Mr. Miyagi
08-23-2006, 12:40 PM
Sucks to be them :laughter:
Number of Cleveland Browns centers injured, suspended or retired -- or some combination of the above -- in the last 25 days: six.
Number of centers traded for: one.
Number of centers worked out by the team: four.
Number of free-agent centers signed since the start of camp: three.
Number of depth-chart combinations at center since July 26: eight.
The other day, in Los Angeles with my breakfast java, Cleveland general manager Phil Savage said into my telephonic earpiece, "Hey, if you see any centers out there hanging around Starbucks, we're interested. Very interested.''
It's possible that there has never been this kind of upheaval at one position in the first month of a training camp. No records are kept on such things, but follow the bouncing depth chart:
The Browns open camp with a depth chart of LeCharles Bentley, Bob Hallen and Rob Smith.
July 27: Bentley, in the first hour of his first practice after signing a six-year, $36 million free-agent deal last winter, tears a patella tendon and is out for the year.
July 29: Unemployed center Alonzo Ephraim, who has never started an NFL game at center and is fresh off being up all night in Alabama as his girlfriend delivered Alonzo Ephraim II, signs at 1 p.m. Depth chart: Hallen, Ephraim, Smith.
July 31: Savage gets word that Ephraim is in the NFL's substance-abuse program and, if he makes the team, will have to miss the first four games of the season on suspension. The Browns didn't know this when they signed Ephraim and are chagrined, to say the least.
Aug. 5: Savage holds auditions for four centers at the team's camp in Berea, Ohio. He signs former Tampa Bay backup Todd Washington. Depth chart: Hallen, Ephraim, Washington, Smith.
Aug 6: Washington tells coach Romeo Crennel that his heart isn't in it and retires. For insurance, Savage signs Arena League center Mike Mabry, a Jon Bon Jovi employee with the Philadelphia Soul. Depth chart: Hallen, Ephraim, Smith, Mabry.
Aug. 8: A day after leaving the team to have his aching back examined, Hallen calls Crennel to tell him his heart, too, isn't in it. He, too, retires. Savage talks with the Dolphins about backup center Seth McKinney and believes he can make a deal for McKinney if need be. He puts the deal on hold to see what else he can do. Depth chart: Ephraim, Smith, Mabry.
Aug. 9: Savage is interested in Eagles backup Hank Fraley, but two phone calls to the Eagles aren't returned. (Philly wouldn't have traded Fraley anyway; the Eagles don't know if presumed starter Jamaal Jackson will make it through the season healthy, and Fraley is cheap insurance if he doesn't win the job.) So the Browns trade a conditional pick to New England for versatile offensive lineman Ross Tucker. Depth chart: Ephraim, Smith, Tucker, Mabry.
Aug. 10: In the team's first preseason game, at Philadelphia, the center who might have been having the best camp of anyone at the position, Smith, a rookie free agent from Tennessee, suffers a high ankle sprain. He's out at least two weeks. Depth chart: Ephraim, Tucker, Mabry.
Aug. 11: The Browns learn the McKinney option with Miami is dead. McKinney has undergone season-ending back surgery after being hurt in practice earlier in the week.
Aug. 16: The NFL makes it official: Ephraim is suspended for the first four games of the season.
"What's your depth chart now?'' I asked Savage.
"I think now it would be Tucker, Ephraim -- although he wouldn't be able to play for us early -- and Mabry," he said. "Smith should be back soon. We've got three weeks to get that straight, and we'll probably use all three weeks to do it. It's very possible the final solution is not in our building yet. We've got some time.''
Time he's got. Sanity? That's another issue.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/peter_king/08/20/mmqb/2.html
Number of Cleveland Browns centers injured, suspended or retired -- or some combination of the above -- in the last 25 days: six.
Number of centers traded for: one.
Number of centers worked out by the team: four.
Number of free-agent centers signed since the start of camp: three.
Number of depth-chart combinations at center since July 26: eight.
The other day, in Los Angeles with my breakfast java, Cleveland general manager Phil Savage said into my telephonic earpiece, "Hey, if you see any centers out there hanging around Starbucks, we're interested. Very interested.''
It's possible that there has never been this kind of upheaval at one position in the first month of a training camp. No records are kept on such things, but follow the bouncing depth chart:
The Browns open camp with a depth chart of LeCharles Bentley, Bob Hallen and Rob Smith.
July 27: Bentley, in the first hour of his first practice after signing a six-year, $36 million free-agent deal last winter, tears a patella tendon and is out for the year.
July 29: Unemployed center Alonzo Ephraim, who has never started an NFL game at center and is fresh off being up all night in Alabama as his girlfriend delivered Alonzo Ephraim II, signs at 1 p.m. Depth chart: Hallen, Ephraim, Smith.
July 31: Savage gets word that Ephraim is in the NFL's substance-abuse program and, if he makes the team, will have to miss the first four games of the season on suspension. The Browns didn't know this when they signed Ephraim and are chagrined, to say the least.
Aug. 5: Savage holds auditions for four centers at the team's camp in Berea, Ohio. He signs former Tampa Bay backup Todd Washington. Depth chart: Hallen, Ephraim, Washington, Smith.
Aug 6: Washington tells coach Romeo Crennel that his heart isn't in it and retires. For insurance, Savage signs Arena League center Mike Mabry, a Jon Bon Jovi employee with the Philadelphia Soul. Depth chart: Hallen, Ephraim, Smith, Mabry.
Aug. 8: A day after leaving the team to have his aching back examined, Hallen calls Crennel to tell him his heart, too, isn't in it. He, too, retires. Savage talks with the Dolphins about backup center Seth McKinney and believes he can make a deal for McKinney if need be. He puts the deal on hold to see what else he can do. Depth chart: Ephraim, Smith, Mabry.
Aug. 9: Savage is interested in Eagles backup Hank Fraley, but two phone calls to the Eagles aren't returned. (Philly wouldn't have traded Fraley anyway; the Eagles don't know if presumed starter Jamaal Jackson will make it through the season healthy, and Fraley is cheap insurance if he doesn't win the job.) So the Browns trade a conditional pick to New England for versatile offensive lineman Ross Tucker. Depth chart: Ephraim, Smith, Tucker, Mabry.
Aug. 10: In the team's first preseason game, at Philadelphia, the center who might have been having the best camp of anyone at the position, Smith, a rookie free agent from Tennessee, suffers a high ankle sprain. He's out at least two weeks. Depth chart: Ephraim, Tucker, Mabry.
Aug. 11: The Browns learn the McKinney option with Miami is dead. McKinney has undergone season-ending back surgery after being hurt in practice earlier in the week.
Aug. 16: The NFL makes it official: Ephraim is suspended for the first four games of the season.
"What's your depth chart now?'' I asked Savage.
"I think now it would be Tucker, Ephraim -- although he wouldn't be able to play for us early -- and Mabry," he said. "Smith should be back soon. We've got three weeks to get that straight, and we'll probably use all three weeks to do it. It's very possible the final solution is not in our building yet. We've got some time.''
Time he's got. Sanity? That's another issue.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/peter_king/08/20/mmqb/2.html