When it was over, Lee Suggs said his body felt pretty good despite 38 carries
Sunday
William Green's body felt even better. But he couldn't have been happy.
While Suggs broke a Browns record for carries set 45 years ago by Jim Brown,
Green did not get a single carry.
That confirmed what observers have suspected. Unlike Butch Davis, who took
pains not to appear to favor either runner, interim coach Terry Robiskie
believes Suggs is clearly a better player.
Suggs hasn't been able to seize the job this year because of a neck injury
that sidelined him for the first three weeks and a turf toe that kept him out of
three more recently.
That's one reason Suggs wasn't complaining about getting so many carries.
"I missed six games this season," Suggs said after Cleveland's 10-7 loss to
Miami. "I need the work. The more carries a back gets, the better he runs."
What's even more telling is that Robiskie refused to yank Suggs even though
he fumbled three times. When Green fumbled once against New England in
Robiskie's debut, he was yanked in favor of rookie Adimchinobe Echemandu.
So Suggs kept chugging away.
"At times during the game I was breathing hard, but you have to suck it up
and keep going," Suggs said.
Said Robiskie, "He has that extra vision, that extra cut, that extra eye (for
the hole). You don't have to block them all. He's got the ability to make that
guy miss. He also has a very good feel for his backside pursuit. It speaks
volumes about him."
And what does that mean for Green?
"I would hope that it would say to William that Lee Suggs is playing pretty
good," Robiskie said.
LUKEWARM ON LUKE: Interim coach Terry Robiskie was asked Monday whether
rookie QB Luke McCown had done enough to show he could be the starter next
season.
"That's hard to say today, especially after such an emotional (loss) last
night," Robiskie said. "As I stand on the sideline on Sundays, I would probably
say, `No, he's not.'"
"When I come in on Monday and watch the tape and see some situations where we
could've given him some help and didn't, it'd be hard to say. To step up and say
he's ready, I couldn't say that today."
DAWSON UPSET: After making 17 straight kicks to start the season, Phil Dawson has now missed five of his last seven field-goal attempts. Against the
Dolphins, Dawson missed a 43-yarder that would have given Cleveland a 10-7
third-quarter lead when the ball clanked off the right upright.
After the game, Dawson angrily threw his helmet in the locker room.
"I'm trying to weigh my words right now," a frustrated Dawson said. "The
difference between success and failure when you play my position is so small."
FEELING A DRAFT: By losing, the Browns assured themselves of drafting
no lower than fourth in the draft. If Cleveland loses next week at Houston, the
Browns will draft second behind San Francisco. If the Browns win, they could
draft behind the 49ers, Miami and Tennessee because their strength-of-schedule
is the toughest in the league.
PLAYER NOTES:
- LB Mason Unck strained his hamstring and is day to day.
- LB Warrick Holdman dislocated a finger, but Robiskie said he should be
able to play Sunday against Houston.
- LG Enoch DeMar left the game when he took a hit to the head. Paul Zukauskas replaced him.
- TE Aaron Shea was inactive because of ankle and knee sprains. His status
for Sunday is unknown.
- S Robert Griffith was credited with nine tackles, giving him 144 for the
season, a career-high.