What should be the Browns' rally cry for the rest of the season? Try, 'We're not awful!"
View full sizeEric Mangini, Rob Ryan and the rest of the Browns coaching staff need at least four wins in the team's final six games to confirm substantial improvement from the 2010 season, says Terry Pluto.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- At some point, the Browns have to stop being a lousy team.
In the NFL, a lousy team is one that loses at least 10 games, which the Browns have done in six of the last seven seasons.
A lousy team beats Super Bowl contenders New Orleans and New England in the same season, but still finishes no better than 6-10. That's why the 3-7 Browns have to find a way to win at least four of the last six games.
This is not just about Eric Mangini and his coaching staff keeping their jobs. It's not about playing young guys -- virtually all of the top picks are regularly on the field.
It's about the Browns at least moving into the ranks of the mediocre, that mass of teams with records between 7-9 and 9-7.
It's a group that proudly can proclaim: We're not awful!
These Browns aren't terrible. These are not the Browns who lost seven games by at least two touchdowns in the 5-11 season of 2009. Or the Browns who scored only one touchdown in their final six games of the 4-12 season of 2008.
They are not the 1-9 Carolina Panthers, who come to town Sunday with a lame-duck coach in John Fox and no discernible quarterback. They are not the 2-8 Buffalo Bills, or the 2-8 Cincinnati Bengals -- both coming up on the schedule.
No matter who is the quarterback without a sprained ankle in a walking boot, the Browns should be able to beat those teams. The Browns must show their fan base -- and themselves -- that they don't stink.
They need to beat the bad teams so they know they no longer are a bad team. They need to show that "the green sticker" character guys imported by Mangini and the new front office can play hard and well in a season when the playoffs are not a possibility and several teams have players who just want to go home.
The Browns did it last season, winning their final four games. It was against rather sad competition (other than Pittsburgh), but a four-game winning streak indicated signs of progress.
So would a 7-9 -- or, especially, 8-8 -- record, putting an exclamation point next to the upbeat sentences about the team's improvement.
The most disturbing part of Sunday's 24-20 loss at Jacksonville was not the 75-yard screen pass to Maurice Jones-Drew that set up the winning touchdown. No excuse for that. But what should bother the players and coaches was how the offensive line was physically overpowered by a team with a shaky defense.
There also have to be some questions about the preparation.
Jacksonville stacked the line of scrimmage to stop the run -- which was expected. But the Jags also sacked Colt McCoy six times, the most allowed by the Browns this season.
When a defense is determined to stop the run, it rarely has a six-sack day. That's especially true against an experienced offensive line. But the Browns looked surprised by some of the formations and blitzes from Mel Tucker's Jacksonville defense, which entered the day with only 14 sacks in nine games.
In their next four games, the Browns face opponents with a combined 10-30 record. Miami is 5-5, but has major injury problems at quarterback.
So the Browns should aim to be at least 7-9, something only done three times (2001, 2002 and 2008) since the team returned in 1999. Furthermore, they have enough talent to do it.