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 BEREA - The Browns came out of training camp with a chip on their shoulder pads.
They seem to think it’s time to chuck the LeCharles Bentley disaster into Lake Erie. Quarterback Charlie Frye is jazzed about the approaching season and about Saturday’s preseason game at Buffalo. “We’ve expanded our offense a great deal from where we ended last year,” Frye said. “We have a lot more stuff in, more personnel groupings in with (Kellen) Winslow. “I think you guys are gonna see an exciting offense when the season starts.” Frye seems to have forged a decent bond with new No. 1 center Ross Tucker, acquired in an Aug. 8 trade. Right tackle Ryan Tucker, who expects to be back from arthroscopic knee surgery in time for the Sept. 10 season opener, seems adamant about the Browns making a big jump from 6-10. “We have the players,” he said. “There’s no reason we can’t be good. Go across the board and look at the guys on paper. ... I think we can match up with anybody. It’s just putting it together.”
Right guard Cosey Coleman said the Browns lost Bentley and then Bob Hallen early enough to fix the center spot. “After these two preseason games,” Coleman said, “we will be ready to roll.” Roll where? “I think we are a playoff team,” linebacker Andra Davis said. “We didn’t go through training camp to shoot for .500.” Head Coach Romeo Crennel wasn’t quite as emphatic as some of the players. “Overall, I thought it was a good camp,” he said. “Some progress was made, and we were able to build some chemistry. “If this progress continues, hopefully, we’ll be able to carry it through to the regular season.” Fans seem to be taking a wait-and-see attitude. There wasn’t much buzz in the crowds throughout camp. Thursday’s final gathering was large but subdued during drills. The players scored some points by going over to the gallery ropes en masse after the final horn. HUT 2 The Browns sent a conditional draft pick to the Bears on Thursday for more help at center, landing 30-year-old Lennie Friedman, a former second-round pick who has played in 65 NFL games. Friedman got a kick out of seeing former Browns Head Coach Sam Rutigliano at the team complex Thursday. The two were together in NFL Europe with the Barcelona Dragons. “After I blew my knee out my rookie year, I spent a year in NFL Europe,” Friedman said. “While I was over there, I learned a lot from Coach Sam.” The 6-foot-3, 295-pound Friedman will be given a chance to beat out Ross Tucker, who will get his third preseason start Saturday. Friedman has started 32 NFL games, but none since 2004, when he started two games at center for the Redskins. He also can play guard. “He’s a tough-minded guy who will give everything he has,” Crennel said. “We feel that he will help us.” The Browns will keep an open mind about acquiring centers. THE OLD GUARD Former Browns guard Gene Hickerson was a training camp visitor Thursday, a day after finding out he is a Seniors Committee nominee for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was a fixture at right guard during the 1960s, when the Browns had all winning seasons. His last season was 1973. “It was nice,” Hickerson said. “I never thought it would happen.” Hickerson apologized for not being able to express himself as well as he would like, but he made it clear that, after sleeping on it, he isn’t bothered by having to wait so long for a real shot at the HOF. “I’m just happy to be alive,” he said. Hickerson was on a team that reached the 1957 NFL championship game as a rookie, then helped the team win the 1964 title. “All of a sudden,” he said, “we just started winning, winning, winning. It was very nice when you could just go kick somebody’s (butt).” With No. 66 at right guard, the Browns reached the NFL championship game in 1964, ’65, ’68 and ’69. Hickerson will find out Feb. 3 if he gets an invitation to Canton. He said he is leaning toward his son as a presenter, if he makes it. Reach Repository sports writer Steve Doerschuk at (330) 580-8347 or e-mail:
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