Cleveland Browns (2007 & prior)

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

DDN

7/24/06

Frye's the guy — or perhaps not

Receiving corps also rife with questions with Winslow, Edwards recovering from injuries.

By Sean McClelland
Staff Writer

Ten issues facing the Cleveland Browns as they prepare for the 2006 season:

1 The quarterback pecking order is clear, but how comforting can it be for head coach Romeo Crennel to know that Charlie Frye has started five NFL games and Ken Dorsey 10? Is Dorsey the backup or should Vinny Testaverde be waiting by the phone? We'll soon know.

2 Similar to the 2004 training camp, the focus is on tight end Kellen Winslow II. At last month's minicamp, K-2 said he was "90 percent" after a broken leg, major knee surgery and a staph infection kept him idle for nearly two seasons. Is that other 10 percent attainable or will Winslow ever recover the explosiveness that once made him a deluxe prospect?

3 One projected return date for receiver Braylon Edwards (knee surgery) is Oct. 22, seven weeks into the season. In the meantime, the Browns will look for a replacement from a pool of Frisman Jackson, Brandon Rideau, Joshua Cribbs and rookie Travis Wilson. More likely is a scenario that finds them with two tight ends on the field much of the time.

4 Kamerion Wimbley was drafted to infuse life into the league's worst pass rush. Saturday, the first-round pick made good on his promise not to hold out, signing a six-year contract. Next question: How soon can he become an every-down player as opposed to merely a pass-rush specialist?

5 More changes on the offensive line again raise questions of chemistry. But with Pro Bowl regular LeCharles Bentley at center, Crennel already sleeps better at night, to say nothing of Frye, who kept getting his feet tangled with last year's center, Jeff Faine.

6 There's a lot to like about running back Reuben Droughns, but the Browns would like him better if he stopped running afoul of the law every time they turned around.

7 New nose tackle Ted Washington is a Sam Adams-style run stuffer. In other words, he's huge. While it would seem his best days are past, the Browns are betting he has at least one solid season left in that 38-year-old body. Can't be worse than what they've had.

8 Is this the year cornerback Daylon McCutcheon, one of two remaining first-year expansion Browns, loses his starting job to Leigh Bodden? It could be for the best as McCutcheon, given his size (about 5-foot-8), always seemed more suited to working against slot receivers. You could do worse than having him line up as your nickel back, if that's what happens.

9 Let the competition begin for the safety spot alongside veteran Brian Russell. Brodney Pool and Sean Jones are second-round draft choices who played at big schools. Jones (Georgia) might have a slight edge early, but Crennel had a hand in drafting Pool (Oklahoma), so that might count for something.

10 Who was that linebacker Butch Davis drafted in the second round out of West Texas A&M and never made it? Sadly, Chaun Thompson risks becoming the answer to that trivia question soon if he doesn't adapt to a switch from outside to inside. He's being tossed into the mix with second-round draft choice D'Qwell Jackson and fourth-rounder Leon Williams, Jackson being the early favorite to line up next to Andra Davis.

[redskinbucksfan]

I really like having almost all of the draft picks in on time. All too often you see someone holdout, fall behind, and not contribute much in the first year. It's nice having the house in order. Let's hope the Browns can continue to build off a nice off season. I think this team's getting ready to turn the corner. 8-8, maybe 9-7 this year, then contend for the playoffs in '07.

[Buckin' A]

Under Crennel, this team appears to have gone from looking like it is run out of the back of a pool hall, to a well oiled organization. Success is immanent...

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

7/25/06

Wimbley is ready to work

First-round pick signs, eager to learn position

By Patrick McManamon

Beacon Journal sportswriter

• List to lead NFL down to 11
• Wimbley is ready to work

<!-- begin body-content -->BEREA - Kamerion Wimbley said all the right things Monday after he signed his first contract with the Browns.
Wimbley carried himself as a young professional, and sounded sincere about being eager to get started with his new team on time -- and as soon as possible.
``I think if I would have held out, it would have hindered my performance for this upcoming season,'' he said on the first day of unofficial rookie workouts.
Training camp opens Wednesday, and Wimbley will be the first Browns first-round draft pick in camp on time since 2000. Past holdouts hampered players -- especially running back William Green, defensive tackle Gerard Warren and wide receiver Braylon Edwards.
``I'd just like to start out and say how important it was for me to get to camp on time and get in here and learn the system more,'' he said.
No show. No three-piece suit. No entourage. Just facts.
``I am a rookie and I am making a position change,'' Wimbley said. ``I need to get in and learn the defense more. I got a little bit of time during the passing camps and things like that, but there are still things that I need to pick up.''
In a time when most first-round picks are loath to sign because they -- or their agents -- fear getting less than the pick below them, Wimbley eschewed form.
``I wasn't paying too much attention (to) other rookies,'' he said.
Wimbley and his agent, Joe Linta, decided that the Browns' offer -- which includes $9.25 million in guaranteed money and could be worth almost $24 million -- was fair.
Wimbley now can get to work on the transition from college defensive end to pro linebacker. He said responsibilities are the same, so he doesn't think it should be that big of a change.
Can he start the opener? His answer would please the team.
``I think,'' he said, ``that is up to the coaches.''
<!-- end body-content --><!-- begin body-end -->

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Canton

7/25/06

Browns questions need answers

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>SPORTS SPOTLIGHT TODD PORTER
<TABLE style="MARGIN: 10px -3px 15px 5px; POSITION: relative" width=300 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD>

View more photos
IS CHARLIE FRYE THE SOLUTION AT QUARTERBACK?

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


BEREA - The practice fields were quiet. Acres of pristine, plush grass await to be torn up, bled on, sweated on and, yes, yakked on.
None of that happened Monday afternoon outside the Cleveland Browns complex. Full-squad training camp begins Wednesday, and Year 2 of the Phil Savage-Romeo Crennel era starts — like all other eras — with hope.
No matter how many questions Savage believes the team has resolved during the last 18 months, the Browns need to start finding more answers Wednesday.
Here are five things the team must end August knowing the answers to:
Is Charlie Frye the man?
The Browns are hedging all bets that he is. The third-round pick from the University of Akron showed signs last year of being able to lead a team.
He also showed signs of not being the guy. Everyone remembers the nightmarish 41-0 Christmas Eve Massacre against Pittsburgh. Don’t forget a 9-7 Browns win the week prior.
Right now, the Browns have no other options than for Frye to be the man. Who else will get the call? Ken Dorsey?
The whole picture points to Frye being successful, but there aren’t many convinced he can carry a team.
The good news is Frye isn’t being asked to do that. He is smart and mobile. His arm strength is decent enough to throw down the field, and he has touch.
Frye has spent the entire offseason getting ready for his chance.
The Browns believe in him, and for a second-year quarterback, playing with confidence is half the battle.
Will Kellen Winslow Jr. and Braylon Edwards be factors?
That’s the beauty of Frye. When the Browns plucked Frye in the third round of 2005 draft, Savage already had Winslow on board. Drafting Edwards in the first round a year ago signaled Cleveland was building around a team, not a quarterback.
Winslow is healthy after his motorcycle accident, which ended his sophomore season. He is hungry, too. His attitude has changed, and he has something prove — not to mention plenty of incentive money to earn back. Winslow, providing he remains healthy, poses match-up problems for any defense.
Edwards won’t return until possibly after the bye week, which means he could miss five games. But he was spectacular at times last year. Far and away, he is the most dangerous player on offense. A better question is who will replace Edwards in the starting lineup until he’s healthy? There are answers, none of the very good ones.
If either or both of these players don’t play the final 10 or 11 games together, the offense will take a hit. There is a big difference between Steve Heiden and Winslow.
Is Ted Washington over the hill?
Don’t judge Washington based on training camp and preseason. A 365-pound 38-year-old needs another NFL training camp like an old horse needs a 365-pound passenger.
Washington — no pun intended — fills a glaring need on this team. Crennel’s 3-4 defense relies on a nose tackle, a run-clogging wide-body, to keep linemen off linebackers. Cleveland’s run defense has been embarrassing, more so because of the AFC North’s running backs.
Beyond Washington, outside linebacker Willie McGinest was one of the team’s headliners in free agency. He’s 34. The window is closing.
Washington is a veteran presence in the locker room. Don’t push him too early. No one wins anything in August. Washington has been around long enough to understand this.
Will rookie Kamerion Wimbley make the move?
At Florida State, Wimbley was a defensive end, but he has the perfect size (6-3, 245 pounds) and speed (4.6 40-yard time) to move to outside linebacker.
The concern is whether Wimbley can drop back into coverage. Rushing off the edge won’t be all that difficult. In fact, it should be easier if he’s strong enough to handle NFL linemen and running backs.
Wimbley is learning a new position and a new defense. He has that against him. But he signed before training camp, and McGinest is tutoring him. Add in that Wimbley is a good, smart character guy, and he’s the kind of player you want to root for.
If Wimbley is a bust and can’t make the position change, the Browns do have some depth at linebacker.
How important are safeties?
The casual fan knows that Crennel’s 3-4 defense in New England had a solid, if not great, front seven, but many forget that safety Lawyer Milloy was a big part of that defense. It is an overlooked position, but great defenses have Pro Bowl safeties.
The Browns have unproven safeties in Sean Jones and Brodney Pool. Veteran Brian Russel will start at free safety, but Sean Jones is high on Savage’s list.
Jones and Pool are athletic. Jones missed all of his rookie season with a knee injury. He is, essentially, a second-year player like Pool. Neither has vast playing experience.
If there are two players who need a good training camp more than Jones and Pool, it’s hard to find them.
Bottom line?
The Browns are still building. There are parts, but no wholes yet. There will be injuries throughout the course of 16 games. If Cleveland gets out of training camp injury-free, consider the luck changing.
There will be some battles for position at the linebacker spots
Look to see if veterans are leaders, and if younger players are following. See which category Frye fits in. These will be an important four weeks for Frye. Reach Repository sports writer Todd Porter at (330) 580-8340 or e-mail: todd.porter@cantonrep.com

[IronBuckI]

I like Wimbley's attitude. It's kind of hard to believe that he's from FSU. Realizing that he will inevitably make more money by learning his trade and being a better player, than holding out and looking for guarantees, without proving anything himself, is a great way to start a career.