Page 304 of 357

T-Minus one bad Trent Dilfer performance. I don’t know how you throw for 186 yards in the first half of the final exhibition game and not be the second stringer. And I’d say it’s a matter of time before Charlie Frye starts this season. Frye is the real deal. First mediocre performance from Dilfer, and Trivissonno’s gonna be bangin’ the drum.

Trying to find a mention in the PD of Sultan McCullough’s rushing performance last night is a bit too difficult. Only one mention of him anywhere in the articles. THE MAN RUSHED FOR 103 YARDS!!! In a little over one half of play! Why isn’t this a story? And why does Ruben Droughns get top of the page coverage in the Browns Insider column? Yeah, he had a good game, but McCullough ran for 43 more yards. Droughns’ avg per carry was 6.6, McCullough’s 5.4, so not that big a difference. They both broke big gainers, so you can’t argue that one back had more carries outside the average than the other. I’d keep the kid.

On PTI, my favorite sports show ever, they always say “look at the schedule”. They did a good job of that on the WOIO broadcast last night, and from that, I’d be worried.

Browns could easily start 0-3. First game against the Bengals is the easiest, but they are on the rise. Then we go on the road for Green Bay, and Indy, both of which have excellent running games…this Browns run defense is probably the least impressive thing about pre-season. Best case scenario is 1-2 out of the box. Then a bye week, which will probably feel like sweet mercy. Hard to argue that the first game of the year is a must-win, but I think this year, it probably is.

Way too many mistakes from a Romeo Crennel-coached team in last night’s 23-20 loss. Granted, a number of those came late in the game when a bunch of third-string hopefuls and longshots were on the field, but the Browns made some crucial mistakes early in the game to extend a couple Carolina drives. Special teams breakdowns were especially damaging, particularly Carolina’s 44-yard kickoff return right before halftime that led to a go-ahead touchdown.

Braylon Edwards was less than impressive, wasn’t he? A dropped pass, a couple pre-snap mistakes, he stepped out of bounds on a play near the goal line, which led to a penalty. Plus, he had a couple chances to make some plays one-on-one but finished with four catches for just 10 yards. He’ll be good (though he has been known to drop his fair share of gimmes), but he’s got a lot of work ahead of him.

Tell me William Green doesn’t look like Ricky Williams. It’s the beard, obviously, but I’m thinking when you’ve got your own history of drug problems with the NFL, Ricky Williams is the last guy you want to be reminding people of. That said, if Lee Suggs can’t go in week one (and right now, it looks like that’s the case), I think Green’s earned the start with his stellar preseason stats and, more important, his newfound dedication. Coaches have been raving about Green all summer and while Reuben Droughns will play a significant role with this team this season, Green deserves to start in week one, and I’d love to see him turn his career — and his life — around.

I love Charlie Frye, and I’m not alone, as all the people chanting “Char-LIE!” last night proved. He’s going to be a good one. He’s got poise, he’s smart, he’s athletic — bottom line, he knows how to play football. Romeo would prefer to have Frye sit the bench all year so maybe Doug Johnson gets the backup job by default, but Frye certainly looked like the better quarterback last night, and in a year or two, he’s going to be a lot of fun to watch. After sitting through Ty Detmer, Tim Couch, Spurgon Wynn, Kelly Holcomb, Jeff Garcia and Luke McCown, I’m definitely looking forward to the Charlie Frye era, though as the PD’s Bud Shaw points out, it’d be unwise to rush Frye.

Could Brian Brennan wedge his nose any farther up Jim Brown’s ass during the telecast last night? It was sickening. At one point, Bob Golic asked Brown if he had any dogs at home because if he didn’t, he could always take Brennan home with him. Of course, Golic’s terrible too, which is funny considering how well brother Mike Golic does on ESPN Radio. In fact, they were so bad last night that I actually began to appreciate the hacks that CBS sends out each week during the regular season to do the Cleveland games, which is really saying something.