By TOM WITHERS
AP Sports Writer
BEREA, Ohio(AP) -- The owner is sick about the state of his sorry
NFL team. The fans are in an uproar. The starting quarterback is
historically inefficient and may be about to lose his job. The
star running back may retire with one year left on his contract.
The Cleveland Browns are beyond bad.
Their coach doesn't believe it will last.
Eric Mangini believes his plan for turning around the brutal
Browns will work despite a horrid first half of the season. On
Monday, Mangini said he spoke by phone with Randy Lerner and has
the owner's support despite Cleveland's 1-7 start to a season
growing worse.
"I never got a feeling otherwise in all my conversations with
Randy," Mangini said.
The bye week arrived just in time for the Browns, who were
thumped 30-6 on Sunday in Chicago, Cleveland's latest lopsided
loss. After the game, an upset and frustrated Lerner told
reporters he was "sick about" the team's slide but that he would
not fire Mangini.
Mangini, too, is dismayed by the losing but remains confident
the Browns will improve.
"This is a process," Mangini said. "We talked about that quite a
bit, and that doesn't change. There's things that go along with
that and that doesn't mean we're not looking to win every game,
it doesn't mean we're not looking to improve each week. On the
contrary, that's exactly what we're going to do.
"Randy and I share the same vision and that's something that we
talked about and what we do talk about quite a bit is what's the
best way to achieve that. I've always had good conversations
with him and always will."
Mangini said he shared Lerner's distaste for the Browns' putrid
performance so far.
"But I also believe in the things that we're doing and I
understand it doesn't happen overnight," he said. "There's not
one formula in terms of specific ingredients, but there is a
very specific approach that you have to take and I believe in
that. It has been successful. It will be successful here."
Mangini and his coaching staff will spend the next week - the
Browns don't play again until Nov. 16 - evaluating and analyzing
every aspect of the team. Despite Cleveland's offense being
ranked 31st overall and scoring just five touchdowns, Mangini
has no plans to change offensive coordinator Brian Daboll's
duties.
However, he may rely more on quarterbacks coach Carl Smith, a
former offensive coordinator with New Orleans and Jacksonville.
Mangini's also holding off on making a decision at quarterback.
Derek Anderson posted a 10.5 rating in Sunday's debacle before
he was yanked in the final minutes for Brady Quinn, who began
the season as Cleveland's starter but was benched after just 10
quarters.
Mangini lamented Cleveland's five turnovers, including two
fumbles - one by rookie wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi, the
other by tight end Steve Heiden - following completions by
Anderson that sabotaged potential scoring chances. Mangini felt
the Browns were moving the ball and Anderson can't be judged
solely on his atrocious statistics.
"You never just want to look at the numbers, you want to always
look at it in the context of the game," Mangini said.
Anderson's numbers are impossible to ignore.
According to STATS LLC, his 36.2 QB rating is the lowest of any
player through eight weeks since Oakland's Marc Wilson in 1981.
Also, Anderson's 320 yards passing in the past four games are
the fewest by any quarterback with a minimum of 80 attempts
since Chicago's Vince Evans in '81.
Lerner expressed a desire to bring in a reputable football
adviser, "a person that can provide leadership and clarity
regarding decisions and direction."
Mangini said he would be open to such a hire.
"If you can add quality people that can help you get better,
then you do that," Mangini said. "You're always searching for
those opportunities."
Mangini's job security was not a topic in Cleveland's locker
room, which was mostly vacant Monday.
Linebacker David Bowens, who played for Mangini in New York,
feels the coach's system may not take hold until the team starts
winning.
"Part of the problem is we have a lot of guys on this team that
have been used to losing, been used to being on teams that have
won a lot of games and don't understand the process," Bowens
said. "I think just selling out and buying in. I firmly believe
in just hard work and execution. The coaches can coach their
tails off, they can get two hours sleep a week, but they're not
playing the game.
"A lot of mistakes are made by us as players. Once we assess
that and just buy in, commit ourselves to each other, I think
things will change."
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