Kicker Dave Zastudil's absence due to injury could have dire consequences for the Browns.
Cleveland, Ohio -- Montario Hardesty is out for the season. D'Qwell Jackson is still sidelined by pectoral muscle injury. It may be a while before safety/special teamer Nick Sorensen gets back on the field following a nasty collision in Detroit when two Lions knocked him unconscious.And the injury that could mean most?
NFLfanhouse.com's Barry Barnes says it could be punter Dave Zastudil. The Bay Village native had off-season surgery to repair a torn patellar tendon. His slow recovery prompted the team to place him on injured reserve.
However, the loss of punter Dave Zastudil may hurt them the most because he helped the Browns in the battle of field positioning with his timely, deep kicks to give the defense a fighting chance.
Still Barnes is convinced the Browns will improve on last season's 5-11 record by two games and turn in a 7-9 mark. The reason? Mike Holmgren.
From his days with the San Francisco 49ers to the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks, Holmgren either helped or led those franchises to championship form, especially the Packers and Seahawks, who weren't performing well before his arrival.
For now, Holmgren isn't expected to turn the Browns into a Super Bowl contender overnight, but he wants to have the team competitive right away. Other than wide receiver Josh Cribbs, no one on the Browns' roster jumps out as a threat. When Holmgren arrived, the Browns looked like an episode from "Clean House" as he cleared out former general manager Phil Savage's selected players, quarterbacks Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn, tight end Kellen Winslow and wide receiver Braylon Edwards. Veteran quarterback Jake Delhomme, long time Carolina Panthers' signal caller, was brought in by Holmgren, along with quarterback Seneca Wallace who came over from the Seahawks.
Hard to disagree with any of Barnes' logic ... especially one piece: "Holmgren isn't expected to turn the Browns into a Super Bowl contender overnight." Cleveland fans are nothing if not patient. It doesn't have to happen overnight. Any time between now and Sunday will do.
Winslow matures
We all know the story about the Cleveland athlete who took his talents to a place where the phrase "wind chill factor" means what blows and musses your hair when you roll down the windows. But LeBron James wasn't the first to exit. Here's how the St. Petersburg Times tells the story:
King James wasn't the only one eager to abdicate the throne in Cleveland for palm trees and sunshine. But the decision for (Kellen) Winslow was made for him in February 2009 when the Bucs dealt two draft picks to the Browns and made him one of the NFL's highest-paid tight ends.
Winslow, 27, responded last season by leading the Bucs in receptions (77), receiving yards (884) and touchdowns (five).
Also, knee surgeries (six).
After a minor procedure in the spring on his right knee, which was severely injured in a motorcycle accident in 2005, the Bucs' goal this offseason was to get their biggest offensive weapon to the starting line.
The fact that the season opener Sunday comes against Winslow's former team is like throwing Delmonico steaks to Dobermans.
But that's the writer talking, not Winslow. He says all the right things (which is definitely different than when he was a Brown).
"It's really just another team," said Winslow, who played in just one preseason game — and one just one series in that one. "It's a blessing to be here. It's where I want to be, and I'm fortunate.
"Everything that went on up there with Cleveland was a growing process for me. I really grew up and matured. It was hard up there because we weren't winning a lot, and it was just frustrating at times. But I'm here now, and I'm having fun."
He's going to be going against rookie T.J. Ward a lot on Sunday. Whether that "fun" continues is up to Ward. And really, did they HAVE to play the LeBron card?
From The Plain Dealer
We mentioned Nick Sorensen in our opening salvo. Browns beat writer Tony Grossi talked to the safety whose gutty professionalism has made him a hero inside the locker room if not to the outside world. He revels in the anonymity of being the ultimate team player. Sorensen isn't likely to play this weekend as recovers from that devastating collision, but his spirit remains in uniform.
Grossi's Browns Insider covers problems on the offensive line and carries nose tackle/end Shaun Rogers' first comments since the start of training camp.