Cleveland Browns (2008 Season)

[IronBuckI]

you saved yourself a lot of misery. It was pure h...

heroin?

 

[NFBuck]

I didn't even bother watching the game Monday.

I watched the first quarter and a half then couldn't take anymore.

 

[LitlBuck]

heroin?

From what I hear, that stuff is supposed to make give you a high. Watching the Browns game certainly did not do that for me. Hell!

 

[osugrad21]

DDN

Cowher coveted by Browns fans


By Tom Withers
the Associated Press

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

BEREA ? Launched over cocktails by two fed-up Browns fans, a Web site calling for Bill Cowher's return to Cleveland has bloomed into a full-blown movement by thousands.
"We knew we had to do something," said Ryan Martz, co-founder of Cowher09.com, designed to "unleash the power of Cowher" and make the iconic chin the Browns next coach. "After years and years of losing and seeing the same bad product, we deserve a winner in Cleveland. Fans have had enough."
Since it's debut in September, Cowher09.com has grown into a home base of support for Cowher, who is believed to be at the top of Cleveland's wish list to replace Romeo Crennel.
Browns owner Randy Lerner is waiting until after the season before deciding on Crennel's future, but it's safe to assume he'll replace the former defensive coordinator who is just 24-38 in four seasons, three of which have ended with double-digit losses and none that have included a playoff appearance.
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

Analysis: When it comes to the Browns, it's been a season of unsolved mysteries

by Tony Grossi/Plain Dealer Reporter Wednesday December 17, 2008, 6:44 PM

Tracy Boulian/The Plain DealerWhile his coaches consistently praise Kamerion Wimbley (95, here bringing down Washington's Jason Campbell), there's no question that his ability to harrass quarterbacks has waned since his rookie year. But like so many other Browns' issues, the reason why is harder to determine.
There is no mystery about how the Browns arrived at the final two weeks of their season with a 4-10 record. Expectations weighed them down early, and a tougher schedule left no room for error. Then injuries mounted, passes were dropped, tackles were missed, big leads slipped, confidences waned, protocols were violated, and, finally, quarterbacks and others beat a path to Dr. James Andrews' door in Birmingham, Ala.
There are many mysteries waiting to be solved, however, with two games to play. They are listed here in reverse order.
10. Why isn't Martin Rucker playing more?
The rookie tight end cost the Browns two draft picks, including a third-rounder in 2009. He has been active for three games, thrown two passes and caught one.
Obviously, he's not going to take playing time away from Kellen Winslow. But Winslow has missed four games and Rucker was not even active in two of them.
Yes, Rucker fell way behind in his rookie season when he had arthroscopic knee surgery in August. But it's late December and he still hasn't been acclimated into the offense. Winslow said last week that Rucker "has a lot of work to do."

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[osugrad21]

CPD

Browns Insider: Heiden hopeful for quick recovery for 2009 season opener

by Mary Kay Cabot/Plain Dealer Reporter Wednesday December 17, 2008, 7:02 PM


Browns vs. Cincinnati Bengals preview

The Browns will try to get tight end Steve Heiden back on the field for the 2009 opener, his agent, Jack Wirth, said Wednesday.
"That's what Steve's been told and with him being the worker that he is, I wouldn't doubt that for a minute," Wirth said.
Heiden, who suffered a torn right anterior cruciate ligament and strained medial collateral ligament during Monday's night loss to the Eagles, will undergo surgery Thursday to have the knee reconstructed and has been placed on injured reserve. Recovery from torn ACLs can take anywhere from about six months to a year.
The opener is a little less than nine months away, but there's recent precedent for such a speedy return. Braylon Edwards tore his ACL in December of 2005 and was back on the field for the 2006 opener. He played in all 16 games that year, including 15 starts. He caught 61 passes for 885 yards and 6 TDs.
"Steve is obviously very disappointed because he was having a solid season and everything was going well for him," said Wirth. "Now he's enthusiastic about getting this over with and getting back on the field as soon as possible."

He added, "with his good doctors and trainers, Steve is very optimistic about his recovery."

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[osugrad21]

Canton

Browns' Thomas remains a rock in times of trouble


By Steve Doerschuk
CantonRep.com staff writer
Posted Dec 18, 2008 @ 01:04 AM
BEREA ?
His team has dropped off the map. The world has gone completely flat on his side of the ball. He gave up a sack under the Monday night lights.

What?s wrong with Joe Thomas?

Nothing, Doug Dieken said.

?Whatever the team?s problems,? Dieken said, ?Joe is not one of them.?

Dieken played left tackle for the Browns from 1971-84. He has analyzed the team on the radio since 1985.

His analysis of the second-year Browns left tackle: ?There are 31 other teams in the NFL whose quarterbacks wish Joe Thomas was their left tackle.?

Monday night at Philadelphia, Thomas appeared to lose a few battles against Philadelphia speed rusher Trent Cole.

Dieken investigated afterward and determined that Thomas actually got beat just once.

It was a mental and not a physical thing, Dieken said. Respecting Cole?s quickness ? the guy went to the Pro Bowl behind 12 1/2 sacks in 2007 ? Thomas shaded his pre-snap set slightly to the inside. Cole read the set and broke hard to the outside, easily getting to Ken Dorsey.

?It was a guess, and Joe isn?t a guesser,? Dieken said. ?The other guy made a good read. It?s the first time I?ve ever seen that happen with Joe.?

Dieken guesses it will be a rare scene as Thomas grows up with the Browns. He marvels as Thomas? head for the game and his feet, elements that make great left tackles.

As Dieken describes it, Thomas just kind of slowly ?walks? even the best pass rushers back to the quarterback. They move from side to side and backward in degrees, seldom getting close to the quarterback, and almost never getting around Thomas, who never leaves his feet.

Despite the Browns? poor season, Thomas took another step toward the top of the pack of the next generation of great left tackles, replacing Jonathan Ogden, Orlando Pace and Walter Jones.

He?s not as large as any of those three, especially Ogden, who figures to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2013.

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[jlb1705]

Four new posts since I last checked, and still nobody fired. :(

 

[LitlBuck]

Four new posts since I last checked, and still nobody fired. :(

Check back the Monday after the Squealer's game

Looks like we will see one of our draft choices, Rucker, since Heiden tore his ACL. I guess guys after getting injured:( now for us to see guys that they gave away two draft choices in order to draft.

 

[osugrad21]

ABJ

Edwards wants to stay put Browns wide receiver says he isn't interested in getting traded
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sports writer

Published on Friday, Dec 19, 2008
BEREA: Browns wide receiver Braylon Edwards insisted that he was not trying to orchestrate a trade when he said after a loss Monday to the Philadelphia Eagles that he felt ''unappreciated'' and that he's a ''marked man'' because he played at Michigan.
''I don't want to be traded,'' Edwards said. ''I made it clear I wanted to be part of what this team does next year. I want to make plays. I want to have fun. And I just want to enjoy it. I don't know, maybe I care too much.''
Leading the NFL in dropped passes, Edwards, the third overall pick in the 2005 draft, believes that he's bearing the brunt of fans' frustration because the city's last sports championship was delivered by the 1964 Browns.
''I can't apologize for what happened before I got here,'' Edwards said Thursday. ''I wasn't a part of The Drive. I didn't fumble at the 1. I think fans are still disgruntled about that, and they have every right to be. But that's not me.''
Making his first Pro Bowl last year when he set franchise records for receiving yards (1,289) and touchdowns (16) during a 10-6 season, Edwards has 837 yards and three touchdowns for the 4-10 Browns going into the home finale Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. He doesn't want to be compared to the team's legendary receivers like hall of famer Paul Warfield and Gary Collins, despite breaking Collins' record of 13 touchdowns in 1963.
''I just want to be Braylon Edwards,'' he said. ''I don't want to live in a Paul Warfield's shadow or a Gary Collins'. I love the game just as much as a Paul Warfield. I give everything I
have, just as much as a Paul Warfield, and I'm trying to make plays when I can. Just being human, I caught a ? what's the word I'm looking for? ? I caught a slump. Unlike basketball, I can't just shoot my way out of it.''
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[osugrad21]

CPD

Keeping the game fun: Browns security, city police put on a game-day blitz against disorder

by Bill Lubinger/Plain Dealer Reporter Thursday December 18, 2008, 11:00 PM

Lynn Ischay/The Plain DealerFans get patted down before entering Cleveland Browns Stadium for the Browns-Colts game on Sunday, November 30, 2008, the first layer of security they will pass through before taking their seats. Lew Merletti and his staff sometimes begin the day at a Cleveland Browns game at 6 am to insure that fans, players and fans have a safe and positive experience at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
Debate continues about alcohol and fan behavior

One by one, drivers entering the valet parking area inside Cleveland Browns Stadium were instructed to unlock their doors and pop their trunks. A bomb-sniffing German shepherd snooped them all. First, cases stacked in the back of the NFL Films truck. Nothing. Then Romeo Crennel's black Chevy Tahoe. All clean.
Right, even the head coach's ride got a pre-game look-see before a recent game. As did the opposing team's buses, the vehicles of Browns' players, staff and their families, and other VIPs.

ynn Ischay/The Plain DealerLew Merletti, the Browns' senior vice president in charge of security, leads a team of city police, a private security firm, stadium ushers and other employees determined to help make game days at the stadium enjoyable for all fans.

In security, you can never be too diligent, says Browns Senior Vice President Lew Merletti, who once guarded presidents as Secret Service director. From checking for real bombs to curbing F-bombs -- it's all part of policing a stadium of 70,000 fans. It's also a mission the Browns and entire league struggle with weekly.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell acknowledged as much this season when he laid down a code of fan conduct modeled much after the Browns' rules for fan behavior. He pledged a league-wide crackdown because customers complained about the foul language, opposing fans being harassed and other inappropriate rowdiness.

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[osugrad21]

CPD

Before or after the game, drowning sorrows can be trouble for unruly Browns fans

by Bill Lubinger/Plain Dealer Reporter Thursday December 18, 2008, 11:00 PM

Lynn Ischay/The Plain DealerCleveland police detective Frank Costanzo untangles the wire to his earpiece before heading out to the stands before the Nov. 30 Browns-Colts game.
NFL security chief Milt Ahlerich estimated that more than 90 percent of fan behavior problems are alcohol-related. If that's the case, then the league has an inherent conflict -- evident by the beer ad on a flap of the Browns' 2008 pocket schedule. Beer companies are valued NFL sponsors. Alcohol sales contribute to game-day revenue.
At Browns games, fans literally go from tossing cans and cups of beer in trash cans at the gates to vendors selling cold ones no more than a first down away.
Then you have a league trying to set an example, asking fans to act and drink responsibly while promising to crack down on those who don't.
"It's virtually impossible to balance without someone crying foul," said David Carter, a sports business professor at USC.

It's also virtually impossible to control entirely.
For instance, most college football stadiums are dry. Operators stopped selling alcohol at USC games about three years ago, which costs the university and Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission a combined $1.4 million a year.

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[osugrad21]

CPD

With his knee improving, Jurevicius is upbeat about return to Browns in 2009

by Tony Grossi/Plain Dealer Reporter Thursday December 18, 2008, 7:10 PM

Tony Dejak/APAfter a season lost to staph, Joe Jurevicius is finally healthy enough to eagerly anticipate coming back to the Browns in 2009.
Yes, it is "wait 'til next year" time again in Brownstown. And Joe Jurevicius is the first to say he can't wait for next year to come. The Browns' receiver is smiling again, one week removed from his seventh surgical procedure on his right knee in less than 12 months.
The last time Jurevicius appeared in front of media on Nov. 3, he described his experience fighting off a staph infection in the knee as being through "hell and high water." He said he was pretty far from playing again, but vowed to come back.
Now he feels sure to make good on that vow.
"Absolutely. I'm excited to start rehabbing again," Jurevicius said. "A big weight's been lifted off my shoulder. I feel that much better. It's a night-and-day difference from what I felt like last January to what I feel like now."
Jurevicius' year-long ordeal with his knee began with a simple procedure in January to clean out scar tissue that developed from a previous injury. Staph invaded the knee, and then ravaged it. He had five subsequent operations, all but one in Cleveland.

Jurevicius intended to have the recent surgery in Vail, Colo., but a skiing accident forced the surgeon to cancel. Jurevicius rescheduled the surgery in Birmingham, Ala., for last week with noted sports injury specialist Dr. James Andrews.

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[osugrad21]

CPD

Browns Insider: Edwards defends comments, but accepts fans' frustrations

by Tony Grossi/Plain Dealer Reporter Thursday December 18, 2008, 6:46 PM

Joshua Gunter/The Plain DealerBraylon Edwards said Thursday he understands fans' frustration with his poor season, and wants to help the franchise return to consistent success.
Jurevicius feeling upbeat about return

Braylon Edwards doesn't regret a word he said. And he said more on Thursday. But he's not dissing Browns fans as a strategy to talk his way out of here.
"I've made that very clear," said Edwards, who is under contract through 2009. "I don't want to be traded. I want to be here. I want to be a part of this team when it's successful."
Edwards continued to rant Thursday about feeling unappreciated by fans who hold his Michigan Wolverine roots against him.
"I never used me being from Michigan as a copout [for his bad season]," he said. "All season I've owned up to my play. I said 'I'm not playing well, I'm dropping passes, I need to be catching these passes.' I never blamed it on the quarterback, never blamed it on the coordinator, never on anything but me not concentrating and focusing."
Edwards said he understands the anger of long-suffering Browns fans, but they shouldn't hold him responsible for the franchise's failings.

"I can't apologize for what happened before I got here," he said. "I wasn't a part of 'the Drive.' I didn't fumble at the 1. That wasn't me. I think if fans are still disgruntled about that, they have every right to be. But I'm just Braylon Edwards.

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[LitlBuck]

In the above article from the PD, it says that Dave Z, Browns punter, might not be available on Sunday. I guess they have a punter in hiding but as much as the Browns punt they could wear out a new punter pretty fast. Also, Cribbs might have to hold for FG attempts. But it probably won't have to worry about extra point attempts unless the defense would happen to score another touchdown:!