The latest loss to Pittsburgh had barely ended before the e-mails started rolling in.

"I dare you to defend Crennel," one wrote.

"Romeo has got to go," said another.

"When you have the ANNOUNCERS criticizing the coach's decision, it is not good," said a third.

First, announcers make their living criticizing coaching decisions. They can get away with it - unlike us newspaper mopes - because their networks pay godzillions of dollars to broadcast the games.

Second, if Romeo has to go, there are bathrooms in the locker room.

Finally, I will defend Crennel the man. Steadfastly. This is a good man, a good father, a good grandfather. His steady hand had much to do with the team's success a year ago. He is worthy of respect because of the way he lives his life and conducts himself. He's the kind of coach you wish would win, because not all coaches have the same quality of character. Personally, there's not a better place to start when choosing leaders.

But good men do not always make decisions I think are the best. Sometimes they're right, sometimes they're not right.

Crennel's decisions with every key field goal/touchdown situation in this short season have been different from the ones I'd have made.

We've already discussed Dallas. End of the first half against Pittsburgh, I'd have taken the points - and there are witnesses in the press box who heard me say it before the interception.

Late in the game, I wasn't as sure. Crennel seemed to have his reasons for making the score 10-6 with 3:24 left. He was counting on his defense.

In one sense, this is the way Crennel coaches.

He trusts his players. He asks them to do something, and they either do or don't. It's a reason his players like him so much. Players appreciate trust.

Sunday night his players did not return the trust. They let Pittsburgh just about run out the clock. Same with the pre-half time decision to go for the end zone. He trusted his quarterback, and his quarterback did not respond.

But the more I think the more I think I would not have tried for the field goal in the fourth quarter.

Because no matter what, the Browns needed a touchdown. They were down seven. If they make the field goal, they're down four and need a touchdown to win. If they don't get the first down, they're down seven and need a touchdown to tie. And if they get the first down and go on to score a touchdown, they're tied and win with a field goal.

In every scenario, they need a touchdown.

And the worst situation is that if they get a touchdown the Browns are tied.

No matter what happened offensively, the Browns defense had to stop the Steelers and the Browns had to score a touchdown.

So me, sitting in the booth, not being on the sideline, not being in meeting rooms, I'd have gone for the first down in the fourth quarter and the field goal in the second.

Crennel didn't.

And the thing about sports is that decisions are sometimes played out on national TV with millions watching and announcers commenting. Ultimately, he'll be judged on these decisions.

I find it interesting today, though, that Mike Shanahan is being feted as a hero and for his guts for going for two to beat San Diego.

Clearly he deserves some credit.

But Shanahan went for two because he had no confidence in his defense. And he got to go for two because of a gift call and another quirk in the replay system that negated a turnover that would have won the game for San Diego.

He went for two; bully for him.

But his players backed him up by making it.

Browns players did nothing to help their coach. Through two games all we've seen from this team is hype and talk.

If Braylon Edwards wants to be an elite receiver, he doesn't drop key passes - most especially the third-down slant prior to the field goal.

If the Browns want to win, they recover the botched kickoff return and they don't let Ben Roethlisberger stand in the end zone for 10 seconds before he throws.

If they want to win, they don't give the other team 20 yards in penalties on a night when offenses need every yard, they line up properly on onside kicks and they manage a two-minute drill with a sense of professionalism.

If this, if that. If, if, if, if … if.

Crennel did not make decisions I would consider wise.

But he had a lot of help in losing that game.

It's really impossible to fathom losing nine of 10 season openers at home. That's an indication that a team is either a) really not very good or b) really not prepared or c) a really not very good and not very prepared or d) really, really unlucky. This Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys were far and away the better team. But the Browns didn't play like a well-prepared team.

Too many mistakes, silly penalties (illegal formation trying to block an extra point, apparently for lining up right over the center, a no-no this year) and too much of one offensive guy having to tell another offensive guy where to line up. The defense was overmatched, and though Shaun Rogers had some pressure now and then, the pass rush was nonexistent. Browns players said it's a "pick your poison" thing with Dallas' offense. If you rush a bunch, you're vulnerable in the secondary. If you drop back, you get no rush. Bottom line: That shows the Browns knew they were not good enough to stop the Cowboys.

Dallas made it look easy.

The offense seemed to collapse when it learned that receiver Donte Stallworth had injured himself in pregame warm-ups. That's right. Pregame warm-ups. Think about that next time you see an NBA guy go down shooting layups in pregame. Never heard of it? That's because it never happens. Well, hardly ever, apparently.

"That was like, ‘Wow! How does this happen?'" running back Jamal Lewis said of Stallworth's injury. "To me as a running back, that's my meal ticket." Lewis went on to say that the absence of Stallworth left the Browns with basically the same team they had last year. Minus Joe Jurevicius of course. Which again highlights how big it was to lose Jurevicius. His absence took away a third-down receiver and wiped out the receiver depth. Dallas doubled Braylon Edwards and dared Syndric Steptoe to step in and beat them. He didn't, the vaunted Browns offense scored just 10 points and players seemed to spend a lot of time telling teammates where they should be lining up.

No, I do no understand Romeo Crennel's decision to take a field goal down 28-7 with 10 minutes left in the game. He said he wanted points to have some kind of momentum, and said had he gone for it on fourth down and failed he'd have been asked why he didn't kick a field goal. Hate to disagree, but I disagree. I don't think anyone would have asked why he didn't try a field goal. That's because going for the touchdown was the logical choice - if there was any real hope to win the game. It was simply a strategy decision I did not agree with.

Some other observations:

—No, I've never heard of a guy pulling a muscle - groin, quad, hamstring - in pregame warm-ups. Not sure how often it's happened either.

—Shaun Rogers was very active in the middle of the Browns line. He was the only guy who got occasional pressure on Tony Romo, and showed the qualities that have people saying he's unblockable when he wants to play.

—By game's end, Rogers and the rest of the big guys on the defensive line were pretty worn out, though. That's a negative to the big guys. They will wear down if the defense can't stop folks.

—Right now it seems like the defense can't stop folks, but they did face a huge, physical line and they did face one of the better offenses in the league. That's the going line at least.

—Dallas had 30 first downs, Cleveland 11.

—Dallas had 11 rushing first downs, Cleveland had 2.

—Expect NBC and ESPN to petition the league today to move the "flex schedule" start date up a couple months.

—Yes, the Browns offense should be expected to score more than 10 points. And they did have one nice drive. But the 10 points was what they deserved. We can say all we want that they should score more than 10, but if they fall apart to the extent that they did because one receiver is out, well that's just not good.

—Sunday's game against Pittsburgh has large implications. Win and the Browns are 1-1 and feeling pretty good. Lose and …, well … you know. Personally, I cannot and will not pick the Browns to beat Pittsburgh until they actually do. But if they want to erase a downer of an opener, a win over Pittsburgh on night-time national TV would be a very good step. Me, I just can't see it happening. Not the way this defense played, and not the way Pittsburgh's offense played. Geesh. An 0-and-2 start after all this offseason hype?

Spent Wednesday at the Browns, talking to a lot of players about Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens. It would be a shock, beyond stunning, beyond astounding if TO does not have a huge day Sunday against the Browns secondary. The Browns can win, but they won't stop Owens, who figures to treat the Browns corners like a pair of inexperienced second-year starters. If Mel Tucker has any secrets stashed on how to stop the most explosive receiver in the league, this is the Sunday to use them. More on TO in tomorrow's Beacon Journal.

As for the injured guys, quarterback Derek Anderson seemed fine, as did WR Braylon Edwards. Jamal Lewis, though, sounded iffy. He said he'd try to practice and see how it went. And he said the only thing that fixes a hamstring is rest. Safeties Brodney Pool and Sean Jones were both on the field for the part of practice open to the media, and KR/WR Joshua Cribbs was even seen running around a little. It would be a huge surprise if Cribbs played, though. Two guys did not practice: OG Rex Hadnot and LB Kris Griffin. Both should miss the game.

On a conference call, Cowboys coach Wade Phillips was asked if Adam "PacMan" Jones would play any receiver this weekend. His response: "Well … we're not telling." Kind of sounded like the thought had crossed his mind. If it hadn't, it probably should. Dallas has no healthy or experienced depth beyond TO and Patrick Crayton.

Edwards pronounced himself ready to go, but did admit that the cut on the back of his heel did come close to his Achilles' tendon. … TO was on the conference call for the Cowboys, which was disappointing because had Tony Romo been speaking we could have asked some questions about Jessica Simpson. … My good friend Andre Knott, he of SVSM, discovered this interesting tidbit: Crayton and Donte Stallworth both had the same amount of receiving yards last season - 697.

Some more quotes from some of the principals:

• Owens on the sign he ripped down after scoring the last time he played in Cleveland Stadium: "I'm not real worried about what happened in the past."
• Owens on whether he became more team-oriented after he left the Eagles: "I think I'm pretty much the same person. I think maybe my choice of words has changed with the questions that are directed toward me. I think I changed the way I answer questions, but I think I'm the same pretty much across the board."
• CB Brandon McDonald on facing TO: "I'm looking for every challenge I can get … I'm trying for every challenge and I'm not backing down from the guy."
• McDonald, speaking of himself and fellow CB Eric Wright: "We're guys who like to compete. I think that's one of our major pluses. We like to get things done."
• Browns coach Romeo Crennel on how Anderson looked in Monday's practice: "Not as sharp as they could have been. Hopefully the rest of the week we can get him sharp."
• Crennel on whether he'd prefer facing a team in the opener that did not have a Terrell Owens lining up across from his corners: "I don't think it makes much difference who you open with, because they're going to get thrown on and going to get tested. Whether they can stand up to the test is the question. You just have to wait to find out."

That sure didn't look like much of an improvement to me. Same silly penalties. Same silly mistakes. Same nonexistent pass defense. One team played on Saturday, and it wasn't Cleveland. This preseason has not gone well, and it's hard not to conclude that too many with the team have put expected success ahead of the work needed to achieve that success.

Some random thoughts:

• Crennel was asked if there any bright spots. He said: "Uh, no."
• Since when does Jon Kitna have the ability to elude the rush. The Browns let him outside the pocket twice, and he found receivers both times.
• Check out the penalties, including an illegal formation on a kneel down at the end of the half. That's one I've never seen. How does a team get illegal formation on a stinking kneel down?
• I think the Browns spent too much time in pads during the week.
• Brady Quinn did not look very good. He had some moments, but he also had some not-to-good moments. He wasn't helped by the poor pass protection up front. Quinn's first non-penalty first down came early in the second quarter. The next play Lawrence Vickers was flagged for holding. Figures.
• The protection was not good. That's because the Browns have a large line that was out-quicked by the Lions defensive linemen. Detroit jettisoned Shaun Rogers in part because they wanted quicker guys. He's a massive guy. He also was inconsistent, among other things, in Detroit. "This is a speed team that we were playing," coach Romeo Crennel said. "It's the Tampa philosophy where they have excellent team speed. That showed up. I think with more work hopefully we'll be able to settle some things down." Hopefully.
• Lions fans booed heartily every time Rogers' name was announced. "They're Detroit fans and if they're not rooting for the home team, what are they doing here?" Rogers said. "It's expected."

• Rogers had five tackles, which was impressive. Crennel said Rogers did what he was supposed to do in the game. "I'm never one to throw bouquets at guys when we lose the game," Crennel said.
• There was a Chase Pittman sighting.
• In the first quarter, Quinn was two-for-four for eight yards.
• Dan Orlovsky looked like Tom Brady against the Browns defense. First-team, second-team, no matter. Orlovsky shredded the Browns.
• This was in the Dallas Morning News story about the Cowboys game Friday night: "The Cowboys ripped off four first downs in their first five plays before Tony Romo connected with a crossing Patrick Crayton on a 6-yard score."

You always wonder if you make too much out of preseason. The games don't count, after all, and if the Browns beat Dallas and Pittsburgh it will be forgotten. Too, the Browns were plain awful last year in preseason. That being said, the last two games the Browns haven't exactly given any reason for folks not to be concerned. This is a team that has not looked good.

Some more quotes:

• Crennel on the pressure Quinn faced: "I think you saw the classic NFL approach to a young quarterback. Bring pressure to see if he can handle it, and if he can't handle it keep pressuring."
• Crennel on getting back several injured players who missed the game: "They're going to be a little rusty, so it's going to take some time for those guys to knock the rust off. So it's not just going to automatically happen that we're going to be back to where we want to be."

Quinn on his game:

• "I didn't execute the way I wanted to."
• "They brought a decent amount of pressure, which is to be expected when you're a young quarterback in this league."
• "I definitely was disappointed in my performance."

The acquisition of Travis Daniels via trade kind of shows where the Browns secondary resides at the moment. Daniels does not seem to be the kind of guy who will be a major contributor, but he's probably all that was realistically available at the moment. The trade for Daniels indicates the secondary's struggles are real, and the depth is a concern. Daniels is neither a star, nor a stiff. He was very big with the Dolphins secondary when Nick Saban was coach, probably because Saban coached him at LSU. Bill Parcells didn't want him. Hardly a ringing endorsement, eh? The Browns got a guy Saban liked and Parcells didn't. Parcells can be wrong, though, and Daniels has started in the NFL, and he is a Florida guy, which means he has some credentials. But Deion Sanders, Mike Haynes or Hanford Dixon? Don't think so. Heck, he might not even be Anthony Henry. Daniels will probably fight to be a third or fourth corner. If he unseats Eric Wright or Brandon McDonald, things are not exactly going well in Peoria.

Meanwhile, the injury list for the third preseason game — the one that is supposed to really matter — includes some big names: QB Derek Anderson (concussion), KR Josh Cribbs (ankle), RB Jamal Lewis (hamstring), S Brodney Pool (concussion) and LB Willie McGinest (groin). It is doubtful any will play against Detroit. This is significant only in that the third practice game is supposed to be the last chance for a team to get its act together. It will be tough for a team to get its act together with all those players on the sidelines.

One does not want to be an alarmist after two preseason games. But some of these injuries are concerning, especially Cribbs' ankle sprain and the concussions sufferd by Anderson and Pool. There's no telling how long they will affect the players. It's entirely possible all could be playing by opening day, but if the Browns had a choice I'm sure they would prefer to have them on the field this Saturday in Detroit, and would very much prefer not heading toward the season opener with this kind of uncertainty lingering.

Here's what Romeo Crennel had to say about the injured guys:

"As far as our injuries, D.A. (Derek Anderson), Brodney Pool, Willie McGinest, Jamal Lewis, (Josh) Cribbs were not out here and those guys are resting, taking care of their injuries. Now with D.A. and Brodney it’s concussions and sometimes with concussions you’re a little sensitive to light so we’re going to let them rest for a day or so and then see where they are and when they get their baseline back then they’ll be out and they’ll start practicing again. Cribbs has an ankle that he’s working on, trying to get that right, Jamal has a hamstring and Willie has a groin. So those guys, all of them, I know they want to be out here, they’ll work to get out here and that’s what we’re dealing with there."

On Braylon Edwards:

"Braylon (Edwards) is doing OK. We’re trying to keep Braylon off his feet so that he doesn’t re-open that wound. So he’s making progress, the wound is healing but we’re going to be a little cautious with him to try to get it healed up because at his position where he runs and cuts, the thing that we don’t want to happen is we don’t want him to break it open. And then continually, we have to work through that and probably he’ll have to miss more time if it gets to that point, so we’re going to let it heal and then get him back out here. But he’s in a good frame of mind and he’s doing good.”

Who is the third quarterback?

“We’re auditioning tonight (joking). No, we’ll come up with some kind of plan to take a look at it. We’ve got several guys on the team that have been quarterbacks in high school so we’ll get an emergency plan ready so that if we need it, we have it.”

On if the injured players will play on Saturday

“It will be tough for them to make Saturday because if they missed today, which they did, and they’ll probably miss tomorrow, then they’re probably not going to be ready to play. So they’ll sit out Saturday and we’ll see what happens after that.”

Welcome to a new weekly feature on this blog. It’s called First and 10, and truth be told it’s not new at all. It’s really old. For some years now I’ve e-mailed this First and 10 newsletter on the Browns to those who asked. Free! How cool is that. You want it, it arrives once a week in the e-mailbox (Is that not an annoying word?) Well the folks at “corporate” have decided that blogs are now the greatest thing since sliced bread. So the folks at “corporate” have deemed it wise to put First and 10 on the blog and not send it out via e-mail. In truth, we don’t have a “corporate,” just a bunch of folks running around with titles. Apparently I have a title now, but it doesn’t carry more weight than the guys who wear ties. At times, I’d like to ask them: “Why so serious?” But I digress. Beginning today, First and 10 will be part of the blog every Tuesday, unless circumstances or technology force it to Wednesday.

On to First and 10…

1) Football coaches must be geniuses of the highest order. They can look at preseason film and break it down and actually come up with some insight into what they saw. Take the debacle that was the Browns preseason opener (which cost some of you up to $70 to attend, thank you very much). That game was the lead argument for the abolishment of preseason football, or the marketing gurus in the NFL office who decided you have to pay full price for those fiascos of games, whichever you want to wipe out first. The offensive starters were in the game for nine plays. The defensive starters for nine plays. Yet the coaches actually can learn something! These guys must be the most brilliant of the brilliant, because they can actually watch these few plays and dissect each individual’s play and draw some conclusions.

2) I just don’t get preseason NFL football.

3) Let’s consider Shaun Rogers, the team’s new defensive lineman. Rogers started and was the object of many cheers when he was credited with a tackle. In his time on the field, he looked good. But the fact is he should look good. Everyone I’ve ever talked to about him said that when he plays and he cares, he’s nearly unblockable. The problem is that his weight takes a toll, and eventually he wears down. So to find out if the Browns really have something in Rogers, we need to see him in the third or fourth quarter, after he’s played a half and the temperature is in the low 70s. To see if he wears down. If he tires. Then we need to see him in the second half of the season, after he’s been playing into the fourth quarter for eight out of nine weeks. To see if he’s in good enough shape to last a season. I would submit that though one would rather Rogers look good instead of bad, judging him on these handful of plays and coming to any sort of conclusion is folly. Poppycock, in fact.

4) The column I wrote from the game (How’s that for self-righteous self-importance, pointing to “my column”? Not bad, eh?) centered on Braylon Edwards and his marvelous touchdown catch. In the column, I pointed out how good he was last year and that he might be the most indispensable Brown this year. Several folks commented on line to the effect of “Well, duh, there’s an insight.” They’re right of course, but Edwards’ cutting himself on the heel while running in socks (huh?) after practice on Saturday kind of highlights the point. Let’s take Edwards out of the offense for two, three weeks, and let’s see exactly what the Browns have in receivers. Think about it. You’ll share my concern.

5) Had to enjoy Romeo Crennel’s response to Edwards’ injury. It was Crennel at his straightforward, bottom-line best, who said: “What can you do about it, other than try to educate them?” Suggestions to avoid silly injuries like the one Edwards got might include following them 24-7, assigning a security guard to be with him every minute of every day or installing a special shoelace with a combination lock. The team can advise a guy not to do something like that, but if he goes ahead and does it … well what can you do. Reminds me of the night Gus Frerotte decided to celebrate a touchdown in Washington by smashing his head into a wall. He sprained his neck. Then-coach Norv Turner said after the game: “Guess I’ll have to put that one in a manual.”

6) Nice of John Edwards to stand up big, eh? Lovely role model there. Almost as funny as Bill Clinton making that strong stand for monogamy in one of his speeches. Clinton made the plea in the context of stopping the spread of AIDS, but the notion of him talking monogamy almost brings giggles. Maybe he and Edwards can have lunch some time.

7) The Browns first-team offense looked very good the other night. Jamal Lewis did indeed look quicker. The offensive line blocked well. Derek Anderson threw the ball well. Donte Stallworth made a couple catches. And Edwards had that marvelous one-hand snag for the touchdown. They did all this without Kellen Winslow too. If one can draw a conclusion from nine plays, it would be that it was good to see the offense took their time seriously. But they simply cannot afford to lose Edwards for any extended period of time and hope to be close to the same unit.

Eight) The secondary depth is a real concern. The backups were pretty much torched in their time, and their time was significant because they were in for a significant amount of time. If Brandon McDonald or Eric Wright is injured, the Browns might be calling Houston. Because they’ll have a problem. Friend of mine once referred to that line as: “Houston, we’re breaking up.” Like they were using cell phones or something. This happens sometimes. People get confused. People break up. “Houston, we’re breaking up.”

9) Maybe it’s just the way they’re perceived now, or maybe it’s playing experience, but Derek Anderson seemed much more like the starter and Brady Quinn much more like the backup in the first practice game. Anderson was confident, and Quinn continued something he’s been doing in practice and throwing a lot of underneath passes. Not sure what this means, but that’s the way it seemed.

10) Here’s another reason preseason football is ridiculous. I actually heard someone phone in to one of the talk radio shows after the game proposing that Syndric Steptoe return more kicks so Joshua Cribbs can take more snaps with the offense. This brings to mind two questions: Are you nuts? And, are you nuts? It also brings to mind the time when, in a previous life, I covered the Miami Dolphins. O.J. McDuffie was one of the better punt returners in the league, and he was about to take over as a starting wideout. I ran across Mike Westhoff, the special teams coach (one of the better ones in the league), and asked him if the team planned to give McDuffie a break on returns because he was going to start. He looked at me like Japanese beetles were crawling out of my eyes. “A break?!?!?” he said. “A break?” I mumbled something totally incoherent. “Do the Steelers give Rod Woodson a break?” he asked. That pretty much ended the conversation, and Westhoff was kind enough to lift the tiles off the floor so I could crawl back in my hole. Point, and I learned it: In the NFL, you put the best guys on the field, and Cribbs is one of the two best return men in the league. Any time he fields a punt or kickoff he can score. He won games last year with his returns. The guy is great, and taking him away from what he does best is just silly. As for Steptoe .. please. He may develop into a nice player, but at this point he’s one of the guys who thrive in preseason. Because he gets to play because the coaches decide to put the starters on the bench after one series even though all the poor fans in the seats paid full price for their tickets. If it were not for preseason, exhibition football, Steptoe would be a name on the roster who is inactive every week. Cribbs might not deserve a new contract at this point in time – he did sign his own deal, as I do recall – but he is one of the most dynamic returners in the game. And barring injury, blowout or exhaustion, he should return every kick the other team makes.

Three and Out

This is the spot where I answer three letters. But I don’t have three letters. So this is the spot where I tell you if you have a comment or question you’d like addressed in the newsletter to post it here or e-mail me at pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com. Then I pick three letters or comments I like and answer them and call them Three and Out. Thus ends the newsletter-that-has-become-a-blog-post. Clever eh? Three and “Out”? In lieu of three letters in Three and Out, I present three quick points:

1) Shame that Gary Baxter and LeCharles Bentley were cut; they did all they could to come back from some pretty serious and dangerous injuries.
2) They – and others – occasionally got angry when their comebacks were described as longshots and potential miracles. Fact is they were.
3) Count me as officially “surprised” if either play in the NFL again.

Pat