It’s never too short to play good football

As the shortest man wearing the smallest Cleveland Browns jersey, running back Jerome Harrison, at 5-foot-9, has proved to people that it is never too short to play football well.

Having been told too small to play football for as long as he can remember, Harrison is now considered being Cleveland’s best running back.

“I’ve heard that all my life,” he said, “and I’ve been scoring touchdowns my whole life. Opinions and thoughts don’t define me. Just put in the tape and watch me. Then you can make your opinion.”

Harrison has rushed for 434 yards on 73 carries the past two weeks, out-of-the-blue performances that brought into question why the Browns, whose 32nd-ranked offense has struggled most of the season, didn’t try to use the shifty four-year veteran more earlier in the season.

He also broke Hall of Famer Jim Brown’s single-game record by running 34 times for 286 yards two weeks ago while playing against the Kansas City Chiefs. Last week while playing against the Oakland Raiders, he ran 39 times for 148 yards to set another club record, which one more than Lee Suggs’ record and two more than Brown’s.

Worst Browns could be even worse: another defensive player on IR

Ranking one of the worst team in the league of the season, the Cleveland Browns seem to have little to improve. After losing the sixth consecutive game since Week 5, the Browns lose another key player in their defense for the season: nose tackle Shaun Rogers was placed on injured reserve on Tuesday.

Sustaining a season-ending lower leg injury in Sunday’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Rogers joined linebackers D’Qwell Jackson and Eric Barton to be the third defensive player in Bears jersey placed on IR. Both Jackson and Barton were starters at their position before sustaining season-ending injuries. Oops, what else can we expect from the Browns for the remaining season as there is only five weeks left before the end?

Rogers, a three-time Pro Bowler, has recorded 36 tackles with two sacks, two blocked extra points and one blocked field goal. Losing the 6-foot-4, 350-pound run stuffer, the Browns will have one less defensive player to present threat to opponents if they have ever presented some.

Cleveland Fans’ protest seemingly failed

Before the Cleveland Browns started Monday night’s game against the Baltimore Ravens, the Stadium where the game was held was three-quarters filled, indicating that a protest planned by two die-hard Browns fans might have failed.

Being disgusted with the team’s 1-7 performance, the two fans had urged other fans to stay away from their seats for the start, hoping it would send a message to team owner Randy Lerner. But because of a recent two-hour meet between the two fans and Lerner, it is still unsure whether the protest will be held as schedule.

Thousands of seats remained empty before the opening kickoff. But it also remained unsure whether there would be more empty seats because of a possible protest or less because more fans, perhaps wearing Browns jersey, may arrive late after game starts.

Browns sold out tickets in time to avoid TV blackout

Despite ranking 32rd in NFL teams ranking in Week 10, the Cleveland Browns still managed to keep their record of avoiding TV blackouts. On Thursday night, the team announced that they have sold out tickets for next Monday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens.

They made it just in time to avert the supposedly first TV blackout since 1995 with help of ESPN, Bud Light and WJW-TV, which will air the game. And the four entities, including Browns franchise, will distribute the tickets to the USO and other local organizations.

In this way, the Browns managed to keep their record of sold out games- they have not had a game blacked out since the team’s expansion return to the Cleveland in 1999. But they still have to worry about remaining four home games, with only one of them, the Dec. 10th game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, being sold out. The other three games are Dec. 6th game against the San Diego Chargers, Dec. 27th game against the Oakland Raiders and Jan. 3rd game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Browns CB Wright was listed questionable for Sunday after rollover crash

The Cleveland Browns cornerback Eric Wright rolled his car early Friday when the car slid on wet pavement. However, just a few hours later he was seen in Browns training facility in Berea, Ohio, practicing in his Browns jersey.

According to Coach Eric Mangini, Wright was expected to play in Sunday’s home game against the Green Bay Packers. It seemed that the cornerback was not seriously hurt. After the crash, he was examined and released at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland and had some more tests as the team required. He was seen riding a stationary during the 30-minute period he was observed by reporters.

Wright felt fortunate to have escaped the wreck in pretty good shape. He is also fortunate for not being given ticket by police for the crash. They said he was entering Interstate 490 from Interstate 77 east of downtown when he lost control. The only unlucky thing is that his car sustained substantial damage and was towed, but that should be an affordable loss.

Browns kicker Dawson was added to injury report with calf injury

The Cleveland Browns kicker Phil Dawson was put on the team’s injury report on Friday with an injured right calf. His status for the Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens remains questionable, with a 50 percent chance of playing.

Dawson is the only player left from Cleveland’s 1999 expansion team. He made 24 of 26 field goals in 19 career games and has been remarkably consistent against the Ravens. He was tied for the second in club history behind Lou Groza with a record of 216 career field goals.

With Dawson’s status being uncertain for Sunday’s game in Baltimore, the Browns began to work out several free agent kickers in order to get a reserve in case Dawson will not play. The free agents practiced field goals and kickoffs as they were being videotaped by Cleveland personnel.

Browns last draft pick to have biggest impact on the team

As the last of the Cleveland Browns eight 2009 draft picks, James Davis managed to rank in preseason rushing yards in the NFL, and the Browns Director of Player Programs Jerry Butler said that Davis is one of the fastest players on the team.

Some scouts who downgraded Davis before may realize that they have underestimated his speed-at least coaches began to appreciate his football speed, which is 40 in the 4.3s according to Butler. With that speed, Davis made an 81-yard TD run in the game against the Detroit Lions. Plus he has enough size and good toughness to get to the hole quickly and make short quick cuts.

Having asserted himself as a strong candidate to share the load with veteran running back Jamal Lewis, Davis said he was destined to play a important role in regular season and would try best to keep scatback Jerome Harrison from getting more playing time.