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1/1/06

Frye’s arm strength in question after last week’s loss

Sunday, January 1, 2006

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>By Steve Doerschuk REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER




CLEVELAND - Is Charlie Frye’s cannon too small for the big time?
That’s a companion question for, “Why did Frye last until Round 3 of this year’s draft?”
A windy Saturday and a 41-0 loss to Pittsburgh last week stirred the issue of whether Frye has enough arm to be a winning NFL starter.
Yet, when asked Friday what he thinks of the question, the rookie gave one of his now-familiar chuckles. This one said, “That’s just wrong.”
“I can get the ball where it needs to go,” said Frye, who makes his fifth NFL start in today’s season finale. “That’s the bottom line.”
Arm strength is an issue when the cold winds whip off Lake Erie.
“The wind is a little stronger coming off the lake than it was at Rubber Bowl,” the former University of Akron slinger said. “It’s nothing too bad.
“Going into the wind, you can’t put a lot of air under the ball. You’ve gotta throw it a little harder.”
Frye said he can cut the ball through the wind as needed.
“You really don’t listen to that stuff (about arm strength),” he said. “You go out and play football.
“I feel real confident I can make any throw coach wants me to make,” Frye said, “whether it be on the run, throwing it 50 yards down the field. Whatever.”
Head Coach Romeo Crennel continues to say Frye’s rough day against Pittsburgh was neither a product of too little arm or the “happy feet” rookie quarterbacks tend to get under a pass rush.
“I don’t think Charlie got happy feet,” Crennel said. “He stood in the pocket and got hit. That’s why he got sacked so many times (eight).
“Like I’ve said, it wouldn’t have mattered if Johnny Unitas had been the quarterback. It wouldn’t have been good.”
Frye would love to play as long as Johnny Unitas, who was a Baltimore Colts quarterback from 1956-72.
Crennel is reserving the starting job for Frye only through today’s game against the Ravens. As to his starting passer for next season, Crennel said, “I’m not gonna make that determination Monday.”
On Friday, though, Frye talked about what got him to the NFL and what might keep him there with a certain confidence.
“What do you look for in a quarterback?” he said. “Confidence. Leadership. Those are the things you can’t teach. I think that’s something I take pride in ... being able to lead a team.”
Reach Repository sports writer Steve Doerschuk at (330) 580-8347 or e-mail: steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com


RAVENS AT BROWNS
Today, 1 p.m.
Cleveland Browns Stadium
TV WOIO
RADIO WHBC-AM 1480, WQKT-FM 104.5, WAKR-AM 1590, WMMS-FM 100.7, WTAM-AM 1100, WJER-AM 1450
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