Leftovers from Sunday's post-game interview with receiver Braylon Edwards:

(On his tough catches) The catch on the sideline, that was all D.A. I didn't give him too much at the line of scrimmage, the DB had good coverage. D.A. scrolls me to the sideline, he put the ball in a great spot.

(On his touchdowns) The first one I was able to jump over the DB and catch it, it was a great throw. The second touchdown he threw it low. The DB, by the time he turned around and saw it it was too late. I had to dive for it.

(helmet) I apologized to the team and to the coaches. I thought the quarter was over with. That's not the kind of player I am and not what Romeo teaches. It will never happen again.

(chemistry with Anderson) Derek is trying to give me a chance. He's understand I'm a taller receiver. He's trying to put the ball in a spot where I can go get it before a DB sees it. He's been doing that a lot lately in practice and he's doing it real well.

(Rams defense playing single coverage) They single-covered T.O. and Steve Smith. They play zone on the front side and man on the back side. We knew they were going to do it.

(you, Kellen and Jurevicius) We're a heckuva 1-2-3 punch, especially in terms of a 1-2 in Kellen and I. A lot of times you have a great 1-2 punches in receivers, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce. By having Kellen on the inside it creates more mismatches, it creates more in terms of coverage rotations. When you throw Joe Jurevicius into the mix, the middle of the field's wide open, Joe does a lot of good things. Without Joe's plays today, a lot of those situations and set-ups wouldn't have been there.

(catch at 10 yard line) The DB jumped on top of me, D.A. threw the ball behind me on purpose. It looks like a bad throw on TV, but it's exactly what we wanted to do.

(helmet cost the team a score) I wasn't worried. The way we've been recovering all year, the defense making plays at the right times, the offense making plays that we need. My team had my back.

(two 4th down stops) That's one of the two best things that can happen on the football field, a come-from-behind win and a stop on fourth down. To watch them do it twice, especially at the end of the game in that situation, that says a lot about their fortitude, their will and their resolve.

We were elated and we won because of it.

(you fewer dropped balls) The main thing is just focus. You want to get 20 yards before you even get the ball. You don't do 1, 2, 3, which is see the ball all the way in, catch it, then turn around. Patience. I've allowed the game to come to me, I've been relaxed. I catch the ball, secure it, then turn up the field.

(what it feel to run over a guy) You see so many guys at my position who are fast who make moves and make people miss, they run by guys. Every once in a while you get an opportunity where a guy is expecting you to outrun him or juke him. He sets himself up to be free. I did what I had to do. It feels real good. You're proud of those things.

(would you have won this a year ago) Who knows?

In preseason, Browns outside linebacker Antwan Peek looked like the perfect sidekick for Kamerion Wimbley. But a strained foot suffered in the opener has hampered Peek and the Cleveland pass rush. It's a big reason the Browns have just six sacks, ranking 30th in the league going into Sunday's game at St. Louis.

Peek came to Cleveland in free agency from Houston, where defensive coordinator Todd Grantham worked from 2002-04. A standout at the University of Cincinnati (especially in a 2002 game against Ohio State), Peek had 10 sacks in four seasons for the Texans. The Browns needed a player to take some of the focus off Wimbley, the first-round pick from Florida State in 2006 who set a franchise rookie record with 11 sacks.

But when Peek was hurt, opponents started double-teaming Wimbley, who has been held to three sacks. (Peek has 1 1/2.)

Now with Peek rested and his foot much improved after a bye week, Grantham thinks the Browns will see the Peek who was all over the field in preseason.

"When you have a foot strain your get-off is going to be a little off," Peek said. "Now that it's gotten a lot better, I'm not conscious of that when I take off.

"It was real frustrating. Now that I'm healthier I'm looking forward to getting out there. I've got some catching up to do."

Peek sounded like he never considered missing a game, even though it might have helped him heal faster.

"I'm not one of those guys who want to make excuses," he said. "I tried to work some of the pain out. Sometimes if you sit around and do nothing, it stiffens up a little more. It's gotten better, so I guess working on it helped out a little bit."

The Browns' defense ranks last in the league this week, but Peek believes that will change soon.

"We have a good young defense and we're going to continue to get better. We have to eliminate the mental mistakes," he said.

The beleaguered Rams, plagued by injuries on the offensive line, could help their cause.

"Whenever you see a team that's given up (24) sacks you start licking your chops," Peek said. "This is a good opportunity for us as pass rushers."

An ill-fated motorcycle accident in 2005 may have set the stage for a brilliant but short-lived career for Browns third-year tight end Kellen Winslow.

Winslow underwent reconstructive surgery on his right knee after the accident, then needed microfracture surgery on it in the past off-season. While he's tied with receiver Braylon Edwards for the team lead in receptions with 29 and is second in yards with 506, Winslow admitted Thursday that the knee is giving him more problems than the left shoulder he separated in week 3 at Oakland.

His tone made it sound like the knee would never be 100 percent again.

"My knee still hurts a lot," he said. "It's not my speed, it's my burst, but I play through it. It's not a healthy knee. I've been playing through it for two years. Imagine if I was healthy."

It seems amazing Winslow played 16 games in 2006, catching 89 passes for 875 yards and 3 TDs. His practice time had to be closely monitored and limited. He's always the last man on the practice field this season.

But Browns offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski, Winslow's position coach at Miami and a fellow Hurricane, is trying to make the most of what he has for as long as he has him. Chudzinski is moving Winslow and Edwards around, making them two of the biggest receiving threats in the league.

Winslow may not match his receiving total of last season, but he's Cleveland's toughest player. General manager Phil Savage has to hope that Winslow can last long enough to put the struggling franchise back on the NFL map.

Some might suggest that Sunday's home game against Miami would be the perfect time for the debut of Browns' first-round pick Brady Quinn — in a substitute role. The Dolphins are 0-5. The Browns have a bye the following weekend, which would be the perfect time for them to correct the rookie quarterback's errors. Cleveland should be able to run the ball against a defense ranked 31st against the run, which would put less pressure on Quinn to do it all. And the stretch of imposing defenses early in the year is now past.

In 2005, Cleveland let Charlie Frye see action as a rookie and he was a third-round pick. Frye first got in on Nov. 20 and played in seven games, starting the final five.

But with a chance for the Browns to go 3-3 at the bye with a victory over the Dolphins, that makes the odds of seeing Quinn this week slimmer. Why would coach Romeo Crennel risk putting Quinn in and him throwing an interception to jeopardize the game? Once on the hotseat, Crennel now has the Browns poised to contend for the playoffs. As long as that's the case, Quinn may have to learn from the sideline or in mop-up duty (if there ever is any).

Whenever the quarterback question comes up, Crennel still practically rolls his eyes.

"I'm just trying to win this Miami game and we're going to do whatever we can do to win the Miami game," Crennel said Wednesday. "Whoever gives us the best chance to win that game, that's what we're going to do. When Quinn's time comes, it'll come. Like I told him, he is one play away. He almost got in during the game the other day. That's what it is."

Whenver his time comes, Quinn said the experience of nearly being pressed into emergency service near the end of the first half at New England when Derek Anderson suffered a shoulder stinger will help him. Quinn said he didn't know what to do to prepare since center Hank Fraley was still on the field. After he located his helmet, Quinn said he learned that backup lineman Lennie Friedman would be there to give him some snaps.

The Cleveland Browns coaches aren't the only ones losing sleep over the team's inconsistency on offense. In a 51-45 victory over Cincinnati and a 27-13 triumph over Baltimore, the Browns looked like a juggernaut. In a 34-7 loss to Pittsburgh and a 26-24 setback at Oakland, they were a mess. An efficient first drive last week at New England was encouraging, especially since the Browns were within 10 points of the Super Bowl favorites in the second half.

But this on-again, off-again style is driving tight end Kellen Winslow nuts.

"We play great football, then we play bad football," Winslow said. "We have to be more consistent as a team offensively. We didn't play as well as we wanted to against the Patriots. Against the Ravens and the Bengals we played like we're capable of. We have to get more consistent in what we're going to do on offense and our identity and stick with that."

Winslow thinks the offensive woes have been more a case of the Browns stopping themselves. Quarterback Derek Anderson has thrown eight interceptions (vs. 11 TDs) and Cleveland has also lost four fumbles.

"I don't think anybody can really stop us," Winslow said. "When we turn the ball over, when we have mentals, that sort of thing, we can't have that."

But at least the Browns are showing signs of getting their act together at home, where they're 2-0. They haven't won three in a row at home since the 2001 season, when they actually stretched it to four (beating Detroit, San Diego, Baltimore and Cincinnati).

The least encouraging thing about Sunday's 34-17 loss at New England was that 'Bad Derek,' aka Browns quarterback Derek Anderson, appeared again, just as he did in Oakland. This time Anderson's Jekyll and Hyde impersonation included three first-half interceptions that led to 14 Patriots points and halted a drive to the New England 1.

While the Browns may be hoping to get through the season with Anderson so rookie Brady Quinn can watch and learn, Anderson's inconsistency has to be driving the organization nuts. He has shown resilence to rally his team in the second half of both the Raiders and Patriots games (this time closing the gap to 20-10 with 14:10 remaining), but usually he's taking advantage of a less-aggressive defense at that point.

Surprisingly, Browns coach Romeo Crennel did not chastize Anderson for poor decision-making, even though his rating of 59.0 was his second-lowest of the season (57.0 at Oakland). Two of Anderson's interceptions came on tipped passes and linebacker Mike Vrabel hit his arm on the other.

"I thought they were good decisions," Crennel said. "I was looking right at one of them and the guy was open and he tried to get it in there. The linebacker broke on it and tipped it up and they intercepted it. On the other one he got the arm hit, so that hurt. That is part of the game. We've got to protect better and we have to deliver quicker."

Anderson's most costly interception was his first, which stalled the drive that could have given the Browns a 7-3 lead. Tight end Steve Heiden was his intended target, but cornerback Asante Samuel tipped the ball to linebacker Junior Seau on third and goal at the 1.

"He had a chance to make it happen," Crennel said. "He got flushed out a little bit and probably his feet weren't set enough because he was on the move. Maybe if he had been able to set his feet and deliver the ball he could have gotten it in."

Crennel knew the importance of that turnover.

"If we get that touchdown you have a little confidence, you score on a team that hadn't been allowing any points and then maybe you're able to do some things the rest of the game. By not scoring, I think some of the guys wonder about what we are able to do and how we missed that opportunity and those kinds of things. But we did get it together a little bit in the second half and were a lot more competitive."

Crennel may have been going easy on Anderson because he still likes the team's chances with him in the lineup rather than Quinn and doesn't want to damage Anderson's confidence. Also Crennel doesn't seem to be under as much pressure with the team 2-3 and facing winless Miami next week. Just about every Browns fans would take 3-3 at the bye, considering the brutal stretch of defenses Cleveland faced in the first six games.

But if Bad Derek continues his regular appearances, Crennel may be forced to change his plan with Quinn.

The Browns may be at least 16-point underdogs Sunday against New England, but don't sound intimidated. The undefeated Patriots have outscored opponents 148-48.

Such a dominating start has launched talk of the Patriots going 16-0. Asked if they're that good, Cleveland defensive end Robaire Smith said, "I think they are. At the same time, that's not going to stop anybody from wanting to play against the best. Week in and week out people are going to give them their best shot.

"As athletes you're always going to feel you can beat the next team. They're pretty good at what they do, they're consistent at what they do. I would say they have one of the best offenses in this league."

They may be good, but they're not complicated, Smith said.

"It's more simple, but they're good and consistent at what they do," Smith said. "They force you to beat them, they're not going to beat themselves. You have to do something out of the ordinary in order for you to make them make a mistake."

New England is plus 3 in the turnover margin with seven takeaways and four giveaways (two interceptions and two fumbles lost).

Outside linebacker Kamerion Wimbley said the game "will show us what we need to do to improve or if we're getting better."

But he wasn't giving up before kickoff.

"We don't pay attention to whether we're underdogs or not," Wimbley said. "We have confidence in the guys in here and we believe we can get it done."

If New England linebacker Mike Vrabel is going to continue to take away his touchdowns, Patriots tight Ben Watson wants equal time on defense.

After Vrabel scored the ninth touchdown of his career in Monday night's victory over Cincinnati, Watson joked that he wants a chance to rush the passer and get a sack.

Browns outside linebacker Kamerion Wimbley also sounded a little jealous of Vrabel, the former Walsh Jesuit and Ohio State star who has nine career catches, all for scores.

When it was suggested Wimbley should tell offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski he wants the ball, Wimbley said, "I tried that last year. I still haven't gotten the ball."