In response to some of his players’ (Jamal Lewis, Josh Cribbs) comments that the team quit against the Denver Broncos last week, Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel said it just isn’t so and took the remarks seriously:

“I think players respect me as a coach, they play for me as a coach so when that word ‘quit’ comes up you take it personally. The team is my team. The product that is out there on the field is a reflection of me. When they do good, I do good. When they do bad, I do bad. When they say that the team quit, it’s saying that I quit. And I know that I am not a quitter and my players don’t quit.”

Coach Crennel advised his team to stop looking back and start looking ahead to their upcoming MNF game against the Buffalo Bills. As I said in a previous post, this is a very intriguing game for two desperate teams — the Browns (3-6) being more desperate than the Bills (5-4), but both teams are searching for an identity and it might take this game to find out if either team has one. It’s not rocket science on my part, but I believe the loser of this game will miss the playoffs this season. For the Browns, it might already be too late.

Source: ClevelandBrowns.com

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Romeo Crennel Says Browns Didn’t Quit

The Cleveland Browns have become pretty vocal after last Thursday night’s devastating loss to the Denver Broncos. First, running back Jamal Lewis voiced his displeasure, saying that some players needed to “check their egos at the door.” Today, receiver and kick returner extraordinaire Josh Cribbs echoed those sentiments and spoke out about the team’s effort against Denver:

“When you have a team like that that comes into our house and we’re capable of beating them, that’s the first thing that comes to mind. We can’t figure out what man, but that’s what it looked like — some guys quit ….. We know if everybody didn’t quit, we would have won that ballgame ….. He (Jamal Lewis) goes out there and busts his tail every day, every game, and I do the same. It hurts when people don’t do the same and don’t show the same will and don’t show the same fire and desire for winning. It’s a shame sometimes, but we just have to pull together as a team and weed out those guys and play the rest of the season out.”

It continues with another prime time game next Monday at Buffalo with two teams who are clinging to playoff hopes and desperate for a win. On paper, it doesn’t look like MNF’s best offering. But it should be a great football game between two teams struggling for an identity.

Source: ESPN.com

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Josh Cribbs: ‘Some Guys Quit’

Blogcasting the National Football League, Blogcasting the NFL

The Cleveland Browns are doing more than staying competitive this offseason. The Browns are preparing themselves for a Super Bowl run. First, they locked up QB Derek Anderson for three-years yesterday. Then they got him another weapon on offense — former New England Patriots WR Donte Stallworth. The Browns are wisely building their team around their quarterbacks — Derek and Brady Quinn. GM Phil Savage said:

“Donte’ will be the major addition to our offense this year. He will bring legitimate speed, quickness and playmaking ability to the receiving corps and add a different dimension to the skill players we already have in place.”

He’s not kidding. Combining Donte with Braylon Edwards, Jamal Lewis, Kellen Winslow, Josh Cribbs, and Joe Jurivicius gives Cleveland a serious upgrade to the NFL’s already eighth-best offense (2007).

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Donte’ Stallworth Agrees to Deal With Browns

This transaction comes just a day after former Ravens RB Jamal Lewis signed with Cleveland. McGahee will bring fresher legs (even despite the major knee surgery that completely erased what would have been his rookie season) and better hands to the Ravens backfield. And he’s got two 1,000+ yard seasons in three years in Buffalo. He’s not as big as Jamal (20 pounds lighter), but he does have the toughness to run between the tackles and more speed than Jamal to run outside of them. The Ravens fill an immediate need. The Bills are still “on the clock.”

Click here for the press conference at the Ravens Playbook Media Center.

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Bills Trade McGahee to Ravens

What causes a team to release a player that another team may covet? That’s easy. Roster bonuses and huge base salaries for 2007. And lack of production. Today was especially busy as press release announcements were rolling into my email inbox throughout the day. Some of the more noteworthy cuts included Jamal Lewis (Ravens); Brian Simmons (Bengals); Ross Verba (Lions); Eric Moulds, Seth Payne and Zach Wiegart (Texans); Brad Johnson (Vikings); Ernie Conwell (Saints); Derrick Blaylock and Bobby Hamilton (Jets); Dexter Coakley and Adam Timmerman (Rams); and Christian Fauria (Redskins).

Probably the most surprising of these names is Jamal Lewis. According to BaltimoreRavens.com, however, the team wants to resign him sometime in the off-season. That is if no other team gets to him first. By observing what the Colts did this past offseason in letting Edgerrin James go and basking in the success of rookie Joseph Addai, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Ravens cut ties with Lewis and found a suitable replacement in April’s Draft. The aforementioned Ravens Web site is already talking-up Louisville RB Michael Bush.

Certainly, more cuts are coming in the next 24 hours. Among those expected to be released is Indianapolis Colts WR Brandon Stokley. If that happens, he will be one of the most sought-after free agents on the market, especially because there aren’t many big names on the WR list.

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Cuts Add to Free Agent Market