After a perfect season, of sorts, in 2008, the Lions have decided not to bring back cornerback Leigh Bodden.  Bodden was a key piece to the Shaun Rogers trade.

Commentary:  Bodden's star has fallen pretty far from the 2005 season.  He was thought of as a rising star as cover-man, but now he's being released by the worst team in NFL history.  He forced a trade out of Cleveland because of a financial dispute with former general manager Phil Savage, and was not a happy camper in Detroit.  I would highly doubt that Bodden would return to Cleveland, also.

Martin Rucker's cousin, defensive back Ghaali Muhammad is a member of the University of Wisconsin's 2009 class.

Quoting a piece from my previous post, head coach Eric Mangini has identified the following players as guys he likes:

RB Jamal Lewis
OT Joe Thomas
ILB D'Qwell Jackson
NT Shaun Rogers

Commentary: Not much to be explained here, but with Jamal Lewis facing a huge cap number in 2009, it could be telling to his status with the team.

Could the Browns find a trade partner for Braylon Edwards?  David Geller thinks it could be the New York Giants.

Commentary: This is a pure speculation piece, but it's at least intriguing.  I don't feel like trading Edwards is a smart move unless it's a blockbuster set of picks.

Allen Patrick, an undrafted rookie running back from Oklahoma, was signed to the Browns' active roster. The Browns already have three running backs in Jamal Lewis, Jerome Harrison and Jason Wright, but Harrison left Sunday's game against the Titans with a rib injury. I'd guess this means he won't play against the Eagles Monday.

In college, Patrick had the unenviable task of replacing Adrian Peterson and never really met expectations. He has a long injury history as well. But, maybe he'll get some playing time before the season is over. Wright has been pretty bad this year and the coaches don't seem to have faith in Harrison.

Notes…
Jeff Schudel of the News-Herald does a real good job with his stuff. Here is his latest column, which is on Lewis not living up to his big talk.

It seems the anonymity of the Internet brings out the worst in people, particularly those who like to poke fun at sports columnists. Typically, though, the columnists never address the digs and criticism. That's why I like Pat McManamon. He does. Check out his post there for some "inside baseball" stuff you may find interesting. Now if only Phil Savage was a little more like Pat…

D'Qwell Jackson has become the story of the defense this season. He leads the NFL in tackles with 130. Patrick Willis of the 49ers is second with 117. Jackson is also something of a quote machine. Here he summed up his feelings on this season:

“When I’m here, you don’t think about it. When I’m home, you do think about it,” he said Monday before the players were given the last two days off. “Because I’m one of the guys that’s going to be here, it’s definitely going to affect me in someway or another.

“A lot of guys won’t be here next year.”

Whoever could a lot of those guys be? Well, check back here sometime before Monday night's game as we'll have some speculation.

Don't forget, we'll be having another chat for this Monday's game against Philadelphia.

The Browns have changed quarterbacks. They have changed starting cornerbacks. They have diminished playing time from two defensive stalwarts.

Now is it time to bench their running back?

For most of the season the Browns have ignored the run game in favor of passing the ball. Jamal Lewis, the starting half back who has yet to rush for 100 yards in a game this season, had a mediocre showing against the Bills on Monday Night. In a game where they gave the ball to Lewis early in an attempt to build a rhythm for their brusing back, he hardly impressed.

When Jerome Harrison took the ball 72 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, he showed his big play ability that has been talked about since being drafted in 2006 out of Washington State. On the season, he now is rushing for 10.4 yards per carry on 20 rushes. If factoring in Harrison's receptions and yardage, he averages 11.48 yards every time he touches the ball. Yet he only averages 2 carries per game. With a struggling ground game, and no speed from either Lewis or Jason Wright, why isn't Harrison getting more invovled in the offense? At this point, he has earned the right to be the starter.

Moving to a back by committee system probably isn't in the cards either. In Lewis's last year in Baltimore, 2006, he played in a platoon with Chester Taylor, now of the Vikings. Lewis was unhappy about the diminished role. Since he was clearly being used as the power runner, and Taylor as the slash back and receiver, Lewis felt teams were able to key in on him and telegraph plays. Lewis saw several eight man fronts, and he plugged along, averaging only 3.6 yards per carry (which is ironically the same as he is averaging to date this year).

If Lewis does not get touches, he's not a happy running back. Given his fiery attitude of late, can anyone expect him to graciously walk away from his 20 carries per game?

Handing the ball to Harrison now is the right move. The Browns high flying offense of 2007 is just not there this year. Harrison has earned the right to carry the ball more. He has had many critics point to his inability to pass block, an area he has improved on this year. Harrison at this point is the all purpose back the Browns offense needs.

Has Harrison earned the right to start for the Browns?

Things are not looking good for Joe Jurevicius.  The local prodcut will likely be on put on IR today, ending his 2008 season due to staph infection in his surgically repaired knee.  On a team that leads the league in dropped passes, it will hurt to not have the steady Jurevicius.  Who knows what will happen with him at the end of this season, as he had originally planned to retire.  He's under contract through the 2009 season.

What's eating Jamal?  His lack of carries against Baltimore earlier this year.  This quote from head coach Romeo Crennel is particularly troubling:

"If it were as simple as, 'Give it to Jamal 20 times,' the first 20 plays of the game would be handed off to Jamal. But they would load up the box and never have to worry about a pass play. Then you see if that 20 would get you a win or not. Generally, your ability to run the ball keeps the defenses off balance because it opens up your play-action pass."

Stats speak loudly and this is one case where Lewis is probably closer to right than Crennel.  The coach is oversimplifying that particular statistic, while clearly ignoring the importance of Lewis' contribution.  Then again, is anything else to be expected from Crennel?

The Orange and Brown Report did a good preview of Sunday's game with the Ravens.

Ryan Tucker fans (like Dan and I) may have to wait yet again for the veteran offensive linemen to return from his knee injury.   With Kevin Shaffer playing average, it would be helpful if Tucker could get back on the field, but he hasn't practiced this week. 

Sunday will be a homecoming for Ravens rookie Haruki Nakamura, who is from Elyria, OH.  Nakamura is a huge hitter, and his highlight reel on YouTube is some of the most enjoyable hitting I've ever seen.  With Cribbs less than 100% and struggling this season, it could be a dangerous game for him with Nakamura lurking. 

Finally, while this is a bit old, it's still interesting.  The Browns supposedly turned down an offer of 2009 and 2010 first round draft picks from the Minnesota Vikings for Brady Quinn.  There is no clear cut source here, but it seems to be either wildly untrue, or a sign of how important Quinn is to the Browns.  John Clayton reports that Quinn is the Browns quarterback of the future and doubts the discussions went very far.