Browns fall flat in opener
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CLEVELAND -- The Trent Dilfer era started with a thud and the Browns' opener was a dud.
Any questions?
"I don't think anybody played good," Browns coach Romeo Crennel said after Sunday's 27-13 loss to Cincinnati. "When you lose, you can't be happy with anything, can you?
"Let me put it this way, I'm not happy with anything."
Unlike his predecessor, Butch Davis, Crennel didn't try to spin the loss as a positive step. He didn't say the Browns were only four or five plays from winning and he never mentioned his players "spilling their guts on the field."
Crennel simply said the Browns got beat. And he was right.
"We've still got a lot of work to do," said Crennel, who changed the Browns' defense from a 4-3 to a 3-4 in the offseason. "The preseason, I looked at that with a jaded eye because no one played all their starters. Now we're facing everyone's starters for a whole game.
"This is the real test."
Unfortunately for long-suffering Browns fans, Cleveland didn't pass.
Handicapped
Where to begin? Cleveland's best offensive player was a fourth-string wide receiver named Frisman Jackson. Thanks to an injury to undrafted free agent Josh Cribbs, the Browns used an ex-fullback, Reuben Droughns, as their primary kick returner. The Browns had two touchdowns called back by penalty.
And Trent Dilfer looked like ... well, like Trent Dilfer.
"We didn't play as well as we would have liked," Dilfer said. "Obviously, we're disappointed."
Dilfer, the fourth Browns quarterback to start the opener in as many years, had decent numbers, but the numbers are misleading. He threw two interceptions -- it should have been three -- lost a fumble on a key third down play, hit the umpire in the head with the ball, overthrew an open receiver in the end zone and lived up to his pregame billing as a temporary solution to a long-term problem.
"The interceptions are on me," Dilfer said. "It's my job to protect the football. One of the things I learned early was don't make a bad play worse."
Dilfer was 26-of-43 for 278 yards but was outplayed by Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer (26-of-34 for 280 yards and two touchdowns). The 2002 Heisman Trophy winner looked every bit the franchise quarterback the Bengals expected him to be when they selected him first overall in the 2003 draft.
"Carson played with a lot of poise," said Browns cornerback Daylon McCutcheon. "He's got a great arm and he's only going to get better. He was patient back there and took what the defense gave him."
Lost momentum
The Browns played well early, but lost momentum late in the first half. After tying the score on a 68-yard touchdown pass from Dilfer to Jackson with 5:03 left in the first half, Palmer drove the Bengals 91 yards over 10 plays, capping the drive with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Walter with 45 seconds left.
Cincinnati got the ball back to start the second half and immediately drove 78 yards on nine plays, capped by an 18-yard touchdown pass from Palmer to fullback Jeremi Johnson.
"Things came apart a little in the second quarter," Crennel said. "The whole second half we struggled to get anything going."
Want more? The Browns' leading tackler, Chris Crocker, was a last-minute injury replacement at safety. The team's top draft pick, Braylon Edwards, caught two passes for 16 yards.
It was the same old story for the Browns, who have the worst record of any NFL team since returning to the league in 1999.
"We never really pulled it together," said Browns running back William Green, who had four carries for 12 yards. "The bottom line is we have to play better."
Johnsons produce
Rudi Johnson carried 26 times for 126 yards and a touchdown for the Bengals, while talented wideout Chad Johnson had nine catches for 91 yards. Before last year's first Browns-Bengals game, Johnson sent he Cleveland defensive backs bottles of Pepto-Bismol.
They could have used it on Sunday. The fans too.
"This team over the last few years has taken a pounding emotionally and mentally," Dilfer said. "I think the thing I was most encouraged by was the team continued to fight hard and compete.
"We didn't play as well as we'd like, but there are good things to come."
scalzo@vindy.com