Archives for December 2010

‘"I have 70 people coming up," said Whitner, a Cleveland native who attended his first Browns game when he was 5. "I don’t know why the games are so weird, but it’s been that way since I came here. But I like it, and my family likes it."’

‘"I was very happy for him," Jackson said. "As soon as I heard I gave him a call. I knew that he probably would be too busy to take the call, but I just wanted him to know that I was happy for him and rooting for him and hopefully he can make some things happen for them out there."’

‘The NFL ownership rules state that no person who owns a majority interest in, or has direct or indirect operating control of an NFL member club, may own or acquire any interest in a club in another major team sport (baseball, basketball, hockey), except for a club located in: a) his or her NFL club’s home city, or b) a non-NFL city that is not a potential NFL city.’

‘Fitzpatrick, a seventh-round pick in 2004, was asked if his Harvard background has helped him in the NFL, to which he replied, “Uh, no.” “If anything,” he said, “it hurt me in the sense that people were wondering how into football I really was. I don’t think any of that classroom stuff converts to the field too well.”‘

‘”C.J. is like most rookies. He’s in a learning mode,” Gailey said in a conference call. “He did things one way in college, and we’re trying to get him to adjust some things. He’s been hurt off and on. I was hoping there would be more opportunities for him and things would be further along than they are right now, but it is what it is. I think in the future he is going to be a very good football player for us and be very productive. He just has some things to learn.”‘

Cleveland Browns’ Ben Watson is a special tight end, not a specialist (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Fullback Lawrence Vickers paves way for running backs (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Browns, Bills brace for the cold Sunday in Buffalo (Canton Repository)

Browns about to run into one of those rare Ivy Leaguers (Canton Repository)

Mangini has close group of cornerbacks (Canton Repository)

Cribbs responds to fans’ criticism (Willoughby News Herald)

Spiller trying to get up to speed (Willoughby News Herald)

Browns are venturing into a winter wonderland (Elyria Chronicle Telegram)

Browns coach Eric Mangini loves winter weather (Elyria Chronicle Telegram)

Dawson might be Cleveland’s weather beater (Warren Tribune Chronicle)

Newcomer on course to reach milestone (Akron Beacon Journal)

Cribbs’ mind set on full return (Akron Beacon Journal)

Colder the better for Browns (AP)

Facing the elements (ClevelandBrowns.com)

Browns change looks (ClevelandBrowns.com)

Benard missed, Barton limited (ClevelandBrowns.com)

Mangini press conf. transcript – 12/9 (ClevelandBrowns.com)

Player Quotes – 12/9 (ClevelandBrowns.com)

Browns Backers Clubs Give Back (ClevelandBrowns.com)

‘”I’m really excited about the potential,” Reed said. “I put 100 percent into everything I do. Failure was never an option for me in my career. When you have the right people behind you, and I do, there’s no reason it can’t be a big success.”‘

‘Johnson’s taken a lot of heat from fellow believers for his audacious tweet. But I invite you to hear a kind of a prayer in his tweet.’

‘Bills 13, Browns 10.’

‘Browns 17, Bills 10.’

‘The blackout covers a 75-mile radius.’

‘The bottom line is Buffalo just needs to get themselves a better run defense and what I mean by that is they need to improve the talent base among the front seven. Last Sunday was the sixth time the Bills have given up more than 200 yards on the ground. It’s really something that has to be addressed sooner rather than later in terms of offseason priorities. It’s not the scheme, the Bills just don’t have the personnel to stop the run game right now.’

‘"Well, you’re putting your head in the sand if you sit there and say it doesn’t matter and they’ll just pick up where everybody left off," Gailey said. "You have to consider that. You have to think how much communication can go on, what can they handle, what can’t they handle, and you have to adjust from there. Making all the calls will be a little different, but he’s handled it before."’

‘Gailey said he expects rookies Cordaro Howard and Ed Wang to split the duty at right guard against Cleveland. Howard, the undrafted free agent from Georgia Tech, made three starts at right tackle this year and has seen spot duty at guard. He missed the Bills’ ninth and 10th games with a sore shoulder. Wang, a fifth-round draft pick, saw his first action on offense Sunday in Minnesota when he played left guard after Urbik got hurt.’

‘Woods went back to his alma mater, the University of Michigan, and worked out at their training facility twice a day. He also took a part-time job as a groundskeeper at the college. “I was a groundskeeper, going around, cutting grass, trimming, picking up trash, whatever they asked us to do,” Woods said before his first Buffalo practice on Wednesday.’