Team on the rise
CLEVELAND
The Browns have been the division doormat for most of their existence, but they're showing some encouraging signs heading into Year 2 of coach Romeo Crennel's construction job. They're not quite ready to give the Steelers and the Bengals a run for the top rung of the AFC North, but the Browns are finally starting to put some pieces together on the personnel front.
Offensively, much depends on what Cleveland gets from second-year quarterback Charlie Frye and two injury-plagued former first-round picks -- tight end Kellen Winslow and receiver Braylon Edwards. But Reuben Droughns has supplied a legitimate running game, and the Browns have upgraded their offensive line again with the addition of Pro Bowl center LeCharles Bentley. On defense, adding veterans Willie McGinest and Ted Washington will definitely help in the locker room, but don't expect either one to perform as if they were in their prime. The draft, however, supplied two future playmaking cogs in Crennel's 3-4 defense: end Kamerion Wimbley and inside linebacker D'Qwell Jackson. How quickly they develop may determine the level of improvement of Cleveland's defense this year.
