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Cleveland Browns (2007 & prior)

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12/19/05

Browns may have turned corner

Monday, December 19, 2005

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>[FONT=Verdana, Times New Roman, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]BROWNS SPOTLIGHT TODD PORTER[/FONT]



OAKLAND, Calif. - Rest today, Browns fans. You’re not Raiders fans.
It took most of the season to find one, but the Browns did so on Sunday. There is a team further behind the NFL pace than Cleveland, which couldn’t beat a Lions team that has Detroit close to rioting.

The Raiders, as Dr. Seuss would say this time of year, are an awful, bad team, led, coincidentally, by the Grinch of NFL owners. Oakland has always had an inferiority complex compared to San Francisco, its neighbor across the Bay.

But in the NFL, Oakland isn’t even Cleveland. That hurts.

While we must include the fact that the Raiders are the Raiders and apparently wandering aimlessly without much of a plan, Sunday’s win was important for the Browns.

It was big.

Yeah, it was ugly.

But there is a lot to be said for a 5-9 football team playing out the string and winning ugly.

Browns General Manager Phil Savage, to his credit, didn’t fall head over heels in love. Carmen Policy would have had Browns fans ready to make Super Bowl reservations after a game like this.

Savage? He nearly shrugged his shoulders after what was the season’s signature win.

“Because we won the game, maybe,” Savage said when asked if this win showed the most progress of the year. “Obviously, we’ve had signs along the way, here and there. I would say the Miami win was the best, based on what they’ve done after us. That is the highlight.

“But we’ll take any kind of small success.”

Think about what Cleveland did Sunday.

Rookie quarterback Charlie Frye had the worst of his three NFL starts. He was picked off, made bad decisions, threw to the wrong reads, was sacked three times and looked like he’d just spent an afternoon being tossed and tumbled in a washing machine.

The offense made just 13 first downs, and three of those came on the game-winning drive. Reuben Droughns, Cleveland’s first 1,000-yard back in decades, was virtually absent for the second week in a row. Wide receiver Antonio Bryant dropped at least two more passes, but he’ll remind you he caught five others.

And one more little thing: No touchdowns. No momentum, no sign of winning this game.

But the Browns scratched out a win. That’s progress, believe it or not.

“It wasn’t the prettiest game in the world,” Head Coach Romeo Crennel said. “... But they made some plays they had to make to give us a chance to win. ... We hung in there and made a play at the end to win. During the course of this year, we haven’t been able to make a play at the end to win. It feels good we were able to make it.”

The Browns failed to make that play against dreadful Houston and Detroit. They also failed the last two weeks against Jacksonville and Cincinnati. All four of those games were winnable.

“We’ve got fighters,” cornerback Daylon McCutcheon said. “That’s what I love about this team. Other guys on other teams would lay down and not fight in these types of games.”

So, did the Browns fight and the Raiders lay down? Probably.

That’s why you shouldn’t fall in love all over again, only to have your heart trampled on this Christmas Eve against the Steelers.

The Browns aren’t quitters, although they have been in previous years.

“Sometimes ... guys toss in the towel. Our guys are not like that and didn’t do that,” Crennel said. “I’m proud they continued to fight to give us a chance to win the game. Hopefully, we can build on that and finish this year strong, and build on next year.”

That’s all the Steelers game and the Jan. 1 finale against the Ravens are: Building blocks, and signs the team still has faith in Crennel and Savage.
In a quiet hallway in the locker room, Savage seemed to enjoy a small slice of the season that mostly has been bitter pie. He smiled. He looked around. He smiled more.

He didn’t smile too much. He didn’t paint a picture of a Lombardi Trophy coming to Cleveland next year.

“We can all criticize different plays, and different players, but by and large, some of the character guys we brought in have stepped to the forefront and brought us through this,” Savage said.

More important, the towel wasn’t thrown in. Oakland is a long trip. NFL teams flying across three time zones with losing records don’t typically win here.

Yes, the Raiders are bad — but a team with a good defense, LaMont Jordan at running back and Randy Moss at receiver shouldn’t be this awful bad.
The Browns are going places, and when they get there, they may point back to this game as the starting point.

Oakland lacks both a plan and pride. The Browns are bad, but they’re not quitters. Not any more. Reach Repository sports writer Todd Porter at (330) 580-8340 or e-mail: [email protected].
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bucknuts44820 said:
I wouldn't put Faine on the first round curse label, he has been on the field and performed well for the Browns. Injuries happen.
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No arguments about his performance while on the field, but he has missed a lot of time to injury ( 7 games as a rookie, and 2-3 in each year since). It's just very frustrating as a Browns fan how these injuries continually strike our 1st round draft picks.
 
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12/22/05

Dawson’s perfect day lands him AFC honor

Thursday, December 22, 2005

James Walker
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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BEREA, Ohio — Browns kicker Phil Dawson was named AFC special teams player of the week after making three field goals, including the 37-yard winner as time expired, in Cleveland’s 9-7 victory Sunday over the Oakland Raiders.

Dawson overcame a low final kick and inclement weather all afternoon to help the Browns improve to 5-9.

This is second time that the award has gone to Dawson, who has made 25 of 27 field goal attempts this season.
"I’ll accept that for all of us," Dawson said of the award. "A lot of guys were into the performance the other day and it was our best special teams performance as a whole. Coach (Romeo Crennel) has been telling us all season that it would take all three phases to win the game and he was right."
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12/23/05

You can bet on Cribbs

Friday, December 23, 2005

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>[FONT=Verdana, Times New Roman, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]By Steve Doerschuk Repository sports writer[/FONT]




BEREA - Which former Mid-American Conference quarterback will win Saturday’s game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns?
If you like a long shot, bet on Josh Cribbs.
The spotlight will be on former Miami of Ohio marvel Ben Roethlisberger and Akron alumnus Charlie Frye.
But Cribbs, a former Kent State QB, could steal some thunder with a kick return. Or a catch and run. Or maybe even a trick-play pass.
Roethlisberger and Frye built big MAC reputations with their arms.
Before becoming a Steeler in 2004, Roethlisberger passed for 10,829 yards during three years as a Miami starter. Prior to joining the Browns this year, Frye flung for 11,049 yards in four years as an Akron starter.
Cribbs had decent passing totals — 7,169 yards — in four years as a Kent State starter. But he was known more for his wheels than his wing.
Something of a poor man’s Michael Vick, he rushed for 3,670 yards and a Kent State-record 38 touchdowns.
He also won shootout games against both Roethlisberger and Frye.
“I remember getting ready for the Miami game the year we beat them,” Cribbs said. “I was pumped. I was motivated.
“You go through the week thinking, there’s no way he’s gonna work harder than me. There’s no way he can do more than I do to get ready. There’s no way they’re gonna get away with taking the attitude, same old Kent State.”
what is he?
Cribbs beat Roethlisberger, 24-20, in 2001, Cribbs’ freshman year. Scouts didn’t view him as an NFL passer. At draft time, they weren’t sure he was an NFL anything.
He made the Browns as an undrafted kick returner, special teams commando and “show team” receiver, impersonating opponents in practice.
There are signs of odd-job greatness.
Cribbs almost helped the Browns avoid a painful home loss to the Lions, returning a kick 90 yards for a touchdown.
In Sunday’s win at 9-7 Oakland, he set up a field goal just before halftime with a long return to near midfield.
His season average on 34 returns is 24.7 yards, remarkable for a few reasons:
n He had almost no experience at the job.
n Among Browns with 10 or more returns, he has the third-best single-season average in the last 25 years.
n Chiefs return ace Dante Hall failed to reach a 24-yard average in his first three NFL seasons.
n Cribbs hasn’t been fully healthy for more than two months, the result of a sprained knee, a concussion, nasty bruises and general abuse that goes with two of his other jobs, hammering punt and kick returners. He ranks second on the team with 15 special-teams tackles.
AN ALL-OUT SPRINT
Cribbs had some magical returns in the preseason, and a miserable first real game.
He was smacked silly on his first return, losing a fumble, suffering a sprained knee, and missing two games. He fumbled again in his comeback game, at which point former Head Coach Sam Rutigliano said on a TV show that he would replace Cribbs.
Romeo Crennel stuck with the rookie and has been rewarded.
“He’s done a very nice job,” Crennel said, “when you consider that he was a quarterback trying to make the team as something else.
“He’s a returner, he covers kicks, he’s learning to be a wide receiver, and he’s productive at it. He’s done a lot to solidify a position.”
Cribbs had to learn a new running style as a kick returner.
“As a quarterback,” Cribbs said, “I was attacking the defenders when I ran. They would wait and see what I would do. I’d make my move, make them think I was going to pass, make my move when I was ready.
“As a kick returner ... it’s an all-out sprint.”
Crennel says Cribbs has good but not great speed, a factor that may have kept him out of the draft. It remains to be seen whether he will be a meaningful receiver next year — he didn’t have an NFL catch until Frye hit him with a 7-yarder at Oakland.
UNUSUAL BROTHERHOOD
Cribbs may never achieve nearly as much fame as Roethlisberger or Frye. Already, though, he is in a very interesting fraternity.
Former Browns who returned kickoffs at one time or another include:
n four Hall of Famer players in Marion Motley, Jim Brown, Bobby Mitchell and Leroy Kelly;
n Hall of Fame coaches Chuck Noll and Don Shula;
n Former Heisman Trophy winners Howard “Hopalong” Cassady and Charles White;
n Mighty mites Walter “The Flea” Roberts, Gerald “Ice Cube” McNeil and Dino Hall;
n Browns radio voice Doug Dieken;
n The Pruitts, Mike and Greg;
n Massillon high school legends Horace Gillom and Jim Houston;
n Former Kent State running back Larry Poole.
Kick returners generally don’t last long. Is that all there is for Cribbs?
Cornerback Ray Mickens, who has covered NFL wideouts for a decade, sees possibilities.
“Cribbs has shown me a lot,” Mickens said. “He’s not a shake guy who keeps wiggling to make you miss, but he has good instincts ... definitely a lot of talent. You can’t quite put your finger on what makes it work, but it works.” Reach Repository sports writer Steve Doerschuk at (330) 580-8347 or e-mail [email protected]
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12/26/05

Christmas Eve shellacking proves just how far Browns still have to go

Monday, December 26, 2005

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>[FONT=Verdana, Times New Roman, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]By STEVE DOERSCHUK[/FONT]


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SCOTT HECKEL Steelers receiver Hines Ward gestures to the Dawg Pound after former Brown Quincy Morgan caught a 31-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 41-0 Pittsburgh win. In the background, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger high-fives Charlie Batch, who threw the pass to Morgan. Ward caught seven passes for 105 yards in the game.
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CLEVELAND - If you can’t beat ’em, abandon ’em.
That was the only satisfaction Browns fans who showed up at Saturday’s fiasco had.
Near the end of a 41-0 rout, hundreds of Steeler fans waved Terrible Towels and looked for someone to taunt. There were no Browns fans left to taunt.
The Browns had fueled some hope by winning at Oakland the week before. Some of that hope was gone after a surrealistic Christmas Eve afternoon in Cleveland Browns Stadium.
“They had more fans here than we did,” safety Chris Crocker said. “Those guys were making a lot of plays, and their crowd was really cheering for them.
“It was just embarrassing. It really was.”
No one thought Head Coach Romeo Crennel’s team was going to punish a Pittsburgh team that has a chance to go 11-5.
No one foresaw this kind of humiliation.
“The 53 players on this team have to look at ourselves and ask what the hell we’re doing,” tight end Steve Heiden said. “Nobody showed up today.
“We have a way to go. That’s obvious. No good team is gonna lay an egg like that.
“That wasn’t us today, though.”
The 41-0 loss was reminiscent of the expansion Browns’ first game in 1999, a 43-0 loss to the Steelers.
It looked like the latter days of 2000, when Crennel was defensive coordinator, and there were losses of 44-7 at Baltimore and 48-0 at Jacksonville.
Except, the 2005 Browns were supposed to be getting better. And this one was at home.
“Offense, defense, you name it ... they outplayed us and outcoached us across the board,” Crennel said.
When Reuben Droughns (season lows of 10 carries and 36 yards) ran the ball, two or three Steelers were in his face. When rookie Charlie Frye (20-of-39 for 183 yards, eight sacks) dropped back, he had to wonder who might clobber him.
“They brought more rushers than we had blockers,” left tackle l.J. Shelton said. “A lot of times, they were up on him and he had to throw the ball hot.”
Crocker flew around and was among Browns trying to stir enthusiasm.
He wound up frustrated. His unit got hit by Willie Parker’s 80-yard run and 209 overall rushing yards. Steeler quarterback Ben Roethlisberger went 13-of-20 for 226 yards, 193 in the first half.
“I can’t say it was coaching,” Crocker said. “We as players, me included ... everything they called, we just found a way to mess it up, man.
“I take my hat off to Pittsburgh. They just shoved it down our throat, basically.”
The Browns fell behind, 14-0, before the game was 12 minutes old.
“We clicked really well on offense,” Roethlisberger said. “The defense was out there flying around.
“Our best game of the season? It probably was.”
Previously, it can be argued, the 2005 Browns’ worst losses were 27-13 to Cincinnati, 16-3 at Baltimore, 34-21 at Pittsburgh, and 24-12 at Minnesota.
This was worse than any of those.
“They were playing for their playoffs lives,” tight end Steve Heiden said. “We didn’t show up.”
In the end, Pittsburgh led 457 yards to 178 in net offense. The Steelers’ halftime edge, 251-22, better captured the flavor of the game.
“It leaves a bad taste in your mouth,” said defensive end Orpheus Roye, who is 2-11 against his former team since joining the Browns in 2000.
Browns special teams were as special as the offense and defense. Pittsburgh used a blocked punt to set up a field goal and a 20-0 halftime lead.
“I would assume everybody in this locker room is gonna think of things they could have done better,” safety Brian Russell said. “I didn’t do much to help us win.
“I’m the personal protector on the punt team. I got a punt blocked. I made mistakes.
“Pretty much my whole game should have been better to help this team win.”
Crennel had merrier Christmas Eves during his four-year run with New England. “There was too much bad,” he said. “You saw the game. We have a long way to go.” Reach Repository sports writer Steve Doerschuk at (330) 580-8347 or e-mail [email protected].
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My first NFL game was there sunday.. hardest thing I ever had to watch.. glad to be back in columbus with the buckeyes. Those fans up there are fucking nuts. Completely diffent enviorment than the shoe. It was awesome until the game started.
 
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buckzip said:
I used to think the Browns were pretty close.
A couple d-lineman, a couple linebackers, an o-tackle.

Wow, they are farther away than that.
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i have jokingly said in the past, (now i'm serious), that cleveland needs to draft 7 guys that play in a 3-point stance.

improvements on the DL will certainly aid the performance of the lb's, except ben taylor who gets run over at least once a game.

winslow and edwards healthy helps the offense greatly, but LJ Shelton is worthless.
 
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12/30/05

McCutcheon, Dawson have seen it all

Friday, December 30, 2005

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>[FONT=Verdana, Times New Roman, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]By Steve Doerschuk Repository sports writer[/FONT]


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Daylon McCutcheon (33) breaks up a pass intended for Miami’s Bryan Gilmore during a game earlier this season. McCutcheon and Phil Dawson are the only players continuously on the Browns’ roster since the team returned to the NFL in 1999. repository SCOTT HECKEL
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BEREA - The losing is stagnant, but the winds of change keep blowing at 76 Lou Groza Blvd.
Of the 53 players on the Browns’ active roster for Sunday’s season finale, 24 were acquired over the previous six years of the expansion era. Twenty-nine were signed since March.
Daylon McCutcheon, 29, and Phil Dawson, 30, are the dinosaurs.
They are the remaining expansion-era Browns who were there for the beginning, a 43-0 home loss to the Steelers on Sept. 12, 1999, and were there for the most recent agony, a 41-0 home loss to Pittsburgh.
They are good players who have seen lots of bad football.
Both started saying years ago that they had been through the lean times and wanted to be here when the good times rolled.
It’s getting late. The sparkle hasn’t come.
“Obviously,” Dawson said, “there have been some down moments. Obviously, we’re coming off of one.
“There hasn’t been anything I’ve seen this season we can’t overcome and continue to get this thing headed in the right direction.”
Like Dawson, McCutcheon keeps hoping. All the Browns have to do some year is get better than the three teams in the AFC North.
“We played well against Cincinnati,” McCutcheon said. “We just weren’t able to pull it out at the end.
“The Pittsburgh game ... they’ve kind of had our number. I don’t know what it’s gonna take to beat those guys.
“With Baltimore, I think we just haven’t played up to our capabilities. Of those teams, Baltimore is definitely the team we’re capable of beating. We just dug a hole the first time we played against them.”
The Browns trailed 16-0 at Baltimore on Oct. 16 before getting their only points, on a Dawson field goal.
The winds have blown for the Ravens, too. Twenty of their 53 active-roster players were signed this year. Eleven remain from the 2000 team that won a Super Bowl.
The Ravens are celebrating their 10th season, without many fireworks. They are 6-9, putting their record since the move from Cleveland at 78-80-1. They won a Super Bowl in the 2000 season, something Cleveland has never done.
The Ravens are no different than the Browns in that they will have missed the playoffs in three of the last four seasons.
A clearer indication of the comparative paths, though, is the Browns’ 14-33 record over the last three years, and their 1-4 record against Baltimore in that span.
This will be McCutcheon’s seventh season finale with the Browns. He has seen it both ways, with losses in 1999, 2000 and 2001, and wins in 2002, 2003 and 2004.
The veteran doesn’t get melodramatic about what a win in this season finale might mean.
“It doesn’t make or break your season,” he said, “because we’re already disappointed.”
When a fellow has been through so many Browns games, one more doesn’t mean too much. Win or lose.
Take the terrible game against Pittsburgh. “Last weekend hurt a lot,” McCutcheon said, “but to me, it’s over. I’m not gonna dwell on it. It’s done. We lost. Move on.” Reach Repository sports writer Steve Doerschuk at (330) 580-8347 or e-mail: [email protected].
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Updated: Dec. 30, 2005, 2:18 PM ET
Sources: Browns ready to fire GM Savage


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The Cleveland Browns plan to fire senior vice president and general manager Phil Savage, NFL sources told ESPN's Chris Mortensen on Friday.
The split is over "philosophical differences," primarily salary cap management. The announcement could come as early as Friday, Mortensen reported. Savage could not be reached for comment.
Atlanta Falcons chief administration officer Ray Anderson is a candidate to replace Savage, who joined the Browns on Jan. 6.
The Browns, who are 5-10 in coach Romeo Crennel's first season in Cleveland, play Baltimore on Sunday.
Savage spent the past nine seasons with the Baltimore Ravens organization, including 2003-04 as the Ravens' director of player personnel. He is known as one of the NFL's top talent evaluators.
In Baltimore, the 14-year veteran of the league, worked directly with general manager Ozzie Newsome to oversee college and pro scouting. While there, Savage was involved in many of the day-to-day operations of the team and also negotiated contracts of late-round draft picks.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2275447
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