Year two of the Phil Savage/Romeo Crennel era in Cleveland is half over and we thought it would be a good time to hand out some mid-season awards for the Cleveland Browns. As you can suspect, even in a year where their record is 2-6, the Browns have some players who could be bound for Hawaii at the end of the season. Surely that in itself is a sign that the team is moving in the right direction, right?

Well we hope you enjoy the awards and feel free to let us know your opinions, good or bad on them in The Bone Yard forum.



Offensive Player of the Year:

Clearly no one on the Browns is more deserving then TE Kellen Winslow II. Not only has Winslow risen from the ashes of what many thought was a ruined NFL career, he has soared from them. At the midway point Winslow leads all NFL TE's in receptions with 51, that is 13 more then 2nd place Tony Gonzales. Winslow also ranks 3rd overall in total receptions in the NFL. Winslow has talked the talk this year, but more impressively he has walked the walk. Many thought he was being arrogant and cocky when he stated that even at 90% he is better then 100% of the TE's in the league. Through 8 games in 2006 he has been the Browns best offensive weapon and, if he can stay healthy, will be on his way to his 1st Pro Bowl in February.

Honorable Mention: Braylon Edwards(30 receptions, 439 yards, 2 TD's)



Defensive Player of the Year:

Safety Sean Jones was not the overwhelming fan favorite to start this season. Many fans that watched pre-season thought Brodney Pool should get the start, but the coaches knew better. They had seen a vast improvement in Jones during training camp and practice and gave him the job. Needless to say Jones took the opportunity and ran with it. Currently he is tied for 3rd in the NFL with 4 interceptions and is 1st among all safeties in that category. It should be noted that Jones is not a one-trick pony either. His 48 tackles rank him 3rd on the team and 8th in the AFC in tackles at his position. Add in his knack for getting involved in the running game and Jones has all the makings of a Pro Bowler. Sadly the 3rd-year safety may get looked over when the end of the year game in Hawaii is played due to the Browns poor overall record, but the fans know they have a star and he's on the rise.

Honorable Mention: Kamerion Wimbley(29 tackles, 4.5 sacks)



Special Team Player of the Year:

Clearly this is the toughest of all the awards to hand out. Why? Because you must include so many facets of special teams when talking about them. Phil Dawson has had a decent year kicking field goals, but an outstanding year in terms of kickoffs. Dawson's 11 touchbacks are 2nd in the NFL and a huge improvement from years past. In fact his 11 to date are more then his last 3 years combined!

You also must think about the teams other kicker, punter Dave Zastudil. Zastudil has solidified the punting situation, something they have not had since the days of Chris Gardocki. His 13 punts that have been downed inside the 20-yard line are good for 11th best in the NFL.

Dennis Northcutt has made his share of bad plays as a wide receiver, but as a punt returner he is one of the best in the NFL. So far in 2006 Northcutt leads all NFL punt returners with 16.9 yard average per return. That is nearly 2.5 yards more then his next closest competitor. His returns have given an anemic Browns offense the ability to have great field position and be competitive in nearly every game in 2006. He will get consideration for the Pro Bowl for sure when the year ends.

Even though he has tailed off as of late, KR/WR Joshua Cribbs is the Special Team Player of the Year through 8 games in 2006. Not only has he stepped in for an injured Northcutt to return punts, and lead the team in special teams tackles, Cribbs is 4th in the NFL averaging 27.7 yards per kick return. Multiple times this year Cribbs has given the Browns huge returns, in fact he and Northcutt were the reason why the team came back from being down 18 points in Oakland to win earlier in the year. Cribbs also has been used more and more in the Browns spread offense as a 4th receiver this year. Clearly he is one of the teams most versatile players and right now, by the narrowest of margins, the teams best special teams player.



Coach of the Year:

Is there any doubt here? It is far and away the Browns defensive backs coach Mel Tucker. Tucker has had to suffer through the loss of starting CB's Gary Baxter and Leigh Bodden and different points in the season and never got a chance to get his best nickel corner on the filed in Daylon McCutcheon. Tucker has taken the likes of Daven Holley, Ralph Brown and Jereme Perry and made pro's, decent pro's out of them. At one point in the year the team even had to move safety Brodney Pool to cornerback, because the unit was so depleted, and you would have never known it. The Browns are 6th in the NFL in pass defense and most of that can be attributed to the teaching and coaching of Mel Tucker.

Honorable Mention: Todd Grantham, defensive coordinator; Jerry Rossburg, special teams



Rookie of the Year:

Who else would it be? Kamerion Wimbley. Not only did Wimbley have to learn a new position, going from a DE in college to an OLB in the pros, he has done it relatively seamlessly. He leads the team in sacks with 4.5, just a half sack shy of the team lead in 2005. He is also 5th on the team in total tackles and looks like a candidate for AFC defensive rookie of the year. The 2nd half of 2006 will be a great opportunity for Wimbley to continue his fine play and take it to an even higher level.

Honorable Mention: D'Qwell Jackson(52 tackles)



Comeback Player of the Year:

No need for debate, it is clearly Kellen Winslow II. Not only is he the teams comeback player, he might be the leagues comeback player. Others will talk about Drew Brees and Chad Pennington, but neither went through the trails and injuries that Winslow did and neither is the best at their position like Winslow is right now.

Honorable mention: Braylon Edwards



Best Play of the Year:

This is a tough one as you might imagine. Trying to scan back through the memory banks to figure it out. We wanted it to be a spectacular, exciting play that had and impact on the game and we think we found one. the play of the year so far has got to be the 58-yard TD from QB Charlie Frye to WR Braylon Edwards in week 3 against the Baltimore Ravens. At the time the play gave the Browns a 7-3 lead and set the tone for one of the best games of the entire 2006 season so far.

Honorable Mention: Brian Russell knocking out Bengals WR Chad Johnson in week 2. Needless to say Johnson has not been the same receiver since then and his numbers prove it.



Well there are surely more awards that could be handed out, but we think those will do for now. Be sure to check back in at the end of the season as we will see just how much these awards have changed, if indeed they do at all.

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