WASHINGTON (August 30, 2010) With two interceptions in the first three games, the Redskins top cornerback, DeAngelo Hall, became the first Redskins player with more than one interception in the preseason since safety Sean Taylor had three before the 2004 season. And the Redskins have gathered eight turnovers in the first three games.

Coach Mike Shanahan hired defensive coordinator Jim Haslett to revamp Washington’s defense, and Haslett changed the scheme from a 4-3 to a 3-4 in an effort to produce more turnovers.

So it appears the change in defensive philosophy has helped to make a difference in turnovers, right?

“It’s funny because everybody’s been making that the story,” Hall said the other day. “It ain’t that I don’t buy that, that the defense won’t make a difference, but we haven’t run any of Has’s defenses. We’ve been out there playing vanilla. Against Buffalo [when Hall had his first interception] it was man-to-man. This last game against the Jets [on Hall's second interception] it was the same defense we ran last year [in the red zone].”

ASHBURN, VA (August 18, 2010) There have been moments during training camp the last three weeks when Larry Johnson has looked more like the All-Pro running back from 2006 than the castoff who is with his third team in the last year.

Take yesterday morning’s practice, for example. Late in the two-hour session, Johnson took a handoff and ran straight toward the line of scrimmage. After two steps, though, he saw tight end Logan Paulsen seal the defender on the left edge of the line.

In an instant, Johnson changed direction and burst through the opening. He scampered about 30 yards before he was stopped.

This is the version of Johnson that the Washington Redskins are counting on this season. Even at age 30–which history shows is not kind to a running back’s physical skills–the club believes Johnson can team with incumbent Clinton Portis to comprise a running attack worthy of a playoff contender.

“I think everybody knows how Larry has played in the past and what he is capable of doing,” coach Mike Shanahan said. “I like what I saw in film last year, and that is one of the reasons of why he is here.”

Shanahan saw Johnson up close at his very best. Back in 2006, when life was quite different for both men, they were part of a rivalry that is about as far removed as possible from the Redskins’ sphere in the NFL.

As head coach of the Denver Broncos, Shanahan had to contend with Johnson twice during Johnson’s record-setting season for the Kansas City Chiefs. En route to an NFL single-season record 416 carries, Johnson averaged 4.6 yards on 61 carries in two games against Denver.

Fast forward to March, then, when Shanahan hit the free-agent market in search of a running back to pair with Portis, who is coming off an injury-shortened 2009.

Johnson was available, but only after a prolonged downfall that resulted from injury, behavioral problems and multiple assault-related arrests.

A contract holdout and a foot injury marred his 2007 season. He was suspended separately by the Chiefs and the NFL for a total of four games during the 2008 season for behavioral issues. And Kansas City finally released him last fall after a public blowup at new coach Todd Haley.

Johnson finished last season with Cincinnati. He averaged 4.4 yards per carry but scored no touchdowns in seven games.

Shanahan, with memories of Johnson’s heyday still fresh, signed him in March to an incentive-laden three-year contract that could be worth up to $14 million.

Now, Johnson seems to have seized his fresh start.

Team officials say he has been a model citizen since his arrival. A bit quiet? Yes. Delinquent? No.

“It has just been fun to come out here and compete with everybody and be around great names like Donovan McNabb and other guys like Santana Moss and Clinton,” Johnson said.

The dynamic for Johnson here is more like the one he experienced early in Kansas City, when he was the complement to Priest Holmes.

Johnson is sharing carries with Portis, and to a lesser extent Willie Parker, Ryan Torain and Keiland Williams. Johnson didn’t play in the preseason opener because Shanahan wanted to let Torain and Williams develop a rhythm.

Johnson didn’t mind. He’s expected to start Saturday’s game against Baltimore.

“You’ve got to do extra film work because obviously we don’t get to watch ourselves on tape every single day,” he said. “You have to do more film study and playbook study. But you’ve got to stay sharp in your mind and know what plays you need to work on or what you need to work on individually to be successful.”

For Johnson, that means pass protection. Safety Chris Horton breezed by him on a blitz from the right side yesterday in team drills.

What he appears to do exceptionally well, however, is run straight ahead with power. At 6-1, 235 pounds, he has taken on the nickname “Truck Stick,” a reference to how one can use the controller in the Madden football video game to deliver a big hit.

“If you be in his way–cameraman and all–he’ll run you over,” wideout Santana Moss said.

That’s Johnson’s plan, anyway. He’ll turn 31 in November, but he insists he feels as good as ever. After all, he has 755 fewer career carries than Portis.

No matter. He’ll have the chance to prove it on the field.

“You’ll know when you’re satisfied, and I’m not satisfied,” Johnson said. “So I won’t let my body or my brain give out on me.”

By Rich Campbell

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The APR is the method the NCAA uses to rate all Division I teams in regards to academic process. In an effort to improve transparency, the NCAA recently released individual coaches’ APR, determined by a program’s score while that coach was employed there.

“I think this is another example of how much growth and progress we’ve made in the four years we’ve been at MSU,” Tyndall said. “We’ve graduated seven of our eight seniors and the overall team APR continues to improve. All of the credit goes to our players, our coaching staff and Valerie Ousley our academic coordinator.”

Only six coaches ranked higher in improvement than Tyndall, and he was the only Ohio Valley Conference coach to rank in the top 25 in improvement.

In order to make the list, a coach had to have coached during the 2007-08 season and still must be employed by the same school today. Overall improvement was measured by subtracting the 2006-07 APR total from the 2008-09 total, even if the 2006-07 APR score was inherited from the coach’s predecessor.

MSUEagles.com

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“My kids are growing up — we just got one off to Georgetown — and my wife, she looked at me and said, ‘You know, you need to get out of the house,’ ” Atwater said, laughing heartily. “Football has been such a big part of my life and the time was right to try this to see what it would bring. I’ve had a great time.”

A great time in Mike Shanahan’s first training camp as head coach of the Washington Redskins, a training camp that has been wrapped in a little orange and blue heritage.

Atwater, Terrell Davis, Steve Beuerlein and Michael Pittman — former Broncos all — are interns on Shanahan’s coaching staff this summer. They have taken an entry-level, kick-the-tires, short-term job to see what coaching in the NFL is all about.

Davis and Pittman have been working with former Broncos running backs coach Bobby Turner, now a Redskins assistant. Beuerlein has worked with Shanahan and his son, Kyle, who is the Redskins’ offensive coordinator. Atwater said he has spent most of his time with Redskins secondary coach Bob Slowik and assistant secondary coach Steve Jackson. Slowik also is a former Broncos assistant.

“This is something that’s been in the back of my mind and Mike knows that,” said Beuerlein, who also is an NFL analyst on CBS broadcasts. “Depending on what happens with the broadcasting the next year or two, this is something I could pursue down the road. Mike invited me to come down, told me to spend a couple of weeks with us and see if you get the fever.”

Davis, one of the most decorated players in Broncos history, having won the league’s MVP award and been named the Super Bowl MVP, began the journey just more than a year ago.

Shanahan didn’t coach in 2009 after being fired by the Broncos, but he spent much of the year working out of a Centennial office building with Slowik, planning for his return to the NFL. Davis met Shanahan at his house to talk about the future.

“Basically I said at some point, I might look at coaching, just as part of a long discussion we had about a lot of things,” Davis said. “Then in the spring he called me to see if I would be interested in giving it a try, to do an internship to see what I thought, or how it would go.”

Said Atwater: “I played for Mike and I always knew he was extremely organized, but to sit in on the staff meetings and evaluations, it really opened my eyes up to the amount of detail. You always know Mike wants to win, but to see the organization, all of the moving pieces, basically to see how many people and how much effort it takes to build a well-oiled machine, has been something to see.”

Beuerlein said Shanahan bringing in so many of his former players as interns on the Washington coaching staff was part of the process of changing the culture at Redskins head-quarters during Shanahan’s first season as the team’s head coach.

All involved said the time spent in staff meetings has been a new frontier for them, that the interaction between players and coaches on the field is something they are familiar with and something they believed was their strong suit.

But when the newcomers’ time on the field is done — even the time spent meeting as a team or in position groups — that is when the curtain is pulled back.

“I never sat in on those meetings, obviously, as a player,” Atwater said. “And I knew how coaches handled their responsibilities, but to watch Mike and the other coaches evaluate the players, that was a whole other side of it.”

“(Shanahan) sets standards and he’s very strong in his convictions,” Beuerlein said. “Guys like Terrell and Steve, who know for a fact they want to get into coaching, what a great springboard into it right here, having this unique opportunity.”

By Jeff Legwold, The Denver Post

WASHINGTON D.C. (August 9, 2010)

Thomas scored the go-ahead touchdown in Super Bowl XLIV and the Saints never looked back after that. Roby also played a huge role in the victory on special teams where he gave his team great field position after his kick returns.

The meeting at the White House took place in the East Room, where Quarterback Drew Brees presented President Obama, the 44^th President, with a No. 44 Saints jersey. Obama commemorated the Champions with a speech in which he said the team “lifted up the hopes and the dreams of a shattered city in the wake of the ravages of Hurricane Katrina.”

The team spent the morning in Washington playing football with kids from the Boys and Girls Club. Later, they visited wounded troops and their families at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

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DENVER, CO (August 6, 2010) –

Okung will be the Seahawks’ new left tackle, replacing future Hall of Famer Walter Jones, who announced his retirement this offseason. Last season Okung only gave up two sacks in 326 pass plays with Oklahoma State and plans to play a large part in helping the Seahawks’ offensive line.

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Tate was a two-year starter at the University of Auburn. He finished his college career with over 1,900 rushing yards. Coming out of the combine with highly impressive numbers including the third fastest forty time among tailbacks (4.43), Tate will enter training camp third on the depth chart behind running backs Arian Foster and Steve Slaton.

Tate becomes the eighth of nine Texans draft picks to sign with the team.

Courtesy of Evan Silva, Pro Football Talk

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No, Cribbs doesn’t want to be featured on a mural in downtown Cleveland like James was before he chose to leave the Cavaliers and join the Miami Heat. But he doesn’t have a problem with becoming the most beloved sports figure in Northeast Ohio, either.

“I embrace it because I feel like some of the values I hold strong to myself are the same values that the city should hold strong to itself, and (it does),” Cribbs said Friday in a phone interview with the Akron Beacon Journal. “Not being drafted and coming from the bottom to reach the top is something that speaks for itself, and I think that’s what Cleveland is. . . . It’s one of the most loved cities and one of the most hard-working cities.”

Since James’ infamous decision, sports talk radio and Web sites have been buzzing about Cribbs, a Kent State University graduate, supplanting James as the area’s most popular athlete. Cribbs even took part in the conversation this past week via Twitter, when he posted a doctored picture of himself adorning the Landmark Office Tower, where a gigantic Nike banner of James hung for years across the street from the arena.

“I’m hurt. I would have loved to see (James) still be in a Cavaliers uniform and still root for him while he’s at the Q,” Cribbs said. “But I wish him the best.”

Although Cribbs concedes he was entertained by the picture on Twitter, he has other ideas for replacement murals.

“It should be something that signifies the city altogether,” Cribbs said. “Some people even on Twitter have said, ‘We don’t need a poster.’ But most people were feeling like they did because it feels like a void is there. But I think it should be something that unites the city, (a sign that reads) ‘Believeland’ or something like that, or a collective collage of all the sports or all the blue-collar people in Cleveland pulling together to reach one goal.”

As for the Browns and their goals as they prepare for the first full-squad practice of training camp on July 31, Cribbs said he and his teammates want to provide their fans with comfort by improving upon the team’s 5-11 record from last season. After all, Cribbs still believes he owes Browns fans for their support during his tumultuous contract negotiations that ultimately resulted in a restructured deal.

“I think we can rally around that idea (of lifting the fans’ spirits) and rally around our win streak that we went on last year,” said Cribbs, who also plays receiver and, on occasion, quarterback in the Wildcat formation. “Coming off the end of the season last year with a four-game win streak, that will give us momentum going into this season as well as the city thirsting for wins.

“I think we can rally off a compilation of things. It’s time for us to win, especially with (Browns President Mike) Holmgren coming in and (coach Eric) Mangini putting his (mark on the team). I think it’s a very good opportunity for us to grab hold of.”

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CLEVELAND, OH (JULY 17, 2010) When you think of the past greats who have donned the Cleveland Browns uniform, names such as Marion Motley, Otto Graham, Dante Lavelli, and Jim Brown come to mind.

Or perhaps you have fond memories of men like Ozzie Newsome, Paul Warfield, Brian Sipe, or Cleveland’s own sidearm super hero Bernie Kosar.

Through the Browns’ storied history, there have always been players who just seemed to make us stand up and cheer. These men not only embodied the Cleveland Browns, but were men who defined, and sometimes revolutionized the game of professional football.

Fans of the current incarnation of the Cleveland Browns should feel lucky, because no matter how bad the team may be at times, (and it has been very, very bad at times) we have the privilege of watching one of the greatest pure football players of a generation transform himself into a legend before our very eyes.

Joshua Cribbs’ NFL story is one of determination, hard work, and a will to overcome the odds. All are attributes of the blue collar city of Cleveland and of its beloved Browns.

Cribbs had a productive college career as quarterback for Kent State University, where he became the only player in NCAA history to lead his team in both passing and rushing for four different seasons. However, Cribbs was not selected in the 2005 NFL draft and found himself looking for work as an undrafted free agent.

Josh was invited to rookie mini camp by the Browns following the draft. After the team got a close look at his athleticism, football intelligence, and strong work ethic, there was no way that Cleveland would let Cribbs leave without a contract.

Cribbs made the final 2005 roster as a kick returner and didn’t wait to make an impact for the team that gave him a chance to live professional football glory. In his rookie season, he set a franchise record for kick return yardage and scored his first touchdown as a pro.

Since then, Josh Cribbs has pushed, pulled, and fought to lift himself from a simple kick returner and special team’s ace, to the face of the Cleveland Browns, and one of the most exciting players in the entire league.

Cribbs has managed to score on a kick or punt return in each of his five seasons, and most recently, in a 2009 game at Kansas City, set and then raised an all time record with the seventh and then eighth kick return touchdowns of his career.

While Cribbs has cemented himself as the top return specialist in the game today, he has become much more. He has developed into an all around dangerous offensive weapon as a wide receiver and running the football in the Browns’ version of the Wildcat formation, known as the Flash package. Oh, and he still finds the time to cut through blockers and make tackles as a gunner on Cleveland’s special team coverage unit.

In January, Cribbs was named to the NFL’s All Decade Team.

It seems that the former MAC quarterback finds a way to succeed at everything asked of him at the pro level, and it is a testament to Josh’s drive and team-first mentality to be willing to do anything and everything asked of him. He knows that he is lucky to be in his position and he plays the game with a passion and a determination not often found in modern era players.

What other player today would be willing to single-handedly put a 1-11 team on his back and will it to victory? Who else in the league would risk injury on a meaningless final play, trying to make something happen in an attempt to avoid a shutout loss on Monday Night Football?

All while undergoing a contract dispute with team management.

Joshua Cribbs is indeed a player of a different breed. He is a throwback to a bygone era of football, when the team was put first and men played, not for individual accolades, but for the love of the game.

As much as Josh Cribbs plays for his team, he also plays for the fans.

Cribbs is not a much heralded first round draft pick, or a homegrown product seemingly destined to bask in the adoration of the city of Cleveland. He isn’t a $100 million quarterback or ego-driven wide receiver. He is a man who earned the love and respect of Cleveland fans through his drive and heart on the field.

Cribbs gives the respect and love right back to the fans in Cleveland, making himself available to the public whenever possible. When he signed his new contract in March, Cribbs didn’t cancel an autograph session he was scheduled for at the 2010 Cleveland Auto Show in order to hold a large-media press conference. Instead, he held his press conference at the show, and then gave fans a chance to meet and talk with him.

“It’s not very often that fans get to hear an announcement from a player in person. And, it’s even more unlikely that they’re given a chance to speak to that player right after that announcement has been made,” Cribbs said in a statement.

This is the kind of down to earth act that shows how much Cribbs appreciates his fans.

On Friday, Josh made an appearance on ESPN’s Jim Rome Is Burning, telling guest host Marcellus Wiley that the best reason to play in Cleveland is the “Die-hard fans…I don’t see any better fans anywhere”

Josh Cribbs is also a man of undeniable character off of the field. Last year he traveled to a Berea-area high school to walk the son of former college coach Mike Drake onto the football field for senior night. Drake passed away in 2005 of lymphoma.

Cribbs credits Drake for instilling in him the fundamentals he still utilizes today, and he attended the senior night event as a sign of respect and thanks. He did so without fanfare and didn’t alert the media, allowing the spotlight to shine solely on the students who were there to be honored.

Joshua Cribbs is not only an exceptionally talented player and great teammate, he is a good human being. Whether on the field or off, Cribbs has shown time and time again what being a special football player is all about.

So, as the Cleveland Browns begin the 2010 season and Joshua Cribbs enters his sixth year in the league, cherish every game. With every run, pass, catch, tackle and return that Cribbs makes, we are witnessing greatness.

While Cribbs may not end his journey in Canton, (though I wouldn’t bet against it) fans of the Cleveland Browns will be telling future generations about the days when they got to watch Cribbs in action.

One day in the future, a young Browns fan will look upon a mural of past Cleveland Browns greats. There, sandwiched somewhere between Jim Brown and Lou “The Toe” Groza, will be Joshua Cribbs.

I often hear the fans of rival teams say that it is a sad state of affairs when the face of your franchise is the return specialist, but I think I can speak for Browns fans everywhere when I say that we’re actually pretty damn proud of it.

By Kristopher Knox (Contributor – Bleacher Report)

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Quarless started 29 games at Penn State. He finished his career as the Nittany Lions’ all-time leader in receptions by a tight end (87) and second in receiving yards by a tight end (1,146).

Quarless becomes the fourth of seven Packers draft picks to sign with the team.

Journal Sentinel wire report

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