[Cleveland Browns News]

Ah, the Cleveland Browns wide receivers. So much theoretical talent. So much potential. And yet, in spite of all that, this is an underachieving group. Why?

In an earlier article I praised the Browns tight ends for achieving the highest percentage of the team’s catches, as well as the highest yardage total, in the NFL. In order for that to be true, though, the inverse must also be true. Looking at the Browns wide receivers, they share the load less than any other group of receivers in the NFL: breaking down the passing stats, 42% of the receptions, 53% of the total receiving yards, and 60% of the receiving touchdowns were accounted for by our wideouts.

These stats aren’t as bad as they seem; we’re eerily similar to New England in terms of pass distribution and total yardage. New England’s wide receivers notched more touchdowns, though; in a season where five of our games were decided by a touchdown or less, those points mean something. Somehow, those points are being left on the field.

So where’s the breakdown? It’d be easy to blame Charlie Frye and his “inaccurate arm”; after all, if the quarterback can’t hit the receiver, than the receiver can’t catch the pass, right? Maybe not; some post-season analysis from ESPN’s KC Joyner revealed that, of all the wide receivers in the NFL, 10 of Charlie Frye’s 17 interceptions occurred on passes intended for Braylon Edwards. Removing bad QB decisions (such as throwing to Braylon when he’s triple covered or not paying attention or running the wrong route or whatever), Braylon still accounts for six picks. I can clearly remember a couple of them (a pass at the end of the Saints game, for example), and I remember a couple from other receivers (Dennis Northcutt performed a similar stunt in the Panther’s game, bobbling a pass just long enough for it to be picked off and run back for a touchdown).

And there’s part of the problem right there. Our receivers have been notoriously undisciplined for several years now. Catchable balls are being dropped, wrong routes are being run (there’s no way to verify this, but it’s been mentioned in press conferences), and there’s been a general poor demeanor among the players we have playing ( both Antonio Bryant in 2005 and Dennis Northcutt last season seemed eager to be done with the year by about Week 8 ). Even Braylon Edwards, the 3rd-overall pick wunderkind of the group, exhibited some of those traits last season.

Breaking Down the Browns: Wide Receivers - Bitterfans.com