BROWNS Finally, only 1 week remains

Interim coach Terry Robiskie believes a foundation is in place.
BEREA (AP) -- On the 40th anniversary of their last NFL title, the Cleveland Browns and their long-suffering fans had something else to celebrate: Only one week to go in a season of agony.
In the 54 years that have passed since they joined the league, the Browns have rarely been this pathetic -- or so seemingly far from their first trip to the Super Bowl.
With an uglier-than-ugly 10-7 loss Sunday night on national TV to the Miami Dolphins, Cleveland has dropped nine straight games, matching the club's longest single-season losing streak set in 1975.
Those Browns, coached by Forrest Gregg and featuring Greg Pruitt, Mike Phipps and Doug Dieken, opened the season 0-9 and finished 3-11. Unless they can somehow win their 2004 finale at Houston, these Browns (3-12) who began the year 3-3, will drop their last 10.
What in the name of Otto Graham has gone wrong?
"For whatever reason, if the football gods are watching, they are not smiling on Cleveland," interim coach Terry Robiskie said Monday as he reviewed yet another bitter loss.
One bad thing after another
Cleveland's season collapsed under a pile of costly injuries -- 15 players are on injured reserve -- made more painful by the league's toughest schedule and the sudden resignation of coach Butch Davis, who couldn't take any more and quit on Nov. 30.
Sadly, one of the league's most storied franchises, the Browns have become a symbol for incompetence.
"It's tough to watch," said Dieken, an offensive tackle with the Browns from 1971-84 and now a radio color analyst. "You can't put your finger on one thing that's wrong because there are so many things: injuries, personnel decisions, coaching changes."
Nobody's laughing in this sports-mad city whose world championship drought reached middle age on Monday. There is an entire generation of Clevelanders who weren't alive on Dec. 27, 1964, when Gary Collins' three TD catches sent the Browns to a 27-0 win over the Baltimore Colts and the NFL title.
That was the last time Cleveland ruled pro football. It may be some time before it presides over the game again.
Some pieces in place
The Browns have a ton of work to do. Once the season ends, they'll begin interviews for a new general manager. Next, they'll have to find a coach, preferably one with NFL experience, who will inherit a roster lacking depth and quality.
Robiskie isn't so sure that's the case. The former offensive coordinator, wildly popular with his players but a longshot to get the job, thinks the Browns have some good pieces in place.
"I don't know if this is a deal where you have to rebuild the whole place," Robiskie said. "I don't think you gave to go and blow the whole building up.
"It hurts a lot," said Robiskie, now 0-4 since replacing Davis. "But I've been around long enough to know that it happens. The cycle goes around."