BROWNS TRAINING CAMP News and notes from Berea

Draft pick signed: The Browns announced Sunday that they've signed the first of their seven draft picks: long snapper Ryan Pontbriand of Rice. A fifth-round pick, Pontbriand signed a five-year deal. "It's good to get one of the rookies signed," Browns coach Butch Davis said. "Obviously, that's a positive move. Once you start by getting one, hopefully that will lead to a landslide and we start getting some more guys' [contracts] done in the next couple of days."
Still unsigned: Continuing their holdouts are: center Jeff Faine, first round, Notre Dame; linebacker Chaun Thompson, second round, West Texas A & amp;M; defensive back Chris Crocker, third round, Marshall; running back Lee Suggs, fourth round, Virginia Tech; cornerback Mike Lehan, fifth round, Minnesota; and defensive end Antonio Garay, sixth round, Boston College. "It's not a disruption," Davis said of their absence. "Anytime somebody misses, whether it's out of injuries or holdouts or whatever, somebody else gets a chance to play. Everybody found out last year when [quarterback] Tim [Couch] got injured what Kelly [Holcomb] could do. [Running back] William Green missed with a holdout and it kind of opened a door for Jamel White to change his role. Anytime that you miss, you jeopardize yourself and you're also setting the team back."
Opening weekend: Despite having so many missing draftees, Davis pronounced the weekend "a very, very good opening couple of days of training camp. The efficiency and the way we practiced today was really good." Davis said he was happy with how quarterbacks Couch, Holcomb, Josh Booty and Nate Hybl "threw the ball. I think that William Green and our running backs are doing a heckuva job running the ball."
Backup praise: Davis admitted he's been more focused on backup players. "I like the progress. I've been watching some of the guys who are playing behind some of the starters -- [offensive linemen Chad] Beasley, Melvin Fowler, Qasim Mitchell." Davis also cited defensive backs Lee Bodden, Jason Moore and Ray Walls. "We made some shuffles today in some of the lineups. We moved [linebackers] Ben Taylor and Kevin Bentley because we're trying to find versatility." Taylor shifted to the strong side.Intensity to come: Although the players wore pads, contact was minimal. "The worst thing and probably the dumbest thing we could do is go out and just have a full-blown, knockdown scrimmage. I don't think that anybody is ready for that," Davis said. "We're still working on putting in the mechanics. The first real test for that will come in [Saturday's] Buffalo scrimmage."
White injured: Running back Jamel White was taken off the field in a cart, but Davis downplayed the injury. On Saturday, White's helmet "hit him on the bridge of the nose," Davis said. "It gave him a little bit of a headache. They gave him a neuro-psyche test and there was nothing. Today in the blitz drill, he did it again." White was taken off as a precaution, Davis said.
Warren watches: Defensive lineman Gerard Warren wore a knee brace on his right knee and watched practice. The third-year lineman said he feared he had hyperextended his knee on Saturday but is only nursing a bruise. He hopes to practice this afternoon after sitting out the morning session.
This week: The Browns' practices today, Tuesday and Thursday begin at 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. The Wednesday session at 9:45 a.m. is for special teams, while the afternoon session is for the entire team. Friday's morning practice will be with the Buffalo Bills, while the afternoon session will be just for the Browns. Saturday's scrimmage with the Bills begins at 10 a.m. at Cleveland Browns Stadium.