CLEVELandMILIDH Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 Browns looking to add strength at center By Steve Doerschuk CantonRep.com staff writer Posted Mar 18, 2009 @ 11:54 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It did the Browns no good to have one of the more enviable left sides in the offensive line business in 2008. Knowing that, the new regime seems intent on not wasting left tackle Joe Thomas and left guard Eric Steinbach in 2009. The Browns could have new main men at four key blocking positions. Hank Fraley has made 48 straight starts at center, but he turns 32 in September and showed signs of erosion last season. At last month’s NFL Combine, the Browns were the first team to interview California center Alex Mack, and they have a keen eye on Oregon center Max Unger. Those two are rated as the 35th- and 42nd-best players in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com. The Browns own the No. 36 overall pick. Both Mack and Unger are seen as mature players who could step in right away. Mack is a year older than Jeff Faine was when he was a rookie starter for the Browns in 2003; Unger is even older, turning 24 in November. If the Browns don’t draft a center, Head Coach Eric Mangini might consider letting veteran Ryan Tucker or free agent John St. Clair compete for the center job. Both Tucker and St. Clair spent the last two years of their college careers at center. Right guard has been a revolving door, with Shaun O’Hara, Paul Zukauskas, Kelvin Garmon, Juaquin Gonzalez, Mike Pucillo, Dave Yovanovits, Cosey Coleman, Seth McKinney and Tucker taking turns as starters during the five-year stretch from 2003-07. Rex Hadnot was viewed as adequate at best as the starting right guard in 2008. Near the end of the season, the fifth-year pro vowed to be better in 2009, saying he was intent on playing at a Pro Bowl level. Recent signees Floyd Womack and St. Clair both became NFL tackles after playing center in college. Both are versatile veterans who could compete for the starting right guard or right tackle jobs. Tucker likewise is versatile, having started at right tackle for most of his seven-year run with the Browns but starting at right guard in the second half of the 2007 season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClevelandFanForLife Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 i like the idea of getting a center but we need defense first in my opinion. if we can attain another 1st or 2nd round pick via trade i say we definitely get one of these guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gips Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 A good center and a true possession reciever and the offense can skate by 2009..if we dont get a decent run blocking/pass protection center our starting qb is going to be on his backa lot and we will be forced to run around the ends instead of into the defenses teeth again making it easy for defenses to hone in on us.. We need a lot of pieces on defense but only a couple on offense assuming butterfingers and hubbard/stallworth comes to play... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vegasdogg Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 i like the idea of getting a center but we need defense first in my opinion. if we can attain another 1st or 2nd round pick via trade i say we definitely get one of these guys. I agree, but OL and pass rush are two big pieces to the puzzle. I'd rather have a good center than a project at OLB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browns2405 Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 I wouldn't mind going LB or DE in rd. 1 then going C and WR?/RB in Rd.2 then trading D.A. and going SS, CB, OL, LB rds 3- and out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YtownBrownsBacker Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 i like the idea of getting a center but we need defense first in my opinion. if we can attain another 1st or 2nd round pick via trade i say we definitely get one of these guys. You have a #5 pick and a #50 pick to spend on defense. #36 can be a center. Mangini likes ball control with running and short passing. can't get that done with a center taht gets pushed back into the QBs lap. Quinn will be taking a 3 step drop a lot so the middle of the line has to hold up. Granted, we do need one more pick in the top 60. We need to trade down and/or dump Anderson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBrownsFan Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 A.Q. Shipley, anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YtownBrownsBacker Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 A.Q. Shipley, anyone? He's in the second tier of Centers but worth a 4th round pick. I'd rather get one of the premier centers. Not very often that you see a draft with 3 or 4 centers that could come in and start for a lot of teams. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Steelers take a center at #32 because Mack and Unger can both play guard also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aloysius Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 Unger probably isn't much of a fit for Pittsburgh's mauling o-line. And based on the FA's we've brought in, he's probably not a fit for us either. Mack reportedly looked great during OL drills at his pro day, but it would've been nice to hear he put up more than just 20 reps of 225. Caldwell put up 23 reps & Wood put up 30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JewDago Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 A.Q. Shipley, anyone? i'm a shipley fan. he's got the pure, mauling strength that should allow him to take on ngata and hampton, possibly one-on-one. he's not as refined as mack or unger, but he's got the strength i'd prefer our new center to have, which the other guys don't. plus, taking him would allow us to use our higher picks on more important positions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobalaz Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 Looking at centers and their performances at the combine, someone like Jon Cooper (6'2" 291lbs) who has two seasons of center under his belt and was voted Big 12 2008 offensive lineman of the year could be a 4th or 5th round steal though he might not hold up against the big guys we're going to be facing. Most scouts have him falling into a zone blocking scheme so if that's the way we're heading he could be a solid pickup, not going zone? Probably not going to fit as well as we'd like. Eric Wood (6'4" 310lbs) has a relatively injury free history with 49 consecutive starts and is a "big guy" to face the meat in the middle of our conference. He put up 30 reps at the combine and has received All-Big East honors in 2006 (second team), 2007 (first team), and 2008 (first team). I'd snag him with our 2nd in a heartbeat and solidify the center spot. Alex Mac (6'4" 311lbs) is the top rated center in the daft and probably won't be there when we get our 2nd pick BUT if he's there he'd be pretty damn hard to pass on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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