Mangini to Browns: Be smart

The coach wants his players to celebrate big plays but in a way that doesn’t draw penalties.

By TONY GROSSI

THE Plain Dealer

BEREA — Every football coach chiseled on the sport’s Mount Rushmore has used the phrase “act like you’ve been there before” to discourage on-field celebrations.

For the Browns on Saturday, it may have been a case of being so long since they’d been there that they just forgot.

Receiver Mike Furrey celebrated a catch on third down with an emphatic first-down signal. Cornerback Corey Ivy celebrated a pass breakup with the Usain Bolt “To the World” pose. And cornerback Eric Wright celebrated an interception with a demonstrative bow to the crowd surrounded by teammates.

None of these celebrations involved touchdowns, mind you, just plays that the good teams make on a routine basis.

Wright’s demonstration drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for a “group celebration,” costing the Browns 15 yards and possibly four points. Instead of taking possession at the Detroit Lions’ 5, the offense started at the 20. The added yardage proved too far to traverse and the Browns kicked a field goal.

The penalty, naturally, drew the ire of coach Eric Mangini and gave him a lecture talking point when the team reassembled for meetings first thing on Monday morning.

“What’s important to me, when something good happens, you celebrate as a team,” Mangini said. “You should be happy for each other’s success, but do it in a way that doesn’t create any sort of negative result.”

The topic continued at Monday’s practice. Brady Quinn poked fun at Furrey and other teammates on the sidelines gave a few mock first-down signals. Ivy broke out the Bolt pose, too.

All three players cited the excitement of the game getting the better of them.

“Everybody’s caught up in the moment of the game,” said Ivy, an avowed Bolt fan. “Your adrenaline’s flowing and you’re excited you made a play.”

Wright said, “The atmosphere is electric in front of the fans. You kind of soak it in. I might have got a little too carried away. I don’t want anybody to take it the wrong way. I’m not looking to boast. I’m just excited and a passionate player and in the ref’s eyes it got out of hand and it cost us.”

Like Joe Jurevicius, Furrey said he’s been signaling first down when he makes a catch on third down his whole career.

“It’s nothing to show up anybody,” he said.

The first year of Camp Mangini has been a fairly grim scene. Not too many yuks out there, but plenty of long faces and tails dragging off the field. Mangini is intent on reducing penalties. Game officials have been throwing flags since the off-season voluntary workouts. At camp, players run laps around the practice fields if they commit a penalty.

Mangini also intends to hire an experienced former NFL game official to serve as his replay challenge assistant coach and continue to hammer home the theme of penalties.

The Browns committed 100 penalties last year under Romeo Crennel. The Jets had 77 under Mangini. Mangini’s mantra hasn’t sunk in just yet. The Browns have committed 18 penalties for 135 yards in their two preseason games.

“Penalties tick me off,” he said. “It’s a problem. It’s going to lose games. It doesn’t work. It’s not good football. It’s a focal point and will continue to be a focal point.”

But the coach insists he doesn’t want to take the fun out of the game for his players.

“I’m not going to set up any celebration police force or anything like that,” he said. “And I think everybody’s different. I’m not asking anybody to be outside their personality. Just put it in the right context.”

After practice, everybody was buying in.

“This is a demanding camp,” Ivy said. “It’s worked wherever he’s been. He’s a proven winner throughout the NFL. He has three championship rings that speak for itself and that’s what we’re trying to get to under his guidance, tutelage and his strict rules.”

Wright said, “The good thing about [the demonstration penalty], that was Saturday, today was Monday. We had a solid practice and we’re looking forward to tomorrow. It’s good that it’s over. It’s a learning experience.”

Furrey said the point of Mangini’s lecture was to stress the team mentality over a “me” mentality, and that is a good thing.

“I’ve been through a camp like this before and we were 12-4 [with St. Louis in 2003],” Furrey said. “It’s great because you have the discipline, you have exactly what the coach wants and what the organization wants. It teaches a team game.”

The irony, of course, is that the Browns drew the penalty by celebrating as a team.