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Browns Will Try to Confuse Orton
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Bears QB Kyle Orton
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Fred Greetham
Date: Oct 6, 2005
Fred reports from Berea that the Browns want to get to the Bears passer while he's still a rookie. Plus, we have updates on the team's need to win at home, and fifty-three - yes, the entire roster - being on the practice field today!
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BEREA – None of the Browns defensive players will publicly say this. But one would have to think the ‘Dawgs’ in the secondary are salivating at the prospects of going up against rookie
Kyle Orton.
The rookie from
Purdue is currently the lowest rated passer in the NFL with a 41.9. He is coming off a game where he threw five interceptions against the Bengals.
“You never say never that Kyle can’t beat us, but we’ve got to use it tour advantage,”
Daylon McCutcheon said. “If our defensive line gets in his fact, it’ll be hard for him. If our secondary moves around and disguises our coverage, it’ll be even harder for him.
“He’s only going to get better and better, but right now, he is a rookie.”
Romeo Crennel is keeping things in perspective as both teams have 1-2 records.
“We’re near the bottom of the NFL defensively (30th), so I’m not worried about him,” he said. “I’m worried about us. If we can take anybody lightly being at the bottom, I don’t know who it can be. We can’t afford to do that with the way we’ve been playing.
“He’s an NFL quarterback and if you don’t honor him he’ll hurt you,” he said. “The same thing will happen as on the first play of the preseason.”
Crennel is referring to the first play of the preseason game at Chicago when Orton threw a 47-yard pass to
Muhsin Muhammad against McCutcheon.
He also says the Bears have the ingredients on offense to be productive. They have a veteran line and their No. 1 draft choice
Cedric Benson, should get some carries this week.
“They have a young quarterback,” Crennel said. “To go with the quarterback, they have a running back in (Thomas) Jones who runs hard and can cut back.
“They have some receivers who can make plays,” he said. “They have receivers in Bradley and Muhammad that have big play ability. They have some weapons they can use they just haven’t been able to get it together yet.”
McCutcheon and
Gary Baxter talked about trying to disguise their coverage schemes to try and confuse Orton.
Crennel doesn’t know if the Browns are ready to disguise what they’re doing. “I don’t think we’ll be able to disguise totally what we’re doing because you have to get in position to do your job,” he said. “If you can’t get back to where you’re going to be if you’re disguising, it’s not good. I don’t know if we’re good enough to pull that off.”
If the Browns can slow down the Bears offense, the bigger challenge might be for the offense to put up some points against the Bears. They have one of the highest ranked defenses in the league and are even better in the red zone.
“The Bears have a really good defense,” Crennel said. “They’re fourth in the NFL. (Brian) Urlacher is a linebacker who can run all over the field. They have some pass rush and good run defense. Defensively, they’re playing pretty good football.”
Quick Hits
Win at Home: The Browns are trying to win their first home game of the year this Sunday against the Bears. The Browns want to get the fans involved and enjoy the home field advantage.
“Winning at home is huge for us,”
Trent Dilfer said. “We want to try and play our best football of the year at home. We want to give the fans something to be proud of.”
Andra Davis agreed.
“It would be huge to give our fans something to be happy about,” Davis said. “We prepare the same way and lay it on the line.”
Crennel gave his opinion on what it takes to be successful at home.
“The focus is on winning at home,” he said. “We haven’t done that this year. We want to do everything we can from a preparation standpoint to come out with a victory in front of the home fans. That’s our focus and what we want to do.
“A team that performs and does things the right way gives itself a chance to win,” he said. “Your team has to make plays and perform and get the fans on your side. We have to be on top of our game and the fans will give their appreciation.
No News is Good News: Crennel said he had all 53 players on the practice field for the first time in a long time on Wednesday.
“There’s not a lot new going on,” he said. “Every body practiced and should be out there today.”
The Browns had just three players listed on the injury report, all were questionable: LB
Matt Stewart (knee), KR Josh Cribbs (knee) and DL
Orpheus Roye (knee).
Crennel said Roye is in better shape than he was in the last game against the Colts.
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