Cleveland Browns (2007 & prior)

[osugrad21]

MJ

Plowing into first
Jeff Schudel, Morning Journal Writer
12/17/2007

CLEVELAND -- Unlike policemen, game officials, kickers, the wine-and-cheese breed of fan and just about anyone else who had to be outside in Cleveland Browns Stadium, Jamal Lewis was delighted when he looked out his window yesterday morning


Lewis, Phil Dawson and a stubborn defense mashed the Bills, 8-0, on a day when two inches of snow fell in the first half and the wind sometimes reached gusts of 43 mph. The wind was so strong, the snow blew horizontally.

''The snow was beating off your face at the line of scrimmage,'' Browns quarterback Derek Anderson said.

It wasn't easy. The Bills had the ball first-and-10 on the Browns 15 with 47 seconds left. They turned the ball over on the 10 with three seconds to play before the Browns celebrated, and celebrate they did. Some jumped and shook their fists. Braylon Edwards did a belly slide in the snow as he ran onto the field for the final play.

The Browns are 9-5. They did not clinch a playoff spot because the Titans beat the Chiefs. If the Browns beat the Bengals in Cincinnati next Sunday, they clinch at least a wild-card spot.

The Steelers are also 9-5. The Browns would be AFC North champions if they beat the Bengals and the 49ers in the final game and the Steelers lose to St. Louis Thursday or the Ravens in the final game.

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

MJ

Offensive line produces its best day in worst conditions
By David S. Glasier, Journal Register News Service
12/17/2007

CLEVELAND -- The Browns' vastly improved offensive line has had a lot of good outings this season.


Given the importance of yesterday's game against Buffalo and the conditions in which it was played, an argument can be made that veteran center Hank Fraley and his four fellow starters outdid themselves in the 8-0 victory over the Bills.

With the field covered in snow, the wind howling and temperatures on the decidedly frigid side, the story of a contest with playoff implications for both teams was destined to be written in the trenches. The team that blocked better and ran better was going to emerge victorious.

The Browns ran for 174 yards, 163 of them accumulated by Jamal Lewis on 33 punishing carries. Buffalo finished with 108 yards on the ground.

Bottom line -- Browns win the battle of ground games, improve to 9-5 and are on the verge of clinching a playoff berth. Bills slip to 7-7 and are out of the playoff hunt.

''J-Lew (Lewis) loves to pound it in there. He's an offensive lineman's dream,'' Fraley said.

As has been the case all season, Lewis picked up big chunks of yardage running behind rookie left tackle Joe Thomas, the first-round draft choice out of Wisconsin, and veteran left guard Eric Steinbach, the best free-agent signing in the offseason.

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[osugrad21]

Dispatch

Browns plow forward
Win in snowstorm gives Cleveland tie atop AFC North
Monday, December 17, 2007 3:05 AM
By James Walker


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH


CLEVELAND -- The Browns' biggest game of the season was played on a sheet of snow with wind gusts reaching 43 miles per hour. Good thing tailback Jamal Lewis brought his snow tires.
Using short, choppy steps and brute upper-body strength, Lewis powered Cleveland to an 8-0 victory over the Buffalo Bills yesterday in Cleveland Browns Stadium.



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[osugrad21]

Dispatch

Rob Oller commentary: Browns show grit in vintage Cleveland weather

Monday, December 17, 2007 3:04 AM
By Rob Oller


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Tony Dejak | Associated Press
Browns quarterback Derek Anderson dives through the snow after the game.




CLEVELAND -- Impressions of an earlier Browns era -- footprints frozen in snow -- remained etched in the stadium turf long after Jim Brown poked his head into Cleveland's postgame locker room. Old No. 32's message was simple and clear: Congrats, Browns, and welcome back.
Back to the days of competing for a championship, in this case the AFC North title, which remains possible with Pittsburgh's loss to Jacksonville yesterday. Cleveland, which beat Buffalo 8-0, at least can clinch a wild-card spot with a win at Cincinnati on Sunday.



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[osugrad21]

Dispatch

Browns notebook: Zastudil's punting helps pin down Bills

Monday, December 17, 2007 2:51 AM
By James Walker


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH


CLEVELAND -- Browns punter Dave Zastudil hasn't been called on often this season, but through snow and heavy winds, he played a major role in Cleveland's 8-0 victory yesterday over the Buffalo Bills. Zastudil punted a season-high seven times for 232 yards, with his longest 56 yards through the swirling wind.
He placed Buffalo inside its 20-yard line three times and helped keep the Bills out of Cleveland territory for most of the game.



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[osugrad21]

DDN

Season is vindication for Romeo Crennel

By Sean McClelland
Staff Writer

Tuesday, December 18, 2007
BEREA ? Back in the summer, when Browns coach Romeo Crennel was on the so-called "hot seat," few could have imagined his team would find itself on the verge of clinching a playoff spot the week before Christmas.
It sure looks like vindication for Crennel, who entered the season with a two-year record of 10-22, including 1-11 against the AFC North.


The Browns are 3-2 against division foes going into Sunday's game at Paul Brown Stadium against the Bengals. Winning works wonders when it comes to burying the past and having players buy what you're selling.



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[osugrad21]

DDN

Jeanty should return vs. Browns

By Chick Ludwig
Staff Writer

Tuesday, December 18, 2007
CINCINNATI ? Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis reported Monday that strong-side linebacker Rashad Jeanty should be healthy enough to play against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
That's good news for a defense that has thrived with Jeanty in the lineup and struggled without him.


In the five straight games (Nos. 9-13) Jeanty started, the unit allowed opponents an average of 270 yards (73.2 rushing). But he was deactivated with a bruised knee at San Francisco and his absence resulted in 49ers tailback Frank Gore ripping off 138 yards on 29 carries.



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[osugrad21]

ABJ

Loss Sunday could echo Falling to the Bengals could cost the Browns a place in the playoffs
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sportswriter

Published on Tuesday, Dec 18, 2007
BEREA: When asked about the Browns' final two games, co-captain Willie McGinest was practically prophetic.
''It's just one game, Cincinnati. That's all that matters. Our playoff game is Cincinnati,'' McGinest said Sunday after the blizzard-swept 8-0 home victory over Buffalo.
Although running back Jamal Lewis uttered nearly the same words a week ago, linebacker McGinest's were still right to the point. Sunday's game at Cincinnati carries much more weight than the Dec. 30 season finale at home against San Francisco.

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[osugrad21]

CPD

Cleveland Browns control their playoff destiny

Browns control their destiny with win Sunday over Bengals
Tuesday, December 18, 2007Mary Kay Cabot
Plain Dealer Reporter
The Browns' one-game-at-a-time mantra can be changed this week to "Win and We're In."
If they beat the 5-9 Bengals in Cincinnati, they clinch the second AFC wild-card spot.
A victory over the Bengals would give the Browns (9-5) an 8-4 record in the conference, which means they'd win the first applicable tiebreaker with Tennessee (8-6). The best the Titans can finish in the conference is 7-5.




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[osugrad21]

CPD

Plain Dealer columnist Bud Shaw says Cleveland Browns running back Jamal Lewis will not sign one-year deal


Tuesday, December 18, 2007Bud Shaw
Plain Dealer Columnist
Negotiations with Jamal Lewis can't be as easy as he made them sound recently when he suggested coming to terms was no more complicated than a page out of a children's book.
See Jamal run. See Jamal sign.
Quoth the ex-Raven: "Hey, I'll do one-year deals all day long."




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[osugrad21]

CPD

Late-game heroics like Kardiac days


Tuesday, December 18, 2007
They are the Kardiac Kids reincarnated.
It's never easy with these 2007 Browns, but it's always exciting.
If it's not field goals smacking off goalposts and stanchions, it's recovering a couple of onside kicks, making a last-second interception or getting knocked out of bounds on a catch in the end zone.




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[osugrad21]

Canton

Lewis picks up steam in playoff surge
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
By Steve Doerschuk
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

BEREA Could Romeo Crennel have sat through Sunday?s brutal weather as a paying customer?

?If I?m a dedicated fan,? the Browns head coach said, ?I sit there and get it done.?

His job instead was to let Jamal Lewis run.

If Lewis keeps getting it done as he did during an 8-0 win over Buffalo, Crennel might stand there and sing, ?Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.? Lewis bruised the Bills for 163 yards on 33 carries.

As the Browns assume playoff-team personality, Lewis is playing like a rushing champion.

He won?t win a rushing crown, as he did in 2003, but he might have contended had a foot injury not cost him two games. Lewis? 89.4-yard average for his 12 full games projects to 1,252 yards over 14. Pittsburgh?s Willie Parker leads the NFL with 1,317 yards, with San Diego?s LaDainian Tomlinson next at 1,311.

As it is, Lewis has 1,084 yards, seventh-best in the NFL, with a competitive 4.3 per-carry average.

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[osugrad21]

Canton

Browns' Anderson is unlikely hero
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
By Todd Porter
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

CLEVELAND

One year ago, no one knew Derek Anderson, including Anderson. No one knew what the Browns benchwarmer could do. Sure, there was a glimpse or two, but that could?ve been blind luck.

Now, Anderson is taking the Tony Romo approach to NFL stardom ? minus, of course, the pop star girlfriends and tabloid headlines.

So there was Anderson on Sunday night, still thawing out from 3 1/2 hours of arctic football, trying to take it all in. What makes Anderson different than Charlie Frye and Tim Couch is, he doesn?t bother to wrap his mind around it. There?s no first-pick hype to live up to, no local-boy-makes-good storyline to force.


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[osugrad21]

Canton

Browns' road to playoffs a simple one ? maybe
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
By Steve Doerschuk
Repository sports writer

CLEVELAND They mastered the snow. Can they handle the heat?

If the Browns win Sunday at Cincinnati, they clinch a playoff spot.

There is a good chance their first-round playoff game would be at San Diego, though other developments certainly are possible.

The Browns are in a position similar to the one New England faced in 2002, when Romeo Crennel was defensive coordinator.

Had the Patriots won Game 15 against the Jets, they would have gone to the playoffs. They lost, eventually losing out in the tiebreaker to the Jets and Browns.

Cleveland can avoid such disappointment by winning at Paul Brown Stadium. The Browns have plenty of practice playing at Cincinnati in the second half of seasons:

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[osugrad21]

Canton

Browns' Lewis runs wild
Tuesday, December 18, 2007


RUNNING WILD

Jamal Lewis ran for 166 yards vs. Buffalo on Sunday. His only bigger yardage games as a pro:

? Nov. 19, 2000, 187 yards vs. Dallas

? Nov. 26, 2000, 170 yards vs. Cleveland

? Oct. 6, 2002, 187 yards at Cleveland

? Sept. 14, 2003, 295 yards vs. Cleveland

? Dec. 7, 2003, 180 yards vs. Cincinnati

? Dec. 21, 2003, 205 yards at Cleveland

? Sept. 26, 2004, 186 yards at Cincinnati

? Jan. 2, 2005, 167 yards, vs. Miami (career-high 34 carries)

? Sept. 16, 2007, 216 yards vs. Cincinnati

NOTE: Lewis and the Browns play Cincinnati on Sunday.