We finish up our Brownstravaganza with Chris over at our affiliate site Dawgs By Nature. My answers to his questions are up over there.
BGN - When I saw the Browns on the schedule when it came out I wondered who would be the QB when this game finally rolled around... but I never considered it would be Ken Dorsey. Does this guy have any hope of showing something over the next couple games?
DBN - Browns fans know why Ken Dorsey has been the third-string quarterback the past few years: he is a very smart quarterback. However, his physical skills as an NFL quarterback are severely lacking, particularly with respect to his arm strength. The only way he has a chance at succeeding is if all of his throws are simple five-to-eight-yard quick strikes. With how good the Eagles are at pressuring the quarterback though, things don't look very good for Dorsey this week, or in the following weeks.
This may be part of your answer to the previous question, but I've read stories saying Browns fans are hoping to see WR/KR Josh Cribbs taking as many as a dozen snaps at QB in a wildcat formation. What are your thoughts on that?
Before the Miami Dolphins even showcased the "wildcat" formation to start the season, the Browns had a designated "flash" package for Joshua Cribbs throughout the entire preseason. Fans were extremely excited at the thought of the Browns doing with Cribbs what the Dolphins ended up doing with Ronnie Brown. Instead, the only thing we saw all season was Cribbs line up at quarterback for a running play about once every two games.
Last week, Cribbs finally got a lot more looks at quarterback, and he even threw a very nice deep ball late in the game. His workload is expected to increase a little bit against the Eagles, and at this point of the season, that is really the only thing Browns fans can get excited about. I think Cribbs has the potential to be the first "complete" player in today's league -- with the current coaching staff still in place though, that won't be evidenced against the Eagles.
Despite the Browns disappointing season and despite the fact that you guys are out of the playoff picture, I've read that Romeo Crennel has been resistant to giving your rookies and youngsters more playing time. Is this true?
If you watched the Browns/Bills Monday Night game earlier this season, then you should know of RB Jerome Harrison. Fans have been calling for the little speedster to receive more playing time for the past few years, especially this season. Crennel has responded by giving him about two snaps a game -- usually they result in our best offensive play of the game too. After that, Crennel doesn't go back to him. Crennel is too stubborn to adjust to the flow of the game and ride who is "hot".
Then, Crennel has failed to play our first two draft picks this year, LB Beau Bell and TE Martin Rucker. We have a horrible MLB starting in Andra Davis, but Bell hasn't even been given a look at backup MLB! Winslow is currently out, Rucker is supposed to be a pass catching tight end, but Crennel refuses to play him in our lackluster offense. At this point, Crennel knows he'll be gone after the season is over, so it appears that even more so than usual, he just doesn't care about the future development of this team. That in itself should've been a reason to fire him weeks ago.
Thanks to Chris and be sure to check out Dawgs By Nature for all things Browns ahead of tonight's Monday night matchup.