Cleveland Browns (2007 & prior) - Page 103

osugrad21 · #**1531** (**permalink**) 12-11-2006, 06:27 AM

CPD

If it doesn't fit, must you, uh, quit?

Monday, December 11, 2006Bill Livingston
Plain Dealer Columnist
Everybody hasn't quit on Romeo Crennel, but it looks like many of the Browns have.
There are old pros around like Joe Jurevicius, who considered coming back here to be almost a sacred trust.
There are guys like Kellen Winslow Jr., eager to make their names in the league, hungry to win. He has been underused, but he is not under-motivated.
There are young players like Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson, who are finally, tardily, engaged in job competition. Both would lose their chance by not giving their all.
Also, players who might have fostered more of a team feeling have either been hurt a lot, like Willie McGinest, or were knocked out before the season began, like LeCharles Bentley.
Overall, though, it looks like so many Browns are mailing it in that you wonder, given the size of the players in the NFL, if bulk rates are available at the post office.
Sunday in Baltimore could present the last meaningful chance for Crennel and his team to rescue each other. The final two games are "so what?" contests outside the division.
If Anderson gets the start he deserves, the Browns could get a real read on his ability. The Ravens placed Anderson on waivers, whereupon the Browns claimed him. So Baltimore will have a scouting report on him. It's not as if he's going to ambush the Ravens with a better arm and quicker reads than Frye, which is how he surprised the Steelers.
It's not as if the Ravens' fierce defense is going to wait for Anderson to make a mistake, either, as did Kansas City.
But it is a long shot for the downtrodden Browns to beat the Ravens. A loss would make the first time ever a franchise that had a lot of pride a long time ago failed to win a single division game. It would give Crennel an aggregate 1-11 record against AFC North opponents. Can anyone survive such a record in his biggest games?
The Browns have been blown out twice in their past three games. Both were against division rivals, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. Both games were unwatchable unless you were paid to be there and write about them.
Players who talk very good games (This means you, Braylon Edwards) drop passes. The defense gets blown off the line. The players make feeble attempts at tackles further downfield.

Worse, there seems to be open dissension on the team. There is no quick fix for such poison. Although the forced resignation of offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon was hoped to be a cure-all, it is obvious now that the problems run much deeper than that.
It is very hard to get modern pro athletes to buy into the idea that the team comes first. Bill Belichick (Hey, who knew?) has done that in New England. Gregg Popovich did it in San Antonio in the NBA. Joe Torre has done it with the New York Yankees. Crennel is from the Belichick coaching tree, but his behind-the-scenes work has not been sufficient to change the players' habits.
He is also so honest that he is coming off as bewildered. He says things like "I don't know how that happened," "I can't explain that" and "I have to figure that out" in his news conferences.
The front office wants to sell stability after so many years of chaos. But when players quit on a coach, it is hard for the same man to get them back.

osugrad21 · #**1532** (**permalink**) 12-11-2006, 06:44 AM

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McGinest has seen this before
JEFF SCHUDEL, Morning Journal Writer
12/11/2006

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BEREA -- Willie McGinest has run into too many dead ends in his career to be deceived into thinking a struggling team turned the corner just because it had one good game.

The mood was understandably jolly in Berea after the Browns rallied to beat the Chiefs 31-28 in overtime Dec. 3. As excited as the players were after that game, they were in a state of shock after being pummeled by the Steelers, 27-7, just four days later. Defensive players in particular were left catatonic.

Willie Parker gashed the Browns for 223 yards rushing. It was a Steelers record, breaking the record of 219 yards set by Frenchy Fuqua in 1970. Less than three weeks earlier, the Browns held Parker to just 47 yards. Parker's longest gain Thursday, 39 yards, was more than double the Browns rushing total of 18 yards. Two other runs were each longer than 18 yards.

''That (Chiefs) game was like a stepping stone,'' McGinest said Friday before the players got a weekend break. ''I don't think you win one game and say everything is solved. It would definitely take us to beat a couple good teams in a row, especially a team in our division we played tough last time.''

McGinest has experienced losing streaks before in his career, though really it has not happened often. When he was a rookie in New England in 1994, the Patriots won the last seven games in the regular season and steamed into the playoffs with a 10-6 record. The Browns beat them, 20-13, in a wild-card game. The Browns haven't won a playoff game since.

Though shaken by the playoff loss, the Patriots hoped to build on the momentum gained by the run at the end of 1994. They won their opener in 1995 and then lost five straight. They staggered to a 6-10 finish. The next year they were 11-5, won the AFC East and advanced to the Super Bowl, which they lost to Green Bay 35-21.

McGinest relayed to reporters what he told his Browns teammates after the debacle in Pittsburgh. This is McGinest's first season with the Browns after 12 with the Patriots. One reason coach Romeo Crennel was eager to be reunited with McGinest was for a crisis like this.

Crennel was the Patriots' defensive coordinator from 2001-2004 and, prior to that, coached the New England defensive line from 1994-96.

''I told the guys, it always starts with me,'' McGinest said. ''I take responsibility. It wasn't one play that did it. It wasn't one thing. It was all the way around. Pittsburgh spanked us pretty good.''

Normally, players operate under what they refer to as ''a 24-hour rule.'' They can savor a game won on Sunday or stew about a loss until Monday and then it is time to get to work preparing for the next opponent. The Browns, though, have had four days to relive the nightmare in Heinz Field.

''It's frustrating,'' McGinest said. ''All you can do is come to work and keep working. We have Baltimore coming up. We have to get out of this funk somehow.''

The Browns play the Ravens in Baltimore next Sunday. They have to win to avoid going 0-6 in the AFC North. Even in the bleakest years -- 1974 (4-10), 1975 (3-11), 1990 (3-13), 1999 (2-14) and 2000 (3-13) -- they won at least one division game.

osugrad21 · #**1533** (**permalink**) 12-12-2006, 06:32 AM

CPD

Staph problems continuing?

Browns' Russell hospitalized, on injured reserve with likely recurrence of infection
Tuesday, December 12, 2006Mary Kay Cabot
Plain Dealer Reporter
Browns safety Brian Russell remains hospitalized at the Cleveland Clinic with a likely recurrence of his staph infection and has been placed on injured reserve. He finally succumbed to the elbow infection that has plagued him since just before the final preseason game.
To make matters worse for the beleaguered defense, defensive tackle Orpheus Roye also was placed on injured reserve with a left knee injury - but vows to return for his 12th season in 2007.
Russell was sent home from Pittsburgh on Thursday afternoon and was admitted to the Clinic, where he underwent a second surgery on his right elbow to remove a skin infection. He also underwent surgery Sept. 1 to excise staph from the elbow.

Russell had the arm heavily wrapped after the first surgery and didn't miss any regular-season games, but the incision split open during the home game against the Steelers Nov. 19. He played through it for two weeks, but it swelled up again Thursday in Pittsburgh, and he immediately was sent home.
Browns coach Romeo Crennel said doctors still are awaiting results of some cultures, and he couldn't confirm if it was staph. Russell is the fourth known Browns player to suffer a staph infection in the past 18 months. The others are Kellen Winslow Jr., Braylon Edwards and LeCharles Bentley. According to NFL Network, Bentley is contemplating another surgery on his reconstructed knee, one that would sideline him for the 2007 season.
As for staph infections, Crennel said, "I think our people here have done everything they can to make sure things like that don't happen. People from the Clinic have been out, and they've investigated, and we've passed in every situation, so we've done everything we can to protect the players."
Russell's teammates were concerned about him and sorry to see his season end. "We'll keep him in our prayers and dedicate the rest of the season to him because I know he really wants to be out here with us," said safety Sean Jones. "It's hard not to have him in the locker room because he's so much of a leader, especially in the secondary. But we've got to move on."
Crennel said he's spoken to Russell on the phone, and "he's disappointed, but he's in a good frame of mind and said he's willing to help however he can because he knows we've got young guys back there. Under the circumstances, he's doing pretty good."
Crennel said the loss of Russell hurts because he's the quarterback of the secondary.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ "He's been a leader back there as far as getting some of those young guys on the same page, making adjustments and adapting," said Crennel. "But we still have [Brodney] Pool, who's been in the system, and he's capable. He's played several positions for us throughout the year, so we might have to limit some of the things that we're asking him to do."

Several players lobbied for the Browns to re-sign Russell, who's a free agent after this season.
"He's the glue that holds us together in the secondary," said cornerback Leigh Bodden. "We need him back."
Crennel declined to discuss Russell's future, but said "I like Brian." Jones admitted the staph problem has been "kind of a concern because you want to be safe at all times when you're working, but we'll just leave that in the trainers' hands and the doctors' hands. They say they have it under control."

Roye, who's signed through 2009, said it's a double-whammy to lose two starters for the rest of the season. Simon Fraser will replace Roye in the lineup.
"You always want your key guys out there playing and trying to help you win, so it's a letdown," Roye said. "But that just gives the young guys a chance to go out there and show the coaches what they can do. We've just got to try to be up for next year."
He said he's not overly concerned with staph in the building.
"You've just got to try to prevent things," Roye said. "There's some things you don't have any control over. You can only do what you can do."
Roye said he doesn't have to have another surgery on his left knee, and he just needs time to let his medial collateral ligament heal.
"I don't think it will slow me down," he said. "Every year I tend to come in in the off-season feeling a little bit better about myself. I don't see it as a setback. It will just give me time to get healthy and get ready for next year."
Replacing Roye and Russell on the roster are rookie defensive tackle Orien Harris and second-year safety Ben Emanuel, who both were signed to two-year contracts.
Harris, a fourth-round pick of the Steelers out of the University of Miami, was signed off Pittsburgh's practice squad.
Emanuel, a fifth-round pick of the Panthers out of UCLA in 2005, was signed as a free agent and has been out of football since Washington waived him in August. He started seven of the 11 games in which he played for San Francisco last season.

osugrad21 · #**1534** (**permalink**) 12-12-2006, 06:39 AM

CPD

BROWNS INSIDER
Sore subject: Frye hurtin' and uncertain

Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Browns quarterback Charlie Frye didn't sound optimistic about playing Sunday in Baltimore.
"It's still sore," he said of the bone bruise in his right wrist. "I've been in getting treatment all weekend, but it's still feeling sore."
He said he doesn't know if he'll be healthy enough to play, but expects to start if he is.

"I really haven't taken it out of the brace all weekend," he said. "I hope it's feeling a little bit better, but I probably won't know until Wednesday if I'm able to throw a ball or not."
Frye said he hasn't tried to throw a ball since Dec. 3, when he hurt it against Kansas City.
"I tried to grip the ball [on Thursday], but it was just a sharp pain in there," said Frye. "Other than that, I haven't really taken the brace off, just to shower."
Frye, a tough player who's known for playing hurt, said the location of the injury is the problem. "The thing about this is, everything goes through [the wrist] for me to be able to play because I'm throwing the football," he said. "That's the tricky thing about this injury. If it was anywhere else, I'd be ready to play, but it's an important part of the whole throwing technique."
Frye said he'll probably know -- at least in his own mind -- if he'll be able to play by Wednesday.
"It would be unfair of me to sit out all week and try to play," he said. "To give Derek [Anderson] some late notice, that would be unfair."
Coach Romeo Crennel said it's still too early to say who he'll start at quarterback.
"You guys keep asking me the question, If Charlie is healthy, is he going to start?' " said Crennel. "I've said all along, I'm going to see what they can do and how it turns out. Then, I'll make a determination at that time."
He said he'll determine who starts by which player gives him the best chance to win the game.
Other injuries:

Receiver Dennis Northcutt suffered a shoulder injury in Pittsburgh and most likely will be listed as questionable. Crennel said he didn't know if Northcutt's injury impacted his game or his three drops. If he can't play, third-round pick Travis Wilson could see action. . . . Linebacker D'Qwell Jackson suffered turf toe and also proba^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^bly will be questionable.
Drop control:
Crennel said the receivers will do some extra things to try to eliminate the dropped passes.
"I was talking to somebody who said we can put dots on the ball or numbers on the panel and make them call out the number before they catch it," said Crennel. "Generally, concentration and getting them to do that more, whether that is coloring the tip of the ball or putting numbers on it, but we are going to try to get them to concentrate more."