Cleveland56
Situational Stopper
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My doctor just sent me this...
The torn patellar tendon suffered by Cleveland Browns free-agent acquisition LeCharles Bentley on Thursday certainly takes some of the wind out of the sails of an up-and-coming franchise.
All the news had been positive of late in Cleveland, with an aggressive big-dollar offseason and a promising new regime charting the course. But now the franchise has suffered another in a long line of unfortunate setbacks. First Kellen Winslow was lost for most of his rookie season. Then Winslow went down again last year. Then wide receiver Braylon Edwards had his rookie season cut short. Now Bentley. This team can't get a break.
General manager Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennell have done a tremendous job of transforming the Browns' roster and upgrading the overall talent. Positive steps have been taken in assuring the players they can become winners, but this season-ending injury is more than just a speed bump on that road for 2006.
The Browns' offensive line has been sub-par since the franchise rejoined the league, but the free-agent additions a year ago of two legitimate starting guards in Cosey Coleman and Joe Andruzzi and the signings of left tackle Kevin Shaffer and Bentley this offseason made the starting line unit more than respectable. Those four, along with right tackle Ryan Tucker, had the makings of a better-than-average unit as they played together and gained continuity. Bentley would have been the leader and best player of the group by far -- not to mention the one making all the line calls and adjustments. This five-some looked fine on paper and had the makings of a solid group -- now there are serious concerns.
The Browns also signed Bob Hallen to be a backup interior lineman with the thought that he would bring valuable experience and versatility. He will have the first opportunity to take over for Bentley and doesn't look to have much competition at this point to become the starting center. Hallen is an average athlete, isn't real powerful and lacks the bulk to bang with massive nosetackles play after play and week after week. But he is smart and technically sound.
Hallen is a long way from being in Bentley's class, but Cleveland also could be much worse off. The Browns were wise to bring in a veteran backup, but the loss of Bentley means the team's offensive line goes from being probably in the top half of the league to now being quite average and without star power. Depth is a glaring problem, and additional injury to their line could be crippling.
Hallen certainly will need much more help from Coleman and Andruzzi in both the running and passing games than Bentley would have. Hallen can be manhandled by massive defensive tackles. In a division that features Pro Bowl nosetackle Casey Hampton in Pittsburgh and now Sam Adams and Haloti Ngata in Baltimore, Hallen will more than have his hands full purely from a physical standpoint. Also, because Bentley is a far superior athlete to Hallen and excelled at blocking on the move, pulling, getting to the edge and hitting a moving target, Cleveland will be more limited with its blocking schemes and play-calling options, particularly in the running game.
Cleveland's offseason plan was to trust second-year quarterback Charlie Frye to run the offense while hopefully developing into a solid starting quarterback. Of course, that's a lot to ask of a young signal caller, so the Browns wisely spent big money and added an impressive group of blockers and receivers to surround Frye. The loss of Bentley will make Frye's maturation all the more difficult. He can expect a lot more blitzes up the middle, less room to step into his throws and plenty of hands in his face and helmets on his chin in Bentley's absence.
The fact that the injury happened so early in camp does work in the Browns' favor, though. At the very least it allows time for the linemen and coaches to learn each others' tendencies, strengths and weaknesses. But Hallen's strengths are no where near Bentley's. Bentley is a rarity, one of the few centers in the league who makes the four players around him better on nearly every snap. Now this average group of tackles and guards will have to compensate for Hallen.
At this time of year, there are not a lot of top players sitting at home waiting for a call, and those who are at home surely have some warts, but the Browns are not completely out of options. Two players who possibly could get a call from Cleveland are Cory Raymer and Jeff Mitchell. Both veteran centers are tough, knowledgeable and have valuable starting experience. When right, Mitchell is the better of the two, but he needs to prove he can pass a physical before any team would considering adding him to the roster.
The torn patellar tendon suffered by Cleveland Browns free-agent acquisition LeCharles Bentley on Thursday certainly takes some of the wind out of the sails of an up-and-coming franchise.
All the news had been positive of late in Cleveland, with an aggressive big-dollar offseason and a promising new regime charting the course. But now the franchise has suffered another in a long line of unfortunate setbacks. First Kellen Winslow was lost for most of his rookie season. Then Winslow went down again last year. Then wide receiver Braylon Edwards had his rookie season cut short. Now Bentley. This team can't get a break.
General manager Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennell have done a tremendous job of transforming the Browns' roster and upgrading the overall talent. Positive steps have been taken in assuring the players they can become winners, but this season-ending injury is more than just a speed bump on that road for 2006.
The Browns' offensive line has been sub-par since the franchise rejoined the league, but the free-agent additions a year ago of two legitimate starting guards in Cosey Coleman and Joe Andruzzi and the signings of left tackle Kevin Shaffer and Bentley this offseason made the starting line unit more than respectable. Those four, along with right tackle Ryan Tucker, had the makings of a better-than-average unit as they played together and gained continuity. Bentley would have been the leader and best player of the group by far -- not to mention the one making all the line calls and adjustments. This five-some looked fine on paper and had the makings of a solid group -- now there are serious concerns.
The Browns also signed Bob Hallen to be a backup interior lineman with the thought that he would bring valuable experience and versatility. He will have the first opportunity to take over for Bentley and doesn't look to have much competition at this point to become the starting center. Hallen is an average athlete, isn't real powerful and lacks the bulk to bang with massive nosetackles play after play and week after week. But he is smart and technically sound.
Hallen is a long way from being in Bentley's class, but Cleveland also could be much worse off. The Browns were wise to bring in a veteran backup, but the loss of Bentley means the team's offensive line goes from being probably in the top half of the league to now being quite average and without star power. Depth is a glaring problem, and additional injury to their line could be crippling.
Hallen certainly will need much more help from Coleman and Andruzzi in both the running and passing games than Bentley would have. Hallen can be manhandled by massive defensive tackles. In a division that features Pro Bowl nosetackle Casey Hampton in Pittsburgh and now Sam Adams and Haloti Ngata in Baltimore, Hallen will more than have his hands full purely from a physical standpoint. Also, because Bentley is a far superior athlete to Hallen and excelled at blocking on the move, pulling, getting to the edge and hitting a moving target, Cleveland will be more limited with its blocking schemes and play-calling options, particularly in the running game.
Cleveland's offseason plan was to trust second-year quarterback Charlie Frye to run the offense while hopefully developing into a solid starting quarterback. Of course, that's a lot to ask of a young signal caller, so the Browns wisely spent big money and added an impressive group of blockers and receivers to surround Frye. The loss of Bentley will make Frye's maturation all the more difficult. He can expect a lot more blitzes up the middle, less room to step into his throws and plenty of hands in his face and helmets on his chin in Bentley's absence.
The fact that the injury happened so early in camp does work in the Browns' favor, though. At the very least it allows time for the linemen and coaches to learn each others' tendencies, strengths and weaknesses. But Hallen's strengths are no where near Bentley's. Bentley is a rarity, one of the few centers in the league who makes the four players around him better on nearly every snap. Now this average group of tackles and guards will have to compensate for Hallen.
At this time of year, there are not a lot of top players sitting at home waiting for a call, and those who are at home surely have some warts, but the Browns are not completely out of options. Two players who possibly could get a call from Cleveland are Cory Raymer and Jeff Mitchell. Both veteran centers are tough, knowledgeable and have valuable starting experience. When right, Mitchell is the better of the two, but he needs to prove he can pass a physical before any team would considering adding him to the roster.
