Cleveland Browns (2008 Season)

[osugrad21]

CPD

Cleveland Browns' biggest letdown is Braylon Edwards' drops - Terry Pluto

by Terry Pluto Thursday October 23, 2008, 2:55 PM

Chuck Crow / The Plain DealerBraylon Edwards' performance against the New York Giants has been a rare bright spot in a sub-par season for the Pro Bowl receiver.
The Browns' biggest disappointment this season?
Not Kellen Winslow, despite the tight end being suspended and dueling with the front office.
Not Derek Anderson, who is having an awful season and could (and should) lose his job if he has another bad game Sunday in Jacksonville.
Not the injuries to the defense, which has continued to hold up admirably despite often playing without three key starters.
It's Braylon Edwards, the Pro Bowl receiver.
Edwards hit a new bottom in the 14-11 loss to Washington last week with four dropped passes, and that doesn't count two key plays where he ran wrong patterns. After the game, he claimed, "We might have underestimated the Redskins."
No doubt most of his teammates heard that and thought, "Maybe you underestimated a 4-2 team, but we didn't."
The comment may speak directly to the heart of Edwards' troubles this season -- his focus has been fuzzy, his sense of status in the league overblown. This is his fourth season, and he's had one good year -- 2007. He was hurt for much of 2005, and just so-so in 2006. Even last season, he was second in the NFL with 12 dropped passes.
But he produced 16 touchdowns -- and 58 of his 80 catches were good for first downs. He moved the ball, put points on the scoreboard. Edwards was like a cleanup hitter with lots of strikeouts, but also a monster share of home runs and RBI.
This season, it's been mostly pop-ups -- the ball popping out of his hands.
In six games, Edwards has 10 drops, three more than anyone else in the NFL.
Keep in mind the NFL's statistic for drops is very conservative; most fans would credit Edwards with more. But the real point is no one in the NFL is dropping more passes than No. 17 for the Browns.

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Canton

Savage defends Winslow decision
Friday, October 24, 2008
BY STEVE DOERSCHUK
[email protected]

BEREA One Thursday, Phil Savage was passing a quiet night in the Lake Cable Clubhouse with the Canton Browns Backers, basking in the afterglow of a stellar Monday night win.

The next, he was on Cleveland radio, giving an impassioned rant in the wake of a flat road loss that took on blowout proportions when star tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. went off.

As November nears, even now, Savage circles back to those great expectations that seemed so appealing in July.

"I have no doubt our success is gonna come, and it's gonna be on a consistent basis, and when it happens, it's gonna be special for us," Savage said Thursday during his weekly address on WTAM. "It's gonna be special for you guys, all the Browns fans who have stuck with us through these different ups and downs.

"But ? the team is the most important thing in the entire structure of this. And we cannot allow one person to disrupt that."

Will Winslow be part of Savage's vision?

Later Thursday, Head Coach Romeo Crennel said the Browns are not actively trying to trade Winslow, but he begged off commenting on whether trade offers have been fielded.

After Winslow appealed the one-game suspension that stands to cost him a $235,000 game check, representatives from the league and players union descended on the Browns complex.

Crennel said he will wait to see how quickly an arbiter rules on the appeal before deciding whether Winslow might play Sunday.

Based on Savage's remarks, it would be a shock if Winslow is not punished with a one-game benching, even if he keeps his money.

On Sunday, Winslow said he felt like a piece of meat, and that he was upset by the front office's, and specifically Savage's, lack of reaching out while he was sick with a staph infection.
Cont...

 

[LitlBuck]

Browns Insider: Edwards says offense unable to find the groove of '07

Edwards stated in this article that he just likes to run "deep routes" and that he does not like to run short routes or routes over the middle. To me that is not a Pro Bowl WR. Maybe he should go back to Scum were they play that type of football.

Browns should release disruptive Winslow The time has come to release Winslow

this writer must be nuts. I would not just out right release Winslow for nothing that would be plain stupid for a #1 draft choice. They should just keep them on the roster and pay him for the rest of the season but just deactivate him for each game. Then at the end of the season they can try and move him and get something for him but just to release him would not be smart IMO

 

[exhawg]

And this is when drafting a bunch of low character me first players screws up the team. All they need is for Quinn to start yapping about how he should be the starter and they will have the trifecta. More OSU players, less douchebags.

 

[LitlBuck]

That is one of the reasons why I think one of the QB's is going to have to go at the end of the season because one of them, not the guy starting, is going to start yepping and that is why I want to see when Brady can do in a regular-season game or two before the season ends. Hopefully, Rucker from Missouri could assume Winslow's role. Rucker is ready to play Sunday so we shall see.

 

[Buckeneye]

Personally, I agree with Kellen. Staph has become a huge issue with this team... he has every right to bark about it.


But saying to realese him is non-sense, he's the best receiver on our team.
Just because him and the management are having spat, doesn't mean it either can't be resolved or will lead to him not being part of the team.

 

[schwab]

Oh, the weight of expectations.

This team was much better last year getting blown out in the first game. It settled everybody into their usual role of watching with nothing expected at all. Somehow, 51 points in week 2 got the train rolling and we won 10 games. It's not as though any of us (myself included) thought that 6 would come after 5, or 7 after 6, or even 10 after 9 for that matter. Turns out we were pissed after the Browns won 10 games. Imagine that. It was because the Browns missed the playoffs by virtue of losing twice to a 10 win Steeler team. It can't get any more bitter than that, except I guess losing to them 3 times in one year, 2002 and maybe even in the 1990's also?

The point is, we got blown out in game 1 of this year, holding true to form. The difference is, we are supposed to win now and got 5 prime time games for the country to see. We are still .500 in those, with an ass kicking to the Champs included. And I'm not saying 2-4 means no playoffs... but i'm thinking it. And we all know it. We have 3 more games in the spotlight, and right now the Browns need to run from that spotlight. Yuck.

In some weird way the Browns are better when they are supposed to suck. I got used to that a long time ago, and maybe it will just continue to ring true. If we get rid of the players that I think we need to get rid of, we will be playing for draft picks again far beyond this season.

If we beat Jacksonville and the Giants beat Pittsburgh, I can restore hope, for another week, but the good news doesn't just roll out of this camp like it should.

 

[Buckrock]

Personally, I agree with Kellen. Staph has become a huge issue with this team... he has every right to bark about it.


But saying to realese him is non-sense, he's the best receiver on our team.
Just because him and the management are having spat, doesn't mean it either can't be resolved or will lead to him not being part of the team.

It's not staph. More will come out eventually.

 

[LitlBuck]

You don't need to be in the hospital three nights for a staph infection. Without knowing anything, I would think mrsa which is almost rampant everywhere.

 

[LitlBuck]

PD

Browns rescind Winslow suspension; tight end will not play vs. Jaguars
by Mary Kay Cabot
Saturday October 25, 2008, 10:03 PM

The Browns and Kellen Winslow have reached an agreement in which the team will rescind his one-game suspension, although he will not play in Sunday's game in Jacksonville, according to the tight end's attorney, Adam Kaiser.

Winslow, suspended on Tuesday for comments made after the loss to Washington, also will not have to apologize to the Browns, Kaiser said Saturday. Winslow criticized the team for asking him not to disclose he had contracted a staph infection that caused him to spend three nights in the Cleveland Clinic.

He also blasted General Manager Phil Savage for not calling him while he was in the Clinic, although coach Romeo Crennel and tight ends coach Alredo Roberts did call.

He stood to lose $235,294 by missing one of his 17 weekly checks. Instead, he will be fined a nominal amount, Kaiser said.

Continued

 

[LitlBuck]

PD

Bud Shaw's Sunday Sports Spin: Solidarity lacking for Winslow?
by Bud Shaw
Saturday October 25, 2008, 11:12 PM
The Neverending Story, starring Kellen Winslow ended late Saturday night.

Now that the plot has tumbled through its thrilling conclusion, let's review the twists along the way.

? Fifty or so Browns players had a forum this week to support Winslow's concerns about staph infections. That includes player reps Hank Fraley and Darnell Dinkins.

They didn't have to defend the way he went about voicing his concerns. Just say the organization should regroup and attack the staph issue again.

Still, nobody expressed serious concern about the latest occurrence of staph. Some praised the work being done on that front.

Maybe the Browns will show up in Jacksonville today with the No. 80 painted in white on their shoe tops. Maybe they'll have gone on a team-building night out together in his honor -- say, a showing of "Norma Rae" -- but during the week the locker room did not seem to be leaning in that direction.

Continued

 

[LitlBuck]

PD

THE KICKOFF: Rucker expected to play today
Sunday, October 26, 2008

Based on e-mails and chat forums, legions of Browns fans long for the day quarterback Brady Quinn makes his first appearance of the season.

But I get the feeling that Browns management is more excited about the debut of another player - Martin Rucker.

The rookie tight end, who had knee surgery in preseason, is expected to get his first taste of action today in place of suspended Kellen Winslow.

I don't expect Rucker to get a lot of playing time because coach Romeo Crennel historically doesn't like playing untested rookies. Besides, the duo of Steve Heiden and Darnell Dinkins performed magnificently in Winslow's absence against the New York Giants.

But what if Rucker does something special in today's game in Jacksonville?

One game does not a career make, of course. But if Rucker flashes some of the potential that General Manager Phil Savage saw in him at Missouri . . . .

Given the controversy still unfolding between Winslow and Savage, I don't doubt that Winslow would be playing with another team next year.

- Tony Grossi

 

[Mike80]

If the Browns lose this game and find themselves at 2-5, the season is effectively over.

They aren't going to go 8-1 down the stretch to get to 10 wins and even if they did, they will likely not have the tie-breakers this year either.

 

[Mike80]

Shaun Rogers is a beast!

 

[schwab]

Cleveland Browns | Browns 23, Jaguars 17

Browns 23, Jaguars 17

10.26.2008

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Browns hung on to defeat the Jaguars, 23-17, Sunday.
Two fourth-quarter field goals by Phil Dawson provided the difference. The Jaguars drove inside the Browns' 30 in the closing seconds before running out of time.
Matt Jones juggled and nearly caught a desperation touchdown pass with one second left, and the final play sailed incomplete.
The Browns improve to 3-4 with the win. The Jaguars slip to the 3-4.

Cont..