Brrexkl wrote: MM caught only 42% of the balls targeted for him... I'm not really sure throwing to him MORE would have been a good thing for our offense.  Of course, our offense wasn't a good thing for our offense last year.

Yeah, I was surprised that Holmgren said they should have thrown to him more given the extremely low percentage of catches. Norwood was at 68% by comparison. I thought they should have gone to him more. So I'm wondering what Holmgren is seeing in MoMass that the rest of us are missing. 

Shurmur came out yesterday and said Jordan Cameron looks to be much improved over last year. That's great news because this kid is extremely athletic as anyone can see from that dunking video he put out before the draft. He's definitely got an upside if he can put it all together.

If Little, MoMass, and Cameron can all take a big step forward this season and Ben Watson can stay healthy, then the Browns receiving corps will be considerably better than last year.

However, it's easy to get excited this time of year. I want to see Little do a better job of catching the ball when he's open. MoMass needs to show he's back to 100% with the concussions behind him. And Cameron needs to show he's not just a great athlete who's a marginal football player. They've all got a lot to prove, but when the head coach and the Big Kahuna say positive things to the press without mentioning other players at that position, it's a very positive sign.

PROSECUTOR wrote:

Brrexkl wrote: MM caught only 42% of the balls targeted for him... I'm not really sure throwing to him MORE would have been a good thing for our offense.  Of course, our offense wasn't a good thing for our offense last year.

Yeah, I was surprised that Holmgren said they should have thrown to him more given the extremely low percentage of catches. Norwood was at 68% by comparison. I thought they should have gone to him more. So I'm wondering what Holmgren is seeing in MoMass that the rest of us are missing. 

Shurmur came out yesterday and said Jordan Cameron looks to be much improved over last year. That's great news because this kid is extremely athletic as anyone can see from that dunking video he put out before the draft. He's definitely got an upside if he can put it all together.

If Little, MoMass, and Cameron can all take a big step forward this season and Ben Watson can stay healthy, then the Browns receiving corps will be considerably better than last year.

However, it's easy to get excited this time of year. I want to see Little do a better job of catching the ball when he's open. MoMass needs to show he's back to 100% with the concussions behind him. And Cameron needs to show he's not just a great athlete who's a marginal football player. They've all got a lot to prove, but when the head coach and the Big Kahuna say positive things to the press without mentioning other players at that position, it's a very positive sign.

SD:

err Yep , they were praising Robiskie IIRC right up until the week they cut him.

Cameron still has time , but with Massoquoi's history of concussions , and alligator arms exhibited all too often  late last year as a result of trying to catch Colts telegraphed hospital balls , his confidence is such , that he's being psycologically prodded to get out of that funk, now .

Which means at training camp , those signs and deficiencies better not be evident .

Personally , I look for Mitchell to return from milk carton status first , Weeden is gonna need that big fast target while Little and Josh and Norwood and possibly cooper  have evrything else underneath covered .

SoulDawg

Out of curiousty, how do you see Travis Benajmin making an impact this season... or do you?

  I think we will see more 4 Wide just to get him on the field (and with TR33 we can do that effectively and still pose a threat to run) for that fly route.  Not change the entire offense for a 4th Round WR mind you, just put out a bit more 4 Wide where we can still run if we choose, and see if he can beat a Safety deep.  I also feel he will catch a few of those.

  I don't think Year 1 he will be DeSean Jackson... but I do see Torrey Smith written all over him.  Maybe Torrey Smith with better hands, even.  Didn't see the first Body Catch in his entire Hi-lite real, and he went up way high and still hauled the ball in on several occasions... all with a less than stellar College QB tossing them up to him.

  I think the writting is on the wall for MM and if he doesn't produce by the Bye we will be fielding low-yield Trade offers for him.  Maybe even cut him out right early if he doesn't shine in Pre-Season to make room for Cooper instead.

Benjamin was the 15th WR drafted. I can't see a rookie who had to watch 14 other WR's taken before him having an "impact" his first year. 

That being said, he brings something the offense needs and no other receiver can provide - pure speed. So I think they'll try to use him in situations, maybe 10 plays a game or something like that. He only weighs 172 so I don't think he can withstand being an every down player. 

But if he can make a big play occasionally it will help. If there's one thing this offense lacked last year it was big plays. I think they'll have Weeden try to hit him deep in the first half just to try and stretch the defense so they can't camp on the short routes. 

One interesting thing I read about Benjamin was that the Browns scouts thought he had the quickest first three steps of any receiver they've seen in at least five years, and they're confident he can use that initial quickness to beat the jam. I can see them throwing him a quick bubble screen with Cribbs or Little in front to block. Benjamin could use that quick burst to get past the first guy and into the secondary for some nice gains. 

I'm hoping he turns out to be Dennis Northcutt with more speed, but that might be way too optimistic.

BREX>

Out of curiousty, how do you see Travis Benajmin making an impact this season... or do you?


SD:

Prosecutor had a good reply to your quiry , concerning some of the difficulties Ben faces.

As a rule mastering the wideout position and starring in your play vs the fastest most athletic defenders in the World is never  a slam dunk , for even the most prolific successful Collegiate receievers even with prototype speed and size .

Ben is a runt , who has the one Joker nobody can predict Killer Speed, but it must be paired with the heart guile and smarts to use it effectively .

I suspect he could surprise and contribute early on special teams and hopefully later from the recieving position paired in the slot orthe Y when we go four wides and deep , but that is not a given based on how difficult is the transistion for an undersized rook to break the lineup in the pros.

Cooper IMO I liken to Kosars  Brennan with speed , not quite the physical outlet and target and safety net Juryviscious provided at 6'5" to Anderson when he had his pro bowl year , but definitely a safety blanky for Weeds because of their on and off the field chemistry.

Dude is sleeping on his friends couch, who is married BTW , until he finds out if he made the team or not , which tells ya all you need to know about how Weeds feels on that count.

On Ben hopefully , just as with the linebackers and the rest of the rooks , his contributions come sooner rather than later  and better than anticipated, but right now , I can't picture anything more than a spot contributor , just being realistic .


SoulDawg

All we can hope for at this point is that some of these that SD mentions above comes through and surprises all.
Benjamin, Cooper, and evan the pick of who stays-Moore or Cameron?