Browns vs. Bills notebook: How to prepare for snow-covered field?

Warmups were more entertaining than most 2006 Browns games.

The first player dressed was Buffalo long snapper Ryan Neill. He took the field alone and made snap after snap, preparing to avoid exactly what happened later.

Bills punter Brian Moorman moved his pregame stretching from the field to a warm concourse. He worked on his hamstrings while the Medina Highland marching band went by.

The gigantic tarp came off at 9:45. The field was immaculate. The snow started at 10. The field was coated by 11.

At 2, when Neill snapped to Moorman with the Browns nursing a 3-0 lead, Cleveland Browns Stadium was wrapped for disaster.

Moorman went to the last two Pro Bowls. It wasn't like this in Hawaii. The snow-slicked ball sailed over his head and landed near the goal line. He had time to pick it up but opted to kick it into the fans in the low rows. It was a safety.

Backyard bowl

Joe Jurevicius grew up in the Cleveland area in a family of staunch Browns fans who saw their share of snow.

"When you're a kid, you dream of playing in a game like this," Jurevicius said after catching a couple of balls and dropping a couple. "Today was the Christmas Bowl in the backyard, and you're wiping snow out of your eyes."

Snowblower crews whose only job was to keep yard lines visible couldn't keep up with the blizzard.

"It was pretty fun," quarterback Derek Anderson said. "When the wind blew, it kind of hurt your face a little."

8 points, nine catches

The Browns caught just nine passes. Braylon Edwards had four for 64 yards, putting him at 1,070 yards on the year.

Tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. caught three passes for 28 yards, staying an arm's length from 1,000, with 971 yards on the year.

"Not my favorite kind of football," Winslow said, "but my favorite result."

Extra points

- Would-be interceptions kept popping out of hands. The game had no turnovers.

- The Browns have won six straight games at home, as did the 1994 team that went to the playoffs under Coach Bill Belichick.

- The Bills' charter flight home was wiped out by bad weather and an ominous forecast. The Bills holed up in a downtown Cleveland hotel, in hopes of flying out Monday.

Reach Repository sports writer Steve Doerschuk at (330) 580-8347 or e-mail steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com.