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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
Dispatch
7/12/06
7/12/06
PRO FOOTBALL
Frye follows in footsteps of his hero
Local product plans to lean on Kosar as Browns’ starting QB
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Ron Musselman
TOLEDO BLADE
<!--PHOTOS--><TABLE class=phototableright align=right border=0><!-- begin large ad code --><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE align=center><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle></IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>MARK DUNCAN ASSOCIATED PRESS </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Former Browns QB Bernie Kosar thinks enough of new starter Charlie Frye that he offered to let him wear his No. 19. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
BEREA, Ohio — When Charlie Frye was a youngster growing up in Willard, he idolized Cleveland Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar.
Frye had a poster of Kosar taped to his bedroom wall.
Despite his unorthodox sidearm throwing motion and limited mobility, Kosar was one of the most popular players in Browns history, leading the Browns to three AFC Championship game appearances.
Kosar, from nearby Boardman, and Frye struck up a friendship last year shortly after the Browns selected Frye in the third round of the NFL draft from the University of Akron.
Kosar, who doesn’t have an official role with the organization, has quickly become Frye’s friend and mentor.
With Trent Dilfer gone, Kosar likely will play an even bigger role in the development of Frye, the Browns’ latest starting quarterback.
"Bernie grew up near here, got drafted by the Browns and developed into their starter," Frye said. "I’m in a very similar situation. My hometown is about an hour and a half from here, and the college I went to is 45 minutes away.
"I’ve bounced a lot of things off of Bernie since I first got to know him last year. One of Bernie’s strengths as an NFL player was his smarts. He knew how to run an offense and how to win games. And he’s tried to pass on some of that knowledge to me."
Kosar has taken such a liking to Frye that he suggested Frye wear his No. 19 jersey.
Frye resisted the temptation. He plans to keep wearing No. 9, partly out of respect for Kosar.
Frye, who played in seven games as a rookie last year, admits he has a long way to go before he can be compared with Kosar, who like Frye steers clear of the spotlight.
"Starting five games last year was a great experience for me, it was huge," Frye said. "You can’t draw that kind of stuff up on a chalkboard or learn it in the classroom or on film. You need to be in the fire, so to speak, to really get a feel of what it’s like, and I did that.
"Now that I’m the No. 1 guy, I just have to keep getting better and keep improving during minicamp and training camp. I can’t afford to take a step back now. Everybody in the organization is counting on me."
Frye, 6 feet 4 and 217 pounds, spent the first nine games last season sitting on the bench behind Dilfer, who was traded to the San Francisco 49 ers in May for backup quarterback Ken Dorsey.
Frye got his chance to play in the second quarter of a 22-0 shutout loss to the Miami Dolphins in week 10 after Dilfer was pulled from the game.
Dilfer was injured the next week against the Minnesota Vikings. Frye relieved him and then started the final five games for Cleveland, going 2-3.
Frye completed 59.4 percent of his passes (98 of 165) for 1,002 yards, with six interceptions and four touchdowns.
The Browns believe Frye is ready to fly solo.
"Charlie has worked extremely hard," Browns general manager Phil Savage said. "I think the players have gravitated toward him as the leader of the team on offense. I think he seems to be able to get the job done.
"That’s the thing that’s always been intriguing about him. He can look average all day long, but when the lights go on at night, he plays well. I think that’s what we are banking on. When it really counts, he’ll perform and produce."
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I can pick up Braylon or Kellen in my fantasy league.....are either of them worth a cheap pickup?
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
FWIW, I would take a chance on Winslow......Edwards may miss some games, either way I wouldn't give up much for them.
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tsteele316
Mr. Such and Such
i thought washington was transferring to Ole Miss or something of the sort.
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scarletngrey11
All right, all right, all right.
Ahmad Brooks was selected by the Bengals in the supplemental draft.
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scarletngrey11
All right, all right, all right.
Is Marvin Lewis trying to start a prison or what?
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
Canton
7/16/06
7/16/06
Can Charlie Frye succeed?
Sunday, July 16, 2006
<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]
<TABLE style="MARGIN: 10px -3px 15px 5px; POSITION: relative" width=300 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Charlie Frye completed 98 of 165 passes for 1,002 yards with four touchdowns and six interceptions in seven games during his rookie season with the Cleveland Browns a year ago.
Can the frowning followers of a fractured NFL franchise find fulfillment with a third-round draftee flinging the football?
Browns fans figure to find out.
History whispers yes: Joe Montana.
History yells no: Robbie Bosco, Billy Joe Hobert, Peter Tom Willis, Stoney Case, Giovanni Carmazzi ...
Repository research — initiated in relation to the launch of the Charlie Frye era — suggests odds are about 5-to-1 against finding a quality long-term starting quarterback in the third round of a draft.
Head Coach Romeo Crennel is rolling the dice on Frye, a No. 67 overall pick in 2005.
General Manager Phil Savage was uneasy about leaving Frye with no veteran backup after he shipped Trent Dilfer to Seattle for Ken Dorsey.
“I’d keep saying, ‘Romeo, you OK with the quarterback thing?’ ” Savage said. “He’d look at me with a smile on his face and say, ‘Phil, I’m fine.’ ”
The outside world is rolling its eyes — an ESPN feature embarrassed the Browns by ranking their quarterback situation as the worst in the NFL for 2006.
GOOD AND BAD AS ROOKIE
There’s no guarantee Marty Schottenheimer, whose San Diego Chargers are scheduled to host Cleveland on Nov. 5, will face Frye. But that’s the Browns’ plan.
“He was a third-round pick, but I never felt draft position necessarily directly related to what a guy might do at our level,” Schottenheimer said. “I liked (1998 No. 2 overall pick) Ryan Leaf out of college. Then it all happens very fast. You have to have the maturity, the ability to assimilate information.
“There are factors you can’t determine with any accuracy. Look at Tom Brady. He turned out to be a pretty good sixth-round pick.”
Frye was drafted in the netherworld between the Leaf and Brady zones. Third rounds have produced an odd batch of mostly disposable quarterbacks. It’s debatable whether any third-round QB picked since Montana is what the Browns hope Frye becomes.
At his best in five starts, Frye won the amusing title of Diet Pepsi nfl.com Rookie of the Week, against Jacksonville. At his worst, Pittsburgh shook him like a two-liter bottle in the hands of a bully — popping off the cap and watching him fizz all over the field.
“I can’t say I have much of a feel for Charlie right now,” Schottenheimer said. “I saw him in college. He looked like a good prospect.”
Frye replaced Dilfer as Cleveland’s starter after 11 games in 2005. His Pittsburgh game was “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”
“We got in his head,” said Steeler linebacker Joey Porter, who sacked Frye three times during a 41-0 blowout on Dec. 24.
In the Jan. 1 season finale, though, Frye helped rally the Browns from a 13-0 deficit to a 20-16 win over the Ravens.
“Charlie has shown ... the ability to bounce back,” Savage said. “He’s shown some grit, toughness and determination.”
ROOKIES HAVE TO LEARN
The only other NFL rookie quarterback to play as much as Frye last year was No. 1 overall pick Alex Smith of the 49ers. Smith started two more games than Frye, but the two wound up throwing almost exactly the same number of passes.
Frye had better stats, maybe because he didn’t have to play as early. In Smith’s earliest starts, Games 4 and 5, he threw five interceptions, was sacked 10 times and lost by a combined 80-20 score.
Smith sat for a month, was propped up by Head Coach Mike Nolan, and was better in his second leg of playing time.
“The most difficult thing for a young quarterback is getting a handle on terminology,” Nolan said. “He has to articulate it in the huddle in a way everybody grasps. He has to understand the play and what it means, then know where to go with the ball.
“If somebody starts speaking French or German or Spanish, I’m lost.”
In theory, it’s not all Greek to Frye now that he has some experience.
“I think I played pretty well in the last five games, and I’m only going to get better,” the plain-talking Ohioan said. “The rookie you saw last year, you won’t see this year.
“I’m going to make all of the throws better. I’ve been in the offensive system for more than a year. ... Everything seems to come a lot easier.”
GROOM THE YOUNG GUYS
Savage isn’t asking Frye to be the next Montana (third-rounder in 1979, MVP of Super Bowls capping the 1981, ’84 and ’89 seasons). He’d probably settle for the next Brian Griese (third-rounder in 1998, Pro Bowl in his third NFL season).
“We want to make the team strong enough that the quarterback doesn’t have to carry us,” Savage says.
Good idea, says Marv Levy, a Hall of Fame coach who is back in the league as a Buffalo personnel executive. Levy said even the supposed super talents have needed grooming.
“Peyton Manning went 3-13 as a rookie,” he said. “Troy Aikman was 1-15. (Terry) Bradshaw was 1-13. Any quarterback who succeeds early has to have a good cast around him. He has to build confidence.
“Ben Roethlisberger has had success, but his stats won’t blow you away. He had a good cast around him.”
Bill Cowher offered a gratuitous evaluation one might expect from a rival’s head coach when he said he’s been “very impressed” by Frye.
“No. 1, I think he throws the ball accurately,” Cowher said. “You obviously notice his ability to get out of the pocket and still be able to look downfield.
“He’s making impressive throws on the run. He gives them a dimension of athleticism that you have to account for. All the plays that Ben made (as a 2004 rookie) out of the pocket and running around, I think you’ve seen a little bit of that in Charlie.”
OLD MAC FOES
Roethlisberger was drafted No. 11 overall, partly because he is bigger and has a stronger arm. Roethlisberger has led the Steelers to two straight AFC title games and one Super Bowl win. Frye has spent one NFL year on a 6-10 team.
If Roethlisberger comes back from his motorcycle crash and Frye settles in as the starter, they will collide Nov. 9 and Dec. 7.
“Charlie was always a very mobile quarterback and able to throw on the run very well and very accurately,” Roethlisberger said. “He’s a very good athlete and great competitor.”
For now, any ’Berger vs. Frye rivalry is lukewarm. Frye was 0-3 against Roethlisberger when they were Mid-American Conference rivals at Akron and Miami. In their first NFL duel, Roethlsiberger’s team drubbed Frye’s, 41-0. Frye was sacked eight times. Crennel said Frye was “dazed” and steered away from the media.
“They find that guys say things that they would not normally say when they get concussions,” said Crennel, in a nod to Tim Couch.
IN MOLD OF FAVRE?
Fans seem eager to latch onto the thought a lifelong Browns fan, Frye, might give them something to feel good about. They want to believe Frye has some magic that can transcend a third-round arm.
“It’s not a gun,” Crennel said, “but with his mobility, he can put himself in a position to make some plays.”
Everybody wants the perfect QB. That’s why seven of the last nine No. 1 overall picks have been QBs. In those years, 20 other passers have been plucked between Nos. 2 and 32.
Teams don’t groom third-round picks to start at quarterback unless they have to. The Browns have to.
Former No. 1 pick Couch had his last hurrah as a Brown in 2003. Kelly Holcomb, Jeff Garcia and Dilfer faded into the netherworld of veteran shots in the dark. Grooming a first-round quarterback wasn’t an option for Savage.
He headed into his first Cleveland draft (2005) with the No. 3 pick, but he wouldn’t have taken Smith even if the 49ers hadn’t struck first.
Frye fell to the early part of Round 3. Scouts who liked him saw resourcefulness, mobility and game-day moxie not always evident in practice and workouts. His low-key conversational tone drew mixed reactions. Nobody was sold on his arm strength, beyond concluding it might be good enough. He was no physical specimen, but he had a decent body.
One scouting report pegged him as a Brett Favre-style warrior. One offensive coordinator said he didn’t like Frye at all.
11TH-HOUR DECISION
Savage liked him enough.
The Browns ranked Frye 45th among players they’d consider drafting. When their pick came up in Round 3, the highest-ranked players left on their board were Frye and Iowa State cornerback Ellis Hobbs.
Hobbs was ranked higher, but Savage had “local boy, need position and signs of magic” kicking around in his mind. As the draft clock ticked, the GM sought out QBs coach Rip Scherer.
“We’re thinking about taking Charlie,” Savage told him. “Whaddaya think?”
What do they think now? Was Frye a third-round steal?
“We felt like that was a good value,” Savage said. “I don’t think we were like ... ecstatic. But we felt like, ‘OK, Charlie Frye, third round. That makes some sense. Go with it.’ ”
Coming tomorrow A look at the rather
unremarkable list of third-round quarterbacks
drafted since Joe Montana.
Reach Repository sports writer Steve Doerschuk at (330) 580-8347 or e-mail: [email protected]
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