Big game, big hopes: Browns, fans eager to begin season of great expectations
Scott Petrak | The Chronicle-Telegram
CLEVELAND — The wait for the 2008 season started in 2007. The Browns completed a 10-6 season Dec. 30 — providing a glimpse of what looks like a bright future — but hours later it turned out not to be good enough to make the playoffs.
The anticipation intensified when the NFL schedule was released in April. The Browns drew Dallas — America’s Team — at home for the season opener.
Everyone can finally stop tearing pages off the calendar. Phil Dawson or Nick Folk will put his foot into the ball this afternoon at 4:15 to officially kick off the Browns’ most anticipated season since they returned in 1999.
This time, the excitement is based on expectations, not mere existence.
“It doesn’t matter who we’re playing for the season opener,” linebacker Andra Davis said. “Coming off the season we had last year, everybody is expecting us to do really well, just to continue to carry on from where we left off.
“There’s going to be a lot of excitement in the air.”
Linebacker D’Qwell Jackson said he’s never been involved with a game of this magnitude.
“I can’t wait,” he said. “My family will be there, a lot of people will be watching, it’s right where we want to be as a team. We want to be in prime time, show people what we can do, put that preseason behind us.”
An 0-4 mark in August stole some of the Browns’ luster. Experts who praised them in May and June were finding weaknesses and suddenly predicting a step back from last year.
“As the Cleveland Browns, we don’t feel like we arrived yet,” Jackson said. “We had one good season, now it’s the real test. We have to go out and prove it all over again.
“Everybody on this team plays with a chip on their shoulder. It’s a perfect test for us.”
The way coach Romeo Crennel talked during the week, it is one the Browns will be lucky to survive. In the opening soliloquy to his Wednesday news conference, Crennel rambled on about every Dallas position group as if it were filled with Hall of Famers.
“I think that we are going to have to play one of our best games ever,” Crennel said. “They’ve got talent all over the place.
“As you look at them, you can’t really find any weakness. I don’t know where they are not good. They have got good coaches, got good players and got good facilities. So we are going to try to hold on and do the best we can.”
Crennel sounded like Lou Holtz during his heyday at Notre Dame talking up an overmatched Navy team. But Crennel may not be far off.
The Cowboys had 13 Pro Bowlers last year and went 13-3 before being upset at home in the playoffs on the Giants’ march to the Super Bowl.
“The Cowboys on paper are the best team in the NFL,” receiver Braylon Edwards said.
Dallas’ roster is filled with stars. Quarterback Tony Romo, receiver Terrell Owens and owner Jerry Jones battle for headlines and attention. Romo’s leading at the moment with his tabloid romances with Carrie Underwood and Jessica Simpson.
The Browns can’t rival the Cowboys as a paparazzi draw, but they have players who come close in the NFL galaxy. Quarterback Derek Anderson, Edwards and tight end Kellen Winslow were Pro Bowlers last season and are strikingly similar to Romo, Owens and Jason Witten in talent and production.
“I think we can be tremendous,” Edwards said. “Each guy brings something special. I’m excited to see what we can do this year. It’s going to be fun.”
“The Cowboys are the Super Bowl favorites and everybody talks about how good they are,” Winslow said. “I think we’re a good team, too, but it’s all about who can execute better that day.”
The Cowboys appear to hold the edge on defense. Although the Browns upgraded the defensive line with Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams, the secondary remains an issue. The starting cornerbacks are young, and there isn’t much depth at corner or safety.
That could be trouble going against Owens and Witten.
“If we take care of our business, it doesn’t really matter who we go against,” safety Sean Jones said. “If we have our stuff on straight, our techniques down, I think we’ll be OK.”
The Browns have opened at home every season since returning. The lone win came in 2004 against Baltimore, and last year the Browns lost 34-7 to Pittsburgh. The Browns responded with seven straight home wins, setting the stage for what promises to be an electric atmosphere today.
“It’s gonna be real crazy,” Davis said. “We have the best fans in the world.
“Hopefully we can give them something to cheer about and make it as loud as it’s ever been in there. Because we’re going to need all the help we can get.”
(bullet) Guard Rex Hadnot (knee) was downgraded to out for the game.
(bullet) Receiver Paul Hubbard was waived, and receiver Steve Sanders was signed from the practice squad to the active roster.
Contact Scott Petrak at 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com.
TODAY
WHO: Cleveland vs. Dallas
WHAT: Season opener
TIME: 4:15 p.m.
WHERE: Cleveland Browns Stadium
TV/RADIO: Channel 8; WMMS 100.7-FM
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Filed by Scott Petrak | The Chronicle-Telegram September 7th, 2008 in Sports. Popularity: 4% |
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