The Browns' amazing streak of bad luck continued in Sunday's loss to
Jacksonville.
First-round draft pick Braylon Edwards tore the anterior cruciate ligament in
his right knee and will miss the remainder of the season.
Edwards vowed, though, that he would return better and stronger in 2006.
Edwards was hurt when he landed awkwardly trying to catch a deep throw from
rookie Charlie Frye.
His injury puts him on the sidelines with last year's first-round pick, tight
end Kellen Winslow. Winslow tore his ACL in the offseason in a motorcycle
accident.
Of the team's past seven first-round draft choices, only one -- center Jeff Faine -- will be starting Sunday's game in Cincinnati.
PASSING OFFENSE: C-minus -- Charlie Frye did a good job in the first
half, but Braylon Edwards helped him by making two outstanding catches. That
being said, the rookie quarterback did a commendable job running the team and
making plays the first two periods. Frye's highlight: having the savvy to
recognize Jacksonville was offside on a play and taking a shot in the end zone.
The fun ended in the second half, though, when Jacksonville dialed up its blitz.
The Jaguars had stacked the line to stop Reuben Droughns, figuring Frye had to
show he could beat them. When Frye did, Jacksonville adjusted and stopped the
Browns cold.
RUSHING OFFENSE: B -- Droughns had a hard-fought 88 yards against a
big, strong and physical Jaguars defense. That put Droughns over the 1,000-yard
mark, which ended the franchise's 20-year drought without a 1,000-yard rusher.
That makes for a good day in Cleveland almost any season.
PASSING DEFENSE: C -- David Garrard would have had four touchdown
passes had the Jaguars not dropped two in the end zone. Garrard wound up with
two TDs and just 116 yards passing, but he was able to come up with plays when
he had to in the second half. The Browns also were called for a costly
pass-interference penalty on a deep pass.
RUSHING DEFENSE: C-minus -- The Browns' weakness all season did not
magically disappear on Sunday. Greg Jones was a Mack truck going downhill on
some runs. He wound up with 103 yards -- a good day for a backup who replaced
Fred Taylor.
SPECIAL TEAMS: D -- Kyle Richardson struggled, Phil Dawson missed a
field goal and Jacksonville had a clear edge in kickoff returns, which gave the
Jaguars a clear field-position advantage. Not a good day.
COACHING: C -- The Browns tried to help Frye by letting Droughns run a
lot. It worked for a half. They drew up plays for Edwards, and it resulted in a
very good game for Edwards prior to his injury. They also paid better attention
to the clock at the end of the half, and it led to a touchdown. But in the
second half, the team got outplayed, which indicates that Jacksonville did
something at halftime that the Browns could not respond to. It wasn't a great
effort, but it wasn't a terrible effort either.