Tuesday, October 23, 2001
NFL notebook
4-2 Browns show they are legit
The Associated Press
BEREA, Ohio With a 24-14 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, the Cleveland Browns did much more than purge a painful part of their past.
They put Cleveland back on the NFL map.
This was a huge step for us, quarterback Tim Couch said. It's a great thing to finally have things turned around. Now we've just got to keep it going.
The Browns (4-2) beat the reeling Ravens (3-3) at their own game.
Cleveland's underrated defense outplayed and outhit Baltimore's more touted unit. The Browns relentlessly swarmed to the ball and turned the game on a fumble when Ravens quarterback Elvis Grbac was sacked and knocked out of the game in the third quarter.
On offense, the Browns did just enough. Cleveland's offensive line opened some holes and did a better job protecting Couch, who played with poise.
And when Cleveland decided to go after Baltimore's throat, the Browns made the big plays converting a fourth-and-2 at midfield and getting two TD passes from Couch in under two minutes.
We took it to a good football team, defensive end Keith McKenzie said. I don't care if people want to give us respect now or not. We're not listening. We're going to play hard, and as long as we do that, I think we can beat anybody.
The Browns have a bye this week.
COLTS:
Turnovers were not to blame for Indianapolis' latest loss.
Three one-play scoring drives, two blocked field goals and their lone touchdown were.
So for the second straight week, the Colts are trying to solve the greatest riddle of their young season what can be done to fix the mistakes?
You want an easy answer? coach Jim Mora said Monday, a day after Indianapolis' 38-17 loss to New England. We've got to play better, that's the easy answer.
The Colts (2-3) haven't played this poorly or been beaten this soundly since Manning's first four games as a pro all losses by a total of 76 points.
Now they've lost three straight by a total of 57 points and another loss Thursday night at Kansas City would extend the Colts' losing streak to their longest since 1998.
RAMS:
Marshall Faulk might miss another game with a bruised right knee, and coach Mike Martz said it has nothing to do with Trung Canidate's brilliant debut.
Canidate had 195 yards rushing and 37 yards receiving in a 34-14 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday. He missed most of his rookie season with injuries.
I feel relieved, but it doesn't change whether or not Marshall would be up, Martz said. If Marshall's not fully ready to go, we've got so much of the season left we've got to do the right thing.
BEARS:
The team settled on the University of Illinois as a temporary home while Soldier Field is renovated for a year.
The team said Monday the team would play its home games next year at Memorial Stadium in Urbana-Champaign, about 120 miles south of Chicago.
LIONS:
Receiver Germane Crowell will miss the rest of the season with a torn tendon in his left knee.
Coach Marty Mornhinweg said Crowell will have surgery as soon as today. The Lions' other starting receiver, Herman Moore, is also lost for the season.
CHARGERS:
Junior Seau has missed only five games with injuries in 12 NFL seasons. Coach Mike Riley doesn't expect that number to reach six.
Seau is cautiously optimistic that he'll be able to play in San Diego's grudge match against Buffalo despite a groin pull that kept him out of the second half of the Chargers' 27-10 win over Denver last Sunday.
Riley, though, was virtually certain that he'll see his star linebacker on the field. I think he'll be ready to play, Riley said Monday. When he comes out of the game, he's hurt. But he's also a tremendous healer. He'll just start that rehab and go 24 hours a day.
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