Thursday, August 19, 2004
Winslow hits Cleveland in high gear
Rookie questions team's attitude after last year's dismal 5-11 record
The Associated Press
BEREA, Ohio - Hot-tempered and outspoken, Kellen Winslow Jr. isn't toning it down just because he's a rookie.
Winslow is already making his presence felt - for better or worse - after a week with the Browns.
He made no apologies for knocking a teammate to the ground this week during a noncontact drill. In fact, Winslow said the whole team should develop more attitude and play with greater intensity.
"I wasn't here last year, but they only won five games," Winslow said. "I'm not trying to talk them down or anything, but something has to happen."
Rookies in the NFL typically don't call out on their teammates to get more aggressive. But Winslow isn't an ordinary rookie.
He signed a $40 million contract - a record for a tight end - after holding out for 12 days.
He arrived at camp, modestly saying that he had a lot of catching up to do. But a week later, he's got the cocky swagger back that earned him a reputation at Miami.
Defensive back Roosevelt Williams called Winslow "unprofessional" after he lowered his left shoulder into him during Monday's practice, slamming him down.
Winslow said he has not talked to Williams about the hit.
"That's just the way I play. They should all do the same, I think," he said. "Everybody should go 100 percent every play - wrap up, tackle. That's how you get better."
Coach Butch Davis said Winslow brings passion to the team and that's one reason the Browns drafted him.
"I think he just said what was on his mind," Davis said. "I think if you would have asked any number of 35 to 40 guys on this team, they would say a lot of the same things. They're eager to bounce back and have a good year."
In practice, Winslow has shown the skills that made him the No. 6 overall pick, using his soft hands to catch nearly everything.
Winslow appeared in his first preseason game Saturday after only three practices. He had a catch and a personal foul for shoving Titans safety Lamont Thompson.
Winslow wants to avoid mental errors in his first home game Saturday against Detroit and play more calmly, which he said is when he's at his best.
BROWNS: The Browns are talking to Miami about a trade for running back James Jackson, a league source said on the condition of anonymity.
The Dolphins are looking for help at running back following the retirement of Ricky Williams and have contacted Cleveland about Jackson, who played at the University of Miami.
Jackson ran for 554 yards and two touchdowns in 11 games as a rookie in 2001, but is third on the depth chart behind William Green and Lee Suggs.
The Dolphins also inquired about Browns wide receiver Quincy Morgan, said his agent, Brian Overstreet.
Miami needs a receiver to replace David Boston, who will miss the season with a knee injury.
If it happens, it happens," Morgan said. "I don't like change. I don't like leaving my guys. But hey, Miami has some of the best weather in the world. You can't complain about that."
DOLPHINS: Idled by a stalemate in contract negotiations, Pro Bowl defensive end Adewale Ogunleye can only wonder where he'll be come September.
Still on the sideline? Back in uniform with Miami? Traded to another team?
Nigeria?
The unsigned Ogunleye said Wednesday his preference remains to reach a deal in Miami, where he blossomed into a star during the past four seasons after playing college football at Indiana.
But if Miami refuses to give Ogunleye the contract he wants, he'll sit out and perhaps return to his roots by visiting his grandmother and other relatives in Africa.
"My mom wants me to do that," said Ogunleye, whose grandfather was a Nigerian king. "We'll probably wait until after the first game, and then we'll probably take 10 days or two weeks to go."
Ogunleye was paid a base salary of $375,000 last year, when led the AFC with 15 sacks and made the Pro Bowl for the first time. During the offseason he declined to sign the one-year, $1.824 million tender the Dolphins extended to him, and negotiations on a long-term deal reached a standstill in May.
CARDINALS: Defensive tackle Kenny King needs surgery on his right wrist and probably will miss the season, the latest hit to a team struggling with injuries.
King had been battling rookie Darnell Dockett for a starting job. But he injured wrist tendons that had already been surgically repaired once this year.
"He tried to have it fixed in May, I guess, or April, and it's going to be a tough go," coach Dennis Green said. "Because it (rehabilitation) was four months before, and it didn't work."
King was the fourth starter - first on defense - lost to injury. The Cardinals have been practicing without wide receivers Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald and Bryant Johnson.
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