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Five more players hurt in finale of preseason
By Patrick McManamon
Beacon Journal sports columnist
Published on Friday, Aug 29, 2008
CLEVELAND: Sometimes teams have seasons when injuries seem to be a plague.
The Browns best hope that 2008 is not one of those years.
One might wonder.
Especially after five players — one a starter — left Thursday night's preseason finale with what appeared to be serious injuries.
Those five are tacked on to a lengthy list of guys who did not even play in the 16-10 loss to the Chicago Bears.
Now, the Browns did not win a game in the preseason, but their world as we know it is not ending. The performance by the starters in the preseason finale was good enough to calm same frayed nerves. The first-team offense scored 10 points in two possessions, Brady Quinn was 7-for-9 and Brandon McDonald intercepted a Kyle Orton pass.
That's all good.
But the Browns need to use this weekend and the week of practice to concentrate on what is really important: Getting their players healthy for the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys.
The problem is that the list of guys who need to get healthy grew Thursday night, and that is not supposed to happen in the last practice game.
In this ''game'' against the Bears, fans paid full price to see the starters play one lousy quarter. The team provided valet parking to players, and fans paid full price for parking and a seat — in addition to a PSL, of course.
Alas, we digress.
The first injury happened on the first play, when kick returner Syndric Steptoe injured his shoulder on the opening kickoff return. Steptoe had actually worked his way into having a chance to be the third receiver on opening day — depending on the health and status of Joshua Cribbs.
Steptoe had been more than capable stepping in for Cribbs on returns. Now the Browns might have lost a potential third receiver but also will have to turn to a third returner if Cribbs and Steptoe are out.
Later in the first quarter, starting guard Rex Hadnot incurred the dreaded last-game-of-the-preseason knee injury.
Some might wonder why he was still in the game late in the first quarter, on the Browns' second possession.
Usually, starters play as little as possible in the finale.
But his presence in the game was a reflection of the way the Browns played the past two games. Coach Romeo Crennel evidently felt that his starters needed more time than the usual one-series-and-out last preseason appearance.
Too, with starting quarterback Derek Anderson out, Crennel didn't want to risk backup quarterback Brady Quinn getting hurt. So he kept the first-team line in the game as long as Quinn.
Because of that, Hadnot and the rest of the starters were still playing with 4-something left when Hadnot was injured.
Losing a lineman is never good. Cohesion and all that stuff are important. It's not known how long Hadnot will be out, but the return of Ryan Tucker might have been put on a faster track.
In the second half, defensive end Chase Pittman left the game with what appeared to be a serious foot injury.
And backup tight end Darnell Dinkins — a valuable special teamer and third tight end — left with a hip injury.
And linebacker Kris Griffin — another valuable special teamer — left with an elbow injury.
These injuries highlight how endless is the charade that is the NFL preseason. Losing guys in practice preparing for a game is one thing; losing them in the most meaningless of the meaningless is quite another.
The Browns now must hope to get some of their injured back to practice. Word is that because of the folly of the preseason, the Browns were being extra cautious with some of the players.
Anderson, Braylon Edwards and Jamal Lewis are expected to practice next week and play against the Cowboys. Willie McGinest is a veteran, so it would be surprising if he missed the opener.
Cribbs? Nobody knows, mainly because nobody knows how his ankle will respond once he tests it. High-ankle sprains can be tricky.
The situation with safeties Brodney Pool and Sean Jones is guesswork as well. Some say Jones' situation is more serious, some say Pool's is worse.
If at least some of these guys return, the Browns will be closer to the team they expected to be when camp began.
Injuries have become an old and tired excuse in Cleveland sports.
But they're real.
And the reality for the Browns is they need their guys.
They do not need one of those years when ailments pile up.
Patrick McManamon can be reached at pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/mcmanamon/.
CLEVELAND: Sometimes teams have seasons when injuries seem to be a plague.
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