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Cleveland Browns (2007 & prior)

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ABJ

8/17/06

Cribbs waits for chance at QB

Browns coach doesn't rule out moving player back to college position

By Patrick McManamon

Beacon Journal sportswriter

<!-- begin body-content -->BEREA - The likelihood is slim, but Joshua Cribbs is ready, willing and able.
And Cribbs knows some are wondering why, with Ken Dorsey and Derek Anderson struggling to win the Browns' backup quarterback position, the team does not consider him as a backup to Charlie Frye.
Even those closest to him.
``My wife asked me that the other day,'' Cribbs said this week as the Browns prepared for Friday night's exhibition game against the Detroit Lions. ``Why don't you go and do something?' ''
Go and do something would refer to speaking up and saying he could play quarterback, his natural position and the one he played at Kent State.
There, Cribbs was a four-year starter and left as the school's all-time leader in total offense (10,839 yards).
Cribbs rushed and passed for 1,000 yards in three of his four seasons, and he is one of only two players in NCAA history to have 1,000 yards rushing and passing in two seasons.
He's a backup wide receiver and kick returner for the Browns.
But Cribbs is not ready to ask to move back to quarterback -- though he said one day he will.
``The system is set in place,'' he said. ``Guys are being paid to do a certain job. There will be a time where I'm going to just go in there (and say), `You got to put me in there.'
``But until that time comes, right now it's a no.''
Coach Romeo Crennel continually says he wants to bring Cribbs along slowly, to let him settle in at receiver before he even thinks about expanding his role.
But he said moving Cribbs at some point is ``a possibility.''
``We have five other guys lined up at that position right now and you can only work so many of them,'' Crennel said.
``They look at a guy like me as taking a risk, a chance, just throwing me back there to succeed,'' Cribbs said. ``If things get hard, they'd be like, `We have nothing to lose.' So they'll throw me back there.
``But we're not to that point yet.''
To Cribbs, it's not a risk.
``I can (succeed),'' he said. ``I wish the coaches would see, would know that.''
He was not making demands as he spoke, merely answering questions. Cribbs said he's happy with his role, but said he will never close the door on returning to quarterback.
He also said he signed with the Browns because playing receiver was a faster way to get into the league.
He turned down chances to compete at quarterback in Washington, New York (Giants) and Baltimore so he could play receiver for the Browns.
That decision will help him if and when he returns to quarterback.
``I felt the same way going from high school to college,'' he said. ``You adjust to the level. The game speed as well. The game speed changes from high school to college and it does from college to the NFL. I feel with preparation... it's easy.
``The same thing we learned in college, the quarterbacks are being taught out there. I feel it would be very easy for me to make that transition.''
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ABJ

8/18/06

Filling in is a snap

Veteran Ross Tucker takes reins at center

By Patrick McManamon

Beacon Journal sportswriter

<!-- begin body-content -->CLEVELAND - It's Ross Tucker's chance to be boss now.
He is the latest to earn the opportunity to start at center. Acquired Aug. 8 from the New England Patriots for a conditional draft pick, Tucker will start when the Browns play the Detroit Lions tonight at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
``I feel ready to go,'' Tucker said. ``I feel extremely confident. As an old friend said, this isn't my first rodeo.''
Tucker is an interesting guy. Went to Princeton University. Majored in politics. (``I have no political aspirations,'' he said.) Remembers the name of every member of the media who meets him (and it's quite a horde). And knows their affiliation before they tell him.
It's no surprise given his Ivy League background, but IQ points are obviously a positive.
So learning new terminology has been ``no problem whatsoever,'' Tucker said. ``That's a strength of mine. That's definitely in my favor.''
Tucker's excitement is understandable. He went from being out of football for most of 2005 to competing to make the team in New England in 2006 to potential starter for the Browns.
Browns coach Romeo Crennel's understated analysis of Tucker's strengths probably fits the situation better.
Said Crennel: ``He's here.''
Which is better than not being here, one would guess. Crennel's matter-of-fact statement is probably understandable.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick and Vice President of Player Personnel Scott Pioli are not known for giving away top-level players. No team is.
But stranger things have happened that lead to players winning starting jobs.
``A lot of of times when you get an opportunity in the NFL it's through unusual circumstances,'' Tucker said.
Tucker has good size -- 6-foot-4, 316 pounds -- and tree-trunk legs. He can be nasty, but also has the intelligence to pick up the line calls and fronts.
He also has 24 starts in his career -- his reason for the rodeo comment.
``I've started 24 games and I don't know how many preseason games,'' he said. ``It's just another game to me. But I also realize the significance, the opportunity... and I can't wait to go out there and show them what I can do.''
Tucker joined the league in 2001 with the Washington Redskins, and has also spent time with the Dallas Cowboys (2002), Buffalo Bills (2003-04) and the Patriots (2005).
That means he has spent a lot of time learning new systems. He said that in Dallas he had to start a game because of injuries two weeks after he signed.
The bulk of his experience came in 2004 with the Bills. He started four games at center and two at guard. The last eight games of the season he started at left guard, and the Bills won six in a row.
Back surgery derailed his time in Buffalo, though, and he wound up signing with the Patriots late last season.
Tucker is well aware that the Browns have lost four centers this training camp. LeCharles Bentley tore a knee tendon on the first day of training camp. Then Bob Hallen retired with back issues. Alonzo Ephraim was signed, but he will be suspended the first four games of the season. Rob Smith sprained an ankle in Philadelphia.
``I don't really believe in karma,'' Tucker said. ``When you get out there Friday night and the guy is this far away from you (he held his fingers up, an inch or two apart), karma really doesn't matter anymore.''
Brownies ...
• Crennel is hoping for a generally better performance from his starters tonight. Quarterback Charlie Frye will play into the second quarter, and perhaps the entire first half. The starters also might play the entire half.
• One key in the second half will be the play of backup quarterbacks Ken Dorsey and Derek Anderson, neither of whom had a great week of practice. Crennel had said the backup spot should become clearer after the second game. ``We will go through this game and see how it plays out,'' he said.
• Ralph Brown, signed Aug. 6, will start at cornerback opposite Leigh Bodden.
• Linebacker Willie McGinest again might be given the night off. He did not play in the preseason opener.
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BROWNS SCOUTING REPORT

<!-- begin body-content -->Browns vs. Lions
When: 7:30 tonight.
Where: Cleveland Browns Stadium.
TV: WKYC (Channel 3).
Injuries: WR Braylon Edwards (knee), OT Ryan Tucker (knee), CB Daylon McCutcheon (knee), CB Gary Baxter (knee) will not play. LB Chaun Thompson (calf), DL J'Vonne Parker (ankle), C Rob Smith (ankle), CB Antonio Perkins (groin), OT Nat Dorsey (ankle) are not expected to play. LB Willie McGinest had offseason elbow surgery and might be held out, though he has practiced.
Players to watch: C Ross Tucker gets the chance to show he deserves the job.... QB Charlie Frye needs to do more with his playing time.... Backup QBs Ken Dorsey and Derek Anderson need better showings to show they deserve the job.... LBs Kamerion Wimbley and D'Qwell Jackson should get extended playing time.
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Dispatch

8/18/06

Offense hopes to be better
Browns starters expected to play into second quarter

Friday, August 18, 2006

James Walker
THE COLUMBUS DISAPTCH

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BEREA, Ohio — The Browns offense looked vanilla last week.
Tonight, they’ll try to add a few sprinkles.
Charlie Frye and company are hoping for a better showing when the Browns play their second preseason game against the Detroit Lions in Cleveland Browns Stadium.
The Browns’ first, second and third teams mustered just 179 yards of offense in a 20-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The third-teamers broke up the shutout when rookie running back Jerome Harrison caught an 8-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter.
The starters will get more of an opportunity to show what they can do against the Lions. Coach Romeo Crennel said the first teams on both sides of the football will play into the second quarter tonight, and some starters could play the entire first half.
"We have to get better from last week," said Frye, who was 4 of 7 for 23 yards against Philadelphia. "We kept it pretty simple. Every week we learn more stuff, and there will be more in the game plan this week."
Last week, the Browns were trying to protect Frye because of a rash of injuries and a patchwork offensive line in front of him. They ran basic plays and short passes before quickly getting him out of the game. Offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon might open the playbook a little more with the current line getting a full week of practice.
The game also could be an important showcase for reserve running back Lee Suggs, who will get playing time with the second- and third-team offenses.
Suggs was traded this week to the New York Jets but was shipped back to Cleveland after he failed his physical. Suggs, who remains on the trading block, says he’s 100 percent physically and will have a chance to prove it in a game situation.
"Lee will play (tonight) and he’ll do fine," Crennel said. "Then other teams may be more interested after that."
The Suggs untrade was the most recent in a long string of incidents that have dampened training camp. There have been multiple injuries (LeCharles Bentley, Daylon McCutcheon and Ryan Tucker), a sudden retirement (center Bob Hallen) and a suspension (center Alonzo Ephraim), to name a few.
Although it’s just a preseason game, the Browns could do themselves a service by having a solid showing. It would be a positive way of putting behind an ugly past three weeks and moving forward toward the regular season.
"This has been a crazy camp," starting running back Reuben Droughns said. "We just don’t talk about it. We control what we can on the field. All we are looking to do is get better."
[email protected]
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Canton

8/18/06

Russell makes most of skill, opportunity

Friday, August 18, 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]
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Browns safety Brian Russell (bottom) isn’t the most talented at his position but makes up for it in heart and effort.​
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BEREA - If it’s what’s up front that counts — and to a large extent for the Browns’ defense, it is — Ted Washington, Kamerion Wimbley, Willie McGinest and D’Qwell Jackson are the guys.
Washington has to gobble up blocks as the new nose tackle. Wimbley and old McGinest have to put a one-two punch where a wet-noodle pass rush was. Jackson must prove he was worth sacrificing former first-rounder Jeff Faine to move up in the second round.
A hidden key to the defense, though, could be the emergence of a man on the back end of the defense in the middle of his career.
That would be free safety Brian Russell, the “quarterback” of the defense that will take the field tonight against Detroit.
Russell might be emerging as a difference-maker at free safety.
Now 28 years old, long removed from being a restless Ivy League quarterback, Russell wants to move from his stabilizing role on the 2005 defense to a playmaking role in this one.
Russell thinks he is well advanced from his breakout 2003 season, when he had nine interceptions with the Vikings, and from his 2005 campaign, when he was getting his feet wet with the Browns.
“I really do feel I can anticipate things better this year,” Russell said. “That makes you a little faster.”
Some observers were surprised when Head Coach Romeo Crennel appointed Russell as the clear choice at free safety, then announced talented former Round 2 picks Sean Jones and Brodney Pool would be thrown into competition at strong safety.
The safety jobs are somewhat interchangeable in Crennel’s scheme, and Russell isn’t the athlete either Pool or Jones are.
Russell, though, has a thorough grasp of the defense, exhibits good toughness and has grown in confidence calling the signals for the secondary.
“I really feel I can anticipate things better this year,” Russell said. “That makes you a little faster.
“I can only move as fast as my body lets me, but when you really understand what’s going on and how the offense is trying to attack your defense, you tend to anticipate things and make plays.”
Anyone watching training camp every day will notice Russell in the wind sprints in which the entire defense lines up and goes. He always finishes first or close to it.
Some players seem to run these as if it isn’t cool to run too hard. What is Russell thinking?
“Part of it goes back to the fact I wasn’t drafted,” Russell said. “You have to fight for everything.
“Also, I’m in the deep part of the secondary all day long. The better shape I’m in, the better I’ll be in the fourth quarter. ... Hopefully, the young guy’s see that, hey, Russ is running hard. ... I should run hard.’
“I’ve been in other situations where I saw maybe a star player not running hard, and everybody follow his lead. I think that’s a bunch of crap.”
Russell’s future is uncertain, since his contract expires after this season, and keeping him would cost one of the potential playmakers, Jones or Pool, playing time. On the other hand, Russell will be hard to let go if he becomes the glue of a defense that breaks through.
“He understands what’s expected of him,” Crennel said. “He’s elevated his game a little bit.”
Russell won’t go that long tonight, playing probably a half. Back at practice, he’ll resume going as hard as anybody on the defense.
“Think ahead to Week 15 or 16,” he said. “You’re tired, and the body wants to quit.
“That’s when all the little things matter ... running to the ball in practice, making sure you get into tackling position. All these things build habits, and they carry you late in the season.”
Reach Repository sports writer Steve Doerschuk at (330) 580-8347 or e-mail [email protected]

Lions
at Browns
Kickoff 7:30 p.m. today
TV WKYC, Channel 3
NEXT WEEK Browns at Bills, 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 26
QB WATCH Charlie Frye figures to play most of the first half for the Browns, with Ken Dorsey and Derek Anderson then getting shots at winning the No. 2 job. Former Bengal Jon Kitna has a lead on Josh McCown in the race to run Detroit’s offense. More inside, Page C-6
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Canton

8/18/06

Let first half tell the story
Friday, August 18, 2006

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


BEREA - Tonight, the Browns try again in another game that doesn’t count. By most media accounts, it has been, at the very least, a weird training camp.
Are things really as bad as they seem?
Without All-Pro LeCharles Bentley at center — injured on the first 11-on-11 play of camp — it feels like a dark cloud is hanging over the team. Lee Suggs failed a physical, and people are acting like he flunked a driver’s exam. It’s a physical, and he might not even be the backup.
Much is made of the Bob Hallen-Alonzo Ephraim-Ross Tucker fiasco. Hallen, signed a couple days after Bentley, quit on the team after he was pressed into the starting role. Ephraim is looking at a four-game suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. And Tucker? Nothing ... so far.
Isn’t too much being made of the center problems?
If Bentley isn’t playing, does it really matter which warm body is out there for the Browns this fall?
General Manager Phil Savage grew irritated when an impromptu press conference broke out following the first preseason game.
He was asked about backup quarterbacks. He was asked about Charlie Frye, who, at best, struggled in the first preseason game.
What does any of that mean?
Not a hill of beans.
You know what you get out of watching a first preseason game? About two series of starters vs. starters. That’s it. You get a half-quarter. How many Browns fans are ready to bag the season after the first half of a quarter?
OK, so there hasn’t been much to like during a Cleveland fall. OK, so the team has stunk. OK, prior to Savage’s arrival, the front office was a sham.
There are glimmers of hope out of Browns camp.
Wide receiver Braylon Edwards is ahead of schedule to play again. It is looking more and more like last year’s first-round pick will be ready before the end of September, maybe even at the start of it. That’s a boon for Cleveland’s offense.
There is a big difference between the wide receiver combination of Joe Jurevicius and Edwards than Jurevicius and Dennis Northcutt.
And now you can throw in Kellen Winslow Jr. Since being drafted in 2004, Winslow have given fans a lot not to like about him.
Since judgments were made after the first preseason game, judge Winslow. He was on the field, in full uniform on a steamy Philadelphia night, well before anyone else. He played into the second half. He didn’t want to stop.
Winslow is hungry and has something to prove. Not to mention all the incentive money he can earn back.
The combination of Jurevicius-Edwards-Winslow ought to scare some defenses. It ought to make running room a little less scarce for Reuben Droughns.
And you’re worried about a backup center?
If it’s not Bentley, what does it matter where the next guy comes from. He will still be someone else’s scrap heap.
The Browns have their second preseason game tonight against Detroit. Judge this team on the first half. Judge Charlie Frye after he’s had a reason to get into a football-playing mindset. Frye will play, likely, until halftime. Winslow will be on the field. Droughns will be out there.
Some guy named Ross Tucker will snap him the ball.
Yes, the Browns have had some bad luck in training camp. What’s new?
The good news is ... it can’t get much worse. Right? Reach Repository sports writer Todd Porter at (330) 580-8340 or e-mail: [email protected]

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Canton

8/18/06

Edwards enjoys watching Frye
Friday, August 18, 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]


CLEVELAND - In Charlie Frye’s brief work at Philadelphia, he followed a simple plan that included no downfield throws.
Tonight against the Lions, Frye will play longer and probably get a chance to go deep.
Wideout Braylon Edwards won’t play, but he won’t be surprised if Frye shows off some personal improvements.
“Frye’s arm is stronger,” Edwards said. “That goes to the offseason training program, but it also goes to learning how to throw.
“It may not be so much that he’s stronger, but in knowing how to throw. He’s learning how to use arm strength.
“In the NFL, you have to know a guy is gonna get open, and throw it before the guy is open.
“That’s how the great ones do it, throwing to spots. It’s like ... ‘You’re gonna get to the 40 and the ball is gonna be there. If you’re not there, that’s not my fault.’ ”
Edwards hopes to return from knee surgery in time to hook up with Frye in the Aug. 10 regular-season opener.
“A lot of Charlie’s passes are slowly but surely hitting the money now,” Edwards said. “You saw it on a deep completion to Dennis Northcutt in practice. Charlie just threw it up. Dennis ran under it and caught it.”
Frye’s development is one key item worth watching in tonight’s game. Here are some others:
n Ross Tucker’s debut. The new center’s confidence is reassuring, but now he must prove he can play. He’s picked up the offense quickly. The game plan won’t be as simple as it was at Philadelphia behind Alonzo Ephraim.
n Running back race. Reuben Droughns needs work to find a rhythm, but the team also needs to see who among William Green, Lee Suggs and rookie Jerome Harrison deserves the backup role.
n Helping hands. Until Braylon Edwards returns, Joe Jurevicius and Dennis Northcutt loom as the top wideouts, but there’s room for one more. Will the extra man be Frisman Jackson, Joshua Cribbs or rookie Travis Wilson?
n Cornerback shuffle. With Daylon McCutcheon and Gary Baxter merely hoping to be back by opening day, depth behind Leigh Bodden is scary thin. Recently signed Ralph Brown will start opposite Bodden tonight. Pete Hunter twice got toasted deep at Philadelphia. Antonio Perkins has fought nagging injuries. n Rookie watch. Kamerion Wimbley is on a fast track to becoming an every-down outside linebacker, if he looks strong in the practice games. Round 2 pick D’Qwell Jackson is poised to beat out Chaun Thompson for an inside linebacker job. Late-round pick Lawrence Vickers has a real shot at a meaningful fullback role. Reach Repository sports writer Steve Doerschuk at (330) 580-8347 or e-mail: [email protected]

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