BROWNS Davis feels heat after 5-11 disaster in '03

Cleveland opens training camp today with a single afternoon workout.
BEREA (AP) -- As he prepares to open his fourth -- and most important -- training camp as coach of the Cleveland Browns, Butch Davis has just one worry.
"That it's hot enough," Davis said.
Let the sweating begin.
Forget the weather, there's already plenty of heat on Davis, who is coming off a disastrous 5-11 season that will be remembered for injuries, missed tackles and a poorly managed quarterback controversy that never went away.
But Davis, ever the optimist, has never felt better about his team. The Browns signed free agent quarterback Jeff Garcia this winter and plugged several other sizable holes on offense and defense with quality veteran talent.
Key additions
In addition to Garcia, Cleveland signed free agent fullback Terrelle Smith, guard Kelvin Garmon, defensive lineman Ebenezer Ekuban and linebacker Warrick Holdman.
All five were NFL starters last season, giving Cleveland depth it hasn't had in Davis' tenure.
"I think we have made more significant improvement in our football team in the last six months than we did in the first 21/2 years," Davis said.
"That's not to discount the first 21/2 years. Part of the process is you add a guy here and here and then you have a nucleus of 15-to-20 guys. Then we added somebody else's starters and they become our starters. And they might not even start for us."
The Browns will open training camp today with a single afternoon workout. After that, there will be two-a-days that Davis will use to determine who plays -- and how much.
Jobs up for grabs
For the first time since taking over the Browns, Davis said starting jobs are up for grabs.
"Every position on this football team has a significant amount of competition," he said. "A lot of people think building a football team is how you can be in [roster] numbers 1 through 22, but it's really about how good you can be from 22 through 53.
"There is competition to make the team, build depth and strengthen positions. It's exciting."
The most interesting battle for playing time will be at running back between Lee Suggs and William Green.
Suggs, who emerged as a breakaway threat late in his 2003 rookie season, will open as the starter. Green must again prove himself following a year beset by personal problems, including an NFL suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy.
Green also served a three-day jail sentence in March for drunk driving and was hospitalized during his suspension after being stabbed by his girlfriend.
Davis said Green has fulfilled all his league and team obligations since being reinstated.
Davis isn't averse to rotating backs, having done that frequently at Miami. But he'd prefer to play just one at a time, and that will be the most versatile one.
"We're looking for the most complete player -- runner, pass catcher, blocker, blitz pickup -- those kinds of things," Davis said. "We can rotate backs. Nothing is out of the realm of possibility. Whatever is in the best interest of our offense, whatever has the chance to be the most effective, dynamic and explosive, that's what we want to do."
Battles on defense
On defense, the stiffest competition appears to be at free safety between Chris Crocker and Earl Little and at strongside linebacker where Ben Taylor has been unseated for the moment by Chaun Thompson.
Quarterback Luke McCown and three other draft picks signed with the Browns on Thursday, leaving top pick Kellen Winslow as the team's lone unsigned rookie.
The Browns agreed to five-year contracts with McCown, a fourth-round pick; defensive lineman Amon Gordon, a fifth-round selection; and running back Adimchinobe Echemandu, a seventh-round pick.
Safety Sean Jones of Georgia also signed, but the second-round pick will likely miss the entire season with a torn ligament in his left knee.
With a Sept. 12 opener against NFC North rival Baltimore looming, the Browns and Davis can't afford any missteps heading into the franchise's most crucial season since expansion in 1999.