Cleveland Browns (2007 & prior)

[hurricane]

Not to restate the obvious but one huge problem the past few years is ignoring the O-line, and to a lesser extent, the D-line. So one superstar free agent signing is supposed to make it all better? What if he gets injured? Oops, he did. DRAFT O-LINE FOR THE SAKE OF ALL THAT'S HOLY

[hurricane]

Originally Posted by StadiumDorm

Joey Porter vs. Kellen Winslow Jr.

There's a battle of (nit)wits...

EDIT: I will say this... it was classy of KWII to try and shake Porter's hand before the game. And there were some moments during the game where Winslow just got up, handed the ball to the official and shut up when he otherwise would have talked [censored]. But you've gotta keep up class the whole game, or it's just a farce. Joey Porter is a guy that will never have class, and if Winslow doesn't grow up, he'll be the same.

Agreed, but the cheap shot after the whistle made any other action worthless.

[Crashcup]

"Romeo, Romeo where art thou Romeo?" and for that matter Davis, Belichick, Shottenheimer, Snorich, Rutabaga, Greg, Palmer, Shofner and the band played on to name a few.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Canton

All talk, little action by Browns in Pittsburgh
Saturday, December 9, 2006
By Steve Doerschuk repository sports writer


BEREA Why were the Browns humiliated in every way Thursday night?
?We got beat all the way across the board on offense, defense and special teams,? said the man in charge, Romeo Crennel. ?I don?t know why it happened.?
The Steelers led 528-294 in yards, 26-11 in first downs and 38:47 to 21:13 in time of possession.
Here?s a theory from Steelers Round 3 pick Anthony Smith, a rookie safety from Hubbard: ?They?ve got a lot of good players. We?ve just got ... you know ... better players.?
Smith thought the Browns played with some spunk.
?There was a lot of talking going on out there,? the young safety said. ?I got into the mix. I had a lot of fun out there.?
Which Browns were yakking?
?Braylon (Edwards), (Kellen) Winslow, (Reuben) Droughns ... pretty much everyone,? Smith said.
Did Crennel think his players quit at any point?
?No, I don?t think they quit,? he said. ?I think Pittsburgh played harder overall than we did.?
Did Edwards think his team played with too little passion?
?Um ... yes and no,? he said. ?I mean, there?s some things that we ... it?s typical Cleveland football right now. You know what I?m saying?
?There are things we do well. There?s passion at times, and you can see it in plays and players. I mean, I really don?t know.?
The great unknown is how Willie Parker went from rushing for 129 yards during the previous three games to blistering the Browns for a franchise record 223 yards.
Steelers linebacker Joey Porter?s theory: ?Willie ran like a wild man. He has breakaway speed that you can?t teach.?
Browns linebacker Willie McGinest declined to condemn his own unit.
?You have to take your hat off to Parker and the offensive line,? McGinest said. ?They schemed well. There are no excuses.?
Cleveland?s defensive scheme came into play.
?They didn?t try and blitz us all out like most teams have been doing,? Pittsburgh right tackle Max Starks said. ?They?ve done that to stop the run and force Ben (Roethlisberger) to win the game.
?Cleveland stayed more in their base defense.?
Then there was the psychological aspect of what went wrong. The Steelers are conditioned to beating Cleveland, having won 13 of the last 14 meetings. Whereas the Steelers have a Super Bowl win in February to fall back on, the Browns are 19-42 since losing at Pittsburgh in the 2002 playoffs.
?We?re supposed to beat the Tampa Bays. We?re supposed to beat the Clevelands,? said receiver Hines Ward, who expects to come back from an injury next week. ?To not have both our starting safeties and both our starting wideouts in the game and play the way we did speaks volumes about our team.?
What did Thursday?s blowout say about the Browns?
?This team is hoping to be in games,? Winslow said. ?When I was at Miami (in college), we already won the game before the game happened. Intimidation was a factor, and the work ethic was a factor. That?s a point the Cleveland Browns have to get to. I think that?s what the Steelers do.?
INTERNAL AFFAIRS
Braylon Edwards came away from Thursday?s loss talking mysteriously about what might be going wrong.
?There are a lot of other things that are bothering us, that are bothering this whole organization,? he said. ?It?s not one thing you can point out and say, you know what, if we can do this better, we?ll win. ... There are a lot of other things that are going on that I won?t comment about that are affecting us.?
Edwards didn?t say if he was alluding to problems in the locker room.
?There are no problems to my knowledge,? Crennel said.
Reach Repository sports writer Steve Doerschuk at (330) 580-8347 or e-mail: steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Canton

Change in the air?
Saturday, December 9, 2006


The emergence of Derek Anderson as a capable quarterback ? at least in his first six quarters of real NFL action ? has at least accelerated the timetable Browns fans are willing to wait for incumbent starter Charlie Frye. Here is a look at the two bodies of work put forth by the two Cleveland QBs so far:

Charlie Frye
Frye is 227-of-358 (63.4 percent) for 2,267 yards, 10 TDs and 16 interceptions in 11-plus games. He has been sacked 43 times and has a passer rating of 72.0.

Derek Anderson Anderson is 33-of-58 (56.9 percent) for 447 yards, 3 TDs and 2 interceptions in six-plus quarters. He has been sacked just once and has a quarterback rating of 84.5.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Canton

Browns notebook
Saturday, December 9, 2006


K-2 stays mum Kellen Winslow Jr. declined to retaliate Friday for inflammatory postgame remarks aimed at him by Steeler linebacker Joey Porter. ?He?s entitled to his opinion,? Winslow said. ?He?s a great player, and I have great respect for Joey Porter. If he wants to be a tough guy or whatever, that?s fine? Winslow tried to shake Porter?s hand before the game. Porter wanted no part of it ?That?s a classless act,? Winslow said. ?I see what type of guy he is now. I lost a little respect for him.? Porter could be fined for his comments.
?poor choice? Head Coach Romeo Crennel on Winslow?s late hit on Pittsburgh linebacker James Farrior: ?It looked like he lost his composure. The runner was already out of bounds, (Farrior) was in the wide open and it was a poor choice.?
ANDRUZZI IN DOUBT Guard Joe Andruzzi?s status is in doubt after he left Thursday?s game with a knee injury. Crennel did not have results of an MRI.
one and done The Browns still don?t have a winning streak since 2003. ?It?s almost as if we cannot stand prosperity,? Crennel said. STEVE DOERSCHUK

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Canton

Scott Heckel plenty to think about Browns Head Coach Romeo Crennel didn?t like most of what he saw Thursday night during a 27-7 loss in Pittsburgh, but he did come away accepting of the effort put forth by quarterback Derek Anderson.

Anderson playing well as Frye recovers
Saturday, December 9, 2006
By Steve Doerschuk repository sports writer


BEREA It?s freezing out there, but Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson are in a summer sweat.
This absolute zero of a season has sprouted a burning question.
What?s the plan for quarterback in 2007?
In two games, including his first NFL start Thursday, Anderson is 33-of-58 for 447 yards, with an 84.5 rating. He has been sacked only once in 61 drop-backs.
?Well, I think he?s done enough to make it intriguing,? Head Coach Romeo Crennel said Friday in the wake of a 27-7 loss at Pittsburgh.
The flow of the offense was ruined by dropped passes, ?eight or nine? by Crennel?s count. Yet, Anderson went 21-of-37 for 276 yards.
?I think he played pretty well,? said Joe Jurevicius, the one wideout who hung onto the ball (seven catches, 111 yards).
Frye is 4-8 as the starter this year and 6-11 over two seasons. Before suffering a wrist injury that has led to Anderson playing the last six quarters plus an overtime, Frye?s 2006 stats were 227-of-358 for 2,267 yards, with a 72.0 rating.
Will Frye play Dec. 17 at Baltimore if he heals?
?It?s too early for me to say because he?s not healthy,? Crennel said. ?We?ll see next week.?
Crennel?s overview of Anderson?s start at Pittsburgh?
?He didn?t have a lot of help. When you consider that, he probably did a decent job.?
It was an odd job.
Anderson came out throwing fastballs for strikes, but after he passed the team to midfield, coordinator Jeff Davidson sent in runs on second and third downs.
Punt.
Anderson soon had the Browns at midfield again, but guard Cosey Coleman was caught holding on first down. Anderson?s 13-yard completion to Steve Heiden wasn?t enough to avoid another punt.
Browns running backs rushed for 11 yards on Anderson?s first series but just 3 more net yards the rest of the night. Yet, Davidson sent in runs on first and second downs and stuck Anderson in a third-and-10.
Punt.
Anderson alone was to blame for the fourth series, again ending near midfield, this time on his lost fumble.
His fifth series included a 1-yard Jason Wright run, then dropped passes by Darnell Dinkins and Dennis Northcutt.
Series six: He went 5-of-7 for 59 yards and had a first down near the Pittsburgh 20, but the first half had only seconds left. Phil Dawson missed a field goal.
Anderson opened the second half with a third-and-10 strike to Jurevicius for 16 yards. The momentum died when Northcutt dropped a second-and-7 pass.
Punt. Steelers drive and score ? 24-0.
What was up with the drops? Anderson throws the ball harder than Frye. The game was played on a 7-degree night, factoring in wind chill.
?Some of that has to do with the cold,? Jurevicius said. ?We shouldn?t make that an excuse.?
Frye is more mobile than Anderson. Yet, Frye was sacked 22 times in his five full games under Davidson. How can it be that Anderson wasn?t sacked by the Steelers?
Do linemen have an easier time protecting Anderson because they know where he?ll be, whereas Frye scrambles around?
?There?s a difference in style (between Frye and Anderson),? Crennel said, ?but I?m inclined to believe it?s related more to protection than style.?
Why hasn?t the protection been there for Frye?
?I?m trying to figure that out myself,? Crennel said. ?We had the line protecting Anderson pretty good, but we couldn?t run. That same line was able to run the ball (Nov. 19) against Pittsburgh and couldn?t protect.?
Anderson did throw one interception. He may have stared down wideout Braylon Edwards, tipping off safety Anthony Smith.
?I was reading the quarterback?s eyes the whole way,? Smith said. ?He looks to where he?s going to throw to his receiver.?
On the next series, though, Anderson hit Edwards in stride over the middle for a 45-yard catch-and-run touchdown. The score meant nothing to the game, but something, perhaps, in the club?s calculations as to Anderson competing with Frye for the starting job next training camp.