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McGinest has said this, his 15th NFL season, will be his final one. He does not need this extended practice the NFL has come to call Organized Team Activities - spring practice without pads, three days a week for four weeks leading up to a mandatory minicamp June 10-12. McGinest isn't going to learn something he does not already know. He isn't going to practice a defensive maneuver he hasn't done 1,000 times.
Yet McGinest's absence from OTAs the last two weeks for unspecified "personal reasons" (they would no longer be personal if they were specified) has been very noticeable at the Browns' complex in Berea. And no one is suggesting his reasons are not legitimate beyond the fact he has earned the right to relax while less-seasoned players should be working and sweating in "voluntary" practices.
But this is what happens when team leaders do not show up for the OTAs: Other players get the idea it is all right for them to miss. Last Wednesday, the only day of the week open to the media, wide receiver Braylon Edwards, running back Jamal Lewis and defensive end Corey Williams also missed practice for "personal reasons." It should be noted Edwards is also recovering from a hip injury.
"We still have one year," McGinest said after practice on May 14, the second day of OTAs. "This is a critical year for us. It's an exciting year. We expect to do some really good things based on what we did last year and what we didn't accomplish last year.
"We have some new acquisitions. We have a foundation that has been here. I tell guys we look really good on paper, but it doesn't really matter until we go out and prove it. When we go out collectively on offense, defense and special teams and play good football all the way around, that's when we'll be able to tell what kind of team this will be."
McGinest could have retired after 2007. He is set for life financially, and he has three Super Bowl rings from his days with the Patriots. He said he decided to play one more season in part because he believes he has a sense of responsibility to Coach Romeo Crennel and a sense of responsibility to his teammates.
"I told Romeo I want to win here and do all the good things I know this team is capable of doing," McGinest said.
The Browns fired Todd Grantham and promoted Mel Tucker to replace him as defensive coordinator. Schematically, the Browns are still a 3-4 defense. If anything, the defensive playbook will be streamlined; Tucker is placing an emphasis on fundamentals so players do not get caught out of position.
McGinest certainly does not need a lesson in fundamentals, but young players such as rookie linebacker Beau Bell would benefit from McGinest being in the classroom and on the field in Berea, even if McGinest practiced sparingly.
Leaders cannot lead when they are injured or absent. Minicamp starts a week from Tuesday, and then McGinest can resume his leadership role. The young players would be leaning on him now if only he were in Berea.
Savage, Crennel featured speakers
Crennel and Browns general manager Phil Savage will be among the featured speakers Tuesday at the Winners Influence Network conference at Playhouse Square.
Savage and Crennel will not be offering an inside look at the Browns. Instead, they will be speaking on the theme "Success at all Levels" and direct it to business, civic, athletic and other community leaders.
Phil's brother, Dr. Joseph Savage, is also among the speakers. Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel and his brother, Dave Tressel (retiring after 35 years as a high school teacher), will participate via a teleconference.
"This is the first time that Phil Savage and Jim Tressel, as well as Romeo Crennel, have spoken at the same conference or event," Joe Savage, the President of Winners Influence, said in a statement released by the organization.
Tickets cost $25 per person and can be purchased by calling Playhouse Square at 1-866-546-1353 or from the Winners Influence Network Web site at www.winnersinfluence.com.
Edwards gives back
Last year, Edwards established a $1 million endowment to encourage junior high students in Cleveland schools to work hard in the classroom. The program, in conjunction with Tri-C Metro, is directed at 100 selected eighth graders and guarantees them college tuition if they "maintain a 2.5 average, perform community service and demonstrate model conduct," according to a memo from the Braylon Edwards Foundation. Students in the program were honored Saturday at Tri-C Metro.
"It has been an incredible school year for the youth and we're grateful that Cuyahoga Community College was willing to invest its resources," Edwards said. "The students give their best to ADVANCE 100 and we always want to recognize a student's best efforts. ADVANCE 100 students represent a lot of promise for the future of this community."
Packers get classy
Brett Favre is retired, but his nameplate remains above his locker in the Packers' locker room. Packers general manager Ted Thompson told reporters the plan is to remove the locker and ship it to Favre's home in Mississippi. Two rooms in his home are filled with memorabilia from his playing days.
"He'll get his locker," Thompson said. "I kind of messed up the timing. I didn't realize people would have such a to-do about it, but the timing of it in order to do it properly will be in between our minicamp and training camp sometime, when things slow down and (the maintenance staff) has time to go in there and do the work.
"We were kind of going to do it under the radar, but it obviously took on a life of its own."
The story took life when reporters covering OTAs in Green Bay noticed the locker and asked current quarterback Aaron Rodgers what would happen to it.
Harrison fading
Marvin Harrison is trying to resurrect his career under difficult circumstances. The Colts receiver missed 11 games last year with a knee injury. In April, he was questioned about a shooting outside a bar he owns in Philadelphia. The gun used in the shooting belongs to Harrison, but police have not named him as a suspect.
Harrison did not talk to reporters at a recent Colts minicamp. Because of the injury last year, Colts coach Tony Dungy held Harrison out of practice.
"I guess I'm Marv now," receiver Reggie Wayne told reporters.
Ratings game
CBS Sportsline columnist Pete Prisco has produced a list in which he picked an underrated and an overrated player on every NFL team.
His most underrated player on the Browns is safety Sean Jones. "He's a rangy safety, which you must have these days. He had five interceptions last year and at 26 is ready for his breakout season," Prisco wrote.
His most overrated Browns player is a new one in Cleveland - wide receiver Donte Stallworth. The Browns are his fourth team in four years. "The Browns think they're getting an elite receiver, but he's never been that in any of his three other stops. There's too much inconsistency," Prisco commented.
Prisco's most underrated Baltimore Raven was left guard Jason Brown. His most overrated Raven was cornerback Chris McAlister.
His most overrated Bengal was wide receiver Chad Johnson. His most underrated Bengal is defensive tackle Domata Peko.
Prisco says the most underrated Steeler is defensive end Aaron Smith. He rates Hines Ward as the most overrated Steelers player.
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Information for the NFL notebook was gathered by personal interviews and from other beat writers around the league. Schudel can be reached by e-mail at:
JSchudel@News-Herald.com
