BROWNS Dilfer, Carr at critical junctures

Cleveland is looking for better play from its quarterback.
HOUSTON (AP) -- Trent Dilfer has long been a mentor to David Carr. But the past two seasons as the Cleveland Browns quarterback played only sparingly, he didn't feel like he had much to offer his younger counterpart with the Houston Texans.
Now he's starting, but as the two former Fresno State players prepare to meet for the first time today, they're both in dire situations. Carr is trying to hold his winless Texans together, while Dilfer is just trying to hold onto his job.
Dilfer had three interceptions, was sacked four times and had just 73 yards passing in a 13-10 loss to Detroit last week. Browns coach Romeo Crennel is disappointed in his performance and had "serious discussions" about making a change, but decided to stick with Dilfer.
Room to breathe
"I'm going to give Trent the benefit of the doubt and give him a chance to try to work out of this slump that he's in," Crennel said. "Because he's a professional and has seen a lot of things, I think he has the ability to work his way out of it."
The pair became friends when Carr was in seventh grade and attended an appearance of Dilfer's. Since then, Dilfer has helped guide Carr's career.
"He's been instrumental long before this losing streak," Carr said. "When I first met him back in junior high, I was a fan. I still am. I have as much respect for him as I do for anyone that I've ever been around."
Dilfer said Carr has outgrown the need for his guidance.
"[He] doesn't really need a mentor anymore," Dilfer said. "Maybe the first couple years, I walked him through some things. But I look at him as a peer now."
And today he'll look at him as an enemy as both teams enter the game with emotions high.
Houston (0-6) is desperate for a win after getting off to the worst start in the team's short history. Cleveland wants to get back on track after dropping the last two.
Motivation
Virtually everyone in the Texans' organization, from owner Bob McNair on down, thinks the team's current trouble began in a 22-14 loss to the Browns in last season's finale that started the losing streak.
"Our problems did start there," McNair said. "I certainly remember it and I'd like to think that everybody remembers that to be motivated. We should be."
Carr definitely is.
"I think there's guys in this locker room that definitely think about that game and want to make up for it," he said.
Houston was looking to go .500 for the first time when Cleveland broke a nine-game losing streak with that win.
Some of the Browns (2-4) are miffed that the league's only winless team, which has the NFL's least-productive offense, is a two-point favorite.
But Browns defensive end Kenard Lang said it's nothing new to him.
"I've been here for four years," he said. "When were we not underdogs? It's irrelevant to me. We've got to get a win. Period."
Crennel said his team cannot take Houston lightly.
Cautious
"The way that we're playing, we need to be more concerned about Houston than any other team -- than the Indianapolis Colts," he said. "If we go down with the attitude that, because they haven't won a game we should be able to play well and win, then we'll go down there and lose."
While the Browns look for better play from their quarterback, the Texans are simply looking for ways to keep Carr off the ground.
Carr was sacked five times for 42 yards, which dropped his passing total to 6 yards, in a loss to Indianapolis, bringing his total to a league-high 35 times this season. He threw two interceptions and was sacked six times in the last meeting with Cleveland.
"We're obviously still a work in progress in terms of our pass protection," said coach Dom Capers, a Mount Union College graduate. "But I've seen us, at times, do the things that you have to do to win football games on offense. We just have to do it more consistently with our execution."