Lang: Losing is the worst
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CLEVELAND -- The starting quarterback was benched, Butch Davis was asked about losing his job and the losses are piling up.
This year's Browns are starting to sound a lot like last year's.
"I hate to say this, but I'm used to [losing]," said defensive end Kenard Lang, who has been with Cleveland since 2002. "It sucks. I hate it. It's the worst.
"I always won before -- in high school, in college and with Washington we went to the playoffs. We've just got to get our butt in gear and get ready to go against the Jets."
Easier said than done. The Browns (3-6) have lost three straight and it looks like they will finish with a losing record for the fifth time in six years.
"We've got no quitters in this locker room," said cornerback Daylon McCutcheon. "We're going to keep competing."
Job retention
Davis, whose record in Cleveland dropped to 24-33 and 1-8 against Pittsburgh, was asked after Sunday's 24-3 loss whether he's worried about keeping his job.
"I'm more concerned with the 53 guys in the locker room earning respect," he said.
No one is saying Davis has lost the team, but another 5-11 season could prompt owner Randy Lerner to make a change.
"Shoot, when you lose, everyone's job is in jeopardy," McCutcheon said. "We're a team, it's not just the head coach. It's all of us. When you lose, everybody points fingers in other directions."
While Cleveland's defense has been decent, the offense has looked anemic at times this year, mustering just 228 total yards on Sunday.
The Browns are supposedly a run-first team, but they had 51 yards on the ground. Garcia completed just 7-for-16 for 110 yards -- including 58 on one play -- and an interception Sunday before getting benched in favor of Kelly Holcomb, who led Cleveland to its lone touchdown. Garcia was also sacked four times, hurried 11 times and knocked down five times.
Utilization
"I don't want to make this about me, but we need to find a way to better utilize the talent on this team," said Garcia. "I know we want to be a running team, but there comes a time we need to realize that maybe for some reason that's not the strength of this team."
Does Garcia think he's being utilized correctly?
"It's a work in progress," he said. "As I said earlier, we don't always do the best job we can do to put ourselves in position to win the game."
And with games against the Jets and Patriots looming over the next three weeks, the Browns can't afford to keep struggling.
"I don't know what to say," said offensive lineman Ryan Tucker. "We have three straight weeks of bad losses. Offensively, we are just not playing well at all.
"We have to circle our wagons and try to get better."
scalzo@vindy.com