BROWNS Despite drubbing, Robiske optimistic

The interim coach gave the battered team Monday off.
BEREA (AP) -- They got drubbed by 27 points against the defending Super Bowl champions, lost their sixth straight game and were humiliated in front of their own agitated fans who can't wait for the season to end.
So, the Cleveland Browns did what all struggling teams do -- take the day off.
They had to.
"As hard as we all worked last week and to come up empty handed on Sunday was tough," said interim coach Terry Robiskie, who told his players to stay home Monday. "I didn't think they wanted to come in and look at the tape and see me moping and moaning. I just figured I'd moan to myself."
Robiskie didn't give himself any down time following Cleveland's 42-15 loss to New England. As he does after every game, he was in his office late Sunday night reviewing game tape.
Still standing
What was different for Robiskie was having to publicly rehash what transpired in his first game since taking over for Butch Davis, who resigned last week. After sitting down in front of the media, Robiskie was asked how he's feeling.
"I'm alive," said Robiskie, whose previous stint as a head coach was in 2000 for Washington. "I'm beaten, battered and bruised, but we're still alive."
But the Browns' pulse is barely detectable. And with four games remaining, there is little more to do than find out how good rookie quarterback Luke McCown is and which players are worth keeping next year.
There's also the matter of who will be Cleveland's next coach. If players have their say, Robiskie, the offensive coordinator, will be the leading candidate.
Since he took over, the air around the Browns has changed -- for the better. The players are upbeat, loose and willing to do whatever they can to make sure Robiskie stays in place as their coach.
"There's a totally different atmosphere," tackle Ross Verba said Sunday. "It's a feeling that I like. If I could have it like this, just this whole feeling, and play six more years, I'd love to be a part of that."
Inspires loyalty
Verba has been most impressed with Robiskie's candor and the way he connects with his players.
"Everything he exemplifies as a head coach, I want to be a part of," Verba said. "He exemplifies loyalty, integrity, and keeping it real. He'll sit down with you and say, 'OK, this is what you're paid to do and what we expect you to do. If you don't do it, we're going to cut you.' He tells you like it is."
William Green found that out firsthand on Sunday. Early in the third quarter, Green's fumble was returned for a touchdown, giving the Patriots a 21-point lead and ending any remote chance the Browns had of a comeback.
It was Green's final carry. Robiskie benched him in favor of rookie Adimchinobe Echemandu.
Although it appeared that Robiskie was sending Green a message, he said that it was more coincidence and that the coaches were eager to see what Echemandu could do.
"I was not trying to send a message that hey, I won't tolerate it," he said.
"I wasn't trying to send a message, but I'll send a message: If you fumble it, we won't let you play. That's not a hidden secret."
For the moment, Robiskie is keeping quiet about who he'll start at quarterback on Sunday in Buffalo.
Robiskie thought McCown played well in his first NFL start, especially against the blitz-happy Patriots. Jeff Garcia, who has missed the past two weeks with a strained shoulder, did not appear on the Browns' weekly medical report but Robiskie wouldn't pronounce him -- or Kelly Holcomb (cracked ribs) -- ready to start.