Defense's staggering finishes have veteran Sheldon Brown steaming

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Veteran safety Sheldon Brown was upset after a 24-23 victory over the Panthers that the Browns almost let get away. If not for John Kasay's missed 42-yarder, the Browns would've blown it for the third straight week. The Browns gave up pass plays of 32 and 28 yards on the final drive to set up the field goal attempt with four seconds remaining.

"The thing is, we shouldn't even have been in that situation," said Brown. "We had the game in our hands earlier, then we come out at halftime and we don't finish. It's been things like that all year and we've got to continue to work on playing 60 minutes. We'll play 30 one week, 45 one week. We just need to figure out a way to play 60.
"The sign of a championship team is when you have a killer mentality, you attack and don't let it become like the situation we had. This is something that we need to address and it starts from top to bottom."
Brown said perhaps the victory is a turning of the tide.
"But it's still so frustrating because it shouldn't even have come to that," he said. "That's why I'm upset ... It's just another situation where we don't play 60 minutes and you have a heartbreaker at the end. We've got to stop making excuses for that and just realize it's not acceptable."
He said the team still hasn't recovered from the loss of linebacker Scott Fujita to a knee injury.
"When Scott went down, it kinda hurt us a little bit," said Brown. "He's a really a vocal leader on this football team. We've just got to continue to grow as a team and communicate."
David Bowens agreed the defense has to stop making mistakes.
"We can't get down when things aren't going well," the linebacker said. "At times we get bummed out because of the turnovers. We practice these situations everyday. The focus has to be there. It's a lack of communication and tackling.
"Our tackling definitely has to be a lot better. Guys want to go strip the ball and that's fine, but secure the tackle first. That's going to be a point of emphasis, especially going down to Miami with those two good running backs."

Joe Haden heads upfield after intercepting a pass from Jimmy Clausen intended for the Panthers' Dante Rosario late in the fourth quarter. Haden eventually fell down, thinking that the game was in hand. "If I didn't (think the game was over), I would've tried to score," he said afterward

Haden's interception: Rookie Joe Haden, starting in place of the injured Eric Wright, picked off a Jimmy Clausen pass with 1:28 remaining.
"Oh yeah, I thought the game was over, that's why I went down to the ground," said Haden, who was stripped after his pick in Jacksonville last week. "If I didn't, I would've tried to score."
Haden has a team-high four interceptions, with one in each of the last three games. He's the first Brown to have three picks in three games since Bernie Parrish in 1959.
"It was like a Cover 5 trap," said Haden. "If my receiver No. 1 goes outside, I look inside to No. 2 and if he runs an out route, then I trap the ball and try to go in there and make a play. He ran a curl instead of an out and Jimmy had to throw it outside because Mike Adams was there, so I just turned into it and caught it."
Haden acknowledged the defense has to do better. "But it feels good to finally win one of these close ones," he said.
Those aching toes: Josh Cribbs gutted it out on his injured right foot, but was limited to returning kicks and punts. Twice, he deferred to Clifton Smith on kickoff returns when the pain got too bad.
"He was pretty limited," said Eric Mangini. "I give Josh a lot of credit for working all week to get in the game. It just got to the point where he felt he was completely ineffective doing anything and we didn't want to put him at risk."
Said Cribbs, who had four toes dislocated two weeks ago against the Jets: "When I felt like there were plays to be made, I told them to put Clifton in. I didn't want to hurt the team. I didn't aggravate it, but I don't know how I'll be for next week."
Cribbs averaged 8.3 yards on punt returns and 22.3 yards on four kickoffs.
A costly mistake: Evan Moore lamented being stripped at the Panthers' 2 in the second quarter after a six-yard catch. Earlier, he was hit helmet-to-helmet in the end zone and came up a bit wobbly, but didn't mention whether it had a lingering effect.
"I've got to do a better job of putting that ball away," he said. "[Panthers linebacker Jason Williams] did a good of stripping it. I was trying to fight for yards. He just pulled it away as I was going down. I can't let that happen. It's a big mistake, especially with the ball on the 3-yard-line or wherever it was. ... I couldn't let it affect my play the rest of the game."
It's a Buckeye sighting: Receiver Brian Robiskie, who hasn't gotten many chances this season, caught all seven passes thrown his way to lead the team. He had 50 yards, including a long of 15.
"It's nice for this type of performance to happen," said Mangini. "I'm hoping it's a springboard. What the difference was, I couldn't tell you right now."
Robiskie had only nine catches heading in.
"It goes back to executing when a play is called," he said. "Jake [Delhomme] is a guy who knows the offense and he is really going to work to find the open guy. I was fortunate to get open and he found me a couple of times."
Saved by the holder: Long snapper Ryan Pontbriand didn't have one of his best efforts on Phil Dawson's game-winning 41-yard field goal.
"It was just one of those things," he said. "It just came out high and fast so it just kept rising. I told [holder Reggie Hodges] 'thanks for saving my behind.' He did an amazing job. I'm going to beat myself up over it. Fortunately, it didn't affect the outcome of the game."
Dawson also complimented Hodges for the hold, as well as for punting the ball out of bounds at the 5 prior to the Panthers' final drive.
"Reggie deserves a lot of credit," said Dawson. "Both he and I talked this week about rebounding and having strong games. Neither one of us were pleased with how we did last week. To come up in the fourth quarter the way he did, he deserves a lot of credit and I'm really happy for him."
Special visitor: The Browns gave the game ball to 9-year-old Ryan Trewin of Canal Fulton, who is ill. He was a special guest of the Browns on the field and in the locker room.
"We were happy to be able to win the game for him," said Peyton Hillis.

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