OBR Daily News & World Report: 9/6

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Although he has yet to take a snap for the 2006 Cleveland Browns, questions are already being bandied about as to what the club will do with Hank Fraley in 2007.

Fraley—who is in the final year of his contract—has played both guard and center during his NFL career, although he’s spent most of his time at the center position.  LeCharles Bentley has made the Pro Bowl as both a guard and center, but his preferred position is in the middle of the line.

For his part, Fraley has said that he could see a future beyond this year in Cleveland and, at least according to both the Elyria Chronicle Telegram and the Warren Tribune-Chronicle, intimated a willingness to move to guard should he remain with the Browns.

“I definitely think that Cleveland could be a long-term deal,” Fraley said.

“That stuff will work itself out during the season. Now it’s just getting out there and playing.”

*****

On Monday night, the NFL Network reported that the Browns had worked out quarterbacks Mike McMahon and Dave Ragone.

Berea seemed to be a busy place that day as The OBR has learned of at least three additional tryouts held by the organization.

Linebackers Brandon Guillory and Marquis Cooper, as well as cornerback Curry Burns, plied their wares for the coaching staff earlier this week.

Burns—a 6-0, 205-pounder out of Louisville—played in eight games in two seasons with the Giants and one with the Texans.  He was released by the Redskins during their final round of cuts.

Cooper spent his first two seasons in the NFL with the Buccaneers before being released by the club over the weekend.  The 6-3, 213-pound LB saw action in 26 games for Tampa Bay, mainly on special teams and obvious passing downs.

The University of Washington product was signed by the Vikings yesterday.

Guillory was a defensive end at Louisiana-Monroe and converted to LB after being signed as an undrafted free-agent signed by the Chiefs.  Coming out of college, the 6-5, 250-pounder was described as a slightly slower version of DeMarcus Ware by at least one draft website. 

Of course, I was once described as a slightly fatter, not-as-good-looking version of Brad Pitt, so take the description of Guillory with a grain of salt the size of Rhode Island.

Or Ted Washington.

*****

Another player the Browns had an interest in—but didn’t bring in for a workout—was Robaire Smith, a source close to the defensive tackle told The OBR.

Smith, however, eventually opted to sign with the Titans—the team that drafted him in 2000—after being released by the Texans.

While he was a 4-3 defensive tackle in both Tennessee and Houston, the Browns were looking at Smith as a 3-4 defensive end, the source said.  The source also added that the Browns were “very serious and very sincere in their interest.”

In addition to the Titans and Browns, the Jaguars also had more than a passing interest in Smith.

*****

Just as an aside on Smith, the defensive lineman signed a one-year deal with Tennessee.  That means he will he will be available on the free-agent market next spring.

Just keep that name in mind during the upcoming off-season as it pertains to the Browns, especially considering the fact Orpheus Roye is not getting any younger and Alvin McKinley is not such a talent that the organization wouldn’t look to upgrade.  Additionally, the depth at DE is directly proportional to the meat on Nicole Richie’s bones.

*****

Even though they have witnessed more on-the-field sucking than a Vegas AVN awards show, the fans in the stands at Cleveland Browns Stadium have something off the field on which to hang their collective hats.

The American City Business Journal has ranked Cleveland fans number one in the NFL in terms of both loyalty and support.

Chiefs fans were rated were rated #2 in fan loyalty, followed by the Eagles fans at #3.  The two clubs swapped spots in the fan support category.

Raider fans were rated as the worst in both categories.

(Note: the creator of the rankings was not available for comment as he has been placed in the witness protection program, while Raider fan plans to protest the results of the study by holding a mass stabbing before their team’s regular-season home opener.)

The criteria used for the rankings include average attendance, the team's record, per capita income in the market and the December high temperature.

Browns followers were also ranked first in fan support by the Sports Business Journal in January 2001.

(Cut me some slack.  There was no practice yesterday, no real news today, and I’m just reaching here.)

*****

If you’re into such things as stabbing yourself in the eyes with sharp objects or burning various body parts with any type of open flame, you would probably enjoy the statistical note at the end of Steve Doerschuk’s Canton Repository article this morning.

Following his story on Jerome Harrison, Doerschuk was kind enough to remind us all of the top two Browns rushers since their return in 1999.

And the names listed for the first three years are truly disturbing, disturbing in a Jack Nicholson with an axe in “The Shining” kind of way.

Terry Kirby.

Karim Abdul-Jabbar.

Travis Prentice.

Errict Rhett.

James Jackson.

Jamel White.

And people wonder why this organization has been mired in a festering cesspool of perpetual suckitude for seven years?

Now pardon me while I go grab a #2 pencil and a Bunsen burner.