Browns horrid in 30-0 drilling

Braylon Edwards' mouth was the icing on the cake of a bad day.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CLEVELAND -- On a day that was supposed to celebrate the Browns' glorious past, Cleveland's premier player from that era lingered in the locker room after Sunday's game to weigh in on the team's not-so-glorious present.
"That was a terrible exhibition of football," said Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown following a 30-0 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns Stadium. "Obviously, this is a low point."
The lowlights started on the first play when Joshua Cribbs' kickoff return for a touchdown was called back due to a holding penalty on Mason Unck.
Things only got worse from there as Cleveland (which was wearing throwback uniforms from the 1950s) turned the ball over five times -- four on Charlie Frye interceptions -- and struggled to do anything against the NFL's worst defense.
Even more troubling, the CBS cameras caught wide receiver Braylon Edwards throwing a mini-tirade on the sideline in the third quarter, yelling at teammates and grabbing Frye on the shoulder at one point.
It was a fitting end to a terrible week for Edwards, who didn't make many friends on Wednesday when he criticized teammate Brian Russell for his hit on Cincinnati receiver Chad Johnson earlier in the year.
Edwards silent after game
Edwards didn't speak to reporters after the game -- "I got nothing to say," he said -- leaving it to his teammates to speak for his actions.
Winslow, one of Edwards' best friends on the team, argued that the combustible wideout was motivated by frustration and nothing more.
"He's a competitor," Winslow said. "Nobody's attacking Charlie. It's not anyone's fault [for the team's struggles]. It's us as a unit."
Still, Edwards' decision to show his frustration in front of the cameras was a poor one. Predictably, many of the postgame questions centered around the possibility of dissension within the ranks.
"This is a team sport," said Brown, an old school player who was clearly unhappy with Edwards' tirade. "[Coach] Romeo [Crennel] is the boss and it's a must for the players to adhere to the role set by the leader.
"There's no advantage to the tail wagging the dog."
When Crennel was asked if he considered benching Edwards late in the game when the outcome was no longer in doubt, he replied, "No, I didn't."
That question led to one on the minds of many fans: Did he consider benching Frye late in the game?
Crennel stayed with starters
"Well, no," Crennel said. "It's just one of those games where I was going to go with the guys who started it, the guys who I thought gave us the best chance. I'll let it go at that."
Frye's struggles had plenty to do with his line -- Cleveland (3-8) had just 51 rushing yards and Frye was sacked four times -- but it didn't overshadow another glaring problem: Frye doesn't seem adept at making his reads and finding the open receiver.
"We couldn't get anything going and Charlie was back there getting hammered," said Winslow, adding that Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer and Colts quarterback Peyton Manning struggled in their first few years. "Great teams have to go through this type of stuff."
The "great teams" line raised a few eyebrows, but his mention of Palmer and Manning was even more questionable. Those two were No. 1 overall draft picks with top-level talent.
Frye, however, was a third-round selection out of the University of Akron who hasn't developed as well as the team had hoped.
Browns may eye QB in draft
Nobody questions Frye's toughness -- when asked about getting hit repeatedly, Frye shrugged and said, "I'm a little sore but I'll be all right" -- but the Browns may be forced to consider choosing a quarterback with what is almost certainly going to be a high choice in April's draft.
Sunday's loss was the first time the Browns were shut out by the Bengals since losing 21-0 in December 1989. It was only the second time this season Cleveland has lost by more than 10 points -- Cincinnati's 34-17 win in Week 2 was the other -- and it brought back memories of last year's 41-0 loss to Pittsburgh on Christmas Eve.
"It wasn't pretty and if we want to get a win, we're going to have to play a lot better," Crennel said. "I felt we could have done better. Evidently, I was wrong."
When asked if this was the lowest point of his two years with the Browns, Crennel said, "This is pretty low. Last year was pretty low, too, for one instance.
"I just wasn't expecting it this time."
scalzo@vindy.com