According to head coach Romeo Crennel, if not for 2 plays the Cleveland Browns could have won against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. He also stated that he is not discouraged in the effort and play from his players. The team will focus, as the year goes on, on being more consistent, something they are not right now. Heading into the bye week there is much to be done and Crennel knows it. The bye week will bring self-evaluation and self scouting. Some guys may lose their jobs and some guys may get new opportunity.

Crennel also pointed out that not all was bad Sunday. Kick return man Joshua Cribbs may be playing his way to Hawaii. For the 2nd straight week Cribbs returns gave the Browns a spark when one was far from evident. When regular punt return man Dennis Northcutt was injured Sunday, Cribbs stepped in and returned his first punt 37 yards. Nine plays later the Browns had cut the Panthers lead to 8 points.

Crennel was very complimentary when speaking of the special teams, clearly the best part of the 2006 Cleveland Browns to this point. He is encouraged by the way the teams coverage teams are playing and how kicker Phil Dawson and punter Dave Zastudil are performing. Dawson leads all kickers in touchbacks so far in 2006.

When asked about the coaching staff's ability to get the ball in the hands of their playmakers Crennel responded that he feels anyone with the ball is a playmaker. He also stated that Joe Jurevicius will get consideration to start in front of Dennis Northcutt when the team returns from the bye week. Northcutt has been plagued by dropping passes, one on Sunday led to the Panthers 1st TD and turned the tide in the game.

When pressed again by poor play calling, Crennel used his standard quote, "if it works it's a great call, if it doesn't it's not". The 2nd year coach has not made excuses for the poor play calling, he just doesn't address it. By giving the same standard answer week in and week out he is giving the fans very little hope that changes will be made. When talking about consistency, Crennel really needs to look hard at his coaches and their play calling as mush as he needs to look at his players.

The play of safety Brodney Pool was brought up in Crennel's press conference. Pool was forced to play cornerback against the Panthers Sunday due to a rash of injuries to the Browns secondary. Pool is a safety according to Crennel, but the team has an open mind about moving him to corner if it will help the team.

The Browns head into their bye week at 1-4, clearly worse then anyone inside the organization thought they would be. They are not alone as fans had hoped and expected much better up to this point as well. The Browns will return to the field on October 22nd when they host the Denver Broncos at 4:05 P.M.

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