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Cleveland Browns (2007 & prior)

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ABJ

For Browns, it seems like some things never change

By Patrick McManamon

CLEVELAND - You sit during a scoreless Browns first half and wonder: How do Browns fans stand such excitement?
The Browns have become a team with no there there, a team that is all of the 1-5 record it shows.
You see the New York Jets coming to town next Sunday, and they're 4-3 -- which matches their win total of last season.
The Browns have yet to match their win total of the 1999 expansion season.
And you wonder, where they go from here?
What do they do?
What do they say?
Back to work.
Always have a chance.
Gotta get ready for next week.
It's the same old same old, week after week, month after month, year after year.
Sunday, the offense mustered 165 total yards. It had 34 rushing. And it did this with two weeks to prepare. With time to study what works, what doesn't, what might and what can.
They came up with a quick screen to Josh Cribbs, but other than that it looked like the same old stuff.
``We re-evaluated what we were doing good and we tried to get those plays in there,'' tight end Kellen Winslow said. ``We got behind early and we just went back to our old stuff kinda.''
Which is a good move since the old stuff was working so well.
Take a fourth-down pass in the first quarter that led to quarterback Charlie Frye trying to scramble for a first down and getting hit in the noggin.
Winslow seemed to be the intended receiver, but Winslow said he wasn't open.
``I think they knew the play,'' Winslow said
He took a deep breath.
``They knew it,'' he said.
In Carolina, defensive lineman Mike Rucker said the Panthers knew the plays that were coming. Now it appears the Broncos knew at least one, which does not sound good.
``Obviously not,'' Winslow said.
He then correctly pointed that, at times, every defense recognizes a play that is coming based on a formation and that the offense has to execute.
Well, the offense isn't doing much of anything, and if the play-calls are so obvious that the defense knows them, said offense will never succeed.
Frye is getting sacked. Players are being flagged for silly penalties. Interceptions are being thrown. The ball is ripped out of a running back's hand. And the last two guys you'd expect to drop one pass -- Joe Jurevicius and Winslow -- wind up dropping three.
The greatest coaching in the world doesn't overcome those errors, but something is very, very wrong when the Browns stagger around for 165 pitiful yards of offense and 10 first downs. The Broncos' defense has given up just two touchdowns -- one scored by the Browns on Sunday on an 18-yard drive, HOO HOO -- but the Broncos don't exactly remind you of the '85 Bears.
``They just sit back and wait for you to make a mistake,'' Winslow said. ``That's all they really do.''
The Browns are happy to oblige.
They do things that make you scratch your head. Like on third-and-10 when Steve Heiden was sent into the huddle and Kellen Winslow was dragged out. What play was called?
A tight end screen to Heiden.
Now, Heiden is a fine player, a good player. And he'll catch the ball when thrown to him, but you have to ask: If you're going to run a tight end screen, why not throw it to a guy who can avoid people and break a tackle, a guy like... WINSLOW?!?!?
One can imagine the thought process. Well, Heiden usually blocks. Let's trick 'em and have him fake a block, then catch a screen.
If that happened, that's just too much thinking. Heiden blocks because he's a good blocker. Winslow catches and runs because he's good at it.
You just want to shake somebody and say: Stop overthinking and trying to be tricky. Run a stinking play that's fundamentally sound.
Yes, the Browns have had bad luck. They got more Sunday when cornerback Gary Baxter went down with a knee injury that had all the earmarks of a season-ender.
Baxter now has played eight games since singing that $30 million deal before 2005. Talk about a deal that seemed sound backfiring.
But sometimes teams make their own luck. And to point to bad fortune and jinxes and all that is just so lame. After seven years back in the league, this picture should not be this bleak.
It's scary that things would look so bleak this early in the season, but the Browns provide few positives. Think about it -- in which game the rest of the year will they be favored? Wanna make that trip to Houston for the season finale on New Year's Eve? What a joke.
But for one year when they somehow finished 9-7 and went to the playoffs, it has been nothing but negative for fans since 1999.
Eliminate that season and this proud franchise has gone 28-74 since it returned from a three-year hiatus (don't those years when there was no team now seem like a merciful respite?).
Even with that winning season, the Browns have gone 37-81 since '99.
This season's start takes you back to 1999.
Something has to give. Something has to change. Coach Romeo Crennel risks his future if he stands pat much longer.
Be it the approach, the coordinator, the play-calling, the play-caller... something has to give. If removing Maurice Carthon from the play-calling duties helps, then it's time.
Without change, fans will have little hope for 2006 -- or 2007.
And the 50,000 empty seats in the fourth quarter will speak louder than they did Sunday.
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ABJ

Browns notebook

Secondary suffers yet another injury

This time it's Baxter who hurts left knee just before halftime in loss

By Marla Ridenour and Brian Windhorst

Beacon Journal sports writers

CLEVELAND - The Browns' secondary likely spent two games together in 2006.
Starting cornerback Gary Baxter suffered what appeared to be a serious injury to his left knee just before halftime in the Browns' 17-7 home loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
Baxter's knee seemed to give out before he leaped to defend an incomplete pass to receiver Javon Walker. Walker and free safety Brian Russell immediately signalled for the trainer. Walker and fellow Broncos John Lynch and Al Wilson came over to offer encouragement to Baxter before he was carted off.
Baxter, a prize free-agent signing in March 2005 who received a six-year, $30 million contract with a $10 million signing bonus, has played in eight games with the Browns. He was making just his third appearance this season after tearing his pectoral in game two. He missed the final 11 games of 2005 with a pectoral injury.
Browns coach Romeo Crennel said he hoped to know more about Baxter's status today. Baxter had recorded his first interception in the first quarter.
The Browns also were without their top cover corner Leigh Bodden, who was inactive for the second consecutive game with a sprained ankle. Daven Holly started in place of Bodden.
Russell didn't know how badly Baxter was hurt afterward.
``Any time they take somebody out on a (cart), that's scary,'' Russell said. ``Gary worked so hard to get back on the field with us. Obviously Leigh is working hard to get back on the field. We were hoping for a situation in the near future where we had everybody back in the secondary and could start clicking.
``It's frustrating for Gary. Gary's resilient, he's going to bounce back.''
Champ's cherry pick
Broncos star cornerback Champ Bailey didn't get much action on Sunday, he covered Braylon Edwards much of the day and the Browns didn't dare throw the ball there much.
The one time Frye seriously challenged Bailey, on a long pass in the fourth quarter, the ball floated at least 10 yards off course and Bailey made his third interception of the season. Two have come in the end zone and the other came at the 1-yard line.
``I've never a seen a ball floating up there like that,'' Bailey said. ``I knew the receiver didn't know where the ball was, I just let it come down to me.''
Needless to say, Bailey wasn't able to form much of an impression going up against Edwards for the first time.
``Braylon is not going to be effective if you don't have a guy that is going to get him the ball,'' Bailey said. ``It is going to take time, (Frye) is a young guy, but he has potential.''
Zastudil impressive
Never a good sign when a punter's performance becomes gold-star worthy, but it has been the case more than once in the not so illustrious recent history of the Browns.
Despite windy conditions, Browns punter Dave Zastudil had a great game. Three times he pinned the Broncos inside their 20-yard line and did it kicking with and against the wind.
His finest moment came in the first quarter when he flew a punt 50 yards downfield and had just the right spin on it. The ball landed inside the Broncos' 5-yard line and bounced directly sideways for nearly 20 yards before settling at the sideline on the Broncos' 2. Of course, the Broncos went on a 85-yard drive and got a field goal.
They ended up with just 10 yards total on punt returns.
Tough day
With Dennis Northcutt inactive with a rib injury, Joshua Cribbs handled punts, kickoffs and moved up to the No. 3 receiver. Cribbs, a former Kent State quarterback, wasn't able to provide his usual spark.
He fumbled on his first try on a punt return when the ball took a bounce and he tried to field it. The Broncos' Cecil Sapp recovered at the Browns 40, but the defense bailed out Cribbs as the Broncos went three and out.
``Coach told me he doesn't want me to stop being aggressive. He wants me to calculate my risks and make good decisions,'' Cribbs said. ``I don't want to be a guy who's either pass or fail, he does real good or real bad. I wanted to get our fans and our team excited, I wanted to repeat the weeks before.
``When I see that ball coming, I'm anxious to get the ball in my hands. The wind was, `You're not getting it today.' It hit the ground, it took that hop and I missed it. The defense had my back there.''
He finished with two yards on two punt returns. Cribbs, who came in leading the league in kickoff returns, averaged 31.3 yards on three kickoffs with a long of 44. He also caught four passes for 32 yards.
Brownies . . .
Tight end Kellen Winslow got hit in the left knee trying to block a punt in the fourth quarter. He returned to the game and said he was fine afterward.... Charlie Frye's 6-yard scoring pass to Joe Jurevicius in the fourth quarter broke the Broncos streak of 11 quarters without giving up a touchdown. That went back to Week 3 against the New England Patriots.
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ABJ

Ex-Browns defenders dominate, don't gloat

Warren injures toe, but Lang, Myers, Ekuban make it tough on Frye

By Brian Windhorst

Beacon Journal sportswriter

CLEVELAND - There was new man law declared Sunday evening in the Denver Broncos' locker room.
The visiting dressing area has been the site of quite a bit of celebrating over the years at Cleveland Browns Stadium, and this seemed like it was quite an evening to gloat for some particular visitors.
All the members of the Broncos' defensive line are famously former Browns and they collectively spearheaded quite a whipping of their ex-outfit. The Browns managed just 34 yards rushing, 165 yards total and ran just 16 plays in Denver territory.
But all the ``I told you so's'' apparently stayed in private.
``The defensive line ain't talking about anything,'' Kenard Lang announced after quickly stuffing two souvenir Browns jerseys with his name on them into a bag. ``It's a man law.''
The so-called Browncos played like men on Sunday. Lang and Michael Myers sacked quarterback Charlie Frye on successive plays in the fourth quarter, effectively ending a short-lived Browns' comeback attempt. Ebenezer Ekuban, another former Brown, had two tackles.
In all, the defensive line sacked Frye five times -- three belonging to rookie Elvis Dumervil, although his connection to the Browns is still being investigated -- and hit him an additional six times.
In the first half, Myers, who had five tackles, also knocked Frye from the game briefly with a mild concussion.
``It was a rollout pass and I hit him good, but I didn't know he was knocked out,'' Myers said. ``For me it wasn't really extra motivation, I just took it as a regular game. For everyone else... .'' That was as far as Myers got before Lang emerged from the showers and reminded him of the brand-new rule. Dangerously, it might've been worse had former Brown first-round pick Gerard Warren not had to leave the game in the first quarter with a big-toe sprain.
If anyone was to break the newly installed silence, it might've been ``Big Money'' and his usually loose lips. But he hopped away in pain on crutches, answering no questions.
``It's always nice to come back and win. If you are familiar with an organization, you always want to come back and show them that they might've missed something,'' Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said. ``It is the nature of the game.''
In reality, the Browns had a lot more problems with the Denver defense than the familiar faces. Until Andra Davis ended up at the Broncos' 19-yard line following a fourth-quarter interception, the deepest penetration the Browns managed all day was the Denver 46.
Defensive back Champ Bailey totally shut down wide receiver Braylon Edwards, who only caught two passes for six yards. Frye only went deep to Edwards once during the game with Bailey on him. The misthrown pass was picked off by Bailey in the end zone.
The only solace the Browns could take was that they were able to break the Broncos' streak of 11 consecutive quarters without allowing a touchdown when Frye hit Joe Jurevicius on a 6-yard score in the fourth quarter. It was the only thing the Browns did to ruffle the Broncos all day. They had been gunning for a franchise record by not allowing a touchdown in three straight games. Of course, that deserves an asterisk, considering Davis' interception made it possible.
Though the Broncos were leading the NFL in red-zone defense and getting any touchdown was viewed as somewhat of an accomplishment.
``They've got a lot of talent on that offense,'' Bailey said. ``Nothing was easy, we just played sound defense.''
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Canton

Browns do little good vs. Broncos
Monday, October 23, 2006
By STEVE DOERSCHUK

CLEVELAND - Coming off their bye week, the Browns said bye-bye to faint playoff hopes with Sunday's 17-7 loss to Denver.

The extent of misery they are inflicting on their fans cruelly degenerated into piling on.
Denver (5-1) had done plenty by the first half's two-minute warning to convince a crowd of 73,024 that Cleveland (1-5) was sufficiently sunk.
One play after the warning, with spectators in Section 137 closer to him than any Brown, Tatum Bell waltzed 9 yards for a touchdown.
Moments later in a two-minute drill, Reuben Droughns let the ball get ripped out of his arms.
Then, $36 million cornerback Gary Baxter, working for the first time in more than a month, went down in a heap while defending a deep sideline throw. Baxter missed the second half with a knee injury.
IT GETS WORSE
The second half opened with a dink pass that nearly bounced off Terrelle Smith's chest for an interception. That was followed by a false start by $36 million left tackle Kevin Shaffer.
The fallout of Baxter's injury was inserting cornerback Ralph Brown, who was floating around on the open market when the Browns signed him on Aug. 6. The 5-foot-10 Brown promptly got beat by 6-4 rookie Brandon Marshall for a 9-yard touchdown.
"I should have kept outside leverage on the guy," Brown said. "I had a safety inside. I went for an inside move and he got leverage outside."
Browns fans had to be morbidly disposed to find anything to cheer for - such as ex-$35 million ex-Brown Gerard Warren getting erased by a knee injury in the first quarter.
Gaining a paltry 165 yards in net offense against a defense without its best linemen prompted fans to say cheerio.
With the Browns trailing, 17-0, with nine minutes left in the third quarter, Droughns (12 carries, 33 yards) got smashed in his tracks on a run up the gut. Some of the booing fans were shaking their fists.
With 8:11 left in the third quarter, Denver took over after a punt. Scores of fans filed out, even some in the Dawg Pound.
Moments later, Denver ran its yardage for the day to 300-something. The Browns were stuck on 97.
On Jan. 17, 1987, John Elway wrecked the Browns with "The Drive."
In 1997, the Browns didn't exist.
Were either of those items worse than watching this?
FRYE IN THE FRyER
Captain Andra Davis, who put a few hard shots on Tatum Bell but still was part of a unit that allowed 150 rushing yards, seemed to stay upbeat afterward.
"Pointing blame at people ... that's a coward's way out," Davis said. "We're in this together.
"We have a lot of weapons in this locker room. I don't know what's goin' on, though, you know? It's gonna get better, though."
Facing the NFL's stingiest defense made it the worst time for Charlie Frye (19-of-33, 149 yards, five sacks) to play through a concussion. Frye got decked by Mike Myers at 6:25 of the first quarter, but missed just one play.
"(Frye's performancce) was more a matter of their defense than a concussion," Head Coach Romeo Crennel said. "At times, when I felt we had an opportunity to get the ball to an open man, someone affected the throw, or things like that."
The stadium-area traffic jam was triggered with 14:48 left in the game when Frye's bomb into the end zone could have been fair-caught by Champ Bailey. Wideout Braylon Edwards, about 10 yards from Bailey, chased Bailey, then put his hands around his helmet in frustration.
"It was so easy I almost dropped it," Bailey said.
COMING APART?
The tens of thousands who left missed Davis' interception that set up a 6-yard touchdown pass to Joe Jurevicius. That made it 17-7 with 12 minutes left.
Two dropped passes by Jurevicius were among reasons the score stayed right there.
The Browns' defense had given up nothing until cornerback Gary Baxter misjudged a deep pass late in the first quarter. Javon Walker basically stole a 38-yard gain.
That set up Jason Elam's 32-yard field goal to break a scoreless tie.
It stayed at 3-0 until Jake Plummer led an 86-yard touchdown drive that ended one play inside the two-minute warning.
Given the look of the Browns' offense, which converted one of 11 first downs and was 0-for-3 on fourth downs, a 10-0 lead was money.
"We're going to try our best to hang together and try to get this team better," Crennel said. "We still do have several games to play.
"If we hang together, we give ourselves a chance. If we start coming apart, there'll be no chance at all."
Reach Repository sports writer Steve Doerschuk at (330) 580-8347 or e-mail [email protected].
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Canton

Browns had two weeks to prepare for THIS?
Monday, October 23, 2006
By TODD PORTER

CLEVELAND - This was supposed to be the new Browns, the post-bye week team that had two weeks to prepare for the Denver Broncos.

Two weeks.
Keep your hands out. You won't need toes to count with the offensive juggernaut that coordinator Maurice Carthon is building.
There were 10 first downs, not even one for every day Carthon had to come up with a game plan. The Browns managed 7 points - a half-point for each day of preparation. That doesn't cut it in the NFL.
This rugged AFC North offense, built for the tough yards and cold weather, traveled 34 yards on the ground. You gained more yards walking to the kitchen for a snack during Sunday's 17-7 loss to Denver.
Two weeks!
And it still looked like the same old Browns. They can put you to sleep quicker than a rocking chair next to a waterfall.
At the end of games, a message is flashed on the scoreboard at Browns Stadium: "Avoid the traffic and stay around for the postgame press conference."
They ought to post this in the third quarter: "Avoid the traffic, and PLEASE stay around for the game."
Since the reincarnation in 1999, this franchise is 18-41 in front of some of the best fans in the NFL.
And all the marbles this week went into the Denver basket.
Two weeks. Crennel vowed the coaching staff went through and weeded out the bad plays. They were going to accentuate the good plays (both of them).
Let's see ...
Third-and-10, there goes Kellen Winslow Jr. trotting off the field. And there is that play from the back pages of that best-seller "Carthon's Calls." You know the old screen pass to 267-pound tight end Steve Heiden, who runs like he has mud bricks strapped to his feet.
Heiden gained 5 yards. You can't help but think Winslow might've had 10 and made someone miss.
The tone for Sunday's miserable performance was set in the first quarter. The Browns had a third-and-1 at the Denver 46. Reuben Droughns up the middle tricked no one. He gained a couple of centimeters.
Then on fourth-and-1, the braintrust rolled a right-handed quarterback around the left side of the offense. No one was open. Frye tried to get the first down running, but Michael Myers chased him down for a 2-yard loss.
"I felt like we had a chance to make a play, and keep some momentum going," Crennel said, revealing another head-scratcher.
What momentum?
"They adjusted their coverage," Crennel said of the fourth-down play. "The guys we anticipated being open weren't, so Charlie had to pull the ball down and try to run with it."
In other words, Denver outcoached Cleveland.
But Sunday's loss wasn't all on the coaching. It wasn't all on Carthon. Although, he's done his part to set the tone for this season.
If winning breeds winning, like coaches say, then losing breeds losing. Veteran receivers such as Joe Jurevicius drop passes. Winslow drops passes.
Losing breeds losing. Losing players expect to drop a pass instead of making a play. Losing teams expect something else to go wrong, and sure enough, it looks like cornerback Gary Baxter's season is finished again with an injury.
Veteran tackle Ryan Tucker gave up two sacks to a rookie.
Losing breeds losing.
"It's a disappointing loss," Crennel said. "It was a tough one because we felt like we had a good week of practice. We felt like we were able to go out and get something done against a Denver team that we felt like was pretty good."
Crennel went on to explain the game played out the way he thought it would in the first half.
"A struggle to get anything done," he said.
What?
"We thought in the second half we could generate some momentum and make some things happen," Crennel said.
Why? Because there wasn't any evidence of that in the first half. This team isn't good enough, balanced enough or deep enough to game-plan for the second half of a game. The Browns aren't going to keep a game close for a half and spring surprises on a such as Denver's Mike Shanahan.
The best the Browns can hope for is not screwing up a Top 5 pick on another player who will cost millions, and maybe be used inefficiently.
One Browns fan had an ingenious idea, wearing a No. 2 Tim Couch jersey. He used tape to cover just the first letter of the former player's name on the back of the jersey.
"Ouch."
He plays for the Browns just about every week. Reach Repository sports writer Todd Porter at (330) 580-8340 or e-mail: [email protected]
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Browns CB Baxter tears patellar tendons in both knees
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BEREA, Ohio -- Cleveland's Gary Baxter tore patellar tendons in both knees while trying to break up a pass in the first half of Sunday's loss to Denver, a devastating injury for the cornerback and another big loss for the Browns.

Gary Baxter
s5509.jpg
Cornerback
Cleveland Browns

Profile 2006 SEASON STATISTICS Tot Ast Solo FF Sack Int 21 16 5 0 0 1 Baxter will undergo surgery on Tuesday at the Cleveland Clinic to repair both knees, coach Romeo Crennel said during his Monday news conference. Crennel, who has been coaching for more than 35 years, said he has never seen an injury like Baxter's.
Crennel estimated that Baxter would be sidelined for at least one year.
Baxter, who missed 11 games last season with a torn chest muscle and three games earlier this year with a similar injury, was backpedalling when he planted near the 5-yard line and tried to leap to knock down a pass intended for Javon Walker.
Baxter's legs buckled and he dropped to the ground. He immediately grabbed his left knee and it was believed that was his only injury. Baxter was lifted onto a cart and driven to the locker room.
Crennel said the 27-year-old Baxter told the team he intends to return from the injuries.
"He wants to come back," Crennel said.
Baxter is the second Browns player to blow his patellar tendon since July. On the first 11-on-11 play of training camp, center LeCharles Bentley, the club's top free agent signing, tore his left patellar tendon and was lost for the season.
Baxter signed a five-year, $30 million contract as a free agent with Cleveland before the 2005 season. He spent four seasons with Baltimore before joining the Browns.
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ouch....

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2635892


I hope this posts right....
 
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exhawg;641453; said:
Only the Browns can have a player blow out both knees at the same time. That's probably his career.
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yeah....

I've never heard of that. I wonder if they will have to put him in a wheelchair for a couple months? Generally the treatment for that is no weight on the knee for the first couple months after surgery as it was with Bentley...
 
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Thump;641456; said:
I do remember a guy for, I think, the Bears blowing out both knees playing at the old Veteran's Stadium in Philly.
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It was a Bear in Philly - Wendell Davis, on a non-contact play.

Best argument for getting rid of old artificial turf I've ever seen.
 
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