FOXBORO— Like he has done with the rest of the football-watching country, Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss has made Browns coach Romeo Crennel take notice this season.
“Randy has always posed a problem when he’s been in the right situation, and it looks like he’s in the right situation,” Crennel said. “He’s just making unbelievable plays. As I’ve looked at these first four games, you could make a Randy Moss highlight reel out of what he’s able to do.”
Crennel has special interest in Moss this week. The former Patriots defensive coordinator brings his Browns to Gillette Stadium on Sunday. It’s young corners Eric Wright’s and Leigh Bodden’s turn to try and stop Moss.
Crennel has been particularly impressed with the Patriots’ offense as a whole — comparing the unit to Indianapolis’ — and thinks his old team looks great overall. Crennel said this year’s Patriots team compares favorably to the three Super Bowl champion teams, of which he was an integral part.
“If you didn’t have Randy Moss on the team, you would still have a very good football team, and I would venture to say that it would be ranked at the top of the league still, offensively, because they are that good,” Crennel said.
Crennel didn’t seem overly sentimental about returning to New England, but he was quite convivial during a Wednesday morning conference call.
Crennel is probably sleeping a little bit better at night after the Browns’ 2-2 start. Crennel went 10-22 his first two years in Cleveland and began 2007 under fire.
A 34-7 season-opening loss to Pittsburgh didn’t help matters, but wins over division foes Cincinnati and Baltimore probably did.
“When you see progress, when you see your team make progress, when you see your team listen to you and try to do what you tell them to do and try to play as a team, then you feel good as a head coach,” Crennel said. “I think that some of that is beginning to happen here. The first two years we were trying to make progress, and we did make progress, but it wasn’t showing up on the football field. I think that some of the progress that we made in the previous years is beginning to show up on the field this year, to this point. It’s still early in the season.”
The Browns’ offense is what has garnered the most attention this season, especially after scoring 51 points in the shootout win over the Bengals. The Browns sent season-starting quarterback Charlie Frye to Seattle following the loss to the Steelers.
The next week, new starter Derek Anderson threw five touchdown passes against Cincinnati. First-round draft choice Brady Quinn is waiting in the wings.
The Browns also have wide receiver Braylon Edwards and tight end Kellen Winslow, who have combined for nine touchdowns, and running back Jamal Lewis, who had the third 200-yard rushing game of his career three weeks ago.
“I think he’s put together a good team,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “They’re a field goal away from being 3-1.”
Cleveland ranks near the bottom of the league, though, in the four major defensive categories, including 30th in pass defense (267.5 yards per game) and 28th in points allowed (29.5).
Crennel and Belichick were assistants together under Bill Parcells with the Giants, Patriots and Jets.
Crennel was the defensive coordinator under Belichick in New England from 2001-04. Crennel said as a head coach, he has applied a little bit of what he learned from both Bills.
“Parcells was an excellent motivator,” Crennel said. “He would find out which buttons he needed to push on a player. Some of his methods and techniques, I’ve adopted some of those. With Belichick, he’s a great tactician of the game. He can make adjustments quickly and easily on the sideline. His preparation allows him to do that, and so I try to steal some of that myself and use some of that to try to help us.”
His players seem to be responding.
“We just want to go out and win for him,” Lewis said. “I think he knows what he’s doing, and it just took a little time. I think we’re going to get it done for him.”
