The Browns looked pretty decent on offense on Saturday Night but they still had issues stopping the run on defense and it almost cost them the game.  Charlie Frye started the game and he looked pretty good as he completed 5 of 7 passes for 68 yards.  Derek Anderson followed Frye and he did a decent job completing 7 of 9 passes for 74 yards.  Rookie Brayd Quinn looked sharp again completing 7 of 11 passes for 81 yards with 1 TD pass.  Running back Jamal Lewis carried the football 15 bruising times for 46 yards (3.1 ypc) with 1 TD run.  2nd year running back Jerome Harrison added 16 yards rushing on 4 carries (4.0 ypc).  Kellen Winslow looked sharp also with 3 grabs for 47 yards.  The Browns finished up with 102 yards rushing on 28 carries (3.6 ypc) and they completed 19 of 27 passes for 212 yards.

The defense had their usual issues stopping the run as they allowed the Broncos to rush for 157 yards on 31 carries (5.1 ypc) despite not playing their #1 or #2 RB who were both out due to injury!  The Browns did o.k. in defending the pass as the Broncos completed 18 of 31 passes for 193 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270825007

Who is the Drunk announcer?  “juss throw the flag juss for me”.  Do we have a new Harry Carey?

The Cleveland Browns played bad football for three quarters and then the lights came on and they made a furious rally that just fell short.  Both Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson played poorly in the first half for the Browns.  Anderson started the game and he was 6 for 8 for 65 yards but he lost a fumble and threw an interception.  Charlie Frye completed 5 of 10 passes for 42 yards and he also threw a pickoff.  Ken Dorsey looked sharp when he entered the game in the middle of the 3rd quarter.  He completed 7 of 9 passes for 68 yards as he led the Browns’ on their first TD drive of the night.  Then with 9:20 left in the ballgame rookie QB Brady Quinn entered that game to a gigantic ovation.  All Quinn did was completed 13 of 20 passes for 155 yards with 2 TD passes.  Those numbers are even more amazing when you take away 4 of his incompletions due to the fact that they were spikes to stop the clock!  Jamal Lewis continued to look good as he carried the football 7 times for 28 yards (4.0 ypc).  Jason Wright was also busy on Saturday as he carried the ball 6 times for 19 yards (3.2 ypc) with a TD and he also caught 3 passes for 27 yards (9.0 avg).  Second year running back Jerome Harrison carried the ball 6 times for only 13 yards (2.2 avg) but he added 6 receptions for 71 yards (11.8 avg) with a TD grab.  WR Efrem Hill only caught one pass but it was a 4-yard TD pass from Brady Quinn in the 4th quarter.  Reserve TE Ryan Krause also had a good game with 5 receptions for 32 yards (6.4 avg).  The final numbers for the Browns look good despite not scoring in the first three quarters of the game.  The Browns carried the ball 23 times for 77 yards (3.3 ypc) and they also completed 31 of 47 passes for 317 yards.

The Browns’ defense didn’t play too bad Saturday seeing how the offense kept setting the Lions’ up with short fields to work with.  The Lions finished up rushing for 101 yards on 29 carries (3.5 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 28 passes for 209 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270818005

The Browns are really set up nicely at TE.  Kellen Winslow is an emerging force for the Browns in the passing game.  He stayed healthy last season and he played in all 16 games and he caught 89 passes for 875 yards (9.8 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Look for those numbers to skyrocket if he is healthy this year.   He has now played in 18 games (18 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 94 passes for 925 yards (9.8 avg) with 3 TD grabs.

Steve Heiden is a very solid backup at TE.  He might not be the fastest TE in the NFL but he catches everything that hits his hands.   He played in 16 games (6 starts) last season and he caught 36 passes for 249 yards (6.9 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Heiden’s numbers will likely spike if Brady Quinn wins the starting QB job.   He has now played in 111 games (60 starts) and he has caught 156 passes for 1,263 yards (8.1 avg) with 13 TD catches.

Darnell Dinkins is the #3 TE on the Browns and he is an excellent special teams player.  He played in 14 games (2 starts) last season for the Browns and he caught 2 passes for 14 yards (7.0 avg) with a TD grab and he also returned 3 kickoffs for 44 yards (14.7 avg).  Dinkins is capable of being much more involved in the offense if the Browns have Winslow otr Heiden go down to injury.  Dinkins has now played in 49 games (10 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 19 passes for 179 yards (9.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs and he also has returned 5 kickoffs for 61 yards (12.2 avg).

Braylon Edwards sure likes to talk like he’s a number 1 receiver but his production so far hasn’t backed that up.  He needs to concentrate better and catch the football.  He played in 16 games (15 starts) last season and he caught 61 passes for 884 yards (14.5 avg) with 6 TD grabs and he also carried the football 3 times for 7 yards (2.3 ypc).  Edwards has the ability to get deep and the Browns need him to do that often to open up underneath passes for Kellen Winslow and Joe Jurevicius.  Edwards has now played in 26 games (22 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 93 passes for 1,396 yards (15.0 avg) with 9 TD grabs and he has carried the ball 3 times for 7 yards (2.3 ypc).  The Browns hope Edwards can match his career totals this season.

Joe Jurevicius has great hands but he’s not the fastest WR alive.  He played in 13 games (8 starts) last season for the Browns and he caught 40 passes for 495 yards (12.4 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  The Browns expect much more from him this season.  He has played in 117 games (42 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 273 passes for 3,505 yard (12.8 avg) with 26 TD grabs.

When the Browns traded Reuben Droughns to the Giants for Tim Carter they expected him to replace Dennis Northcutt as their #3 WR.  We will see if he can hold off the younger receivers behind him for that job.  Carter played in 16 games (8 starts) for the Giants last year and he caught 22 passes for 253 yards (11.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Carter has never progressed into a #3 WR in the NFL so the Browns will need him to step up.  He has played in 53 career NFL games (11 starts) and he has caught 72 passes for 967 yards (13.4 avg) with 3 TD grabs and he also has carried the ball 11 times for 97 yards (8.8 ypc).

Second year man Travis Wilson will need to step up soon if he wants to continue his NFL career.  He was so bad last season that the Browns rarely let him see the football field on Sundays.  He only played in 4 games (1 start) and he caught 2 passes for 32 yards (16.0 avg).  Wilson will have Training Camp to show if he will move up the depth chart or off of the team completely.

Joshua Cribbs is a converted college QB who is still learning how to play WR but the Browns will be patient with him because he’s an excellent special teams player.  Cribbs played in all 16 games (1 start) for the Browns last season and he caught 10 passes for 91 yards (9.1 avg) and he also carried the ball 2 times for 11 yards (5.5 ypc).  Cribbs makes his money returning kicks.  He returned 61 kickoffs last season for 1,494 yards (24.5 avg) with 1 TD and he also returned 6 punts for 51 yards (8.5 avg).  Cribbs has now played in 30 games (1 start) in his NFL career and he has caught 11 passes for 98 yards (8.9 avg) and he has also carried the ball 2 times for 11 yards (5.5 ypc).  He has returned 106 kickoffs in his career for 2,588 yards (24.4 avg) with 2 TD returns and he has returned 7 punts for 56 yards (8.0 avg).  The Browns would like to give Cribbs a chance to play more WR this season but he’s raw as he likes to catch the ball against his body.

Rookie Syndric Steptoe is a long shot to make the team.  But, he’s a good punt returner so he might have a good chance to replace Dennis Northcutt.  Steptoe also has an outside shot of winning the #3 or #4 WR slot on the Browns if he plays the rest of the pre-season the way he did against the Chiefs last Saturday Night.