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Hey Antonio--When you play for a losing team, it's not a good idea to taunt!
Costly penalties irk Crennel
By Steve King, Staff Writer
September 26, 2005
Browns coach Romeo Crennel indicates he is not going to get up in the face of wide receivers Braylon Edwards and Antonio Bryant.
Not now, at least.
But at the same time, he wants to make sure those two - along with every other player on the team - realize he won't put up with any more taunting penalties such as the ones Edwards and Bryant committed in Sunday's 13-6 loss at Indianapolis. Crennel was upset about the penalties in the locker room afterwards, but it's clear he became more upset after he watched the tape of the game and had almost a day to think about it.
"It irritates me," Crennel said Monday. "Anytime you have a team that you put on the field, it's a reflection of yourself. I would like to think that I'm more disciplined and the team is more disciplined. When we make those mistakes, particularly when they cost us wins, it hurts."
Bryant was called for taunting early in the second quarter after making a 19-yard reception. Edwards got his penalty on the second official play of the game following an 11-yard catch. It's understood that Crennel expects more than that from a veteran such as Bryant, now in his fourth season, but the coach also said the fact Edwards is a rookie does not excuse him, either, especially considering the top draft pick had been warned before.
"I think you emphasize to the player, again, what the penalty is and what the officials are looking for," Crennel said. "You don't need to get up and toss the ball to the other player or point the ball in the other guy's face. You just get up, go back to the huddle and give the ball to the official. We can do that, and we've done that before."
Crennel, 58, has been coaching for 35 years overall, and in the NFL for 25. As such, he's old-school. Combine that with his low-key, professional attitude - he seldom shows any emotion - and he is far removed personally from some of the things he sees on the field not just from his own team but other clubs as well. While he realizes football is an emotional game and doesn't want to dampen his players' enthusiasm, he also wants them to be smarter about how they display their emotions.
"I don't think you have to curtail it," he said. "I just think you have to look and know what the rules are - what the players can and cannot do.
"One of the best things to do when a guy scores is to just give the ball to the official. There's an old saying, ‘Act like you've been there before.' If you act like you've been there before, then it's not new. Do your job."
Crennel said he will not work through his veterans in the hopes they'll convey the message to the younger players. He's not leaving any room for error, so he said he'll talk to the team - all players, rookies and veterans - himself to make certain he gets his point across.
"I'm going to put the onus on the team," he said. "I'm going to talk to the team about it because they're all on the team."
Discipline was a problem for the Browns the last several years. Though Crennel has done much to change that kind of attitude in the relative short time he's been here, what happened in Sunday's game is evidence the problem still exists to some extent.
As tight end Steve Heiden pointed out, "Things have got to change with some of these penalties, because committing a penalty is simply making a choice as a player."
The wrong choice, one that Crennel will no longer tolerate.
Costly penalties irk Crennel
By Steve King, Staff Writer
September 26, 2005
Browns coach Romeo Crennel indicates he is not going to get up in the face of wide receivers Braylon Edwards and Antonio Bryant.
Not now, at least.
But at the same time, he wants to make sure those two - along with every other player on the team - realize he won't put up with any more taunting penalties such as the ones Edwards and Bryant committed in Sunday's 13-6 loss at Indianapolis. Crennel was upset about the penalties in the locker room afterwards, but it's clear he became more upset after he watched the tape of the game and had almost a day to think about it.
"It irritates me," Crennel said Monday. "Anytime you have a team that you put on the field, it's a reflection of yourself. I would like to think that I'm more disciplined and the team is more disciplined. When we make those mistakes, particularly when they cost us wins, it hurts."
Bryant was called for taunting early in the second quarter after making a 19-yard reception. Edwards got his penalty on the second official play of the game following an 11-yard catch. It's understood that Crennel expects more than that from a veteran such as Bryant, now in his fourth season, but the coach also said the fact Edwards is a rookie does not excuse him, either, especially considering the top draft pick had been warned before.
"I think you emphasize to the player, again, what the penalty is and what the officials are looking for," Crennel said. "You don't need to get up and toss the ball to the other player or point the ball in the other guy's face. You just get up, go back to the huddle and give the ball to the official. We can do that, and we've done that before."
Crennel, 58, has been coaching for 35 years overall, and in the NFL for 25. As such, he's old-school. Combine that with his low-key, professional attitude - he seldom shows any emotion - and he is far removed personally from some of the things he sees on the field not just from his own team but other clubs as well. While he realizes football is an emotional game and doesn't want to dampen his players' enthusiasm, he also wants them to be smarter about how they display their emotions.
"I don't think you have to curtail it," he said. "I just think you have to look and know what the rules are - what the players can and cannot do.
"One of the best things to do when a guy scores is to just give the ball to the official. There's an old saying, ‘Act like you've been there before.' If you act like you've been there before, then it's not new. Do your job."
Crennel said he will not work through his veterans in the hopes they'll convey the message to the younger players. He's not leaving any room for error, so he said he'll talk to the team - all players, rookies and veterans - himself to make certain he gets his point across.
"I'm going to put the onus on the team," he said. "I'm going to talk to the team about it because they're all on the team."
Discipline was a problem for the Browns the last several years. Though Crennel has done much to change that kind of attitude in the relative short time he's been here, what happened in Sunday's game is evidence the problem still exists to some extent.
As tight end Steve Heiden pointed out, "Things have got to change with some of these penalties, because committing a penalty is simply making a choice as a player."
The wrong choice, one that Crennel will no longer tolerate.
