Browns head coach Romeo Crennel calls it "picking your poison".
It's what opposing defenses have to do in trying to figure out how to stop the Browns' talented pass receiving trio of tight end Kellen Winslow and wideoutsBraylon Edwards and Joe Jurevicius.
Going into the Sunday's game against the New York Jets at The Meadowlands, Winslow leads the team in receptions with 65. Edwards is close behind with 62, but he is tops in receiving yards with 1,043 to Winslow's 909, in touchdown catches with 12 (five), and in average yards per catch at 16.8 (14.0).
Jurevicius is chipping in with 42 catches for 530 yards (12.6) and three scores.
The Browns have played 12 games. Pro-rate those numbers over the entire season, and it boils down this way:
Winslow: -- 87 receptions for 1,212 yards and seven TDs.
Edwards -- 83 receptions for 1,391 yards and 16 TDs.
Jurevicius -- 56 receptions for 707 yards and four TDs.
Add it all up, and those three would combine for 226 receptions for 3,310 yards and 27 TDs for the year.
Those numbers stack up more than favorably with some of the top seasons by trios in Browns history:
1989 -- Webster Slaughter -- 65 receptions for 1,236 yards (team record) and six TDs; Reggie Langhorne -- 60 receptions for 749 yards and two TDs; and Eric Metcalf -- 54 receptions for 397 yards and four TDs. Combined -- 179 receptions for 2,382 yards and 12 TDs.
1981 -- Ozzie Newsome -- 69 yards for 1,002 yards and six TDs; Greg Pruitt -- 65 receptions for 636 yards and four TDs; and Mike Pruitt -- 63 receptions for 442 yards and one TD. Combined -- 197 receptions for 2,080 yards and 11 TDs.
1979 -- Dave Logan -- 59 receptions for 982 yards and seven TDs; Newsome -- 55 receptions for 781 yards and nine TDs; and Reggie Rucker -- 43 receptions for 749 yards and six TDs. Combined -- 157 receptions for 2,512 yards and 22 TDs.
1969 (14-game season) -- Gary Collins -- 54 receptions for 786 yards and 11 TDs; Paul Warfield -- 42 receptions for 886 yards and 10 TDs; and Milt Morin -- 37 for 495 yards, and no TDs. Combined -- 133 receptions for 2,167 yards and 21 TDs. Combined pro-rated over 16-game season -- 152 receptions for 2,477 yards and 24 touchdowns.
1964 (14-game season) -- Warfield -- 52 receptions for 920 yards and nine TDs; Jim Brown -- 36 receptions for 340 yards and two TDs; and Collins -- 35 receptions for 544 yards and eight TDs. Combined -- 123 receptions for 1,804 yards and 19 TDs. Combined pro-rated over 16-game season -- 141 receptions for 2,062 yards and 22 TDs.
1952 (12-game season) -- Mac Speedie -- 62 receptions (led NFL) for 911 yards and five TDs; Dub Jones -- 43 receptions for 651 yards and four TDs; and Dante Lavelli -- 21 receptions for 336 yards and four TDs. Combined -- 126 receptions for 1,898 yards and 13 TDs. Combined pro-rated over 16-game season -- 168 receptions for 2,531 yards and 17 TDs.
BACKWARD GLANCES: It will be exactly 35 years ago in a little over a week -- on Dec. 17, 1972 -- that the Browns defeated the Jets 26-10 at Shea Stadium in the regular-season finale. The Browns, who had already clinched the AFC's lone wild-card spot six days before, won the game by outscoring the Jets 16-3 in the second half. Cleveland's touchdowns came on a 27-yard run by Bo Scott, and two passes from Mike Phipps to wide receiver Frank Pitts covering seven and 80 yards. Don Cockroft added eight- and 13-yard field goals. Phipps, who replaced Bill Nelsen as the starter in Week 2, was 7-of-17 passing overall for 156 yards. The Browns ran for 193 yards, Pro Football Hall of Famer Leroy Kelly getting 78 in 18 tries and Scott 69 in 10 attempts. It was the second straight victory for the Browns, who completed quite a turnaround from a 2-3 start that included 16, 24- and 17-point losses. They won six games in a row at one point. The loss was the second straight for the Jets, who fumbled five times and played without injured HOF quarterback Joe Namath. But they still avoided their third losing season in a row by finishing 7-7.
AND ONE MORE THING...: The Jets came along decades after the Giants and have always had somewhat of an inferiority complex in the New York area. Although their current home is called Giants Stadium, they prefer to refer to it as The Meadowlands. You can hardly blame them. What if the Browns, for instance, played in Steelers Stadium? For that reason, then, you can rest assured that the new stadium for the Giants and Jets, set to open in 2010, will have a more benign, all-inclusive name.
QUOTABLES: "It's a big game for us. The kids, they understand that and they're looking forward to the game." -- Crennel, who is 60, drawing some smiles from media members when, in talking about the meeting with the Jets, he called his players "kids."
