A few characteristically unminced words from Tony Grossi’s chat today on the Browns positional battles:
- With ILB Chaun Thompson on the sidelines with a calf injury, “I really believe he’s never gonna get back in there as a starter again.” Second-round pick D’Qwell Jackson will take his place. “I think he is the real deal, and I think he’ll be there starting from Game One.”
- As for the RB competition, clearly Reuben Droughns will start, and rookie Jerome Harrison will make the team as a third-down back. As for William Green and Lee Suggs, “One of those two I can’t see making the team.” Grossi thinks — and I agree — that the keeper is Suggs. “If he gets through this camp healthy, he’s definitely one of the three best running backs on this team, and there’s no reason to trade him.” Acknowledging that the “coaches have fallen in love with William as a practice player,” he said Suggs wouldn’t yield enough to be worth trading away. “I don’t think you trade Suggs just to get a sixth-round draft pick for him, and that’s all you’re gonna get.”
- Who will win the starting strong safety spot? “Pool is more instinctive, he’s more fluid, he’s more near the ball than Sean Jones, and all of those factors to me indicate that he’s on the way to being the starter.”
- While quarterback and even cornerback have become suddenly thin, “Depth at guard and center right now is horrible. It’s scary.” To improve to 8-8 is not too much to expect, but “any more injuries on the offensive line and all bets are off” The move of Andrew “Keg” Hoffman from DL to guard is “desperation on the Browns’ part.” He noted such conversions have worked in the past, even invoking the specter of Chad Beasley’s once-hopeful Browns career, which was derailed by a broken ankle. (Beasley, by the way, started all ten games for Berlin this spring, made All-NFL Europe, and is practicing with the Carolina Panthers.)
