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Tight end comes long way since injury in first game in Dallas
By George M. Thomas
Beacon Journal sports writer
POSTED: 07:55 a.m. EDT, Sep 07, 2008
Kellen Winslow remembers his first game against the Dallas Cowboys — during his rookie season — for a specific reason: It was the first time in his playing career that he was injured on the field.
He and Browns football fans had every reason to believe he would live up to the hype of being the sixth overall selection in the 2004 NFL Draft.
In his pro debut a week before the Dallas game, Winslow had caught four balls for 39 yards in a season-opening win against the Baltimore Ravens, and he looked to continue his success. On a special teams play late in the Cowboys game, however, Winslow found himself on the turf with an injury to his right fibula.
He would not step onto a field again for a game until the 2006 season.
''I think I played pretty well the second game of the year as a rookie,'' he said. '' It's going to be exciting to play [the Cowboys] again.''
After the 2004 season came the well-publicized injury in a motorcycle accident that sidelined him for the 2005 season.
It was only in 2006 that Browns fans got a look at what former coach Butch Davis knew about Winslow, having coached him at the University of Miami.
Winslow started all 16 games that year, catching 89 passes for 875 yards and three touchdowns. He blossomed into one of the NFL's elite tight ends last season, with 82 receptions for 1,106 yards and five touchdowns.
Winslow said that his production shows he's right on schedule and possibly just hitting his stride in the Browns' offensive scheme.
What Northeast Ohio football fans love about watching Winslow play is how he fights for each yard. He never shies away from delivering a blow to an opposing defensive back.
''Coming off last year and the previous year, with my injury from the motorcycle accident, they say it takes about a couple of years to come back from your injuries, and I feel pretty good,'' Winslow said.
He feels good but knows that the improved play on the field has come from the way that he's changed as a player since coming to the Browns.
''I'm just a smarter player. Know more about the game,'' he said. ''Probably back then I was just running around wild. I didn't have training camp, per se, to go through when I was a rookie, so [I'm] just a better player.''
When a player believes he's good, it translates in different ways. For Winslow, returning from those injuries to play at a high level reignited his passion to win. There was no mistaking the look in his eyes as anything but disappointment after the team blew what could have been a playoff-clinching win against the Cincinnati Bengals last December.
Because the team went 10-6 last season and barely missed the playoffs, Winslow expects more in 2008. There are concerns, however, given the team's 0-4 record in the preseason and the fact that the offense, which can be explosive, had all the pop of a soap-bubble gun.
''We've got high expectations for this team, not just the offense,'' Winslow said. ''The chemistry is going to come. It doesn't really come in the first game.
''It's going to take awhile, but we're very explosive. We have a lot of weapons, and we just need to execute.''
Winslow doesn't think it's a problem that quarterback Derek Anderson, receiver Braylon Edwards and other teammates lost time in the preseason to injuries.
''These guys have been working in minicamps, . . . [organized team activities], so to miss a couple of games isn't a big deal.''
As for the Cowboys, Winslow realizes the Browns have a substantial task ahead of them in their season opener.
''I think they're Super Bowl favorites, if I'm not mistaken,'' he said. ''Everybody talks about how good they are, and they're a great team. We just have to focus on what we're doing.
''It's really not about the other team in the NFL. It's about how well you execute, because everybody's good, so I think it's the team that executes the most.''
George M. Thomas can be reached at sportswriterabj@sbcglobal.net. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/sportsblitz/.
Kellen Winslow remembers his first game against the Dallas Cowboys — during his rookie season — for a specific reason: It was the first time in his playing career that he was injured on the field.
He and Browns football fans had every reason to believe he would live up to the hype of being the sixth overall selection in the 2004 NFL Draft.
In his pro debut a week before the Dallas game, Winslow had caught four balls for 39 yards in a season-opening win against the Baltimore Ravens, and he looked to continue his success. On a special teams play late in the Cowboys game, however, Winslow found himself on the turf with an injury to his right fibula.
He would not step onto a field again for a game until the 2006 season.
''I think I played pretty well the second game of the year as a rookie,'' he said. '' It's going to be exciting to play [the Cowboys] again.''
After the 2004 season came the well-publicized injury in a motorcycle accident that sidelined him for the 2005 season.
It was only in 2006 that Browns fans got a look at what former coach Butch Davis knew about Winslow, having coached him at the University of Miami.
Winslow started all 16 games that year, catching 89 passes for 875 yards and three touchdowns. He blossomed into one of the NFL's elite tight ends last season, with 82 receptions for 1,106 yards and five touchdowns.
Winslow said that his production shows he's right on schedule and possibly just hitting his stride in the Browns' offensive scheme.
What Northeast Ohio football fans love about watching Winslow play is how he fights for each yard. He never shies away from delivering a blow to an opposing defensive back.
''Coming off last year and the previous year, with my injury from the motorcycle accident, they say it takes about a couple of years to come back from your injuries, and I feel pretty good,'' Winslow said.
He feels good but knows that the improved play on the field has come from the way that he's changed as a player since coming to the Browns.
''I'm just a smarter player. Know more about the game,'' he said. ''Probably back then I was just running around wild. I didn't have training camp, per se, to go through when I was a rookie, so [I'm] just a better player.''
When a player believes he's good, it translates in different ways. For Winslow, returning from those injuries to play at a high level reignited his passion to win. There was no mistaking the look in his eyes as anything but disappointment after the team blew what could have been a playoff-clinching win against the Cincinnati Bengals last December.
Because the team went 10-6 last season and barely missed the playoffs, Winslow expects more in 2008. There are concerns, however, given the team's 0-4 record in the preseason and the fact that the offense, which can be explosive, had all the pop of a soap-bubble gun.
''We've got high expectations for this team, not just the offense,'' Winslow said. ''The chemistry is going to come. It doesn't really come in the first game.
''It's going to take awhile, but we're very explosive. We have a lot of weapons, and we just need to execute.''
Winslow doesn't think it's a problem that quarterback Derek Anderson, receiver Braylon Edwards and other teammates lost time in the preseason to injuries.
''These guys have been working in minicamps, . . . [organized team activities], so to miss a couple of games isn't a big deal.''
As for the Cowboys, Winslow realizes the Browns have a substantial task ahead of them in their season opener.
''I think they're Super Bowl favorites, if I'm not mistaken,'' he said. ''Everybody talks about how good they are, and they're a great team. We just have to focus on what we're doing.
''It's really not about the other team in the NFL. It's about how well you execute, because everybody's good, so I think it's the team that executes the most.''
George M. Thomas can be reached at sportswriterabj@sbcglobal.net. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/sportsblitz/.
Comments
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Akron, OH
Posted 04:00 AM, 09/07/2008
Thank you for the nice article, Mr. Thomas. Go Browns!!! My cousin is at the stadium, but he is also a Dallas fan. Prayer for his safety.
