Berea
– What a difference a year makes!
Heading into the season opener a year ago, Charlie Frye was a wide-eyed
rookie just excited to be in the NFL.
Sunday he officially becomes the quarterback of his favorite team. Frye’s not
worried about the naysayers.
“I’m always excited anytime I get the opportunity to go out and play,” Frye
said. “I just want to go out and let my play speak for itself.”
Romeo Crennel is confident in Frye’s progress from a year ago.
“I think Charlie has made nice improvement,” Crennel said. “I think he’s more
consistent now. I think he’s a better player now because of the improvements
he’s made in the off season.”
Frye said he’s much more ready to take over the offense than he was a rookie
where he ended up starting five games and having a 2-3 record. Frye was 25-of-38
for 148 yards in the preseason (65.8 pct.), including two touchdowns and an
interception. His QB rating was 79.7
“I feel I know the offense much better than I did a year ago,” he said.
“There’s no guessing out there, now.”
Braylon Edwards is excited to be back on the field and re-united with Frye.
“Charlie has grown into a leader,” Edwards said. “Now, is his time. He’s
grown up as the guy—the leader in only his second year.
“And he’s only going to get better.”
There has been some question about his accuracy.
“I think he has been good, overall, in accuracy,” Crennel said.
Frye said he hasn’t been nervous before a game since he was in junior
high.
“I don’t get nervous,” he said. “I think it has to do with the comfort level
and confidence you have from being prepared.
“I spend a lot of time going around and talking to my teammates and going
over things in the locker room before the games.”
Notebook
For Starters: Crennel said the team is excited to start the season at home.
“Everybody is excited about the home opener,” Crennel said. “After the
preseason, the players are ready to start the regular season. We want to give
the the crowd something to cheer about and have them on our side to give us a
little boost.”
Hank or Lennie?: Crennel said the starting center slot will be a game time
decision.
“We hope to have that resolved by game time,” he said. “We’ll go through the
week and see how quickly Hank can come along. I anticipate both players will
play.”
Chaun or D’Qwell: The situation is the same at inside linebacker between
Chaun Thompson and D’Qwell Jackson.
“We’re still working through that,” Crennel said “Both guys will play. I tell
the players that when they’re in the game, they are the starter.”
Injury Update: S Brian Russell’s status is still up in the air.
“His arm is looking better and the doctors will wait until later in the week
to determine if he can play.”
Baxter Says He’s Ready: CB Gary Baxter still says he will be ready for
Sunday’s game.
When asked if he was confident he was going to play Sunday, Baxter replied.
“Yes, I am.”
Crennel wasn’t as definitive.
“Gary
did individual drills (in practice) and we’ll see how he handles that,” Crennel
said. “If Baxter doesn’t play, Ralph Brown will start and we’ll look at Antonio Perkins as the third corner.”