Cleveland Browns training camp comes to a close with a fiery practice
August 18, 2013Tribe Weekend Recap: Missed opportunities spawn series loss in Oakland
August 19, 2013
While We’re Waiting is the daily morning link roundup that WFNY has been serving up for breakfast for the last several years. We hope you enjoy the following recent collection of yummy and nutritious Cleveland sports-related articles. Anything else to add? Email us at tips@waitingfornextyear.com.
“Inside linebacker Craig Robertson looks like the real deal. Against St. Louis he managed to cover speedy slot receiver Tavon Austin well down the field. Against the Lions, Robertson covered running back Reggie Bush out of the backfield, and broke up a pass intended for receiver Nate Burleson. A linebacker who can cover speedy backs and receivers without help is a defensive coordinator’s best friend, and a player as rare as a new mom without a Facebook page. People are starting to find out why Defensive Coordinator Ray Horton has been effusive in praising the third-year linebacker. Robertson has been far more impressive thus far that his more heralded teammate D’Qwell Jackson.” [Higdon/DraftBrowns]
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Wow. Breaking down the tape of the post game handshakes? “In all seriousness, the connection is this: Hillard was signed by the Browns late during training camp of the 2009 season, and later made the team’s practice squad as an offensive tackle. I’m sure Thomas and Hilliard were reminiscing about the good old days of Eric Mangini’s practices, including what Nate Jackson said about them in Cleveland Scene. In fact, Hilliard and Jackson were two of the three players signed on that glorius day of August 25, 2009. The other player signed that day, S Tra Battle, played four years in the UFL after that.” [Pokorny/Dawgs by Nature]
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“Ryan Shazier comes in at Number Four in our Best of the B1G list. Ryan Shazier, outside linebacker for the Ohio State Buckeyes brings athleticism and a ballhawking mentality to the Ohio State defense. Ryan, a 6’2″ 222 pound junior will anchor Ohio State’s front seven, bringing the most game time experience and big play making ability to the unit. He averaged 9.7 tackles per game and accounted for five sacks, three forced fumbles, and one interception last season. He was All-Big Ten and an honorable mention All-American in 2012 and has been named to the All-American First Team by SI.com. He is key to Ohio State’s success and has had two seasons of success under his belt with pressure to mirror his past accomplishments.” [Men of the Scarlet and Gray]
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Here’s a good jersey redo. “Forgive this Jets fan for turning his Darrelle Revis jersey into something a bit more apropos considering what could well be a rebuilding year for the Jets. Revis, traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in April, was a fan favorite and considered the best player in franchise history since Joe Namath. A little masking tape, and that “Revis” on the back became “Refund.” [Dyer/Shutdown Corner]
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Oof. “Houston rookie safety D.J. Swearinger hit Keller low as Keller tried to bring in a pass, and he hit Keller on the knee with devastating results. Keller is out for the season. ESPN reported Keller tore his ACL, PCL and MCL, and also dislocated his knee. The Miami Herald reported doctors fear nerve damage in the knee as well. This injury could possibly end Keller’s career.
Swearinger said he went low on Keller because going high often draws a fine. “I was making a hit playing football,” Swearinger told the Palm Beach Post. “In this league you’ve got to go low. If you go high you’re going to get a fine.” Swearinger went on to say the league’s focus on protecting heads and not knees is wrong.” [Schwab/Yahoo!]
34 Comments
The UFL was around for 4 years?!
we STILL have almost 3 weeks until real football? ugh.
You remember the XFL? Haha
Knees are the new heads?
I don’t know if this was covered elsewhere so I apologize if I missed it, but is there a way to get rid of the “Share” thingy that is blocking the middle of my text?
For laptop/desktop: get the AdBlockerPlus plugin for Firefox, and add sharethis.com as a filter.
If you are reading on a phone or tablet, I have no idea. And it is much much worse on the phone/tablet.
iPhone. Bugger.
I really tried to get into that, but in the end I just didn’t know enough obscure college players to enjoy watching them on the next level, even if they did get to put their own nicknames on their jerseys.
The Dolphins desperately needed to upgrade the talent around Tannehill on offense, and Keller was a big part of their attempt to do so. I’m not a believer in Tannehill, but regardless that loss is really going to sting. I see this season for the Dolphins basically mimicking last year’s season for the Browns where the defense will be decent, but the offense will struggle… let’s say 6-10 since they have 4 games against the Jets and Bills.
Regarding your DB question… Busta Rhymes, LL Cool J, Coolio, Method Man, and B-Real all agree that you should do both.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4_3PVFSUxE
Ha – I actually noticed the Weeden/Cooper/Pettigrew group as I was walking down the stands, that’s funny to read. As dorky as it is, I do always wonder about some of the post-game groupings.
Yeah it was pretty awful. What about the Bikini Football League? I don’t know how I could ever justify watching that in my house with my kids/wife around (not that I would reallly want to anyway.
I loved the XFL, LOL But I was also a huge fan of the WWF/WWE.
My first ever yahoo account was xfl2001fan (and I pretty much use that as my internet handle when I am not required to use Facebook to log in to sites.)
There are several other female football leagues available to watch…though it comes across as looking like a High School football game (and a small school version of it at that.)
Female sports are hard for me to watch because of the speed/athleticism compared to male sports.
plenty of good college FB on weekend of 29-31
Jets, Bills, Dolphins, Patriots…wonder who will win that division. Will te Pats be resting some of the starters for the PO in week 1?
Yes…at least with watching WNBA, you get a more team-oriented basketball game. Almost everything else is tough for me.
The only one that I can handle is the US women’s soccer team. At first they look super slow compared to the men, but your eyes adjust after a few minutes and you can start to see the skill they play with… it’s pretty impressive.
not only that but you had to remember the obscure college football player’s nickname too? way too much effort.
I’d say “some” not plenty 🙂
too many devouring of cupcakes in the early schedule for most teams
I want to get excited about the Alabama/VT game on the 31st… my heart thinks it’s going to be a great game, but my head knows otherwise. Thankfully, my blasphemous friend from college is having his wedding at the exact same time as the game and I’ll be spared from watching the disassembling of my team.
Umm, well maybe Saban has had too much time to prepare? He struggles when given time to prepare for an opponent, right? Oh, no. Well, yeah, thankfully you can keep to just checking your phone during the vows.
I’m supposed to read a passage during the ceremony. I’m debating leaving my phone in the car so I don’t let out any cuss words during the reading.
May you both be blessed in life and resist the temptations of Saban. Amen.
I will agree with you there. Actually womens softball is pretty wicked too. They can really chuck that ball underhanded!
Which is funny, because heads had just arrived as the new knees. The circle of life, my friend.
“Swearinger went on to say the league’s focus on protecting heads and not knees is wrong.”
Yes, and no. The league is possibly overdoing it on the “protection” in this game…but if you look at all the lawsuits that are coming about, can you blame them? They have a business to run…and their investment comes at the cost of grown men’s bodies. They need to do some of what they can. I think they’ve over done it…but that just seems to be how our society works out.
There is also certainly something “less” troubling about a football player limping in his old age than a football player drooling, stumbling, or mumbling in his old age, or worse yet, not making it to old age.
Even though you know that concussions and brain injuries are part of the game, most players that I have known (and I was one myself) automatically and perpetually contemplate a career-ending knee injury. Right or wrong, the knee injury is the “accepted” risk of the game. No so with brain injuries, even though they are far more destructive (and frankly should end more careers than they do).
In this regard, and as brutal as it sounds, I think the league is correct in “choosing” brains over knees.
yes I love their…skillz!
Don’t make me lay the smackdown on ya!
Buffalo will be key to OSU’s season!
Why do you say that?
IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOU SAY!!!
I’m not disagreeing with you there. In fact, my thoughts around the league “overdoing it” are mostly hinged around the protection of QB and “Defenseless WRs”. LOL
That being said, if the league truly cared about players, they’d require them to use “concussion proof” helmets and better mouth guards too. That alone could help stymie some of the mess that they’re in.
I think if they directed the majority of their focus in the gear, they’d see a bigger improvement in player safety than some of these crazy rules they have in place.