Tight ends Steve Heiden and Aaron Shea were limited in
practice again Thursday. Both watched as the rest of the team ran
sprints as part of their warm-ups.
Both players are optimistic about playing against the
Raiders, but just in case, Coach Romeo Crennel said he is prepared to
make a move from the practice squad, which would mean activating Paul
Irons.
Heiden has 39 catches. He needs one more to become the first
tight end since Ozzie Newsome caught 62 in 1985 to catch 40 passes.
PROPS FOR ALVIN: Orpheus Roye gets most of the attention among Browns
defensive ends because of the season he is having, but Crennel likes the
way Alvin McKinley has played. McKinley has 64 tackles in his first
season as a starter. Like Roye, he played defensive tackle in the 4-3
defense in the past.
“It’s something to build off of," McKinley said. "You want
to come out and work hard every day. That’s something positive coming
from him and I appreciate that. I want to continue to work hard.”
Crennel said McKinley could play nose tackle, but he needs
to add more weight. He weighs 285 pounds and McKinley said he'd have to
put on another 20 pounds or so.
TURNER DEATHWATCH: Norv Turner already is in trouble. The Browns could put the
final nail in his coffin if they win and drop the Raiders to 4-10.
"When you’re struggling like we are, those articles are
going to be there this time of year," Turner said in a teleconference.
"In terms of our team, our guys have done a good job of focusing and
staying in a week-to-week basis, and that’s what I’m going to do. The
time to have those conversations is at the end of the year.”
HOBBLED, BUT MOVING: Charlie Frye continues to wear a black support sleeve on his
sore right knee. He moved around in practice Thursday with no problem.
At one point, each quarterback threw at a net which has
pockets attached to it. The idea is to not only to hit the pocket, but
to get the ball to stay in the pocket. Frye and Trent Dilfer hit the
pocket, but Derek Anderson was the only one to make the ball stay.
NO TO ANTONIO: Forget about seeing rookie Antonio Perkins in 2005. Since he
was inactive the last 11 games he probably wasn't going to play anyway,
but he broke his left hand when he fell on it in practice Wednesday, and
on Thursday he wore a huge cast that looked more like a club. Crennel
has said Perkins can still play on the 'show team,' which is the unit that
mimics the the opposing defense.