BEREA — The Cleveland Browns finished up their first five days of training camp this weekend in dramatic fashion with the offense and key components on defense, elevating their game to new heights. The Browns are showing early signs of being contenders and not pretenders for the upcoming NFL season.

Fans flocked to the stands of the Browns' practice facility in Berea to witness the team's metamorphosis from a jagged rock to a polished gem. To no one's surprise, the offense set the tone.

Offense

Quarterback Derek Anderson performed brilliantly during camp, throwing the ball with pinpoint accuracy and rarely off the mark. He showed improved mechanics, delivery, footwork and the ability to complete passes while on the move and throwing across his body. This is something that Anderson struggled with last season. His release was effortless and he showed good ball placement.

Anderson completed a number of passes to his receivers, throwing into tight coverage demonstrating superb arm-strength and ball control. It was also apparent that the quarterback had spent some time in the weight room over the off-season. Anderson's upper body was more muscular and he looked stronger. With the exception of a couple of miscues in Saturday morning's practice Anderson was money.

The same cannot be said for Boy Wonder, backup quarterback Brady Quinn. He consistently overshot his intended target and more often than not led the receiver too far. Quinn struggled with his timing and never really got into a rhythm. Where he excelled was reading and reacting to coverage. He got rid of the ball quickly, sometimes too quickly. I saw a few of his passes take a nosedive when he failed to show patience.

Wide receiver Lance Leggett got off to a slow start during the first few days of camp, but by the time the second practice of Day 4 rolled around he started to flourish. The undrafted free agent receiver out of the University of Miami made a couple of outstanding grabs during practice. He beat the D-backs deep in zone coverage for a touchdown on one play and made a nice acrobatic one-handed catch on a pass thrown behind him on another.

Leggett was tabbed coming out of college as a player who doesn't consistently play to his ability or potential. That was blatantly obvious at times. He and rookie sixth-round draft pick Paul Hubbard both had some trouble hanging onto the ball.