BEREA — Disappointed? Yes. Disheartened? No.
The Browns returned to practice Wednesday, less than 48 hours after a 37-34 preseason loss to the Giants on Monday night that featured a 30-3 deficit after 16 minutes. The scheduled two-hour practice stretched into hour No. 3. The laughter, common throughout training camp, was nowhere to be found.
The Browns were all business.
“Hopefully that’s a wakeup call for them,” coach Romeo Crennel said. “We have to be more ready to play than we were Monday night.”
The players readily acknowledged the ugliness of their performance, but warned against writing off the season because of it.
“We’re not concerned,” linebacker Andra Davis said. “We know we’re a better team than that. That’s not Romeo Crennel football that we displayed on Monday night. We learned from it and are going to grow and put it behind us.”
The turnaround is quick, as the Browns (0-2) play their third preseason game Saturday afternoon in Detroit. They will do so without a host of starters.
Quarterback Derek Anderson (concussion), running back Jamal Lewis (hamstring), receiver Braylon Edwards (foot), kick returner Joshua Cribbs (ankle), safety Brodney Pool (concussion) and linebacker Willie McGinest (groin) didn’t practice and aren’t expected to play versus the Lions.
The Browns, a surprising 10-6 last season, are a popular preseason pick to make the playoffs. They embraced the expectations, walking and talking with confidence throughout training camp.
They stumbled out of Giants Stadium humbled.
“If that was a test for us, we definitely failed it,” center Hank Fraley said. “We didn’t look sharp at all. Luckily for us it was just a preseason game.
“We definitely wanted to put on a better show, especially on Monday night, playing against New York, the defending Super Bowl champs.”
The first-team offense managed just a 56-yard Phil Dawson field goal on its first possession. It didn’t get a first down on the next five possessions and had a fumble returned 95 yards for a touchdown. The offensive line struggled and blew a protection on the sack of Anderson.
“We missed the block and then he got hurt,” Crennel said. “If we make the block, he’s probably not hurt.”
“Obviously we didn’t run the ball well and we didn’t protect well, and those are our two goals,” left tackle Joe Thomas said.
The defense gave up two passing touchdowns and the special teams were awful. Dave Zastudil had a punt blocked for a safety, and Domenik Hixon returned the ensuing free kick 82 yards for a touchdown.
“When it started going bad, it just went bad,” Davis said.
Crennel took the blame following the game for not having enough contact in practice. He backpedaled a bit Wednesday, citing the numerous nagging injuries as a legitimate reason for the no-pads approach.
“I don’t know that I would have done anything different with my circumstance what it was,” he said. “Probably it hurt us a little bit in that game. But we still have two more games to play in preseason and still have an opportunity to get ready for the regular season.”
Davis, Fraley and Thomas all dismissed the notion that the lack of hitting was the cause of the loss Monday night.
“We’ve got more veteran players, got guys who know how to play as fast without the pads,” Davis said. “If you want to play deep in the season, you have to take care of your players.
“Players appreciate RAC taking care of us. It wasn’t physical the reason we lost. It was more mental.”
Crennel isn’t overreacting to a loss in August — no matter how bad it was.
“I’ve been killed before and I’ve come back before, so we’ll come back from this one,” he said.
Contact Scott Petrak at 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com.
 

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