Cleveland Browns (2007 & prior)

[osugrad21]

ABJ

Fans rejoice! Now, finally, a big game Unlike Falcons in '02, Bills desperate to win
By Patrick McManamon
Beacon Journal sports columnist
Published on Wednesday, Dec 12, 2007

It has been a long time since there was a Browns game as important as the one Sunday at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
This upcoming game against the Buffalo Bills could determine the Browns' playoff future ? and it's vital the Browns win.
Is it absolutely essential?
No.
But it's pretty close.



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[osugrad21]

Canton

Harrison tries to make most of opportunities
UPDATE: 1:18 AM, Wednesday, December 12, 2007
BY Steve Doerschuk
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

BEREA Running back Jerome Harrison remains the Browns? best-kept secret. Some would argue they?re guarding the secret too closely.

Harrison has dressed for only six of games, touching the ball in only three ? all wins.

Browns fans didn?t see last year?s Round 5 pick in 2007 until Game 6 against Miami. In his first series, which covered 67 yards for a touchdown, he ran three times for 28 yards and made a 15-yard catch-and-run.

He showed up again a week later at St. Louis. All five of his carries ? producing 32 yards ? came on a drive that produced a field goal and kicked a Browns lead to 27-20.

That was Oct. 28. He didn?t touch the ball again until Sunday.


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[osugrad21]

CPD

Browns' Lewis knows what Vick faces

Running back spent four months in federal prison, but he has resurrected his career.


By Tom Withers
Associated Press

Thursday, December 13, 2007

BEREA ? Jamal Lewis once lost his freedom, stripped of life's simplest pleasures by a stupid, youthful mistake. The misstep landed Cleveland's running back in prison and nearly cost him his NFL career.
He has walked in Michael Vick's shoes.


Lewis knows better than most what lies ahead for Vick, the disgraced Atlanta Falcons quarterback sentenced this week to 23 months in federal prison for running a dogfighting operation.



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[osugrad21]

ABJ

Anderson, Nike assist Oregon's flood victims $50,000 in clothing sent to quarterback's state
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sportswriter

Published on Thursday, Dec 13, 2007
BEREA: Browns quarterback Derek Anderson did more than listen when he heard of the devastating floods near his hometown of Scappoose, Ore. last week.
Anderson contacted his representative at Nike and persuaded the shoe and apparel giant to donate $50,000 worth of clothing to the victims.
''I talked to one of my coaches back home; he said the food banks were trying to do stuff,'' Anderson said. ''I'm just trying to help out a little bit.''
Storms battered five Oregon counties with winds of more than 125 mph and more than 10 inches of rain.


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[osugrad21]

CPD

CARRYING ON A PROUD TRADITION

Lewis' play earning a spot in Browns lore
Thursday, December 13, 2007Tony Grossi
Plain Dealer Reporter
Because of the tradition rooted in Marion Motley, Jim Brown, Le roy Kelly, the Pruitts, Kevin Mack and Earnest Byner, Browns fans still embrace the running back position like no other.
Yes, quarterbacks inspire the squeals. But the backs draw the roars from the crowd.
The loudest roar registered in Cleveland Browns Stadium came as a result of William Green's blast through the line and sprint to the end zone in a December 2002 game against the Atlanta Falcons. That 64-yard touchdown run secured the Browns' win and, ultimately, the only playoff appearance of their new era.




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[osugrad21]

CPD

BROWNS INSIDER
Fans' choice for Pro Bowl: Cribbs, Steinbach


Thursday, December 13, 2007
Browns kick returner Joshua Cribbs and guard Eric Steinbach are one-third of the way to the Pro Bowl.
Both players finished first in fan voting, which ended Tuesday on NFL.com. Now they just need the vote of the players and coaches, which each also count for a third. Those ballots take place today and Friday with Pro Bowl teams being announced Tuesday at 4 p.m.
"I feel great knowing that the fans voted for me," said Cribbs, who leads the NFL with 31.0-yard kick return average and has two returns for touchdowns. "The Pro Bowl is political. They want people who are going to fill the stadium. So being a fan favorite means a lot to me. It lets me know that other people notice that I'm doing my job and doing it well."




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[osugrad21]

Canton

Rare orange sunshine
[FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Five years later, good times roll for survivors of 2002 Browns[/FONT]
Thursday, December 13, 2007
By Steve Doerschuk
Repository sports writer

BEREA The fraternity is tiny.

It?s barely bigger than the brigade of blokes who have bodysurfed down the Niagara River outside Buffalo, barreled over the falls, then did the backstroke to the Canadian side for champagne.

It?s the fraternity of Browns who were there for the last playoff run.

Phil Dawson, Orpheus Roye, Steve Heiden, Andra Davis, Ryan Tucker.

They?re it.

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[osugrad21]

Dispatch

Lewis hits stride, takes Browns along for ride

Thursday, December 13, 2007 3:27 AM
By James Walker


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

David L. PokressNewsday
Jamal Lewis showed his heart with a 31-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter against the Jets.


BEREA, Ohio -- This is Jamal Lewis' favorite time of year. It's cold and windy, and inclement weather forces offensive coordinators to simplify game plans, which means more carries for running backs.
That certainly has been the case for the formerly pass-happy Cleveland Browns (8-5), who have taken to pounding the ball with Lewis.




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[osugrad21]

ABJ

1,000-yard milestone meaningful for Lewis Yes, he's done it five times before, but doing it for Browns to be special
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sportswriter

Published on Friday, Dec 14, 2007
BEREA: Because he rushed for 1,000 yards in five of his previous six active seasons and led the league with 2,066 yards in 2003, Jamal Lewis could take a ''been there, done that'' attitude to his approaching milestone.
That's not the case for the 28-year-old Browns running back. Released after seven years with the Baltimore Ravens, he came to the Browns to dispel the notion that his best days were behind him.
So even though he's closing in on a familiar number, Lewis said reaching it will mean something.


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[osugrad21]

CPD

Stopping Browns' air attack will stretch Buffalo secondary


Friday, December 14, 2007Tony Grossi
Plain Dealer Reporter
Buffalo's Dick Jauron, the NFL's only Yale-educated coach, speaks softly and precisely and isn't prone to football cliches.
So when he says, "We certainly have a tall order in front of us," in regards to his defensive plans against the Browns, it rings not only as a perfectly dry- witted pun but as the plain truth.
If weather conditions al low the Browns to per form their usual high- wire act on Sunday, the trio of Braylon Edwards, Joe Jurevicius and Kellen Winslow would have height advantages of 4 inches, 8 inches and 5 inches, respectively, against their expected Buffalo matchups.




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[osugrad21]

Canton

BROWNS NOTEBOOK: Fans urged to arrive early
Friday, December 14, 2007
By Steve Doerschuk
Repository sports writer

Game-day plea

The Browns are asking fans to arrive early and ?support the drive to the playoffs,? according to a team release.

A half-hour before kickoff, 50 fans will be picked to join the team on the sidelines for pregame introductions.

Fans are advised to consider entering at the northwest and northeast gates. The southwest entry, near the Third Street bridge, tends to be an unholy mess, with hundreds of fans stuck in line at kickoff.

Watch for Whitner

Browns wideout Braylon Edwards has vivid memories of facing Bills safety Donte Whitner when they were at Michigan and Ohio State.

?He?s a fast guy, a really aggressive player,? Edwards said. ?He has a passion about the game.?


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[osugrad21]

Canton

Quinn feels intensity building with Browns
Friday, December 14, 2007
By Steve Doerschuk
Repository sports writer

BEREA Brady Quinn remains ?one play away.?

Except now the rookie is ?one play away? from being on center stage in a postseason drive.

?Everything?s just turned up an extra notch,? Quinn said before Thursday?s practice for a showdown against the Bills. ?Obviously, things are gonna be more intense.?

In April, Quinn seemed headed for some on-field intensity. Mel Kiper said the top three quarterbacks in the draft were Jamarcus Russell, Quinn and Trent Edwards, in that order.

December has written an ironic postscript.

In college, Quinn and Notre Dame dominated Edwards and Stanford.

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[osugrad21]

Canton

Dawson warms up to coming storm
Friday, December 14, 2007
By Steve Doerschuk
Repository sports writer

BEREA Not that anyone from Cleveland or Buffalo is amazed, but Eskimo weather is forecast for Sunday?s Browns-Bills game.

A big snow is blowing in.

?Is it?? Browns veteran Phil Dawson said. ?Well ... cowboy up.?

The 31-year-old Texan is in the sunniest stretch of his long place-kicking career in Ohio.

He could be a hero Sunday on a plot of land that hasn?t seen a game like this since the old stadium sat there.

?I expect it to be an electric environment,? Dawson said.

Protocol calls for fans to be quiet when quarterback Derek Anderson is calling signals, but Dawson said they can let it all hang out if he?s lining up for a big field goal.

?I love it loud,? Dawson said. ?Then you can?t hear the defensive guys yelling at you.

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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

CPD

High stakes by the lake

Posted by [URL="http://blog.cleveland.com/sports/about.html"]Mary Kay Cabot, Plain Dealer Reporter[/URL] December 15, 2007 07:19AM

Categories: Browns

Players on both sides of the Battle of Lake Erie are feeling the ripple effect of Sunday's battle with wild-card implications between the Browns and Buffalo Bills at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
Three things have to happen for the Browns (8-5) to clinch a wild-card spot against the Bills (7-6), and one already has transpired. Denver had to tie or lose to the Texans, and that was accomplished Thursday night when the Broncos were trounced, 31-13, in Houston.
Next, the 7-6 Titans must lose to the 4-9 Chiefs in Kansas City, Mo., and the Browns must beat the Bills. If the Bills win, they would have the edge over the Browns for the second wild-card spot by virtue of their head-to-head record.

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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Browns happy to have high-stakes opportunity

Sunday, December 16, 2007 3:26 AM
By James Walker


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

BEREA, Ohio -- As he began a news conference this past week to discuss his team's game against the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns coach Romeo Crennel couldn't help but bask in the glow of unexpected success.
"I don't know if you noticed or not," Crennel said, "but there's a big game this week -- in Cleveland, as a matter of fact."
It has been awhile since anyone could say that.

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