While We’re Waiting…Sparty Comes To The Shoe as Browns Prep for Hasselbeck

Previewing Browns Titans, talking Defense:  “Just how improved is the Browns defense? We may find out Sunday. Tennessee’s offense is far from a one-trick pony. Even without Britt and a struggling Johnson, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who led the Seattle Seahawks to the divisional round of the NFC playoffs last season, has paced the Titans offense.

Hasselbeck, who signed with Tennessee as a free agent in the offseason, is 78-for-112 passing for 932 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions. The Browns pass defense is currently ranked third in the NFL, allowing 187.3 yards passing per game. Of course, the group of quarterbacks Cleveland has faced is not nearly as talented as the 36-year-old Hasselbeck.

“It looks like Matt’s executing extremely well and that’s important,” Browns coach Pat Shurmur said. “I am sure that’s one of the reasons that they are off to a very good start. When your quarterback is playing well and you’re playing well on defense, I think it’s a good thing.”For Shurmur’s team, the defense is playing well, but offensively … eh … not so much.”  [OBR / Don Delco]

—

Talking Braxton Miller and the Bucks with Sparty set to invade the Shoe today:  “Hard to say exactly how much Braxton Miller is going to be able to get from the MSU defense. This may be another situation like last week where Miller ends up being about as effective on the ground as he will be through the air. Michigan State’s obvious play on defense is to stack the box with like 8 dudes and just blitz everybody else, but this could lead them to overextend themselves and allow Braxton some room to pick up yards on the ground.

Jordan Hall still needs to keep ’em honest, though. The offensive line has been playing at their highest level in years, so Hall (and Hyde) should in theory have the opportunity to strut their stuff against a pretty decent linebacking corps. Still, both of those guys will probably find it tough going unless receivers can get some open looks downfield. Jake Stoneburner has disappeared in the past few games, and if he could re-emerge in the endzone with a couple of footballs, that would be a pretty huge help.”  [Johnny Ginter / Eleven Warriors]

—

Scott Fujita says just about nobody in the NFL uses HGH basically:  “Browns linebacker Scott Fujita, a 10-year veteran and member of four NFL teams, has been in plenty of locker rooms, and he knows plenty of players.  And so when it comes to gauging the prevalence of HGH in pro football, Fujita is in a better position to estimate than most.  (He’s also a member of the NFLPA Executive Committee.)

Appearing on Friday night’s episode of NBC SportsTalk on VERSUS, Fujita pegged the usage of HGH at a surprisingly low number. Fujita said that one to two percent of the players in the league use HGH, “at the most.”

That’s far lower than the percentages estimated by other players in the past.  Bucs fullback Earnest Graham, for example, once pegged the number at 30 percent. Either way, the NFLPA has agreed that the players will submit to testing.  The only question at this point is how the testing will be conducted.”  [Mike Florio / PFT]

—

If you were wondering, Dwayne Wade is not the best negotiator:  “Feeling a “sense of urgency” to get a deal done quickly, NBA players and owners met for more than four hours Friday and will resume talks Saturday. The meetings produced some tense moments, as Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat yelled while making pointed remarks to commissioner David Stern, a source close to the situation told ESPN The Magazine’s Chris Broussard.

The meeting was so intense that Wade and the other star players present nearly stormed out. They remained only because union executive director Billy Hunter calmed them down and asked them to, the source told Broussard. With time running out to reach an agreement in time to save the Nov. 1 start of the regular season, All-Stars including Wade, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Kevin Durant joined the players’ association executive committee for what president Derek Fisher called an “engaging” meeting with the owners’ labor relations committee.

Neither side cited any progress but said it was a good sign that they agreed to continue the discussions. Both sides are committed to talking through the weekend, knowing additional cancellations are likely necessary next week if they’re not close to a deal.” [ESPN / Broussard]

—

Not a link exactly, but more of a heads up on some Cleveland Rugby action:  Cleveland’s undefeated Rugby team is taking on South Pittsburgh RFC at 1pm tomorrow at Impett Park (W.153rd & Montrose). The Cleveland Rugby Club is in first place, 3-0, and has outscored their opponents 219-29. They are emerging as a Midwest powerhouse this season, and count me as a guy who hopes they run it up on Pittsburgh later on today.  Check out the game if you have a chance.