Browns Keeping Everything Top-Secret

The cloak of secrecy that used to cover the New York Jets has traveled with Eric Mangini to the Cleveland Browns, and it’s not gathering any dust. According to Marla Ridenour of the Akron-Beacon Journal, Mangini is following the Bill Belichick book to the letter as far as trying to keep information reported about practice sessions to an absolute minimum. Per the report/gripe, Mangini is making it tough on reporters to convey what’s going on at practice by keeping them far away from the action behind a sand pit most of the time. “The spot up against the fence was not close to the nearest sideline and light-years away when drills were conducted two fields over,” Ridenour writes. “A second-floor window of a nearby condo would have been a better vantage point.” That tougher policy, which didn’t exist under former coach Romeo Crennel, might or might not be relaxed during training camp. Per the report, the Browns’ press corps will only be able to watch the first half-hour of practices after August 22. That means that they’ll only be able to watch stretching drills and won’t be able to glean much information on how the late stages of the quarterback competition between Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson is unfolding. Also, Mangini has told reporters that he won’t bend on his policy of issuing vague answers or essentially no answers about injuries. Although Mangini doesn’t seem to abide by the NFL rules that injury reports have to offer some specific information other than, for example, just calling an injury a “leg,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told the Beacon-Journal that Mangini does follow the league’s rules and regulations. “He may not do more than the minimum,’' Aiello said. “But we didn’t have a problem with the Jets as far as complying with the rules. Some media get frustrated when you won’t go beyond what’s on the injury report. But we don’t require more than that.” Ridenour also noted that Mangini recently admonished a reporter for writing about the Browns practicing a flea flicker. One week later when the Browns attempted another trick play, the Browns’ public relations staff called reporters to remind them about Mangini not wanting any reporting on trick plays. Of course, the lack of information on practice sessions prevents fans from learning as much as possible about their favorite team even though it’s debatable whether any real competitive advantage for the team is at stake. That said, reporters’ complaints typically fall on deaf ears. As Ridenour pointed out, her former Dayton Daily News sports editor, the late Si Burick, used to say: “Nobody cares about our problems.” If Mangini wins in Cleveland, then his close-to-the-vest, loose-lips-sink-ships approach will be accepted for the most part. And, if Mangini loses, his uptight philosophy will be cited as another example of how a failure to change can lead to more failure.