CLEVELAND Browns hoping for turnaround

Cleveland hopes its injured players return to help turn the losing tide to winning.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- The Cleveland Browns will have to make another one of those dramatic second-half comebacks, only this time it's to save their season.
After stumbling into a perfectly timed bye week, the Browns are hoping to get healthier as they look for solutions to why they've been so inconsistent on offense, defense and special teams.
"We're behind the eight ball right now," said guard Shaun O'Hara, one of Cleveland's many injured players. "We're a losing football team."
An aching one, too. In their 9-3 loss at New England last Sunday, the Browns were without seven offensive players projected as starters when the season opened.
Rash of injuries
Since left tackle Ross Verba's season-ending biceps injury in the final exhibition game, a rash of injuries has swept through Cleveland's offense and resulted in a dramatic drop in scoring.
Through eight games last season, the Browns -- 4-4 at the midway point in 2002 -- were averaging 23.1 points per game compared to their current 14.4 clip.
"We're just not making plays," rookie center Jeff Faine said. "We're not executing as well as we can and we're making too many mistakes. It's been surprising to me."
Hampered by injuries, quarterbacks Kelly Holcomb and Tim Couch have both struggled. However, it's unfair to evaluate their performances because they've mostly been in with a patchwork offensive line that hasn't given them much time to throw.
Still, Holcomb, who was given the starting job by coach Butch Davis to open the year, has been unable to move the offense in his three starts (three TDs, five interceptions) or two relief appearances.
The bye week will help Holcomb get closer to being 100 percent after suffering a broken right fibula, torn ligaments in his right ankle and a badly sprained left ankle.
\Couch had one fabulous performance against Pittsburgh while spelling Holcomb, but he's now got a sprained thumb, an injury that would have made un-drafted rookie Nate Hybl the starter this week if the Browns weren't off.
Cleveland's wide receivers, touted as one of the AFC's best units, haven't produced any game-breaking plays. And running back William Green's arrest this week on charges of driving under the influence and marijuana possession has given Davis more worries than the Browns' pitiful third-down conversion percentage.
"We haven't been consistent on offense in any particular phase, that's a fair and accurate assessment," Davis said. "We haven't run the ball effectively or efficiently. We haven't thrown the ball. We haven't caught the ball. We haven't protected. At times, we've done some things consistently and some of it has been very good and some of it has been poor."
The same has been true on defense, where the Browns can go from very bad to very good in a very short time.
This season, NFL teams are 23-2 when holding opponents under 10 points. Guess who has both losses?