HOUSTON — The Browns thought they had good depth at running back this year. Well, today they go into their game against the Houston Texans with a tandem of Chris Ogbannaya and Thomas Clayton.

Regular backs Peyton Hillis (hamstring) and Montario Hardesty (calf) did not even make the trip. Brandon Jackson, who was supposed to be the third-down back when camp opened, has been out for the year following surgery on a turf toe injury suffered in training camp.

Other Browns inactives today: quarterback Thad Lewis, cornerback Dimitri Patterson (knee), safety Ray Ventrone, center Steve Vallos and defensive end Auston English.

Rookie Buster Skrine will play the slot receiver for Patterson in the nickel defense.

The good news for the Browns is that the prolific Texans offense will be without Pro Bowl wide receiver Andre Johnson (hamstring).

Other Houston inactives: quarterback T.J. Yates, cornerback Brandon Harris, safety Danieal Manning, guard Thomas Austin, guard Andrew Gardner and tight end Garrett Graham.

Jacoby Jones will start for Johnson at wide receiver and Troy Nolan will start for Manning.

The Texans also made a point of listing ex-Brown Lawrence Vickers as the starting fullback ahead of James Casey.

There is the quick update of the day.

Fullback Lawrence Vickers is excited to play against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. Vickers, now with the Houston Texans, says he’s “geeked up” and very excited to play against his old team.

Vickers was one of the keys to the Browns’ rushing game last season with his punishing blocks. He led the way for Peyton Hillis last season. But the Browns decided to draft Owen Marecic instead of signing Vickers.

Do the Browns miss Vickers?

How much do the Browns miss Lawrence Vickers?

What are your opinions.

BEREA — Players and coaches quietly hustled in and out of the Cleveland Browns training facility Friday.

But quiet was the order of the day.

As other teams scrambled to add players and make headlines, the Browns did not announce any signings after 6 p.m. Friday, the time at which NFL teams were allowed to make moves.

General manager Tom Heckert advised earlier in the week not to expect the Browns to make a big splash in the free-agent pool.

Turns out, he was right.

“If there’s a good player, we’re going to go after him,” Heckert said, “but we’re not going to just go out and sign a bunch of guys because there’s a bunch of guys available.”

It was anticipated, however, Cleveland would announce the signing of draft picks. That did not happen, but Heckert has said he and team president Mike Holmgren intend to build through the draft and are proud of this year’s series of picks.

Despite their silence, the Browns appear to have come to terms with all of their choices except their No. 1, Baylor defensive lineman Phil Taylor. Defensive end Jayme Mitchell has all but re-signed to a two-year deal.

But on the eve of new coach Pat Shurmur’s much-awaited first practice, still nothing was official.

It’s still uncertain if running back Brandon Jackson is coming to Cleveland from Green Bay, which has been mentioned this week. Jackson would be a welcome addition as a player with significant postseason experience.

He had his best year in 2010 at Green Bay, rushing for 703 yards on 190 carries. He also caught 43 passes for 342 yards.

On the Packers’ postseason run to a Super Bowl title, he averaged 4.3 yards on 16 carries and 9.6 yards on eight receptions in four games.

Meanwhile, the fate of veteran kicker Phil Dawson still was up in the air. The Browns’ all-time leader in field goals, and the lone remaining member of the 1999 expansion team, figured his career in Cleveland was done after last year’s 5-11 finish. Then the Browns designated him the franchise player in February, and Heckert has held conversations with the 36-year-old this week.

If and when Dawson returns, he will play for his sixth coach in Cleveland. At least three different management teams have spoken with him about a possible long-term deal, but were out the door before negotiations became serious. Dawson never complained publicly, and instead went out and posted an 82-percent accuracy on field goals. That is good for 10th in NFL history.

When the Browns announce their additions, they’ll have to work quickly. Shurmur intends to install a West Coast offense and change the defense to feature four down linemen, instead of four linebackers.

Perhaps fourth-round choice Owen Marecic, of Stanford, can help in both areas. Drafted as a fullback to possibly replace free-agent Lawrence Vickers, Marecic’s claim to fame is scoring twice in 13 seconds on both sides of the ball in 2010..

Against Notre Dame on Sept. 25, Marecic rushed for a 1-yard touchdown, then grabbed his first career interception as a linebacker and took it back 20 yards for another score in Stanford’s 37-14 win.

Cleveland opens the preseason at home Aug. 13 against the Packers. They open the regular season at home Sept. 11 against Cincinnati.

That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Beginning 10 a.m. Tuesday, the Browns will finally have a chance to improve their roster through trades and free agency, but they’ve been cautioning fans for months not to expect an overhaul in what promises to be a frenzied week.

“We won’t go gung-ho in free agency,” General Manager Tom Heckert said recently. “Our philosophy is to build this team through the draft and that’s what we intend to do.”

On Tuesday, teams can make trades, sign drafted and undrafted rookies, and begin negotiating with free agents. They can start signing free agents — their own and others’ — Friday at 6 p.m.

As of Monday afternoon, the Browns weren’t expecting to make any trades, and were hoping to land two or three key free agents.

“We’ve been talking about our plan, the players [we want to pursue], for a long, long time,” Browns President Mike Holmgren said on the team’s radio show on WKNR. He said the team hopes to add “certain free agents that can come in and make an impact with us right away.”

He identified receiver, defensive line and cornerback as positions the Browns have identified, “but we will not go wholesale in free agency.”

Of the Browns’ 15 unrestricted free agents, there are several they’d like to re-sign and others they’ll let walk. Heckert traded for defensive end Jayme Mitchell last season and has already made it clear he wants him back. Mitchell, who was overlooked last season by coach Eric Mangini, is penciled in as the starting left end and is a better fit in the new 4-3.

The Browns will also try to re-sign cornerback Eric Wright, who was tendered in off-season, but is now an unrestricted free agent under the new collective bargaining agreement because of his four accrued seasons.

Wright, who’s coming off a tumultuous 2010 season in which he received death threats, has said he’d like to return. It’s not known if the Browns intend to pursue starting safety Abe Elam. If not, there are a number of good safeties available, including the Eagles’ Quintin Mikell, who was signed by Heckert as an undrafted free agent out of Boise State in 2003. Mikell, a great special teams player, went on to start for the Eagles at strong safety the past four seasons. In 2009, he made the Pro Bowl.

Some Browns not expected back include linebacker Matt Roth and fullback Lawrence Vickers. Roth has said he wants to play in a 3-4 and Vickers became expendable when the Browns drafted fullback Owen Marecic out of Stanford.

Defensive end Robaire Smith, another unrestricted free agent, said earlier this month that he’d like to re-sign with the Browns and is recovered from the spine bruise that landed him on injured reserve last season. Smith said reports of the injury being career-threatening were overblown and he feels as good as ever. Whether or not the Browns re-sign the 12th-year pro depends on their medical evaluation.

The Browns restricted third-year tight end Evan Moore in the off-season and would like to keep him. They would receive a second-round pick in 2012 if he signs elsewhere. They have yet to hear from kicker Phil Dawson, whom they franchised in March. If Dawson leaves, the Browns would receive two first-round picks in return.

Some big-name free agents who might fit their needs in addition to Mikell include Vikings receiver Sidney Rice, Vikings defensive end Ray Edwards, Panthers defensive end Charles Johnson, Bengals cornerback Johnathan Joseph, Chargers safety Eric Weddle, Ravens safety Dawan Landry and Colts safety Melvin Bullitt.

Rice underwent hip surgery last season and didn’t play until November, but had a sensational 2009, with 83 catches for 1,12 yards and eight TDs en route to the Pro Bowl. Edwards had eight sacks for the Vikings and Johnson had 11.5 for the Panthers.

Weddle, Landry and Bullitt are all starting-caliber safeties in their prime.

On Twitter: @marykaycabot

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CLEVELAND, Ohio — If all goes well over the next 48 hours, a “global settlement” of the four-month-old NFL labor dispute will be resolved by the weekend, thrusting the league back into business on a frenzied pace never seen before.

New rules will be announced governing the signings of undrafted free agents, veteran free agents and rookie draft picks. Teams will sort through their rosters and resume unfinished business with their own players. Trades will be made.

Virtually at the same time, players under contract will be reporting back to their clubs and preparing for an unusually quick turnaround to a compressed training camp and preseason.

“It’s doable,” said Browns President Mike Holmgren of the volume of work ahead. “Is it challenging? Absolutely, it’s going to be challenging. But it is what it is.

“You can either stress over it or roll up your sleeves and do the best you can. We’ve got a hard-working group of guys who are pretty sharp. They’ve been working on it now, from what I understand, in this off-season. We’ll be as ready as anybody.

“Believe me, we’ve been in endless meetings about [forthcoming player transactions] so that when it actually does happen, we’ll be ready to go. But it’ll be wild, you know that.”

Based on national reports of the ongoing settlement negotiations, the immediate order of events could unfold this way:

• Wednesday: NFL Players Association executive committee members meet with team player reps and discuss the voting process to approve the settlement. The settlement would pass with a vote of 50 percent plus one.

• Thursday: NFL team owners meet in Atlanta to review the official settlement documents and vote on approval. It needs 75 percent approval — 24 votes among 32 teams — to clear the final hurdle to resuming football business.

• Thursday and Friday: Team executives attend NFL seminar in Atlanta to be schooled on the new rules on salary cap, rookie wage scale, player transactions and other key terms of the deal. Up to four personnel executives per club plus owners will attend.

• Weekend: Teams may resume contact with players and agents.

• Monday (tentative): A three-day window is opened for teams to negotiate exclusively with their own potential free agents.

The Browns’ free agents are: running back Mike Bell, linebacker Blake Costanzo, kicker Phil Dawson (franchised under old rules), safety Abram Elam, defensive end Jayme Mitchell, tight end Evan Moore (tendered as restricted under old rules), defensive end Derrick Robinson, linebacker Matt Roth, tight end Alex Smith, defensive end Robaire Smith, safety Nick Sorensen, receiver Chansi Stuckey, linebacker Jason Trusnik, fullback Lawrence Vickers, offensive lineman Floyd Womack, cornerback Eric Wright (tendered as restricted under old rules), and offensive lineman Billy Yates.

• Monday: Teams can begin negotiating with and signing undrafted free agents and rookie draft picks. Trades may begin.

According to NFLdraftscout.com, the highest-ranked players by position not drafted are: Pierre Allen, Nebraska (defensive end); Ian Williams, Notre Dame (defensive tackle); Deunta Williams, North Carolina (free safety); DeAndre McDaniel, Clemson (strong safety); Terrence Toliver, Louisiana State (receiver); Kris O’Dowd, Southern Cal (center), Zach Hurd, Connecticut (guard); Pat Devlin, Delaware (quarterback); Adrian Moten, Maryland (outside linebacker); Mario Harvey, Marshall (inside linebacker); Ryan Jones, NW Missouri State (cornerback); Derrick Locke, Kentucky (running back); Willie Smith, East Carolina (offensive tackle).

• July 28: Unrestricted free agency begins. The exact number of players available won’t be known until owners and players agree on terms of free agency.

• July 30: Browns training camp scheduled to open.

On Twitter: @TonyGrossi

That’s all for today.

Thanks for visiting our blog =).

Could a backfield of Peyton Hillis and Montario Hardesty be a secret weapon for the Cleveland Browns in 2011? Browns president Mike Holmgren is intrigued by the possibility.

“I could get real excited about that,” Holmgren said this week. “That’s a good combination for this reason: I think they both have excellent ball skills, catching the ball and running skills. So you don’t have to have one guy as the runner, one guy as the catcher, one guy as the blocker, you don’t have to do that.”

Peyton Hillis

#40 RB
Cleveland Browns

2010 STATS

• Rush270
• Yds1177
• TD11
• Rec61
• Yds477
• TD2

The Browns, who finished 5-11 last season, need all the help they can get to close the gap with the Baltimore Ravens (12-4) and Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) in the AFC North. Holmgren and general manager Tom Heckert joined the Browns one year ago with a significant talent deficit. But the pair did a good job of bringing good, young players to Cleveland last season.

Two of those additions were Hillis and Hardesty. Hillis was acquired in a trade with the Denver Broncos for quarterback Brady Quinn, and Hardesty was Cleveland’s second-round draft pick.

Hillis had a breakout season in 2010, rushing for 1,177 yards and scoring 13 total touchdowns. Hardesty showed promise in camps but suffered a season-ending knee injury in the final game of the preseason.

Next season, both players will start the year healthy. With fullback and pending free agent Lawrence Vickers’ future with Cleveland in doubt, you could see a lot of Hillis and Hardesty sharing the same backfield.

“They both have to be willing to do all those things for each other,” Holmgren explained. “If those are the two in the game at the same time, they have to block for each other and they have to do everything. I think they are capable of doing that. I hope I get a chance to see that.”

That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.

What do you guys think about this.

Published: Thursday, February 10, 2011, 11:41 AM     Updated: Thursday, February 10, 2011, 12:34 PM



 Updated at 12:30 p.m.

CLEVELAND — The Browns started their (biennial) roster overhaul by terminating the contracts of six players on Wednesday — DL Shaun Rogers, DL Kenyon Coleman, LB Eric Barton, LB David Bowens, TE Robert Royal and OT John St. Clair.

 All of the players are over 30 years old. And all but Rogers were signed to free agent contracts in 2009 by the Eric Mangini regime.

 More moves are in the works. Who’s likely to go? As a guide, here is a look at the roster and/or contract status of a number of key players from last year’s team.

 OFFENSE
 * QB Jake Delhomme, 36: Due a base salary of $5.4 million in the last of his two-year deal. His days of mentoring Colt McCoy appear over.

 * QB Seneca Wallace, 30: Unsigned. Might be the No. 1 backup and tutor McCoy in the West Coast offense if resigned. Might drum up interest elswhere when/if free agency begins.

 * LG Eric Steinbach, 30: Signed through 2012 at a yearly average of $6.08 million.

 * RG Floyd Womack, 32: Unsigned.

 * RT Tony Pashos, 30: Signed through 2012 at yearly average of $2.775 million. Will be the starting right tackle if fully recovered from season-ending ankle injury and surgery.

 * G-C Bill Yates, 30: Unsigned.

 * FB Lawrence Vickers, 27: Unsigned.

 * RB Mike Bell, 27: Unsigned.

 * WR Chansi Stuckey, 27: Unsigned.

 * TE Benjamin Watson, 30: Signed through 2012 at yearly average of $2.65 million.

 * TE Evan Moore, 26: Unsigned. Finished season on injured reserve with hip/groin injury.

 DEFENSE

 * NT Ahtyba Rubin, 24: Signed through 2011 for NFL fourth-year minimum of $555,000.

 * DE Robaire Smith, 33: Unsigned. Says he doesn’t plan to retire after back injury.

 * DE Brian Schaefering, 27: Unsigned.

 * DE Jayme Mitchell, 26: Unsigned.

 * LB Matt Roth, 28: Unsigned.

 * LB Chris Gocong, 27: Signed through 2011 for $1.7 million.

 * LB D’Qwell Jackson, 27: Unsigned.

 * LB Marcus Benard, 25: Unsigned.

 * LB Scott Fujita, 31: Signed through 2012 at yearly average of $3.025 million.

 * LB Jason Trusnik, 26: Unsigned.

 * CB Eric Wright, 25: Unsigned.

 * CB Sheldon Brown, 31: Signed through 2012 at yearly average of $3.4 million.

 * S Abram Elam, 29: Unsigned.

 SPECIALISTS

 * PK Phil Dawson, 36: Unsigned.

 * P Reggie Hodges, 28: Signed through 2012 at yearly average of $645,000.

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Published: Saturday, December 25, 2010, 10:20 PM     Updated: Saturday, December 25, 2010, 11:00 PM

BEREA, Ohio — Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis helped the sluggish Browns get their game faces on today for the 10-4 Ravens by calling out running back Peyton Hillis and his 144-yard game in the first meeting.

Among other things, Lewis said midweek of Hillis’ outburst on Sept. 26 that “even a blind cat will find a meal every once in while” and that “my son could’ve run the through the holes we gave him in Baltimore.”

The remarks weren’t lost on Browns fullback Lawrence Vickers.

“It was cute, Ray. Merry Christmas,” he said. “Whatever you’re doing, I hope it works for you.”

Vickers said Hillis, who was limited all week with a sore knee, told him about the remarks when he came in on Thursday morning and that they both laughed.

“When you get older, those hits take a toll,” said Vickers. “He can say whatever he wants, but we’re going to be there and we’re going to do what we do.”

Lewis also told reporters in Baltimore: “To be our team’s leader, it won’t happen again. I hope they understand that. We’re not coming in there to overlook them or [anything like that]. We definitely aren’t coming in there to give [Hillis] over 100 yards again. Hopefully, they can buckle up all their chinstraps, do whatever you need to do, but we’re definitely coming in to play a very physical football game.”

Browns center Alex Mack said the remarks were bulletin-board material.

“I’d say yeah, that’s why I wouldn’t want to say the same thing back,” said Mack. “I wouldn’t want to motivate another team. Of course we heard what he said, it’s hard not to. But it’s all a game you play. He’s trying to fire up his defense and it’s our job to prove him wrong.”

Browns coach Eric Mangini, who was with the Ravens when they drafted Lewis in 1996, knows there’s a method to Lewis’ madness.

“The great thing about Ray Lewis is he says those things and then he usually backs it up,” said Mangini. “Anybody can call their shot, it’s just whether or not they can back it up and Ray over time has been able to back it up. If you put it out there, you have to be able to go do it and he’s done it a lot of times. It’s no secret how impressive he is as a linebacker and as a leader. He’s amazing. He’s going to the Hall of Fame.”

Browns left tackle Joe Thomas, who will help try to hold off Ravens’ sack leader Terrell Suggs, acknowledged that Lewis’ remarks were the buzz in the building during the week.

“He’s a great player, and every time we play the Ravens we’ve got to buckle up the chinstraps,” Thomas said. “I don’t think this is going to be any different. They’re one of the most physical defenses in the NFL and they’ll be a lot better prepared this time for Peyton and the things we do. We’re going to have to execute better than we did in the first game if we want to get over that 100-yard mark.”

The Ravens head into the game with the NFL’s fifth-ranked run defense, allowing just 93.6 yards per game. Last week, they held the Saints to a season-low 27 yards. What’s more, they rarely allow a 100-yard rusher, which is another reason Hillis’ 144 is still sticking in their craw. The Ravens, who can clinch a playoff spot today for the third straight season, have allowed only six 100-yard running backs in their past 65 games and eight in their past 82.

But Lewis’ challenge may be just what the Browns need to approach the intensity of the Ravens, who can still win the AFC North if they win out and the Steelers lose to the Browns next week. The Browns are coming off back-to-back losses to the then 2-10 Bills and 2-11 Bengals, and players such as Colt McCoy and Hillis said the team has lacked intensity, energy and motivation at times.

“I do think we’ve lacked a little of energy the past two weeks,” said rookie T.J. Ward, who leads the Browns with 96 tackles. “But guys have seemed more uptempo this week, even though it’s been freezing. Hopefully it will translate to the field on Sunday.”

Ward said the Browns are confident heading into the game even though the Ravens are loaded with talent, including quarterback Joe Flacco, who’s 5-0 against the Browns and is the NFL’s seventh-ranked passer with a 94.8 passer rating.

“I think we have a really good shot at winning the game,” said Ward. “We definitely feel we can beat the best two teams in the division and have an improved record over last year.”

Ward said his confidence comes from the fact that the Browns are a top-10 defense in several key categories including points allowed (10th), red zone (sixth) and takeaways (third).

“If we play like we’re capable of playing, we can beat them,” Ward said.

Rookie Joe Haden, who came off the bench in the first meeting, agreed that the Browns need to pick it up a notch.

“We could play with a little more emotion,” he said. “We’ve been talking about it all week, that we really need to go out with a bang. We have nothing to lose. We’ve just got to fight for everything.”

As for Lewis’ remarks, Haden said: “Ray brings his own things, his dancing, his motor, his flair. We just have to go out and show our intensity by playing hard.”

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Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.

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