Despite Poor Record, Browns Continue to Come Together in 23-30 Loss to Chargers

For the fourth consecutive week since the reinsertion of Brady Quinn as the starting quarterback after the bye-week, a talent-depleted Browns roster remained competitive against a more talented opponent and signaled that Eric Mangini's installation of a winning culture is taking hold.

Those who can look past the team's record and understand that Mangini's job is to affect the long-term reversal of the effects of a decade of shortsighted mismanagement might be especially encouraged by the signs this team has shown in recent weeks.  

The Plain Dealer's Tony Grossi wrote after yesterday's game of "a newfound feel of togetherness," and a Browns team that "can't wait to get back on the field."

Grossi quoted Browns LB David Bowens: 

I was proud of the guys . . . We showed a lot of character by coming back and staying with it. We fought through a lot of adversity.

And safety Nick Sorenson,

Today, I felt like we banded together even more.

The PD's Mary Kay Cabot quoted RB Jerome Harrison along the same lines: 

I think everyone executed their positions, did their jobs and we're coming together as a unit, . . . This is a strong group of men in this locker room, all 53 of them. We play together and play for the other guys in this locker room. We don't care what the score is or what our record is. We have enough respect for each other to go out there and play.

It would be easy enough for a 1-10 team to quit on the season, but these words as well as the action on the field in recent weeks prove that these Browns have not, and indicate that the organization is pointed in the right direction.  Several recent developments, when viewed alongside the team's recent performance, show not only that the Browns' had to be torn down before being properly rebuilt, but also that the worst part of the "tear-down" phase might now be substantially complete:

Addition by Subtraction:  First, there was the painful but necessary trades of the team's two most physically-talented players, top draft picks Kellen Winslow Jr. and Braylon Edwards.  Both of these players, especially Braylon, clearly demonstrated a me-first attitude that necessarily undermined Mangini's effort to get the individual members of the Browns to buy into something bigger than themselves.  The richest and most decorated players in a locker room also tend to be the room's most dominant personalities.  It's impossible to install a "team-first" culture when "me-first" guys like Edwards and Winslow dominate the room.

There's no question that losing Braylon and K2 dramatically reduced the team's ability to compete in the short term, but the team's performance in recent weeks has shown that the receivers left in place have been steadily adjusting; to the NFL in the case of rookies Robiskie and Massaquoi, and all of the receivers to their new roles in the offense.  Of course, the cap space and draft picks accumulated in the Edwards and Winslow trades will allow the Browns to further upgrade the receiving corps in the off-season. 

Resolution of the QB Question: It's enough to say here that Mangini's task in settling on a starting quarterback for 2009 and into the future has been complicated by Derek Anderson's status as a 2007 Pro Bowl selection and teammate favorite, as well as a certain $11 million dollar incentive clause in Brady Quinn's contract.  There's no question that what the team has gone through in resolving this question hasn't been pretty, but the "Derek or Brady" question has finally been settled.  And in the four weeks since, while Quinn has yet to show week-to-week consistency, he's turned in the two best performances of his career.  With the exception of a bumpy start on an ugly Monday Night against the Ravens, the improvement in the team's offensive performance has been undeniable.  One might be especially impressed with Quinn here given that he's working with a unit that SI's Peter King criticized just last week as "[wideouts who] can't catch."

New Players in the Passing Game:  Related to both Quinn's emergence as the starting QB and the receivers adjusting to roles that were undefined in in the wake of Winslow's and Edwards' departures, the improved offensive output since the ugly Monday Night against the Ravens is due in large part to the insertion of new pass-catching personnel into the game plan.  Specifically, the insertion of veteran Chansi Stuckey into the rotation and the replacement of the stone-handed Robert Royal with a rotating group of pass-catching tight ends including Michael Gaines, Greg Estandia, and most recently and encouragingly, Evan Moore, who caught six passes yesterday for 80 yards.  In this way, and especially with respect to the new tight ends, Mangini and Brian Daboll have tailored the offense to Brady Quinn's abilities.

Resolution of the RB Question:  While not as often discussed as the QB question, many wondered why Jamal Lewis had been receiving so many carries at the expense of young running backs Jerome Harrison and Chris Jennings.  The answer to this question was complicated by Lewis's status as a veteran locker-room leader, but that complication was removed last week on the news that Lewis would miss the rest of the season due to a head injury.  The fresh legs of Harrison and Jennings played a big part in the offense's season-best performance, as did their pass-catching abilities.

Of course, none of this means that there still isn't a lot of work to do.  But each of these developments helps to show the magnitude and complexity of the task before Mangini when he arrived, and helps to explain both why things might have had to get as ugly as they did this season, and why Browns fans might be especially encouraged by the recent modest turnaround.

With the defense decimated by injuries and the Steelers coming to town in four days to fight for their playoff lives, we might see things get ugly again shortly.  After losing to the Raiders yesterday, we can be sure that the Steelers won't be sleeping on the Browns like the Chargers might have been.  Folks have called this Thursday's matchup the 2009 Browns' Super Bowl.  But win or lose, there's no question that Brady Quinn can accomplish a lot by proving on Thursday that he can show up as an NFL quarterback for two consecutive games.  

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Other Browns-related notes:

Alex Mack -- was lauded by a member of the CBS crew that called yesterday's game who noted that Mack is the only rookie who's started at center in the NFL this season and that he's "having an excellent season." 

Josh Cribbs -- looked like he got over whatever was bothering him last week, or at least was able to set it aside to focus on playing football.  It might be that he realized the embarrassment that his agent J.R. Rickert created for him by recent public statements Rickert made on Cribbs' behalf.  Relatedly, Brett Favre threw a touchdown pass to Percy Harvin with 80 seconds remaining in last night's Vikings/Cardinals game and the Vikings down by a score of 30-10.  Rickert "can't put into words how upset he is with [Vikings coach Brad Childress] for leaving [Favre and Harvin] in like that." 

Brian Robiskie -- noted yesterday that "he might be one of several young players finally figuring out the pro game."  He also figured out that sometimes it's a good idea for a person to talk with his boss, and mentioned that Coach Mangini has "been pretty open to guys stopping by all season," and that "[Mangini's] door has always been open.''

Patrick McManamon -- did a nice job using perfect 20/20 hindsight to show that those who've led the Browns in recent years could have made some better decisions.  This gives us extra reason to be thankful that we now have a coach who is building for long-term success.  

Rey Maualuga -- would not have helped against Antonio Gates yesterday.

Ndamukong Suh -- would look great in Orange and Brown.  We'd be fine with not getting Eric Berry if we ended up with Suh instead.  More on this later this week.

And more on other things later, including Monday Night football.

Thanks to Joshua Gunter and The Plain Dealer for the photo.