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Crennel wants players to focus on each game instead of looking ahead
By Marla Ridenour Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Friday, Nov 23, 2007
BEREA: Coach Romeo Crennel doesn't need to outfit the Browns with earplugs or blinders, although owner Randy Lerner would probably write the check if he did.
Crennel thinks he and his five captains can keep the 6-4 team from looking ahead and getting caught up in playoff talk.
That would seem to be a tough task since the Browns are bidding for their first postseason appearance since 2002. Their remaining six opponents had a combined record of 22-38 going into Thursday and none were better than 5-5. They finish the season against the Cincinnati Bengals (3-7) and San Francisco 49ers (2-8).
Capturing the AFC North title doesn't seem likely since the 7-3 Pittsburgh Steelers hold the tiebreaker by sweeping the Browns. But the Browns are in the hunt for one of two wild-card berths, a chase that currently excludes only about six of 16 AFC teams.
Crennel, 60, won five Super Bowl rings as an assistant coach, so he knows the type of focus and chemistry needed to reach the playoffs. With the Houston Texans (5-5) visiting Sunday, he understands that part of his task.
''Human nature says you're going to look to see where you are and where you might end up,'' Crennel said. ''But part of my job is to try and slow some of that human nature stuff down. Tell them if you look too far ahead, then what's right in front of you will kick you in the butt.
''I tell my players they're not allowed to listen to the playoff talk. If we don't focus on the next game, then they'll be talking about how bad we are. I'll let all those other people talk playoffs and scenarios. We have a good team coming to town on Sunday and if we're not ready to play, we'll get beat.''
Crennel is not alone in preaching that message. It's probably no coincidence that three of his five captains — linebacker Willie McGinest, center
Hank Fraley and receiver Joe Jurevicius — have been to Super Bowls. Between them, they have eight appearances and four rings. McGinest earned three with the New England Patriots, Jurevicius one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The other captains, linebacker Andra Davis (six years with the Browns) and kicker Phil Dawson (nine years), are among five players on the roster who joined the team from 1999-2002.
McGinest said the message that they're not talking about the playoffs comes from ''the guys here who have been there before.''
''You see it all the time across the league, guys are 6-2 and they start talking playoffs and they lose four or five in a row and they don't even make the playoffs,'' McGinest said. ''It's kind of a thing you don't want to get caught up in. Our playoff right now is Houston.''
Fraley, who went to the Super Bowl after the 2004 season with the Philadelphia Eagles, has seen the same thing.
''If you look down the road for the playoffs, it will catch up to you and you're going to drop a few,'' Fraley said. ''Good teams stay focused on the task at hand.''
The rest of the Browns seem to be getting the message.
Asked if he knew where they stand in the wild-card race, right tackle Kevin Shaffer said, ''I know what our record is and that's about all.''
That's not the case with third-year receiver Braylon Edwards.
''I check the standings, I know everybody's records. I know the ESPN power rankings, but that's just me. I follow football,'' Edwards said.
After Sunday's miraculous 33-30 overtime victory over the Baltimore Ravens on the road, fourth-year tight end Kellen Winslow had his head down in the locker room, upset at how poorly the Browns played.
''Playoffs are a long way away, but like I said, we have to play a lot better to get where we want to go,'' Winslow said on a conference call with Houston media. ''We're 6-4 and we're not the Patriots at 10-0, so we have a lot of work to do. We really could be 8-2. We had some tough losses, some close ones that we thought we should've won, so we're not happy around here. We're striving for perfection.''
In his second season with the Browns after 12 with the Patriots, McGinest sees improvement.
''This team has matured, this team has taken a huge step toward getting better, playing consistent,'' he said. ''Different phases are complementing each other. The guys are working hard and they now see we can compete and play with anybody. We've always had the talent, it just took us some time to put everything together.''
McGinest said part of that growth was derailed by ''coaching changes, scheme changes, new systems.''
''It takes time,'' he said. ''You can't just put a bunch of talented guys together. I remember when Washington signed all those veterans like Deion Sanders, they didn't even go to the playoffs that year.''
As much as he hears the mantra of one game at a time, Edwards admitted that it's easy to let his postseason imagination run wild.
''It's a little difficult from the standpoint that we haven't been in this situation before,'' Edwards said. ''But other than that, we listen to (Crennel). He's got us this far listening to him.''
Even McGinest is not totally averse to talking about the playoffs.
''Ask me when we make it,'' McGinest said. ''Then we can talk about it all day long.''
Injury update
Nose tackle Ethan Kelley (knee) and cornerback Eric Wright (knee) missed practice. Defensive lineman Shaun Smith (knee), Shaffer (knee) and receiver Tim Carter (finger) were limited. For the Texans, running back Ahman Green (knee) sat out, and center Mike Flanagan (back), a new addition to the report, was limited.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her Browns blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/browns/.
BEREA: Coach Romeo Crennel doesn't need to outfit the Browns with earplugs or blinders, although owner Randy Lerner would probably write the check if he did.
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