Jake Delhomme will undergo an MRI to determine the extent of the ankle injury suffered in Tampa.
"Because he's smart, he cares, and he understands where the mistakes were," said Browns head coach Eric Mangini in defending QB Jake Delhomme. "I can tell you with those interceptions, I know it always goes back to the quarterback, but it's a group effort."BEREA, Ohio -- The Browns might have more to worry about with quarterback Jake Delhomme than his two interceptions in Sunday's 17-14 loss to the Bucs.
Delhomme will undergo an MRI on his right ankle as early as Tuesday to determine the extent of the ankle injury he suffered against the Bucs, a source told The Plain Dealer. He apparently suffered it on that momentum-killing interception at the end of the first half, when defensive end Stylez White stormed past Joe Thomas on the left side and grabbed Delhomme's leg just as he was releasing the ball.
"Yeah, we'll get him tested and looked at figure out where he's at," said coach Eric Mangini. "The day after the game is a little tough because everybody's pretty sore. It's usually [Tuesday] that you get a better idea where you're at."
Browns President Mike Holmgren, speaking at a Ring of Honor press conference at the Stadium, said, "They're working him up. He's sore today."
Following the interception, Delhomme seemed to be walking fine. But after his next play, a short pass to Mohamed Massaquoi, he came up limping and grimacing and then walked gingerly into the locker room at halftime.
"His ankle got a little twisted up, but he felt good enough to continue on and I felt good enough with him continuing on at that point," said Mangini.
Delhomme seemed to be walking better when he came out after the break, but CBS analyst Rich Gannon made much of the injury, pointing out how Delhomme was favoring the leg in the second half. He went on to throw another interception in the fourth quarter while completing only nine of 19 attempts for 121 yards.
Should the Browns have kept him on the field -- especially with Seneca Wallace on the bench?
"We talked about that," said Mangini. "[Offensive coordinator] Brian Daboll and [Delhomme] talked, so there was communication. You're constantly going through that. Same thing with the trainer. He'll constantly update me on any injuries that happen in the course of the game."
Jake Delhomme accepted the blame for the Browns' struggles on Sunday, but Eric Mangini said there was much more to the reasons why the offense labored against Tampa Bay.Delhomme -- never one to deflect blame -- said after the game "my ankle got a little stiff on me for some reason, but that's no excuse. It's fine."
Whether that's really the case might have to wait until Wednesday, at Mangini's next session with the media. Meanwhile, Mangini spread the blame around for the interception that broke the Browns' back in Tampa.
On first down at the Bucs' 39, Delhomme threw for Benjamin Watson in the right flat while White was grabbing Delhomme's leg, causing him to fall to his right. He side-armed the ball and it was picked off by cornerback Ronde Barber, who returned it 64 yards to the Browns' 3, where Peyton Hillis shoved him down.
On the sidelines, Watson was seen mouthing "it's my fault."
But Mangini divided the blame-pie into three hefty pieces, starting with the fact that Delhomme should've taken the sack instead of flinging it while falling.
"Yes and really that was one component of it," said Mangini. "He should've done a better job there of either throwing it away or eating it -- ideally, throwing it away because of the field position that we had with two timeouts left. Throw it away, move on to the next down. That was one part of it."
Part two was Thomas letting White blow past him, although Mangini didn't name him.
"I don't think we were firm enough in the protection and he shouldn't have been pressured the way he was," said Mangini. "That wasn't a function of a blitz or a game or anything like that. That was a function of us holding up."
Then there was the route-running, in which someone was supposed to run to the middle of the field -- possibly Watson. Instead, Watson and Chansi Stuckey ended up near each other on the right.
"There was a huge a void in the middle of the field where we should have had somebody and that's what Jake was looking for and it wasn't there," said Mangini. "So we ended up with two receivers close to each other as opposed to the proper spacing. That's how it's going to work with a lot of interceptions.
"Jake should have made a better decision, he knows it and I'll expect that in the future, but there were other components there that contributed to that play just as much as that decision."
Mangini said pressure on Delhomme's second interception may have caused him to underthrow Massaquoi.
"I think he wasn't able to step into the pocket as much as he would normally," said Mangini. "That was a little bit of push there and that could have contributed to it as well."
As for the second-quarter throw to Massaquoi in the end zone -- the one where Delhomme threw to the middle and Massaquoi went left, Mangini pinned it on the receiver.
"That should have adjusted to a middle read based on the defense being open, a split safety defense," said Mangini. "It should have bent more inside, based on the initial read."
Mangini said the Browns still felt that going to Wallace in the second half wasn't necessary.
"We felt at that point Jake gave us the best chance to get out of a backed-up situation," he said. "Unfortunately, field position late that whole fourth quarter, we were backed up."
But he's not concerned Delhomme won't bounce back. Why?
"Because he's smart, he cares, and he understands where the mistakes were," said Mangini. "I can tell you with those interceptions, I know it always goes back to the quarterback, but it's a group effort."
Staff writer Bill Lubinger contributed to this report.