Berea - Charlie Frye is back from some fun in the sun and ready to get back
to work. He took a vacation with his family to Arizona and played a lot of golf.
“I've been going at it for two years strong,” Frye said. “It was a lot of
time and throws. I felt exhausted.”
Frye was alluding to the fact that he really had no break from his senior
season at Akron until the end of his NFL first season. Right after his senior
season he went to the Senior Bowl. Add in all of the combines and pro days and
then the mini camps, quarterback schools, training camp and regular
season—that's a lot of football.
Frye admitted he started to feel the effects of a dead arm down the stretch.
“About the beginning of December, I felt my arm getting a little tired.”
Even with a tired arm, Frye started the final five games of the season. He
was 2-3 as a starter and finished 98-of-164 for 1,002 yards with four touchdowns
and five interceptions.
Frye said he was planning on spending part of the off-season in Arizona
training but decided to come back to Cleveland and spend the time working with
his teammates and coaches. He wants to add about 10 pounds to his frame to get
up to 225 pounds to increase his durability.
He mentioned that he particularly wants to concentrate on working with
Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow, who are rehabbing from ACL injuries.
“Those are the guys who are going to be the playmakers out there next year
and it's very important for us to have good camaraderie and be on the same page
with each other.”
Frye is confident the experience he received in his rookie season will help
him next year.
“Towards the end of the season, every week I played I felt more and more
comfortable,” Frye said. After playing those games I understand more of what it
takes to win in this league. You have to get everybody on the same page.
Everybody has to be in the same boat.
“Everybody has to have confidence in themselves and I have that same
confidence that I can go out there and be the starting quarterback,” he said. “I
played pretty well in the last five games and I'm only going to get better.”