Yardbarker: Charlie Frye

Steeler Punter Is One-Legged Man In Ass-Kicking Contest

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 11:49:19 -0500

What is going on here? Three days into their 2008 training camp and yet more misery has struck the Pittsburgh Steelers. This time the unfortunate victim was punter Daniel Sepulveda, who was lost for the season with a torn ACL. This calamity is strange for a number of reasons, the most obvious being the fact it was a real football injury even though it happened to a punter. This brings me to the second strange circumstance. I don't care much about punters, except when they screw up, but I'm pretty sure the only time I've seen them injured is when a kick is blocked or they make an ill-advised attempt to actually play football. However, Sepulveda's injury evidently went something like this: He came to camp. He said his knee was a little sore. They took an MRI for the heck of it. They found a torn ACL. Yes, he evidently ripped up his knee by standing on the sidelines carrying a clipboard. Sepulveda is now claiming his knee hasn't felt right since he had surgery for a torn ACL while playing for Baylor back in 2006. I'm not a doctor but it looked pretty good in the clip posted above. Actually, I give kickers shit about being sissy boys because, well, they are but as you saw in that video, Sepulveda was actually a pretty kick-ass punter. Then again, considering he's almost the same exact size as Jack Lambert was during his heyday with the Steel Curtain, he should be required to deliver a hit or two purely out of principle. Anyway, punting help is on the way in the form of Paul Ernster, picked up off waivers from the Detroit Lions. Those last two words should give you all the clues you need as to his level of ability. Or you may remember Ernster as I do, from his one and only appearance with the Browns in last year's season opener against the Steelers. His soaring punts of 15 and 22 yards on a perfectly calm day earned him a ticket out of town faster than you could say "Charlie Frye." For those keeping score, so far our wild-haired All-Pro safety has a banged up leg, our run-stuffing All-Pro nose tackle is a fatass, and now our 4th round draft pick punter is gone for the season and replaced by somebody not good enough for either the Cleveland Browns or Detroit Lions. Yep, training camp can't end soon enough.

Camp Continues for Browns w/ Two Sessions Today

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:15:04 -0500

The Browns opened training camp on Wednesday with an afternoon practice. The big difference this summer compared to last year is that Derek Anderson is firmly plated as the starting quarterback. Anderson was in a battle with Charlie Frye for the starting position in 2007. Anderson took over in Week Two of the regular season and [...]

NFL Week 2 Review

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 05:10:38 -0500

Listen as T- Money presents another episode of Around the Spectrum: LIve. This show, T- Money goes over every Week 1 Match up in the NFL and went over the MLB Playoff Hunt as well.

Filtering Craig gets his wish; Charlie Frye traded to Seattle

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 17:17:56 -0500

The answer to your question is they can get a 6th rounder. Hope this makes someone in Cleveland happy.

Charlie Frye to be Traded or Cut

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 15:57:45 -0500

I am not sure who you trade him to, or what you could possibly get in return, but there is the news. And now it is official. Charlie Frye is gone to Seattle for a 6th round pick.

Listless Browns Bring Back Ken Dorsey

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 11:34:11 -0500

The Browns have no idea what they are doing. How else can you describe a scenario where they defecate the bed in the first week against their biggest rival, while not properly addressing the quarterback position and continuing the debacle after halftime? So, the Browns brought back Ken Dorsey, who has been unable to crack a lineup in his NFL career, and now the Browns are bringing back this backup, probably to start.

Steelers vs. Browns Game Analysis

Sun, 09 Sep 2007 12:53:43 -0500

Click through for the full post. The bottom line for the Browns is that if they were a 25% chance to win every game last year, they are now probably a 30 - 50% chance to win this year. They still need some luck and better execution.

QB Frye to start for Browns in opener

Sat, 01 Sep 2007 02:11:00 -0500

It has been announced that Charlie Frye is the starting Quarterback for the Cleveland Browns for the season opener against the Steelers. Charlie Frye may have gotten the starting job but do not leave out Derek Anderson. Anderson is a solid Quarterback who can do almost anything at the position. Then there is Brady Quinn he is a very talented Quarterback and could come in if the Browns are having trouble at the position in the season.

Two-A-Days: AFC & NFC North Divisions.

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 04:10:12 -0500

So what I have decided to do is rip off the Mike and MIKE show on ESPN and hold my version of 'two-a-days'. Only instead of breaking down two teams in the NFL, I have decided to breakdown two divisions a day. This will consist of breaking down each team in a division and ranking each team from who will finish last to who will win their respected divisions. My Rankings will be estimated by how each team faired last year, how they improved their teams through free agency and the draft, their schedule strength and just how good they are doing in the preseason thus far. NFC NORTH Last year it was the Chicago Bears who were above and beyond any other team in the NFC north. They won their own division by five games. Their dominance in the NFC North transferred over into the rest of the conference as they went on to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. Where the Colts defeated them. This year I do not see the Chicago Bears running away with their division championship as they did so easily last year. Lets start off with the Green Bay Packers. Who finished five games behind the NFC champion Bears in 2006. This year the Packers have in my opinion improved on defense. I think Outside Linebacker A.J. Hawk is going to be a beast in this league and he will eventually give Brian Urlacher a run for best linebacker in the NFC North. Second year head coach Mike McCarthey; will have yet another chance to grow and become and even better coach. Now with that being said, their offense is in shambles. It used to be you could never say that about a team who has Brett Favre as a leader. But that isn't the case any more. He needed help and the Packers simply did not supply him with enough help in the off-season. They had the opportunity to get Brett the help he has begged for. But they failed to acquire Wide Receiver Randy Moss before the NFL Draft. It is assumed that they could have had Randy for a very cheap price but opted not to trade for the Star receiver. Now the only playmaker that the Packers have on offense went down to an injury in the Packs last Preseason game. (Donald Driver) Obviously their success depends on Donald Driver can return healthy this year. Next we turn to the Detroit Lions, who acquired the best collage player coming out of the draft when they drafted Calvin Johnson. A lot of so-called experts say that Calvin's impact won't be felt for at least a season or two at the most. But I am one of the few that disagree. I think that this young receiver will make an immediate impact in this Mike Martz Pass-happy offense. He is too talented not to do so. On the other side of Calvin is a top ten Receiver in Roy Williams and he's not the only really good wide receiver that they have. They also have Mike Furrey who turned heads last year. So the Lions aren't lacking any talent in the receiver department. I will go as far to say with a little work they can be one of the best wide receiver tandems in the NFL. Now their Quarterback isn't that bad either. Jon Kitna isn't a Peyton Manning by any stretch of the imagination. But he has enough talent in his arm to win you games. The only problem I see for the Lions on Offense is their Running back. Kevin Jones is now reported to be out for the season. I do believe their running situation will improve with Tatum Bell and TJ Duckett helping them out. But we will have to see just how good they can be as the season unfolds. But the true test is within their defense, if their D can hold up and improve then I see a much improved team all round. The Minnesota Vikings finished last year with the best run defense in the National Football league. They have improved their DB position when they added Mike Doss in the off-season and Darren Sharper is a good safety. I would say that their defense will improve this year, but there is only one problem, their defensive coordinator is now the head coach of the Steelers. So if they can transition well with their new Defense Coordinator than I see no problems for this team. On offense I see a team improving and rebuilding. So as the offense improves the team improves. They drafted Adrian Peterson who many foresee becoming the next game breaking running back in the NFL if he can remain healthy. They just acquired Kelly Holcomb who is a suitable QB who can manage a game for them. Giving their young hopeful Quarterback Tavaris Jackson room to grow into what Coach Brad Childress says is the next Donovan McNabb. This team will be great, but not yet. They still need to make strides on offense with Tavaris and with Peterson before they take over this division. Next is Da' bears, the reigning NFC Champions. They lost their Defensive coordinator in the off-season but since Lovie Smith is a defensive minded coach it really won't affect this team. Because most people give credit to Lovie for making this defense what it is and not Rivera. So with that being said we all know that their defense will probably continue their dominating ways from last year. The question is can Rex Grossman silence the critics and become a Quarterback who belongs in the super bowl instead of one who hitched a ride with his defense there. So far in the preseason he's had his ups and downs. But there offense is ranked third in scoring in the preseason. But we saw this before; last year he came out of the gate firing on all cylinders. Some even began to call him the next Brett Favre. But it wasn't going to last because once midseason came he was losing games for the Bears. If not for that stout defense, Rex probably wouldn't be enjoying that NFC championship Ring he has. Another problem I see is their star running back Thomas Jones now plays for the Jets. Now I am sure the reasoning behind getting rid of Jones was to allow their top draft pick Cedric Benson room to grow. So far Cedric Benson has been doing well in the preseason. But the odds on a Running Back who never started an entire season before doing well aren't that great. Their new Tight End Olsen I believe will be a stud. And Muhsin Mohammed and Bernard Berrian are two top receivers in the game. The receivers, the tight end and the transition of Devin Hester; (Their star return man) as a Wide Receiver, Will give Rex all the weapons he needs. The problem is Rex. Can he take the steps needed to become the Quarterback he needs to be to return to the super bowl? Personally I do not see it happening. But we do have to remember that the Bears have the single best defense in the NFC. Which is a shutdown defense. So if Rex can only learn to manage the Game as Big Ben did, and not throw it away. Then they should repeat as NFC North Champions. Followed by the Lions, Vikings and Packers. AFC NORTH The Baltimore Ravens won the AFC North last year. With their always tough as nails Defense, they proved in 2006 to be the second most Winn ingest team in the NFL (Tied with the Bears at 13-3.) They led the AFC north by the same amount of games as their NFC counterpart, with five games. So will they repeat as AFC north champions in 2007? Let's break down the teams and find out. Let's start of with the Cincinnati Bengals, who in many people's minds have one of the most high-powered offenses in the National Football league. Their Quarterback, Carson Palmer is ranked in the top five of Quarterbacks in the NFL. Most believe that he only takes a backseat to Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. During the 2005 season the Bengal's were having their most successful season in recent memory. Their defense was clicking almost as well as their high-powered offense, by producing pickoff after pickoff. Keeping the ball in the hands of their offense as they won the NFC North. Going into the Playoffs they were one of the teams that was favored to go to the Super bowl. It wasn't until Carson Palmer got hurt in the Wildcard playoff game against the Pittsburg Steelers that their hopes were all but lost. The injury was to Carson's ACL and caused the Bengal's to lose to the eventual Super Bowl XL Champions Steelers. Most sports Physicians and trainers agree that it takes a player at least year to recover from an ACL injury as bad as Carson Palmer's was. During the 2006 season Palmer made his return and even though Carson was playing well, he just wasn't playing at one hundred percent. In 2007 everyone in Bengal's Nation are crossing their fingers and holding their breaths in hope that Carson Palmer will comeback one hundred percent once the season begins. So far in the preseason the Bengal's haven't won a single game yet. But it is the preseason and we all know that these games don't count to most starters in the NFL. I do see Carson Palmer returning to the Carson Palmer of old this year. He has plenty of help on Offense to do so. With T.J. Houshamzadeh and the always entertaining, always controversial Receiver Chad Johnson for Carson to toss the ball to. Obviously there is no lack of top receivers on the Bengal's. Once Chris Henry returns to the fold the Bengal's receivers will be even more deadly. Their Running back is Rudi Johnson, who is considered to be a top tier running back in the NFL. To most opposing defenses the Bengal's have a "Pick your poison" type of offense. But when you are in a division with two top defenses with the Ravens and Steelers, you have to have a good defense. And that has always been this team's akilies heel. That and keeping their players out of the slammer. Their offense has always been dominant. But when it came to their defense, with the exception of 2005. It has always been a crapshoot. It is a defense that relies on the interception to win games. But you cannot always win in the NFL that way. So if they manage to step up this year and become a good defense again I see this team making it into the 2007 playoffs. Not necessarily as the AFC north champions, But as a wildcard team. Next is the Cleveland Browns. Who managed to draft two highly coveted draft picks in this year NFL Draft. When they drafted offensive tackle Joe Thomas with the third overall pick, then they traded up to get in some draft experts opinions, the second best Quarterback in the draft-Brady Quinn. They then signed Running Back Jamal Lewis to be their starter. So far the browns are obviously rebuilding for the future, which makes this year pretty much a wash. I mean, don't get me wrong they could do well. But I highly doubt it. With the types of teams in this division I would advise the Browns to keep rebuilding. And PLEASE CLEVELAND, do NOT throw Brady Quinn to the wolves so soon. Allow him to hold the clipboard and learn. Let Charlie Frye take the hits, and then bring him in gradually. In the past this has worked to benefit teams. Look at Philip Rivers who learned by watching Drew Brees. When a player especially a quarterback is just thrown onto the field almost disastrous consequences occur. The Browns have witnessed this before. When they drafted Tim Couch in 1999 with the first overall pick. They let him do his learning on the field and now he hasn't played a NFL game in years. Then again, there are cases of teams throwing their QB out there and he does well. But the odds are against any team who does that. I believe the Browns have some valuable assets on their team. Their defense shows flashes of brilliance. Being coached by a man who owns three super bowl rings for coaching defense will do that for you. But it should be more than just flashes. On the other side of the ball when they drafted Joe Thomas they made their Offensive line a lot tougher. And with Wide Receivers Joe Jurevicius, Braylon Edwards and Tight End Kellen Winslow Jr. Their Future looks bright for quarterback Brady Quinn. However if I detect a weakness anywhere on this offense it is at the running back position. Sure they have Jamal Lewis, but which Jamal Lewis do they really have? Is it the one who will rush for over 1,000 yards and 10 plus touchdowns, or the most recent Jamal Lewis? The one who gains most of his yards in meaningless games. Here's a fact for you, Jamal Lewis rushed for the majority of his yards against the Browns. Which as we all know he currently plays for. So with that being the case, whom will he rush for the majority of his yards against? Will it be his old team the Ravens? Hell no. Then maybe the Steelers? Hells no again. Let us cut to the chase, Jamal Lewis' best days are behind him. But they better sign or trade for that Running back because the odds of the drafting one in 2008 are weak since they traded their pick to Cowboys to get Brady Quinn. The Pittsburgh Steelers, It was almost two years ago that they "Rode the bus" to a Super Bowl victory as a wildcard team. We all recall that memorable journey that the Steelers were on in 2005. They were all but done when they turned their season around and went on that winning streak that led them to win Super Bowl XL. Their Quarterback, Big Ben became to youngest quarterback to win a super bowl. In 2006 it was the exact opposite. The Season started out with Ben Roethlisberger being seriously injured in a motorcycle accident. After that, concussions plagued the young Quarterback all season. The Steelers finished with an 8-8 record and Big Ben led the league in interceptions. They weren't able get into the playoffs in order to defend their World Championship. Shortly after the season ended long-time head Coach Bill Cower retired. Now with a healthy Big Ben, this team is ready to take their rightful place with the AFC's elite. New Head Coach Mike Tomlin, has installed a freshness in Pittsburgh that most of the team has embraced. Tomlin, who coached the leagues number one rush defense with the Vikings, became the first African American head coach in Steelers history. To help big Ben regain respect to this team is the breakout running back "Fast" Willie Parker. Who in a few short years has become one of the better running backs in the NFL. They also have top NFL receiver and former Super Bowl XL MVP Hines Ward catching the ball. That coupled with a tough defense makes the Pittsburgh Steelers a dangerous team when they are healthy. Now we turn to the 2006 AFC North Champions – The Baltimore Ravens. Arguably the best defense in the entire NFL. The Ravens take no prisoners when they are on the field. Lets put it this way; The Ravens are the Modern day Spartans. They do not care if you are the biggest guy out there or the lonesome kicker. If you are opposing them, you will get hurt. A lot of players say that the Ravens play "Prison Yard Ball". Because of their mentality to want to hurt their opponents. But that is exactly the way Defensive coordinator Rex Ryan coaches them. The Defense led by Ray Lewis hasn't skipped a beat since the turn of this century. On the other side of the ball, their offensive line was always stout. They also have a tight end in Todd Heap who has been a Top Receiving tight end since he signed his contract. Up until this year it was Jamal Lewis who ran the ball for the Ravens. And he did run it well. But with his recent lack of production the Ravens decided to go in a different direction this year. So they traded for Willis McGahee. Willis was always considered to have potential to be great but behind a weak offensive line in Buffalo, he was limited to what he could do. Now behind this strong offensive line in Baltimore. McGahee can show the world what he is worth. And the Ravens will benefit from that. The weak part of this team for a long time was at Quarterback. The Ravens waited a long time for top pick Kyle Boller to come around. It wasn't until last year that the Ravens were sick of waiting so they went out and got former NFL MVP Steve McNair to lead their offense. Now with Pro Bowler Steve McNair and the group of receivers they have. Baltimore is poised to repeat as AFC North Champions. I believe that the AFC North Champions will be the Baltimore Ravens for the second year in a row, followed by the Steelers, Bengal's then Browns. I feel that there is a strong possibility that both Wildcards could end up coming out of the AFC North with Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. If they can manage to stay healthy.

All I have to do is throw the ball right?

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 00:44:02 -0500

I am an avid Denver Broncos fan. This preseason has begun to make me worry. Is Denver's QB situation really resolved by Jay Cutler? I ended last year like most thinking he was going t be great. So far his numbers are worse than Cleo Lemon's. Jay has a very rough completion percentage of 54.8. The nice stats are no interceptions and 5 20+ yard plays. Still he has a very disappointing 85 rating. With a pedestrian 6.4 yards a completion. This makes me look around the league at other teams and their quarterback status. The one that fires me up the most is the Browns. Here you have Brady Quinn the future of the franchise keeping a spot warm for Charlie Frye........ What? Let's look at what Quinn has done so far. He is 20 of 31 and I know 4 of those incompletion are from the Lion's game and having to spike the ball. He has no interceptions and 3 touchdowns with out even playing a full game. He has still managed to post 236 yards. While all this is nice he has still posted a 119.8 quarterback rating. This is still not even a full game show me a game last year where Frye or Anderson threw 3 touchdowns and 300+ yards. Not to mention Quinn is the only Quarterback on the Browns roster to post a Touchdown and he is one of the 2 quarterbacks not to throw an interception out of the 4 on the roster. Let's look else where in the league. A team that couldn't spell the word offense let alone actually field one, Kansas City. They first said their fate rested in the hands of the young Brodie Croyle after going 16 of 36 for 176 yards and an ugly rating of 34. So they will be replacing one under performing with another in Damon Huard. With him posting his amazing 5 of 9 for 45 yards and his awful rating of 29.6. These two Quarterbacks have made 1 TD and 4 int. This is for sure a hard year on KC fans. There is another quarterback problem that seems to be under the radar more and that is Miami. Ok so talent is no substitute for experience but les crunch some numbers. First string Trent Green, he used to be one of the best quarterbacks but with his less than impressive start in preseason you have to wonder, 17 of 33 for 143 1 td 2 interception and a sad rating of 47.9. Well that doesn't look hopeful let's try to find a bright spot in the second stringer Cleo Lemon. Well he hasn't thrown an interception but he hasn't thrown much else He has gone 21 of 29 for 185 yards no Td's and a manageable 89 rating. What's sad is we are having to look to who they have listed as a third stringer for a positive spot. John Beck 19 of 33 yes not as good as Cleo but still manageable and with his two less completions he has racked up 237 yards, that's 52 more yards. Even with less completions and he out scored Cleo by 2 td's this off-season so far and with just as many attempts as Green he has 2 less interceptions than Trent's 2 (let me help you with the math that's none). Those are just a few to name, where do you feel there's Quarterback controversy? The Jets? Minnesota? Oakland? Atlanta? Buffalo? Chicago? Green Bay? Jacksonville? Tampa Bay? I don't know why don't you tell me.

Browns GM says Quinn won't be No. 1 QB

Sun, 26 Aug 2007 20:09:47 -0500

Brady Quinn has had a good preseason but Phil Savage says that Quinn will not be the starting Quarterback against the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 9. The starting job is either between Charlie Frye or Derek Anderson. When asked Romeo Crennel has said he might not even name a starting Quarterback until the week before the opener. My bet is that the starter will be Charlie Frye. Frye is a great Qurterback when healthy. He has great receivers such as Braylon Edwards and Joe Jurevicius.

Should Brady Quinn be the Browns opening day starter?

Sun, 26 Aug 2007 14:25:39 -0500

Romeo Crennel was doing coin flips the first game of the preseason to see who was going to start. Now he might have his guy. Brady Quinn was holding out that first game but looks like he has great knowledge of the offense. He has also looked very impressive this preseason completing 64 percent of his passes and has 236 yards along with 3 touchdowns. Sure when he got a majority of those yards it was against the Lions 3rd string defense but yesterday it was against the Broncos 1st team. The Broncos could be one of the 10 best defenses and Quinn went 7 for 11 with 81 yards and a touchdown. One of those incompletions was a 30 yard pass to Joe Jurevicius when he clearly got both feet in bounds. The Browns probably won't make the playoffs this year anyways, so it's worth a shot to give fans hope for the future. If Quinn plays he could also make a fantasy impact in a dynasty league or all rookie league.

2007 Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Busts

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 18:48:57 -0500

In fantasy football, for every sleeper there usually is a bust. It is a safe bet to make that one of the more targeted wide receivers just won't have the type of year the experts predicted in 2007. To pinpoint who that wide receiver might be, is like trying to predict who will win the Super Bowl in 2007. It's difficult to do, but the Bruno Boys have a general idea of which receivers might not be as good as advertised in 2007. And to steal a line from fellow Bruo Boys Mike Whooley, the man who sum's up the meaning of BUST better than the rest, take care of that nauseous stomach before it even occurs by perusing the Wide Receiver edition of the Bruno Boys Bring Out the Pepto. Ranking System: The higher the "Bring out the Pepto" ranking, the more likely a player is to bust. ________________________ Chris Chambers - Miami Dolphins Heading into the 2006 fantasy football season, Chris Chambers was coming off a big 2005 season (1,118 receiving yards, 11 TD's in '05) and was easily a top 10 wide receiver on all draft cheat sheets. However, in 2006 Chambers "Brought out the Pepto" and had his worst season in the NFL. His 677 receiving yards, 11.5 yard per catch average and 42.3 yards per game average were all career lows, and led to him being found on many waiver wires throughout fantasy football. Well, the Bruno Boys are warning you that Chambers will cause stomach aches throughout the 2007 season, and make you need to hit the bottle of "Pepto Beismol" one too many times. The main reason for this is because the Miami Dolphins offense was enemic last season, and they did nothing to improve in 2007. With veteran quarterback Trent Green under helm, look for the Dolphins to play a ball control style that will see Green only passing when necesarry. This will lead to a bundle of weeks in which Chambers posts inconsistent fantasy numbers. Also, Chambers is in legal trouble, after getting a DUI on July 14th. Chambers is expected to plead not guilty to the chargers and a court date is set for September 26th. For this, Chambers has earned FOUR BOTTLES OF PEPTO. Ranked 34th in the Bruno Boys Fantasy Football Draft Cheat Sheet, Chambers should only be taken as a 4th wide receiver. Don't expect him to get back his 2005 form and keep an eye out on his legal issues. Losing him to a four game suspension in the middle of your fantasy season could be a big blow if you are thin at the wide receiver position. To read the rest of this story and to find out who else the Bruno Boys Project as Busts, click here:

More Ways for Romeo Crennel to Pick His Starting Quarterback

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 18:07:38 -0500

Yes sir, the Browns will use a coin flip to decide their starting quarterback for the first pre-season game. Because you know, that's how quality franchises are run nowadays, with the element of luck and surprise.

The Afternoon Workout

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 16:06:30 -0500

What did you think of my first video? After we worked out in the morning sun, we went and did some lifting at the gym. Then, later in the afternoon, we went back out to the field and worked on some football drills. Me and Charlie Frye of the Cleveland Browns were the QBs and we had about 12 guys running routes. Take a look…