BEREA: Browns left tackle Joe Thomas giggled and switched into professional wrestling mode when he heard about nose tackle Marcell Dareus guaranteeing the Buffalo Bills will triumph Sunday in Orchard Park, N.Y.
“I hate that guy! Gonna kill him!,” Thomas yelled Wednesday with a smile.
“That’s great,” Thomas continued after cracking his joke. “The mindset we’re going to have is just the same way. We’re going to make them the team we break the streak on, so I think that’s, as a football player, our competitive nature, that’s the way we train ourselves to think every single week because you want to go in on that Sunday expecting to win.”
Dareus told the Buffalo News the Bills (6-7) simply wouldn’t lose to the Browns (0-13).
“That’s just a guarantee,” Dareus said. “We ain’t gonna be that team. We’re not going to be the team that busts [the Browns’ losing streak].
“Nobody in the league wants that to happen [to them], no.”
Normally really good teams have a target on their backs and can always count on getting their opponent’s best shot.
But the Browns, who have lost 16 consecutive games, have a target on their backs because no opponent wants the embarrassment of falling to a winless team.
“That’s one of the challenges when you go this long without winning a game,” Thomas said. “You’ve gone from maybe a team that other teams are going to overlook to the team that you’re definitely not going to get overlooked because teams don’t want to be the team that lost to you, and they are going to circle that game.
“They are going to elevate their emotions and their preparations almost like it is a playoff game, so that makes it tougher to get that first win. But that’s OK. That’s the challenge we’ve put ourselves in, and we’ve accepted it and we’re going to do what we can to win on Sunday.”
Browns quarterback Robert Griffin III agreed.
“No one wants to be that team that gets beat by us because we don’t have any wins right now, and everyone knows it,” Griffin said. “No one is just going to walk out there on the field and give us a win and say, ‘Here you go. We feel sorry for you. We will give you guys a win.’
“Everyone is trying to kick us while we are down, so we are going to have to go take it. We are going to get everybody’s best shot because nobody wants to lose to us. It is just a matter of us going out and putting a full game together.”
Feed the Crow
Running back Isaiah Crowell gained 113 yards on only 10 carries in Sunday’s 23-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals and wanted more chances with the ball.
“I wish I had more opportunities just because when the running game finally started to pick up, I feel like I didn’t have enough opportunities to help my team as much as I could have,” Crowell said. “I feel like the lanes were there, so I feel like we should take advantage of them. But we didn’t so we’ve got to live with what the coaches want to do.”
Did he receive an explanation from coach Hue Jackson about why he was limited to 10 carries?
“I really didn’t get any feedback,” Crowell said. “I just don’t say too much about it. I know I feel like I should’ve had more [runs] but how the game went and it’s their decision, so I can’t really go against what they think. It’s a team. We’re all a team, so I just do whatever the team needs me to do.”
The simplest reason is Jackson doesn’t think the Browns are able to pound the run down after down, especially because injuries have forced changes on their offensive line.
“I don’t think that is who we are right now because of a lot of different reasons,” Jackson said. “Sometimes it is the teams you are playing, and sometimes it is kind of who you are, your personnel and personality. We are a little bit of everything right now. There is nothing that we have really, truly hung our hat on yet because of the changes.”
Surgery done
Starting right guard John Greco suffered a Lisfranc injury in his right foot Nov. 27 against the New York Giants, a team spokesman said. Greco had surgery this week.
“Everything was perfect and went great [with the surgery],” Jackson said. “I was able to text with him before he had it. I think he is excited about getting back and getting ready to play.”
Starting left guard Joel Bitonio suffered a Lisfranc injury in his right foot Oct. 9 against the New England Patriots and had surgery Oct. 17.
Roster moves
The Browns claimed rookie running back Darius Jackson off waivers from the Dallas Cowboys and waived linebacker Corey Lemonier.
Jackson, a sixth-round draft pick from Eastern Michigan, has been inactive all season.
Jackson, 6-foot and 220 pounds, rushed for 1,078 yards and scored 16 touchdowns during his senior season in college.
Lemonier appeared in eight games this season and compiled nine tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
Sparse crowd
The Browns fell to the Bengals on Sunday in a half-empty FirstEnergy Stadium. Thomas was asked about playing in a ghost town.
“Well, we did that to ourselves,” he said. “We’re the ones that didn’t win the games. If we would be 13-0, I guarantee it would be packed. They’d be selling tickets for a thousand bucks a pop. So it’s not discouraging any more than the record that we have is discouraging. That’s the nature of the NFL. If you don’t win, people don’t want to watch you.”
Extra points
• Jackson on wide receiver Corey Coleman saying Monday he feels as if he has let a lot of people down with a disappointing rookie season: “It makes me know that it is important to him, that he wants to perform better and that he wants to wear the crown of being the go-to guy. … I think Corey Coleman is going to have a great career here.”
• The three-year, $15 million contract extension cornerback Jamar Taylor signed Saturday includes $5.5 million fully guaranteed, according to ESPN.
• The Browns started practice outside but moved into their fieldhouse after Jackson slipped on snow or ice. “I took a fall and got up and said, ‘OK, we are going inside,’ ” he said.
• Thomas (knee) didn’t practice. Linebacker Dominique Alexander (abdominal/groin), receiver Ricardo Louis (thumb), defensive lineman Jamie Meder (thigh) and Taylor (groin) were limited.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.