Posts tagged CharlieFrye at FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

Last week I mentioned that Romeo Crennel's agent was talking with the Browns organization about getting his client a raise. Specifically, Crennel, based on his performance this season (but disregarding the previous two seasons, I guess), deserves a contract extension.

Joking aside, Crennel has done some pretty amazing things in Cleveland, even if just for this season. I mean, this is the team that laid an egg in Week 1 only to finish 10-6. That didn't happen by accident; Crennel wisely benched Charlie Frye 15 minutes into the season, gave Derek Anderson the job, and relied on two off-seasons of stocking the roster with quality players via free agency and the draft. That's worth something.

And general manager Phil Savage agrees:

"We have every intention of doing something with Romeo and we'll do right by him,'' said Savage. "Hopefully it will be addressed in the next few days. If not, then in the next few weeks.''

Although some fans thought Crennel should have to string together a couple of good seasons before reaping a pay bump, I think this is the right move. Remember, it could be worse: remember those heady Butch Davis/Chris Palmer days?

And the game of cat-and-mouse continues. The Browns hired former Ravens front-office type Phil Savage in 2005, and players like punter Dave Zastudil, cornerback Gary Baxter, running back Jamal Lewis and quarterback Derek Anderson have all followed.

The tide is turning, however: Baltimore will interview Browns' offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski for Brian Billick's old job.

Under the 39-year-old Chudzinski, the Browns had two 1,000-yard receivers (Braylon Edwards, Kellen Winslow) and a 1,000-yard rusher (Jamal Lewis). Quarterback Derek Anderson, who began the season as a backup, threw 29 touchdown passes.

Actually, I'm guessing this has little to do with payback, and everything to do with making the Ravens a competent offensive team. Of course, it's not unheard of for an organization to interview a rival coach with the express purpose of gaining a few behind-the-scenes insights. Given that Baltimore and Cleveland are already pretty familiar with one another, I can't imagine this to be the case.

If anything, this is recognition that Chudzinski did an amazing job with the Browns this season. The decision to bench Charlie Frye certainly helped, but I feel confident in writing that Maurice Carthon wouldn't have had this much success.

Chudzinski still has to be a long shot for the Ravens gig. Not so much because he's an unknown, but because everybody's a long shot: the team is interviewing 28 other candidates.

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It took a few possessions longer than expected (what with Derek Anderson throwing interceptions like he was Tim Couch), but Braylon Edwards finally sets the Browns single-season receiving yards record with his second-quarter touchdown grab against the 49ers this afternoon.

The Browns' first drive resulted in a Derek Anderson red-zone interception (which complements nicely the two he threw last week), but after a Joshua Cribbs punt return for six, the Browns starting quarterback found Edwards for a 45-yard touchdown strike.

Edwards now sits atop the Browns single-season receiving yards list. His 1,267 yards is 31 more than Webster Slaughter (1,236), followed by Kevin Johnson (1,097), Paul Warfield (1,067) and Antonio Bryant (1,009).

For all the talk that Edwards wasn't living up to his 2005 No. 3 overall draft status (I may have been guilty of such transgressions), he's certainly come on strong in 2007. In addition to the record, he's making his first trip to Hawaii, and he has a lot to do with Anderson's emergence. The fact that Edwards, Kellen Winslow and Joe Jurevicius couldn't save Charlie Frye's career tells you all you need to know about Charlie Frye's career.

To get you ready for Week 16, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is your Browns/Bengals preview.

2007 Records:

Cleveland Browns: 9-5 (2nd in AFC North)
Cincinnati Bengals: 5-9 (3rd in AFC North)

Last Week:

Browns 8-Bills 0
Niners 20-Bengals 13

Why We Care: When these two faced off in Week 2, many felt that the Bengals could be a playoff team and the Browns were going to be a mess. After all, the Bengals won a hard fought game over the defending division champion Baltimore Ravens while the Browns traded away their starter from that week, Charlie Frye, to Seattle. Derek Anderson took over the Cleveland starting QB job and wowed everyone in a 51-45 victory. Since then, the Browns have been one of the feel-good stories of the year and the Bengals have been the disappointment. If the Browns win this game, they are in the playoffs.

This ain't the Cleveland Browns we're all used to seeing. The same team that averaged fewer than five wins a season since 2003 is now 9-5, tied atop the AFC North, and headed for the postseason. And people outside of Cleveland are finally taking notice.

Yesterday, the NFL announced that wide receiver Braylon Edwards and return demon Joshua Cribbs had been named the AFC Pro Bowl roster. According to the News-Herald's Jeff Schudel: "They are the first Browns selected to play in the NFL's version of an all-star game since linebacker Jamir Miller made the Pro Bowl after the 2001 season." Ah, yes, good ol' Jamir Miller.

Two noticeable omissions are tight end Kellen Winslow and quarterback Derek Anderson (and, I suppose, at least one member of the offensive line). Given that Winslow plays in the same conference as Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez, it's easy to understand why he won't be traveling to Hawaii on the NFL's dime.

And nobody's willing to argue that Anderson had a better season than Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. But what about Ben Roethlisberger?

This is quite a pickle the Browns have gotten themselves into. Before the season, coach Romeo Crennel figured he'd start Charlie Frye at quarterback for a month or two, the team would stink, and by November -- maybe right around now -- he'd hand the reins over to first-round draft pick Brady Quinn.

Well, he was right about the team stinking with Frye.

Fortunately for everyone in Cleveland except Quinn, Frye stunk so badly that he couldn't even make it out of Week 1, and his replacement, Derek Anderson, has been outstanding. And that drastically changes the Browns' future plans. Anderson becomes a restricted free agent after the season, and he's played so well that there's no way the Browns can let him go.

NFL Network's Adam Schefter reports (via PFT) that Anderson would be so attractive to other teams as a restricted free agent that the Browns might put the franchise tag on Anderson -- guaranteeing him a salary of about $10.6 million in 2008 -- to ensure that the only way he could leave would be if a team were willing to give the Browns two first-round draft picks for him. Realistically, as good as Anderson is, no team is giving up two first-round picks for him, so that would allow the Browns to know for sure that they'll get him back.

It was easy to make fun of Maurice Carthon, fired just over a year ago after "leading" the Browns to one win six games. The team has done a complete 180 this season, with Rob Chudzinski taking over the play-calling duties and Derek Anderson replacing the Maurice Carthon of quarterbacks, Charlie Frye.

According to Football Outsiders, Cleveland's offense ranks eighth in the league. But it's the defense that's the problem; the unit is 27th, worse than the Bengals and Rams. If that doesn't get your attention, how about this: the Browns rank next-to-last in pass defense, better only than the one-win Jets.

You could blame Cleveland's draft strategy, but the Browns have done a good job of stocking the defense with first-day picks since Romeo Crennel and Phil Savage took over the War Room three years ago. Which means that defensive coordinator Todd Grantham has some questions to answer. Or, at least according to the Dayton Daily News' Sean McClelland, he should:

The Browns have a winning record (5-4) today in spite of their defense, not because of it, and you have to wonder why coordinator Todd Grantham isn't taking more heat. Why aren't fans sending petitions to team headquarters demanding his ouster as they did with offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon, who was run out of town last season?

As McClelland notes a sentence later, winning solves a lot of problems, and with the Browns sitting at 5-4 and in great shape for a postseason berth, rocking the boat midseason doesn't make a lot of sense. Although Carthon might disagree.

The Browns have a friend in SI.com's Don Banks. In his latest column, Banks predicts the playoff field, and guess who he has winning the AFC North? If you said the Cleveland Browns, well, that's wrong. Banks has the the Steelers winning the division (assuming they can sneak by the Browns tomorrow), but here are his AFC Wild Card teams: Tennessee and Cleveland.

As for Cleveland, even if it comes out of the next two games with losses at Pittsburgh and at Baltimore, don't give up on the Brownies. At 5-5, they'd still be in decent shape to put four or five more wins on the board and make the playoffs for the first time since 2002.

Cleveland isn't getting it done on defense, but the Browns offense has something special building, and you can't help but be entertained by a team that has won its past three games 41-31, 27-20 and 33-30 (in OT).

The Browns are arguably the non-Pats-related story of the year. Nobody had them breaking .500, much less making a legit playoff run. Obviously, jettisoning Charlie Frye for Derek Anderson has a lot to do with the turnaround, but just as important has been the play of rookie left tackle Joe Thomas.

Some idiot left him off the Midseason Midtacular Best Rookie of the Half-Season balloting, but that slight aside, Thomas has been a godsend. A maturing Braylon Edwards and a healthy Kellen Winslow hasn't hurt either.

Random Browns-related rhetorical question: You think the offense misses Maurice Carthon?

Finally, Charlie Frye gets some good news. After the Browns traded him following a Week 1 drubbing at the hands of the Steelers, the former 2005 third-round pick has served as the Seahawks' No. 3 quarterback on game days.

Even though he has yet to take a snap, his new head coach, Mike Holmgren, is a fan:

''He's a great young man,'' Holmgren said Wednesday. ''He really has a great work ethic. He's learned our stuff in relatively a short period of time, not all of it but enough to go in and play in a game, enough so that I can free up (No. 2 quarterback) Seneca Wallace to do some other things.

''But I also know it's hard when you've been the starter, and now all of a sudden you're watching. There's a transition period where you're kind of grouchy about everything. But he's handled it so well. I really like him a lot.''

When Seattle sent a sixth-round pick to Cleveland for Frye, many thought it would eventually free up Wallace to see more snaps at wide receiver. And that's exactly what has happened, even though Holmgren admits to "holding his breath" every time Wallace takes the field.

And while Frye is currently buried on the depth chart, that's not necessarily a bad thing. There's a pretty good argument that he was rushed onto the field in Cleveland, and his current situation is in his best long-term interests. Frye will never have a strong arm, but he still has plenty of room for improvement. And for some guys, it's better to learn that lesson while watching.

Charlie Frye heads home this weekend. The Seahawks will travel to Cleveland to face the 4-3 Browns. Those four wins, by the way, match last season's win total.

Anyway, Frye, who chose not to participate in the weekly conference call with the Cleveland media yesterday, did offer his thoughts to the AP on getting traded 15 minutes into the 2007 season:

"I don't think anyone realized that rope was going to be that short ... But that's the way it went down. ... What people don't realize is that the regular season is a whole different level ... It wasn't going to happen in Week 1. You really can't base the season on what you saw in Week 1, because there are too many weapons on offense."

It's hard not to feel bad for Frye. And he'd come off looking like the scapegoat if Derek Anderson hadn't morphed into a conventionally throwing Bernie Kosar. Heading into last week's Rams game, Anderson ranked ahead of Carson Palmer, Matt Hasselbeck, Ben Roethlisberger and Philip Rivers in passing efficiency.

Well, this seems like a sufficiently insane idea, particularly since the Browns have a legit chance to be 3-3 Sunday evening:

Some might suggest that Sunday's home game against Miami would be the perfect time for the debut of Browns' first-round pick Brady Quinn - in a substitute role. The Dolphins are 0-5. The Browns have a bye the following weekend, which would be the perfect time for them to correct the rookie quarterback's errors. Cleveland should be able to run the ball against a defense ranked 31st against the run, which would put less pressure on Quinn to do it all. And the stretch of imposing defenses early in the year is now past.

The Akron Beacon-Journal's Maria Ridenour also offers this: Charlie Frye saw action as a rookie and he was just a third-round pick, ipso facto, blah blah blah. I don't honestly believe Ridenour thinks Quinn should play tomorrow, just something that has no doubt been discussed to death on the message boards ... and amongst the media, apparently. Head coach Romeo Crennel still has to deal with the "When will we see Quinn" questions, and he gives the right answer:

Here's something nobody really considered when the season started: Derek Anderson could be sought after next spring. The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Tony Grossi was asked if the Browns will look to sign Anderson to a new deal "now that he is emerging as an NFL quarterback?"

Anderson can become a restricted free agent in March 2008. The Browns can severely limit his ability to sign with another team by giving him the contract tender that requires a first- or second-round draft pick in return. It's possible the Browns will seek to re-sign Anderson before the season is over. But Anderson may hold off and pursue a starting job elsewhere because Brady Quinn is the quarterback of the future.

This is an interesting, and no doubt unexpected development for Cleveland's front office. Charlie Frye won the job coming out of training camp, and after an atrocious Week 1 effort, the team promptly traded him to Seattle for a box of trainers tape.

At the time, the thinking had Anderson holding down the fort for a month or so, and after Cleveland got through the brutal part of their schedule -- and presumably out of the playoffs by that point -- the Brady Quinn era would commence with very little pressure.

Change in plans. The Browns are 2-2, Anderson has played well, and there's really no need to rush Quinn on the field. Like Grossi, I don't expect Cleveland to re-sign Anderson this year -- they'll slap him with a first-round tender most likely -- and see how things play out in '08. Of course, the Browns might be amenable to trading Anderson this off-season, or signing him to a third-round tender if they're willing to give him up for a pick. After all, they're without a 2008 first-round selection -- it went to the Cowboys in exchange for the right to take Quinn last April.

The only person who's had a worse week than Bill Belichick has to be Browns Seahawks quarterback Charlie Frye. He lasted all of 23 minutes in Cleveland's season opener, was yanked before halftime for Derek Anderson, and two days later, found himself in a strange city with a bunch of unfamiliar faces.

"It is a little shocking," Frye said.... "I'm just trying to find the positives. That's just the way I am. Coming out here, being with coach Holmgren and his track record with quarterbacks, and being with Matt [Hasselbeck] and Seneca [Wallace], I think it's going to be a positive situation for me."

That's a good point, and something I haven't thought about. Hasselbeck was a late Day 2 pick, and Wallace was thought to be more of a Slash-type player than quarterback. Before becoming one of the league's best, Hasselbeck used to be Brett Favre's understudy, twice removed. In 2005, he was Seattle's starter in the Super Bowl.

Frye, on the other hand, is the third-team QB, doesn't know the Seahawks offense, and is still reeling from a crazy week that saw him go from starter to scout team. Frye probably doesn't realize it now, but Romeo Crennel and Phil Savage may have saved his career.

By trading Charlie Frye to the Seahawks on Tuesday, the Browns opened the door up for Brady Quinn who is currently listed as the backup to starter Derek Anderson. Good news for Cleveland fans, they may be getting their wish to see Quinn play sooner rather than later.

Browns coach Romeo Crennel said Wednesday he wouldn't hesitate to put rookie Brady Quinn in against the Bengals if starter Derek Anderson struggles.

"I think it just depends on how the game goes," said Crennel. "If there's evidence, or I get the feeling that things can be straightened out, you can give the guy a chance. But if things can't get straightened out, then, I think you have to do something quickly."
...
Crennel said it would be good to get Quinn a few series before he starts a game.

"I think the game situation dictates that," he said. "If the opportunity arises, it will be good to get him in there and get his feet wet. But you just can't say that the opportunity is going to come up."

I'll say this much for the Browns, if they can get Quinn some action this weekend and have him start week three or four, they sure would be pleasing their crowd. Opinions differ as to whether or not the Browns should throw Quinn into the fire. Considering they have Baltimore and New England coming up in weeks four and five, I don't think it would be a bad idea to wait a month or so to start him.

I'm sure Seahawks fans are sufficiently psyched about the Charlie Frye trade, but there is some bad news out of Seattle (in addition to the Charlie Frye trade): wide receiver D.J. Hackett suffered the dreaded high-ankle sprain in Sunday's game against the Buccaneers and is out indefinitely.

"He's going to be down for a while. I can't tell you how long," [head coach Mike] Holmgren said. "Those things are very unpredictable."

Depending on the severity, Hackett could be out anywhere from a few weeks to the entire season, but as it stands, no one knows anything. Or if they do, they're not saying. According to the Seattle Times, team doctors didn't give Holmgren a prognosis during a Monday meeting, though speculation has Hackett missing a month or so.

In the meantime, Nate Burleson will move into the starting lineup, but that doesn't mean he'll relinquish his return duties. Burleson was a pleasant surprise Seattle's return man in '06 -- something he volunteer for after not seeing much action at wideout. But he understands the inherent danger in special teams:

"Those guys are running down with their heads on fire and they're sticking their helmets in some areas that I don't really like."

Thankfully, Burleson didn't elaborate.