I highlight and link Marla Ridenour's story on Jamal Lewis today.

Lewis lets out some more steam about the Browns and their coach.

These words are from a veteran professional respected by everybody in the league.

Jerome Bettis seems to understand Jamal Lewis' feelings. Bettis writes on SI.com: " He's starting to ask, Why play anymore? Where's the upside? You play this game with hope that something good could come of it, and he knows the Browns are not getting better any time soon."

What's left to blog on the Browns?

Let's do some quick hits, then I'm going to post an entire Jamal Lewis postgame interview. I have great admiration for Lewis as a professional. As a result, I give great weight to what he says. First, though:

–Randy Lerner spoke to three of us after the game and he seemed as disappointed, angry and perplexed as anyone. One point he made was when I asked him directly: Will you consider changing the coach during the bye week? His answer: No.

–Said Lerner: "I can't fault anybody for their criticism. I absolutely can't. I feel like St. Anthony."

–Another question that comes from this game: What in the world did Brady Quinn do to be buried deeper on the bench than Gerard Lawson? Derek Anderson's first-half rating was 0.0. He had two completions fumbled over to the Bears in the second half, but his play is wild and erratic. Anderson's footwork doesn't resemble that of the guy the guy who dropped back two years ago and threw 29 touchdowns, and his arm motion is wildly inconsistent.

–Yet Quinn remains buried.

–I asked Quinn if he had a confrontation with Mangini, if he challenged him in any way. Quinn said no and added: "You don't need to fabricate things."

–Anderson's rating for the game was 10.5. Ben Roethlisberger probably had more yards per attempt in the Steelers' win over the Browns.

–Good thing they acquired Chansi Stuckey.

–Combined scores the past two weeks: Green Bay and Chicago 61, Browns 9.

–The Browns blamed turnovers for the loss, which is kind of like saying a loose shingle caused the house to fall in a hurricane. That being said, they had some bad ones. Problem is they always seem to have bad ones … week after week after week.

–When it happens week after week after week the problem is more than one game. It's systemic.

–Said Anderson: "It's ridiculous. If it's not one guy it's another guy. If it's not one thing it's another thing. Obviously we control it, and have to control it. But it's stupid."

–Can't really argue that point.

–The Browns are off next Sunday, then play Baltimore on Monday night. ESPN has to be wondering what it did to earn a Cleveland appearance on national TV.

–Folks can say what they want, but it's hard to believe the team "buys into" what Mangini is doing.

As for the Lewis interview … here it is:

Q. This has to be torture for you.

A. Most definitely. (Lewis then said the turnovers killed the Browns, and said he never really got the ball on his fumbled exchange with Anderson).

Q. Nobody really could have expected a 1-7 start, right?

A. Not the way we work. The way we work in practice, the way we work in training camp I wouldn’t have expected it either. You just have to put the pieces of the puzzle together and find out what are we really trying to do. I'm sure that is win, but it's how we're trying to win. How are we trying to win? What are we trying to do? I think that's what everybody is trying to figure out.

Q. When you say that, is it specifically the offense you mean?

A. As a team. Period. We all got to move in one direction. We all want to win. We all want to come out with a W at the end of the day. That's as a whole. I'm just not talking about the Xs and Os. I'm talking about where are we trying to go and what are we trying to accomplish? Once we figure that out then hopefully we can put it all together.

Q. Do you have an understanding where you're trying to go?

A. No. I don't have an understanding. I just know we're trying to win. I know we want to win, but at the same time a lot comes with winning. A lot comes with the formula, with your chemistry. What are you trying to do, as far as offensively, defensively? How are you trying to make this work? How is the offense trying to complement the offense? How is the defense trying to complement the offense? What are we trying to put together? We figure that out, we'll be all right.

Q. How is it possible in the eighth week of the season that you don't even know …?

A. Just look. It's 1-and-7. That's how it's possible.

Q. This must be hard for you?

A. It is. Very. Very hard. I think this is my last year. I think this is it. The way this looks .. you know … I had a good run.

Q. This year?

A. It might be.

Q. This would be a tough way to go out, no?

A. It would be, but at the same time I stuck my neck out, you know what I mean? I wanted to come in and help and do what I could do. Even though I knew the consequence. I knew what we had and what we were going to be dealing with. Being we did have a new person, you do have new people coming in, new coaches and a new staff. There's a lot that goes with that. I just wanted to come in here and help. Do what I could do. But like I said. I don't know what's going on. In the past, where I've been … that's never happened. It's just a different style of play. I don't know. I don't know what to say.

Q. You mean last year, with the Browns or period?

A. Period. Period, point blank. Like I said, I've done what I've needed to do. Just really trying to help. Just do my job. Do what I do. That's run the football. Try to put something together. Try to help win.

Q. Did you ever have a sense at any point that you had a grasp of what you guys as a team were trying to get done?

A. At the beginning of the season… not the beginning of the season but the beginning of training camp and everything … going out and working as hard as we did in training camp. Laying it on the line. Buying in to everything that's going on. Buying in to the system. That's what needed to happen. I think that everybody bought in. Everybody bought in. That's when you did have a real clue of where we were going, and what we were trying to do. But then once things start going, week after week after week after week, it just seemed like a blur. Like I said, we just have to go back to the drawing board, take this bye week and try to find out what we really want to do. Find out what where we really want to go. Even though you're 1-and-7, there's still a lot that can go on. There's still a lot you can accomplish. That's getting that chemistry down and trying to figure out what you really want to do as a team. Like I said, we got a bye week where we can go in and try to correct those mistakes and figure this thing out. We come out against Baltimore and try to put it all together. That's it. That's all that we can do.

Q. It sounds like you're touching on the coach. Are you?

A. I'm touching on nobody. I'm not touching on the coach. He's not the one who's responsible for … we're all responsible too. We're all men. We're all men. We're all men. That's something that we have to figure out. We have to know where we're trying to go. It’s not about the coach. It's about us as whole, period.

Q. Is this frustration speaking?

A. When I talk, I mean what I say. And I think you all know that from me. You can answer that.

Mike Lombardi  has jumped on the James Davis bandwagon. Lombardi writes in the National Football Post: “(The Browns) found a back in the later rounds this year, sixth-round pick James Davis, who looks like the real deal. I’m still not sold that Jamal Lewis will make the team.”

I’m not going this far.

I think Lewis makes the team, because at this point nobody is sure if Davis is a preseason flash or the real deal.

A few years back … well … a lot of years back the Browns had a guy named Larry Poole in preseason. Poole was a great player at Kent State. Back then they played like 14 preseason games and this was the day of Ed Garvey demanding a percentage of the gross and the owners saying no to something that now is at the foundation of the game. So the players went on strike. And a guy named Larry Poole from Kent State (born in Akron) had a heck of a training camp. But his career didn’t follow. Poole played four years, 28 games, and carried the ball 133 times. He had a 4.4-yard average, so I don’t know why he didn’t get more carries, but he didn’t.

At any rate, Davis makes me think of Poole. Because Poole had a great preseason, like Davis.

I think Davis  shows real deal potential. He’s quick, he attacks and he makes people miss. The guy looks like a good back.

But because the Browns aren’t sure I’m not sure they can give up totally on Lewis.

That being said it would not be a total surprise if they do. As I’ve said in the past, Denver has made a living out of late-round running backs. What does this have to do with the Browns? Nothing, except that it shows a team can find a back late in the draft. So it would not be a stretch for the Browns to find one late in the draft.

I still think they keep Lewis and Davis, and perhaps Jerome Harrison too. Provided he gets off the bike.

I am hereby suspending all blog activity until the crisis in Berea is solved.

HEY … it's a joke!

The more one thinks (note the imperial ‘one') the more it seems nearly irrelevant who plays quarterback on Sunday in Cincinnati. That's because the Bengals' run defense is dismal and this is the weekend to get the running game going. That, after all, is the quarterback's best friend. Well, that and the trade of the starter after the season's opening game. But the best thing that can happen for the Browns, Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn would be for Jamal Lewis to get the ball at least 25 times in Cincinnati. Lewis ran for 308 yards in the two games against Cincinnati last season. The Bengals have not exactly improved on defense this year.

A year ago the Browns used the downfield threat to spread the field and then run the ball. Throw to get ahead, run to win. That kind of thing. Well this season things can be reversed. Use the run to bring the safeties up, then hit them with the pass in the right circumstance and situation. Keep the offense out of third-and-long. Give the quarterback an advantage. Let Anderson or Quinn or Josh Cribbs or David Mays or whoever play in that kind of circumstance and any should be able to win the game. Which, after all, is the point. Win the stupid game.

That's what I'd do at least. If I were not suspending all football-coaching activity until the Japanese beetle crisis is solved.

First and 10

1)      I'm of the understanding that Derek Anderson starts Sunday's game in Cincinnati. Not a lot of thought at all to starting Brady Quinn. I don't know what the leanings are if Anderson falters, so we'll see what happens. But the Browns aren't really going into this game with the idea that Anderson will falter.

2)      I'm also of the understanding that though nobody is happy with the way the Browns are playing, Romeo Crennel's job is not in danger.

3)      Nobody seems to like that fact. But it's a fact. Cleveland sure seems to be a town that turns in a hurry. Either that or the angry minority is very vocal. There's no justifying the way the Browns have played, and I won't try. But changing the coach is not going to make them play better just because he's changed. Yes, there were some questionable field goal decisions in the first few games, and yes at times Crennel's lack of emotion works against him. But the Browns did have a good first half Sunday. The game turned on two Derek Anderson interceptions, both plays coming from standout Ravens defenders (Ed Reed and Ray Lewis). Some might argue that at times like these, when everyone is smelling blood and crying foul, the calm, same-as-ever approach of Crennel might come in handy. That approach helped after the opener last season when everyone (including me) was screaming and yelling. Maybe it will help this season. We shall see.

4)      As for Anderson starting over Brady Quinn, this statement to me seems to make it evident why Crennel will go with Anderson. Referring to Quinn, Crennel said: "If we decided to go with him, we'd just have to put it on the fact that what we've seen in practice and what we feel that he's able to do because there's no hard evidence that he would have success." That's not exactly a ringing endorsement that changing the quarterback will help win the game. And that is the idea – winning the game on Sunday. Based on that statement, it seems that the only reason the Browns would change the quarterback would be because they can.

5)      If the Browns win Sunday in Cincinnati (HEY … stop laughing) they have a bye week to then get healthy and get their bearings back. Then they play the Giants, at home, on a Monday night. Tough game. Very tough game. But if they somehow win the Browns will be 2-3, which is pretty much at or near where they were expected to be. First comes Cincinnati, though, and the Browns absolutely, positively, without a doubt must win to have any hope of salvaging a season.

6)      Since 1990, ninety teams have started 0-3. Three of those teams made the playoffs. That's 3.3 percent. Which means the Browns have a 3.3 percent chance of making the playoffs. Not high, but somebody has to be in that 3.3 percent, right?

7)      OK, someday the cow might actually jump over the moon. But don't the Browns have to think that way? Yes, this may be Pollyanna, rose-colored glasses and all that … especially given some of the opinions I've stated on this team. But it's hard to believe the Browns are actually as bad as they've looked, and it's hard to believe they will not play a good game at some point this season.

8)      Jamal Lewis had a valid complaint about not running the ball enough in Baltimore, but that game plan in no way equates to the one last season in Cincinnati when the Browns threw 49 times in swirling winds. Let's look at the facts. Up 10-7, the Browns took the second half kickoff and threw three short passes in a row – the third turned into an interception thanks to Ray Lewis' hit. The short passing game worked in the first half; it led to the lead. But Lewis' hit forced a turnover that led to Baltimore taking a 14-10 lead. The Browns then ran once, threw incomplete once on a short pass and at third-and-6 Anderson threw his worst pass of the day, the Ed Reed interception. Baltimore led 21-10. The Browns then ran Jamal Lewis for nine yards and Lewis for three and a first down. At this point, the game was very winnable. But Braylon Edwards made a ridiculous block in the back that negated the first down. A delay followed, which made it second-and-13, then third-and-13. They passed, then punted, then Mike Adams gave the Ravens 15 yards with a ridiculous personal foul, which gave them a short field to take a 28-10 lead. At that point, the Browns turned to the pass. But … when the game was close there were runs called. It's just that the Browns did foolish things when they did get positive gains and they could not sustain any kind of drive, which will limit the number of runs. This was not a case of bad play-calling, but bad playing, and that did the Browns in.

9)      That being said, if ever a week called for a team to return to bread-and-butter basics, this is it. The Bengals run defense is actually worse than the Browns. Cincinnati is giving up 174.3 yards per game, 4.7 yards per carry. The Giants ran for 117 yards, Tennessee for 177 and Baltimore for 229. If the Browns want to regain their offensive footing, this is the week to go back to pounding Lewis up the middle. If he does not leave the game with 25 carries, the Browns  have something in their Cheerios.

10)   I've been as hard as anyone on Edwards this year, and one good example why is that block-in-the-back penalty. It was a killer. And there was no reason for it. It was just ridiculous (did we mention it was ridiculous?). A coach can teach and coach and preach and threaten all he wants, but if his players commit penalties like that one (and like Adams' personal foul) the coach may as well be talking about Parcheesi. Because if the players don't listen, it doesn't matter.

You're An Idiot

Alan, one of my regular commenters/tormentors on this flog, asked last week: "Why has the previously promised weekly ‘You Are An Idiot' portion of First and 10 failed to appear? Much like the Browns, I guess your unfulfilled promise was nothing but hype."

Quite frankly Alan, it did not appear because nobody was calling me an idiot.

I call that "reader oversight."

Ted did write and say this, though: "Pat, once again you are not an idiot; I am. For watching these Browns."

Three and Out

Dear Pat,

Romeo Crennel not only inherited a team that was in disarray, but also the decades of frustrations of fans who have been let down by three professional franchises.  The irony is that these fans want to win now, but they want a new coach every few years.  This means that a new scheme will have to be implemented, which and (if it does work) may not produce results for two-to-four years.   People are stuck on a Super Bowl winning coaching coming in and setting up a Super Bowl winning franchise.  I ask the fans, how many times in NFL history has this happened?  In the last 20+ years it has only happened to Joe Gibbs.  Even in his case, fans wondered if the game had passed him by before he won his second Super Bowl.

I guess I see Romeo's situation to be similar to several other coaches in the league.

I remember in the early to mid-90's when Cleveland fans said that Bill Belichick didn't have the demeanor to be a good head coach.  He didn't express fire on the sidelines when mistakes were made.  He couldn't motive players to play hard for him.  Not to mention that he drove out a fan favorite.   What changed?  He tweaked his philosophy a bit when he got another chance as a head coach.

Tom Coughlin was under heavy fire after losing the first two games last year (not to mention people questioning Eli Manning).  This was preceded by a year where the team underachieved and players questioned his coaching ability.  They said he was too strict.  What changed?  He tweaked his coaching philosophy.

So now, Cleveland has a defensive minded coach who is being questioned by fans for the (lack of) defense. What Coach Dungy…wait, that was a Freudian slip because the same questions were asked of Tony Dungy before he won a Super Bowl.  What Coach Crennel needs is …

-an attitude changing player on defense, like a Ray Lewis.
-a young secondary to mature
-a defense to tackle and make plays in general
- his back-up players to step up until the wounded players return.
-his star receiver to put aside his press clippings and life outside of football, and go out and just play.
-his quarterback to be confident in himself, to let the world know that he is the man for the job and to make better throws and decisions when the team needs him the most.

Crennel is not blameless in this.  He needs to develop better discipline with his team.  He needs to tweak his philosophy a bit before it is too late, just like the other students under Parcells.

I guess I believe Crennel can win because his players still want to play for him, and you have two Super Bowl winning coaches (Belichick and Parcells) who say he is a good coach and they believe in him.

As I tell fellow investors (all too often I guess), you can't set up a successful business overnight.   There will be times of frustration, and many questions. It takes time, and there will be setbacks.

Thanks,

Will

Akron

Dear Will,

Good letter, however given the prevailing mood in town I think folks may be putting you in the "You're An Idiot" section with me. Be nice to have company!

Dear Pat,

Everything in your Monday article was dead on, but you missed one more thing that makes this kind of play even harder to take. In each of the three ridiculous losses so far, at some point in the game, while the Browns were being outplayed, outcoached, out-strengthed and out-finessed, one of the wannabes posed and primped on the field after making a routine play.

Where do you lay THAT? At Romeo's feet. Next to the horrendous play calling and players not knowing when they are supposed to be on the field. They looked like they ran the same play on 1st down 75% of the time. Anderson still looks at his receiver too long, but what's the difference when they drop the ball anyway.
It'll be 2-14. Write it down.

Eddie Vidmar

Dear Eddie,

The histrionics of players on the field has gotten to such absurd levels a guy can drop the ball at the 1-yard-line on Monday night football and it's hardly noticed.

There is such a "me" emphasis sometimes it's enough to make a person turn to soccer.

Dear Pat,

Enjoy your work. My question is, how would you rate the job Phil Savage has done? A team playing this bad can't simply be the head coach calling bad timeouts or not being emotional enough.

This team lacks talent on defense and its highly rated offensive line looks suspect. How many of Phil Savage's draft picks are in the NFL? His picks from the third round on have been shaky.  It takes more than drafting No. 1 picks right to build a team. Oops looks like they haven't done that right either, (Kamerion Wimbley).

You can fire the head coach, and should fire the head coach, but this ORGANIZATION looks weak to me.

Eric Graham

Dear Eric,

As I've stated often, there is plenty of responsibility to be shared right now, and the head coach can't do much with receivers who are not threats, with immature stars and without a legitimate secondary. Think Carson Palmer isn't looking forward to Sunday?

(Want to be recognized in "Three and Out"? It's a rare treat. Comment here or send an e-mail to pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com, and put "First and 10" in the subject line)

Made my way out to Browns camp on Monday and caught most of the morning practice. The conclusion after watching one workout: The dog days are hitting. This was not the crispest of workouts, though Travis Wilson did make a nice over-the-shoulder catch of a pass thrown by Brady Quinn. Yes, that was Travis Wilson who made the catch – he’s been a guy I’ve picked on a bit, so I thought it important to point out his good play.

This sloppy practice should not be a surprise. Every team has them. The only concern with the Browns and their sloppy practice is they bounce back and not let it be a sign they are allowing the excitement and fervor get in their heads. Things can change in a hurry with a team (see the Indians, Cleveland) and the Browns are not good enough yet to just be good because they want to be. They have to work to make sure they are good.

Spent a good amount of time talking to Jamal Lewis for a story that will appear in Tuesday’s Beacon-Journal. The more I talk to Lewis, though, the more I’m impressed. There’s a lot to be said for a guy who looks you in the eye and answers a question. I had heard for years that Lewis was a good player, good teammate and a pro. It was hard to believe all that when he went to jail for a few months in 2005 for allegedly using his cell phone to set up a drug deal. Folks in Baltimore thought it was a vendetta based on the flimsiest of evidence, but Lewis did go to the hoosegow, which made some of the positive stuff hard to swallow.

But seeing Lewis up close and dealing with him on a professional basis has made me wonder if I was wrong to judge from afar. Lewis seems as professional as they come, and his teammates have a great amount of respect for him. His offseason work (the subject of tomorrow’s story) and his effort to come to camp the lightest he’s been since he was in college show a guy who understands himself and his craft. Lewis has the right approach, and the right attitude. He has to be one of the shrewdest pickups in the Phil Savage era.

Couple more thoughts on Lewis –

A great many years back, the story was circulated by some Browns that Lewis guaranteed he’d set a single-game rushing mark against the Browns. In truth, he didn’t. He merely responded when Browns linebacker Andra Davis told him the Browns wanted him to carry the ball 35 times in an upcoming game in Baltimore. If I get that many carries, Lewis said, I’ll set a record. Hearing him now makes it easier to hear him then. Lewis speaks with a matter-of-fact honesty that is impossible to make into anything other than what it is – a statement of fact on his part. One can hear him chewing through some grapefruit or Grape Nuts or other healthy food and saying what he said.

Lewis also is a guy who recognizes what happened before him. He mentioned he plays for a team that had Jim Brown, and how he wants to live up to that legacy and how he knows Brown is often watching practice. Which makes a person think back to when he ran for 2,066 yards in 2003 and had a chance to break Eric Dickerson’s single-season record. Dickerson openly rooted against Lewis in the season finale (a true show of class that few have matched since). Lewis shrugged when he came short, said it was more important his team won and he had had a great year. Lewis also said Monday that he knows Cleveland is just more than an hour from Canton, home to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. When the likelihood that he would top 10,000 yards this season was mentioned to him, Lewis said it would mean he has “about 8,000 more to go.”

Why do I tell those stories? Because I think they illustrate why Lewis is so impressive.

A long time ago, I heard an NFL coach say that players typically enter the league wanting fame. That’s their first motivation. Second, they want money. But the coach said when they get the fame and money and realize something is missing, they start to play for championships. Lewis is at that point. He knows he can be successful, but after eight years in the league he now freely admits he’s playing for success, but also for a championship.

One of Lewis’ offsseason hallmarks is his work in a sand pit that he himself built at an Atlanta high school. When the sand pit was mentioned to Davis, who has worked with Lewis the past two offseasons, Davis exhaled deeply and rolled his eyes. And he talked not about how tough it is to run in sand, but how hot the sand is and how he has to run fast just to get through it.

A couple different topics —

Enjoyed this take on training camp quarterback competitions from Ross Tucker, who spent a training camp with the Browns. Tucker was a bright, engaging guy, and his words on quarterback competitions make sense. Like when he says deciding a quarterback based on training camp “is at best flawed, at worst negligent.”

The more that comes out about Brett Favre, the more nutty the Packers and their management sound. Sorry, but there’s just no way a team tells a player like Favre he cannot come back and compete for the starting job. But that’s what happened. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen talked to Favre, and Favre said of a recent conversation with GM Ted Thompson: “I asked Ted [Saturday], 'Am I welcome in the building if I report?' And Ted was just about shattered. He said, 'Brett, you can't do that — you'll get me fired.' I told him I'm not trying to get anybody fired. So Ted asked me to let the guys report and let's try to resolve this over the next two or three days." What in the world kind of sense does that make? In the five months since the NFC Championship Game, Favre has become a liability? I would tend to agree with the opinions in this column, which basically states that the guy whose legacy is going to be ruined by this is Thompson. The day Brett Favre cannot even COMPETE for his job is the day one has to wonder what they’re putting in the cheese in Packers headquarters. Be an interesting season in Green Bay if the Packers go 6-10 and Aaron Rodgers struggles or is injured. Probably be a more interesting offseason watching the cheese-head fans run the management team out of town.