Category: Cleveland Browns (Page 55 of 114)

Ben Roethlisberger and Carson Palmer are both coming back from injuries and Steve McNair is starting with a new team. As for the Browns, an injury-free young Charlie Frye will get his opportunity to be the man behind center this season. Romeo Crennel enters his second season as head coach of the orange and brown and things are looking bright in Cleveland. In his AFC North preview, SI.com writer Don Banks spotlights the Browns as the “team on the rise” in the division.

They’re not quite ready to give the Steelers and the Bengals a run for the top rung of the AFC North, but the Browns are finally starting to put some pieces together on the personnel front.

Offensively, much depends on what Cleveland gets from second-year quarterback Charlie Frye and two injury-plagued former first-round picks — tight end Kellen Winslow and receiver Braylon Edwards. But Reuben Droughns has supplied a legitimate running game, and the Browns have upgraded their offensive line again with the addition of Pro Bowl center LeCharles Bentley.

On defense, adding veterans Willie McGinest and Ted Washington will definitely help in the locker room, but don’t expect either one to perform as if they were in their prime. The draft, however, supplied two future playmaking cogs in Crennel’s 3-4 defense: end Kamerion Wimbley and inside linebacker D’Qwell Jackson. How quickly they develop may determine the level of improvement of Cleveland’s defense this year.

When speaking of rising stars in the AFC North, Banks declares Kellen Winslow II as a prime candidate.

A phenomenal talent at the University of Miami, Winslow has prototypical tight-end skills in the NFL’s pass-happy era and could quickly emerge, if healthy, as Frye’s favorite target. Until Edwards proves ready to return from his own knee injury, in mid-October or so, Frye’s only proven receiving option figures to be Joe Jurevicius, making Winslow even more attractive as a target.

K2 is finally healthy and has had an outstanding off-season, both in the weight room as well as with Charlie Frye building chemistry. I can hardly contain my excitement and can’t wait to see him on the field again.

As for the team itself, everything looks great on paper now but much of our success this season will depend on Frye. Our improved defense should be able to keep us in every game and it’ll be up to Charlie to manage the game effectively. While he doesn’t have to be a star and win games by himself, he will have to limit his mistakes on the field. After all, opening day will be just his sixth regular season start. Secondly, will he even last the entire season? He bulked up in the off-season in order to prepare his body for the 16-game NFL schedule and if he goes, so will the Browns’ offense.

For all those Browns’ non-season ticket holders out there, your chance to see the Brownies play in person is right around the corner. Saturday, July 15 at 10 a.m, single game tickets for the Cleveland Browns’ regular season will officially go on sale. Also, fans can purchase tickets for the annual “Family Night”, which features a practice by the entire team at Cleveland Browns Stadium. For more information, go to the team’s website.

The Browns do not have a veteran quarterback on their roster but may take a look at an older, ex-Brown to back up starter Charlie Frye. Coach Romeo Crennel did not dismiss his desire to sign Vinny Testeverde, whose agent said he has not filed his retirement papers yet and that his client would love to come back to Cleveland.

“It certainly wouldn’t be unat- tractive to him to be reunited with [Cren nel],” Azzarelli said. “And there’s no rea son he wouldn’t return to Cleve land. He cer tainly had a good time there.”

Crennel still wants to give current backup Ken Dorsey an opportunity and will wait until after training camp to decide whether or not to bring Testeverde on board. Crennel believes once Dorsey gets a feel for the system and his teammates, he will be fine.

The Browns should go after Testeverde no matter how Dorsey progresses through camp. Although over the hill at 42 years old, Vinny provides veteran leadership at the backup QB spot and already possesses a strong knowledge of the system. Should Charlie Frye go down with injury early in the season, the Browns would find themselves in a huge hole by having to plug in Dorsey as the starter. He does not have the arm strength and I would not feel comfortable at all having him as our starter if Frye were to get hurt.

There’s nothing like football in June. With the Cavaliers’ season complete and the Indians in a tailspin, grabbing the headlines this weekend are the Cleveland Browns, who are in the midst of their three-day team minicamp in Berea. The Browns have added some key pieces to the puzzle this off-season through free agency and the draft and are looking forward to building on last year’s performance. Head coach Romeo Crennel is entering his second season with the team and is looking to transform the Browns into a legitimate winner. Although the team will be in shorts and no pads, Crennel will get a good look at his players in action on the field. Several position battles and individual players are worthy of keeping an eye on this weekend.

Kellen Winslow Jr. is garnering the most attention as he will be practicing for the first time in nearly two years. He has endured vigorous rehabilitation the past year as he has worked to come back from his 2005 motorcycle accident. Winslow declares himself about 90 percent healthy and is participating in every drill on the field. He has shown tremendous dedication off the field as well, spending countless hours with teammates Charlie Frye and Braylon Edwards in the hopes of building the chemistry needed to succeed. While everything seems all right now, the real test for K2 will come in training camp when he puts the pads on and gets hit for the first time. But for the time being, Kellen has shown the characteristic of a true professional and has received nothing but praise from his teammates.

Quarterback Charlie Frye said he had no interaction with Winslow last year, but since bonding with him in the off-season he views him as “a competitor, and that’s what I am and I think that’s why we get along so well.”

“All I know is Kellen’s a great guy,” said Frye. “Everybody on the team likes him and he’s going to work hard and do whatever he can to help the Browns win.”

As far as Charlie Frye goes, he’s the man now that Dilfer left via trade to San Francisco. Frye will be behind center when the season begins and has put in the work in the off-season to handle the grind of a 16-game NFL season by gaining 15 pounds of muscle and working out with strength and conditioning coach John Lott since January.

Some of the key position battles include the third wide receiver spot and middle linebacker. With Braylon Edwards out due to injury, Joe Jurevicius and Dennis Northcutt hold the top two spots but the third receiver is up for grabs. Frisman Jackson, Joshua Cribbs, Brandon Rideau, and rookie Travis Wilson will compete for the third spot. At middle linebacker, it will most likely be either rookie D-Qwell Jackson or Chaun Thompson to play next to Andra Davis.

Football season is officially underway. The season opener cannot come soon enough.