Young Frye could be Browns’ next big thing at QB

By Connor Byrne  |   Tuesday, August 29, 2006  |  Comments( 1 )

Cleveland Browns
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In the Cleveland Browns' lengthy, mostly luckless history, they haven't exactly been known for outstanding play from the quarterback position. While the team has had its fortune along the way with all-time great Otto Graham, underappreciated Brian Sipe and hometown hero Bernie Kosar, there hasn't been much else worth getting excited about, considering there have been far more failures than successes.

Mike Phipps and Tim Couch, anyone?

For the first time since Kosar's era ended during the 1993 season, however, Browns fans actually have someone under center giving them real hope. That player is Charlie Frye, or, "Sweet" Charlie Frye, as Cleveland legend Jim Brown calls him. The second-year man out of Akron is making big-time progress on the way to possibly ending the Browns' recent QB drought.

When general manager Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel selected Frye in the third round of the 2005 draft, they knew he had the potential to become the Browns' franchise signal caller for years to come. After struggling early on in mini-camps, training camps and other appearances, the light suddenly came on for the youngster late last year, when he had the opportunity to start in place of mediocre veteran Trent Dilfer.

The 6-foot-4, 217-pound Frye's greatest effort came in his first start, a 20-14 December loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. He completed 13-of-20 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns, forming a dynamic tandem with then rookie and now No. 1 receiver Braylon Edwards.

In his final four starts of the season, Frye took his first-year bumps and bruises, throwing only two touchdown passes. He did, however, finish with a respectable 2-3 record on an up-and-coming team.

Frye's development in the latter stages of the '05 campaign has manifestly carried over into the 2006 preseason schedule. Though the Browns' offense has been somewhat vanilla in their exhibition campaign thus far, there's something that needs to be said for completing 24-of-34 passes. It's not everyday a young, 25-year-old QB has that kind of accuracy.

This season nobody's expecting Frye or the Browns to necessarily improve vastly upon their 6-10 mark from a year ago, but it's fair to believe they'll make key strides. Frye has two terrific weapons in the passing game - Edwards and ultra-talented tight end Kellen Winslow - who are capable of making him into a top-notch passer sooner than later.

Will Frye be the Cleveland Browns' next Kosar? Maybe living up to "Bernie the kid's" stature is a little too much; but rest assured, he's a special player in the making, which isn't something the "Dawg Pound" fans have experienced in years at the position.

--Got feedback? Connor J. Byrne responds to questions and comments on a daily basis: cbyrne@realfootball365.com.

Get more on Charlie Frye and his team, the Cleveland Browns, at Realfootball365.com.
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