BEREA – The Browns’ defense is beaten, battered and bruised, but no one on that side of the ball is ready to back down from a challenge.

In fact, Cleveland’s players say they are looking forward to trying to stop the San Diego Chargers’ high-powered offense Sunday afternoon.

“We’ve got a great game plan, so I’m not really concerned about it,” cornerback Eric Wright said Friday. “Everyone will be ready for them. We just have to go out and execute.”

Neutralizing San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers, running back LaDainian Tomlinson and tight end Antonio Gates is tough enough for foes at full strength.

But doing it with a makeshift squad, as the Browns will put on the field, might be impossible.

Nose tackle Shaun Rogers (lower left leg) and safety Brodney Pool (concussion) were both placed on season-ending injured reserve, while defensive end Kenyon Coleman (knee) won’t play this week.

Adding to the mess, a fourth starter may miss the Chargers game as Wright sat out practice with a sore left hamstring.

If Wright can’t go, it will leave defensive end Robaire Smith and safety Abram Elam as the only Browns defensive players to start every game this season. The unit is ranked 31st in the NFL in yards allowed, ahead of only Detroit.

“It’s challenging because you’re constantly teaching,” Browns coach Eric Mangini said of the ongoing lineup shuffle. “Some stuff you do have to spend time on that you wouldn’t typically spend time on.

“It’s almost like a real sense of community with everybody trying to help everybody else out to be successful.”

While Cleveland’s defensive line has competent backups to step in for Rogers (Ahtyba Rubin) and Coleman (C.J. Mosley and Corey Williams), its secondary depth will be severely tested.

Elam and Hank Poteat become the top safeties with wide receiver Mike Furrey assuming nickelback duties.

Veteran Mike Adams takes over at right cornerback, while Wright’s duties could be split between a player who has repeatedly been benched (Brandon McDonald) and another that was on waivers four days ago (Ramzee Robinson).

Mangini also indicated that special teams ace Ray “Bubba” Ventrone and rookie Coye Francies could join that group, if the need arises.

“Look, we’re in the NFL, and if you’re not excited about getting an opportunity like this, it’s a sign about yourself,” said Furrey, who has split time between offense and defense most of the year. “I feel confident about stepping in, and I’m looking forward to Sunday.”

San Diego, meanwhile, has to be licking its collective chops at the thought of facing a beleaguered Browns bunch.

The Chargers have scored at least 21 points in all 11 of their games – and are working on a remarkable streak of 15 straight quarters with points.

Individually, Rivers has completed 60 percent of his passes in every game since Oct. 5, while Tomlinson and Gates are rounding into form after somewhat slow starts.

“Our communication is going to be the biggest test because we’re playing (San Diego coach) Norv Turner’s circus offense,” Cleveland defensive coordinator Rob Ryan said. “They move everybody around and shift and move and motion.

“We’re going to kill our film guy this week because we’re using so many game tapes, looking at all of them, but we have to do that and we have to spend extra time with our new guys.”

And if facing San Diego isn’t ominous enough for the Browns, they have to play archrival Pittsburgh just four days later. In other words, Cleveland’s list of ailing athletes could grow much larger.

“We’ve got some good players here and they’re looking for an opportunity to prove it, so we’ll find out what we’ve got,” Ryan said sternly. “This is the type of year and the time of year where you’ve got to have your roster ready to go. The next man has to step up. It’s that simple. No excuses.”

Contact Brian Dulik at brisports@hotmail.com

NEXT UP

WHO: Cleveland vs. San Diego
WHEN: Sunday, 4:05 p.m.
WHERE: Cleveland Browns Stadium
TV/RADIO: Channel 19; WEOL 930-AM, WTAM 1100-AM

---

Print this story
Report an inappropriate comment

---

In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement and discussion guidelines.

Need help? Email Us.

---