Rotation splits time, but not friendship Saturday, November 26, 2005Mary Kay CabotPlain Dealer Reporter Lest anyone think that Trent Dilfer's disagreement with the quarterback rotation caused any friction between him and friend Charlie Frye, guess again. Frye went to Dilfer's house for Thanksgiving dinner and the two haven't missed a beat. "Charlie and I have a great relationship," said Dilfer. "We have from the second we got here and we'll continue to." Frye, who will continue to get a few series here and there based on Romeo Crennel's gut feeling, wasn't even aware that Dilfer had a problem with him playing some against the Dolphins. "Actually, I didn't even read it and I didn't even hear about it," said Frye. "I think the main thing about [mine] and Trent's relationship is that we get along real well. We don't have any problems between us and that's important for us and important for the team. It's not really that big of a deal." Frye actually agreed with Dilfer that it's hard to maintain rhythm when you're in and out of the game. "Getting into a rhythm is important and I know it's important for him," said Frye. "When you get out there, you complete some passes and you can get a little roll going." But as always, Frye said it's out of his hands. "We have no control over what coach [Romeo] Crennel does, so we just have to do what he says," said Frye. Dilfer was asked if, in retrospect, he wishes he would have just said the politically correct thing in his postgame news conference Sunday following the 22-0 victory over the Dolphins. "Absolutely not," he said. Did he feel it was important to state his displeasure for the record - or at least just get it off his chest? "Whether that was the motive or not, I knew it was going to come up, and I figured I might as well deal with it early on and move on," he said. Had he already expressed his feelings to Crennel? "That's between [coach Crennel] and I," he said. "Everything's great. I stand by what I said, but at the same time, there's no rift whatsoever between me and coach and I respect him as much as anybody I've ever played for." Dilfer, who was immediately named the starter on Monday, was asked if he has a better understanding now of why Crennel rotated him and Frye the way he did last Sunday. "I don't need to understand," he said. "Part of the job in this business is to do what you're told to do and that's what I'm doing. . . . A lot of those things are not worth talking about." Dilfer, who's mentored Frye since the day he arrived, gave his student a passing grade. Frye completed 6 of 11 attempts for 58 yards and one interception, but the pick came on a ball that bounced off Braylon Edwards' hands. "I thought Charlie did a good job under the circumstances," said Dilfer, who gave him the game ball after the victory. "He's excited to play and it was good for him to get his feet wet a little bit." Dilfer, on the other hand, had the offense more in sync than it's been in recent weeks. The first time he was replaced by Frye, in the second quarter, he had already hit Edwards with two 25-yard passes and Antonio Bryant with a 28-yarder. The Browns were up 9-0. All told, the offense produce 376 yards, including 166 rushing by Reuben Droughns. "I think we're getting there," he said. "It's a hard process. You have to really speed up the learning curve, and I thought we did. We definitely have in practice, now the challenge is to do it each Sunday and I think we've shown signs. And the thing I'm most pleased with is we've been able to make a lot of plays and when you make a lot of plays, it kind of disguises the mistakes you're making." Sunday in Minnesota, Dilfer will face the NFL's 28th ranked defense, one that's 25th against the pass and 21st against the run. Problem is, the Browns have lost four straight on the road. "We have to put four good quarters together on the road, but how to do that is handling the crowd noise, handling the distractions of the week and then making plays early," he said. "I think a common denominator of all successful road games is to make some plays early and create some momentum for yourself." And of course, at any given moment, Frye could get the nod. "You've got to be ready," Frye said. "You've got to prepare well. It's the same as being a backup before I played. You're one play away and crazy stuff happens." As for possibly getting his feet wet on the road, Frye said: "That's part of being a professional. You can't play all your games at home."
QB Rotations are stupid, and to be honest, they should just let Dilfer start as he has done a good job of it so far this season. If he starts to struggle put Frye in, but otherwise let him wait until next season or Cleveland gets mathematically eliminated from playoffs IMO.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Ven0m @ Nov 26 2005, 08:46 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'>QB Rotations are stupid</div> yup, and it's the same kind of thing with Detroit, except they have like an "unofficial" rotation, but they do it all the time, bench Harrington and then put Garcia in. Its so dumb IMO.Dilfer should get the start and remain the starter, he's no superstar but he has won a Superbowl, and he is a hell of a lot better than Frye.
I think the only reason we are putting Frye in is to get his feet wet. After all he is going to be our future QB.
