles from the Browns OTAs.
Not wanting to think about LeBron James or instant replay in baseball, here are some scribbles in my notebook from the Browns OTAs on Thursday.
1. I counted at least three touchdown passes caught by Ben Watson, the Browns new tight end. They were in the red zone drills, but it’s still nice to see a tight end catch the ball. Watson is a free agent from New England, where he was considered a disappointment for failing to live up to the hype of being a first-round pick in 2004. But Watson did catch 29 passes last season, five for touchdowns. He has 20 TD catches in his career, and seems to know how to get open in the end zone.
2. After watching poor Robert Royal (called "Royal Roberts" by former coach Brian Billick in one telecast last season) struggle to catch the ball from the tight end spot, it was nice to see a tight end look comfortable when the ball was thrown his way. Evan Moore also made some very nice catches. Don’t be surprised if the Browns use him as a slot receiver in some situations. A former basketball player at Stanford, the athletic Moore is not a strong blocker — but at 6-foot-6 and with a fluid stride, he can be a good receiver.
3. Brian Schaefering knocked down a Jake Delhomme pass, and the defensive lineman seems to be in the mix for some playing time. Part of the reason is Shaun Rogers is still recovering from ankle surgery. Moore and Schaefering are products of coach Eric Mangini’s extra practice sessions — opportunity periods — after the regular practices. They are open to rookies and free agents. Moore and Schaefering seemed to come out of nowhere at the end of last season to have some productive games. Moore caught 12 passes in the final five games, averaging 13.2 yards per catch.
4. The Browns used Jerome Harrison a lot on screens and short passes. He looked sharp. It’s easy to forget that he tied with Mohammed Massaquoi for the team lead last season with 34 catches. But in his last three monster games (500 yards rushing), he caught only four passes as they stopped using him as a receiver. It seems throwing to the backs might be some of the West Coast element that Mike Holmgren has brought to the offense.
5. Marcus Benard showed some real speed rushing from his outside linebacker spot. Another opportunity period graduate, Benard had 3.5 sacks in the final four games. With restricted free agent Matt Roth not here (Matt, not a smart move), Benard and Jason Trusnik are getting a lot of work at outside linebacker.
6. Linebacker Chris Gocong looks like he can’t wait to put on full pads and hit someone. He is all over the field, very at home in the 3-4 defense.
7. Seneca Wallace and Delhomme both look like solid, experience quarterbacks. You don’t see many poor throws, either in terms of heaving the ball into coverage or missing wide open receivers. Rookie Colt McCoy is not seeing much action as the coaches wisely are working their two main QBs into the new offense.
8. The Browns ran some plays with the ball on their own 1-yard line with Wallace at quarterback. His ability to scramble and turn a quick corner around end makes him very effective in getting the ball away from the shadow of their own goal posts.