BEREA — Browns players returning from a three-day weekend Monday were faced with the reality of a new set of goals for the remaining seven weeks of the season.
At 3-6 and three games behind AFC North leaders Pittsburgh and Baltimore, the playoffs are, at best, a long shot. But that doesn’t mean the final stretch is meaningless.
Brady Quinn has a chance to establish himself as the franchise quarterback. Coach Romeo Crennel is tweaking the lineup in a quest for enough wins to save his job. And everyone is faced with salvaging what’s left of the season and answering to running back Jamal Lewis’ claim that some players quit Thursday night in a 34-30 loss to Denver.
Lewis didn’t appear in the locker room Monday during media availability, but his comments were the hot topic for the handful of players that stopped by.
“When you have a team like that that comes into our house and we’re capable of beating them, that’s the first thing that comes to your mind is guys quitting,” special teamer Joshua Cribbs said. “We can’t figure out what’s in everyone’s minds when they’re playing, but that’s what it looked like, that some guys quit.
“You don’t know who those guys were. But we know if everybody didn’t quit, we would’ve won that ballgame.”
Defensive end Shaun Smith said Lewis had a valid point.
“We want to win and I guess he sees something that everyone else probably sees and he’s explaining it,” Smith said. “He’s basically saying, check your ego, have some pride and play.
“He doesn’t say too much, so when he does speak up it’s gotta mean something.”
Lewis didn’t name names and not everyone agreed with his sentiment, but no one took issue with his approach. He’s a respected veteran and hard worker, has the right to his opinion and was trying to send a message.
“You can raise a bunch of questions about what happened but, bottom line, I don’t question any teammates, judge their character or the want to finish it out,” guard Eric Steinbach said. “I know just as a whole we’re not getting it done and that’s got to change.”
“Jamal is a true professional,” linebacker and captain Andra Davis said. “He’s been to the top, he knows what it takes to get to the (Super) Bowl. So his input is very valuable to this team.”
Crennel said he believed his team played hard throughout the game and pointed to the 13-point second-half lead as evidence.
“If we play smarter, we will be able to hold a lead,” he said.
The second straight blown lead at home led to a couple of lineup changes Crennel declined to reveal because he hadn’t told the players involved yet.
“There are one or two things we might try,” he said.
Injuries have robbed the Browns of much of their depth, so there aren’t many changes that make sense. One possibility is replacing Davis full time with Leon Williams, who already plays in the nickel package.
No matter the moves, Crennel’s first order of business is to keep the players focused on a season that’s fallen well short of expectations.
“You have to get them to concentrate on one game,” he said. “You try to pull ’em together and keep ’em together and not let ’em pull apart. If we can pull together, we have enough ability that we can win a game.
“A house divided cannot stand.”
With seven games left, the Browns have a mathematical chance to reach the playoffs with six or seven more wins. The players are clinging to that hope.
“The mind-set of our team really needs to be one game at a time,” Quinn said. “That’s the only opportunity we’re going to have to try to creep back into this is if we just try to focus on the Buffalo Bills and slowly try to creep back into things, get back to .500 and go from there.”
Cribbs has a grander plan.
“We have a seven-game season left and we have to win these seven games,” he said. “That’s what’s on my mind. I was thinking about it on the ride over here.
“It would be great to win seven games in a row and shock everyone.”
Contact Scott Petrak at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

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