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.

The Cleveland Browns came into this football game with big question marks at QB and nothing was solved last night.  Romeo Crennel flipped a coin before the football game to see who would start the game between Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson.  Frye won the toss and his final numbers look outstanding as he completed 12 of 15 passes for 122 yards, but, numbers can lie.  Frye was responsible for giving up a TD and allowing time to run out at the end of the first half with the Browns inside the Chiefs’ 3-yard line.  Frye tossed a lateral to Jerome Harrison and CB Benny Sapp picked it up and raced 56 yards for the Chiefs only TD of the football game.  Derek Anderson didn’t play too well either as he completed 7 of 16 passes for 76 yards and he carried the ball 1 time for 11 yards.  Anderson has a much stronger arm than Frye but he often throws into double or triple coverage and that’s a no-no in the NFL.  Ken Dorsey then entered the game and he was both good and bad.  He lost the football late in the 4th quarter in the end zone and the Chiefs recovered it for a safety.  But he also completed 6 of 9 passes for 52 yards and lead the Browns on a nice drive that ended in a missed FG.  Still, after the safety the Dawg Pound was chanting “Brady, Brady” but Quinn never got a chance to show what he can do as he didn’t get to play.  Chances are he will play at least a quarter against the Lions next week.  Running back Jamal Lewis looked pretty good in his Browns debut.  He carried the ball 4 times for 20 yards (5.0 ypc) and he also grabbed 3 passes for 16 yards.  Jason Wright followed him in the game and he looked allright carrying the ball 9 times for 28 yards (3.1 ypc) and catching 2 passes for 28 more.  Jerome Harrison carried the ball 8 times for 33 yards (4.1 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 6 yards.  But, he also fumbled a ball and gave up on the lateral from Charlie Frye that ended in a TD for the Chiefs.  Running back Chris Barclay saved the Browns last night when he returned a kickoff 88 yards for a TD with 1:36 left in the football game to give the Browns the winning points.  Look for him to get some carries next week against the Lions as he attempts to make the Browns final roster.  The Browns wound up running the football 29 times for 99 yards (3.4 ypc) and they completed 25 of 40 passes for 247 yards.  The Browns were ballhogs as they held onto the football for 36:28 of the football game because the offensive line played well both run and pass blocking.

The Browns defense was all over the football field last night.  The Chiefs wound up carrying the football 22 times for 90 yards (4.1 ypc) and they completed 15 of 29 passes for 110 yards.  The Browns had a relentless pass rush which caused the Chiefs QBs to hurry in the first half and resulted in pickoffs by Leigh Bodden and Daven Holly.  The Browns defense looked like the “Dawgs” of the past allowing only 3 of the points that the Chiefs got last night.

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/live/NFL_20070811_KC@CLE

The Cleveland Browns will be without two stars and a key reserve player for a while.  Starting right guard Eric Steinbach was the key free agent addition by the Cleveland Browns this off season but he will miss the next 3-4 weeks with a sprained ligament in his knee.  His status for opening day against the Steelers in Cleveland is questionable.  Starting outside linebacker Willie McGinest will miss the next six weeks following back surgery.  This will likely give second year man Leon Williams a good chance to start a couple of games this season in McGinest’s spot.  Reserve linebacker and key special teams player Matt Stewart has surgery to repair a torn muscle in his left shoulder and he could be placed on Injured Reserve which would end his season.  The Browns need this injury luck to take a turn the other way at some point or they are going to be in big trouble this season.

The Browns let Terrelle Smith leave town as a free agent in the off-season as they have decided to go with Lawrence Vickers as their starting fullback this season.  Vickers played in all 16 games as a rookie for the Browns last year and he carried the ball 3 times for 2 yards (0.7 ypc) and caught 6 passes for 60 yards (10.0 avg).  He also returned 5 kickoffs for 84 yards (16.8 avg).  Look for Vickers to concentrate on blocking but he might surprise as a receiver out of the backfield this season.  J.R. Niklos will be Vickers’ back-up this season.  He has 4 years of NFL experience but he has never made it to the field in a regular season game.

The Cleveland Browns have signed rookie quarterback Brady Quinn to a 5-year, $20.2 million dollar contract.  He has $7.5 million dollars in guarantees and he could net as much as $30 million dollars if he plays well.  The Browns hope that Quinn will pick up the NFL game quickly because Derek Anderson and Charlie Frye don’t inspire much confidence.

The Browns will give Phil Dawson another season to turn things around but if he has another season like he did in 2006 look for them to try to replace him.  Dawson made only 72.4% of his field goal attempts but he made all 25 of his extra points to finish with only 88 points.  Dawson hit 14 of 16 field goals of 39 yards or less and he nailed 7 of 13 from 40+ yards.

Dawson has now played in 124 games for the Cleveland Browns and he has scored 663 points for an average of 5.3 points per game.  Dawson has made 156 of 190 (82.1%) of his field goal attempts in his career and he has made 195 of 201 extra points.  Dawson needs to turn things around this season so he can keep working for the Cleveland Browns.