Yesterday’s 20-14 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars was noteworthy in that rookie quarterback Charlie Frye made his first career start. Frye looked spectacular in the first half, hitting Braylon Edwards for two touchdowns and giving the Browns a 14-3 halftime lead. However, Jacksonville Coach Jack Del Rio made adjustments and/or told his team they were losing to a 4-7 team, and in the second half the Jags made the plays they needed to pull out the win.
Let’s face it, Jacksonville is a better football team than the Browns. They are now 9-3 and along with the Bengals (next week’s opponent) and the Broncos, have the second best record in the AFC. Cleveland should be very happy with scaring the hell out of the Jaguars. In fact, it appears the Browns have two winnable games on the slate, versus the Raiders and against the Ravens at home. So, they will wind up either 5-11 or 6-10 in 2005, which is about what the reasonable expectations for this team after last year.
Charlie Frye showed enough to be the starter in Cincinnati next week. The Bengals do not have a stout, dominant defense, so Frye shouldn’t be intimidated as he might be by a Pittsburgh defense. To make it simple, the rookie from Akron made plays. He hit Dennis Northcutt for a long gain after being flushed out of the pocket. He hit Edwards for a touchdown after seeing Jacksonville jump offsides. He put some touch on a long gain to Antonio Bryant on his first completion.
Would I have liked to see Frye stand tall in the pocket firing bullets? Sure, but that is not a formula for success. Who had better success, Bernie Kosar or Vinnie Testaverde? This is not to say Frye is the second coming of Kosar, but he did make some Kosaresque throws. He also took some unnecessary sacks, but that will be eliminated with experience.
It will be interesting to see how Marvin Lewis and Cincinnati will defense Frye now that they have a game’s worth of film on him. There have been many QB’s who played well for one game, but once the opposition gets a read on the guy, it’s a different story. It would also be nice if offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon allows the rookie to throw more on first down, so as not to put him in third and long situations. Of course, if Reuben Droughns is running well, that’s a moot point.
Here’s hoping GM Phil Savage spends the next NFL Draft looking for offensive linemen and help on the defensive side of the ball. With Frye, Edwards, Droughns, and the return of Kellen Winslow Jr., this team has offensive weapons. The defensive line and the secondary are in dire need of some help. I see light at the end of the tunnel, and it is not an oncoming train.
JD
Cleveland Sports Perspective 